Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.
-A Testament of Things that Never Will-
Pain, anger, hate, fear, and a number of other emotions filled Naruto but before he could carelessly rush the man who had taken someone he cared about away from him, Yuri exploded. It wasn't an explosion of blood and guts but something that Naruto would have expected from an explosive tag and the man with the sword was thrown from his weapon.
Spikes of stone erupted from the ground in all areas of the clearing but they centered on the enemy shinobi and some of the spikes even chased a few of the enemy in dazzling arcs and deadly speeds.
The twinkling of sparks in the middle of the battle stole the blonde's attention and Naruto saw something that made his heart soar and his courage explode to heights that he had never felt before. There, in the center of all the destruction and power, was the black-haired Yuri blocking an attack from the man who had killed him only a moment ago.
Yuri pressed the swordsman and was pushed back. Naruto bellowed a warning when the smiling man appeared behind Yuri but Kakashi blurred into existence between the two and stopped the flank. The two fought, back to back, against their opponents in a display of skill that Naruto had never imagined. Yuri would block an attack from the smiling man intended for Kakashi while the silver-haired Jonin would launch a wave of brutal strikes against the masked man. Then, Kakashi would defend and Yuri would attack. Each defended the other in an eery dance that would only end with the death of those involved.
"Naruto, Sasuke!" a feminine voice snapped and Naruto knew it to be Kurenai getting his attention. He looked and saw the rest of the Genin, Kurenai, and the now barely standing Asuma.
The two ran over and Naruto ordered his clones to take up positions in front of them to act as a barrier of sorts.
Naruto looked at the Jonin and asked heatedly, "Why aren't you out there helping them?"
"Watch your tone," Asuma growled. "She can't do anything." He pointed across the battlefield and Naruto saw the trench-coated man and the new white masked figure that had thrown the senbon. "If she were to join the battle they would attack and I'm too injured to be of much help. She must stay. It's a stalemate."
"I wouldn't be of much help anyway," Kurenai said but never took her eyes from the battle. "This battle has gone above me and I have a feeling that I would only get in the way. With all the chakra that is being thrown around none of my Genjutsu would stick and the ones that would have a chance of also affecting Kakashi and Yuri. At the moment, the only thing I can do is wait for the opportune moment."
Asuma nodded, turned his eyes back to the battle and said, "Don't look away any of you. Don't even blink. You all want to know what a Jonin battle is like, then watch this to the bitter end."
Naruto swallowed everything that he wanted to say and looked to the battle. Fire sparked from the right and the woman with the red kimono sent a stream of fire at the two battling Konoha shinobi. Yuri kicked the masked man away from him and cast his arms out in front of him. Wind rushed out and smashed almost physically into the fire, preventing it from getting any closer.
Kakashi ducked a swung from the massive sword and disappeared in a burst of speed. He appeared behind the masked man and stabbed a kunai into the back of his head but gained nothing at the man exploded into water. The man came from the side and cut Kakashi in half but the Jonin also changed into water.
Yuri jumped back, allowing a silver streak to come under him and engage the smiling man, and the water from the fake Kakashi moved in the air. It changed into the shape of a hundred bees and flew after the masked man but before he could press any advantage the woman landed a brutal kick to his side.
The black-haired Jonin twisted in the air, sending out several shuriken, and when he landed the ground beneath him bucked. Something rose from the ground and a stone panther roared as it took shape. Explosions echoed across the battlefield and the shuriken that he had thrown before exploded into fire and shrapnel. The woman vanished in one of the explosions and the masked man hid behind his massive sword to block any of the flying metal.
Naruto was taken by surprise when one of his clone popped and he figured that it was hit by a piece of metal. He created more clones to form a virtual wall and watched as the panther rushed toward the swordsman. The man made to jump out-of-the-way but hands erupted from the ground and grabbed his legs. Kakashi's head appeared for one moment and then the man was up to his shoulders in the earth with the roaring panther descending on him.
Yuri jumped off the cat and sent a spinning kick at the woman who attempted to flank him again. The woman went flying toward the two bystanders and the smiling man backed off his attack. He appeared next to the other enemy shinobi with the masked man over one of his shoulders and the massive sword held firmly in his hand.
A wind blew the dust from the battlefield to reveal twisted and overturned earth. Charred dirt and grass marked where explosions and fire jutsu burned. Kakashi was positioned on one of the highest spikes of earth, a kunai in his hand, and Yuri was below him with his hands held in a seal. It was only now that they had stopped moving at such extreme speeds that Naruto saw how injured they were. Blood stained their cloths in several places and a kunai stuck out of Yuri's thigh. Kakashi's left arm hung limp at his side and was covered in cuts and blood.
The enemy shinobi looked none better and the smiling man said, "It appears that none of us are able to continue this battle. We will retreat, for now."
Naruto watched them disappear but none of the Jonin relaxed and several tense minutes went by. Finally Asuma dropped to one knee and Kakashi slipped down from the spike.
"Genin," Kurenai commanded, "stay close to Tazuna. Choji, carry Shikamaru. Naruto, take In-" she stopped when she looked at the young blonde. Her eyes widened and she gasped, "Naruto."
"I'm fine," he barked with a determined look on his face. "I'll carry Ino and send out kage bunshin as scouts."
"Naruto, your injuries-" the female Jonin started but Naruto cut her off.
"They can wait. There are others who need more attention than me." He created thirty clones and sent them off. He looked to the field and saw Yuri walk over with a limping Kakashi being supported on his shoulder.
"Kakashi is about to drop from chakra exhaustion," Yuri barked. Several clones of him appeared behind him and fanned out into the forest while one picked up Asuma. "Tazuna-san, take guide us to your home immediately."
"O-okay," the old man stuttered and started walking.
Naruto hefted Ino onto his back and caught up to Yuri. He looked at the man and said, "Yuri-sensei, there is a kunai in your leg."
The man looked down, took hold of it, and pulled it out in one swift motion. "Keep your senses focused on your surroundings, Uzumaki-san. The enemy might not be gone."
Naruto nodded and looked to the forest around him. Asuma had said to not look away from the battle and he hadn't. The sheer amount of power and skill that had been displayed scared Naruto more than he wanted to admit but it also invigorated him to work even harder. He never wanted to sit on the sidelines and watch again.
He had struggled to answer Ayame's question about why he wanted to get stronger but he felt that he finally came to a satisfactory answer. He would get stronger so that others didn't have to fight. He would get stronger so that he could stand by those he respected and looked up to. He would get stronger to protect those who couldn't protect themselves.
-A Testament of Things that Never Will-
Blurred images flashed into her brain. The boat ride into wave. The simple walk down the dirt path. The sickening feeling that fell over her. The attack.
The shriek of kunai and shuriken filled the air and Asuma bellowed something that she couldn't understand. She had collapsed or had the ground rose to meet? She didn't know.
Darkness took over her mind and in a flash she saw a blurred image of someone standing over her. The person was fighting, she thought, and was being stabbed and slashed by a ray of darkness. The person...it was as if they were made of golden light and every time they were hurt liquid light flowed from their body. It was a beautiful, grisly display and she felt warm light spill into her face.
Ino woke up slowly. Her eyes were heavy and the smell of the ocean drifted into the room that she was in from the open wind. It was night but pale moonlight light everything in a beautiful glow.
"You're awake," Choji said from a chair across the room.
She had a dream. She could remember it clearly. The person made of light, the fighting, she shook her head as she tried to remember more.
"Ino."
She looked up to Choji and asked, "Wh-"
She stopped talking. She was in a room. She remembered being attacked in a forest clearing. So if she was in a comfortable bed and in a room with rather simple furnishings than that meant that Asuma had managed to fight off the enemy shinobi that had attacked them.
"Where are we, Choji?" she asked.
He looked at her for a second and nodded to himself as if he was satisfied that she was fine. He took a hand-full of chips and said as he chomped on them, "We're at Tazuna's house."
"So, Asuma-sensei won," she said as she continued to look around.
She saw Shikamaru in a second bed in the room. He was asleep, typical of the lazy Nara, and she grabbed a pillow to throw at him.
"Don't Ino," the Akimichi warned. "Shikamaru was hurt pretty badly during the attack and needs to rest. Hinata put some healing salve on his wounds but he still needs to sleep because of chakra exhaustion."
Ino looked at the sleeping Nara for a minute and asked, "Hinata? What happened, Choji?"
A grim look crossed his face and he answered, "Everything went downhill fast. You passed out due to the extreme killing intent and Asuma-sensei fought against all four of the enemy shinobi at once while Shikamaru and I tried to get to you. We were stopped by one of the enemy, which relieved Asuma-sensei only slightly, and eventually Shikamaru went to aid Asuma-sensei while I kept the shinobi we were fighting busy. He had pushed me all the way back to Tazuna before help arrived."
"Help?" Ino questioned.
The plump Genin nodded. "Squad 7 and 8 along with another Jonin. They just came rushing from the forest like warriors sent by Kami and took control of the battle. Squad 7's sensei, Kakashi, took on the guy with bandages on his face, Squad 8's sensei, Kurenai, fought against the woman, and the other Jonin, Yuri, attacked that smiling guy."
"What about the guy with the white-hair and trench coat?"
Choji took another handful of chips and said, "Naruto fought him."
"Naruto!" she said, shocked. "The dead last fought him?"
A deep frown appeared on Choji's face and Ino knew she had said something she shouldn't have. The Akimichi was the nicest person that Ino knew so when he got even the tiniest bit upset she knew that someone had cross the line.
"Naruto held him off for seven minutes until Sasuke could get past the water clones that the bandaged guy sent after us," he said seriously. "When Naruto finally got you back to us he was covered in blood and wounds but you hadn't been hurt in the slightest."
Her dream. Perhaps it wasn't as much a dream as it was her brain making sense of the confused signals her eyes were sending as she came in and out of consciousness. Naruto had saved her life...and she had called him a dead last.
"When Kurenai asked Naruto how he even managed to survive," he paused slightly to make a point and continued, "against his opponent he said that one of the katas of his taijutsu was created for fighting against stronger opponents. He called it the Gisei Sutansu, the sacrificial stance."
Ino didn't say anything as her mind slowly registered what Choji had said. Naruto had defended her against an enemy that he knew was stronger then him and he had done so using something called the sacrificial stance. Her heart dropped slightly and she felt an ache form in the pit of her stomach.
Choji watched her for a moment and said, "He's fine, Ino."
"Really?" she asked. "You said that he had been badly hurt."
"He was," he confirmed, "but Naruto appears to have a healing ability that accelerates his natural ability to extraordinary rates. Kiba asked if it was a kekkei genkai but Naruto said that it was more like a curse but he didn't explain what he meant. As it is, he's fine. Almost completely healed actually."
Ino nodded and made a note to ask Naruto about his healing ability later. Knowing that the blonde wasn't in mortal danger put Ino's heart at ease but she still had to thank him. She hadn't been the nicest person to the boy and if she was in his place she didn't know if she would have done the same. It chilled her to admit that to herself and she started to think about why she became a shinobi in the first place.
She shook her head and asked Choji, "How is Asuma-sensei?"
"Not the greatest but he will be fine," the plump boy answered. "He was easily the most injured of our group, then it would be Kakashi who took a few minor hits and is also suffering from chakra exhaustion, and the third would have been Naruto but since he's fine it is Shikamaru. Kurenai assured us that he would be fine though."
She put a hand to her head and rubbed her temple. "Where is everyone?"
"Well, we're here," he paused long enough to swat a pillow out of the air compliments of Ino and shot her a happy smile, "Kiba, Shino, and Hinata are sleeping in their room, Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura are in their room, and Kurenai, Asuma-sensei, Kakashi, and Yuri are in the kitchen talking about our situation."
"How does it look?"
He didn't say anything for a little bit and when he did the answer he gave her shot a spike of dread into her heart. "Not good."
-A Testament of Things that Never Will-
"All of the Genin are in their rooms," Kurenai said as she walked into the kitchen from the hallway that led to the rooms. "Choji is looking over Shikamaru and Ino and the others are sleeping already."
Asuma smiled from his place at the table. "Choji's to nice for his own good, but that's what makes him unique."
The young Sarutobi was covered in bandages and his wounds had been covered in a thick salve made by the Hyuga heiress. Apparently many herbs grew in the area that could be used to create healing slaves and the young girl had instructed Kurenai's team in harvesting the herbs for use.
"One can only hope that that kindness doesn't hurt him in the future," Kakashi commented.
The silver-haired Jonin was also seated at the table and while he wasn't covered in as many bandages he looked like death was on his doorstep. He explained to Yuri on the trip to the house that his Sharingan eye took a great deal of chakra to use since he wasn't of Uchiha blood and the black-haired man only nodded as he scanned the forest.
Kurenai sat down and thanked Tsunami, the old bridge-builder's daughter, who set down a cup of steaming tea in front of the red-eyed beauty.
"No, thank you," the woman replied. "If it wasn't for you and the rest my otou-san would be dead right now."
An old man bowed at the head of the table and said, "Thank you very much."
"Mah mah," Kakashi said. He made to wave his hand but when it didn't move he gave it an angry look. "We were in the area and decided to give a helping hand, that's all."
Kurenai taped the back of the silver-haired Jonin's head with two fingers and said, "The Hokage sent us as reinforcements when he received a message about Asuma's team engaging enemy shinobi." She gave the young Sarutobi a look and said, "I mean no offense to Tazuna or Tsunami but...why didn't you turn back, Asuma? Not only that but why did you take the mission in the first place? Your Genin have only been out the Academy for about two months, that isn't enough time for any squad to be ready for a C-rank mission."
Asuma leaned back and said, "I figured that if it was just bandits they could handle themselves and if anything happened I could deal with it. There wasn't supposed to be enemy shinobi."
Tazuna bowed his head and took another gulp of his sake.
"It doesn't matter what information you were provided," Kurenai said sternly, "it doesn't change the fact that your squad wasn't ready for a C-rank mission and you still took it. To take this mission was an act of comple-"
Asuma was saved from further verbal assault when Yuri entered the house. The black-haired man looked around, aware of the tension radiating off the red-eyed kunoichi, and said, "You can finish crucifying Sarutobi-san later, for now we need to think of a plan."
Kakashi nodded as best he could and said, "Agreed."
Kurenai sent a final glare at Asuma and said, "That guy with the bandages on his face was Zabuza Momochi. He was one of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist before he attempted a coup. The Bingo Book says that he failed and fled the country with several others who had helped him."
"Zabuza is the strongest of the enemy shinobi that we have to deal with," Kakashi said. "He is fast, strong, and has a medium supply of chakra from what I saw."
"But," Asuma commented, "he is arrogant as evidence by the fact that he didn't just attack Tazuna when he and the rest of them were fighting me. He wanted to kill me before he killed the bridge-builder."
Kakashi hummed and said, "As it stands, he is injured and I don't think they will attack until he is better. He is the strongest of them and they don't know how many of us aren't in fighting shape so I speculate that we have about a week before we should start being concerned."
"As for Zabuza's friends," Asuma said, "the woman with the red kimono is skilled at ninjutsu. Jonin level at least and the guy who wore the trench coat relied on kenjutsu but is only at the skill of mid-Chunin, so if one of us can make quick work of him then that would open up some possibilities."
"They would never give us the chance so it will be up to our Genin to take him down," Yuri muttered. "The one in the white mask is fast and I'd place him at about low-Jonin. The guy who kept smiling is a different matter however."
Kurenai tilted her head and asked, "What do you mean?"
Yuri shook his head slowly and explained, "The man uses killing intent in ways that I didn't think possible, it has to be a kekkei genkai. Yuhi-san would be best suited to fight him."
"Me?"
"The way he manipulates his killing intent causes genjutsu like effects. I've experienced my fair share of killing intent but even then that man was still able to make me see things that weren't there and caused my breathing to tighten. You would be best against him, Yuhi-san, because you are the best at genjutsu of all of us here. Honestly, I suck at it and prefer to not fight that man again. My skills would be better set against Zabuza or the woman."
The silver-haired Jonin shifted in his chair. "We'll figure out who will fight who as the week progresses," he said. "For now, our Genin are not ready for this type of mission but we can't send them back to Konoha since we don't know where the enemy is. We could very well send them right to the jaws of the beast without even knowing and we can't send one of us Jonin either."
Kurenai pressed her lips together and said, "We don't have a choice then but what can we do to keep them safe?"
"It isn't a matter of keeping them safe but preparing them as best we can," Yuri said. "They are shinobi and facing death is something that they will do for the rest of their lives."
"You would have them fight?" the female Jonin asked with venom in her voice. "You saw what happened to Naruto and he was fighting the weakest of them. If they fight-," she stopped. "You would have them die to even the odds."
Yuri looked calmly at Kurenai. She was just like the Kurenai he had briefly known. She was brave, smart, and ferociously protective of people she cared about. He must have become lost in thought because Asuma had sent the red-eyed woman a withering glare.
"He never said that Kurenai!" he barked with anger.
Kurenai, eyes wide at the insult she had unintentionally done, leaned back in her chair and Yuri rose a hand. "Peace, you two. Yuhi-san is only concerned about the Genin's well-being and that isn't something to be scolded. I apologize if I sounded unkind with my words, Yuhi-san, but the fact of the matter is that the enemy won't be so kind as to leave the Genin out of this. They know that they are our weakest components and that one of us would have to support them if they were attacked. I only suggest that we prepare them as much as we can with the time available, that way they can have at least a fighting chance."
Asuma muttered a quick sorry to the female Jonin and said, "Yuri is right. We need to train the Genin for the coming battle. I don't like it but they will most likely be pulled into the fighting, one way or another."
"We should avoid that as much as possible but prepare for it as well," Kakashi said. "Asuma and I are in no condition to train our Genin so I would like Kurenai and Yuri to train them."
"I'll leave a kage bunshin and take a few to the bridge while Tazna works," Yuri replied. He looked at the old man and said, "I hope it won't be a bother to have a few of our Genin training near the bridge."
Tazuna shook his head. "No, won't bother us none. Might even raise our spirits, seeing the young shinobi training so hard to protect us."
"Alright," the silver-haired Jonin said. "Kurenai will train some Genin here with the aid of Yuri's clone and Yuri himself will go to the bridge with one or two to do more individual based training."
"Individual based?" Asuma asked.
Kakashi nodded as best he could. "Yuri is exceptional at identifying and fixing weaknesses in both the physical areas and also the mental ones too."
"You give me too much credit, Kakashi," Yuri muttered. "However, if that is how you wish to do it then I will comply." The man nodded again. "Very well, then I will take the first watch."
"And I'll take the second," Kurenai said.
Asuma grinned. "Good, I could use the rest."
-A Testament of Things that Never Will-
Kakashi watched his black-haired friend walk out of the front door of the house and knew that the man wouldn't waiver for a moment on his watch. He trusted the man and that wasn't something that Kakashi could say about many people.
He looked back at the rest of the people in the room when Asuma asked Tazuna and Tsunami to leave the room. When they were gone Kurenai and Asuma got serious looks in their eyes.
"Kakashi," Asuma said, his eyes back on the door. "Just who is Yuri?"
Kakashi sent the man a questioning look and asked, "What do you mean?"
Kurenai answered, "What he means is that there aren't many shinobi in Konoha that could participate in the battle that you two fought in. Not only that but all of the jutsu he used he did without any hand-seals. Besides me, he came out the least harmed and his wounds didn't even bother him. I saw him rip a kunai from his leg and it had to have gone down to the bone. There aren't many who can ignore that kind of pain."
"You think he might be ANBU," Kakashi concluded.
Asuma shook his head. "I don't know what he might be but he is too strong for me to not have heard of him before. Honestly, it's like he just came out of nowhere."
"I've thought that too until I asked Hokage-sama about it," Kakashi said. "There wasn't much that he could tell me due to the nature of the information on higher ranking shinobi but what he told me answered many of my questions."
"What did he tell you?" Kurenai asked.
The Jonin didn't answer for a few minutes. Finally, he said, "Yuri was an ANBU associated with the hunter-nin devision. Just by him being connected with the hunter-nin his information is considered an S-rank secret since it wouldn't do to have missing-nin, enemy shinobi, or even allies know who it is that is or might end up hunting them. He spent a few years as a hunter and eventually was pulled from the force when he failed an S-rank mission. He was returned back to the ranks of regular Jonin and allowed a month of leave. He is going to be staying as a Jonin but if his skills are ever needed Hokage-sama will bring him back into the fold until he has finished his assignment."
"That," Asuma said slowly, "explains that. No wonder I've never heard of him. An old hunter-nin...Damn."
Kurenai looked at the door and said, "I thought he seemed a little hard to get to know but now I understand. It's become a habit for him to not associate with other shinobi just incase he ends up hunting them."
"Exactly," Kakashi said. "I've connected to him so quickly because we are both habitually suspicious of others and instead of that magnifying between us it actually made us more comfortable with each other. You might not trust him but you do trust me and I can tell you that Yuri would die to protect any of us. That's just the kind of guy he is."
-A Testament of Things that Never Will-
The moonlight made the forest glow a pale blue and Yuri would have liked to have just been able to watch it but he was on guard and that meant being alert to everything that was around him. He looked to the front of the house and saw Kurenai exit the house. She looked up at him and he waved. She jumped up to him and took a set, not next to him but also not far. It was a distance of someone who didn't know where they stood with someone and it was understandable. While he trusted the woman with his life she barely knew his name.
"Beautiful night," the beauty commented.
He nodded. "It is."
A silence fell over the two and Yuri felt a tension coming from the female Jonin. After ten minutes Kurenai said, "I'm sorry for my accusation back there. It was unfair and made rashly."
"You care for your Genin," Yuri replied, "I cannot fault you for that. You don't know me and as such you immediately assumed the worst and I can't say I wouldn't have done the same in your position."
"Would you just take my apology?" she stated.
He glanced quickly at her and said, "If it means that much to you, you're forgiven." He looked back to the forest. "You fought well."
"As did you. If you hadn't come with us I'm not sure we would have survived that battle."
"You give me too much credit and yourself too little," he said. "You're a damn fine shinobi, Yuhi-san. Let none tell you otherwise."
The two went quiet again and this time it was a calm silence. The two didn't break it for some time and it was a welcome difference to the previous days of hard travel.
"You will be helping with the training?" Kurenai asked.
Yuri nodded and knew that she hadn't asked the question because she didn't know but because she wanted to ask him about something and that was the way she decided to bring it up.
She looked at him and asked, "Would you be against it if Hinata was the first one you gave individual training to? I would like it to just be her you take to the bridge as she can be very shy and it will be hard to do any sort of training with her when it is just you two not including how shy she would be if others were around."
"Any special reason?" he asked.
Her answer didn't surprise him. "She has no self-confidence," she said. "It comes from her family situation and-"
"Stop." She opened her mouth to protest and he continued, "I want to hear it from Hyuga-san's mouth. I will take her to the bridge first but anything that is wrong I want to find out from her. I've already gotten a small look at her insecurity from how she acted during the journey here and if it is a large enough concern that you've brought it up then it must be worse than I think." He looked at her and said seriously, "Are you sure you want me to address these issues? I'm far from gentle, Yuhi-san, and I might hurt her more than help her."
"I don't believe that," Kurenai said. "Only a gentle person would help out an exhausted child with no hesitation or irritation."
He smirked. "You don't know me."
"You're right I don't," she agreed, "but I know what I've seen and you, Yuri Karasu, are a good and gentle person. Now, go to bed. It is my watch."
He stared at her longer than was considered appropriate as his mind tried to make sense of what the raven-haired woman said. Kurenai, his timeline's Kurenai, had told him that he was kind and gentle as well. She told him that they were his best qualities. He shook his head slightly and rose to his feet. Just before he went off to rest he whispered, "Thank you."
-A Testament of Things that Never Will-
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