Chapter 3.
Kasai had once again been kicked out of kunoichi training and headed towards the woods, hoping to get some training in before returning to the academy. The Uchiha compound was too far away so she decided to wander around to settle her mind. She was walking along the faded path, lost in her thoughts. The light filtered through the dark green leaves of the trees, giving enough light to see without being too bright. Animals moved, making leaves rustle, and birds chirped to each other. This was where Kasai was the most comfortable. Whenever she was tired she came to the forest; she always had. The peace wrapped around her, sweeping her worries away as simply as the wind ruffles the leaves.
She wasn't paying attention where she was watching when she tripped over a rock. Kasai fell into the thicket to her right. Thorns scratched her arms and face and when she landed she sprained her wrist. "Ow," she mumbled, standing up and rubbing her head.
When she looked up her sky blue eyes widened in surprise. In front of her was an old, rickety building. The wood was weathered and rotting and the glass was broken. Curiosity got the best of her and she headed up the creaking steps. She turned the rusted handle and was surprised when the door opened soundlessly. The hair on the back of her neck stood up a bit when she stared at the black expanse before her. She cautiously slid one foot forward, hand reaching for her kunai. Her hand searched the wall to her right for some king of switch or light source. Finding one, she flipped the light switch.
Her mouth fell open in amazement. The inside was a far cry from what the outside suggested. Everything was in perfect condition aside from a coating of dust. There was a table in the center of the room with a large chair like the one in the Hokage's office. The table had a couple books on it as well as opened notebooks and a few trinkets here and there. There was a picture that couldn't be made out due to the dust covering it underneath the lamp at right side of the table. There were bookshelves lining the walls that were stocked full of books, some old and fraying, some new, and many that were handwritten. There was a small kitchenette through a door to the left of the research room, and a door leading to a small bedroom towards the back. Kasai hesitantly looked around, keeping her kunai ready. Once she had determined that no one was around and that no one had been there in a while, she put the kunai away. Curiosity got the better of her and she went to the bookcase. Brushing some of the dust off of the spines of a few books, she was once again surprised. The books were about fuinjutsu. Glancing around once more, Kasai grabbed one of the notebooks and cracked it open. There were all kinds of seal designs written. Some were scratched out and others had notes scribbled all around them. The handwriting was beautiful, Kasai noted. The designs seemed very intricate and complicated.
After putting the notebook away, Kasai looked around once more. This must have been where a master fuinjutsu user kept their research. Kasai slowly left the room and thought. She was very interested in fuinjutsu, and obviously whoever had owned this place had abandoned it or could not return to it. She glanced back once more. Now that she knew what the inside was like, she could easily tell that the rickety old shack she was seeing was only a genjutsu. After debating Kasai headed back the way she came, making nondescript markings so that she could easily navigate her way back. If such an amazing source of knowledge was open to her, she was going to take full advantage of it. Of course, she would need to fix it up some. Sunday was when she had her afternoon off so she would do it then. Any supplies she needed that she didn't have she could just snitch, and really the main problem with the place was the years of dust covering everything.
She reached the academy and settled into a seat next to Naruto just as the bell rang. The teacher wasn't there yet so she turned to her twin. "Hey, Naru," she murmured, giving him the smile that was reserved especially for him.
"Kasai, I met some really cool guys!" Naruto exclaimed to her. "When you're in kunoichi lessons we skip class together," Naruto continued to tell her about the three for a few more minutes until the sensei walked in.
Kasai examined him carefully. He was young, with brown spiky hair in a ponytail, brown eyes that expressed his emotions, a scar over his nose, and a somewhat nervous appearance. He took a deep breath before letting it out and smiling. "Hi there, I'm Iruka Umino. I'll be your new instructor from now on."
There were cheerful hello's all around and he smiled more cheerfully at everyone. When his eyes settled on her and Naruto she saw that his smile became more strained. Kasai's eyes narrowed at him and she let out another sigh. It seemed this teacher would be no better than any others. Throughout the class Kasai zoned out. Uninterested in learning anything this teacher had to say. "Kasai-san, can you tell me what the Five Great Nations are?" Iruka asked.
Kasai looked at him from the corner of the eye completely bored. "Yes," she said without elaborating.
"Would you please tell me?" he asked, smiling that fake smile that Kasai hated.
"As the teacher shouldn't you know?" she responded, knowing that if any of her guardians had heard her she would have been skinned alive.
Instead of giving he a response he moved his gaze onto Sakura Haruno and asked her the same question. "Konoha, Suna, Iwa, Kumo, and…." She trailed off, blushing and glancing around.
Kasai had no problems with the pink haired girl, actually quite liking her for how smart she was. Occasionally they would talk in school, but not often seeing as Kasai didn't want Sakura to get in trouble for playing with "the demon" of the village. So, seeing her struggling, Kasai had no qualms helping her out. "Mah, Naruto, I could really use some water," she said loudly, emphasizing water.
"Sakura-san?" he asked, again ignoring the Uzumaki twins.
"And Mizu," Sakura finished, sending a discrete, thankful glance to Kasai who returned it with a small grin.
Kasai watched Naruto try to get kicked out of the class by being disruptive, but the whole time he was ignored. After giving a sarcastic answer to every question Iruka asked, he learned to not ask her anything. Glancing at the time and seeing it was almost time to leave, Kasai heaved a sigh. As soon as the bell rang she bolted from the classroom, barely giving Naruto the customary kiss on the cheek, before speeding to her sensei. Insults and abuse she could handle, but the one thing she hated more than anything was being ignored.
When Kasai showed up to practice Ayumo immediately knew something was wrong. "Kasai?" he questioned.
After almost half an hour of her not saying anything she suddenly exploded. "I hate my new teacher! What kind of teacher ignores his students? He's just as bad as anyone else in this stupid village."
"Kasai," Ayumo chastised frowning, "that's not something you should say."
"It's true!" she started crying. "What has this village ever done for me besides making my brother and I miserable?"
Ayumo felt a small sting at that, but pulled her into a hug and hushed her. Sometimes it was hard to remember that she was only a child and would handle things the way a child would. "I have something that will cheer you up," he told her, starting to head off towards the Uchiha's housing district.
He slowly approached the head household, holding Kasai's hand as he did. The woman he was looking for was actually outside with her son and his cousin. The lovely woman had blue-black hair that fell in a satiny curtain to her waist, kind onyx eyes, and a sweet demeanor. She was Kasai's favorite woman and often enough she saw Mikoto as a mother figure. Itachi was standing with another Uchiha with the standard Uchiha looks, despite the beaming smile on his face. "Mikoto-sama," he called.
She looked up with a smile about to give the two a warm greeting when she noticed how Kasai was practically clinging to his hand. Itachi also noted the odd behavior of the girl and frowned minutely. Shisui stared curiously at the two. Knowing Ayumo from missions together and he assumed the child was the Kasai that many of the clan were speaking of due to her definitely not Uchiha attributes. "Kasai-chan?" Mikoto questioned worriedly in her sweet voice. "Are you alright, honey?"
Kasai gave a small nod, unwilling to say anything for fear of crying some more. It was embarrassing enough that her sensei had seen her crying, no way would she let anyone else see that side of her. Not even Naru. Itachi immediately knew she had been crying from the puffy red eyes that were hardly noticeable. "Ne, Kasai, do you know Shisui?" he asked suddenly, diverting any more questions his mother might have.
Kasai glanced at the male beside the young anbu. He was a couple years older with the signature black hair and eyes of the Uchiha clan. The thing that really made him stand out was his completely expressive personality that was so different from his clan. She had seen him around the compound a few times, but had never spoken to him. "Hello, Shisui-san," she said bowing in greeting.
"Uzumaki-san," Shisui greeted back cheerfully, grinning a bit when Kasai's shoulders slumped a bit in relief.
"What brings you here Ayumo-san?" Itachi asked, genuinely curious.
"Ah, Mikoto-sama has offered to teach Kasai what she's not learning in kunoichi lessons," Ayumo explained surprising everyone except Kasai.
"Mother?" Itachi said softly; asking his question without actually asking.
"When I heard about poor Kasai-chan being unable to excel in her lessons I offered to assist her," Mikoto knelt down in front of the girl. "After all, how else could I repay her for all that's she's done?"
Kasai didn't mention that she had an idea on the best way to repay her for whatever she'd done for them, instead she blushed and ducked her head. "What do you mean, Mikoto-sama?"
Mikoto giggled and glanced at Itachi. "Well, Itachi-kun's been taking a few less missions and has been spending more time with Sasuke and I. The clan also seems to have brightened up quite a bit."
"Mom!" a black, blue, and white blur yelled tackling her in a hug.
Kasai blinked in shock to see Sasuke Uchiha acting like a child in front of so many people. She almost couldn't hold in a giggle. Sasuke glanced up and stared at her in surprise. "What are you doing here, Uzumaki?" he spat.
"Sasuke!" Mikoto reprimanded, watching Kasai anxiously.
Kasai just rolled her eyes. "I don't see how that's any of your business, Uchiha-chan."
Sasuke turned red and glared at her. "This is my home, Orokana."
At that Kasai couldn't withhold a giggle. "Glad to see you, too, Sasuke."
They both started laughing, leaving the adults confused. "Mah, did you get the homework?" Sasuke asked her.
"Mm," she nodded in the affirmative. "Work on it together later?" she asked.
"Yeah," he said cheerfully.
After the first time they had met, Sasuke had sought her out at school. They had talked a bit in the library, sometimes sparred before classes started, and often worked on their homework together so that they had more time for other things. They had become sort of friends after a while. "Sorry for leaving you earlier, Sasu-chan. I wanted to get here quickly," Kasai explained.
"Kasai-chan, are you ready to begin lessons?" Mikoto decided to interject, eager to get to know the child more.
"What's going on, Kasai?" Sasuke whispered.
"Kunoichi lessons," she mumbled back. "We'll work on the homework afterwards, 'kay?"
He nodded and they fist bumped before she followed Mikoto to the garden behind the house. Itachi watched them walk away before turning to Ayumo. "Are you sure about that?" he questioned.
Ayumo chuckled while shaking his head. "Honestly, no, but Kasai needs kunoichi lessons and Mikoto-sama's the only one who will teach her without prejudice or hidden agendas."
Shisui noticed Sasuke's attentive stare and ruffled his hair. "Head on inside, Sasu-chan," he teased. "We'll be in in just a bit."
Sasuke pouted, but obeyed his favorite cousin. "Kasai is one of the nine-tails jinchuuriki," Itachi murmured. "If the Uchiha were to use her there would be no stopping them."
Ayumo shook his head and stared fondly after his student. "I'm not concerned. Mikoto and Kushina were close friends. Mikoto would never betray her friend like that. She cares for Kasai as if she were her own, after all."
Shisui nodded sagely at that. "Don't you remember when Kushina-nee was still around? We didn't just have one set of parents 'Tachi-chan. Kasai didn't get that, but Mikoto is determined for her to at least have one."
"Besides, if anyone were to do something like that to her, Kushina-sama would return from the grave," Ayumo said cracking a smile.
Itachi relaxed some with their reassurances. "There are still tensions between the village and the clan, but the clan doesn't seem to be as ready for blood," he said softly to the other two.
"I believe it might have to do with Kasai-chan," Shisui mused. "Ever since she started coming here, the clan has brightened up considerably. The other day I saw old man Sukuruji smiling and talking with her. He always hated us when we were her age."
"That's because you were a little devil," Ayumo said sagely making Shisui pout.
"Are you saying I'm not anymore?" he whined, almost making Itachi roll his eyes.
"I hope that soon things will be resolved completely," Itachi said quietly. "Minato-san would not like seeing what his village has become."
Kasai was listening to Mikoto tell her about what the different flowers stood for and explaining the importance of knowing them. Sometimes Kasai forgot that Mikoto used to be a ninja. Surprisingly, Mikoto made learning about the flowers more interesting than she thought it would be. Maybe she could convince Mikoto to start teaching at the academy. "Ne, Mikoto-sama, is it true that kunoichi are only there to assist? We're only good for distracting and medical ninjutsu?"
She heard a snap and looked up to see Mikoto smiling pleasantly, a kunai snapped in half in her hands. "Now, Kasai-chan, wherever did you hear that?"
Kasai could honestly say she was afraid of Mikoto. "Um, in the academy…" she trailed off.
Mikoto had a black aura around her and she could feel the killer intent radiating off of her. Her smile did nothing to hide the maniacal fury behind it. "Kasai-chan, whoever said that is quite stupid. Kunoichi are much more than that. My, what would Tsunade-hime say about such things being taught to the future kunoichi."
The way she said it left no doubt that she knew exactly what would happen and it wasn't pretty. "Tsunade of the Sannin?" Kasai questioned. "The slug princess?"
Mikoto paused and smiled softly at Kasai. "That's right. She was kind of like an aunt to me and one of my teammates back in the day."
Kasai's eyes sparkled in excitement. "Can you tell me about your team?"
Mikoto hesitated for a moment before nodding. "My team was pretty good. It was comprised of myself, a girl names Kushina, and a boy named Ren. Kushina and I were actually rivals at first. We competed constantly to see who was the better kunoichi. She was one of the kindest people I knew, but she had a fearsome temper. Ren was the calm one in our team. He was levelheaded and was always the one to keep the peace between us."
"Do you still see them?" Kasai asked, tilting her head to the side.
Mikoto's smile took on a more sorrowful appearance. "Well, no, Kasai-chan. Kushina died during the Kyuubi attack. Shortly before that, Ren became a missing nin, but I had already retired."
Kasai couldn't help but to frown. That just seemed so wrong. It didn't take long for a new question to pop into her head. "What did Ren-san do?"
Mikoto hesitated; wondering how much was too much to say. "Well… he attacked the Yondaime," Mikoto ignored Kasai's gasp at this, "Ren was in love with Kushina, but Kushina was in love with the Yondaime who also loved her. When he attacked, the Yondaime had him cornered and he barely escaped. No one's heard from him since."
The frown on Kasai's face deepened. "If you love someone you should want what's best for them even if it's not best for you. If Ren was willing to attack the person Kushina loved then he must not have loved her very much."
Surprise filled Mikoto at the young Uzumaki's words. Honestly it was hard to remember she was so young yet so wise. She didn't know where Kasai learned the things she knew, but it was somewhat puzzling when comparing her to her brother. "I think so, too, Kasai-chan."
After lessons, instead of immediately dashing off, Kasai hung around to do homework with Sasuke. "It's not that bad," he soothed when it came to math.
"You're right," Kasai mumbled. "It's from the devil. In fact, it was probably sent by the Kyuubi."
When she said that Kasai thought she heard a growl and glanced around quickly. Sasuke just laughed at the girl's misery. "Kasai, you understand this better than me probably," Sasuke finally said.
The four adults in the room were startled by this admission. "Well," Kasai sat up, a small frown on her face. "Jii jii said that next year Naru and I are supposed to take the exam."
Ayumo frowned at this admission. "I didn't know that, Kasai-chan."
Kasai simply shrugged. "It's not important. I don't think I'll pass anyways."
Sasuke couldn't help but scoff. "Of course you aren't. It's not like you've read all the books for the next few years or like you can already do a lot of the things the older kids can do or that you always ace any tests you take."
Kasai rolled her eyes. "It's never for certain what's on the exams; besides, if I don't get high scores on the test they probably won't pass me."
"Whatever," Sasuke sulked, making Kasai laugh.
"You know my clones suck, Sasu-chibi," she said, pouting at the truth of the matter. No matter how much she worked, her clones were always a bust.
Sasuke rolled his eyes. "Because you have way too much chakra."
"I can't help it!" Kasai exclaimed.
Sasuke threw his pencil at her. "How do you do this problem, Kasai?"
Kasai briefly glanced at it and scribbled how to set the problem up in his book in less than thirty seconds. Sasuke pouted. "Seriously… all you do is that?"
Kasai just nodded and returned to her own homework. As soon as she had finished the last problem, she closed her book. With a sigh she stood up. "Ok, Sasu-chibi, it's time for me to leave. I'm sure Naruto is going to be causing some kind of havoc by now."
The two children frowned, confusing the adults. How much trouble could one child cause? "I bet he's pulled some prank on one of the clans," Sasuke said wisely.
Kasai tsked. "I don't doubt it. Probably the Inuzukas again."
Sasuke nodded and crossed his arms. "Better hurry before they catch him."
With a groan, the sunny child bowed to the adults. "See you tomorrow, Sensei!" and with that she rushed off to find her troublemaking brother.
The next day she was once again kicked out of kunoichi lessons. Instead of randomly wandering around, she grabbed the cleaning supplies she had stashed in the nearby woods and headed to the shack in the woods she had found. It was easy to find with the markings she had left. Once there she immediately opened the doors and windows and began dusting. It took a majority of her time to just do that. There were inches upon inches of dust covering every surface in the building. The mattress in the other room was a hopeless cause so Kasai tossed it out. She could just bring one that one of the rich clans tossed out if need be. Once she was done fixing it up she didn't have time for anything else and rushed back to the academy. Iruka once again ignored her and Naruto, successfully darkening her mood. She didn't think it could get any worse until an anbu appeared in the classroom. "The Hokage wishes to see Kasai Uzumaki. Immediately."
Kasai frowned at the man in front of her. The Hokage didn't usually pull her out of class. With a shrug Kasai stood, kissed Naruto's cheek, and walked towards the anbu. He pivoted and ghosted out of the room. Outside she stopped. This anbu was weird. Normally they would disappear, this one stayed in plain view and started walking towards the village, whereas normal anbu knew that she tended to take to the woods. Instantly she flared her chakra. She released so much chakra that the ground around her cracked a little. The faux anbu flashed to her side and reached for a pressure point to knock her out when he was kicked aside. A red-eyed glare met the masked assailant when he faced him. "Shisui-san," Kasai said in surprise.
"Hey, Kasai-chan," he said cheerfully, not once looking away from the attacker.
"You were fast, Shisui," a monotone voice came from behind the masked man.
He glanced behind him to see the infamous Itachi Uchiha. "Indeed, I must thank you for getting to my dear student in time," Ayumo lazily said from the side, leaning against the tree trunk.
Despite their lazy postures, their blazing sharingan showed the rage they all felt. Kasai had become an integral part of their life. Anyone who tried to harm her was just looking for a slow, painful death. "Shisui, would you mind getting Kasai out of here?" Ayumo asked.
After glaring at the masked nin for a moment longer, Shisui scooped Kasai up. "Let's go, Kasai-chan."
With that, Shisui shunshined them out of there and to the Hokage's tower. The Hokage looked up from his paperwork, startled. "Shisui?" he questioned, frowning when he saw Kasai. "What's the matter?"
"A masked person attempted to kidnap Kasai Uzumaki," Shisui stated, completely professionally.
Kasai rolled her eyes and got out of his arms. "I'm fine, Jii jii. Nothing actually happened. Do I need to stay here or may I leave?"
The Hokage shook his head. "Kasai, something serious could have happened. As it is, the man who attempted to kidnap you is still out there. You need to stay here until he is apprehended and we are certain that no others are involved."
"I was afraid you would say that," Kasai said with a sigh causing the two men to chuckle despite the situation.
"I'm sure Itachi-chan and Ayumo-san will handle him quickly. After all, someone tried to touch our dear chibi-chan," at this Shisui's aura got dark and his smile seemed more menacing causing Kasai to shiver. She pitied the poor soul that would have to face the three Uchiha males that she had become so close to.
"If Itachi-san hears you call him that he'll murder you," Kasai said nonchalantly making the Hokage sweatdrop.
"Hokage-sama, would it be alright if I take Kasai to the Uchiha compound?" Shisui asked. "I'm sure she'll get bored rather fast if she has to wait here and I could go ahead and start helping her with her ninja skills."
Sarutobi lit his pipe while thinking. Sighing, he gave his assent. "Just be careful, Shisui."
Shisui flashed the Hokage a grin and scooped the petite girl up. "Well, later, Hokage-sama," he shunshined to the Uchiha compound.
Once Kasai's feet touched the ground she was immediately on him. Shisui sweatdropped at the blonde haired chibi that was suddenly in his face. "Shisui, you have to teach me that!"
"Um, no. Maybe when you're older," Shisui said, holding his hands up, hoping to placate her.
Cerulean eyes narrowed. "No, Shisui-san. I need to learn it now. What if something happened like earlier? What if no one was around to help me? I can't always fight back and win. I need a backup plan."
Shisui frowned in thought. She really had a good point, but it was still a fairly advanced technique. Despite his face being rather blank she could see the war in his eyes. She could also see she was losing. Making a snap decision that was not entirely fair, Kasai made her eyes water and she pouted up at him. Shisui flinched as he stared into the watery blue eyes, the light blush, the ultra adorable pout. Despite being an anbu ranked shinobi, Kasai's pout was something he couldn't defend against. When the tears dripped down from her glistening eyes Shisui scooped her up. He could feel some glares from a few of the clans people. "Of course I'll teach you, Kasai-chan."
A smirk quickly replaced the tears and she gave him a wicked grin. "Why, thank you, Shisui-san."
Onyx eyes narrowed at the devious little fox. "Why you little… that's cheating."
"Ninja's fight dirty," Kasai sassed back.
After being taught the basics of the shunshin, Kasai went back to the building she had found. It really was a great place and it had a ton of information on fuinjutsu. She was reading a beginner book that was showing what each symbol meant and how to put them together. Kasai was loving the benefits of fuinjutsu. She was so ready to begin actually using it. Kasai's brow furrowed in confusion. The book was talking about how the Uzumakis were the best at fuinjutsu. Kasai didn't know that there were any other Uzumakis besides her and Naruto. Kasai decided more research was in order. Tomorrow she would go to the library.
When the sun started setting, Kasai left the building and headed towards Ichiraku's, she and Naruto had decided to eat there. It had been awhile since they had seen Teuchi and Ayame. "Kas!" Naruto yelled when he saw her.
A blush bloomed across her cheeks at his loud yelling and she hurried over to him. "Geez, Naru, you don't have to yell," she murmured.
Naruto just laughed. Loudly. Teuchi looked up as the two entered his stand. "My favorite customers!" he greeted them with a large smile. "How've you two been?"
"We've been well, Teuchi-jii jii," Kasai said giving him her real smile.
"How's the academy treating you?" he asked.
"It's good," Kasai responded while Naruto drooled over the ramen. "We work a lot."
Teuchi chuckled at that. "I bet. The regular?" he asked.
"Yeah!" Naruto yelled, shaking from anticipation.
Kasai laughed at her brother and both Teuchi and Ayame paused what they were doing to enjoy the sound. "Tell me about your lessons," Ayame leaned on the counter in front of the two.
"Well, we could be graduating next year," Kasai said. "Hokage-jii jii is letting us take the exam. Lessons are hard. I don't always understand and my taijutsu is seriously lacking. Ayumo-sensei is helping me with that though."
"Ayumo-sensei?" Ayame asked, having never heard of him.
"Yeah, I go see him in the Uchiha compound a lot," Kasai said cheerfully.
Ayame paused for a second, concerned for Kasai. The Uchiha weren't always the friendliest and they might have had a hand in the Kyuubi attack. Looking at the way Kasai was smiling, Ayame let it go. She trusted the child's judgment. After all, children can see people's intentions better than adults. "Alright! Here you go," Ayame said cheerfully, placing the ramen bowls in front of the two children. "So, what do you think about becoming shinobi?"
Kasai gave a small smile. "I'm ready for it. I've been studying hard so that I can pass."
Ayame wasn't sure how to feel about Kasai's change of heart. On the one hand she was happy that Kasai seemed to be enjoying it and even looking forward to becoming a proud shinobi of the leaf. On the other though, she was worried about the girl. Shinobi led dangerous lives and Kasai was so young! "Well, as long as you're ready for it."
Kasai positively beamed up at Ayame. "More than anything, Ayame-nee! I'm ready to be a ninja like Shisui-san, Itachi-san, and Ayumo-sensei," she said with a determined glint in her eye.
"Oi, Kasai, who are those people?" Naruto asked with a frown and puffed up cheeks.
Rolling her eyes, Kasai flicked her brother's forehead. "The Uchihas, Naru."
Naruto paused and then nodded in recognition. He often forgot anyone his sister spent time with besides him. They never really talked about other people when they were together. Usually they trained, played, or vented the day's problems. "Yeah, what are we doing tomorrow? We don't have to go to the academy."
"I need to go to the library. After that I have most of the day to hangout," Kasai replied. She had to go to some training, and she really wanted to go back to the building in the woods, but she hadn't been spending enough time with her twin and she missed him.
Once Naruto finished eating Kasai placed the money on the counter and hopped down from the stool. Naruto flashed his sunny smile, grabbed her arm, and promptly ran off, dragging his poor twin behind him. "Naruto!" Kasai cried after awhile.
Naruto let her go and spun around with his arms outstretched. "Ne, ne, what do you want to do, Kas?"
"Let's go to the training grounds," Kasai offered and after a moment Naruto agreed.
"I want to show you how awesome I've gotten!" he shouted, running off full speed ahead.
Kasai couldn't resist the need to face palm before sighing and taking off after him. Her ditzy brother was a handful, but she wouldn't trade him for the world.
It had taken awhile, but now the base she had found in the forest was fixed up nicely. She had even managed to stock it with some food and she had managed to grasp the basics of Fuuinjutsu. She had been able to make a storage scroll that now carried her reading materials wherever she went. It had taken a few tries, but she had managed it. Now she was attempting to make a silencing seal. Not only had she improved in seals, but with Mikoto's help she caught up on what she had missed in her kunoichi lessons, and she had increased her speed to where she could outstrip most chunin easily. Outside of her normal training, Kasai had taken to researching what she could about the Uzumaki clan, always with the cover of a henge, and never with much success. Whatever there was to know about the clan had been erased to the fact that they were from a village called Uzushio and had once been great allies of Konoha before the third great shinobi war. She discovered that the whirlpool on the back of the flack jackets was the Uzumaki symbol that they wore to honor the village.
She had entertained the thought of asking someone, but figured if no one was willing to tell her that she and her brother were from a clan, a pretty impressive clan at that, then they wouldn't be willing to tell her anything else. So, she would just have to wait and research. Maybe one day she would even be able to go to the village and discover more about her heritage. At the moment, she was working on creating a new fighting style. It was a lot of work because she didn't know much beyond the standard academy style, the Uchiha style, and the basics she had seen from the other clan children at the academy. She had gotten the idea when Mikoto told her that she had used her own variation of the Uchiha fighting style when she was still a kunoichi. Kasai was managing to make some progress, but she still couldn't get things to flow properly.
A strange sensation made Kasai stop what she was doing and be on high alert. Someone was near her, and while she couldn't tell where they were, she knew that they were not friendly towards her. When three cloaked figures surrounded her, Kasai already had thrown her shuriken, managing to hit one in the leg. Not waiting to see what they wanted, Kasai took off, cursing the fact that Ayumo-sensei had not let her have any control of her seals. Even with them on she was extremely fast, just a blur to the eyes. The forest was a place that Kasai knew better than most people. She didn't see the ninja wire that was set up until she had sprung the trap. She avoided most of the kunai that were launched at her, but one nicked her left hip and another managed to stab her right shoulder. Kasai fell with a whimper and rolled. Before she could rise the figures were there. "So, this is the child we were sent to get rid of," one of the figures said.
Moving carefully, trying not to give anything away, Kasai reached into her kunai pouch. She barely had time to block or avoid the barrage of sharp, pointy objects that came at her. There were at least six figures and they all seemed to be around or above Itachi's level. Without further hesitation they attacked. Kasai did good to avoid a number of hits, and managed to take others without taking too much damage. Her run of luck only lasted so long before she messed up badly and three different jutsu hit her. Kasai was thrown back and laid on the ground, unable to move. Her vision was fading, at least one rib was broken, one of the earth spikes had punctured her lung, and the blood loss had gotten to her. "That was too easy," one of the people said.
Kasai barely had the presence of mind to notice that the enemies had disappeared. Honestly, everything just hurt so bad and her eyelids felt so heavy and it was getting harder and harder to stay awake…
Dull blue eyes flashed open and the tiny body jumped into a ready stance. She was in a sewer and ankle deep in water. After giving a cursory look to the room, Kasai began to move further in. She wasn't sure where she was, and sure, in an unfamiliar place it would be better to stay in one spot so she could be found, but she got the sense that no matter what she did it wouldn't matter. She could sense a strange and yet familiar presence ahead of her. She didn't quite understand it, but she was curious about the familiarity of it. After walking for a bit, she saw a giant cage that was shrouded in darkness. Inquisitive eyes searched the blackness of the prison in front of her. Just as she had determined that nothing was there and that she was just going crazy, two blazing red eyes opened.
Kasai could barely withhold the flinch from surprise and still withdrew into herself a little. "So…" an ancient, malicious voice growled out. "My jailor has deemed to grace me with her presence."
Blue eyes widened as the orange figure came into view. A towering fox was in her view. Compared to him, Kasai was an ant. A thrill of fear went through Kasai. The appearance of nine tails only made it worse. "Kyuubi…." Kasai whispered, barely breathing. "But you're… you're supposed to be… The Yondaime killed you…"
The fox watched the child in front of him, sensing her fear and getting a sadistic pleasure out of it. Her mumblings amused him and he released a chuckle. "The fourth couldn't kill me. The tailed beasts are creatures of pure chakra. The most anyone can do is seal us away."
Kasai's breath caught at the knowledge. Her mind flew through everything she knew about sealing before reaching her conclusion. The Kyuubi had been sealed inside her. It explained so much. Why they were hated, why she had such insane chakra levels, everything. But wait, if the Kyuubi was what caused her high chakra levels…. Then Naruto's would also have to be… "So, the Yondaime split your chakra between my brother and myself," Kasai said in a level voice, appearing to be totally calm even as her mind raged tumultuously.
The Kyuubi stared at the child, distantly impressed that she had caught that not only was he sealed in her, but her brother as well. "Indeed."
"Why?" Kasai asked, looking up at the beast, refusing to be angry without knowing all the facts.
The Kyuubi studied the child before him, feeling a distant sense of curiosity, as all he felt from the child was sadness and confusion. There was no anger or fear, just a glimmer of understanding that came with bad news. "Why were you and your brother chosen to be my jailor?" he clarified.
"Yes. Why were you split between us? Why did you attack in the first place? Why are my brother and I treated like we are? Why have you just now chosen to speak to me?"
"The Yondaime had his reasons for choosing you. It would be easier for the container and harder for me to take over if I was split between the two of you. That's none of your business, brat. The villagers aren't the brightest I've seen. It wasn't my decision. My guess is that you're about to die."
At this information Kasai's brain short circuited. "I'm what?! But how?! Why didn't you say something!"
The Kyuubi watched the child run around, attempting to figure out what happened. "I guess that you'll die from blood loss in the next few minutes."
This caused Kasai to whip around and stare at the beast in front of her. "But if I die wouldn't you die as well?" she paused, "Stupid question. Naruto. You're chakra would just join the rest that's in Naruto, most likely overwhelming him or killing him."
The way she said it was purely analytical, but her eyes and scent revealed the fear and turmoil she was experiencing. After another moment, she looked up at the beast. "Don't hurt my brother."
The fox raised one great eyebrow. "You're not asking for me to save you?"
"Why should I? I expected to die. I wasn't expecting my brother to be placed in danger by my death."
A chuckle emerged from the fox. "I see…" and then a moment later, "unfortunately, I find you to be amusing. Discarding a perfectly good toy has never made sense. My chakra is already working to heal you and replenish the blood lost. I expect you'll wake up in the hospital. Now go."
Kasai was thrown out of the seal and into a wall of darkness.
Waking up in the hospital was absolutely no fun. Kasai had immediately decided this when she opened her eyes to the blinding white room. Everything felt off and she was disoriented. She didn't even know there were other people in the room until a gentle hand landed on her shoulder. Kasai was crouched on the other side of the room in a flash. Terrified blue eyes stared wildly at the group of people across from her. It took awhile for her to focus on them. Ayumo stood with his hand still in the air where it had rested on her shoulder, Itachi and Shisui were calmly watching her, and Mikoto had a hand on one of both Sasuke's and Naruto's shoulders. "Kas?" Naruto asked softly.
The sound of her brother's voice immediately grabbed her attention and she fell to her knees, releasing a relieved breath. She was alive and her brother was fine. Kasai tried to feel the Kyuubi's chakra and almost sobbed when she faintly found it. Her brother didn't have to be the jinchuuriki alone. "Naru," she sobbed.
Naruto didn't hesitate to come to his sister's side. Kasai flung her arms around his neck and sobbed. Naruto gently hushed her and held her. "I'm sorry, but could you please come back later? And ask someone to let the Hokage know that my sister's awake?" Naruto asked the Uchihas.
"Of course, Naruto," Mikoto agreed, dragging her reluctant clan members out of the room. "You give that girl space, understood?"
The boys quickly agreed.
Back inside the room Kasai was calming down. "What happened?" Naruto finally asked.
"I… I was walking… and they came out of nowhere… I was scared, Naruto. I was terrified."
He held her even more tightly. Kasai never admitted if she was scared. Kasai was always serious and ready to face anything. It was almost inconceivable to hear his baby sister say such a thing. And that was it, wasn't it. She was his baby sister and he hadn't been acting like her big brother. "I should have been there…" he murmured. Kasai looked up quizzically, not having heard. "I'm sorry, Kasai."
She just cuddled closer. She just wanted contact with her twin. She may be training to be a ninja, she may secretly be one of the best in the class, but she was still just eight years old. Naruto's bangs shaded his eyes and he ground his teeth. He swore in that moment that he would become a better big brother. He would always be there for his little sister. From now on no one would touch her.
No one would lay a hand on his baby sister without serious repercussions… whatever that meant.