Chapter 6

Onari's secret plan to save Shikamaru!

The girl slept hard. Her body was recovering from the past few days of abuse that it had underwent. Night had fallen over the snow village. As she lay in the bed, she felt someone shake her softly.

"Hey," Sasuke said as he shook her lightly again. She stirred, her body twitching. He bent down, placing a hand on her head, rubbing softly. "Hey," he called gently.

The girl opened her tired eyes. A face was watching her. She rubbed her sleepy eyes a bit, before looking again. A face with long black bangs, dark eyes- a face she knew, looked back. The face said, "Hi," in the usual deep voice that she had first heard speak to her. Her heart skipped a beat. "Sa..su…ke," she said, unsure.

Sasuke's eyes softened. He smiled at her, still rubbing the top of her head. "You didn't forget about me, did you," he asked.

It was him. The man who had first spoken to her. She leapt at him, wrapping her arms around his neck, face buried. "Sasuke," she said happily, holding onto him tightly.

Sasuke's eyes widened a little. He held her firmly, tightly, reassuring the child that it was alright. He hadn't seen her since the night he had first spoken to her. The girl had fought the odds to see him again, even though, her life was in danger. He leaned his head against hers. You were trying so hard to get to me.

She didn't want to let go of him. If she let go, he could disappear and she would be alone again. Sasuke was the first person who hadn't tried to hurt her, or utter a cruel word towards her. Her grip tightened, body shaking. All her struggles…all the waiting for someone to notice her…was over.

He kept holding her tightly, his hand pressing the back of her head to him. Despite what the child had gone through, she did not shed a tear. "Hey," he said lowly enough to get her attention. She looked at him shyly. "How…would you like to go back with us?"

She tilted her head. "Back…with…Sasuke, Shikamaru, Kiba, and Neji to…Leaf Village..?" Her eyes watched his.

Sasuke nodded at her. He swallowed, a bit nervously, his eyes averting from hers as he thought. What if the girl didn't want to stay with him? She needed a home and it was unsure if she would find one in the village. He could remember a time when no one wanted Naruto because he was different. This child was highly different by the mere color of her eyes. It was unnatural for them to be yellow with a black line running around the iris. Sasuke didn't know how she was going to react to him. They had spent little time around one another. It was five days travel to the Leaf Village from where they were. He supposed in those five days, they could get used to one another.

He looked back at her, touching her face softly. "How would you like a name..?" Sasuke watched her tilt her head, a confused look on her face. "How would you like it… if I gave you one?"

"Sasuke… give name," she repeated curiously. She cocked her head. The girl watched as he pointed to himself. "Sasuke," she said. He nodded at her, before preceding to point at her. She shook her head. He pointed back to himself. "Sasuke," she said again. Once again, he pointed to her, but this time, she stayed silent.

"Onari," Sasuke said. "You are Onari," he repeated for her to understand. He pointed at himself. "Sasuke." He pointed at her, "Onari."

The girl tilted her head, pointing to him. "Sasuke is..you." She pointed at herself. "Onari…is me?"

Sasuke smiled at her. "Good girl. Now you have a name. It feels better to know who you are, huh."

"Who…does….Onari go to," she asked.

Sasuke decided to challenge her a little bit. She was slowly starting to understand language. He wanted to see how much she knew. "Who does Onari want to go to?"

Onari tilted her head this way and that. Her mind was forming sentences, even though, the language was not that familiar. She had been hearing it for a few years, but was a visual learner. No one had taught her proper dialect. She bit her lip then looked at Sasuke with a newfound confidence. "Onari go to Sasuke to Leaf Village!"

(Scene Change)

Onari entered the hallway behind Sasuke. She stayed behind him, peering out curiously, her hands latched onto his clothing. She looked up at Sasuke, then down the hallway. A woman was checking the rooms. Her grip tightened. Onari didn't differentiate one person from another in the village. They all despised her. She felt Sasuke put his hand over hers, firmly.

"It's alright. We're only going to the next room where there are familiar faces." Sasuke knocked on the door. He was told to enter. Onari entered with her back against his. She's worried we'll get found out.

Once they were inside, Onari turned her head to glance around. "Kiba," she yelled. It was the guy who had visited her and Shikamaru when they were hiding on the mountain.

Kiba held up his hand, smiling at the girl. "Hey, sprout! How's it going? Did you get enough rest?"

Sasuke watched as Onari padded over to Kiba and Mabae. The dog was defiantly happy to see her. He watched as she leapt onto Kiba, causing him to fall over. "Where is everyone?"

Kiba sat up, rubbing his head. "Neji went to go check on our situation a little more. He said he was going to find out where they have taken Shikamaru." He rubbed the top of the girl's head. "We have to come up with a plan to rescue him. This totally bites! I hate having to hide out until we have no choice but to fight."

"There's not much that we can do about it. Our best strategy is to know where we stand in all of this. We have to get Shikamaru back, I agree. The bad thing is there are more of them, then us. I'm not sure how we can leave the village as outnumbered as we are," Sasuke said.

"That's why we're choosing to fight during the day when there are more people. They can't single us out if everyone is on the streets. If that Anamaraki guy is serious about protecting the villagers, then he will have no choice but to fight us in front of them," Rock Lee said coming out from the bathroom.

Onari shifted her gaze to the unknown man with black hair and big eye. She had never seen him before and was instantly scared. She darted behind Kiba, crouching low, her face hidden from view. When she had approached Neji, the only thing on her mind was telling him about what had happened to Shikamaru.

Kiba looked behind him at the girl who was hiding from Rock Lee. "Hey, sprout, he won't hurt you. He's the loud mouth of the group. What's wrong?" He watched as the girl remained balled up, probably expecting a harsh word in her direction, or for someone to throw her out of the room.

Rock Lee blinked. "Is that the same girl Neji brought back? Why is she hiding behind Kiba? I'm not going to hurt you. I'm one of the good guys," he tried to tell her, but the girl wasn't budging.

"She's afraid of strangers, "Sasuke said. "She only knows Kiba because he found her and Shikamaru. And I'm guessing she only approached Neji because she was on the verge of being attacked. Don't be that way, Lee. It has nothing to do with you. She just has to get used to you."

Rock Lee sat down. He was trying to appear less threatening to the young girl. "How about, if I sit over here and show you I won't hurt you, okay?" He smiled at her when she peered out from behind Kiba. "I promise I won't hurt you. I have a daughter your age. Speaking of which, Shikamaru has a daughter your age, too. If you go back with us, they could be your friends."

Onari tilted her head. There were others her age, somewhere that would want to be around her? "O..nari… friends..," she said shyly, thinking about it. She remained hidden behind Kiba, refusing to give up her position.

Rock Lee smiled at her. "So your name is Onari. Nice to meet you, Onari! I'm Rock Lee. I'm the strongest one with Taijutsu out of the group! I take my training seriously and there is nothing greater than to achieve one's goals!"

Kiba sweat dropped. "That's a bit much for her to digest, Lee…"

Onari repeated what she knew out loud, trying to sort things out. "Ho..kage…leader… Shi..kama..ru…Ki..ba…Sas..uke..Neji go to…Leaf…Vil..lage. O..nari go..to Sasuke…to… Leaf Vil..lage," she said lowly. She looked back at Lee, studying him.

Lee watched her calmly. "That's right. You're a smart kid! You're going back with us to the Leaf Village where it's safe. Do you know what 'safe' means?"

Onari tilted her head one way, then the other. "Sa..fe….?" She shook her head lightly, her yellow eyes watching him.

"Safe means no one will hurt you. Guaranteed," Sasuke said. He thought for a moment. "In a way, we'll be your protectors and your family." Sasuke watched the girl looked at him totally alert. Her eyes were wide, not believing what he was telling her.

"More like, Sasuke will be your dad and we're your annoying brothers," Kiba said, laughing.

"Kiba, Neji, Shika..maru, Lee Onari's bro..thers," she repeated.

Sasuke smirked.

"Kiba and…Lee? Onari..present," Onari said, smiling, teasing. If they were her new family, she should get something, right? She watched at the expressions on their faces as she said it. They were speechless. The girl laughed. The first time she had giggled since she was small and could remember her real parents.

That's something I've been waiting to hear. Sasuke was glad she understood and was happy with them. He smirked as Onari jumped on Kiba's back. Kiba got on all fours, riding her around the room with Mabae wagging his tail, watching.

Neji walked in, carrying a few articles of clothing.

"So, how did it go," Sasuke asked.

"They are holding Shikamaru on the east side, not far from here. Four guards stand duty at the entrance to where he is being held. They are more than likely trying to get information out of him, at this point. Until they know more about us, they cannot attack. That is basic strategy," Neji said. "I see you are well rested. That is good. You will need your strength tomorrow."

Onari tilted her head. "Tomorrow… Shikamaru?"

Neji nodded. "Tomorrow, we rescue Shikamaru." He crouched low, his white eyes looking into the girl's yellow ones. "I have a present for you. It's some clothes that are a bit warmer than what you have on." She was watching him with interest as he showed her a red shirt. "I thought it was a pretty color to match your raven hair."

"Red…fire," Onari said slowly, remembering something. The others were watching her curiously. They had no idea what she was talking about.

"Red fire? What is this about red fire," Neji questioned. The girl before him was looking away, remembering something. Her mind was searching for some detail.

"Ana..mara..ki…no like..O..nari's red fire," she said looking up at Neji. Onari remembered doing something in the past that turned the whole village against her. Captain Anamaraki had immediately ordered everyone to not feed her, clothe her, or take her in. He had informed his men and everyone within ear shot how she was an abomination. Instead of letting her leave the village, the man had preceded to confine her in it. The reason the fire came was because she was threatened. Her parents. Something bad happened to her parents. The red fire came to protect her. Would it work again?

Sasuke kneeled beside Onari, concern in his eyes. "Onari, what red fire?" He watched her shy away, thinking she had done something wrong. He reached his hand up to place it on her head, petting, to reassure her. "Hey, do you know how to get pass that guy? The bad guy who won't let you leave?"

They watched as Onari nodded slowly. "Akai..hi's red fire," she said looking up at Sasuke. She didn't want any of them hurt. They had risked their safety by protecting her and hiding her so far. The only way to cut back on Anamaraki's men, was to use Akaihi against them. "Akaihi," she said again, nodding.

Neji knew instantly that there was something special and unseen about the girl. There was a reason that Anamaraki wanted her to stay. It wasn't because she was a valued citizen, but perhaps, it was out of fear. "Onari, what exactly is Akaihi," he asked softly, watching her.

Onari tilted her head, eyes narrowing, remembering. She saw eyes as bright and yellow as hers watching her from over head, towering above her. Red. Flames were behind the creature, its height protecting her; its gaze stern and unmoving. It was part of her. She smiled a sly smile.

In that instant, Onari reminded them of a miniature Sasuke.

"Akaihi…Onari's jutsu," she said, her smile not fading. "Use Akaihi..on bad men."