Onari

by DigiAnimeArtist

A strange girl from a far away land holds the key to forces greater than anyone in Konoha could have ever imagined. Myth and legend come to life in this exciting comical, dramatic, and heart felt story of a girl wanting to belong in a world where she is seen as an abomination. Will she be able to control her secret, much less, her own anger and stubbornness when she learns the true

86. Chapter 86

V 9 ch 5

The path that led me to you

"I tried to talk to her shortly after we arrived, but she wouldn't listen to anything I had to say. I'm sorry," Idai said expressing his concern. He watched the people walk down the street preparing for the second part of the Chuunin Exam. "I don't know what she's thinking. You're one of the few who isn't against her, you know?"

Daiya shuffled his feet, sighing. "She's trying to protect me." Idai gave him an unbelieving expression. He stood up facing his best friend, his facial features bland. "She's been my sister for a few years, Idai. I know her a lot differently than anyone in the Uchiha house. Right now, Onari doesn't trust anyone. It's been that way since she was exiled to the Inuzukas. There's also something else that's going on. Ever since she stood up to that guy yesterday, others have been taking an unkindly interest in her."

"Do you have a specific target in mind, or is this going to get lengthy," Idai asked.

"Certain ones were watching her intently, but it could be simply because they've never seen anyone with her talents before," Daiya said crossing his arms, trying to make a decision. "We kind of don't have the time to be playing cat and mouse." He let his back fall against the building. "The exams are in two hours. Not much information can be learned in that kind of time."

"Oh, I don't know, Daiya," Idai said thinking about it. "How many are you willing to know about this information?" He smiled a bit having a plan.

Yanagi zipped through the streets trying her best to avoid the gazes of the villagers. She had Masaru scouting on the roof tops for the places where the foreign teams were staying. Normally it would be information hard to receive, but he had seemed to befriend Indo Otani from the Hidden Hot Springs team. Then again, Yanagi figured they were both trading off for information to benefit each other. Indo had agreed to tell Masaru where her team was staying. In return, he had agreed to confide in her what abilities Yanagi and Idai had on his team.

I just hope Kiba sensei doesn't find out what we did. And besides, Masaru didn't tell her our real techniques. We had to make up stuff for him to blab. A ninja never revels her skills until she is forced to. Yanagi caught sight of a particular team she had been scouting. They were starting to move away from the main streets. Quietly, she kept low, following them.

Remaining far enough away not to be noticed, Yanagi opened her rear pouch. She took out a small wooden container with holes in it. As she opened it, she fished for a long wooden tube. A caterpillar crawled out of the container onto her hand. She whispered to it, "Find out what you can. Report back when the coast is clear." Yanagi held the tube out for the caterpillar. It crawled inside of it willingly, hunkering down, as it prepared to be airborne. Yanagi placed the tube to her mouth, took a big puff of air, and blew hard. The caterpillar went soaring through the air landing straight into a basket of apples. Perfect!

Chuichi Noro from the Stone Team examined a pear as he picked it up. "Those battles from yesterday were a joke," he said before putting the fruit down. "I don't understand how any of them managed to last this far into it."

"Simple. They were probably the weakest on their teams," Satoru Okawa said catching a mango that Chuichi tried to drop into the basket. He paid the old man for it. Biting into it, he walked with his team down the street. "Who knows what happened in the other trials regarding the ones who've already fought. They were poorly prepared. Hope you're prepared more than them," he said with a laugh towards Chuichi.

"I wouldn't partake in mocking the exams," Fubuki Kamoika said turning her head to look over her shoulder. "We're up against a lot of good challenges here. To just be invited to the Mist Village, is a rarity in itself. However, to survive them, even if it means in defeat, is a great honor."

"I get what you're saying, Fubuki, but still watch yourself. Getting killed like that poor guy with those man eating ants, was horrible," Chuichi said.

"It was a poor waste of talent," Satoru said with a disgusted sound. "He should have been better prepared. You have to hold your ground at these types of things."

"Coming from the expert who has been involved in five Chuunin exams, but never gotten this far," Chuichi said with a laugh at his team mate. "Speaking of which. What about that girl that stood up to the weird guy with the ants? She was an odd sort of girl, but in an exotic way, she was quite the looker."

"Don't start with that," Fubuki said continuing to walk down the street. "You may be up against her. We won't know who she's fighting until it happens. And I'm sure that will be the most interesting match out there."

"She certainly didn't have any fear," Satoru commented groping his chin. "Heh. She had a neat little way of using her chakra. Oh? You two didn't see that move she performed? She rotated the ball. Once she caught it, it changed direction as if she were building up chakra to shoot it."

"Regardless of what you saw, keep your eye on your own opponent. Especially if that's a peek at what she's able to do, " Fubuki said trying to get her team back on track. "There are other rookies for you both to be concerned about," she said scolding with her finger in the air.

"Yeah, but she was the most intriguing," Satoru said with a dashing smile. "I think I may have a new favorite," he said singing the last part. Chuichi rolled his eyes. "You disgust me. You're the worst womanizer I've ever seen in my life!"

Yanagi casually strolled near the fruit stand dropping her hand to scoop the caterpillar out of the apple basket. It had followed the Stone Team successfully. She kept walking on, the caterpillar crawling into her sleeve. She hoped Masaru and Idai were having some luck.

"Why are we doing this," Ogai protested as he crouched high in the tree near the mist village. "I could be training for the match. This is ridiculous."

"Stupid as it is, she is our team leader," Masafumi said cleaning his glasses before placing them back on his face. "Her idea of manipulation always gets her in trouble." He glanced down below to where Indo sat with Masaru talking about whimsical things.

"You know not everyone is as dumb as she thinks," Ogai said watching Masaru smile at Indo. "I doubt he really told us the true abilities of his team mates. Who would be that idiotic?"

"You'd be surprised," Masafumi said. "I agree we should be training right now. Who's to say that we aren't next? It's a random order they put down to keep us from gaining knowledge of a person's techniques."

Indo giggled like a silly schoolgirl, her hand going to her mouth as her eyes twinkled at Masaru. "Really? I can't say that my father does anything too important where I'm from. He's a ninja same as I am. My whole family is one of the older clans. What does your father do," she asked leaning back on the bench, her legs crossed out in front. She moved her chest just the right way for the sunlight to catch onto her breasts.

Masaru's blushed badly, his silver eyes blinking before he shook his head waving his hands in front of his face. "M-My father? He's the Hokage," he answered truthfully, averting his eyes as he turned his head away from Indo. Man, she must think I'm a total jerk for looking at her!

Indo tensed as her eyes widened a little. She had to regain her composure the moment she frowned. Damn. This won't be as easy as I thought. If he's related to the Leader of the Leaf Village, I can't try to gain any information out of him!

"Well, she's screwed," Ogai said with a told-you-so grin as he looked at Masafumi.

Indo had another idea. Since Masaru wasn't going to give up anything about his team, maybe he could blab a bit about someone else of interest. "Say Masaru, are all of the clans in your village threatening," she said laying on the scared voice as she looked at him. "My clan only attacks someone who tries to hurt us. We're not outright malicious."

"Huh? Clans in Konoha aren't that way. At least, I don't know of any," he said confused to what she was asking him. "Who told you the Leaf Village was full of people like that," he said with a nervous smile.

"Well, I was just thinking that that girl from yesterday – the one who bears the mark of the Leaf Village was from an unsophisticated clan," Indo started to say with a disapproving voice. "You can't go about making demands, or starting wars at the exams. They can be seen as a clan's intent to harm another in a village."

"Girl from yesterday?" It took Masaru a moment to figure out who Indo was referring to. "You're talking about Onari? The girl with the long black hair, a huge scar on one side of her face?"

"Yes, that's her," Indo said clapping her hands together. He finally got it. I thought I was going to have to draw him a picture, and then just go find her myself.

"Onari's rather aggressive from what I've seen of her. She's not liked at all by the adults, or most of the students." Masaru's opinion of what he knew was based entirely on what he heard and saw within his own home. His father had been consoling Sasuke about Onari long after a mission went terribly wrong. The word was spreading around the village like wildfire.

"And why isn't she liked? Is it because of that insane bullish strength of hers," Indo said hoping she had hit the nail on the head. Masaru's facial expression told her otherwise. She couldn't be far from the truth.

"No, someone I know was injured pretty badly on a mission that she was a part of. I don't really know the full details of what happened, but he's in a coma. Onari's kind of being blamed for that by one of the Jounin," Masaru admitted.

Indo was now more interested in this alarming mystery. "And why is a Jounin blaming her? Was he on the mission with her? Did she do something purposely to one of her team mates?"

Masaru shook his head. "No, it wasn't like that. His son was the one that was injured. He has every right to be upset about it. Takeru was only trying to protect Onari, I think, and her living in the same house as them doesn't help matters." Indo's eyes got so wide that Masaru waved his hand at her trying to dismiss whatever was joggling around in her head. "It's not like that, I swear! The Jounin I'm speaking of took her in when he recovered her from a mission he was on. He brought her back to the village to give her a home, and I suppose train her to be a ninja. They thought of her as their daughter, until all of this happened."

Indo found this to be a wonderful dramatic piece of gossip she had to engorge herself in. She stood up twirling as her eyes sparkled. The life of a ninja is full of chaos, turmoil, sadness, love, hope, warm, and above all else, the bonding of one's skills to her very ninja way! She sat down with her long hair flopping behind her with her legs now crossed hands neatly placed upon her knees. "Tell me more, Masaru. And don't miss any details!"

"Uh, well," Masaru said scratching his head. "Onari is from the Lightening Country, originally. She was found in a snow village fending for herself when Uncle Sasuke found her. No one in the village wanted her because of her strange eyes."

"Strange eyes," Indo asked leaning forward.

"Yeah, her eyes are yellow with an unusual ring around them. It's not like any kekkegenkai I've never seen," he admitted thinking about it. "We learned about them at the Academy, but only ones concerning the clans in our village. I don't know what her eyes mean, or what kind of abilities she has. Kiba sensei said Onari holds back a lot of the time to keep from hurting us when we do sparring matches."

And to think I thought he knew more. Indo frowned with her mouth open. I suppose being the son of the Hokage is not all it's cracked up to be.

Idai stood off to the side of the road, his eyes following the Waterfall team as they departed out of the village. He figured they were already headed to the lake where the Chuunin exams were going to take place. So far, no one around him had spoken of Onari – so there wasn't going to be much to tell Daiya. Maybe it's just him worrying because he's her brother. He picked up the pace following the team as he made sure to keep his distance from them.

Akizumi Uno moved his hand out in front of his from, turning it into a fist as he rotated his wrist left and right signaling his team to move. He shot forward with a huge speed increase as Zure and Okura went off to the sides. They were being followed. Placing his hand around the blow gun on his back he withdrew it.

Zure Fukuda snaked her way through the bushes until she had sight of the target. He was a tall youth, shoulder length red hair standing in a blue kimono. Her eyes narrowed. Having one's guard down even at the exams was foolish. She formed hand seals the water droplets in the air coming together to form a large ball of water. Zure sent the water bomb at the boy. Once it was straight overhead, she changed the last hand seal. The water bomb exploded with an outward impact, zenbon needles spraying everywhere.

Okura Terada withdrew his collapsible tai chi sword making a dash towards the lone ninja. Zure had already struck, her zenbon needles all over the boy's body. Just to be safe, he sliced his sword straight through the kimono. The form in front of him poofed into a log. "Dammit," he said whirling around as a large gust of wind caught him off guard. Okura was thrown back into the hedges.

Idai walked out from where he was hiding, his sword dragging the ground. His other hand was lifting out the second sword upon his back. "Sorry, I'm not as dumb as you think." His orange eyes flashed, his sensitive hearing picking up the shuffle occurring from a distance. With an uneasy defense, Idai rotated his blades dually in order to deflect a dart aimed at his throat. The dart pinged off the metal of the blade. He glanced at it. Idai was sure it was poison tipped.

Akizumi walked back down the path. He stood a fair amount of distance away, his blow gun lying on his shoulders, his fingers casually wrapped around it. "Most can't even deflect those since they're hard to detect due to their size. Exactly what village are you from," he said slightly interested.

Okura came out of the bushes from the other side of the path covered in brush. He picked the twigs and leaves off, annoyed. "I'll slice your skin off!" He started to make his way towards the red headed boy, his anger overcoming him.

Idai held his sword out making a gesture to send Okura back into the brush. He stared hard, his face blank. "Actions speak louder than words," he said with the tone of voice Daiya often used against others when a confrontation arose.

Zure kept one hand on the branch as her feet rested against the bark. She craned her neck, a kunai out as she hung like a monkey from the tree. "What ninja approaches a team without his own? You must think your techniques are better than ours," she said with sarcasm thick in her voice.

Idai saw Akizumi hold up his hand to his team mate. Okura stopped a few feet short, his sword withdrawing only inches from his real intent. He kept his eyes firmly upon Okura, his ears listening for Akizumi or Zure to make any sort of sudden move towards him. "To answer your question, I'm from the Leaf Village," he said mildly.

Akizumi started to laugh at the village hidden in the leaves. "So you're from the fire country, are you? Your trainer must have taught you well if you think you're a match for the Waterfall team."

Idai gave Akizumi one hell of a defiant look. "I won't have you bad mouthing Kiba," he said with a sense of loyalty that shocked the Waterfall team. All three of them redoubled, their stance becoming aggressive.

A Jounin from holding a clipboard walked along the path, coming across the team standing their ground with another student. He snapped his fingers, three other Jounin poofing near him as he stood with his arms crossed, annoyed at having to deal with such an issue this early in the day. "What do you think you're doing," he said signaling the other Jounin to surround the four rookies. "Fighting is not permitted unless it is at the exams. Move suddenly and you'll be disqualified," he warned watching one of the Waterfall students try to out maneuver the request.

Okura put his tai chi sword back into the casing. He scoffed at the Mist Jounin, his eyes watching them intently. "Stupid adults ruining our fun," he said to where it was heard amongst those standing there. Akizumi signaled his team to fall back to where he was. Okura took one last look at Idai from over his shoulder. "I hope you survive," he said sarcastically.

Idai only stared after them, not trusting the situation.

"Sorry, Daiya, we weren't able to find out anything regarding Onari," Idai said under his breath to his best friend. "No one's really after her, that I know of. Yeah, they're curious about her, but that's as far as it goes. Heck, I'm curious about her real intent here."

Daiya looked at Yanagi and Masaru who had helped to try to uncover any plot that was in the works. "I shouldn't have asked any of you to do it," he finally reasoned. "There wasn't enough time to execute the plan fully. Not to mention, I could have gotten you all in worse trouble by the Exam Coordinators finding out."

"You really think someone is going to try and take her out, or recruit her, or something," Masaru asked with his arms crossed, his large shuriken on his back. "That would be foolish even at this place." He didn't know if Daiya's worry had any grounds to it. "After all, even if something were to happen here, we're adapting to our training. The Jounin are here – also my father. It wouldn't go over well."

"No, it wouldn't, but Onari is sort of like a hidden secret," Daiya told him. Masaru only raised his brow. "She's been holding back her strength while under the careful eye of the other students – and trainers. The only ones who have seen her true abilities are me, Takeru, mom, and dad. Sorry, but we weren't sure how any of you would take it," he said seeing the frown cross Idai's face.

Yanagi held her hand up wanting a turn to add her opinion. "Onari's been on my father's team for two years, Daiya. He's seen her performance in the field and in private training. So has Eiyu Hyuuga. You're saying that even then, she's completely leading everyone astray to what she's really capable of?"

Daiya glanced at Onari who stood far away from everyone else. She was isolating herself from the others due to the confrontation by Sasuke the previous night. "Yes," he said softly feeling sorry for his adopted sister. "No one trusts her, Nagi," he said using Yanagi's pet name. The girl he adored blushed hard. "Ever since dad fought with her over Takeru, she's been keeping away from everyone. Including her team."

Masaru tilted his head slightly. This was news to him. No one ever told him anything. "How come I didn't know about this?" He looked at the small group.

"Because it wasn't supposed to be leaked," Idai said waving his hand trying to dismiss the accusation. "What happens in a family – stays in that family. It was an outside matter. All I know is they fought. What exactly transpired, or are we better off not knowing?"

Daiya shook his head slightly, his eyes shifting to the ground. "Dad blamed her for Takeru's condition. She's not objecting, or confirming what he's saying either. Onari is the type that will let a person thinks what they want. She's not going to try to change a stubborn person's mind."

"That explains why she always looked at me and Ryu like idiots when we tried to get you to do something we wanted," Idai said with a soft chuckle. "She has the right frame of mind. It's pointless to argue when no one's going to believe you anyway."

"Yes, but it isn't her fault," Yanagi said. "They were working together. Onari wouldn't let anyone get hurt if she was there. I've seen her react when we spar as teams, Idai. She's overprotective of those around her."

"But right now, she has no one to protect. Eiyu isn't having anything to do with her. She feels isolated," Idai said looking at her with a soft gaze. "You don't know that feeling. No offense, but unless you've experienced it for years like I have, or Daiya has you don't know what it feels like."

Daiya leaned against the cage the teams stood in, each waiting their turn to compete. Right now, Idai was out there fighting in combat. He watched his best friend move aside avoiding an attack from Yo Jippensha, from the Moon team. Where are you in all of this, Takeru? Can you see us? Are you here, or elsewhere? Onari's suffering from being blamed by Dad. He leaned back looking up at the blue sky, his gray eye focusing on parts he could see. I haven't told anyone, but my right eye is completely gone, Takeru. I can't see out of it anymore.

Izumi Uchiha walked into the hospital room slowly, setting her basket of home made food on the small table. She sat down in the chair, her lavender eyes looking over her son. He was still in a coma, his breathing soft, shallow, as if he was only in a deep slumber. Lifting her hand she moved his dark hair out of his face, leaning down to admire him. "I brought your favorite food, Takeru. Don't you want to wake up now?" Her eyes softened, her teeth biting her lower lip.

She wondered what was going on inside of his head. Was he dreaming, or out of his body? Izumi had seen death in many forms before Takeru had come into her life. She used to be a secret assassin for a clan, but she abandoned her post, and everything she had known to gain freedom. (flashback)

Izumi stood at the edge of the cliff overlooking the valley as the wind whipped through her long whit hair, the braid beside her head swaying gently. The blood on her hands, on her sleeves and clothing, was forgotten as she closed her eyes, smelling the wind for the first time. Eighteen-years-old and had never felt what it was like to run of her own free Will. She didn't want to open her eyes, wanting the moment to last forever. It felt different to not to have to answer to a superior, or have to bow so low, her forehead was pressed into the soil of the ground.

In that moment, Izumi was enjoying her first few minutes of freedom. Her eyes opened gently to see the sky in a whole new light. The clouds overhead were shifting, flowing along without a care in the world. In order to be free, she had had to slaughter the clan that was controlling her. After all, if a secret backfires, no one knows about the secret but you. She never existed to the clan, despite being in contract with them. Izumi had been a shadow since she was born, living separately from normal people. She felt like an animal who had managed to get out of its cage.

Looking down at her hands, she overturned them trying to figure out if there would have been another way out for her. She couldn't think of any. Live and kill was the only things she had known. Her name was only used as a light formality to give her face an identity so she could be summoned. Standing upon the cliff, she wondered what it was like to be around people who didn't control you. A sound caught her attention as she turned around, her eyes flipping left and right. Had she been followed?

Sasuke Uchiha stretched grunting as he leaned against the bark of the tree. He was sitting high in a branch, yawning when he had noticed the girl down below. "Odd place for a ninja to be by herself," he commented dryly, his dark eyes staring at her. She was afraid of him, going immediately into an attack stance. "I wouldn't, if I were you. I have no intention of bothering you," he admitted, his legs hanging over the branch carelessly.

Izumi tilted her head. The boy wasn't making a move towards her. He was only watching her. Why was he up there? Had he been chased by someone? "Are.. you running also," she found herself asking.

Sasuke raised a brow placing his hands on the branch, his back revealing the grass cutter sword he had had for years. "What makes you think I'm running from anything," he said a bit angrily, the subject quite touchy with him. "You're the one who happened upon where I am. State your business and affairs."

Izumi was so used to being ordered that she took to the ground, bowing her head low to the soil, her eyes closing. "I do not have any business here, or any affairs, Master." She waited for the boy to instruct her to go fetch him some food, or plot a bargain with her to get rid of anyone that was on his nerves.

"You're kidding right?" Sasuke jumped from the branch walking towards the girl casually. "I'm not your Master," he said disgusted. "Nor are you to take orders from me," he stated. He prodded her with his foot. "Get up. You don't owe anyone anything."

Izumi thought it was a trick for a while, until she slowly started to lift her head off the ground. She raised her eyes afraid to be rude to him. His feet were right in front of her. She noticed the soles of his shoes were worn out and dirty. He must be constantly moving. That sword on his back says he isn't a farmer.

"Well? Get up, or kiss my feet," Sasuke said blandly. The girl got up, her eyes remaining downcast from his. He looked her over. Hmm. Blood all over her hands and clothes. Appears she's gotten out of a bad ordeal. That expression on her face is the same prisoners get when they break out. "I don't know what kind of mess you're in – I don't really care, but you're not causing me any trouble."

Sasuke walked past her to look out at the valley. It was a beautiful green where farming had not occurred yet. "How do you like your first taste of freedom," he asked. He heard her gasp, jumping slightly to his question. "Sorry, I'm more alert than you realize," he said overlooking his shoulder. She was staring straight at him. Her face reminded him of an animal who had noticed a threat approaching, but the threat had not happened to notice the animal yet.

"Look, I don't know what kind of trouble you're in, but it isn't my concern. Whatever you've done, it's best to leave the area. News travels fast," Sasuke warned. He started to walk away from her down the cliff, the wind moving through his black outfit.

Izumi brought her hands to her clothes, looking hard at the blood staining them. She couldn't go near anyone. They would be suspicious of her. She looked around trying to figure out what to do with her life. Standing at the edge of the cliff, she contemplated her chances of survival alone.

Sasuke whistled to the girl. She turned to look at him with the same innocent, blank stare he often saw in small children who didn't know any better. "Come on," he waved at her. "You can't go out in public like that. I'll see what I can do about getting you a change of clothes."

"Wh-Why are you helping me," Izumi asked being unfamiliar with questioning an authority figure.

Sasuke looked back at her with a bit of shock on his face. He held his hands out. "Who knows. But you've been the only one I've seen for days out here. Something must have led you in my direction." He saw how she started to walk behind him, far enough to where if he turned on her, she could run and avoid his moves. Down the cliff they walked passing dark trees. The sunlight managed to find its way through a few branches, shining light down on the vegetation.

Izumi had never paid attention to the forest before. It was dark, peaceful, and yet full of life. A small butterfly fluttered in front of her path, moving from one side to the other. She followed it with her eyes, stopping to watch it.

Sasuke stopped also once he realized she wasn't following him. He turned halfway around to see her child like curiosity over a butterfly moving its wings on a bush. "Do you have a name," he asked wanting to call her something if they were going to travel together for a while.

"Yoru," she answered giving him her assassin name.

Sasuke closed his eyes, placing his hand on his hip. "That name isn't any good for you," he said as the butterfly moved on. Izumi stood up, confused. "Whoever gave you that name wasn't doing you any justice. It's not something you can live up to. I'll think of a better one. Come on," he said again.

(flashback)

Izumi followed Sasuke for several days until they came upon a fairly large village near the sea. She had never seen such a large expansion of water before. Without thinking, Izumi ran to it, shooting past Sasuke. She ran through the crowds buying fish, vegetables, and selling goods. Her feet sloshed through the water until she was knee dip in sea water. Bending down, Izumi scooped it up tasting it. She cringed, shaking her head. It was salty.

Sasuke followed after her slowly. By the time he had caught up to her, she was standing watching a ship far out fish for food. "You're going to catch your death, Izumi. The water's freezing," he said with his hand on his hip. The sea water touched the tips of his toes. It was spring.

Izumi turned around to look at him, her hair moving as a gust of wind blew towards her. It was stronger on the beach than anywhere she had ever been. "Izumi?"

"I thought it fit you. You have an unnatural obsession with water," he said. "Anyway, we should get your clothes changed. And get you a bath. You're starting to smell," he admitted.

Despite the arrogance in his voice, Izumi found him to be humorous. She started to laugh lightly at first, but then it became loud and uncontrollable. Sasuke was her first taste of freedom, a partner, and an unknown acquaintance at the time. "I smell? You smell like dog fodder," she shot back, a smirk appearing on the corners of her mouth. He had been out in the forest a lot longer than her by the looks of it.

Sasuke touched the side of his head with his finger, closing his eyes. "You know, if you're going to start that, you can stay out here by yourself." That made her laugh even more. However, he wasn't playing. Turning around, he started to walk off, but got ended up getting hit with a massive wave of water out of nowhere. Sasuke was knocked on his side into the freezing water. He came up coughing and whirling around with a glare. Izumi was standing with her hands stopped in motion, her legs out, in a pose.

"Would you like another bath," she asked her hands forming hand seals. The water molecules from the sea shot forth in a large stream towards Sasuke. He was on his feet in no time, poofing at the last moment to appear behind her. She blinked before noticing he had moved, his hands grabbing her wrists. Izumi turned and looked up, his eyes red. It was the first time she had seen Sharingan.

Izumi stayed with Sasuke for several years after they had met, having the normal arguments partners had. But when they both fell prey to the Kirinuki Gang in the Grass country, she and Sasuke found themselves in an unbeatable battle. Being beaten wasn't playing on either of their conscious's well. Sasuke was still trying to get up, dragging his sword with blood escaping from a wound on his side. He was in the last stage of getting revenge, when blackness hit him. His body fell back down, going slack. The five members of the Kirinuki Gang singled out Izumi as she stood near Sasuke protecting him with Suiren, her water moccasin snake. Manda was already vanishing the moment Sasuke had fallen. Her eyes narrowed, head lowered as she dared any of them to come any closer.

Izumi, herself, was injured, but not to the point where she couldn't stand. Her eyes shifted the moment she thought one of them was trying to move against her. The Kirinuki Gang was ruthless in its own right in this section of the Grass Country. They thrived on contributing to society in the ways of murder, theft, blackmail, and everything else that started a small mob organization. Sasuke's attitude on those around him was to work as an Avenger to assist those who had been wronged. A lot of it came from his childhood when his entire clan had been murdered.

The five members before her were equipped with large destructive weapons constructed from a well-known forger in the area. Each of them trained heavily in taijutsu and ninjutsu skills. Izumi didn't know their real names, for they referred to each other as a particular metal to avoid being sought after. The leader of the group had his face covered with a mask that he could see out of. He rarely spoke, but when he did, it was in a monotone voice that issued the four members to react on instruction.

It had been five against two from the start, and even with all of their training, Izumi and Sasuke were outmatched. The fight had lasted late into the afternoon until the sun was showing barley over the tree tops. Izumi had waited until the hard rain had subsided an hour ago, before she attempted to use her top ninjutsu skill. As the five members made their way slowly to her, she stood tall, her hands making hand seals with lightening speed and precision. They taunted her with smirks at her last effort to save herself and Sasuke from their wrath. As her fingers came together in the final sign, her eyes lifted to stare not at them, but through them. The water molecules in the air were gathering by her sides into two horizontal lines. "Tsunami," she said with a deafening yell, the water streams lifted forty feet over her head until it came raining down on the five members of the Kirinuki Gang. They were caught off guard by her true power, their bodies being smothered by the weight of the water, if not washed away out of sight.

Now was her chance. She quickly ran to Sasuke, dipping down to hoist him over her shoulders now that they were distracted. Izumi was back on her feet moving against the wet landscape, her feet sliding as she turned to leave the area. A row of kunai mixed with shuriken fire went at the space where she had been just a few seconds ago. Izumi didn't look back as she fled the scene, her main concern getting away from them.

They had found refuge at a small farm that they thought was abandoned. The farm itself had seen better days. The crops were withered, dry, and not being taken care of. She didn't know who had bothered to plant the crops if they weren't going to see to them. Staying in the small shed near the house, Izumi bandaged Sasuke's wounds as his pride healed. "I didn't bother to stay to see how many of them were left," she answered as he lay in the hay, the bandages fresh around his abdomen.

Sasuke sighed; he wasn't very pleased at having been taken down by others just as skilled as he was. "Stupid egocentric adults and their manipulating ways," he answered as he looked away, his eyes staring through the window at the sky. "How did you take them out by yourself…?" It was more curiosity than anything. Izumi displayed a standoffish behavior when she was surrounded by people, and when they were in combat, she waited to reveal any ninjutsu, taijutsu, or genjutsu skills she possessed.

Izumi glanced at him before she rolled the bandages up, her fingers moving over the material. "A special skill that I was sworn to use only when there was no other way out," she said mildly trying to deter his attention to it. "There were too many of them."

"And what is it," Sasuke said pushing her cheek with his finger. "You know about Sharingan and me being the last of the Uchiha. Spill it, Izumi."

Izumi grumbled. He had a point. She often hated how his points made sense after the fact of her avoidance behavior not being recognized fully. "It's a ninjutsu skill I call 'Tsunami'. It's sort of like the real thing, if enough water is around the user to execute the technique. It cannot be performed in dry areas, or where rain, ponds, lakes cease to exist."

Sasuke's eyes drifted to the sounds of shuffling footsteps. "Someone's approaching," he warned, his hand grasping the hilt of the grass cutter sword in an instant. Izumi was beside the door hiding with a kunai out. An old man wearing a farmer's hat, his hand upon a wooden cane, opened the door with difficulty, his breath getting the best of him. His old eyes befell upon Sasuke lying in the hay.

"My walking is a bit to be desired, but my ears and eyes aren't that bad off yet, young lady. I mean neither of you any harm," he said moving his head towards Izumi. "What are two sprouts like yourselves doing in here? Could have just knocked on the door if you needed assistance," he said jerking his thumb at Sasuke's injured status.

(end flashback)

That was when Izumi and Sasuke had met Karashi and Fude Michitari, the old couple who ran the farm. They were Takeru's grandparents, adopted by Izumi since she had never had any parents of her own. Sasuke didn't mind the idea after they had graciously helped him recover. And down the line, as years passed, Izumi became more than a partner to Sasuke. She was head over heels for him and he, her. They had been through all sorts of obstacles and confrontations in their early twenties. Through thick and thin they pulled each other out of slumps and troubling situations.

Izumi moved her knuckles in a loving fashion over her son's sleeping face. He was the one thing that signified their bond to each other. She couldn't lose him. Izumi laid her head next to his on the pillow, her lips kissing his temple in a motherly fashion. "I want to teach you my final technique, Takeru. It's one that will aid you when nothing else can," she vowed.

Idai grabbed his head, his body leaning forward on his feet as Yo Jippensha kept his hands towards his face, concentrating. Ah, what the hell is this? The platform Idai stood upon was disappearing to where he was standing on a wooden plank near hot boiling lava. The sky turned dark into cave walls, as a deep bellow came to his ears. Idai's head turned towards the lava to see a huge demon with horns as long as his body, wide as a tree's trunk rose above the melted liquid. Idai's eyes widened.

Yo kept the genjutsu going as Idai shot backwards towards the edge of the platform. He smiled with satisfaction as the boy fell pretty to his illusion technique. The world that Idai was witnessing was switched. He could choose to simply have Idai go into the water to disqualify him, but this was so much more fun. Instead, he wanted to torment the boy for making him fatigued. The illusion was going to be useless due to his exhaustion, but right now, he could cause the boy some pain before he ended the match. "I'll eat your brains," he said.

Idai watched the demon lean forward, its talons raking the wooden plank he stood upon. There was no where for him to run. "I'll eat your brains," the demon said its white hair moving as its hollow yellow eyes blazed with anger and rage. Idai was reminded instantly of the demon that had overtaken him for years. He panicked, moving farther back, his heels tottering on the edge of the platform to where the cave floor was. There was no exit.

Masaru watched his team mate making a fatal mistake as Yo continued to use Genjutsu to ellude Idai's attacks. His fingers curled around the bars of the cage. "IDAI! HE'S TRICKING YOU!" Masaru turned to see one of the Exam Coordinator's come straight after him punching him on top of his head. Masaru fell to the ground in a fetal position holding his head.

"You're not allowed to interfere with the match," the Field Coordinator yelled at the boy with blond hair.

Daiya's anger started to seethe the lightening charges beginning to spark around his arms. "Back off," he said lowly. The Field Coordinator flicked his thumb to the other man in the cage. "Back off of him," he shouted in anger at seeing Masaru struck.

Yanagi looked from Daiya to both of the field coordinators. She started to move towards him to stop him, but one of the field coordinators got in her way. "Dai-," she began to say only to be met with a fist coming straight at her stomach. Yanagi let the air out of lungs quickly by exhaling as the fist hit her. She doubled over.

That did it. Daiya erupted inside the cage with the other students fleeing as the charges struck the metal of the cage. A few of the students immediately took to the ground, covering their bodies with their arms as they yelled. He went straight at the field coordinator who had struck Yanagi. Taking out the metal rod from the casing he swung it like a baseball bat, hitting the man square in the jaw. The man went flying to the other side with Daiya after him.

"Uh oh. There appears to be something going on out there," Rock Lee said as he strained to see. He was at the edge of the stands his hands upon the railing as he leaned over. "A fight is occurring with the coordinators," he stated watching the distant forms move around the cage. The students were scrambling everywhere.

Sasuke put his fingers to his temple. Don't let it be Ryu. That's all I ask. There won't be a way to get out of this if it's him.

"Hey, one of the students looks like he's using the stone platform to guard the others from the-," Kiba stopped. He swallowed. Oh, brother.

"From the what," Sasuke asked. "Kiba, I know you can see better than any of us. What are they being guarded from?"

"From Daiya's lightening attacks," Kiba said with a huge frown on his face. The match below in the middle of the lake was still going in. The two opponents were not stopping their match to pay attention to the chaos in the cage.

Chuichi Noro from the Stone Team kept his mind focused to keep the stone of the platform raised to where the students could hunker down. They were covering their ears with a few of them yelling. "This is ridiculous," he shouted as the student from the fire country went crazy.

Ryu laid on top of Saori covering her entire body with his own as he lifted his head to watch Daiya take on both of the Jounins. "Daiya, knock it off! You're going to fry everybody!" Ryu yelped as a flash of electricity shot over his head. He grabbed onto Saori hard not wishing to look back up.

Onari saw that Yanagi was still on the other side of the raised stone, coughing. Her quick eyes told her that Daiya was reacting to something that had happened to his girlfriend. She scurried on all fours to retrieve Yanagi. Daiya ran around them shouting insults to the Jounin, also managing to lay a few good kicks and punches on them. She lifted Yanagi's arm over her shoulder, rose, then dragged the girl to safety.

"You son of a dog's rear, I'll kill you for laying a finger on her," Daiya said as his final threat.

The Jounin farthest away from the boy had to end the battle. People in the stands were yelling in cheers at the extra chaotic event that was occurring. He formed hand seals, his height starting to grow, muscles increasing in size and proportion. With a menacing expression on his face, he swung his mighty arm at the boy. "Get back in line," he ordered.

Daiya turned his head to see a huge hand trying to latch onto him. The Jounin he was fighting had backed off in hopes that he was going to recoil his actions. However, his teeth clenched as the stress on his heart gave him a warning. Daiya leaned forward his hand upon his knee trying to catch himself before he fell. He heard the sliding of feet in front of him. Looking up, he saw that Onari was in the middle of the fight before anyone could stop her. She was holding the man's large hands at bay with her own. "O-nari," he said the stars in his eyes starting to show.

Onari was being pushed back slowly, but she was matching the Jounin's increased strength with her own. "Pick on someone your own size," she said turning her body all of the way to the right. Her hands clenched on the man's fingers lifting him off the ground, only to throw him towards the now scrambling students. His body hit the bars of the cage, bending the metal. Her head turned to regard the other Jounin whose mouth was hanging open. "Get away from my brother! You had no right to touch Yanagi," she said to the man. The wind whipped through her hair, her yellow eyes displaying anger as traces of fire sparked off the tips of her hair.

Daiya shook his head trying to recover. He was met with Saori helping him stand. Soon he looked up to what Saori was staring at. The tips of Onari's hair were on fire, flames licking off and being swept away with the wind. "Her…Her hair," he said not understanding.

Ryu stood on the other side of Daiya as the Jounin redoubled to retrieve the field coordinator who had met with Onari's strength. "That's her true power," he said figuring it out as he watched Onari stand like a wall to guard her brother. "She hasn't accessed it fully until now." His red eyes looked down at his team mate. "She's protecting you, Daiya."

"Protection or not, the boats are coming towards the platform," Saori warned. She turned to see Onari looking at them. "They're going to try to arrest you for interfering. You're seen as a threat," she explained with her hands out.

Idai stood with Yo Jippensha on the battlefield, his swords out. As soon as Yo was exhausted from using his Genjutsu illusions on Idai, he was attacked with the full blunt force of Sound Knife. The crowds in the stands were now quiet. Idai turned to look back up at the cage where the students waited for their turns to compete. Something was happening. "What's going on?"

Onari realized at that moment that there was no way out for her. Sasuke didn't want her to return to his home, and she was exiled in Konoha for what had happened to Takeru Uchiha. Now she had protected her brother and was being met with more Jounin coming in the boats to stop her. She started to uncover her arms, exposing the tattoos etched into her skin.

Eiyu Hyuuga walked towards her. "What are you doing? Have you lost your mind? They're going to try to take you out! You can't go starting trouble everywhere you go, Onari! This is serious!"

Yanagi put her hand on Eiyu's shoulder. "I think she knows that, Eiyu. She was trying to stop them from hurting Daiya and I. This isn't about countries, or ninja villages. Not to her. It's something greater. We just can't see it."

Onari bit her thumbs, then proceeded to smear the blood on her arms, activating the contract she held with the phoenix. The symbols around her body appeared on the stone platform, light shinning blindly at the others in the cage. She turned her head to look at Daiya her eyes softened, her voice sweet and kind. "I love you, Daiya. Don't forget that," she said.

Daiya's eyes widened. Onari was choosing to run. "Onari," he yelled before he went back, the pain in his chest tightening. Ryu grabbed him to steady him.

The light around her grew shinning out everyone's forms in the cage. "Summoning jutsu! The celestial God of the South gate, Akaihi!" The pitching cry of the phoenix came through the air, the bird's form so large, the cage was bursting apart. Akaihi spread his wings, fire in pure flames upon his wings as he stood as a threatening appearance, towering over the Field Coordinators and students. One of his legs moved forward to get the point across. The Field Coordinators pointed to the phoenix as other ninja started to exit the boats.

Onari ran then jumped grabbing onto the fire licking feathers, pulling herself up. She crawled all of the way up the bird's back before she sat lowering her body. "Akaihi, fly!"

Akaihi opened its mouth sending a fire stream warning to the Jounin trying to come towards the platform he was standing on. His main concern was to protect Onari at all costs. Large wings began to flap, its body lifting off the stone, feet curling underneath. His yellow eyes searched the surprised students for Takeru, the boy bound to Uso, but he could not find him. The Jounin started to react by sending shreds of kunai, shuriken, and zenbon at its form, only to be stopped by Akaihi's swift maneuver to avoid the weapons. He dipped low in an arch like a hawk, before pulling up, soaring over the water past the stands of onlookers.

"It's a phoenix," the crowd shouted standing up in their seats. They went to the edge of the railing, the fire trailing behind the bird as it soared over the water. Its wings flapped to gain altitude.

Sasuke leaned over the railing catching sight of Onari as she glanced back at the platform. "Onari," he shouted after her, but it was too late. The girl could not hear him. She was fleeing the Jounin and also her life at the Hidden Leaf Village. His fingers curled around the railing, his knuckles turning white.

Sprout. Where are you going? Kiba watched the phoenix gain altitude until it was high over the tree tops, its body beginning to disappear with the atmosphere around it.

Idai stood on the platform as Yo Jippensha swam back, his arms throwing over the sides. "She really did it. She really left," he said quietly as he watched her become nothing more than a dot in the horizon.

Naruto Uzumaki stood out of his seat, his Hokage hat thrown to the side. His eyes followed the girl until she could no longer be seen. The other leaders from the various countries were standing accusing him of harvesting a creature to come after their own villages. He ignored them for the time being. They could be retracted and dealt with. This was a more problematic matter. Despite knowing what had occurred at the Uchiha compound, Naruto could not stand by and let Onari abandon her post. I hate to do this. She's stronger than any of us would have assumed at this point. I'm not sure what happened out there, but Onari's code of conduct has to be handled. His eyes turned to see Kiba enter the stand where he and the other leaders were. The ANBU were awaiting his command as they guarded him.

Kiba stood with his keen eyes watching the expression appear on his friend's face. "Sir, what are you going to do about her," he asked with the utmost respect. He hated to see Onari become sought after by the ANBU.

"I'm unsure, Kiba. Abandoning her post like this doesn't go over well with the village. Also, she's now demonstrated her behavior and actions to every one of the leaders from the surrounding villages. It isn't just about retrieving her now." Naruto looked down afraid to call it as it was. "Onari, herself, from what I've witnessed acts on defensive measures. Once we know what happened out there, the more I can focus on how to approach this. I don't want to send the ANBU after her. It could get ugly."

Sasuke stood speechless as his eyes focused on the water moving in the lake. This entire time, I was always afraid Takeru would follow in my path. Without meaning to, I've drove Onari straight into it. He brought his hand to his forehead, closing his eyes. I've failed you, Takeru. I've failed you in so many ways.

Daiya's breathing became sharp, the pain in his chest intensifying. Sweat encased on his forehead as it hit him. A current of electricity started to spark down his arm, but it subsided as his hand reached up. He fell backwards, his eyes closing onto Ryu.

Saori turned her head to see her team mate go through the last attack he was going to ever have. Ryu lowered him to the ground. She whirled around touching Daiya's pale face. "Daiya? Daiya!" There was no response from him, nor was he breathing. She opened his vest, her fingers racing to pry apart the zipper. Ryu was trying to call his name over and over, but there was no acknowledgement. She placed her ear over his chest, listening, her eyes frantic to try and find the beat. But there was none.

Yanagi stood motionless, her eyes staring as she watched Daiya lying on the stone platform. She didn't notice Idai move beside her, also watching. Medic-nin were being called by Ryu who was shouting at them at full force from the cage, his fingers wrapped around the steel. He was swearing at them for not hurrying. "He's not getting up," she said so softly it didn't sound like her own voice. "He's dead," the words escaped her mouth as her hands shook with anxiety.