It's because I don't have a regular updating schedule, isn't it?
Oh, and mad props to you, Jigoku. I hope you'll keep enjoying the story and being awesome (order not relevant).
It's been hours since midnight, but he didn't care too much. So many times did the two of them run away like this, leaving any semblance of a comfortable life behind in order to preserve their own lives... Only, this time, it was different; this was the last time they would run, after this there was no turning back anymore.
The Land of Water... an archipelago focused around a single massive island, it was paradise for pirates, criminals and refugees, isolation being something all those people seek tirelessly. It was also the home of the smallest of the great ninja villages, the Village Hidden in the Mist.
The Mist... The bloody Mist... was a place Zabuza had conflicted opinions on. It was his home, the place he aimed to protect as its' swordsman, a place that did not care for your story and circumstance, gauging your worth only by your skill and ability. It was fair, not giving any shortcuts and not willing to turn away any potential talent. In the old Mist, a street urchin and a clan heir were equals in the academy.
But it was also the place he wanted to raze to the ground, to cut away at it until the corruption was gone. Something, time maybe, brought illness to the village, twisting and perverting the ideal of ability. The graduation exam became a slaughter, while the shinobi became machines, rather than professionals. It was a system in which the village couldn't survive.
He tried changing it...it didn't work out.
"We make camp here." The swordsman proclaimed, motioning to a small clearing in the otherwise dense forest. The odds of a large shinobi force coming after them would usually be fairly high, but this time was different; the Daimyo was attacked, as was the village leader, half of the ninja in the village were hospitalized, and to top it all off, they had the leader's daughter as a hostage. They could keep running, but if they were to make it to the Water in decent time, they needed to pace themselves properly.
The moment they stopped, Zabuza began walking around, checking the perimeter. It was a good habit, because you never knew if a random caravan or civilian village was nearby. In forests this thick, it wasn't rare to see that you were within hearing range of a place you couldn't see due to the trees.
Haku, who was silent for the entirety of the journey, slowly lowered the immobilized princess onto the cold forest floor, then walked over to his mentor.
"I have to ask, Zabuza." The boy spoke, staring into the swordsman's face with a serious expression on his own.
"And I don't have to answer." Came the quick reply.
"Why did we kidnap her? We didn't need the extra insurance."
Instead of answering, Zabuza replied with a question, "What happens when Yagura dies?"
Not expecting the shift of topic, Haku paused, trying to connect the two. If they were to kill the Mizukage, a new one would have to be elected to take his place. Since Zabuza would be the man's killer, he would most likely be chosen as the next Kage...
That didn't explain Shizuka's presence, though. Why go through all the work that keeping a hostage brings? What was the payoff?
"I don't understand, what does Shizuka have to do with all this?" The boy asked, a shade of resignation distinguishable in his voice.
"Witness, insurance, human shield, companion, make your pick, Haku." Spoke Zabuza, voice sounding far too detached for the boy's liking. He didn't complain about it, though, as something else caught his attention.
"Witness?" Did he mean to have Shizuka witness the fight against the Mizukage? If they won... yes, that made sense. If they won, then released her, she'd know they were fighting for a good cause all along. She might be angry, but he had little doubt that she wouldn't understand...
Releasing her as a witness back to her own village would create some kind of link between the two villages, marking the first step in reconnecting the Mist with the rest of the ninja world. Aside from that, the word would spread more quickly from the mainland, inviting the other great nations to increase their efforts to gather intelligence on the village.
While the Mist was the smallest of the great villages, it was among them for a reason, and it stood to reason that at least some of the other great nations would reach out, if only to get a feel for where the village stood after the Yondaime's death.
"That look in your eyes... You know why." Zabuza spoke, ending his perimeter check and sitting down to clean the seversword. While the blade never really lost its' edge, it did get dirty from constant use, so the bladesman took the time to clean off the grime every so often. After all, glistening steel was far more intimidating than something that looked like an oversized training sword.
Defeated, Haku sat down next to him. The girl would wake up soon, and he had no idea what to tell her...
He couldn't tell her the truth, because he'd reveal the fact that he was lying all along... but he wasn't sure about continuing the lie either. Having to lie to her felt wrong... almost as bad as it felt to have to kill those two hunter-nin... But if not that, what could he do?
"Keep lying." Zabuza offered, never taking his eyes off the surrounding forest, arms working with practiced ease. "Once Yagura is dead you can decide whether you want to tell her the truth or not."
Lies... he was good at using them, at least. From things as simple as his gender, all the way to fabricating a story about him being a survivor of the bloodline purges. No matter how big the lie, he had the ability to see it through...
"Alright..." He trailed off.
"I'll be listening."
"I know.
He stood up, heading towards the still unconscious girl.
"I wonder how master Zabuza is doing..." Kisame trailed off, walking along a goat path in the Land of Mountains. His cloak fluttered in the strong wind, the Samehada resting passively on his back. He had driven it into some random cloud ninja a while back, and he figured that the sword was still savoring its' meal.
"Hn." Came from Itachi, who was walking a ways' behind his partner. The odds for someone like the Demon of the Mist to actually succeed in his endeavor were slim, but one could never predict things like that. After all, a cornered animal fights fiercest, and the analogy could loosely apply to the swordsman's current situation.
"Killing the boy Kage... He might just do it, you know..." The former Kiri-nin spoke, squinting his eyes at the setting sun. He had long since forgotten the point of their expedition to Kumo, but figured that Itachi would give him the update sooner or later.
As for Zabuza, he meant what he said. During their spars, the Demon had shown that he possesses the power, if only for a short while. Taking on a Kage was inadvisable in any event, but if you had no other choice, it helped to be able to whip up enough power to actually threaten someone like that.
S-Rank was S-Rank, sure, but Kage was Kage for a reason. And Zabuza wasn't even S-Rank...
"The boy." Itachi spoke, having chosen his words carefully. He was stingy with his words, just like Sasori was with time and Kisame with kills. Ever since the incident, he had hated the sound of his own voice, having used it to say all those things to Sasuke...
It was also intimidating, facing an opponent who didn't engage in the almost-traditional combat banter, the kind Kisame was proficient in. Silence was his penance, but it was also his weapon.
"Yes, the Yuki... That's a powerful bloodline, you know? I killed a few Yuki back in the old days. Real pain in the ass chasing them down with the mirrors and all..." Of course, that wouldn't be a problem now. Now he had the sharkskin, a blade that would easily shatter those damn mirrors by draining the chakra that keeps them functional.
Yet, when he was using a standard sword, he had his hands full dealing with the space-time aspect of the Hyoton bloodline. It wasn't exactly teleportation, as you could still hit one while he or she was travelling between mirrors, but it wasn't too far off. It was little wonder that only the Kaguya could reliably take them on... until they went and killed themselves, that is. But by that time, there were no Yuki in the village, and refugees were slowly being hunted down...
"Hn."
"Of course, you'd have no trouble with it, being Itachi Uchiha and all..."
This time, Itachi didn't bother answering.
"Oh come on..." spoke Kisame, giving his patented sharkish grin, "Don't tell me I got you all upset."
"No, you didn't." The Uchiha answered.
"And here I was, getting worried for no reason."
Itachi would roll his eyes, but decided against it, even though Kisame wasn't facing him. It was strange, though... even though he was living his life as an S-Ranked criminal, he was almost content. Travelling like this, it was soothing; made him forget the massacre, the eyes, the illness...
At times, Itachi wondered if he would have been better off just disappearing from the ninja continent, crossing the Arashi and settling in the wild lands. Even if his own ghosts would follow him that far, he could just turn to the Memory Blocking Technique... All he'd need was a chakra-suppressing seal to dampen the Sharingan's innate genjutsu resistance, and he would be able to live life as a nobody, far away from Konoha and the rest of this cursed ninja world...
But he couldn't force himself to leave Konoha, to leave Sasuke. Then the illness settled in, ruining any chance of that plan coming to fruition...
Maybe a medical expert, such as Sasori or the Sannin, Tsunade, could cure the sickness, but he couldn't contact the broken woman, and he didn't trust the puppeteer. Orochimaru was out of the question, even though, realistically, he possessed the knowledge as well.
No, he just needed enough time... Sooner or later, they would be sent to check up on Naruto-kun, the jinchuriki of the nine-tails, and he'd use the opportunity to check up on Sasuke as well...
Hopefully, his foolish little brother would grow strong enough to defeat him, winning back the honor of the Uchiha clan in Konoha, fixing the mistake that the old men had allowed to happen, the mistake that cost Shisui his life...
Shaking his head, Itachi carried on, barely noticing as the sun finally disappeared behind the mountains after which the land was named. No matter how long it took, he'd bring this tragedy of the Uchiha to an end. He had to, otherwise the guilt would kill him, rather than some illness.
Shizuka opened her eyes to a dark sky. It looked like the forestry around the village, but she couldn't be sure... The fact that she was bound tighter than a war criminal did little to help her focus.
Blinking a few times, she willed her vision to focus, managing to pick out shadows moving behind what seemed to be a lit fire. They seemed to be arguing, judging by the smaller one's body language. Slowly getting her bearings, the girl guided some chakra to her ears, using an old eavesdropping trick all ninja are taught in the academy.
"...you had no reason to involve her, Zabuza."
Haku? He was here? No, that couldn't mean that...
"I don't care." Came the rough voice from the taller figure. That must be the Demon of the Mist, the man who had terrorized her village.
Struggling to sit up properly, the fourteen year old genin tried to make as little noise as she could, only to stop moving completely upon noticing the smaller shadow moving towards her. If only the missing ninja wasn't clever enough to tie her up thoroughly like this, she could try and escape, but this way...
"Shizuka, are you ok?"
She blinked, noticing that the smaller figure was indeed Haku all this time. But why was he untied? Wasn't Zabuza after him for some reason?
"Haku! How are you not tied up? What's happpening?" She spoke, quickly quieting down afterwards. Making noise is generally a bad idea when you're a hostage...
The boy sat down next to her, slowly beginning to untie her. The array of knots wasn't possible to be set up while running away from the village, so the only other option was that they stopped at some point, devoting a pair of hands to reinforcing her bindings.
"I'm confused..." she muttered, lowering her head.
The boy gave her a sympathetic smile, half-obscured by the shadow the fire was throwing their way. After their chat, Haku decided to redo the girl's bindings while the swordsman went to hunt some food down. Once they sat down to eat, the argument simply began anew... Still, he was getting nowhere with Zabuza this tired.
"As you should be... I'm afraid I've gotten you into quite the problematic situation, and for that, I'm sorry."
"Don't be..." She answered almost reflexively. It was strange, but despite the circumstances, she still didn't want to upset him...
Her concern got another smile from the boy, who was finally making some progress with the bindings, throwing down what appeared to be a very large coil of wire. Just how much did they use to bind her?
"This isn't the first time I ended up travelling with Zabuza, you know..." the boy began, his smile fading quickly. "This is the first time he didn't have to bother tying me up, though."
"What are you talking about, Haku? Why would he take the risk?"
"There is no risk,"He spoke in a defeated tone of voice, "He knows I'm not going to try anything."
"But why wouldn't you? He's tired, alone... outnumbered once you finish untying me..."
"He has my family, Shizuka... or at least his people do."
It took him a few hours to pick out the lie he would tell her, not one of them sitting well. In the end, having a non-existent 'captured family' was the most convenient and believable explanation. His family, what little he had of it, was long gone, dead by the Mist's or by his own hands. To speak of them as if they were alive once more...
"If I try something, he won't report back to his people, and they'll die."
A grim thought crossed the girl's mind, and she found herself compelled to voice it, regardless of how insensitive it might sound. "But...how do you know if..."
"I don't." He answered, turning his eyes away, "But I have hope that they are. That's why I'm helping him, not because I want to."
"I see..." The girl trailed off, slowly shaking off another layer of wire off of herself. It was easier to breathe and move now, but she could wait until Haku was done. It was slightly uncomfortable having him essentially feel the entirety of her body, but he was being more than a gentleman about it.
"But," she began, latching onto another stray thought, "Why you? Why not anyone else? I know your bloodline is strong, but you aren't at your full strength, so I don't see why he'd want you around..."
"Symbolism." He answered. So far it was going well, she asked the questions he expected her to ask, and he was giving her the answers she needed to hear. Inside, this was killing him, but he couldn't fail Zabuza... So he'd find an alternative. That's what ninja do, they fix the problem; it doesn't matter how it's fixed, unless the mission specification highlights a desired method of solution.
If he wanted Shizuka to witness the fight against the Yondaime, he'd get exactly that...
"He wants a bloodline user to help him kill the tyrant Mizukage. He wants to usher in a new age for the hidden Mist."
Shizuka blinked. He wanted to bring down a tyrant? Why? To replace him? He wouldn't need Haku for that... Could it really be that the Demon of the Hidden Mist was intending to do something that selfless, to try and change a nation for the better?
It didn't make sense, but... the evidence was all there. He didn't kill anyone, not one person was grievously injured, even when they came at him with all they had. She had personally spent her mornings visiting people in the hospital, regardless of rank; it was something a future leader would do, she reasoned.
But to hear that the Mist assassin had resolved to become a harbinger of change... Was something like that possible?
"So... what do we do?"
"We stay put. If either of us runs away, my family dies." He spoke, voice sounding lifeless and resigned.
With a few swift motions, he got rid of the rest of the wire, watching the lot of it sitting discarded on the ground... he'd clean it up later.
"Haku... this is an A-Rank criminal..." She began, suddenly losing her words.
"I know. But what can we do, Shizuka? We won't be able to do anything until we reach the hidden village... even then, it's a longshot that he's holding them close to the Mist itself."
"I know, but..." She sighed, her own powerlessness in the situation becoming all too apparent.
"We should rest." The boy spoke.
"We should kill him in his sleep." She said, noticing that the swordsman had dozed off, leaning against a tree.
"Please, Shizuka..." The angry expression that she was wearing was dangerous. What if she actually tried to attack him once again? He had to stop her, but...
The girl shook her head, slowly crossing her arms as her eyes closed halfway. "This is awful, Haku."
"I know."
"You think we'll make it through it?"
The boy paused, slightly surprised with the question. "Yes... I think we can. We just need to keep our wits about us."
She gave a small sigh, closing her eyes completely.
"Alright, I'll trust you."
He didn't have any reason to keep his office this dark. Much of his work would be somewhat easier if he didn't have to wait for his eyes to adjust to the darkness, but the strategic advantage and intimidation factor more than made up for that little inconvenience.
He liked to weigh things, to see where they stood on the scale of usefulness. Many held that against him, calling him a cold son of a bitch who didn't care about his subjects, but their opinions of him had no value, and as such were not worth his time.
Right now, Orochimaru sat in his office, waiting for one of his more trusted underlings to arrive, having called her in recently due to the recent developments with Kimimaro's condition. He needed someone like her to see what she can dig up on the mysterious benefactor, since Kabuto was obviously busy in Konoha, preparing everything for the exams.
They had decided to attack during the exams... it was the most efficient way of going about things, really. Suna would bring in the jinchuriki, and they'd have free reign over any Konoha targets of interest. He wanted the old man's life, and he wanted Sasuke Uchiha. He had no qualms about trampling the village in order to get what he wanted.
"My lord, she's arrived." Came a voice from beyond the door. None of the mooks in the base dared entering his office without being explicitly invited, and even then they were cautious. Was he really that frightening?
A smirk came to the sannin's lips as the door opened, revealing the distinct green kimono of his favorite female follower. She still had the same faux-proud look in her eyes, a flimsy defense against someone like him, a mere diversion made to shift attention away from her glaring insecurities.
Perhaps she was stronger now, strong enough to finally qualify as a vessel. But so was Kimimaro, and he still wouldn't be getting that honor. It was an interesting side effect of his new therapy, the inability for the body to be prepared for the Living Corpse Reincarnation technique. Without such preparation, Kimimaro's gift would have the standard three-year expiration date...
Guren... she was still an option, but the Sharingan was simply much, much more interesting...
"My lord." The woman spoke in a modest voice, bowing her head low.
"Guren. It's been too long..." He began, pressing the tips of his fingers together in what some would call 'typical novel villain' fashion. The motion was very intentional.
"It has... how can I serve you, Orochimaru-sama?" She continued, taking a seat opposite the man who had changed her life. Perhaps he would finally answer her about whether he'd consider her as a potential vessel...
"You are aware that our dear Kimimaro was, up until recently, suffering from what looked like an incurable illness, hmm?"
"I am. Did something happen?"
"Oh no, nothing of the sort... However, I do have something I'd very much appreciate if you did for me."
"Anything, Orochimaru-sama, I am yours to command."
He smiled, tilting his head to the side a bit. "Such an obedient girl you are, Guren... I am lucky to have run across you, aren't I?"
"I...If you say..." However, before she could continue speaking, the sannin suddenly turned around, rummaging through a drawer before producing a small paper airplane.
"This is your only lead. I've followed up on the immediate chakra trail, but didn't pursue it further. I figured the benevolent benefactor wanted to keep his or her privacy... I figure this was more than enough privacy."
He placed it on the far side of the table, motioning for her to inspect it.
Not understanding what was happening, Guren nonetheless complied, taking the paper airplane in her hands and inspecting it closely. Sure enough, the rumors of Kimimaro's cure coming on a mysterious paper airplane were true.
So she was supposed to track whoever sent this? A trail that old would be difficult to follow... but still, if it was for Orochimaru-sama, it wouldn't be a problem. She raised her head to speak, intending to ask for the location of where the trail began, only to see the sannin pointing to a spot on what appeared to be a map of the local area.
"You will start from here. Report in via any means you see fit, once every two months. While this would be little more than a wild goose hunt for most shinobi, I'm sure someone like you could get results." He spoke, his voice carrying a tone of finality.
She nodded, leaving the paper airplane as she got up and turned to leave the office.
"Oh, and one more thing..." The sannin began, having somehow already removed both the map and the airplane from his desk, "If you do find whoever sent it, report immediately but don't engage."
"Of course, Lord Orochimaru."
The door closed behind her, leaving the former konoha shinobi alone once more.
He was on the back foot with whoever it was getting to make the first move... that only meant that his move needed to count. If Guren could catch their trail, he'd be the one with the advantage... Whoever could provide such a specialized cure for Kimimaro's illness was surely a dangerous individual indeed, one that would need to be dealt with sooner or later.
He wouldn't have reached the point he did if he procrastinated in dealing with his problems, and this one wouldn't be any different. If it's a shadow he's chasing, he will catch it. Other ninja couldn't, but he was a sannin for a reason...
But first...first the old man had to die, of course.
But writer, Itachi doesn't only think about Sasuke and Konoha, he has other interests too...
No, he doesn't. Itachi Uchiha is the embodiment of devotion. He is devoted to accomplishing his goal, and will not let anything get in his way, no matter how complicated the workaround might be. In tropes terms, I classify him under 'unfettered'.
Anyways, hope you enjoyed the chapter. If you're not going to review (which isn't that hard really, you'd figure people would want to leave an opinion...) at least keep dropping the follows and favs, they're nice too.
Until next time!