Stalemate

Onyx and Ivory

"Do you ever think about who you would be if you weren't a Shinobi?"

"No."

A giggle, "Liar."

There was a pause between the two teens as the long haired girl tossed her wavy locks over one shoulder, the setting sunlight shining in her hair. Her companion's dark onyx eyes flickered over to her, watching her as she leaned back on her hands and tilted her face up to the sky, seeing the expanse melting into blues and purples. His eyes studied the side of her face, her small straight nose, full lips and slender neck.

"I think I'd be a florist."

"You were terrible at flower arranging at the academy," he pointed out to her, shifting his gaze off her and over the village below.

"Exactly!" She exclaimed, a laugh bubbling from her lips. "It can only get better from there. Besides, who isn't happy when they receive flowers? I'd like to make people happy…" She trailed off quietly.

Another silence passed between them, not uncomfortable, but peaceful.

"You still haven't told me yours, Itachi." She reminded the boy next to her, glancing over at him with a smile playing on her lips. The boy in question turned to her, their gazes met for a second before he looked away from her.

"I've never thought about it." He admitted quietly.

"Well I have!"

Itachi gave her a look of confusion, wondering why she had thought about this, let alone his. Suddenly Hoshiko was close to him, closer then he would normally like from her, her face was inches from his own, her silvery eyes sparkling with mirth. A large grin spread across her face as she poked Itachi's cheek playfully, "You'd own a dango store!"

Hoshiko delved into a fit of laughter as she leaned back, obviously proud of herself. Unbeknownst to her, she failed to miss Itachi ducking his head down and smiling to himself.

"And obviously I would get free dango of course."

"…Of course."

Hoshiko slowly drew herself out of her old memory, feeling the large pit of sadness within her gut as she looked down at the book in her hand. The writing on the pages was messy but she could read it. She snapped it shut, the sound echoing off the stone monument that she was currently sitting atop of. The memory had been unwanted and made her think about the past, which she hated doing. What was done was done, and you couldn't change it. Her stormy grey eyes stared at the cover of the journal; it was bare and tattered, obviously old and worn. The information inside had been something she had been desperately wanting for years, now she had it sitting in the palm of her hand.

It had been three days since she had approached Danzo. He had given her the journal, and told her she had three days to read it and decide what she planned to do. It was odd, she had been skeptical as to why Danzo had given her the book and let her leave, what was he playing at? She didn't trust the man as far as she could throw him, but he had the answers she sought, and he had given them to her. Tomorrow she was to report back to him, to report to Root, and start her new path. She guessed that by him giving her the journal, it was a binding contract that she was now his pawn. Somehow Hoshiko failed to see how this benefited her.

The journal had told her lots of things, about all the different ways for her to use her power, how she can heal exceptionally fast, draw out chakra and store it for later use. There had been a list of names that Hoshiko's eyes had skimmed over, she guessed they were the names of her clansmen who had died in the war, the one's who had infiltrated the camps and died. How else would they have gotten the information if not from studying the bodies of the fallen and interrogating them?

There was a section of the drawbacks from using her ability, Hoshiko had skimmed over that part, she already knew what happened, you turned power hungry and crazy. Excessive consumption had you passing out. The thirst for chakra sometimes became unbearable for some and they willingly sought out victims to drain. The memories drove people to insanity; Hoshiko could understand that part very well.

Her eyes rose to look over the village, it was slowly becoming sunset, the sun starting its slow descent from the sky. This was around the same time she had her memory with Itachi, she cast the thought from her mind, she didn't want to think of Itachi. With a heavy sigh Hoshiko stood up from the stone, she pocketed the journal in her pouch and with a final sweeping look over the village she flickered away.

X

Hoshiko was dragging her feet through Konoha. Her hands were shoved into her black pants as her shin high black boots kicked up dust and pebbles as she walked. It was nearing autumn now, which meant that Hoshiko had swapped out her short-sleeved turtleneck shirt for her long sleeved one. She had heard a few of the older citizens of Konoha grumbling about how they expected autumn to be very chilly this year. She passed by lots of people, but none paid her any notice, her head was downcast and it was like she was invisible to the world around her. As she walked she could start to smell the different kinds of foods from the restaurants along the street. Her stomach grumbled loudly, she wanted to grab something but knew her mother would be making dinner, it was the last one she would have at home for a while she guessed. Danzo had instructed her to inform her mother that she was going on a mission and wouldn't be back for a while, it made her feel uneasy but it was the price to pay for the journal and for Danzo to teach her how to control her power.

"Oh, Kakashi look."

Hoshiko didn't hear the voice that had spoken from within the food stall. It was only when Hoshiko felt a hand clamp down on her shoulder lightly that she stopped and turned to face them. She saw Kakashi peering down at her with his one exposed eye.

"Kakashi-senpai." Hoshiko greeted flatly. She could see his eye scanning over her face, he could tell that something was bothering her by the way her shoulders had been slumped. Her silvery gaze looked beyond his shoulder; looking into the food stall she spotted a group of Kakashi's friends. Guy; Asuma and Kurenai.

Guy saw her looking and began to wave wildly, "Yo! Hoshiko-chan! Come and join us!" He bellowed loudly. Causing Kurenai to wince from his boisterous voice.

"So that's Kakashi's protégé." Asuma mused as he flicked his cigarette in the ashtray.

Hoshiko glanced up at Kakashi, noticing that his hand was still sitting warmly on her shoulder. "You should join us." Kakashi stated.

Hoshiko thought about it for a moment before shaking her head, "It's ok. I need to get home."

"Are you sure?" Kakashi pried. Seeing the flat look in her eyes.

"Thank you for the offer, but I really must be going. Give my greetings to everyone." Hoshiko said, reaching up and pulling Kakashi's hand off her shoulder. She didn't wait for Kakashi's reply as she spun around on her heel and walked off into the growing crowd. Kakashi stood there, puzzled. He had never seen her act that way before. It was like she was a different person, but he knew better then to pry into why she was acting this way, if she wanted to speak with him, she would.

Hoshiko sat with her legs tucked under her body at the dinner table, her mother sitting across from her as they ate in tense silence. With Hoshiko's suddenly drastic change in mood it had been difficult for Hiroka to keep a conversation with her daughter, it would either end in an argument with Hoshiko storming into her room or her leaving the house for hours.

"I have a mission starting tomorrow." Hoshiko suddenly said, breaking the tense silence in the room.

Hiroka met her daughters gaze, "How long will you be gone?" She inquired.

"I don't know. It's a long term mission."

"Is it dangerous?"

"I don't know."

"Will Itachi-kun be going with you again?"

Hoshiko flinched at the name and the memory, "No." She replied stiffly. There was a moment of silence.

"Did you two have an argument?" Hiroka asked cautiously. Hoshiko met her mothers' gaze for a second, she didn't reply as Hoshiko rose from the table, taking her empty bowl to the sink and placing it in softly. Without saying a word Hoshiko left the dining room and walked the short distance to her room, slamming the door shut behind her.

Hoshiko sat on her bed, and then threw her body against the pillows roughly, clamping her eyes shut tightly as she wished the pain and loneliness away.

X

Hoshiko was awake at dawn. She was dressed and stared in her small mirror as she drew her long hair up into a ponytail and secured her forehead protector. She adjusted her kunai and shuriken pouch on her belt and flattened out her shirt. With a fleeting glance around her room one last time she left, shutting the door quietly behind her. Hoshiko stood silently for a moment, deciding whether to wake her mother up or just simply leave. She had been annoyed at her last night for bringing up Itachi but she hadn't known the reason. Hoshiko hadn't opened up to her about him, and she couldn't, she wouldn't. With a sigh Hoshiko walked the few steps to her mothers bedroom and pressed the side of her face flat against the wood. She could hear her mother's soft snores as she carefully opened up the door and slipped inside the dark room. Hoshiko approached the bed, seeing her mother's calm and peaceful face brought a gentle smile to Hoshiko's lips. She bent down, kissing her mother on the cheek, "Sayonara, Okaa-san."

Hoshiko left the room without making a sound as she went to the door and slipped on her shin high boots. When she was ready she didn't look back into the house as she opened the door and stepped out into the pre-dawn light of Konoha.

Hoshiko had to detour to the ANBU headquarters before she made her way to the underground complex where Root was housed. Danzo had instructed her to fetch her belongings from there and then meet him underground. Hoshiko could feel the heavy weight of the journal in her back pocket of her pants as she opened the door to the locker room. She didn't need to tell her superiors where she was being assigned; Danzo had told her that he would take care of it. Danzo had told her a lot of things…

With a heavy heart Hoshiko went straight for her locker, opening the metal door as she peered in, seeing her armor, mask and Wakizashi sitting neatly on the top shelf. There was also a spare change of clothes. She pulled them all into her arms as she heard the door to the locker room open suddenly.

Hoshiko peered around the small metal door, wanting to see who had come in so early when she felt her heart stop for a second and her stomach drop to her knees.

It was Itachi.

Her grip on her belongings slipped ever so slightly as she hissed in annoyance and caught everything before it could all fall to the floor. She didn't pay him any attention as she heard him walk passed her and straight to his own locker on the opposite side. It was the first time she had seen him in four days since the argument at his home, she had been thinking for days what she would say to him if she ever saw him again, but now that she was here, she couldn't think of a single word. She was hyper aware that he could probably sense her tension and the fluctuations that her chakra was making from his presence. The last time she had seen him, she had been so sure that he was prepared to attack her.

With a flick of her wrist, her locker door slammed shut loudly, she had used more force then necessary on it as she turned on her heel and wasn't surprise to see him facing his own locker, pulling on his armor. She resisted the urge to feel any emotion towards him. Although what she really wanted to do was yank on his ponytail, really hard. She glared at the Uchiha emblem on his back, picturing it as his face and imagined herself pummeling him to a pulp for what he said.

"Are you going to continue staring at me?"

Hoshiko jumped slightly from the sound of his voice, the tone was cold and icy, exactly what he had used with her the other day. She was surprised that he was the one to speak first; she didn't think he would. She turned her face away from him, glaring at the ground. She decided that she wouldn't give him the satisfaction of making her embarrassed for being caught staring, instead she began to walk to the door, holding her head up high. She reached for the handle, faltering for a second, wondering if she should say something to him or ignore him completely? She wanted to, she wanted to throw something at him actually, something hard and sharp. Instead of ignoring him she turned her head slightly, looking over her shoulder and seeing Itachi clip on his chest plate.

"You got what you wanted, Uchiha." She returned to her old ways of addressing him by his family name, like she had done so many years ago, when they hadn't been friends at all. She saw Itachi pause in what he was doing but other then that he didn't acknowledge her at all. "After today you won't have to see me ever again. I've joined Root." Hoshiko turned away, not bothering to see if he had reacted to her statement as she thrust the door open and stormed out, slamming it loudly behind her, her footsteps slapped against the hard flooring as she walked as quickly as she could out of the HQ, she didn't want to be anywhere near Itachi anymore.

Hoshiko was led to a small room, more like a prison cell, when she arrived at Root. Everything was bland, the walls, the floors, even the bed sheet was identical to the wall colour. It was single, with a hard looking mattress and a rickety wooden nightstand with a single lamp. A chest at the end of the bed was apparently for her uniform; she was told no personal belongings were allowed in Root.

"Danzo-sama wants you to meet with him." The masked guide told her as she dropped her clothes onto the bed and spun around on her heel, nodded swiftly she was led out of the room. She took note of where it was so that she didn't get lost on her way back.

Her guide took her down a set of corridors, all had doors spaced out, she assumed it was the rooms for the other members. She looked around in awe when she was brought to a large underground cavern, the bridge she was walking on intersected at the middle, where she could see Danzo waiting for her. Her eyes darted up, where she could see round holes in the roof; where sunlight filtered through, giving the creepy room an even more ominous feel to it. As Hoshiko approached Danzo she could see the slight smirk he had on his face at her presence, she had an inkling that Danzo had been waiting for this moment for a long time and was seriously pleased with himself for finally having her in Root. He had wanted her in Root from the very start, so he was no doubt satisfied with the outcome.

"Leave us." Danzo ordered his minion as the masked man bowed in respect and then disappeared in the blink of an eye. Hoshiko was left alone with Danzo as she reached behind her and plucked the journal out of her pocket and tossed it to the old man. He caught it, his cane clattering to the ground.

"You can have it back." Hoshiko said, her voice flat. "There wasn't much in there that I didn't already know."

Danzo made a noise in the back of his throat, "And yet you still came here willingly."

"A deals a deal." Hoshiko snapped as she watched Danzo place the book into his many layers of clothing, he then bent down, fetching his cane as he held it firmly in his wrinkled grasp. "You said that for the journal I'd have to join Root. What I want to know is everything that wasn't in the journal." Hoshiko said sternly, keeping her stance strong as she faced the head of Root.

"Whatever do you mean?" Danzo asked nonchalantly.

"Don't play coy with me," Hoshiko frowned. "I know that you've wanted me in Root since I did my ANBU test, which means you've known about me and my power for a long time. The journal just proves it. So, again, I want to know everything you know."

Danzo was silent for a moment, a sinister smirk crept over his mouth as he turned his back on her, "Follow me. We begin your training."

X

Hoshiko followed Danzo silently as he led her through the complex. They walked down countless stairs, and Hoshiko wondered why Danzo was getting down them so smoothly if he needed the use of a cane. While she was pondering what would happen if she 'accidently' kicked the cane out of his hand they had arrived at their destination. Danzo walked under a large archway and into a well-lit room, around the edges of the room were targets and training dummies. The room itself was enormous, the high ceiling reminded her of the room from the second part of her Chuunin exam, just without large statue. Two rows of pillars held up the ceiling, extending down the length of the room. Danzo walked to the center of the room as he stopped once there and turned around, Hoshiko stopped a few feet away from him.

"Tell me, how many times have you used your Mizukiri?" Danzo asked.

"Once." Hoshiko replied instantly. The piercing stare he gave her had Hoshiko gritting her teeth, "Twice."

"And each time, how did you activate it?"

"I don't know," Hoshiko shrugged. "It just happens."

Danzo made a sound in the back of his throat that sounded like disappointment; his one beady eye suddenly darted around the room and with a slight nod of his head, four Root members dropped down from the ceiling. She had a split second to react as one of the masked men threw a kunai in her direction; she pivoted out of the way.

"What are you doing?" Hoshiko demanded, tossing a glare in Danzo's direction.

A chuckle came from the old man, "Child, how do you expect to be of any use to me if you cannot control your Kekkei Genkai at will?"

"I can't remember the first time I used it!" Hoshiko argued as she expertly dodged an attack by one of the Root wearing an eagle mask. "The second time…" She thought back on what had happened. She had been injured; her back sliced open as she bled out of the floor. She had been angry with the Sound nin for kidnapping the children. "I was desperate, and it just sort of turned on. I can't do it at will, don't you think I've tried!" Hoshiko argued as Eagle threw another kunai at her, this time an explosives tag was on it as she leapt back, bouncing off a nearby pillar and landing on the ground.

"Maybe you just haven't had the right persuasion." Danzo chimed. Hoshiko glanced over at him, taking her eyes off of Eagle for a second. Movement to her right had her dodging and drawing her Wakizashi from her back as she met Dog with his own blade. Hoshiko strained against him, sparks coming off the gleaming metal as she bared her teeth in rage. "Kill these four with your Kekkei Genkai, or I shall eliminate your mother."

"What?" Hoshiko was so shocked at Danzo's order that she faltered, and she paid for it. Dog whaled into her, plunging his fist into her stomach, and as she hunched over in pain, a loud groan coming out of her mouth, Dog brought his knee up. Hoshiko was launched a few feet back, her back sliding across the hard ground as she came to a stop a few meters away. She rolled onto her side, spitting out blood from where she had bit down on her tongue from the hit. Her stormy grey eyes narrowed at Danzo, as he still stood casually, he had since moved to block the entrance of the room. "You will not touch her." Hoshiko threatened, her voice turning into a growl.

"Then kill them." Danzo said simply.

Hoshiko's gaze flicked to the members of Root, she wondered why the hell they weren't arguing this? Why were they ok with Danzo sentencing their death? Didn't they want to live?

"They're your subordinates!" Hoshiko cried, standing up and ignoring the pain in her stomach, her insides felt like they had moved around a bit from the blow.

"They are expendable."

Hoshiko couldn't believe what she was hearing, was Danzo serious? He didn't really expect her to kill them, did he? He was just trying to influence her, get her to use her Mizukiri…but from the look on the old mans face—he was dead serious.

"I—I don't know how to use it!"

"Then your mother dies."

"No!" Hoshiko screamed, she leapt forwards, intent on fighting Danzo himself but was blocked by Mouse, who made the seals for a Katon as Hoshiko skidded to a halt. Fire burst from the mouth of Mouse, thinking on the spot, Hoshiko made the exact same hand seals as her own Katon came bursting out. The flames met, clashing as heat blazed around the room. It was a fight of fire, both Katon's pushing against the other, and sweat began to form on Hoshiko's brow as she tried to focus more chakra into her attack. Her chakra senses alerted her that someone was coming up behind her, knowing that she only had a few seconds to react she leapt out of the way, her Katon being consumed by Mouse's as the fireball sailed passed and exploded once it hit the back wall.

Hoshiko panted as she dodged Snake's attack with his katana, her Wakizashi was lying on the floor on the other side of the room from when she had been punched. She weaved around him, jumping into the air and ducking down, avoiding getting her head sliced off. She circled around, trying to find an opening to either fetch her weapon or strike the Root member. She twisted her body to the side, almost avoiding the downward slice as the blade nicked her cheek, Hoshiko hissed in pain as she felt the blood trickle down her cheek. She suddenly realized that if she didn't kill the Root, they were going to kill her, and probably her mother. She couldn't let that happen, she wouldn't.

Could she kill fellow Konoha Shinobi? Not only was it considered treasonous but it was immoral too. These people were her comrades, could she kill them to save her mother? What sane person thought it was ok for one Konoha Shinobi to kill another, four even? Hoshiko realized that Danzo wasn't sane; he was doing this for his own twisted reason. What did he get out of her killing four of his Root members? Seeing her Mizukiri in action? There were probably a hundred different ways that they could've done this, but why this way? Hoshiko thought about what made Root special, his minions were trained from childhood, orphans taken in by him and made to be emotionless assassins, that was what Itachi had told her weeks ago.

Emotionless…

The answer came to her as she looked at the four masked Root members in the room, they didn't have an opinion on the matter because they didn't feel anything. They were practically robots, Danzo had instructed them to attack her, so they had. Danzo had ordered them to die, so they would. Was Danzo's goal to make her like them? Danzo had to know that she would fight this, she would never want to kill a comrade, was the answer to repress her emotions to do the deed. If she didn't kill them, her mother would die, and if that happened Hoshiko knew that she would in fact turn into a mindless assassin. Either way Danzo was going to win. It was either her mother, or the Root; Hoshiko didn't hesitate with her answer.

X

Hoshiko kicked off Snake, using his body as leverage as she stuck onto the nearby pillar; she watched as the four Root lined up in front of her, she glared at each of them, then turning her glare to Danzo. He was watching with an amused smile. The bastard.

Using the breathing room to her advantage, she thought back on each time her Mizukiri had activated. The first time, she had been unconscious when it had happened, but from what Itachi had told her, she had been injured and instinctively used it to preserve her own life.

The second time, she had been injured again, and she had used it to heal herself and preserve her own life.

That was it!

Hoshiko, all of a sudden, knew how she could activate her Mizukiri. She stared down Snake, and launched herself off the pillar, Snake leaped off the ground, his katana poised at the ready. They inched closer to each other; Hoshiko's silver eyes stared at Snake's dark brown from beneath his mask. They were centimeters from each other; Snake brought the katana to his front.

And plunged it right through her chest.

The katana pierced her armor, her flesh, and came out the other side, blood coating the steel as the force of his attack had them hitting the pillar that Hoshiko had been standing on as the steel stuck into the rock. Pain erupted through her like she had never felt before, her whole body was on fire, she couldn't even gasp for breath as she felt her body become pinned on the pillar. Blood spurted from her mouth, splattering Snake's mask as she could feel the life draining away from her. She would only have seconds to react.

She could feel the power; it was sitting there, in the depths of her stomach, waiting to be used. She willed it up, feeling it travel through her burning body, until she could feel the power circulating through her whole body. Her eyes snapped open, the glowing orbs an indication that she had done it as her hand reached out and grasped onto Snake's neck. Her fingers dug into the flesh of his exposed neck, she heard the Root splutter as the chakra began to slowly seep into her own body. All of this happened within three seconds.

She gripped the katana hilt, pulling the sword from her chest, she could feel the steel sliding out of her flesh but she no longer felt pain, instead, she felt alive. Her wound closed up at remarkable speed as Snake's mask fell from his face, revealing a man that Hoshiko had never seen before in her life. He was much older then her though. His withered body, once devoid of all chakra and life, dropped to the floor as Hoshiko flipped the katana around in her hand, extending it out in front of her as she stared down the remaining three in front of her.

"I'm sorry, but I will not let my mother die." She stated to them. Then she lunged for them at impossible speed.

The katana clattered to the floor, the sound echoing in the silent room as blood, dripping from the sword splashed against her sandals. Blood coated the floor around her as the smell of death hung in the air. Blood was smeared on her face and in her hair and all over her clothes as she stared down at the four bodies surrounding her. Three had been reverted to nothing but skeletons and one had been sliced in half, remnants of the fight were in the form of holes in the floor, ceiling and walls. One of the pillars had even been destroyed in the battle, the rubble scattered around the room. Hoshiko stood in the middle of the room, her eyes still glowing like a reflective moon as she surveyed the carnage. It was strange, the last time, she had felt like she had been a spectator in her own body, this time, she was fully conscious of everything that she had done, and that just made it that much worse.

A sudden pain flashed through her head as she winced, a hand flying up to her temple as she crumpled to her knees. The pain was gone as soon as it had happened as Hoshiko's hands were flat against the concrete floor as she sucked in deep breaths. She felt the power slowly fade away, it settled back in that spot, deep within her stomach as a slow clap made her raise her head.

Danzo approached her slowly, making tracks through the blood as he stopped a few feet away from her, "Well done."

"Are you satisfied now?" Hoshiko gasped out, she was on the verge of collapsing.

"Hardly." Danzo remarked.

"My…mother." Hoshiko managed to roll back onto her knees as she stared up at the Root leader.

"Will not be harmed." Danzo said as he turned his back on her. "That is…" He said, walking towards the large archway. Hoshiko felt her eyes widen in shock and fear as she felt three more chakra signatures enter the room. "If you can defeat these three with your Mizukiri. If not, then your mother dies."

Hoshiko, eyes as wide as the moon itself, spun around on her knees. She was surrounded by three more masked Root and all at one they lunged for her.

Hi everyone, I am so so so sorry for not updating in almost 2 months. Life has been absolutely hectic for me over January and February, it's finally settled down so hopefully you'll see some close and regular updates from now on. I was blown away with the response for last chapter! Thank you all so so much and I know it's been a while but I hope you all enjoy this chapter! After this one we'll be doing another little time skip as I want to get the ball rolling withe everything!

REPLIES

lizyeh2000 - Sorry for the wait! Yep she's in Root, and after this ordeal I wonder what's going to happen to her?

foreveradreamerinlife - I'm so sorry you had to wait for this chapter after waiting on the edge of your seat! Most will be revealed very soon!

Dark Rose Charm - Yesss Danzo! Not that I like him or anything, but you know, he is the main villain and he will get his comeuppance one day. I like your theory, that would be very interesting!

Sara R - Sorry about the long wait! I'm so happy you're enjoying my story! I want them to be together as well but it's going to be a while before that happens!

jcwhale2380 - Ahhh yes Danzo, the sneaky bastard. Sorry it took me forever to update! We'll find out what Itachi was thinking later on.

SafyrRaven - Thank you so much! I have worked really hard on the planning of this story and I'm really excited for how everything is going to play out in the end. Hold onto your butts folks!

Davina - I hate myself sometimes too with what I write, but this is how I love writing it! xD Angst incoming!

santoserimar - Sorry this took me a while to get out! Your review made me laugh so much xD I love Hoshiko and Sasuke's relationship as well and we will see a little more of him before the fated incident! :O

Again so sorry for the wait but I hope you all enjoyed and the next chapter will be out soon, I promise!

Also, I changed the cover picture for the story with a picture of Hoshiko. The age is probably around the 12-14 mark for her, just so people can have a grasp on what she looks like in my head xD I do have another one that i'll change up for when she's older once we get there!