Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto, Naruto Shippuden, or anything other than my OCs.
"He sucks!" Kai threw his arm up and winced at the pain, "I'm telling you to give Kori back."
Tsunade pounded him over the head once more, "Shut up! You're making things hard on Sakura!"
The pink haired kunoichi looked up at the blonde and smiled, "Kai-kun, you should be more careful instead."
"It has nothing to do with me!" The blonde pointed an accusing finger at the ANBU op in the bed adjacent to him, "You can tell him to go rot in hell! He can't lead to save his life!"
"My life is perfectly fine." Touga shot back, "It's your life that was about to end and I have no qualms with that."
"Please!" Toshizo shouted over the two who were locked in a glaring contest, "It was our first time working together. You can't expect things to be perfect. It was a hard mission so give each other a break!"
"Oh I'd like to give him a break! A long, permanent break!" Kai snapped, his blond hair bristling with electricity.
"In the Root, we believe in corporal punishment." The ANBU op snorted, "Those words would have been rewarded with a thorough beating."
"I'll give you a fucking beating!"
"Stop it!" Toshizo all but wailed but no one was listening.
The room burst out in pandemonium as the blonde jonin leapt towards the ash-haired male to make good on his words.
O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O
When Iruka told her she could participate in the morning's lesson, Hyuga Kori had expected something difficult or something complex to the point where she would be lost without help. She had no idea that the lesson would be such a… for lack of better words, simple children's play date.
She had been instructed to summon her partner, Rokuro, and introduce him to the children as a friendly ninja animal but the way Iruka had described their morning lesson to the kids made it seem like all she had to do was let them play with the white tiger. In fact, that's all she had been doing this whole time.
Rokuro bused a group of three or four across the Academy's playground with ease, the children squealing in excitement on his back was certainly a new experience for him as well.
"Iruka-sensei… I don't really see how this is teaching them anything important." The Hyuga finally murmured, her smiling teacher turned his attention to her immediately, "Isn't this just playing?"
"Yes it is." Iruka admitted, smiling even wider at her confused expression, "But tell me, Kori, do you think kids at that age would remember a lecture on nin-dogs of various regions or do you think they'll remember playing with a white tiger they've only seen in folktales?"
"Well, I'm sure they're more interested in playing but playing has nothing to do with ninja animals."
"Oh but it does. When these kids grow up and they come across a ninja beast, they'll remember this more than the times I stood in front of them and scolded them for falling asleep through my lecture. This experience could affect how they choose their own partners or even save them from a messy situation in the future. It may not seem like much now but it's always the small things that count."
"The small things…" She nodded in acknowledgement, finding Iruka's daily schedule was catered to the students and the level of difficulty they could handle.
It seems there was still much for her to learn from Iruka despite having graduated and departed from the Academy. It was a strange thought but she understood that the difference between the more respected shinobi of the village and herself was not their rank but their wisdom. Adults speak from experience, experience that she had yet to gain. A frown tugged at her lips. If the difference between her and this village's more powerful shinobi was the experiences they had, was there no way for her to gain that same strength without those same experiences?
O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O
"Kyrie." Sai's tone of voice was not like she had ever heard it before. He looked at her with an emotion behind his eyes unlike any previous gleam she had seen behind those irises.
"What is it?" Yui was grateful that her mask was hiding her expression because his emotional expression was scaring her.
"I let the letter from the Kazekage go unharmed. Kori-san will be receiving it later today." He informed her as if there was something he wanted her to take away from that knowledge.
She chose to ignore that insinuation and nodded curtly, "Danzo-sama did mention it might seem too suspicious if they stopped all at once so I presume you will be stopping the next one. Excuse me."
He caught her arm as she tried to pass the entryway into Root's headquarters, "I don't think what you're doing is right. If Naruto can chase Sasuke across countries and into Orochimaru's lair because they're friends, I don't think you should be stopping those letters."
"I am not Naruto. I'm going to stop the next letter so there won't be a reply letter for you to stop if it bothers you so much." She hissed, snatching her arm away from his grip, "I have to get to my sparring session."
Sai watched with his naturally blank expression as Yui continued on her way without looking back. He wondered if there was anything he could do to prevent Kyrie from ruining the only thing she had that was worth holding on to. If he couldn't stop her, he truly felt she would become the empty shell he used to be. No one deserved to be in that ignorant state any more than he did.
O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O
"You got us in trouble again." Toshizo grumbled to his companion as they walked down the streets with bruises and swelling welts on their faces, "Did you really have to go and pick a fight with Touga-san in the hospital?"
"Shut the fuck up." The blonde grumbled dejectedly, "If that old lady hadn't gotten in the way I would've shown him exactly why we failed that mission!"
"Because you don't get along?"
"No! Because he sucks at his job!"
The chiding from the puppeteer was put on hold as a third voice interrupted them from a small ways away, "At it again, Kai? Why don't you just marry each other?"
"Geh." The jonin grimaced as if a putrid odor had met his nose, "Dog breath."
Kiba rolled his eyes as he approached them, "As much as I'd like to insult you back, I'll leave that for another time. I'm looking for Kori. Any ideas?"
"Funny, dog-boy. We're looking for her too."
"What makes you think she wants you to find her?"
"Well fuck you too."
The escalating verbal argument was only fueled with the arrival of a new companion, "Arguing again, Saizo?"
"Fuck off, Neji." The blond snapped back almost instantly, "If you're not going to tell me where to find your sister, take your ass home."
"Your crude language can be saved for another day. I'm looking for her too." The Hyuga spat, "Someone of your stature should learn some new vocabulary. Maybe something fancier than insults?"
"Yeah yeah and maybe you should learn how to follow directions and fuck off like I told you too."
"Language!" Toshizo shrieked at his teammate in frustration, "Would you stop picking fights with every single person you see?"
Ignoring the pleas of his friend, Kai opened his mouth for yet another insult that was appropriately cut off by an unexpected pair of ninjas with the same goal as this violent group of young men.
"What's this? Is our Kai giving people trouble again?" Asahina laughed quietly at the look of utter disgust on her former student's face and then again at the look on that of his companions who believe he was being justly scolded by a higher power, "I heard you picked a fight with Tsunade-sama after she kept you from trying to murder your new team leader. You certainly look like you got beat up by the Hokage."
"Don't tease him, Asahina." Kakashi mumbled through the mask half-heartedly, "It's rare to see all of you gathered up without Kori. What's the occasion?"
"There is no occasion!" The two younger jonins snapped together and then glared at each other as if they had done the other a great wrong.
"Well…" Kakashi grumbled, "I'm guessing that means you don't know where she is?"
"If I knew I wouldn't be stuck with him!" They shouted again in chorus and the glaring continued.
"Oh brother." The copy ninja sighed as the two broke out in a loud and disturbing argument over which one of them was going to find their target first.
O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O
To Hyuga Kori,
You have a selfless goal and there's nothing to be ashamed of. Your dream simply does not require you to rise into a position of fame like mine did. There's nothing wrong with being the silent protector of those you hold close.
It seems that your family is much different than what I heard during the Chunin Exams where we first met. But then again, I feel like we have a very different relationship than when we first met. Am I the only one who feels this way?
It's been a long time since your last visit to Sunagakure. When is your next visit?
Gaara
Yui heaved a long sigh. She couldn't understand. What was good about this sort of person? The ANBU operative had requested to see the letter on the pretense of a harmless yet dutiful check up for Danzo and Kori, unwilling to hinder a comrades mission, had gladly allowed her to read the letter Sai had passed onto her just a few short hours ago. She glanced up from the sheet of paper into the nervous eyes of the Hyuga before her.
"T-This is kind of embarrassing." The jonin murmured, "That's a private kind of letter, you know?"
"Yes, I presume so." The silver-haired teen was now glaring into the page again, "But for the sake of my mission, I obediently read these. And your response letter?"
A long pause forced Yui's eyes up at the fidgeting Hyuga but neither of the two spoke for another long minute.
"W-Well the thing is…" Kori muttered awkwardly, "I don't exactly have a response yet. I'm not quite sure what to say…"
Yui blinked her crimson eyes at the shorter girl curiously, "Then don't respond? If you cannot find something to say, wouldn't it be better not to say anything at all?"
"Gaara-sama will be waiting for my response." Was the reply, "I can't just not say anything when he's asked such an important question."
"Am I missing something here?" Kyrie's face was stone cold, "I see no important question."
"E-Eh? Am I the only one who thinks asking about a confirmation about our relationship is something strange?"
"I think it's strange that you have any relationship with a monster like him but I suppose I'm not entirely capable of catching onto any hidden social agendas in general."
"So… you know you're dense?"
"Yes but the subject was not upon my own incapabilities, was it?"
"Well no…" The Hyuga's gaze fell to her feet in shame, "I guess not."
Yui assessed the girl before her. She had known Hyuga Kori for nearly three years but this was the first time Yui had seen the Hyuga speak with such uncertainty. She couldn't understand what the girl was feeling. In fact, she hardly understood her own feelings most of the time. This was not unusual for her. This was the way she had always been and this is the way she believed she would always be.
Yui sighed, frustrated, "If you feel you must reply, I won't stop you. Reply as you feel you must."
"But I don't know what I should say! I know I have to say something but I don't know what it is I should be saying." The jonin had never spoken out in such an indecisive manner and it further frustrated the emotionless Yui, "What would you say?"
"I would simply take my chance to rid myself of whatever relationship I may or may not have with this monster." Yui observed the horrified expression on the face of her companion and added, "But it seems that you need a more compassionate answer. You are a person who is aware of her feelings more than anyone and when you are prompted to act you will always act and when you are needed to stand, you have always taken the position. I am sure that you will find your answer if I tell you that this is the last letter Danzo-sama will allow from Konoha to Sunagakure."
The Hyuga's eyes grew wide.
"Of course it's a hypothetical situation but if it will help you. I can pretend it's my mission to stop you." Yui didn't understand why she was saying what she was saying. Perhaps it was the guilt or maybe it was her desire to keep her friend from falling further and further into whatever bond she was sharing with the Sand's former jinchuuriki but she continued to speak, "Shall I obstruct your next letter so you feel the desperation to write this one?"
Kori simply broke out laughing, "Alright. I'm writing it. I know exactly what to say. Thanks."
Yui stared blankly forward but said nothing more, You should not be thanking me.
O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O
A calm and coaxing voice called out, "Look deep into the mirror. Tell me what you see there."
The clone began to shiver along with the other members of the ANBU squad in the room. They were all bearing witness to her final exam. Most of them were certain that she would pass. If you're feeling a sense of deja vu, that's right. This scene had happened once before. This scene ended in failure for Aya on Ibiki's command just last week. But now is another chance.
"I see an island." The clone murmured his response in a daze.
"Yes. An island?" She giggled, "Do you see the people?"
"What people?" The clone had lost all control of his vision and he was now searching the mirror for people that were not there yet.
"Those people that are stealing all your things. You are now unarmed." She said in a slow and hypnotic voice.
The clone shuddered.
"Your close friends and family are being tied up and taken away." She smirked, glancing up at an expressionless Ibiki, "If you just tell me the password, I'll save them."
Shinobi-like with resolve, he said, "I refuse."
"Watch out for the spear." Aya murmured, "That spear aimed for your throat."
The clone's imagination supplied the rest. A grunt of pain, a long gash across his jaw, and yet the clone remained. Small damage was always good. A smile from the onlookers.
"There's two of them, huh?" She continued, "I can make them go away. You just have to tell me the password."
The clone was too far gone to return to his senses. The island of cannibals that was only inside the mirror was now his reality. A long and pleading scream came next. Aya could no longer figure out what he was seeing, his own fear took hold of the whole process but she knew when to intervene.
"Quickly." She said when his screams were the loudest, "The password. It will all stop if you just tell me."
"5-1-0-!" The clone vanished, the password unfinished.
Aya blinked at the empty space in confusion. She was certain that she had just one more number left to hear but why did he disappear? Her technique was under control there's no way she could have screwed up the exact same plan a second time.
She spun on Ibiki, drawing a knife immediately upon making eye contact. She aimed straight for his throat, a potential killing blow, "You!"
Ibiki was not unready for the slashing blade coming his way. He simply ducked underneath, grabbing her arm as he straightened out in the split second of confusion the girl had experienced by her own miss, "So you figured it out. I suppose that means you're ready."
"I hate you! I swear, you're just being a big, fat-!" She paused in her insults as his words registered in her head, "What?"
"You're ready to work with real people now. Congratulations." He spoke with a rare smile, letting her up from her subdued position, "Welcome to the Torture and Interrogation Force."
As the spectators broke out in shouts of joy and pride for their youngest member, Aya threw her arms up and danced about happily, "Yay! I did it! I did it! Ibiki, you're awesome! I love you!"
O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O
"In the end we didn't find her." Asahina mused in the silence of Kakashi's small apartment room, "Disappointed?"
"No. I can find her tomorrow." The copy ninja said, "I doubt that I won't be able to see her before I leave tomorrow."
"She's like your goddess of victory." The redhead muttered, half in jest and half in jealousy.
"Of good health." He corrected with a quiet chuckle, "I've been coming back in good health these last few missions."
"Well isn't that great."
"..."
"..."
"Well." Kakashi heaved a heavy huff as he stood from his chair, "I'll be turning in for the night."
"Then I'll go home." Was the reply.
As awkward as their relationship was at the moment, both shinobi knew it was caused by Asahina's nerves rather than distrust between them. She was getting antsy, unable to sit still without picking a fight. A shinobi at heart, she was very tired of the pregnant life especially in this particular time of need where the need for shinobi powerful enough to go head to head with the extremely talented members of the Akatsuki were needed. Her allies were putting their lives on the line daily and she was not beside them.
"Asahina." Kakashi called out as she was putting her hand against the doorknob. He continued once he was sure she had stopped, "No one blames you. We have no doubts you would fight with us if you could. Your duty is to protect the child. My duty is to protect you."
The kunoichi bristled, "You-!"
"When you've returned." Kakashi said sharply, cutting off the strongly defensive response he expected from her, "You can protect yourself. Until then, our unborn child needs your complete protection."
"..."
"..."
She relented, "I know but that doesn't mean I have to like it."
A small chuckle, "You have every right to your opinion."
O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O
Dear Gaara-sama,
I'm not quite sure what it is that you mean when you ask if we have a different relationship to when we first met. The circumstances are different as well. The Chunin Exams under which we met and our current positions as shinobi of allied nations seem to be too much different to say that our relationship is not different. From strangers to enemies to allies, that's our change. So, of course, I feel our relationship is different just as you do.
Is it presumptuous of me to say I feel much more for you than I feel for an ordinary ally?
I only visit Sunagakure when I am permitted to do so on or between missions. I'm sorry but I can't give you a specific date for my next visit or if I will be able to visit at all.
Despite being allies, the ninjas of my village are not permitted to travel freely into your village just the same as it is for your shinobi. It's strange isn't it. Despite the fact that we're allies, there's still so many restrictions; so little trust. Maybe I'm the only one who feels this way but if we are allies, don't we need trust first and foremost? But we can't even seem to trust each other with free passage. It's kind of unfortunate.
Hyuga Kori
Yui glanced up at the dark night sky, a hawk screeching in her ears as it tried to come free from her grasp. She let out a shaking breath as she tucked the letter into her back pocket. Her heart clenched painfully as she casted her genjutsu on the hawk and ordered it to continue to fly in the direction of Sunagakure without it's packages.
The hawk would approach the border of the Wind Country and then return without reaching Sunagakure. When it returns, the shinobi sending and receiving mail from other countries would think that the letters were delivered: including Hyuga Kori.