Yo! o/
Such a quick update huh? Don't get used to it, it's an accident. For real. This chapter is also shorter than the lasts, but I figured that it might be more interesting to have shorter chapters posted in a shorter period, but, well, you can tell me what you prefer!
Have a nice read :D
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Chapter 9
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Naruto was lying on her bed, her head buried in her pillow. With her eyes wide open, she was staring at her arm wishfully. She had woken up earlier than usual, and unable to go back to sleep, she had started to wait for a message, a tingle, a sign.
Anything.
However, when her alarm clock finally rang, she sighed and rolled in defeat to turn it off. Yet another day when her soulmate wouldn't write to her. She wondered if he was fine. Was he eating properly? If she knew him, she would ask him to go to the Ramen Shop together.
Naruto slowly rubbed her eyes. It had been so long since they had last talked. She missed him.
She stood up and turned to her night-table where the framed picture of her parents was standing. Ino-chan had offered the frame to her a few days after giving her the photograph, and it never left the side of her bed, alongside a brush to write to her soulmate. She took the picture in her hands and watched it for a moment before a smile started to form on her lips. As she usually did since the past month, she kissed both the faces of her dad and her mom, and put down the frame in its place.
It was just a matter of time. Her soulmate would be back soon. He always came back.
Filled with energy, she walked towards her window and opened it. The sun was still rising, and a mix of colours was painting the sky. The sight never failed to amaze her. She put her elbows on the edge of the window and laid her head between her hands to watch the scenery.
What she preferred about it was, without a doubt, the view on the Hokage mountain where her father's face was sculpted, looming right in front of her, as if he had always been watching her. She grinned when her eyes landed on him.
"Good morning Daddy!"
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Finally, that damned mission was over.
Finally, he could return to Konoha.
Shisui had rarely felt so disgusted with himself. He knew, he knew that he was doing it for the good of his village, of his clan, for his mother, for Itachi, but… but, the screams, the helplessness, the children. His eyes stung behind his mask, and his stomach clenched. He wanted to throw up. That was why despite being a proud ninja of Konoha, he had always hated the very concept of the ANBU.
And to think that Itachi was already going through it all…
He couldn't complain. Not when his little cousin had to go through the same nightmare.
"Well done, Team," his leader said in a monotonous voice. "We'll rest for two hours before heading back to the village. Any objections?"
Yes.
He didn't want to rest.
He wanted to go back home. Right now.
Shisui understood sacrifice. He could kill and die for his village without blinking, with no regret or remorse. He was a hardened shinobi, and he would do anything for his home.
But there was a difference between the kills he had to carry out during the war, against ninjas who were there to kill as well, and the kills in times of peace against untrained civilians, who were completely lost without their guards. And the looks of terror and loss in their children's eyes, who didn't even get what was going on around them… Why couldn't they discuss the matter and negotiate, instead of reaching such a point? Shisui may be completely loyal to Konoha, but sometimes, just knowing that it was for the good of the village wasn't enough.
He couldn't even call that a fight. It had been a plain slaughter.
How could he talk about his desire for peace, when he kept cementing hate and grief despite the absence of war? Were death and blood so necessary even in such times?
Maybe they were. But he hated it.
From time to time, he wanted to pretend that there was no other way, that he should get used to it and accept it for the greater good… But the very thought made him sick.
As he sat down against a tree, Shisui waited impatiently for those damned two hours to pass before he could finally head back home and remember; remember why he was doing this.
A warm tingle ran through his arm, and he was suddenly brought back to reality.
It was strange, seeing that there was supposed to be no contact between them while he was away.
But the distraction was oh so welcome.
He took off the metal arm guard and the glove from his left arm, and his eyes trailed the newly written words. The beating of his heart slowed down progressively. The simple view of these words gave him the impression that he could breathe again and take a break from his dark thoughts, like a reminder that the world around him was still standing, and he suddenly felt light-headed.
Hello! It's okay if you don't answer me, I know that I'm not supposed to write but I waited a lot and it's almost a month now and I really have ta tell you something!
Shisui pursed his lips. He had actually come back to the village since, but his mind had been too messed up then. By the time he had had to leave again, barely a few days later, he hadn't been able to write to his soulmate. He had just written a message to say that he would be gone longer and not to contact him in the meantime.
Yet, as he read his soulmate's message, so carefree and innocent, his mind cleared, and he could almost forget his current situation. All his attention was on the words being scribbled on his skin, and he focused on it like an anchor to life.
I know my parents now! My friends found a picture of them and their names and I even have a family somewhere you know!
Oh. Good. This was good.
Slowly, his shoulders relaxed. He hadn't realized exactly how tense his body was.
My dad is someone I already heard about, he's awesome, and my mom is cool and pretty! I really wanted you to know. I'm still waiting for you!
Shisui bit his lower lip, hard, and he gripped his arm full of ink firmly before he brought it close to his chest. His eyes burned, his vision cleared, and he instantly knew that he had subconsciously activated the Sharingan.
He embraced himself with his other arm as he buried his face in his elbow, hugging his only way of communication with his soulmate tightly; as if this person that he had never met was the one he was holding.
He was feeling so tired, so drained, so lost. He had closed off his emotions, as he usually did when a situation became too oppressive for him. And yet, for some reason, his self-control was completely breaking as he became aware of the meaning behind his soulmate's words.
Somewhere out there, someone whose face and name he didn't know was thinking about him. Was waiting for him. And wanted to share every discovery and bit happiness with him.
It wasn't as if Shisui ever felt unloved; he had his mother, Itachi, Sasuke ; his family, and his friends.
But right in that moment, when he felt so alone, the remembrance of those simple facts that his soulmate had offered him managed to break the dam that he had built inside of himself.
That was probably the strangest thing about his soulmate. Something that made him feel both relieved, and absolutely terrified.
His soulmate reminded him of his humanity when he was the farthest from feeling it.
As he hugged himself and sobbed silently, he let himself pretend that the tears that had finally escaped his eyes were for his soulmate's happiness, rather than for himself.
He couldn't wait to be back home.
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There was only one solution.
"Kill me."
He couldn't let any more people die. If he wanted a chance for this war to end, if he wanted to protect both Konan and Nagato, his life was a poor price to pay.
From where he stood, the leader of the Akatsuki kept an eye on Hanzo, on Hanzo's hand threatening to slice Konan's throat. Despite his usual cool-headedness, anger and fear were gaining control over his senses.
"Nagato!" Yahiko ordered, more roughly this time, his eyes bore into Nagato's form.
His friend was frozen in place, and he didn't seem to hear Konan's scream, begging them not to listen to Hanzo's threats.
Little did she know that Yahiko had already made up his mind. His heartbeat quickened when Nagato finally started to march towards the weapon he was supposed to use. He wouldn't be so cruel as to make Nagato, so soft-hearted and idealistic, actually kill him. No, Yahiko would commit the deed himself.
He had to.
That was the only solution.
His train of thoughts came to a stop when suddenly, out of nowhere, a huge toad jumped right in front of Hanzo and ate Konan before it disappeared in a puff of smoke.
Yahiko stared, dumbfounded, trying to understand what had just occurred.
Because he had just been thinking of killing himself.
And a what did what, now?!
It had happened so quickly! One moment, Hanzo was holding Konan against himself, a kunai pressed against her throat, and immediately afterwards, there was a toad, and Hanzo had jumped backwards, seeming to weaken his hold on Konan, and the toad approached them and it… ate her?
What on earth?!
A toad… a toad meant that… that…
As the realization of the situation dawned on him, Yahiko felt a combination of intense happiness and relief, when once upon a time he would have been immensely exasperated.
He was here.
"Well well well, since when does Konoha take part in external civil wars? Did I miss a memo somehow?"
Yahiko's eyes started to burn at the sound of this voice. So insufferable, and cocky and annoying at times, but the embodiment of so much hope, once again.
He turned to look behind him and spotted none other than Jiraiya-sensei, standing a bit farther, his arms crossed, his back straight, making his figure look imposing and fearless. With a serious expression on his face, his eyes trailed the army of Konoha ANBU that had joined Hanzo and his men.
"Since I'm still following the good old rules, I'm not taking part in whatever skirmish you Ame-nins are having here. However," - his voice lowered and a dangerous intonation made Yahiko shiver with excitement - "the Konoha-nins are mine."
A wide grin stretched Yahiko's lips uncontrollably.
Jiraiya-sensei's appearance changed everything.
Yahiko threw a glance at Nagato, whose eyes were wide in shock. However, as soon as the red-head looked back at him, he seemed to quickly find his composure and they nodded at each other in agreement.
With Konan free, they wouldn't need to hold back, and Hanzo was standing right in front of them.
If they used to respect him and his ideals, a line had been crossed.
And that also changed everything.
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Genma was bored out of his mind.
As he watched the clouds and played mechanically with the senbon in his mouth, Genma reclined against the back of a bench and he was bored.
He had been injured during his last mission. He had a leg injury, a few broken ribs, and his shoulder was aching so bad it seemed like it wanted to break away from his body, but otherwise, he was fine. It hadn't been deadly since he was, like, alive, but it had been bad enough that he was now prohibited from doing any kind of missions for another week. And he didn't have anyone to annoy!
So, evidently, Genma was looking for a distraction. And whoever was the poor soul who ended up drawing his attention was in trouble.
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A few days after revealing to her soulmate her lastest discoveries (she reaaaally had to tell him, she couldn't wait anymore!), Naruto found herself skipping in the street joyfully, humming a song with a smile on her lips as she completely ignored the looks that she was being given. The villagers had a problem with her? Didn't matter! She had her mom's smile memorized after spending every single night looking at the picture of her pa~rents for the last month, and she was amazing and came from a badass clan. So, they didn't like Uzumakis because they were strong ninjas? Duh, she would become even stronger and be a kickass ninja with her family's fun-jutsu everyone was so scared of! And her dad was the coolest shinobi ever anyway and he didn't mind Uzumakis. No one could reach her anymore!
Since she wasn't paying attention to her surroundings, she didn't realize that upon entering a small park, a man seated on a bench followed her with his eyes as she approached him. At least, not until she passed near his bench, and he accosted her with energy.
"You!"
Naruto stopped in her track and looked at her left to see a shinobi in ninja gear. His arms were crossed and one of his hands was grabbing his chin as his droopy eyes were fixated on her form. He leaned in her direction minutely and let out a low hum, and some sort of toothpick in metal stuck between his teeth moved from one side of his mouth to the other. Wait, was that a senbon?
She stared at him for a moment, her eyes narrowed as suspicion grew in her, but he didn't move. "D'you want something, dattebayo?"
"Hum…" He nodded seriously. "Yes, actually. You'd be perfect. Care to help for a sec?"
Her eyes widened at the request. How unusual.
"Uh, sure?"
"Come, sit down beside me."
She complied, despite her wariness.
"What is it?"
She tried to remember his face, but she didn't think that she had ever seen him. Did she prank him before? That was a huge possibility. Maybe he was trying to prank her back or something?
He turned his gaze towards her as he settled both his forearms on his thighs. "Actually, I have a big favour to ask you," he started. "I am a ninja, and I'll be going on a secret mission soon."
Now that caught her attention. Her eyes lit up and she nodded with enthusiasm.
"Since it's top secret, I have to go undercover." He stopped and seemed to think for a moment before he explained, "That means that I have to disguise and pretend to be someone else, you see?"
"I see, I see!" she grinned and sparkles lit her eyes.
He tilted his head and his eyebrows knitted, as if he were upset. "The thing is, I have a problem. I need to learn how to wear make-up for my mission. Since I have long hair, I've been asked to disguise as a woman. So, I was wondering if you'd let me put makeup on you for my training?"
Oh! Just like in class with Sakura-chan and Ino-chan!
His face suddenly turned sad and he was totally sulking. "I've been asking around me, but no one agreed to help me."
"I'll help, dattebayo!" she shouted energetically. "I just learned that in kunoichi classes!" And she was proud to let him know about it. She pondered for a moment before she asked. "Did you have kunoichi classes too?"
"Ah." He blinked and shook his head. "Since I'm a man, I'm not considered a kunoichi. Therefore, I had no kunoichi classes, I'm afraid. Only shinobi classes."
"Eh?" She furrowed her eyebrows and a pout took place on her face. "That's too bad! They're super useful. Whadd'you learn in shinobi classes anyway?"
He looked up and played with the senbon in his mouth as he considered her question. "Mainly taijutsu, I believe. And a bit of strategy."
Huh? But… "I do taijutsu too?" she said, although her answer sounded more like a question.
"True, but we did more taijutsu. At least in my time…" he trailed off, his thoughtful expression morphing into a grimace.
"What?" She stared at him, her eyes wide, and she felt absolutely outraged. "That's why Sasuke-teme's so much better, dattebayo!"
"Ah, maybe, but he doesn't know how to put on make-up," the man reasoned.
Naruto blinked. That… was a fair point.
"But why? You need to wear makeup too right? How do you do to pretend to be a noble lady in a mission?"
"Eh…" He scratched his cheek with his forefinger and a small smile grew on his face. "Usually, that's the role of kunoichis."
Naruto's eyebrows furrowed, confusion clear on her face. "Yeah but ninja can henge? So they can disguise as kunoichi who disguise as noble ladies, right?"
The ninja opened his mouth, stared, and then clicked his tongue without hurting himself with the senbon in his mouth somehow. "You, kid, are completely right. Which is why I have to train outside of school to learn how to use makeup. Since, you know, I'm going to disguise as a civilian lady."
She blinked. Was that a compliment, or was he mocking her?
She couldn't tell at first, but he answered her silent question when he winked at her and a large grin formed on his face.
"That's a good way of thinking you have here," he started. "Usually, kunoichis specialize in defined careers, and male shinobis in others. For example, it's rare to have a kunoichi as a frontline fighter. And if they fight directly, they usually prefer far-range attacks."
Naruto frowned. Far-range, so, they stayed far from the combat...? "Like, they don't kick ass?"
"Well..." The man chewed his toothpick thoughtfully. "They do, but from afar. It's rare that a kunoichi engages in a close-range fight. Most of them know the basis of taijutsu, but don't specialize in that."
A gasp of consternation left Naruto's mouth. But that was the funniest!
"There are some exceptions though. And the women who do specialize in these areas are really good at what they do," he placated her as he laid his arm on the back of the bench and leaned against it. "In the same way, male ninjas rarely learn the art of healing, the etiquette and the most subtle ways of fighting. There are just specialities that are intended more for women, and others for men. Hence the kunoichi and shinobi classes."
Her puzzlement must have been obvious, because he let out a chuckle when he looked at her.
"To put it simply, girls usually dislike taijutsu but enjoy the most subtle ways of a ninja, and guys don't like disguising but they like fighting. That's why they follow separate classes with different specialities."
"But…" - Naruto pouted - "I like taijutsu and disguising." She had been called a tomboy before, but she was still a girl. So what was she? Both?
The shinobi shook his head, his eyes closed. "As I said, that's the most usual cases." When he opened his eyes, he leaned his face towards hers, and he stared at her with a serious expression. "But the best ninjas are those who don't let cliches stop them from learning and do not limit themselves. Every kind of knowledge is useful. And it might even save your life someday." He tilted his head and a lopsided grin stretched his lips. "That's why I was saying that your way of thinking was good. If you let yourself try out every speciality, even those that are not expected from you, you might find one where you excel that wasn't originally designed for you."
Huh. What language was he speaking? That sounded so complicated. He lost her when he said that something could save her life. But apparently she was good, so there was that.
Thankfully, he added, "What I mean is, learn everything you can. Don't stop yourself from learning just because usually, people like you don't. Even if you're told that it's not for girls, not for loud and energetic people, if you do want to learn about it, just do it."
"Oh." She got it. "So I gotta do what I wanna do, even if people tell me I can't?"
He looked up for a moment before he nodded firmly. "Pretty much." He turned his gaze sideways and Naruto could barely hear him muttering. "When did this turn into a life-lesson talk?"
It didn't stop her from grinning widely. "Yeah, gotcha-ttebayo!"
"Good." He clapped his hands. "Anyway! Less talk, more action. Now that we settled this, since I have to practice my makeup skills, will you lend me your pretty face?"
With a nod, Naruto inclined her head towards him. "Go on! Since I did that in class I can help too!"
"Is that so?" he asked with amusement in his voice as he took a scroll from the pouch of his jacket and opened it. Then, he bit his thumb and a trail of blood escaped from the injury.
Naruto gasped. Why did he just hurt himself?!
With agility, he turned the scroll in his hand and traced a spiral with his blood. A puff of smoke appeared, and out of seemingly nowhere, makeup material came into sight on the scroll.
"Woah!" Naruto's eyes widened and she stared in wonder at the sight in front of her. "What was that?"
"Um?" The shinobi looked up from his possessions and raised an eyebrow at her. "I had everything sealed in this scroll. I just unsealed it by putting my blood signature on it."
His blood what? How did he- Naruto blinked. Wait up. Everything was sealed?
"Y-You…" she stammered as her heartbeat quickened. "You do funjutsu?!"
The ninja opened his mouth slightly, and the senbon in his mouth almost fell from it as he stared at her, puzzled. "Do you mean fuinjutsu…?" he corrected. "Yeah, not really. I can use basic seals. I do know one trick or two but I'm in no way a specialist."
A wave of excitement washed through her and she laid her hands on the bench, right in front of her. She leaned towards the shinobi, her eyes bright, and a deep blush spread on her cheeks. "Can you teach me? Please please please?"
His eyebrows shot up and a look of bewilderment crossed his face. "I… Well, as I said, my level in fuinjutsu is not good enough for me to teach it." He seemed to ponder for a bit, before he added, "But I have a book on fuinjutsu theory that I could lend you…?"
"Really?!" she shouted. She was going to learn funjutsu like her mom! Like the Uzumakis! Like her family! She would become the best ninja of all the nations with such a skill!
"Sure," he replied with a smile on the corner of his lips. "It's only on theory though, nothing fancy. I think. Mainly reading and headaches. To be honest, I didn't get that far. But I'll bring it to you next time," he said with a wink. "Now, close your eyes and let me do some magic."
She did, her mind reeling with enthusiasm and happiness. She couldn't wait to get started!
"Oï, kid, stop moving so much."
"Put lots of orange!"
"Uh… We'll see about that." A pause. "You know what, you're absolutely right. Lots of orange."
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Genma hummed a song as he started on his work.
Shisui was going to end him.
Meh. If he wanted to complain to anyone, he could go to the nurses who put him on leave.
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To be continued
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The Ame trio are all about ~24 years old here (4 years older than Kakashi according to the databook). They seemed to be young adults when Yahiko passed away so, here. Those who expected THIS butterfly effect raise their hands o/
Edit: Alright, so apparently this chapter confused many of you, so in case you didn't dare to ask, I'll put this here.
1) Genma figured out that Shisui and Naruto were soulmates at the end of chapter 6. He kept it for himself though, so Shisui knows nothing about his soulmate's identity other than the fact that they're young and orphans mainly. I don't know if it's because it was some time ago or if it wasn't that clear in the end?
2) In the last chapter, Kakashi met with Jiraiya to tell him that Danzo was suspicious, basically, and it was implied that he was asking him to dig into it. His research led him to Ame (because Danzo was meddling a lot with the affairs in Ame.) But I get that this part may be too fuzzy, so I'll add a scene later on to develop how he ended up there.
Also, note that Kunoichis are female ninjas, but Shinobi is just another word for ninja. There's no specific word for males, but I needed to make a distinction between the classes.
Finally, thank you for your support everyone, I keep re-reading your reviews, it always makes me so happy! It's awesome to be able to share this story with you! Stay safe, take care of yourself and don't forget to stay hydrated!
Until next tiiiime~