Chapter 10: A History Lesson

They all look at the door, and Yuri can feel their gaze fall back onto Yuri. She shifts on her feet a little more and shakes her head. Yuri had no idea how to get the door open and she pressed her lips together. Looking back to Asami, she wants some guidance in this. Yuri doesn't know how to feel or what to even think about being here. Let alone going into a place that only the chief was allowed to go. While she had seen this once before… she doesn't know if she remembers it all that well.

"Sealed for a reason, yes, but now we have a reason to unseal it." Asami sensi finally speaks up.

Drawing all the attention from Yuri to Asami sensi. Yuri doesn't have the confidence to know how to open the door.

"What if I can't unseal it though?" Yuri turns to the door and back to Asami sensi.

There is a moment of pause while her teacher thinks of an answer. Leaving Yuri with a moment to let her thoughts run around in circles. There are so many things about her clan that she doesn't know… and even more things she wants to know about them. Over the years the memory of names began to fade from her memory. Which was saddening her. But she knew everyones name in the village she talked to.

What would happen if she couldn't open the door? Would it be a failed mission? Yuri knew that would go on their record and it was going to cause a lot of problems down the line. Especially for their first mission. She didn't want to be branded as someone who couldn't be trusted with higher ranked missions. It would be so bad.

"If we think about it, and you don't want to learn about your clan, we can turn back now. But we are here and you could have some insight on the family you lost. You might know how to open it already, and that could work or not. I'm not going to pretend we can get it right away, but you need to try. If you don't, you should give up now while you are ahead."

Asami sensi words sink in.

Yuri needs to try it.

She needs to remember something, anything that might have been said. Yuri needs to be able to do this. It is important and could mean they have a good mission.

"I understand mother."

The young girl looks up to her mom as she is walking through the home. The young girl had just turned 5 the week before and was being shown around the areas she was told growing up were off limits.

"I will show you both this, as a right of passage, you become chief on your daughter's fifth birthday, much like how I was made chief and my mother before me."

The grandmother placed her hand on the door. "Infuse chakra, our chakra will stand out over the rest of the chakra."

The door opens. And mother leans down to the little girl. "Mommy will be back. You can't come in just yet as we don't want you to get lost. When you are 16, you can come with us."

The mother smiles and walks with the grandmother.

Yuri opens her eyes and goes to the door. Looking at the position she is in and places her hand on the wall. She focuses on her chakra and tries to pull it forward. She looks and sees the door is open. Looking at her team she notices they are all watching her.

Taking in a deep breath, Yuri refocuses and tries it again. Forcing her chakra forward and into her hand. Willing it into the wall. She needs to get this. She has to. It's the only way she is going to learn anything more about her family. Something the genin has wanted for years, to feel that connection with her family once again.

She hears a crack and the door begins to open once more. A smile comes across Yuris face as she looks at ehr team once again.

"Good work Yuri." Isamu comes up and pats Yuri on the back.

They enter the room, it doesn't have much light to it. Which worries her a moment, seeing as they would need to get through this area. Yuri pauses. Turning around since she tasted something. It wasn't honey or grapefruit. She was wary of new tastes, especially out in this area. It wasn't like the leaf where she was constantly around people, no her village was abandoned and killed long ago. Asami sensi seems to notice this and Yuri reaches for a weapon.

"What do you taste Yuri?" Yuri's eyes darted towards Asami sensi.

"Water and… um… oranges?" Yuri looks around.

Asami steps in front of her. "Let's get in fully and see if we can get it to where we can get the information we need."

Kenji tugs Yuri back and Asami backs up as well. After they get a few feet from the door, it closes. Leaving them in the dark for a moment until some purple crystals light up. Yuri looks at the walls and sees they are a little bigger than her hand, and she likes them a lot. They are calming and give her a sense of peace. And it blocks out the taste of water and orange. Which is strange to her.

"Your family knows how to protect their secrets." Isamu comments.

Yuri nods. "I honestly don't know where to go from here though… it feels like it could be a maze."

But there is a taste, the one that bothered her even before the orange and water. She whips around and frowns a little. This place seems to even suppress Asami Sensi's chakra. Which isn't something she is used to anymore. It was like an aftertaste to her and the absence of it for this other taste is throwing her off.

She can't tell where Asami sensi is or if she is even close to her. Even the dull taste of honey and stir fry is lost to her. And she doesn't like it. It's only that one taste. Yuri begins to pace a little in the tunnel, not enjoying this in the slightest.

"Yuri?" She looks at Isamu.

"I… I taste something. But I can't tell where it's coming from." Yuri looks back at the area going deeper into the tunnel.

Asami puts her hand on Yuri's shoulder. But even that doesn't bring the taste of Asami Sensi back. Yuri only blinks at her and she doesn't know what to think about it. She is so used to people's taste. Is something wrong?

"Alright kid. We are doing a crash course on sensory. You are in all technicality a sensory type. Therefore, you are going to have to focus on which way you taste the chakra. Block out all the noise around you and focus on the taste."

Slowly the girl nods. Closing her eyes and focusing on the strange taste. One she doesn't know. Not like she has any other choice in the matter. She can only focus on the one taste. It bothers her a lot as well. But she needs to focus on this.

Slowly, with her eyes closed she begins to walk.

Asami's POV:

Yuri knew someone was there before Asami did. And Asami learned how to detect chakra when she was younger, but she wasn't the best at it. Even so, she should be better than the genin she has. But if Asami couldn't catch them… it means they know another group is here.

That taste is a weird thing. Yuri can taste her even when she suppresses her chakra, and it seems as though she can do it with anyone. It makes Asami question why that is, as it doesn't make any sense to her. The taste is something to explore. And Asami is glad she pushed Yuri to hone in her skills of tasting by making her taste test a bunch of foods. It has helped her so much in pointing people out, and Asami liked knowing what people tasted like. The only one Asami couldn't seem to figure out was the Nara clans. Yuri said they tasted… How did the girl describe it?

Mature and ripe.

Could be wine for all Asami knows.

She still chuckles at Kakashi being burnt toast. For some reason it fits Kakshi's personality to a tee. A person could only take so much burnt toast in their lifetime. Made Asami wonder if Kakashi would ever not be burnt toast, but if it never did, Asami would still chuckle at the information. It's the small things that amuse the sensi.

And this is sadly not one of those times. She has to try to teach Yuri about her clan when she knows even less than the poor girl does. Not to mention the trauma that the girl was going through being back here. Yuri seemed to be reliving it and it was sending her in circles trying to get an answer out of her. Kenji and Isamu both seemed to be in better tune with Yuri and her emotions than Asami thought as well. Each seemed to try to make sure the girl knew she had friends. Friends that were on her side.

Not to mention the fact Asami is sure Itachi and Orochmaru had been here. And they are the reason the village was destroyed. The snakes were a dead give away to that awful human being, no one so much had a snake summon other than him. He was widely known for it, and was even a legendary Sanin because of the second great ninja war. As for Itachi… Asami had mixed feelings. She had heard he killed a majority of his clan, and was unable to finish it due to them being invited away. The third mentioned them being close to a board and Asami can only guess they had come here. Even when Yuri let it slip that she reconized Mikoto and even confirmed it.

Watching Yuri now, with her eyes closed, she wonders what is going to happen. She had her eyes closed. Before though, Yuri seemed to be a little squirlly. Asami would ask later since now was not the time to ask. She needed to teach them to put their practice to the practical sense of being on a mission. And that is? Be sporadic. And she pulls Kenji and Isamu to her.

"Listen, we have to protect Yuri. She might be the only one who can touch the scrolls and I'm guessing our friends out there might be after what we are."

Of course, Asami is making a guess. But she doesn't want to chance anything. If they get back and discover the scrolls are blank, it would be a failure for her. And Asami had a nearly perfect record of missions.

"Sensi… why would they be?" Isamu asks.

With a small smirk, she could bestow a little knowledge she had gathered on one teammate since they were assigned to her. Kenji's family was in the village, as was Isamu. Yuri was their biggest mystery. All three of them wanted to crack. And Asami thinks she is close to figuring that thing out.

"Good question. As far as I knew, this place was hidden, only members of the family could get here and those they chose to let stay here. Ever wonder what Mikoto, Yakumi, Doki and Izumi Uchiha were alive? Rumor is that they were invited here, a place that no one could find."

The look on both the boys' faces as they look back to Yuri is full of shock. Asami is making sure to keep her voice low so Yuri has a chance to concentrate. There shouldn't be any Uchiha's left, but they had six in the village. Something that is crazy to think about! No way should they have that many, since it seemed clear that Itachi meant to kill them all.

Here they are though. With six Uchiha's, a girl whose family protected them, and a link to why Mikoto was being so motherly to Yuri. Such a small world they live in.

"That might mean… Did Yuri meet them?" Kenji asks.

"There is a chance of that. They were here a few days before the killing, and a few days after to ensure their safety. When Mikoto found out she protected Saskue, and the others were told to rebuild. They say one person in the village is unhappy about it."

For a long time, Asami thought this place was a fairytale, and it was luck that saved a handful of lives. No one knew it existed until Yuri came to the village. And even then… this place was a mystery. No one knew anything about this place or where it was. Other than it being close to the land of waves. While Mikoto and the others were asked to remain silent… some rumors spread and some of them had to be based in truth. Eventually though, people stopped asking. Especially once Mikoto was discovered to be pregnant! But Asami had just become a teacher and was focused on her genin.

So when a new girl showed up out of nowhere? Asami was curious. She had forgotten all about it until Yuri got on her team.

She needed to talk to Mikoto. If the destruction was on Itachis hand and he was working with Orochimaru? It wasn't good. It could mean something could happen to them on missions. It could mean the two of them could be the ones out there. Though Asami doubted it. Orochimaru had gone into hiding and no one had seen him. She doubted Itachi would act on his own, going after Yuri would give them nothing at this moment. And Asami started to like the team she had.

Hell, she thought about putting them in the Chunin Exams. It might be good for them. Plus, give Asami the chance to see how quickly they learned things.

"One person?" Isamu asks.

Yuri begins moving and Asami urges the boys forward. "Yes. No one you need to worry about now. But someone who might come up sooner or later."

She needed to not let the boys know about the issues in the village just yet. Hell, Asami shouldn't know. She only knew because she got it out of Kakashi and stumbled upon a few interactions she probably shouldn't have seen. Regardless, she knew. Asami would have to let the others know as well, she might just put them in the exams so they have protection. Especially Yuri and Kenji since they have rare clan abilities.

Abilities someone would love to have and she is sure he is lurking and waiting for his time in the sun again.

"If we are following Yuri… shouldn't we mark a path back?" Kenji asked.

Asami smiles, glad to have taught her genin so much. "Do something small. Like a mark on the floor that we can follow."

While Kenji does that, Asami remains in the back. Watching her genin and checking over her shoulder.

The people Yuri sensed… it's not good if they are here. It means this is no longer a C-Rancked mission. It's going to be a higher rank and she has every intention of keeping her genin safe. A fight isn't part of C-Ranked missions, and she would have to tell people she encountered people.

Asami wishes she had trained Yuri a little more in sensory type, but she wasn't expecting this to be a time crunch. Lord Hokage said this was going to be simple. Since they had Yuri it should have been. But she should have listened to Master Jirya. Asami is always over prepared for missions, she had plans upon plans to escape, it's why she took a backseat in today's mission. And Asami is glad she did. She wanted to watch how the genin did on their first mission out of the village. So far so good.

Until Yuri tasted two people.

She only sensed two of them though. But they had to be jonin level or high chunin. Asami could take the jonin, so long as her team worked together they could get the high chunin. It would be hard, but that just tells Asami she needs to speed up their training a little more. She should put Isamu into medical training, Kenji should push for more training from his family and she should see about training Yuri harder in all areas so she can be a true wild card in battles.

"Kenji, Isamu, if it comes to a fight with those two chakra's Yuri tasted, stick together. Be chaotic like you are in training. Never let them know your next move." Asami sees both the boys nod.

A fight was coming. Asami could feel it.

And she didn't like it.

Yuri's POV:

She blocked out everyone. Every single thing focuses on the taste. Not like she could focus on any other taste though. Nothing else was coming to her and it was annoying. But she was told to focus on this one thing and that's what she was going to do. Her memories had nothing about this tunnel, so Yuri had to go off instinct to get through here. It was going to be hard. But she knew if her mother could do it, she would be able to do it. Even though she sucked so badly at senory and directions. She would step in one direction and it would fade, so she went the other way.

Yuri has no way to tell her directions, but she would rely on her team to help get them out of this maze. It wasn't the best option… but it was an option. Seeing as she was going to be leading them in, it might help if they lead her out. Unless there were scrolls about how to get out of here.

Eventually she rams into a wall. Rubbing her nose as she opens her eyes. A dead end. Did she lead them the wrong way? Did she take a turn in the wrong way? But the taste was the strongest here! She doesn't think she is wrong with where she led them.

She looks back at Asami Sensi, seeing Kenji and Isamu in front.

"A dead end?" Kenji raises an eyebrow.

Yuri presses her lips together. She might have caused the whole mission to go into jeopardy… and she wasn't happy about it. Yuri wasn't going to be able to lead them back. With no sense of where they were, Yuri is worried.

"No… I doubt it." Isamu begins. "I might have been in the middle of the class unlike you two, but I know my way out of situations."

Isamu goes to the wall and begins to run his hand over it. Yuri looks at him and watches him. She goes over to Asami sensi and she knows she looks defeated.

"What is it?" Asami speaks low.

"I… I can't taste you, Kenji or Isamu. It's been like this since the door closed. I don't know what the taste is… but that's what led us here." Yuri looks around.

Asami nods her head. "I see. Is that why you were being so squrilly early?"

Yuri nods her head. She didn't like to admit it… but it freaked her out that she couldn't taste anything in here. Even the taste is all around her. And even being close to Asami sensi… she couldn't taste anything. It bothered her.

A moment later he yanks his hand back.

"I… that kind of shocked me." Everyone turns to Isamu.

Yuri goes to the front and places her hand on it. At first the stone was cold, and she doesn't know why it shocked taste… It's like… blueberries. That taste she couldn't place, it was all around her. She could feel the chakra coming up her arm. It shocks her a little, but it feels more like a tingle. It then ignites and markings come all over the rock.

"They sealed the information." Asami shakes her head. "Talk about overkill in security. But I suppose it's needed."

When the door opens, a gasp escapes Yuri's mouth. There are so many books and scrolls. They line the walls and she takes a small step in. Yuri could spend forever looking through these areas. There could be so much information, she might have to do multiple trips though.

"Wow… they… they recorded everything." Isamu comments.

"It would make sense. Let's get these things all together and head out. And let's be careful about the two chakra's Yuri picked up." Asami says to the group.

Yuri nods her head and begins to look around the area. Barely even listening to her sensi since she wants to see what there is. There are so many books and scrolls, Yuri doesn't even know where to look! She might see if Shikamaru or Saskue could help her read through these things and understand them. It would be a lot, but she might be able to learn something new daily about her family.

Which would be amazing!

Picking up a scroll, it's from the warring states. She reads a little about the first chief and how she brought down her father, when her husband took power and wanted to continue fighting, she cut him down. It doesn't say how though… which is could say sooner. She sees a mention of how the son made a deal with his mother. Moving onto the next section, she picks up another and sees a family tree.

A recent one. One where she was noted as well. But she sees something clouding her eyes and wipes it away. Putting it away and deciding not to look at it right this second.

Finally, she finds the section that could hold answers upon answers. She opens the book up and sees the chakra system, and it being noted in different sections. She doesn't understand it since she can't read the small writing there is in the book. Flipping the page she sees a heading about taste, going further it explains the abilities she has.

These are the things Yuri has been wanting forever! She can get her answers!

"What should we be grabbing?" Yuri turns to her sensi.

Noticing the other three had movedd around but it looks like they hadn't touched anything. Which makes her confused. But she won't push it. She doesn't know what the books and scrolls could do, the wall even shocked Isamu. It has to do with her chakra… at least she guesses.

"What do you think you will need?" Kenji asks.

Yuri thinks for a moment.

What would she need?

She knows for a fact she needs her clan abilities. Those will help her as she grows and develops her skills. Especially with this chakra absorption thing she has going on right now. It could be something she needs to know and maybe they have it in here. A majority should be that.

Family trees… while nice she doesn't think she will need them right away. Instead, she should learn the history of her family. She should be able to get pretty far and it would be something that helps her out. Especially if she had children eventually. She would want to pass on her family's history to the next chief.

"A mix of history and abilities. Jirya gave me 5 scrolls to put things in. They can carry about 10 things I believe." She looks at Asami Sensi.

Asami smiles. "Good girl. Knowing what to grab and when."

Yuri smiles. Turning back to the abilities, Yuri figures 1 scroll can be history, and another 2 can be abilities. She wanted all the abilities she could get. Moving over the abilities first, she opens them and looks at the first section, then places them to the side and makes a pile of about 15, and she shakes her head.

Why did they have to have so many things within the family? She doesn't even know if this is all just her family's abilities or others they were able to pick up over the years. Moving over to history, she grabs the one she was glancing at and sets it in the pile. She collects about 25 of them, all from the warring states period and a little after the leaf was formed as well. She skimmed the first pages, all the way up to the third or fourth chief.

Once she has a good pile and she begins to seal them. Carefully she puts them into the seal, and having 4 of them with scrolls she puts the empty one away. She had seen the others moving about but not touching anything, and the taste of blueberry was a sweet after thought to her.

Standing up, she notices Asami looking at some weapons in the room. The main area was a circle, and it had a few branches that lead away, none of them led far. But far enough to be out of sight for sometime.

Yuri looks at them and remembers them from the one history scroll she has

"Those are from the warring states." Yuri goes over to Asami and places her hands behind her back.

"Are they? And how do you know that?"

Asami Sensi doesn't move from her spot and stands there, looking at the weapon. Yuri believes it's a staff, but one with sharper ends to it.

"I have a scroll from early family history. And those are from the original chief. She wanted to end the fighting and so, she created this place, wanting to remain in the shadows. She put her weapons in a secret spot along with other heads of the family. They agreed to make her the first chief. She doesn't have a name though, she died shortly after and her daughter took over."

Yuri hears some footsteps and glances over to see Kenji and Isamu had found them.

Kenji steps up next to her. "So, only females are the head of your family?"

Her head instantly snaps to Kenji. A small tilt of her head while she tries to figure out what he means by that.

Isamu punches Kenji's arm. "Your tone is suggestive of something."

"Yes, they are." Yuri laughs a little. "It's because the women saw the men all wanted to fight and in order to protect the family, they killed off a few men that all wanted to fight. Even making an example of them. It made them all realize how they needed to stop."

It wasn't much, but she knew early history since that was what she had been learning. She read that scroll over and over again. It was something she had nearly memorized. The first recorded history and the woman who killed the first man. To show they would end their own clan before the wars did.

"What? They killed men?!" Now it's Isamu's turn to exclaim.

Yuri smirks at the boys. "Oh ya. They hated fighting and sending their children to war and fighting in battles they had nothing to do with. So they… I don't remember what they did to get them all in line, but they did something."

She looks back at the boys and hears Asami Sensi laughing a little. "Seems like you boys should stay in line."

This causes Yuri to look back at their sensi and giggle along with her. Shaking her head as she looks back at the boys. An amused smile on Yuri's face. Maybe she should tell Naruto and Saskue this story. Get them to see they might not have all the power, but Sakura might one day.

"They just… just killed the men?" Kenji shakes his head.

Yuri nods her head. "They did. I didn't get far enough in my lesson to know what they did. I grabbed that book though. There are about 7 other books and scrolls of the warring states period. And the early years. I want to know what deal they made where they could be left alone. All I know is the woman killed her father and her husband since they wanted to be fighting."

The boys are stunned into silence for a moment. Neither of them said anything. Which was impressive since one of them always had something to say.

She looks at Asami sensi. "We will be leaving the weapons. I only have my sword I can use, but I might know someone who could use it."

Yuri nods her head. She doesn't know anyone who could use the weapons. Her family never used any exept the time they were attacked. And even then… it wasn't like they knew how to fight fully. They didn't need to most of the time. They just needed to survive, and they had for years.

"Why did she kill her husband?" Kenji asks.

Slowly she turns back to Kenji with a question on her face. She doesn't know what he was talking about. Or how it was going to be now? Who killed her husband?

"I mean, a husband and wife should be by each other their whole lives. To kill one isn't good. Isn't breaking vows?" Kenji clarifies.

Luckily Asami Sensi steps in. "The warring states were a lot of fighting and hatred. It's not like now when people marry because you love them, you marry to produce children to keep a clan strong."

Yuri slowly nods her head.

"And she had 4 or 5 children. She was about to kill her eldest son when he made a deal I think. All the chief's would be female and it wouldn't be fought." Yuri pauses and thinks again. "Or something like that. I think I got that scroll too"

She looks at Kenji and sticks out her tongue. He snorts and shakes his head. She pokes Kenji and shakes her head, getting a laugh from Isamu. The three begin to shove each other lightly and they all are laughing. Even Asami sensi seems to be enjoying her genin getting along so well.

Until Isamu notices something in the corner. "Yuri, what is that?"

Turning her head, Yuri sees a pile in the corner and walks over to it. She crouches down and tilts her head.

"Um… looks like a blanket?" Yuri furrows her brows.

Yuri goes over to the blanket and looks at it. It tastes a lot like blueberries. Something that seems to be a common theme here in the caves. Maybe that is what her family tasted like, blueberries or her helped to neutrilze the effects of their powers. Either way… she liked the taste of it. It was soothing to her for some reason. Seeing the scroll next to it she picks it up.

Absorption blanket.

To protect the family, a blanket is weaved for each person. It will help should the chakra system get poisoned. Younger members will need to reabsorpe the good chakra or the first chakra they took in to regain strength. This blanket will strip one of all the other chakra and leave the base chakra, being the original chakra.

She looks back at the group. "It was mentioned that if I absorb someone's chakra who goes against my nature, it will poison my system. I think this is a countermeasure to keep my family from dying."

"Cool" Kenji comes over and looks at it.

Yuri also looks at it and feels like they should take it. Especially since she can't control when she absorbs chakra. Not to mention the two people she tasted outside… they still could be waiting for them. If it is a countermeasure, Yuri should be careful.

"I shouldn't touch it. It might start working." Shaking her head, she looks at Kenji.

Kenji nods and grabs the sealing scroll from Yuri's backpack and seals the blanket and the scroll that goes with it. Yuri watches this process as she thinks. It would help in the future, Yuri needs to have it and possibly show a medical nin. She could see if she could carry it around with her, seeing as it could save her. She doesn't know how intaking bad chakra will affect her though… It could mean a problem. Better safe than sorry.

Yuri is brought out of her thoughts by a clap. She looks over to Asami Sensi.

"Alright children. We have what we need, let's head out but before we do: remember there are possibly two enemies out there."

For a moment all the joking around gets quiet. Yuri looks at Isamu and Kenji, seeing them look at her and nod. They all know this is going to be the hardest part of the mission. One that they weren't prepared to do yet. Yuri knew they knew how to fight, but fighting against the other teams was one thing, these were enemy ninjas that they didn't know who they were or what their skill level was.

"Yuri, remember do not use any of our powers unless I tell you too. I will call out grapefruit so you know you need to use anything you have stored up. Nara, the eyes or the fire. I want you to also cop-"

"If I copy them it would be useless. I can only use it after the user of the justu teaches me." She hated interjecting… but it needed to be clear.

She could copy them, but unless they had a few moments or hours for her to learn… it was going to be useless to them all. Yuri knew the others well enough that it helped her. She should stick with those and then she can learn how to do other things.

Asami nods. "I guess I have to teach you my justus soon. But for now? Have everything ready. I know you can make clones, do it and it should be useful."

The three genin nod.

"Wait… I don't know how to get us out of here sensi."

NOTES: Sorry everyone it's taken me a hot minute to post again. I got busy and kept forgetting to update the story! But this one is pretty long, it might be one of the longest chapters in the story. But I hope you enjoy it! Please let me know how you like it or just follow the story! Enjoy!