Naruto Fan Fiction ❯ A Girl Named Yama ❯ Chapter 17 - It's only the beginning ( Chapter 17 )

A Girl Named Yama

 

Author: XoXSilverDragonXoX

 

Disclaimer: I do not own anything from `Naruto'. The only thing I own is my main character, Umari Yama, and maybe some unrecognizable characters that you may see.

 

Brief Summary: A girl finds herself dumped into Hatake's bed one day in a different world to deal with an emotional Sasuke, a hyperactive Naruto, a flirty Genma and lazy Kakashi. And of course, to deal with all the glory of life in Konoha to boot!

 

Notes: All information taken about Akatsuki is from Wikipedia dot org as well as from Narutopedia.

 

Last Chapter:

 

Puppy! Yes, puppy. Looks like Yama has another handful in her hands now. A wriggly fuzzy one. On another note, she's decided to give Kakashi a chance and see how that turns out. Good or bad? We'll find out. And now… on with the `meeting.'

 

…

 

Puppy!

 

Warnings:

 

Hints of Shounen Ai.Seeing as this story is rated `M' be expecting a bit of language now and then.

 

[.a.g.i.r.l.n.a.m.e.d.y.a.m.a.]

 

Chapter 17 - It's only the beginning

 

I shuffled my feet nervously as the Hokage continued to brief the Jounin on the current situation. Namely, Akatsuki and me. And of course, Naruto. We can't forget about him. It's what the Akatsuki were after, after all.

 

Akatsuki was active once again for those two reasons. Turns out they had been quite quiet in the previous years.

 

Although the entire group was focused on the Hokage's words and not really paying attention to me, I was strategically cowering in the corner by the door, trying to think of a plan to break out. There were two guards just outside the door—I couldn't sense their chakra signatures but I just knew they were there. And one of them had Puppy. Yes, the canine will be known as Puppy until I can find another name for him.

 

Kurenai thoughtfully clenched her fists, “Then the rumors circulating around…” I saw her eyes roll back towards me. “… Umari Yama is true?”

 

“Correct. Uchiha Yama is presently standing at the back of the room at this moment.” There was a round of shuffling and I just knew they were all staring at me. I managed to stand up straight and gave me a tiny wave. “Domo…” I plastered a fake smile onto my face, trying to look like I wasn't just plotting on trying to escape.

 

“She comes from across the southern waters from the Tea country. Although there are no records, she does indeed have Uchiha blood.” I winced as Sarutobi linked his fingers together thoughtfully, “However, you should all know by now that due to injuries her sharingan is damaged and is no longer accessible. Her eyes are in that… condition due to those injuries as well.”

There were a few nods and whispers before most of them continued to watch me out of the corners of their eyes.

 

Again.

 

Damn. Was this old man planning on revealing every single damn secret I had? I wonder, if I would've told him where I was really from would he have revealed that as well? Or if I would've told him what I wished to do?

 

No, I don't think the old man's like that. He knows when to keep a secret. But it's better off if no one except me knew.

 

Silence reigned inside the room.

 

Nervously, I shifted from one foot to the other, eyes downcast. I was afraid of meeting anyone's eyes.

 

Asuma let out a puff of smoke, "Then my suspicions before were correct, ne, Kurenai?" the older male let out a bark of laughter, "Come on, pay up!" Said women rolled her eyes before reaching dutifully into her pocket and fishing out a sheet of yen. I watched as she crumpled it and tossed it at her smoking comrade.

 

The man let out a laugh, catching the sheet carelessly and stuffing it in his pocket. Well, guess he didn't care about the money... Or at least how it was all crumpled up. Money was still money.

 

Caught off guard by the particular display, I edged nervously towards the door. Anymore closer and I would practically be touching it. Everyone's attention was off me for the moment... in fact, even Kakashi had released my arm (in which he had been grasping firmly) and his attention was on the pair; the laughing man and scowling woman.

 

"It is true then? There is another Uchiha still alive? That makes it a total of three..." another Jounin mused slowly. The Hokage gave his head a soft shake. It didn't seem to be an answer to the question on of his subordinates' had just asked. It was more of an annoyed gesture that definitely caught the full attention of the rest of the group.

 

I inched backwards another inch, feeling victory starting to creep into my system.

 

I took a step.

 

And another.

 

And another.

 

My hand gripped the handle.

 

Then froze.

 

"Then... Yama-san— you would not mind if I explain your encounter with Itachi?" the Hokage asked pleasantly. Without thinking, I shook my head furiously, trying to keep my cheeks from turning red. I didn't want to blow my escape route now, did I? I glared at him. Somehow I needed to be careful what I said.

 

Have I ever told you guys why I hated these meetings? It always felt like they were interrogating me or something. Everything time they asked questions it sounded like they wanted to hear more from me. And since the Hokage knew that I had secrets I was hiding, it meant he was only more eager to find out more. Bad. One slip of the tongue and all my hard work to keep my secrets would be gone.

 

That's when I saw movement out of the corner of my eye.

 

I tried to—too late.

 

Casually, as well as lightning fast, Kakashi's hand curled around my wrist and clamped down firmly. He didn't even glance at me. I saw a few heads turn our way, but turned immediately back to the Hokage, who was informing the room's habitants of the incident with Itachi. Of course, they had already heard that story. But this time, it was the story from my point of view, the one I had told the Hokage the day I got back... He was describing Amegakure at the moment.

 

Only Tsume's attention remained on me. I gave her a sheepish smile, letting out a small whistle.

 

I felt a nudge at my side and I saw Kakashi giving me an impish look.

 

Then...

 

"... very well then. By all means, if Akatsuki is going to be in Konoha in the near future, it is possible it will affect the Chuunin exams. How many of the Jounin here believe that it is more reasonable to simple cancel the Chuunin exams this—"

 

"Oi!" Thud. I slammed into Kakashi. Ow… One bad reason to stand in front of the door was if the door would knock into me like that if opened. And this one just happened to do so. Peeling myself from Kakashi's back, I glanced back and recognized the figure as the one who had taken Puppy.

 

In fact… he was holding the small animal right then. "Sorry for the interruption." He bowed slightly.

 

"Hokage-sama!"

 

Sarutobi immediately stood up.

 

"What is it?" he demanded. Obviously it was something serious if an Anbu was to come barging in from outside without knocking like that.

 

The Anbu-nin let out a quick breath, "Akatsuki! They're already in Konoha."

 

The Jounin in the room were immediately restless, "Are they attacking?" Raido demanded.

 

"Iie. Reports from the west wing say that they were seen entering, but the moment they took a step into the village they disappeared. We have some of our best trackers tracking them but we have not found a trace of them yet. They could be anywhere at this moment. We do not know if they are going to attack and no notion whatsoever tells us of that."

 

I shifted closer to Kakashi, feeling unnerved by the news. In response, Kakashi tightened his grip on my wrist.

 

The Hokage turned to face us all, "By these circumstances, the Chuunin exams will have to be—"

 

"Iie!" I clapped my hand over my mouth immediately. Why was I so stupid as to cut in? It's not like I could change anyth - wait, I already did. I paused. The Chuunin exams may have killed several victims but it also knocked Orochimaru off his high horse for a while. And Sasuke… I twitched. If this didn't happened now and Orochimaru attacked later on, how would Konoha react? If anything, I'd say the exams prepared Konoha as well as it did. Since there were foreign ninja in the village for the exam, most of the ninja in the village were more on guard than usual. What would happen if Orochimaru had attacked Konoha when we weren't on guard?

 

You know what? I'm beginning to wish those stupid memories did not come to me as dreams. Maybe it would even be better if those memories didn't even come back. I don't mean the memories from back when I used to live with the Uchiha clan; I mean the memories of watching the anime Naruto. Memories holding knowledge of the future of this world. Stuff I shouldn't know in the first place. If I didn't know them maybe I wouldn't be so tense and nerve-wracked all the time.

 

"Yama-san? Do you have something to say?"

 

A few of the assembled ninja snorted—a few even going as far as whispering, "... what right does she have to interrupt the Hokage?" Other voices murmured in agreement and I flushed with embarrassment. Well... a part of me wanted to tear those people apart (even though I didn't have a chance fighting against them), and the other part of me wanted to crawl under a rock and just die. I twitched; they were right, in a way. But I knew things they didn't. I couldn't blame them.

 

I would've been better off waiting until he was finished before voicing my opinion, now that I think about it. It would've had the same effect.

 

"Yama-san?" the Hokage pressed, "Is there a reason to why you believe that the Chuunin exams should remain as it is?" His old eyes searched mine and for the first time since I was there, I recognized the expression in his gray eyes.

 

He was... he was weary. Every other time I had seen the Hokage, he had always been cheery, outgoing, and very high in energy. Sort of like Naruto - well... maybe half of the kid's spirit, not all. No one has enough energy to match the blonde tornado.

 

But now... now that I actually looked at him, I realized just how weary he was, and how he wanted to rest. It was as if his eyes were pleading me to help him. But how? How I could I help him? I, of all people?

 

I didn't answer for a few seconds. Perhaps I should just voice my honest opinion?

 

“Well…” I started slowly. “Perhaps it's better since most ninja in the village will be more on guard seeing as we have foreign ninja in the village after all?”

 

“You have a point there.” Genma pointed out. “But if Akatsuki does attack, doesn't it leave us open for those foreign ninja to attack us in the back if they have some sort of ulterior motive? Or if something happened to those foreign ninja, wouldn't it cause complications with their respective countries?” I heard the silent word he didn't say. War. It could cause war. I twitched. Okay, so maybe my thought process wasn't so good after all.

The Hokage slowly turned in his chair, facing the back wall where the pictures of the past and present Hokage were located. Moments of dull silence filled the air and a few people shifted restlessly.

 

And then, without warning, the Hokage turned back. The weary look in his eyes was now gone, "I have decided. The Chuunin exams will continue."

 

“Demo, Hokage-sama!” came several protests.

 

“Genma does make a valid point, Hokage-sama.” A voice beside me drawled. I winced. Kakashi. Yeah, I realize that my little point had been shot down horribly. But what would happen if the Chuunin exams were stopped?

 

The doors suddenly slammed open.

 

I jumped to the side as two figures marched into the room, followed by several Anbu members. The Anbu member with the tiger mask somehow ended up beside me. He had not left after reporting that Akatsuki was spotted.

 

My hand twitched and I reached questionably for Puppy in his hands. I could've sworn he gave me an amused scoff but relented, allowing me to take the was-sleeping pup into my hands. He was shivering badly. I pulled him close and kind of half-stepped behind Kakashi. The poor thing was probably scared to death from all the commotion. It might've been better if I had dropped him off with Sakura before I had arrived. And no, Naruto would've been a bad idea. Sasuke would've been a worse idea. Could you imagine what would happen to the poor thing if he accidently wet himself all over Sasuke?

 

I'd be having roast dog for dinner or something.

 

“Sarutobi-sama.” One of the two old people said sternly. It was an old lady. If I wasn't mistaken… it was the two advisors. I pointedly hid behind Kakashi. I don't think it would be a good idea if they caught a sight of my eyes. If Kakashi noticed my actions, he didn't say anything, but one of his hands did slide behind his back and touched my hand.

 

I managed to squeeze it slightly without dropping Puppy and closed my eyes. I found that after my eyesight had not been used for a week or so, it had heightened my other senses. Natural adaptation of the human body, I think.

 

“Koharu. Homura.” I heard the Hokage said quietly. So it was them then? The two council members. Now I hate these damn meetings even more.

 

“We've been informed that Akatsuki has been seen in the village.” The old woman's voice said.

 

“That is correct.” I heard Sarutobi emit a sigh.

 

“And do you have any leads on their intentions?” The old man— Homura drawled, “It is questionable that after years of inactivity they would move on into our village without so much of a warning.” I peeked over Kakashi's shoulder to see him scowl. “You don't think they're after the Kyuubi?”

 

Sarutobi puffed at his pipe lightly. “We may have an idea.” He said slowly. Apparently the two council members caught on immediately because Koharu was already hounding for more answers.

 

“So it is that female Uchiha then?” I grimaced at the way she had spat out the word Uchiha. She made it sound like the clan name was a smear on humanity or something. Damn old hag. Wasn't it partly your fault that the Uchiha rebelled anyway? Damn people and their paranoia. Would it ever end?

 

“Now, now Koharu. We don't know that yet. To our knowledge, Akatsuki has no word that Yama-san was a Uchiha when she had been abducted into their lair.” I managed to hold in a laugh at the Hokage's tone. It sounded like he was talking to a child. But then again, maybe they were children. They were being quite childish to me. But then again, they were trying to just protect the village.

 

“And then? Do you still plan on continuing the Chuunin exams?” Homura demanded. Most of the other Jounin had cleared off either to the left or right to allow the old dudes have their little verbal battle.

 

“Yes.”

 

“That's preposterous!” Koharu protested immediately, stepping forwards.

 

“We don't have much of a choice, Koharu.” Sarutobi said wearily. “If we canceled now the other countries would demand a valid explanation, and we cannot just tell them that Akatsuki is living in one of our hotels at the moment. That would be asking for an attack. What would happen if they knew that we were under attack by Akatsuki?”

 

Silence.

 

But we all knew the answer. All countries were looking for an opportunity to gain more land, more power. And what was better than attacking a vulnerable country and gaining that land?

 

“Then couldn't you have dealt with this problem a week earlier?” Koharu's voice was tense and strained. I think I was gripping the life out of Kakashi's hand by now but he didn't show any means of noticing it. The problem probably meant me.

 

“A week ago we were not aware that Akatsuki would become a problem from the report we had.” Sarutobi said pleasantly. “They could not have known that Yama-san was from Konoha after all, given that she did not have her forehead protector with her and she revealed nothing to them.”

 

“You don't know that, Hokage-sama.” Homura stressed. “The girl could have simply deceived you.”

 

I felt Kakashi's hand twitch. Startled, I glanced down. His other hand was clenched into a fist so tight his knuckles were turning white. Oi, Kakashi. I glanced up at the back of his head. Calm down mister. I rested my head against his upper back. I couldn't comfort him with my hands, seeing as they were full of Puppy at the moment.

 

But it seemed to work because his tense shoulders lowered slightly.

 

“If their objective is the girl after all why do we not negotiate with them?”

 

What did that old hag mean by negotiate? I could feel the rest of the room tense. By all means, the two council members had no reason to believe I was hiding behind Kakashi's back. Everyone else in the room knew, however.

 

“What are you getting at?” the Hokage asked warily. He was standing now.

 

“If they want the girl, we can very well give her to them.” I felt myself go cold. Through my forehead I felt Kakashi's back tense up again.

 

My eye twitched. Fucking old hag. How dare she—

 

“That is out of the question.”

 

The rest of the room had gone stone silent.

 

I saw Homura narrow his eyes. “What do you mean, out of the question, Sarutobi?” The Hokage merely nodded his head. “I mean out of the question. Are you proposing that we hand a member of the Uchiha clan right over to them?”

 

“That should be no problem, seeing as her sharingan is of no use.” Koharu said indifferently. “If it will protect our village, it is what we must do.” So she had believed the report as well.

“I will not willingly hand an innocent Konoha citizen to the enemy!” Sarutobi snapped, his eyes blazing. I tightened my grip slightly on Puppy and continued to rest my forehead on Kakashi's back. I really do love you, Sarutobi, I do. Thank you for protecting me all this time. Whispers had started to drift around the room by now, and Homura and Koharu were conversing harshly.

There was a tiny squeak and I lessened my hold on Puppy. I had been gripping him pretty tightly. It was then that he decided to sneeze.

 

“Ahchew!” I blinked. If it weren't for the fact that the room had gone silent due to it, I would've been laughing and trying not to crush the cute little thing to death. Oh crap. I felt myself go pale.

 

Puppy sneezed again and I momentarily cursed the workers who hadn't dusted the office well enough. If we had been standing in a large group of people, the sneeze would've been no problem. But the fact stood; Kakashi was standing near the edge of the edge of the group practically leaning against the wall. It didn't help that the acoustics in the room made it echo slightly. I took a tiny step back. Oh shit. Bad news indeed.

 

I might as well reveal myself slowly. I poked the tip of my head over Kakashi's right shoulder. Like I though, Koharu and Homura were staring right at me. I averted my gaze as casually as I could.

 

“So… the one in question is even here herself.” Koharu said slowly. “So what do you think of this problem, young Uchiha? Would you sacrifice the safety of this village for your own?”

 

“Koharu.” The Hokage said with a warning tone.

 

She didn't acknowledge him and merely advanced. I kept my gaze carefully on the floor and stepped in front of Kakashi, despite his pushing. He was trying to keep me behind him. But this was a problem I needed to face myself. “Uchiha-san­.” She said slowly. She was now standing in front of me. “You would willingly stay here knowing that there are several people after you because you a female Uchiha.” She paused. “Although I suppose it wouldn't matter if they catch you. Your eyes are useless after all.

 

It was at that moment I looked up at her. I must've startled her horribly because she gasped and tumbled back. Several Anbu caught her as she tripped and almost fell. Homura's expression at my eyes was no different. When Koharu seemed to recover, she whirled on Sarutobi. “You told us her eyes were damaged!”

 

“They are.” Kakashi rumbled behind me. Koharu's eyes narrowed at him. “But damaged as they are, they are stuck in that state. You can check the hospital records if you so wish. She cannot use the sharingan any longer. The injury merely changed her eye color.” I fought the urge to roll my eyes. Kakashi sounded so damn pleased.

 

Homura's lips were pressed into a thin line, “Fine. Do as you wish, Sarutobi.” The tone that he said the sentence in sounded like he was saying that this whole thing wasn't over yet. He turned and left the room, followed by the Anbu members. Koharu followed after, but not before shooting me a dirty look. I fought the urge to stick my tongue out at her as the Hokage cleared his throat to catch everyone's attention again.

 

“Now then. Since I've just stated what canceling the Chuunin exams would do, does anyone still protest?”

 

No one answered.

 

“Very well then. The Chuunin exams will continue. Tsume,”

 

“Hai.” My new teacher stepped up, saluting. “Pick a five man team of your choice. Meet the group that spotted Akatsuki's entrance and see what you can track. Report to me if anything happens,” With a nod, Tsume left the room. “Genma,”

 

“Hai.” Genma stepped up.

 

The Hokage sat back down. “Continue with the exam preparations; take Anko and Ibiki with you.” The three left. “Now, I will be sending two Anbu teams to scour the area. Everyone else please be on your guard.” His eyes landed on me. “Yama-san. Try not to be alone for the time being.” I nodded.

 

“Dismissed.”

 

[.a.g.i.r.l.n.a.m.e.d.y.a.m.a.]

 

"...." an uncomfortable silence settled between Kakashi and I was we exited the conference room. Kakashi scratched the back of his neck nervously, giving me a small wink, "Where to then?"

 

I shrugged and hefted Puppy higher up in my arms. His head was now resting on my left shoulder. Puppy was also awake and staring at random things. I stared at it slightly. You better not piss on me, pup.

That conference had somewhat dampened my mood... correction, killed it. And what was Akatsuki after? They couldn't have known I was a Uchiha, and the rumors couldn't have spread that fast, could it?

 

"Yama!"

 

I recognized the voice and immediately tried to slink away— as best as I could while carrying a puppy anyway.

 

"Ahem," someone cleared their throat. I froze. Right there in front of me was Iruka. I gave him a nervous smile, "Eh... hehe, hi Iruka-sensei!" He glared at me.

 

"And just where were you this morning?"

 

Kakashi gave me a look, "You had a meeting today?" I scratched my arm nervously, "Maybe..." I had seriously forgotten. Bad dreams plus grumpy Sasuke in the morning tends to do things to my memory. I think I was supposed to meet Iruka to discuss some things about the reading material I was looking for. He froze.

 

“Your sight has returned.” Iruka gave me a smile. “That's good.” I managed a smile. “Yeah, I suppose.” Most people didn't know my sight would return. Only those who had visited me knew. You should've seen the looks on some of the Jounins who hadn't met me earlier during that meeting when they found out I wasn't blind anymore. But they can draw their own conclusions—I don't feel like explaining anymore.

 

"Well then, Kakashi-san, if you don't mind, I would like to talk to Yama-chan in private please," Iruka said pleasantly. I stared, wide-eyed at Kakashi. 'Please, don't leave, please don't leave...' Whenever Iruka used that suffix in my name there was hell to pay.

 

Kakashi winked at me, "Of course, Iruka-san! Ja ne, Yama-koi!"

 

I paled, "But Kaka - !" Poof! And he was gone, `That traitor! I'm going to kill him later!' But right now I have to deal with this...

 

I gulped and turned slowly to look at Iruka, who was sporting a smug face that promised only the worse.

 

Oh crap.

 

[.a.g.i.r.l.n.a.m.e.d.y.a.m.a.]

 

My eyes peered cautiously around my current surroundings. I didn't sense him anywhere. Where was he? Mmm.. I know! I'll use my sharingan to—Oh wait. I can't use it. Nevermind.

 

Fine then. I'll use the skills I learned when I had been blind. I closed my eyes. This stuff I had to learn. Iruka practically forced it into my brain. All of it. Just crammed it all in. He was a slave driver, I swear.

 

You know, it would be easier if I could just use sharingan. But whatever.

 

From what I had learned from Iruka, each style of techniques uses different kinds of chakra. Taijutsu uses all stamina, and Ninjutsu and Genjutsu only used chakra. But chakra could also be used for other things—it could help you speed up or jump higher.

 

As I said before, it's kind of complicated to use chakra. I mean, it took me over two weeks to get used to using it! And I couldn't use it at all for the first four days. As I found out, there are lots of things that a person has to acknowledge to fully known how to use chakra for techniques. The ninjas here had it easy because they were born to a world that was focused on it.

 

Everyone that used chakra had different patterns.

 

Of course, everyone had chakra, but ninjas were just those who chose to use them. The regular villagers who chose not to use chakra didn't use it because they did not wish to do so. And of course, there were those who were born with a malfunction and couldn't use it. Like Rock Lee.

 

Flash!

 

Movement to the left!

 

My eyes darted in that exact direction, seeing something zip across the grass, and close in from my right. I could see the movements clearer than day. It was Iruka. I could sense his chakra clearly. The blur zoomed right past me, and I automatically whipped up a kunai to block a shuriken.

 

Briefly acknowledging the clank on the ground as it fell, I turned my attention back onto my sensei, trying to figure out his moves. We continued to exchange blows, using only taijutsu and relying on our speed and fist-to-fist skills. After a few times kicks towards him and some blocks, Iruka picked up speed.

 

And that's when he disappeared. Slowing my breathing down slowly, I focused my senses again. Where was he?

 

I felt motion to my right and twisted to dodge out of the way of Iruka's punch. And Iruka was already acting after throwing that blow. This time, I leapt to my left, barely missing a flat kick and I twisted my body, allowing me to whip out my left leg.

 

Iruka caught my leg, right before it hit his midsection, and stopped briefly, giving me a grin.

 

In less than a split second, he had pushed my leg back in my direction roughly, causing me to stumbling back on one leg. Steadying myself, I looked up in time to see Iruka forming seals.

 

I frowned and held up my hands, and to my surprise my Sharingan flashed on. Shit. Luckily my eyes wouldn't be changing. I snapped them off, but I had already seen the seals Iruka had used. If I timed it right…

 

However, I still couldn't match Kakashi's skill level - not by 20 miles. Maybe a 100 miles was more accurate... I copied a lot slower than Iruka did, and I had to dodge his jutsu before casting mine. I copy so slow I made turtles proud of their speed.

 

“Ninpou: Hyakka kurumu!” (Ninja arts: Wrap of flowers)

 

My eyes widened as I saw a vines and flowers starting to grow at my feet, "Wha-!"

 

"You have no time to talk, Yama-chaaaan," Iruka said in amusement, "You should be trying to think of a way to get yourself out of this one."

 

My eyes widened in horror as the vines proceeded to wrap quickly around my feet, rising up with astonishing speed, "What kind of jutsu is this?! You've never done this one before!!" I yelped. Iruka let out a loose laugh, "You haven't been the only one training, you know. When you're out with Kakashi, I do learning something new you know. I don't just teach all day long."

 

Iruka was still concentrating on the growing flowers and vines. He was still feeding chakra to it and in return, the plant fed on it like it was water.

 

I reached down, growling with a futile attempt at trying to pry it from around my legs. I couldn't pry it off, and I couldn't cut it because it's nearly impossible to cut chakra ingrained roots unless you were able to use the Gentle Fist. That was a Hyuuga technique. I think Iruka had mentioned it briefly during one of our textbook lessons.

 

Miffing in exasperation, I decided to fight trap with trap. Without hesitation, I immediately formed the exact same seals Iruka had only formed seconds before. I saw Iruka's eyes widened and I grinned briefly, before calling out, "Ninpou: Hyakka kurumu!"

 

Seconds later, Iruka was leaping up into the air, trying to avoid vines that were attracted to him like flies to -ahem- feces.

 

I let out a mental cheer as one flowery vine managed to catch his ankle and let out a yelp when I realized that the sapling tied around me had lifted me high up into the air. I met Iruka's eyes briefly. His eyes twinkled at me and I gasped as the vines suddenly released me, sending me plummeting down.

 

The movement caused me to lose concentration and I saw Iruka released from the vines as I lost control of the jutsu.

 

Within seconds, I saw Iruka disappear into the trees before he emerged again, catching me. I sighed in relief. I didn't have to di—

 

At the very next moment, Iruka dropped me.

 

—ie by falling to death.

 

"Ahh—" Whump! I hit the ground. I narrowed my eyes at Iruka. He didn't have to be that mean! I mean... catching me was nice, so I didn't have to die from falling, but then dropping me when I was five feet from the ground... that's just plain mean.

 

I blinked at him slowly. "You didn't have to be so mean as to drop me! Shows how much you care about me..."

 

I groaned, too tired to move. I lay stretched on the grass, with Iruka standing right above me. The dolphin gave me a small smirk, "Eh, Yama-chan! Up you go, you still have one more hour of training left!" I let out a whine. “But technically I don't train under you anymore…” Tsume was my new trainer. Iruka gave me a whack across the back of my head. “Just because I'm not officially your trainer doesn't mean I don't get to train you anymore!”

 

I could only imagine what sort of disarray my hair was in. And not to mention my clothes! I wasn't even looking in the mirror and I could already see the tears, grass and mud strains in my training outfit... It was a nice outfit too! Okay... not really, but whatever. It was just a sleeveless black top with matching shorts. But so what? I liked it. I happened to like black. As you can see, I wear a lot of black. A lot of neutral colors. And no, I'm not mourning or anything. Black is a nice shade!

 

At least Iruka didn't look too bad. Except for a few mud stains and the few leaves that were present in his pony tail, nothing else was out of place.

 

However, we were both panting rather hard - I was more tired, of course. This told me that I was improving a lot. Before when I sparred with Iruka, he didn't even have to break out into a sweat and I would be dead, on the ground already. Dead tired, that is.

 

I heard a high pitched whine from the tree line. I rolled over and peered into the shade. “Puppy!” He was at the moment tied to a tree. Our spar must have woken him up. He was sleeping so I figured there was no harm in tying him up while we had our little spar.

 

"I can't..." I moaned, "Too tired...." My legs were sore. My arms were sore. My feet were sore. My hands were sore. Heck, I was sore all over. I was going to feel those bruises tomorrow, too... Another whine made me raised my head again, holding my arm out in the pup's direction. “You're a smart pup…” I groaned. “Untie yourself and come to me!” A disgruntled snort answered me.

 

"Can't beat me? Tsk, tsk, and here I thought Kakashi had taught you something good!"

 

At that, my eyes popped open, "He did! He helped train my sharingan!"

 

Iruka frowned, "... But you don't have it anymore, do you.” My gaze lowered and I felt Iruka's gaze soften. “Don't worry, I'm sure Tsume will show you another style. However, despite that, you've grown, Yama. You're Taijutsu has improved and your chakra storage's have definitely increased." He grinned, "... especially if you had been able to do that technique after all the sparring we had already gone through." He paused. “But did you learn that technique from Kakashi?”

 

I froze. No… technically I had learned it when Iruka had shown it immediately because my Sharingan had flashed on by instinct. I managed a light laugh. “Yeah, something like that.” Thankfully Iruka didn't question it anymore.

 

He laughed, "Your concentration has also improved... Better than before, that is..." he mused, "Does this have anything to do with Genma-san?" I blanched.

 

"Iruka-sensei!!"

 

"Just kidding, just kidding," He grinned, rubbing the bridge of his nose, "I haven't given you that talk yet, have I?" My eyes widened. Here came the inevitable.

 

"Don't give me that look, Yama. Come on, I'll talk while I walk you home, it's starting to get late anyway," Iruka held out a hand. I reached up wearily, taking it and also falling over. Iruka sighed, helping me stand, "Maybe I was underestimating you when I said your chakra storage's have increased a lot..."

 

"Hey!"

 

"Come along then," Iruka steadied me, allowing me to lean on him as he helped me out of the training field. “Wait! Puppy's still there.” Iruka rolled his eyes. “Ah, yes. I had forgotten about that thing for a second.” I glared at Iruka.

 

“He's not a thing.”

 

“Hai, hai.” Iruka set me down before going towards the tree where Puppy was jumping up and down. Once released, he came bounding over towards me, jumping on top of me and knocking me over. “Oi!” I protested, pushing his mouth away. “No licky!” I scolded. Puppy gave me an apologetic nudge. I had only had him for approximately nine hours but he was already attached. He was a lot smarter than I had given him credit for too.

 

We made our way across the field and out a small entrance between two tall maple trees. By the time we had gotten well onto the street, the sun was already starting to lower in the sky. I was guessing that it was around... 6 in the evening? It was around 2 when I had gone to that meeting... and I suppose we had been training for a couple of hours now...

 

"Are you sure you're not doing anything you're not supposed to be doing with this man?"

 

"Iruka!" I burst out, "Stop hounding me like you're my father!" Puppy gave a responding bark from beside us. I paused, "But you're too young to be a father... maybe an older brother."

 

Iruka shook his head, "Really, Yama, I just didn't expect you to get into a relationship so soon—"

 

I frowned, "It's not soon. I've been here for nearly 8 months already - nearly 9."

 

"Now," Iruka started, "Exactly how long have you and Kakashi-san been going at it?"

 

I blushed heavily. I had no idea how Iruka knew, but that was so not true! "We have not been going at it!" I protested, glaring at him, "You're trying to make my life a living hell, aren't you?"

Iruka gave me a soft smile, "How long?"

 

My gaze lowered to the ground and I felt Iruka shift his weight slightly. I tried not to lean on him too much, but my feet didn't want to move, "... Um... a couple of days..." More accurately, a day. “And it's not official yet either.” I shot Iruka another look.

 

Iruka's eyebrows rose, "Really? I would've assumed at least 2 weeks," I flushed.

 

"Iie..."

 

"Well, it's just that you two seem so close... and Kakashi seems to be very protective of you… are you sure about this?" Iruka asked gently, pausing briefly as we passed the Ichiraku Ramen shop. I spotted a certain blonde haired kid there and grinned before answering, "Nope.” I responded cheerfully. “That's why I said it wasn't official yet.”

 

I rolled my eyes in the direction of Naruto, "... Shouldn't you persuade him to eat something else besides ramen? It's bad for his health you know..."

 

Iruka drew an eyebrow up, "This coming from the ramen queen herself?" Phew! Now that we're off the topic of my love life...

 

"That's not true!! I just... can't... cook. Too well..." I trailed off. It's not my fault I can't cook! Okay, I can cook, but don't blame me if you get food poisoning.

 

That's when I frowned. Something was wrong.

 

The street seemed quiet.

 

Too quiet.

 

Whine. I glanced down at Puppy. He was sitting there, ears perked up. Had he noticed something?

 

"What's wrong?" Iruka frowned. I imitated his look, "It feels too quiet - almost like the quiet before a storm..."

 

That's when I noticed that the street was nearly empty, "What time is it?"

Iruka glanced down at his watch, "Nearly 7 P.M. Why?"

 

"Shouldn't there be people around here at this time? You know, grocery shopping and all?" I questioned, eyeing the ramen shop carefully. The only customer there was Naruto himself.

 

"Not particularly. People usually go grocery shopping on Thursdays," Iruka remarked, "So it's not uncommon for these streets to be quiet at this time of the night."

 

"Okay..." Movement!

 

My eyes drifted slowly to my left, where a line of trees were, "Um... Iruka-sensei?" Iruka nodded briefly, silently saying, 'I know, I saw,' Goodie. I thought I was seeing things.

 

"Oi, Naruto!" Naruto poked his head out.

 

"Iruka-sensei! Yama-chan!! Want some raaaa-men??"

I gave him a brief smile, "So you can somehow manage to trick me into paying for you? I don't think so!!" Naruto pouted, "I wasn't going to do that!" He stared at my feet. “Whose dog?” I managed to point at myself. He grinned and dove out, giving Puppy several pats and scratches. “He's very soft.”

"Right," Iruka said impatiently, "Naruto, could you go check on Kakashi's plants for me? He told me to check on them later tonight," Naruto frowned briefly.

 

"Plants? I thought that..." he trailed off when he saw the look I gave him, "Ooohhh... the old hag he has for a next door neighbor won't do it this time?" He gave me a quick grin. Not so slow now, Naruto? Spending time with Sasuke was paying off.

 

"Hai," Iruka gave Naruto a small smile.

 

“Take Puppy with you too.” I added helpfully. “You can leave him at Kakashi's. I'll pick him up later.”

 

"Yoshe! Okay, I'm off!" In a flash, Konoha's most hyperactive ninja was gone, with puppy in his arms. The dog had protested slightly but remained silent when I had given him a look. He was a smart dog after all. Just when I was about to turn and walk off with Iruka, I heard someone clear their throat. Frowning, I turned towards the ramen stand. There, the owner stood there, hand held out. He was grinning.

 

Uh oh... Bad news.

 

My gaze rested on the enormous amount of empty bowls that sat on the counter. Then my gaze rested on the hastily scribbled note on a napkin: 'Oi! Oyaji! Yama-chan's treating me today! She's the pretty lady with the black hair standing outside! Thanks for the great meal! Signed, the great Uzumaki Naruto!'

 

My eyebrow twitched, "Naruto!"

 

[.a.g.i.r.l.n.a.m.e.d.y.a.m.a.]

 

Naruto's eye twitched as no one answered the door to Kakashi's flat. Where was that lazy sensei of his? Something wasn't right - he knew that for a fact. Iruka-sensei had told him to go 'check on Kakashi-sensei's plants.' That alone was out of the ordinary. Where were all of Kakashi's roommates as well? The dog yapped from his arms. Naruto glanced down. Now that he thought about it, had Yama called the dog Puppy? Strange name.

 

Anyway, Kakashi's plants didn't need to be watered or anything. They were kept in a self-watering container - which used the use of evaporation to reuse the water.

 

Naruto had known that for a fact.

 

How?

Because one day he snuck into his room... hey! Don't blame him! He wanted to know more about this mysterious sensei of his. No one, and that means no one seems to know much about him at all.

And no one seemed to be able to get close enough to see his face.

 

Although Naruto already had the suspicion that Yama had already seen his face. He wasn't as stupid as he looked, you know. Naruto could tell that the two were most likely together somehow— if Sasuke's earlier mood was any kind of indication.

 

Naruto frowned. Grumbling, "... where the hell is lazy Kakashi—" and whirled around, slamming into something. Puppy yelped in reply and lapped at his face.

 

"Gah!" Naruto tumbled to the ground and sat there, glaring at nothing in particular. The world was against him today, wasn't it? At least he didn't have to pay for all that ramen... And he had a cute dog to play with. He gave Puppy another quick tummy-rub, which the pup replied with another lap at his face.

 

Naruto let out a snicker, "Hey, at least Yama-chan had to pay for all my raaaaa-meeen!" At that he felt Puppy nip at his fingers lightly. He gave the dog a pat. Well, at least the dog was kind of smart.

 

"Oh? What's this I hear about Yama-chan paying for all of my student's ramen?"

 

Naruto's eyes widened and he raised them slowly, "K-K-Kakashi-sensei!!" Naruto leapt to his feet, "—Eh! What are you doing here?" he rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly. 'Hope he didn't hear that last comment...' If Kakashi had heard his last comment, who knows what he would do to try and get back at Naruto. Kakashi and Yama did have a relationship.

 

Kakashi gave his student an amused look. "I happen to live here, Naruto. Why are you here? And why do you have Yama's dog?"

 

Naruto brightened immediately, "Iruka-sensei told me that—" Naruto frowned. Now that he thought about it... Iruka-sensei had told him a message in code-form... that probably meant that someone was following Yama-chan and Iruka-sensei himself. What if that someone had followed him? "—to check on your plants! Um... because he couldn't check on them..."

 

Kakashi frowned. Odd. 'Check on my plants? My plants don't need checking on...' Unless...

 

"Do you know where he is right now?" Kakashi asked. His mind was already rolling with ideas, "... I suppose I should return that scroll of his..." he lied. If Naruto was still talking in code-form like Kakashi suspected there may be someone listening in on their conversation nearby.

 

"... I saw him at the ramen stand with Yama-chan..." Naruto brightened slightly. “And Yama told me to leave Puppy at your house.”

 

Kakashi's eye narrowed in alarm as he took the wriggling dog from his blonde student. "Yama's with him?"

 

[.a.g.i.r.l.n.a.m.e.d.y.a.m.a.]

 

I frowned as Iruka led us to a more secluded part of town. I leaned closer to him, "Why are you going to a-"

Iruka gave me an amused look, "So nothing happens to—" Iruka was cut off when a harsh sound filled the air. Surprise, I met Iruka's eyes and gasped when I felt a pressure on my leg.

 

My eyes widened and I glanced down, seeing a pale hand grasping my ankle, "Uh... Iruka-sensei… Tell me that's your arm." Iruka stared at me. Both his hands were at his sides. Shit. "—Ahhh! Fucking shi—" Abruptly, the arm yanked and I felt myself hit the ground, Iruka's grip gone from my shoulder.

 

Slam!

I groaned as I felt myself slam into the ground harshly. Abruptly a figure leapt out from behind me and lashed out at Iruka, sending the Academy teacher flying into a bundle of bushes.

 

"Iruka!!" I yelped out. I struggled to my feet, toppling over again in exhaustion. I mentally curse myself, and then Iruka himself for working me so hard during training. If he hadn't done so, I might've had some energy right now to defend myself!

 

I felt myself lifted up into the air and I stared right into dark eyes. I stared. Oh… shit. It's Deidara. Fuck me. He survived?

 

All my suspicions were broken about `it' being a girl when the figure spoke, "Eh? So we meet again girlie. That last blow hurt, yeah.” He gave me a grin, eyes running down my form. I glared at him. “Time for some payback, yeah?”

 

“Get awa—”

 

"Let's just get her back like ordered," I peered behind this figure to see another clad in an Akatsuki cloak. This time, this person's features were completely shielded from view by a black veil attached to a straw hat. I could tell by the voice that it was a male.

 

He also wore an Akatsuki cloak. I gulped as this other guy towered over me. That guy was huge! At least Deidara wasn't that tall. I'd say he's around Kakashi's height... maybe taller?

 

"You're not taking her anywhere!"

 

All of the attention averted to Iruka, who was now standing on his feet and favoring his right arm.

 

"Iruka!!" I cried out. I struggled in the Akatsuki member's grip, "Let go asshole!"

 

"Eh, I don't believe I can do that," the very feminine he grinned, "We gotta finish what we were going to start with you. I probably have a few guesses as to why that Uchiha took you away. I at first thought he was possessive and wanted you for himself... but... he's not around now - so I don't think so... yeah."

 

I glared at him. He blinked, taken aback. “What's with your eyes, yeah? Sharingan?” Crap, I probably shouldn't have shown him that. “Yo, Sasori-danna, is there any more surviving Uchiha besides the two?”

 

“Not to my knowledge.”

 

Deidara let out a grin that scared the shit out of me. “Well it looks like I'm holding one right now.”

 

“What?” Sasori shuffled closer. When I tried to look away, Deidara gripped my chin and forced me to face his partner. I grimaced when I felt something wet touch my chin. What the—? “Hmm… strange, so there is. A female as well. Perhaps she will be of more worth to Leader now.”

 

Wait...

 

"Peh, you want to finish this one, or should I... yeah?" Deidara released my chin with a violet jerk and smirked. That's when I noticed his palm. I stared, wide-eyed at mouth on his hand. Ew… so that was what was made my chin wet?

 

I think he noticed my staring, because he lifted his palm into my face, grinning devilishly, "Like it?" I gulped as a tongue slide out right in front of my eyes. I closed my eyes. I never wanted to see anything like that for the rest of my life! Guh. Did his other hand have that as well?

 

"... You can finish it, Deidara," the other voice grumbled, "He doesn't look like he's going to put up much of a fight anyway."

 

My eyes opened immediately. Iruka!

Gaze meeting mine, I saw the determination in those eyes. Iruka! My eyes pleaded with his. I wanted him to leave. Run. Anywhere. He had to get away from here! He didn't have a chance against these guys. He wasn't in his top condition in chakra, too, since we had been sparring for quite a while before. “Iruka—go find Anbu! Or the Hokage! I can try to hold them off for ammff!—” Deidara slapped his hand over my mouth. I twitched. “Be quiet, yeah? We can't have you yelling out our location to the several squads we've managed to avoid so far.”

 

That's when I felt something wet slide across my lips. My eyes widened. Oh hell no. Struggling to free my hands from his hold, I couldn't free. Maybe I could ignore it. The twitch in my forehead grew as the wet feeling continue and I decided I'd had enough and bit down. “Fuck!” He jerked his hand away from my mouth and I began to gag, spitting out a wad of spit. “What the fuck was that for you bitch?!” He began to blow lightly on his hand. Ha, serves you right pervert.

 

I stared at him. “Are you serious? Your hand was fucking kissing me! Do you know how creepy that is?!” He stared at me blankly. “Seriously? I didn't even know my hand was doing that.” My eye twitched. Asshole. How could you not know? I glanced over to Iruka to see if he had taken the chance to run.

 

But it turned out my stolen kiss was all for nothing, because Iruka shook his head firmly, standing his ground.

I was tossed carelessly onto the ground, "Watch her," Deidara let out a grin, "I'm going to have fun with you," I grimaced in pain, trying to lift myself off the ground. He had tossed me onto a rough terrain. It wasn't grass either... I scowled at him. You'd think he'd at least toss me onto the grass! Oh, nevermind. I had shot a lightning strike through him. Of course he would hold a grudge against me, stupid me.

 

There was no time left. Where the hell was Kakashi? I thought Iruka had sent Naruto off to find him! `No' I told myself. `You can't rely on him forever.' It was sad, but true. I couldn't rely on others to protect me forever. I needed to do stuff myself.

 

My hands formed seals on their own accord. I would have to do it now - there was no time left. And I didn't dare risk Iruka's life for a situation that was entirely my fault.

 

The masked Akatsuki member whipped in my direction, "What the—?!"

 

"Mizu Bunshi no jutsu!"

 

Using a water clone, I managed to tackle him to the ground. Taking this chance, I let myself put as much distance as I could away from him. The guy snarled and smashed my clone into water droplets in a matter of split seconds.

 

I gulped.

 

"Uchiha, eh?" the guy let out a cackle, "Now I see why the pathetic Uchiha kept you and took you out. You two related?" I saw him flex his fists slowly. I raised my hands into a defensive state. “Is your sharingan on as well?” he sneered. I blinked. He didn't know it was `damaged.' Where were the Anbu that were supposed to keep an eye on me? Did the Hokage pull them away?

"Oh?"

 

I turned my head slightly to see that Deidara hadn't started attacking Iruka yet. He was watching me with interest, "Now that I think about it-are you as good as Itachi, I wonder? Then I'd rather have some fun with you, instead of this pulp here." he gestured to Iruka, grinning at me.

 

Iruka scowled, "Hey, you—"

 

"Shut up," Deidara threw something in Iruka's direction. My eyes followed the item carefully, widening as I sensed the familiar chakra. It was an explosive!

 

"Iruka! Explosive!!" I shouted. Iruka's eyes widened, but it was too late.

 

Boom!

"Iruka!"

 

I had only leapt forwards a few yards when Deidara appeared before me, "Uh, uh, uh, your fight is with me... yeah?"

 

"Oi! Deidara! She's mine! You can go play with the other guy..."

 

Deidara frowned, "Aww, Sasori-danna! You always get all the fun... yeah!"

 

I edged to the left, attempting to get around this guy to find Iruka. I needed to know if he was all right! And I needed to get to a better defensive position.

 

So worried about Iruka, I didn't notice when Deidara's arm shoot out and grab my arm, "Eh! You aren't going anywhere.”

 

Flash!

 

I yelped when I felt something strike my side. Coughing out blood, I saw Deidara lash out. My eyes widened when I saw another arm reach out to calmly block the blow that was directed at me.

 

Deidara's eyes narrowed and he leapt back, landing softly beside Sasori.

 

"Yama?" a familiar voice asked. I glanced around in confusion. The smoke from the explosion hadn't quite cleared yet.

 

"Who's there?" My fear lowered slightly. Whoever it was, they couldn't be bad if they saved me. My eyes were smarting painfully from the smoke. I felt a grip on my left arm and I turned to see Iruka. I sighed in relief, "Iruka-sensei! You're all right!"

Iruka gave me a tired smile, "Not entirely," he gestured towards his arm and I winced at the sight of red seeping through his Chuunin vest. Blood... I turned away, carefully pulling a piece off my top and turning back. We had to stop the bleeding. I quickly tore off Iruka's and sleeve to wrap the cloth around his bleeding arm. I stopped. That would have to do for now—no time for that yet. I turned to look for the enemies.

 

Then I turned back towards him, "W-wait... who saved you?" Iruka gave me a look, before pointing out right in front of me. I frowned and turned, watching the smoke slowly clear away.

 

Squinting, I tried to recognize the figure that stood there, dressed entirely in black.

 

A voice lilted into the air, "Heh. I see you've finally decided to join us... "

 

My eyebrows rose in impatience. Who was it?

 

"... Itachi…"

 

To be continued…

 

[.a.g.i.r.l.n.a.m.e.d.y.a.m.a.]

 

To my reviewers: Thank you for all or your support throughout this past year (ff dot net):

 

SasuNaru123, Bluumberry, TK Shuffle, jo, loveable-M, nishtiman, Kathy, Dark-Kit, Sakamoto Ayumi, aznpuffyhair, zannen desu ne of animalspiral. , Initial D 4 life, teresa, KiTurner, pockeyluvr, teresa9, Sutefani-chan, The8thSin, IzakiRioFLAME, jillyteee, sarafu-chan, race, deadgalwalking, TheInflictedFinger, Anima08, silver starlight kitsune, silver-kitsune223, Icedragon316, Rishan, Scissor Killer, Utena, Kakashi x3, xkuroxshinobix, Aka Yuki-hime, AznNarutoGrl-91, Rikki, Rhythmic, cutie-chan-XD3, meheeners, anonymous, LadyGlory, Anonymous, starStruck272, reighost, Space Ninja Crash, Spellcasterz, ferociouspyrate, JapanAnimeGirl, saki-kun

 

To anyone who I had missed, gomen and thank you all!

 

[.a.g.i.r.l.n.a.m.e.d.y.a.m.a.]

 

XoXSilverDragonXoX

 

Revised August 21, 2008