Naruto Fan Fiction ❯ A Red Rose ❯ Chapter 8 ( Chapter 8 )

[ Y - Young Adult: Not suitable for readers under 16 ]

It was surprisingly light in the basement under the Hokage Tower.

While the torches had been the only light in the stairwell and hallway, once Itachi and I had entered one of the basement’s numerous rooms, I found that half-sized windows had been placed within the upper reaches of the walls. These windows allowed the comforting sunlight to brighten up the otherwise small and dismal space.

Unfortunately, the sunlight was the only thing about it that was comforting and the added light only made those dismal aspects more apparent.

Dark patches were visible on the stone walls where moisture had seeped through and some corners were beginning to show signs of moss. Even the strong, earthy fragrances permeating the air couldn’t disguise the metallic scent of iron being given off from the numerous chains bolted to the walls, floor, and ceiling.

A lone table stood in the center of the room, covered with every implementation of torture one could think of. I could only name a few of them but that was more than enough. I didn’t want to know how the remaining metal tools could be put to use.

I froze in the doorway. Itachi had already stepped slightly inside but was forced to either stop with me or let go of my hand – which had his in a tight grasp now.

He stopped and frowned as his eyes swept the room. Other than the assorted instruments of torture, it was empty.

“Follow me,” he said after only a few seconds, and to my infinite relief, gestured with his free hand towards the doorway which I was still blocking, rather than father into the Torture Room.

“Why did you bring me here if we’re just going to leave?” I questioned, as I moved out of his way.

The expression on his face was even more contemplative than usual.

“That was the room that I had been told to meet with Ibiki-san in. Obviously, he wasn’t there.”

“Oh.” Great. Ibiki, the interrogator/torturer. Somehow, I was glad he hadn’t been there.

“Are we early?” I suggested. “Maybe we should just come back later.” Or never.

“Actually, we are late.”

So, why hadn’t the resident torturer been in his torture room? And why had he wanted us to meet him there in the first place? Was I going to be ‘interrogated’ despite the Hokage’s promise?

Or, had there been a method to his madness? Had he intended to intimidate me? If so, it had definitely worked. I never wanted to have to go back to that room ever again.

Itachi led me further down the hallway which grew colder as it gradually slanted downward.

Finally, we reached another door from which a light was shining.

Upon entering, it was immediately evident that this room was nearly as bad as the torture chamber. Like its predecessor, the central feature of this room was a table. Unlike it, however, this was a steel medical table on which a patient – or in this case, body – would be placed. Rather than instruments of torture, surgical tools hung from the walls and rested on a smaller table close by its sister table.

Standing over the dead, naked man on the table, were two people whom I had never seen before. The hand of the first was glowing as he used that sharply tuned light to deftly slice open the chest of the corpse. He had a white cap on his head and was completely covered by a white outfit, the red markings of his profession visible on his chest. This one could only be a medic-nin.

The second man was obviously not of the medical profession, though he did look like he knew his way around a corpse. He had on a black bandana that completely covered the top of his head and a nasty-looking scar cut its way across his face. The typical gear that I was beginning to associate with shinobi made up the rest of his ensemble.

This man was standing back, observing as the medical professional worked on the body. A scowl looked to be permanently etched on his face alongside his scar and this expression did not alter one bit as Itachi and I walked in.

Ibiki only glanced at the pair of us once – his eyes briefly pausing on our still intertwined hands – before turning back to the medic-nin, who had paused his work.

“Continue,” Ibiki commanded. “I expect a report of the results within the hour.”

His fierce stare turned back our way. “Come with me,” he said and moved purposefully towards the doorway. Itachi moved one way to avoid the interrogator while I moved the opposite. Ibiki passed between us, forcing me to let go of his hand.

I was conscious of the lack of warmth as we followed Ibiki silently down the deserted corridor.

A few minutes later found us in the torturer’s office, which was surprisingly mundane; an immaculate desk, shelves covered with texts and scrolls, a few chairs. Ibiki moved behind his desk and began searching through one of its drawers.

“You weren’t in your interrogation room,” Itachi began.

Ibiki countered without ceasing his search. “You were late.”

I supposed that was partially my fault as I had been the one to hold us up in the streets. Though, Itachi had never told me that we were on a deadline, so he was partly to blame as well. Yup, I’d go with that.

Ibiki finally pulled an object from the confines of his desk. It was a silver bracelet with the symbol for ‘track’ engraved on it.

“Well, this is what you came here for. Come here, girl.” He gestured for me to move closer.

I stepped forward without hesitation. I had already resigned myself to wearing the bracelet. There was no point in delaying the inevitable.

Taking my arm, the interrogation expert slid the cold metal onto my wrist. It was too large for me and hung loosely.

But Ibiki wasn’t done. Still touching the bracelet, he created a few swift signs using the fingers of his free hand. The entire bracelet glowed blue and it shrunk down until the metal fit snugly around my skin. Instinctively, I knew that I would never be able to get it off on my own.

“Now to activate it,” Ibiki continued, gesturing towards Itachi.

He stepped forward and placed one hand on the bracelet as the interrogator had done. The symbols that he made, however, were different from the ones which Ibiki had used, and this time, rather than the whole bracelet, only the etched characters shimmered with an internal light.

Initially white, the light swiftly turned red as Itachi completed the hand movements. One the light had faded, he let go and stepped back once again.

“There, it’s done. Now get going. I have work to do,” Ibiki said, shooing us out the door.

As we exited his office, Ibiki spoke after us. “Oh, and stop by the hospital on your way back. The Third wants her looked over.”

Itachi nodded back at him, as silent as ever, and we continued on our way, out of what I would always consider to be the creepy dungeon underneath the Hokage Tower.

Outside and in the sunshine once more, I breathed in the fresh air and the scents of the village with relief. The process had been more elaborate that I had believed it would be, but it had been completed so quickly and efficiently that I hadn’t even had a chance to get nervous about it.

Rather, I found myself more curious than anything. How did this bracelet – now bound to my wrist – work exactly? What did those hand symbols mean? To be honest, I had been more afraid as I had followed Itachi down into the unfamiliar, creepy basement earlier. I hadn’t known what to expect with this bracelet, but once I had seen the process with my own two eyes, it really wasn’t that bad.

As Itachi led me down a street that I hadn’t seen yet, I decided that I wouldn’t allow myself to panic about this upcoming hospital visit as I had about going underground. After all, a hospital couldn’t possibly be worse than a torture chamber. Right?

Itachi was silent beside me as we walked, his expression alert but still contemplative.

“What are you thinking?” I asked, sincerely curious.

He didn’t say anything at first and I started to think that he wouldn’t answer me, but then he opened his mouth to speak. “The bracelet gives of a constant chakra signal that is tied to mine so that only I may sense it. I am familiarizing myself with that signal in order to better keep track of it when you are not nearby.”

My face must have expressed my surprise because Itachi added, “I promised you all the information you desired – and that I have permission to give – once you wore the tracker. And now you do.”

He was right. Shockingly, I hadn’t even thought of his promise until he had reminded me of it. I suppose I had been distracted by the torture chamber.

“So I can ask anything?”

“Yes, though I can only answer what I am allowed to reveal. There are still some secrets which the village needs to remain secret.”

“That’s fair,” I agreed. “Ok, first off: what is chakra?”

Itachi gave me a curious look. “Chakra resides within every living being. It is the balance of physical and spiritual energy that flows within the body. By manipulating this flow, trained shinobi can mould the energy at will, allowing them to create effects which would not have been possible otherwise.”

“Like this bracelet,” I said, holding up my wrist. “Ibiki used chakra to make it shrink around my arm and then you also did something to it.”

“Exactly,” Itachi said, nodding slightly. “I infused my chakra into the metal so that whenever your chakra spikes, it will allow me to sense it through my own chakra.”

“How can you sense chakra?”

“It is similar to having a sixth sense,” he explained. “Your chakra, in a way, tells you when there is another chakra nearby. The more chakra that is present, the easier it is to sense.”

“So that’s how you were able to find me when I ran away,” I realized. “You could sense my chakra.”

He nodded hesitantly, unsure where I was going with this.

“But if everyone has chakra, how could you tell mine apart from someone else’s?”

“You chakra is... different from others. Some chakras have unique signatures that separate them from the rest.”

Itachi’s shoulders had tensed slightly during his reply. I understood why. If I knew how Itachi was tracking me, I could possibly figure out a way to avoid detection. Instead of following this train of thought, however, I shifted direction.

“Can you teach me to control my chakra?”

“You want me to train you?” He seemed surprised.

I blushed. “Well, last night went well... So, I thought we could just continue from there... or something.”

“I suppose it couldn’t hurt since I won’t be assigned any missions anyway,” he admitted.

“Great!” I grinned.

Itachi smirked. “You’re very eager. I have to warn you, I will not be an easy teacher.”

I laughed. “That’s fine with me.”

Feeling more comfortable that I had since entering Konoha, I resumed questioning Itachi on the workings of the village.

“So, the Hokage is in charge of Konoha, right? Is he, like, the top boss, or something? Or is there somebody who outranks him?”

“The Hokage is the highest official in the village. The Fire Daimyo, of course, leads the Fire Country in which Konoha resides...”

Itachi continued explaining the political structure of the village to me for a large portion of our walk. It was more complicated than I had imagined and a lot of it was lost on me. I learned about the school that trained children to become shinobi and the levels one had to pass through in order to reach the top ranked positions. He briefly touched on ANBU only to mention that it was Konoha’s black-ops force but would say nothing more about it.

Itachi explained how the genin team system worked to ensure that the younger shinobi were able gain the skills and experience necessary to graduate to chunin, while still operating under the supervision and protection of an older jonin.

One thing that stood out for me as Itachi was talking was the average number of years that it took for a shinobi to rise to the level of a jonin or, as in Itachi’s case, ANBU.

“Well, that explains why all those people were staring at us yesterday.” I said, eyeing an old lady sitting on her porch who was watching us with beady eyes. “You must be some kind of prodigy to make it into ANBU so young.”

“So they say,” he admitted, but I detected some resignation in his tone.

“Are you?” I knew that I was pressuring him, but this was the first time that he had seemed even remotely open to revealing something personal about himself and I wanted to learn everything I could about this mysterious person who had brought me here.

“I am...” he hesitated, “advanced for my age.”

“Isn’t that the definition of a prodigy?” I teased.

Itachi sent a half-hearted scowl my way and I smirked back at him.

“There are many others who have reached greater heights at much younger ages than I have, those with more natural talent. I am more advanced than others my age because that was what was expected of me.” As he spoke, Itachi’s voice had grown more and more tense and his expression turned dark.

I sensed that we were edging into dangerous territory and decided to let the subject drop for now. Instead, I shifted the attention to his brother. “What about Sasuke? How is he progressing in his training? Making a lot of friends? I bet he is, the little charmer.”

“Sasuke is progressing as a boy his age should, which is less than my father expects of him.” There was a clear resentment towards his father in Itachi’s tone now. “He doesn’t have time for friends because he is constantly training in order to impress our father.”

I felt pity for both Sasuke and Itachi. Dealing with such pressure from a parent had to be tough on young children.

I tried to lighten the oppressive mood overhanging us from the mention of Fugaku Uchiha. “Well, I’m glad I’ll be learning from the best then,” I joked.

Itachi smiled knowingly. “Oh, I won’t be teaching you, not right away at least.”

“What-”

Itachi interrupted, “We’re here.”

Looking up, I noticed the massive building sprawled in front of us for the first time.

The hospital was a three-storey building with pink walls, a blue roof and multiple wings and towers. The front entrance was marked with the words ‘Konoha Hospital’. The place was busy that late afternoon with multitudes of people streaming in and out through the front entrance.

Itachi led me through the doors and up to the front desk which was being manned by a petite brunet who immediately started fixing her hair when she spotted us.

“Uchiha-san,” she greeted as we approached, completely ignoring me. “It’s nice to see you again.”

Her smile was overly friendly as she leaned closer to Itachi. I felt like gagging at her obvious flirtation.

Itachi simply nodded in reply, either not noticing or not caring about the receptionist’s obvious manoeuvres.

“My companion here needs an examination,” he said, gesturing to me.

Quickly realizing that she was being brushed off, the brunet turned all business.

“New patient?” she asked sharply.

“Yes,” Itachi confirmed.

“Name?”

“Amaya.”
< br> She raised a brow. “Surname?”

“Unknown,” Itachi answered briskly and his tone prevented her from asking more questions. Wisely, she moved on.

“Just a basic exam or the complete works?”

“The complete works. Including chakra testing and a pathway scan.”

The receptionist scribbled something that I couldn’t see across her papers.

“A medic-nin will be with you shortly. In the meantime, please have a seat and fill out this form.”

She handed me a clipboard with a questionnaire and pen attached, giving me a disapproving once-over as she did so. Then she turned back to Itachi for one last flirtatious smile, but he was already walking away. I caught her scowl at me as I turned to follow and smirked to myself.

We took a seat near the windows and Itachi watched the passersby as I concentrated on filling out the extremely detailed form as best I could.

Date of birth?

Unknown.

Age?

Approximately 12?

Known medical illnesses?

None that I was aware of, but then again, it was always possible.

At least my difficulty with the seemingly simple questions kept me from dwelling on what Itachi had meant by the ‘complete works’. I didn’t exactly want some strangers poking and prodding at me, but I had also recognized that there was a possibility that I could learn something about myself through this exam. My body could potentially reveal more about myself than my mind could.

I was still struggling to fill questions that I didn’t have the answer to when a kind-looking, older man with grey hair walked up to us.

“Good afternoon,” he said to both of us.

Turning directly to me, he continued, “My name Santoshi and I’ll be overseeing your exam today.”

I managed to return his greeting through my nervousness. “I’m Amaya.”

He seemed nice enough so I made an effort to relax as he led me into an exam room.

As we were about to enter, Santoshi paused.

“You may wait out here, Uchiha-san,” the medic-nin said.

Itachi’s reply was curt. “No. I will remain with the girl.”

Santoshi frowned, but didn’t argue. I figured that he must have realized that Itachi’s presence here wasn’t personal, but business.

“Very well,” he allowed, walking inside ahead of us.

I followed after him, Itachi right behind me. The exam room was very similar to the first room that I had stayed in at the Uchiha compound with its blank, white-washed walls. This space, however, had an exam table, rather than a bed, and medical tools were lined up on a metal tray, ready for use. There was a single chair in the corner which Itachi immediately took.

Santoshi spoke. “Have a seat, Amaya-san.”

I hoisted myself up onto the too-tall table. My hands were clammy when I clasped them in front of me.

Santoshi got right to work, picking up various instruments that I didn’t recognize and placing them on various spots on my body. One went in my ear, one on my chest, over my heart, another shone a light in my eyes.

Itachi sat patiently through it all and I tried to match his calm composure as Santoshi did his work.

At one point, Santoshi removed the bandage around my arm. Underneath was pale, new skin. Otherwise, there was no sign that I had ever been injured.

Finally, the medic-nin stepped back.

“You seem healthy enough from the basic tests. We’ll know more after the chakra tests,” he said to me, smiling gently.

He held up his hand and it started glowing with a soft green light.

“Wait,” Itachi interrupted.

The light faded as Santoshi lowered his hand. Itachi moved from the chair to stand in front of me.

He reached out, took my hand in his for the second time that day and my heart skipped a beat.

Then his fingers briefly glowed crimson as he touched the band around my wrist. The writing that had remained a crimson colour after Itachi had activated it, turned back to its original black shade.

I was slightly disappointed when Itachi immediately moved back to his chair.

“You can proceed,” he said to Santoshi as he reclaimed his seat.

Santoshi, who had been observing silently, resumed his examination. Once again, his hand flared green.

“I am going to send a stream of my own chakra into your chakra pathways. This will allow me to sense if there are any blockages or anything else that may be wrong. It won’t hurt. It’ll only feel a little weird, like being given a needle.”

“Alright,” I said, my heartbeat suddenly going a hundred miles an hour.

He reached out and placed his glowing hand on my arm. Suddenly, I could feel his chakra, like something foreign inside me. It felt cold, and strange, and I didn’t like it. Instinctively, I knew it shouldn’t be there and I wanted it out.

“Stop,” I whispered weakly.

Santoshi was frowning. “Just a moment longer,” he said. “There seems to be some resistance.”

Yes, there was definitely resistance. I could feel what I recognized to be my own chakra rising up from its center in my chest. It was pushing back at Santoshi’s chakra which had moved up towards my head.

“You have to relax, Amaya-san.” Santoshi’s voice was sounded strained. “It’s just a test. You don’t need to fight it.”

Itachi stood and moved toward the table.

“Stop,” I said more forcefully. “It’s not working so just stop.”

It felt like there was a war raging up and down my arm, though my chakra was obviously winning, forcing Santoshi’s out bit by bit.

I tried to pull my arm away but couldn’t break the medic-nin’s gentle, but firm grip.

“Stop!” I cried and at the same time my chakra visibly flared red, abruptly forcing Santoshi’s green chakra out completely.

The medic-nin stumbled back from the force of it.

My heart was racing like I had just run a marathon. I jumped off the table to make a beeline for the door. I wanted out. I didn’t want to have to go through that experience again.

Itachi stepped in front of me before I could make it to the door. He didn’t try to stop me physically or anything, just simply stood in my way.

I stopped.

“Let me see your arm,” he demanded.

I hesitated briefly, but gave in. His eyes moved briskly over my arm, taking in the unmarked skin.

Releasing my arm, he turned to Santoshi, who was examining his own hand.

“What happened?”

“She wouldn’t let my chakra into her system for the exam,” he answered.

“I didn’t do it on purpose.” I protested.

“Your chakra forced mine out. What else could it have been?” The medic-nin seemed genuinely confused. He didn’t know that I had very little control over my own chakra.

“My chakra... It acted on its own,” I tried explaining. “I was nervous and... I think it sense that.”

Santoshi looked completely baffled while Itachi had his contemplative face on once again.

“Your chakra responded to your nervousness... to your emotions,” he said, clarifying.

“That’s what it seemed like, yes,” I said. I could tell that Itachi was coming to the same conclusion that I had earlier. My chakra was tied into my emotions. Whatever I was feeling, if I felt it strongly enough, my chakra responded in kind.

“Well, at least the test wasn’t a complete waste,” Santoshi put in.

Itachi and I both turned back to the medic-nin.

“I was only able to brush against it for a second, but it was definitely there, too strong to miss.”

I almost didn’t want to ask. “What was it?”

There was pity in his eyes as he looked at me.

“There’s a block on your mind,” he said, “and you were the one who put it there.”