Naruto Fan Fiction ❯ Aiko ❯ Chapter 5 ( Chapter 5 )

Normally, when one's teammate is unconscious and you happen to encounter enemy ninja, it's considered a bad thing. Not so in this case, Aiko realized, had Sasuke been conscious would have no doubt done something insanely dumb like rushing Momochi Zabuza single handedly in some glorified ideal to test his strength. Of course, that could have been avoided too if Kakashi-sensei had thought to not fight the battle with the former Mist ninja ON THE WATER! Watching as Kakashi was trapped in a water prison, she couldn't help but groan. This was a jounin ninja? Supposedly one of the best the Leaf had to boot, and he was caught that easily.

 

“Take Tazuna and run, you're no match for him!” Kakashi called out to the two kunoichi and their client who was carrying Sasuke like one would a half empty bottle of sake.

 

Zabuza smirked and laughed. “That won't be happening, the old man will die.”

 

“We won't let that happen!” Sakura cried out, drawing a kunai from her holster and stepping into a defensive stance between Zabuza and Sasuke…who happened to be with Tazuna, so it worked out well in the end. “Sasuke-kun was the rookie of the year and-“

 

“And he's currently unconscious because he's too self absorbed to admit that he needed help” Aiko interrupted Sakura's little rant before it could develop too far. “Why don't you shut up before you embarrass yourself even farther?”

 

Zabuza must have found that exchange particularly comical because he began to laugh at the actions of the two kunoichi. “I see that at least one of you has the right idea, but just because you wear those headbands doesn't make you ninja.”

 

“True.” Aiko replied, grateful that Sakura hadn't started to rant again. “But they do signify that we belong to the village of Konoha, that we carry on the will of fire that has been passed down, generation to generation. Ninja can be defined many ways, but that's my definition, my family's definition, and the only definition that matters.”

 

While it could be construed as comical or at least whimsical that the demon of the Mist would be carrying on a philosophical conversation with a twelve year old girl, he was never one for debates and grew tired quickly. With only one hand he created a score of water clones, and had them attack the blonde. With shocking speed for a genin, she completed her technique and the instant the clones stepped onto dry land, great thorny roots erupted from the ground and destroyed every last one of them. The attack wasn't over just yet, as another clone sprouted up and threw the monstrous blade at the Konoha ninja. While ducking would be effective, Aiko decided on a little more permanent form of defense.

 

“Mokuton: Birth of dense woodland.”

 

There was a small tremor as gigantic trees sprung up from the earth, they were so dense and so thick that Zabuza's sword became stuck in the trunk.

 

“Sakura, stay in there, I'll get Kakashi-sensei free, but in the meantime, that's the best form of shelter I can give you.” The stunned kunoichi didn't argue, the shock of being attacked by Zabuza hadn't worn off, so the shock that her teammate had just used a technique that was thought to have been lost with the Shodai Hokage hadn't kicked in yet.

Aiko became far more serious now that her team was safe. Any hint of mirth or joviality disappeared from her face and body language.

 

“Do you really think you can beat me all by yourself?” Zabuza inquired, admittedly she was stronger than the other two genin of her squad, and she could use Mokuton techniques, which he had only ever heard of in stories.

 

“No, I don't expect to defeat you, but I don't have to. We both know that all I have to do is get you to release Kakashi-sensei and I can go back to ignoring my teammates in peace.” As she was speaking, she walked calmly onto the water.

 

“You just made the same mistake your teacher did!” Zabzua cried in triumph, his one hand flying though some one handed seals before a torrent of water rose up and raced towards his prey, only to be blocked by the blonde.

 

“Suiton: Suijinheki. (Water encampment barrier) You see, unlike Kakashi-sensei, I actually have an affinity with water techniques.” To prove her point she went through another series of seals and created five water clones, which charged towards Kakashi, but were destroyed by one swing of Zabuza's sword. “Is that all you've got kid? I was hoping for more, you're still just a wet behind the ears genin, you have no idea what it means to be a true ninja.”

 

Aiko slouched when she heard that and she rolled her eyes. “I thought we'd been over this already?” She whined. “Just because you kill people doesn't make you a ninja. Even still, I am more than qualified and as much as I'd love to go over those details with you, I have no interest in fighting you, so why don't we just get this over with?”

 

A kunai fell from the sleeve of her traveling coat as she rushed Zabuza, approaching from his right side, meaning that when he swung his sword, it would have to travel farther to reach her. Of course Zabuza could and did pivot on the surface of the water, but it didn't phase the blonde one bit. As the sword came in on its deadly course, she did a single hand seal and just as the blade cut through her, she disappeared and was replaced with a block of wood, which was special in that it stuck on the blade of the missing ninja, making it much more unwieldy to use. She didn't stop her attack though, and continued to run forward, and attacked his arm as it lost all of its momentum. As she approached, her plan became clear, with both arms on one side of his body, she was making him use taijutsu to fight her. Luckily, he wasn't that bad at hand to hand fighting. He lashed out with an off balance but powerful kick and succeeded in contacting her side through her guard and knocked her away. Despite the fact that she was flying away from her only hope of rescue, she was smirking at him and he felt a presence behind him that wasn't Kakashi. The Kunai was driven into the soft flesh of the crook of Zabuza's elbow before he even could turn around, forcing an involuntary retreat response and freeing Kakashi. With the real blond standing a good ten feet from him, Zabuza spun around to find another blonde helping the Copy Ninja to his feet as he coughed up some water. Things had gotten out of hand, and now Haku would definitely have to step in now that his arm was injured and basically worthless at this point.

 

Kakashi quickly got to his feet and reassured his student that he was okay before she dispelled into water and mixed in with the battlefield.

 

“You created a water clone and hid it inside your reflection underneath the surface of the water; you're not as worthless as I had thought.” Zabuza hissed through the pain of his wound.”

 

“And your fight is with me again.” Kakashi challenged, capturing the Demon of the Mist's attention for a brief instant, before two senbon lodged themselves in Zabuza's neck. He dropped into the water like a stone and Aiko turned her attention to the masked person who had ended the fight with such ease. They wore bulky clothes, possibly to hide armor or other padding, had long brown hair, and wore the mask of a Kirigakure hunter ninja.

 

Without saying a word, the figure shunshined to the body and drug it to dry land, where they checked for a pulse as Kakashi and Aiko walked up. Kakashi gave the hunter nin a questioning look and was about to ask if he could inspect the corpse when the hunter just disappeared along with the body. Kakashi covered his sharingan so as not to waste any unnecessary chakra and looked at his student. She had fought a battle that she couldn't win, and she had known it, yet she persevered and pushed on, freeing him and injuring Zabuza gravely enough for the fight to end. From the corner of his eye he noticed the trees she had grown shrink back into the ground and reveal a perfectly safe Sakura and Tazuna and a still knocked out Sasuke. The pink haired girl looked around and noticed that Zabuza was gone and Kakashi and Aiko were just standing around, so this must have been a recent development.

 

“Sensei! What happened?” She yelled, momentarily forgetting that Sasuke was sleeping and rushing towards her remaining teammates. Kakashi rubbed the back of his head and grinned sheepishly.

 

“Aiko was able to get me out of that prison and injure Zabuza enough for a hunter nin to take him out of harm's way.”

 

“What do you mean?” Sakura asked, her voice was shaky with fear and doubt.

 

“He means that in two weeks or less we'll have to see those two again.” Aiko spoke up, her hands glowed green for a moment and she passed them over her side where Zabuza had landed his kick. While she had her mother's explosive strength, it was only meant as a means of attack, and physically she was still weaker than Kakashi and probably Sasuke. The kick had gone through her guard and tweaked her elbow and knocked the wind from her body. It wasn't life threatening, but it was uncomfortable.

 

“How did you come up with that figure?” Kakashi asked.

 

“He was put into a near death state by that fake hunter ninja, so that's probably a couple weeks normally, but since his accomplice has some knowledge of anatomy and probably medicine, it could be a bit less. Then there's the fact that I still have his sword.” True to her words, Kubikiri Houcho, the famous sword of Momochi Zabuza was anchored to the ground by the log that had been stuck to it. The log had sprouted roots and when the hunter ninja shunshined away, the sword was left behind.

 

“But if a hunter ninja took him away, doesn't that mean he's dead?” Sakura asked, jealous at the knowledge the blonde had over her.

 

“The hunter ninja was a fake, protocol is to destroy the body where it falls, not to mention that this sword of his should have been taken as well.”

 

Aiko nodded in approval, Kakashi had redeemed himself, if only slightly, for being caught so easily. “We should get Tazuna-san home, unless Zabuza's accomplice is just stupid and tries to get the sword back.” Aiko ventured, trying to get her companions to hurry up.

 

“We can't just leave the sword behind, can we? I mean, shouldn't we take it with us, that way Zabuza can't get his hands on it?” Sakura asked, partly in curiosity, partly because she was trying to show that she had a brain that was just as good as Aiko's.

 

Aiko let out a snort of disgust. “And give him a reason to attack Tazuna's family directly? I don't think so.”

 

“What do you suggest we do?” Kakashi asked. “That sword is rumored to be able to withstand even the most powerful of Katon techniques without being melted.”

 

“Well, if we can't destroy it, we hide it.” Aiko replied, before running through the seals for her favorite technique. Instantly, the log that had held the sword down grew and turned into a full blown tree that righted itself and twisted upward towards the sky. All around it, more trees sprouted upward, until Sakura lost track of which tree held the gigantic sword inside it. “It's not guarantee that he won't get his hands on it again, but we should know if he does at least.” With that, they rag-tag group headed towards Tazuna's house as fast as they could.

 

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

 

Team Seven's arrival was greeted witty joy from Tsunami, Tazuna's daughter, joy from Sakura, because now she could “watch over Sasuke-kun without stupid ninja bothering us”, and relief from Kakashi, as he could now recover from his fight and recoup his lost chakra. Aiko was bored as usual, but when Inari, Tsunami's son ran inside and saw the assembled ninja; he grew very angry but held his tongue for the time being. Sakura was going on about the training she had gone through in the academy and how it was so tough that many people never passed the academy exams.

 

“It won't matter!” Inari had heard enough. “It doesn't matter what you do or what you did, you'll never be able to defeat Gato, we've lost the will to go on anymore, this nation is doomed!” He yelled as he ran upstairs to his room. Everyone seemed to be in shock at the outburst, until Aiko's mouth split into a Cheshire grin.

 

“Finally, someone with some character in this place.” She stood up and followed the young boy's wake of tears, while the rest of the assembled bodies were now horrifically confused at what was going on.

 

“You'll have to pardon my son's behavior.” Tsunami said, breaking out of her stupor. “Ever since his father figure died, he just hasn't been the same.”

 

Kakashi waved her comment of casually. “No need to apologize, I'll head up and make sure that Aiko isn't doing anything she shouldn't be.”

 

He walked upstairs and soon found Aiko inside Inari's room, just watching the boy from his bed. The copy ninja didn't even think that Inari knew he had company, and sure enough, when Aiko spoke, the young boy nearly hit his head on the ceiling he jumped so high in fright.

 

“Who's that kid? Step-dad? Uncle? I know he ain't your father, at least biologically, so don't bother lying to me, what's got you all worked up anyway?”

 

At first Inari didn't respond, just turned around and tried to give the blonde the evil eye, until he eventually gave up and cracked a bit.

 

“It doesn't matter who he is, he's dead, Gato killed him, in front of the entire town even! He…he was…our hero…and Gato he just…just like that, like he was nothing!”

 

Apparently he thought that would dissuade Aiko from asking anymore questions, but she pressed on regardless.

 

“What does it matter? It matters everything in the world! Your life span is far more expansive and impressive than the last few seconds.”

 

“But you don't get it! Gato…he…he didn't even let him die with any dignity, he tortured and then executed him!” Inari was in tears, this was obviously something he didn't discuss much. As difficult as this was for the boy to talk about, Aiko seemed to get very angry.

 

“THERE IS NO SUCH THING!” She almost screamed at Inari, before realizing what she had done and calming down a bit. “Look kid, I'm a medical ninja, and I've seen enough people die to know that you can't die with dignity. You can live with it, but in the end our bodies break down and we die, sometimes when we're six, sometimes when were sixty and it is always, ALWAYS, ugly.”

 

Inari was shocked, no one had ever told him off like that before, nor had they ever shaken his belief structure so much, so quickly. He was searching for words, anything to denounce the blonde girls' words, but he kept coming up empty. With no discussion going on, Aiko stood up to walk out of the room but stopped at the doorway and turned around.

 

“Look, kid, I know I said this once, but I'll say it again, your life, my life, that man's life, all of our lives are more important - will be more important that our deaths. You said he was a hero, you're wrong. He is a hero, and will continue to be one, as long as you remember his life and what he did.” She walked out of Inari's room and turned the corner to see Kakashi leaning against the wall, reading one of his smut novels.

 

“You do realize that you just turned a man you know nothing about into a martyr, don't you?” He asked, eyes never leaving his `literature'.

 

“You gonna report me to the police or somethin'?” She mocked and continued walking toward the room she had been shown earlier. Kakashi didn't respond, he just watched his student walk away as her words echoed through his mind.

 

`…and it is always, ALWAYS, ugly.'

 

Images of his father's body after he committed suicide, Obito's crushed form, wedged beneath a boulder…his sensei. All of them had impacted his life, each more than the last and though it was comforting to know that they each died for what they believed in…it really was an ugly affair.

 

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

 

The next morning broke quietly enough and like a good ninja, Sakura was up at the crack of dawn, hoping to nurse Sasuke back to health. Unfortunately for her, the boy had woken during the night, confused as to his surroundings and the circumstances around his arrival at his current location, but alive and in a well furnished room. He had tried to sit up, only for a note to fall off his chest as he did so.

 

-Sasuke, you were poisoned, take it easy until I get up, we'll have some training today

-Kakashi

 

The note was far from informative, but realizing that he wasn't in danger and that his team was asleep, he had simply gone downstairs and walked outside to watch the sun come up. That was why his bed was empty in the morning, causing Sakura to scream bloody murder, waking everyone in the house up, except for Aiko, who merely rolled over and hugged her sheets closer to her body while murmuring something about not letting Shizune into the sake ever again.

 

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

 

Many hours later, and one calmed kunoichi, Kakashi announced that they would be training around the bridge, so that they could keep an eye on Tazuna while he worked on the lifeline to the mainland. Everyone was ready and waiting on Tazuna to finish saying goodbye to his family when Kakashi finally noticed that Aiko wasn't with them.

 

“Sakura, go see if Aiko is still in the house, will you?” Kakashi asked, still reading.

 

“Hmm, she's probably in the bathroom.” Sasuke huffed, trying to find anyway to show up the blonde. But she wasn't in the bathroom, and she wasn't with Inari, or in the kitchen, which were the first places that Sakura looked. It wasn't until that she looked back into the bedroom they shared that she saw blonde hair poking out from underneath the jumble of sheets where her fellow genin had been sleeping the night before.

 

“Aiko!” Sakura yelled, pulling the sheets off the girl. “You were supposed to be up hours ago so we could guard Tazuna-san!”

 

A bleary blue eye opened up and immediately closed in the presence of the harsh sunlight.

 

“If that's Sasuke practicing his stupid fire techniques outside the window, tell him I'll kick his ass later, just let me go back to sleep.” She mumbled, rolling over onto her stomach, trying to keep the light out of her eyes, only to be rudely brought back to the real world when Sakura turned her canteen over and dumped its contents on the sleeping girl, soaking the large black t-shirt she was wearing.

 

“What the hell was that for?” Aiko demanded, leaping to her feet and glaring at Sakura, who to her credit, didn't flinch or back down.

 

“First off, don't call Sasuke-kun stupid, and secondly, you were supposed to be up hours ago to help us!”

 

“Really?” Aiko yawned and stretched, as much as she wanted to punch Sakura for dumping water on her, she decided to hold back for now. “See, that's odd, because, I had no intention of being up hours ago. Are you sure you told me? I mean, I'm pretty sure I would remember if we were supposed to be up at some ungodly hour in the morning.”

 

Sakura was really angry and spoke without thinking. “I didn't tell you, because I shouldn't have to. You're a kunoichi, you should know this.”

 

“Great.” Aiko smiled as she quickly changed into some dry, clean clothes and walked past the pink haired girl. “We have a point of agreement. You didn't tell me, therefore, I can't be held responsible for my own actions, or lack thereof.”

 

When Sakura got back to her team. Aiko was already there, munching on a rice ball that Tsunami had given her for breakfast.

 

“Well, now that we're all here, we can get going.” Kakashi smiled at the late arrival. “We're running behind as it is, so we'll have to make up time later.”

 

“Wait a minute sensei; I have to refill my canteen.” Sakura pleaded and turned to walk back into the house.

 

“Sorry Sakura, we don't have the time, you'll have to make due for a while and maybe you can refill it when we get to the bridge.” The jounin apologized and began walking away with Sasuke and Aiko in tow.

 

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA