Naruto Fan Fiction ❯ Forgotten Ties ❯ Within The Approaching Hurricane ( Chapter 3 )

[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]

Chapter 3: Within The Approaching Hurricane

Sakuya reckoned this is going to be one long mission she is going to hate.

She tucked her hands behind her head as she fixed her expressionless eyes on the dull ceiling above her, her body fidgeting then and there on the bed to imply her disinclination on this newly-assigned mission of hers.

She was to be an undercover for the Akatsuki until the Kyuubi was retrieved.

The Kyuubi… apparently, the passage of time has not lessened its owner's desire on him. If truth be told, the desire has in fact, grown stronger than ever.

Sakuya sighed and flipped to her side, only to find a black folder lying pertinently next to her. She had tossed the file on her bed when Yuya left her room a while ago. Tentatively, she flipped the file open and tried to study the snapshot of the identity she was going to impersonate. - A pink-haired girl looking exactly like her, but seemingly about four years younger, smiling brightly under the sun.

"Haruno Sakura…ka?" Sakuya muttered as her mind involuntarily wandered back to her conversation with Yuya a while ago.

-Flashback-

"Remember this pet I had?" Yuya had asked suggestively.

"The Nine-Tails?" Sakuya cleverly guessed. It has to be.

"Hn." The snort made by Yuya sounded nonchalant. But Sakuya knew Yuya was anything but nonchalant when it comes to this so-called pet of hers.

Yuya had mentioned to her about the Kyuubi before; about how much fun she used to have when it was around to how, in the end he was sealed in the body of a boy named Uzumaki Naruto. And occasionally during conversations, she would just slide in remarks about its strength but she would always brush it off with some stupid teasing and the whole Kyuubi thing was like, forgotten.

It is the first time though, that Yuya has central this subject as the main conversation… as a discussion… as a mission.

Indeed, it has captured Sakuya's full attention as she in fact, often wondered why Yuya made no attempts in getting her beloved Kyuubi back.

"What about it?" Sakuya asked instead, surmising Yuya, perhaps had it all planned out already.

And indeed, the pair of violet orbs were filled with determination when she said, "I want it back."

It was four simple words enriched with absolute bitterness.

Bitterness that Sakuya thought that Yuya didn't have before.

Bitterness that evident that it made Sakuya feel that the Yuya in front of her was like a total stranger.

But before Sakuya can have the chance to discuss the question as to how to get it back, Yuya handed a black file to her, which Sakuya thought she must be really distracted to fail to notice the rectangular file in Yuya's hands all the while.

She took it and gave Yuya a cautious glance before flipping the file open, and found a picture of herself in it…

"What the…?"

"Haruno Sakura." Yuya began, ignoring the disturbed frown on Sakuya. "A konoichi from the Country of Fire, hidden village of the Leaf. Born on the twenty-eighth of March. But…" Yuya made an unexpected giggle, which made Sakuya look up from the file she's been studying with a deeper frown.

"She died on the sixth of October."

Sakuya took a while to digest this piece of information before she asked, "But why does her look-"

"Like you?" Yuya interrupted while quirking an eyebrow with a hint of her usual tease.

"Hn." Sakuya's voice was barely a whisper.

Yuya studied her a little before saying in a bored voice, "Literally speaking, it's you wholook like her."

"Huh?" Sakuya was obviously confused at that statement.

"When I found you, not only were you on the brink of death, you were also badly disfigured." Yuya explained.

"I was..?" Sakuya's voice trailed off uncertainly. The face she has had never belonged to her in the first place? Though unwilling to accept Yuya's words, Sakuya was but forced to absorb them nonetheless.

Yuya nodded before continuing with a shrug of her shoulders. "I didn't know how you look like in the past and subsequently I met her. And since she had the same color hair as yours, she naturally became a model for me to mold you a pretty face like hers."

Sakuya narrowed her eyes suspiciously at that explanation. It resulted in a lot of questions running through her mind now. Like how Yuya met her? How strong was she? How did she… die?

But the main issue perturbing her was that she was unable to connect this Sakura girl with this Kyuubi retrieving mission.

"What has she got to do with my mission anyway?" Sakuya blurted.

Yuya chuckled in response, which kind of irritated Sakuya. "Take on her identity. Be her. As you know, my sweetie is sealed in the body of this boy named Naruto, who happens to be her comrade. I need you to be a mole in Konoha in order to lure him into giving back my Kyuubi."

"You want me to impersonate her?" Sakuya exclaimed, her unwillingness doubled in that instant.

"What makes you think I gave you her face in the first place?" Yuya retorted with a sort of an innocent face.

(Gotcha!) Inner Sakuya thought. As she surmised, Yuya REALLY had it ALL thought out.

Sakuya inhaled sharply, a sign to show that she was well, offended at Yuya's statement. When Yuya saw the grimace on Sakuya, she tried to coax, "Come on, it will be fun!"

"Besides..." she then slung an arm over Sakuya's shoulders, ignoring Sakuya's change of mood by whispering, "You do want to impress Itachi, right?"

Sakuya remained silent. And Yuya was amused to see the color slowly creeping across Sakuya's face at the mention of the Uchiha.

Interesting.

"Let me tell you something. He failed this mission some years ago." Yuya stated as a matter of fact.

Sakuya's jaws dropped then.

Itachi? Failed missions? No matter how she looked at it, she just couldn't link the two together!

"What?" Sakuya mouthed faintly.

Yuya sighed and leaned against the parapet. "Can't blame him though. The boy has Jiraya as his caretaker."

"Jiraya…" Sakuya tried to search this name through her memory from her hours of intensive reading. "You mean Jiraya, one of the revered Sannins from Konoha?"

The question hung in the air as Yuya slowly nodded. "Another one, as you know, is the Hokage of Konoha. So that's why we can't face them heads on. It will only result devastating losses to Akatsuki."

"But how sure are you that they will be taken in by me?" Sakuya inquired, already feeling her confidence wavering at the mention of the two legendary figures.

"They will, believe me. I got it all planned out flawlessly." Yuya finally admitted, glancing away somewhere at the panoramic view of the vast forest in front of them.

"Besides…" Sakuya held her breath in anticipation as Yuya drawled, "We got the last Sannin to help us out."

A smirk sneaked up on Yuya's lips after she said that statement, her gaze still focused on that somewhere spot of the forest.

"Orochimaru?" Sakuya uttered, and cringed at that name. She met him once before when Yuya and she was on a sightseeing trip that Yuya had persistently insisted.

In Sakuya's opinion, he was one creepy man.

"Hn." Yuya answered distractingly before suggesting to Sakuya with a tilt of her head towards the spot she's been staring.

"And not to mention, the cutie redhead who followed you guys back. Make sure you fully utilize him."

-+-+-+-+-

Ino walked quietly beside Tsunade. The sun was setting now and they were on their way to the Haruno house.

Just the two of them.

Tsunade had hastily dismissed the rest until further instructions and wanted only her presence for this visitation.

Ino wondered why. Why she is the only one. And she couldn't understand the urgency behind this meeting, though it is only right that the Harunos should be informed that their daughter was still alive. She glanced at her sensei and found her having this faraway look in those brown eyes of hers.

Suddenly, Tsunade stopped in her tracks and Ino acted on instinct.

They have reached the Haruno house.

She pressed the doorbell, waited for a few seconds before they heard the shuffling of feet towards the door. The door creaked open and revealed a haggard face of a mother.

"Hokage-sama." Mrs. Haruno acknowledged. She offered the Fifth a faint smile, but immediately appeared wary as she gestured them into the house. "Please come in."

Tsunade nodded and stepped inside, followed by Ino.

"Mrs. Haruno, what are you cooking?" Ino babbled as the smell of cooking pervaded the house once she was inside.

"Just some herbal soup to beat the weather. Don't forget to bring some home later." Mrs. Haruno answered, not forgetting to cast furtive glances at Tsunade.

"Have a seat while I bring out the tea." Mrs. Haruno then doubled back into the kitchen while Tsunade and Ino make themselves comfortable on the crouch.

Ino looked around before turning to her sensei beside her, "Sensei, why are we here?"

Tsunade smirked, thinking that her apprentice has finally propped the question. "You will know later."

Ino raised a questioning eyebrow, but decided to remain silent anyway.

Minutes later, Mrs. Haruno appeared with a tray of tea in her hands. She sat back while Tsunade and Ino sip their tea. She inhaled and exhaled. Then she asked, "So what is it that the Fifth wanted to see me about?"

"It's about Sakura." Tsunade answered readily. "She is still alive."

Mrs. Haruno was instantly concerned.

"She… she is..?" Mrs. Haruno murmured apprehensively.

"Yes." Ino answered. "But she is working for the Akatsuki, an organization of S-classed criminals controlled by this lady by the name of Mizu Yuya."

Ino thought the name 'Yuya' certainly rang a bell to her. If only she could recall …

But Mrs. Haruno's reaction was not what Ino has expected. She has expected the mother to throw in a fit, to at least probed them about the details of this dubious organization, about how things has gotten this far.. but nothing. Nothing came out of Mrs. Haruno as she remained surprisingly calm in her seat with downcast eyes. It seems as though she fully understood what was going on.

Mrs. Haruno took a deep breath. She hasn't given up. She still wants it.

Her heart was pounding and her lungs were screaming but it was then that she lifted her gaze to meet Tsunade's. "So what is it you want to know?"

"You can start with your family history, Mrs. Haruno." Tsunade stated firmly. "Or should I call you… Mizu Kazumi?"

Ino blinked, and stared at Mrs. Haruno with her mouth agape.

-+-+-+-+-+-

"I don't understand what Tsunade-obachan is thinking!" Naruto blurted while slurping down his ramen at Ichiraku, alongside with Jiraya and Hinata.

Tenten had gone to find the others to inform them about the news of Sakura while Neji had went home to change.

"Tsunade knows what she is doing! So stop worrying about her!" Jiraya chipped in light-heartedly while slurping his bowl of beef ramen.

"I'm not worrying about her! I'm worrying about Sakura-chan! How is Tsunade-obachan going to deal with her? She has asked us to wait until further instructions! How can we wait when we are supposed to bring Sakura-chan back as soon as possible? And why does she only want Ino-chan to accompany her to Sakura's house? Can't she just delegate this trivial task to some chuunin and discuss the retrieving plan with us first?" Naruto retorted, oblivious that Hinata has kept her say all the while.

Jiraya glanced at Hinata, who quietly slurped her ramen. "Hey, hey! You're scaring the lady with your boisterous voice!"

Naruto then gave Hinata an absent-minded look, who returned it with a smile. "It's alright."

"Ne ano sa, Hinata… aren't you worried at all?" Naruto asked.

"I believe in dealing the things as they come." Hinata replied tersely and took an elegant sip of her tea.

Naruto narrowed his eyes at her. From a timid, soft-spoken girl to the now serious and very, very cool girl, Naruto still reckoned she was still one weird girl full of her own mysteries.

"But…" Hinata started, looking at Naruto intently. "I must admit my curiosity is piqued this time."

"Huh?" Naruto, as being the typical Naruto, was baffled by Hinata's statement as the girl paid for her meal and stepped out of the ramen shop, her feet starting for her destination.

-+-+-+-+-+-

"Sakura is still alive!" Kiba exclaimed, unbelievable of the news just told to them.

"Shhh!" Tenten hushed, placing her finger on her lips to signify the secretive nature of this news.

Kiba, Shino, Chouji, Shika, Lee and she were gathered on one of their training grounds in the woods. That's where they always are anyway.

Tenten had interrupted their trainings and request for a talk, gathering the five of them into a convenient corner, where nobody else can stay near without their detection.

"Thank God she is still alive! I knew she survived that!" Lee blurted out after that, relief clearly shown on his teary face.

Shino raised an eyebrow while Chouji continued munching his potato chips. Shikamaru muttered a lazy "It looks trouble to me." under the tree while Kiba and Akamaru looked excited.

"Where is she now? Is she injured? Who is going to fetch her?" Lee hastily quizzed.

"Shh! Any louder and I won't tell more!" Tenten exploded, already feeling exasperated especially at Lee, though it's only natural that they were excited about this news.

The eleven of them has formed a close bond with each other since the Chunnin exam about seven years ago. Yes, with the exception of Shikamaru and Shino, who are already Chunnins, the rest have all been successfully promoted to Chunnin then. Though, by the arrangement of Tsunade, she, along with Ino, Hinata and Sakura has formed the official team, they do get split up and worked with the boys from time to time. So it can be said that they braved storms together, helping each other on the way though missions and words of encouragement.

And each and every one of them has stand out in their own ways. She, Ino, Hinata as well as Sakura has become the eminent Four from Konoha, accomplishing impossible missions in tight deadlines with their flawless teamwork while Neji was enlisted in the ANBU squad four years ago. Shika refused the enlistment four years ago and is now a strategist for the squad instead. As for Kiba, Shino, Chouji and Lee, they too have become Jounins four years ago while Naruto travels with Jiraya periodically to learn jutsus from him. As for Sasuke… well, Tenten brushes him aside as she doesn't really want to include that guy into their group since his selfish departure eight years ago.

"I'm done with the good news. Now the bad news." Tenten stated half-heartedly.

"She is with the Akatsuki."

"HUH?" All five heads exclaimed simultaneously, scaring nearby birds to flap away hastily.

"I know this is even more unbelievable but that is the fact!" Tenten said, throwing her hands in the air.

Silence engulfed the group for a moment before Shikamaru asked, "What is the Fifth going to do about her?"

Tenten shrugged, settling herself beside Shikamaru with downcast eyes. For the first time, she felt helpless.

"I believe she is forced to work for them! Sakura-san would never betray Konoha!" Lee defended.

"We can't be sure." Shikamaru remarked, looking at Lee. “I hope you didn't erase Uchiha Sasuke from your mind."

"You think it's because of Sasuke-kun that she went to the other side?" Lee asked, feeling his heart sinking.

"We can't be certain.” Kiba chimed in.

Tenten was to protest when Chouji butted in with his mouth full of tidbits. "Where is Hinata and Ino?"

Tenten sighed. "Hinata is with Naruto and Jiraya-sama at the Ichiraku while Ino…" Tenten stopped herself in midway, thinking perhaps Ino could provide the answers to the questions in their minds right now. After all, she was the only one allowed to be with Tsunade to Sakura's house. And from what she has known from her sensei over the years, the Fifth always does things with a reason, well for most of the time she was. So perhaps…

"Tenten!" Kiba waved a hand in front of her while Shikamaru frowned at her. "Where is Ino?"

Tenten smirked at them. "She is at Sakura's house."

She then stroked her chin thoughtfully. "Anyone wants to go house visiting?"

-+-+-+-+-+-

While Ino doesn't know what awaited her, she silently listened to what Mrs. Haruno has to say.

Mrs. Haruno, or Mizu Kazumi, has stopped where Hinata has painstakingly told them about the Mizus a while ago. She was now about to show them the family emblem, which was at the back of her neck…

(So all that Hinata said really happened…Oh My God.. this is getting freaky.)

She dilated her eyes with amazement as she stared at the real birthmark when Mrs. Haruno lifted her silvery hair.

It was indeed red in color and it is in the shape of a feather. It was no bigger than the size of an eye.

"That is the Phoenix's feather, which our Elders proclaimed upon true Mizus." Mrs. Haruno stated as she let her hair down again.

"Does Sakura… have that…?" Ino hesitatingly asked, still in the amazed mode.

Mrs. Haruno hesitated, "Yes."

"Yuya has one too, right?" Tsunade interrupted.

Mrs. Haruno hesitated once more. "Yes."

"What is your relationship with Yuya?" Tsunade probed.

"She is my aunt."

"Mrs. Haruno." Tsunade said, starting to feel her patience wearing off. "If you are only going to answer what I ask, then I'm afraid this can't end on expected time."

Mrs. Haruno took a deep breath, knowing exactly what Tsunade wanted to know. But the problem was, she doesn't want to tell. She doesn't want this family matter to roll big.

Tsunade leaned forward, knowing exactly what Mrs. Haruno was thinking. "You can know by me bringing only Ino that I don't want this to sound official. This is Sakura we're talking about. Sakura, your daughter, my beloved apprentice and Ino's best friend since childhood."

Ino nodded eagerly, physically probing Mrs. Haruno to spit it all out.

Mrs. Haruno bit her lip and deciding finally that the cat just has to be out of the bag since now Sakura was alive.

"She is after the Phoenix's sword." Mrs. Haruno said curtly, which caught both guests off the line.

"Huh?" Ino uttered.

"Yuya.. Mizu Yuya is after our family sword." Mrs. Haruno repeated. Seeing that both of them has not uttered a word, Mrs. Haruno continued, "and for that, she created the Nine-tails."

"Nine tails?" Ino asked, totally not understanding what was just said.

"The Nine-tails is a demon fox sealed in the body of Naruto since he was born. Twenty years ago, the Nine-tails appeared in our village and with just a whirl of his one tail, it could caused a devastating earthquake. And because of its overwhelming powers, it has killed many of our people. In fact, our village was nearly wiped out by it but the Fourth Hokage managed to stop it by sealing it in Naruto. It's a secret that the Third has ordered never to reveal to the younger generations like you. He doesn't want Naruto to be ostracized because he contained the murderer of our village."

Tsunade's brief introduction about the Kyuubi caused Ino to be more flabbergasted than she already was.

(For one thing, I am more than surprised that Mrs. Haruno is actually a true descendent of the powerful Mizu…and now Naruto actually had a monster living inside him for all these years!Man! I'm going to have a breakdown!)

"Uh huh.." was all Ino can weakly say.

"This all comes down to the Phoenix sword she's been eyeing." Mrs. Haruno chipped in after that, looking at Tsunade. "For generations, only the Mizu with the Phoenix sword is acclaimed to be the head of the clan. In other words, the strongest. The sword itself possesses infinite chakra and has a life of its own. Unbelievably, it chooses its own owner."

Tsunade nodded for her to continue, deciding to leave her questions afterwards.

"The sword is created by our first ancestor, Mizu Yoshiki. He had wanted the sword to pass into the hands of his descendents with the goal of protecting the ones important to the clan but sadly, as the clan grew, some wanted to use it for their own selfish means but fortunately enough, the sword knew the difference between good and evil and so, it managed to stay safe."

"And then?" Ino quizzed, finding all these really amazing. For one, she didn't know Sakura's family is this complicated!

"Then when my grandfather died, the sword chose my father, Mizu Hideto as the next owner. My aunt, Yuya.. she was resentful at that and tried to snatch the sword but as you know, the effort was furtile. Then one day, she got this evil idea in her head.."

Mrs. Haruno stopped then, unable to hold back the tears that was welling up. Ino quickly passed her a tissue in her pockets.

She sniffed and continued, "She created the Nine tails and… and…"

That's it.

Mrs. Haruno broke down in sobs. Tsunade patted her on the back, feeling quite sorry that she has to dig up whatever sorrow memories that was running across her head now.

Mrs. Haruno then took a deep breath and wiped off the tears that rolled down the planes of her cheeks.

"She created the Nine-tails and let it devoured every member of the Mizus at the succession ceremony!"

Ino gasped, covering her mouth with her feeble hand while Tsunade widened her eyes in absolute surprise. She certainly didn't expect this!

"And because the sword only accepts true Mizu lineage, it will have no choice but to accept Yuya as the owner, since she is thought to be the only capable one left." Mrs. Haruno continued in between sobs. "I saw it with my own eyes how it brutally ripped my father apart!... And my mother... her body was soaked in blood when she yelled at me to run!"

By now, Mrs. Haruno's cheeks were thoroughly wet from her overflowing tears. Ino stroked her back while she passed her more tissues from her pockets. Tsunade stared, her brows getting tighter by the second.

"I can't believe this incident is still fresh in my mind...As much as I tried to ignore, I can still hear Yuya's vicious laughter echoing in my mind every night! Why is she doing this? Why can't she just let me live my life?" Mrs. Haruno finally blurted.

Ino slumped into the couch. She didn't know what to say to comfort Mrs. Haruno. She didn't know such a sick person would even exist! From the looks of it, it seems that this Yuya was even sicker than Orochimaru. Who would allow a demon to devour your own family?

"Does she know Sakura possess the Mizu blood?" Tsunade asked in concern.

"I supposed she knows."

Tsunade then took in the full impact of the severity of the situation.

"It's my fault. It's my entire fault. I shouldn't have even returned to the clan." Mrs. Haruno stated, tiredly shaking her head. "It's me who led the Kyuubi to Konoha."

Both guests looked at her then. Mrs. Haruno gulped in sweat as she prepared herself to tell the secret that she has been trying all ways to keep.

"I did what my mother told me to. I ran. I ran all the way back to Konoha, to where my new home is. Few months before this incident, I married Haruno Keisuke at the objections of my clan. They barred me as a Mizu shortly after. But then, I missed my mother, my family, so I secretly went back to see them, hoping to also catch a glimpse of much-said succession ceremony. But when I reached, most of the family have already been devoured, only leaving my dead father and my dying mother sprawling on the ground begging mercy from Yuya. When my mother saw me and screamed for me to run, Yuya took notice and sent the Kyuubi after me. The thing was in front of me within seconds with Yuya smiling wickedly on top of it. But just when I thought I was a goner, the sword actually saved me! It swept me off the ground and propelled me to run! That's when I took the sword as ran as fast as I could. But the Nine-tails was hot on my heels. When it reached Konoha and couldn't find me, I guessed it went into an uproar and caused the destruction…you should know the rest…" Mrs. Haruno finally concluded.

"So the chakra of the Kyuubi comes from your family." Tsunade said it more like a statement than a question.

(I know the Mizu clan is strong, but I didn't know they were THAT strong! If they still existed, I reckoned even the Hyuugas would seem small against them.)

Mrs. Haruno nodded.

"So where is the sword?" Ino asked, since it was the main character of the whole story.

" It has sealed itself up." Mrs. Haruno stated as a matter of fact. " Only when the new owner was chosen will it reveal itself."

"Let's talk about Sakura." Tsunade said with a disturbed frown. "Why do you think Yuya wants Sakura by her side?"

"I think you already know." Mrs Haruno replied, looking straight into Tsunade's concerned eyes. "Which is the thing I fear most. Which is also why I bound her chakra upon birth when I saw the family emblem behind her neck…"

"That was some pretty chakra control you have there. Not too much to obstruct her shinobi life and not too little to reveal your secret." Tsunade commented wryly before saying, "But you unsealed the bind when she was training under me, right?"

Mrs. Haruno nodded. "I see you noticed."

"Wait a minute there…" Ino interrupted, though she knows it's rude to do that. "So what is the reason that Yuya wants Sakura by her side?"

Mrs. Haruno straightened her shoulders. "She is the next chosen one."