Naruto Fan Fiction ❯ Hidden Truths ❯ Alek's Pain ( Chapter 5 )

Chapter 5: Alek’s Pain

As they sprinted through the woods yet again, they were silent. It was night and there was no need to attract enemies.

The stars were out now and the moon lay dead ahead, lighting up their path. The branches rustled under the team’s weight and the constant chirping of crickets and cicadas made for a relaxed mood.

Alek and Kay were at the head of the group while Neji stayed at the back; even at nighttime there was still the possibility of ambush but this would ensure they couldn’t make a forward or rear assault. And in this mission, there wasn’t any room for mistakes.

They were beginning to slow down in attempts to find a safe place to settle for the night; so far no luck.

After ten minutes or so, they found just the place. Halfway up a ridge was a rock formation that jutted out on an upward angle. Perfect for avoiding detection so that the only people who would have visual access to this area, would be those who came from above.

“We’ll rest here for the night,” Kay declared as they finally stepped onto the formation.

“It seems suitable but we’ll still need a lookout or two,” Kakashi added.

“We will be in charge of that,” Alek said.

“I don’t know if I trust you two alone together.”

“You don’t have to. But you all need rest. We’ll be fine. And what’s not to trust? Think we’ll let someone get here and risk our lives? Cuz’ I doubt that’s going to happen. And if you think we’ll attack you ourselves, you are wrong again, you are important to the success of this mission,” Alek explained.

“And since we also have captaincy, it goes by majority vote. Two against one. Now get some rest. We’ll be starting bright and early tomorrow.”

Kakashi reluctantly accepted this as fact and began ordering the others to get some rest. They didn’t need telling though, they had been running all day since they picked up Kay and they were exhausted.

It wasn’t long before they were asleep, they had traveled through almost the entire Fire country that day and even the hard ground felt like a soft bed.

“I don’t see why we have to bring them. All they’ll do is slow us down,” Kay said, kicking her feet impatiently through the air. “Was it even necessary t bring that many? Surely having this many people is a ridiculous number, and when it comes to sneaking, it’s going to be even harder. Thank God we haven’t run into any resistance, since we can't use our Kinjutsus, it’ll just slow us down.”

Alek was hanging upside-down off the cliff, hardly listening to anything.

“Hello, I asked a question, where we come from its polite to answer it.”

“What? Oh, sorry. I thought we went through this already. They are crucial to the success of the plan. Let’s just say I have a feeling they’ll be more than useful to us in the end.”

“I hope you aren’t talking about what I think you’re talking about.”

“It really doesn’t matter what-- he’s mine.”

Something had dropped through the sky and landed with a crack at the base of the ridge.

“You know I saw him first,” Kay said irritably.

“Yeah well you didn’t call it.” He sighed. “Why do we even bother? To be ninja, I mean. We are at the peak of our health and strength and it’s not like there’s many people that can challenge us even in our nation. So why do why try?”

“We don’t really have a choice. If we are needed, we are required to answer. When I first became a Genin, I was sheltered from this truth; they told me I would be able to leave at my own will, but it was a lie. Deception is the greatest form of power, and they used it to get what they wanted.”

“Why can’t we just leave, head for another country and start a new life?”

“You know why. They would kill our families and we would be banned from ever returning. Not to mention they’d be looking for us; heavens knows they wouldn’t want their techniques getting out. I wish the same sometimes, to just get away, not to be the tool of war.”

There was a pause, the distant sounds of the forest were dying down, then getting louder in a never-ending cycle.

“Well I don’t have anything to worry about. I wouldn’t pressure you into that especially with your husband. He’s really nice too and I wouldn’t be able to live with myself if I got him killed.”

“I know you wouldn’t do something like that. You know, he considers you one of his own.”

“I know, but I don’t think even he knows what I have to go through. He has you. Yes, you and him don’t always see each other, but deep down, he knows you’ll be alright because he knows that if it came to it, I’d sacrifice myself to save you. That’s how things work with me, you ma not like it, you may think that I have my whole life ahead of me, but what does that mean to me? More killing, more orders. I don’t even care anymore.”

“You wouldn’t sacrifice yourself for me. I wouldn’t let you do that. You’re right, I am going to tell you that you have your whole life ahead of you. We both know that you can be great, maybe the best if you work hard enough at it.”

“Like that means anything to me. I may say I want to be the best, but I know that all that means is more killing and more responsibility, the two things I want the least of. I just wish I could leave, go somewhere away from everyone and everything, somewhere no one could find me and no one would dare to bother me. They wouldn’t be missing much, just another tool.”

“You shouldn’t talk like that. You’re worth far more than that. And who are you to talk about love?”

“There are more than one types of love you know. There is the love that you have for your family, then you have the love for a single person which is most often confused for lust, and then there is the love for another’s life. I refer to the latter of the three. I care for the lives of all, even those I am forced to kill. Some might say that this is a weakness, but it isn’t. I have long since lost respect for myself but that doesn’t mean I can't care for others.

“My dad once said that if you truly love someone, you’d do anything for them; that having someone to protect makes you somehow stronger. I didn’t understand what he meant until I watched him die.”

He sat up and stared deeply into the forest.

“It was only just a few years ago, when Drake invaded. My parents were on the frontline. My dad was outnumbered three to one, I was hidden in one of the trees watching him proudly fending them off like it was nothing. I always thought he was the strongest person in the world and no one else mattered when he fought against them. I considered it a privilege to watch him fight, I got a lot of my moves from him. He looked over at my mom and saw her backed against the tree I was in, covered in blood. And in front of her was the attacker, poised and ready to deliver the final blow.

“He broke away from the people he was fighting and ran toward her. One of them grabbed him by the arm and he swung him against a tree. The other two grabbed him but he swung his arms forward so fast that they couldn’t even hold their footing and they collided. He threw them into the air and slammed his palms into their backs, snapping their spines. By this time the person my mom was fighting had begun to thrust his katana at her. And then next thing I knew, my dad was bent over my mom with the blade jammed into his back.”

Kay listened silently, she had never heard this story before and thought it important.

“The man called my father stupid for saving her; he said she was a waste of energy. And suddenly, I lost control of my body. I jumped from the tree screaming at the top of my lungs towards the man. He saw me coming and knocked me onto the ground. My mom screamed my name and begged me to run. I got up and attacked against her wishes. Yet again he knocked me to the ground and kicked me in the side. The pain was unbearable but I didn’t care. He told me I should listen to her and run, that I didn’t stand a chance against someone as strong as him; he said he could kill me at anytime but I didn’t care.

“I lie there on my stomach motionless, until I finally gathered the energy to stagger to my feet. ‘You have guts kid, I’ll admit that; but you are still no match for me.’ I was ready to cry, I was so angry. I looked at my father’s lifeless body and I knew what had to be done, this man had to pay. My mom continued to yell for me to leave but I wouldn’t. I felt all the pain leave me, fully revitalized and I felt stronger just like my dad said. I felt something inside me that I knew wasn’t me. It was feeding off my anger which at that time was beyond my control.”

“What happened?”

“I attacked. I could see everything as if it was in slow motion. I realized how fast I was running but made no attempt to stop or even slow down. I reached him before he had the time to look surprised and stopped on the dime. He swung at me but it was about as useless as trying to drop a paper on a fly. I quickly backed out of the way and brought myself forward again so I was at his side with my fist jammed into his gut. My face was expressionless, even I could tell that. After a few seconds of motionlessness the man keeled over from the punch, I guess it hadn’t registered before then.

“I swung around and hit him in the head with the back of my hand and he collapsed to the ground. I slammed my foot down on his head and proceeded to press harder. He struggled to get me off him but couldn’t and I found I couldn’t lift my foot either. I pressed harder and harder; I knew his skull couldn’t handle much more. And then… it was over. He was dead, and I had killed my first enemy. The shock of it was intense. I hadn’t expected to even be able to lay a hand on him, but somehow I had killed him. I returned to the village with my mom at my side and my dad strapped to my back. I knew he was dead, but he deserved a proper funeral, an honorable one. After the battle was over, one of the Jounin from the battle talked to the Kage and they had me raised to a Chuunin. And that’s when I met you and David.”

“How come you never mentioned that before?”

“Because it is for that very reason that I am what I am. I hate what I am but I also realized that I can’t go back. I knew that if people knew this, they would fear me for what I could do. And even as we speak, your fear of me grows.”

“No. You aren’t the same--”

“Cut the crap! I read your mind. The fact is that I am unstable and you can see that. All it would take for the eight-tailed demon to come out again would be a person stronger than me, and that person is Closer than some may think.”

Kay was in shock, unable to move or say anything. There was a screech from above and she jumped slightly.

Alek looked up as a large bird landed on his shoulder. He stroked the side of its face a few times before coaxing it onto his arm so he could remove the letter from its pouch.

“Hey Bud,” she called to the bird. “It’s from Jake, right?” she asked, this time addressing Alek.

“Jake is dead.”

“What? But this is his bird. It wouldn’t leave his side ever.”

“He told it to obey me from now on. He died before we even started. He was ambushed. And because of this, I will not let this mission fail.” He scanned through the paper and folded it back up. “They have a lead, we must leave at once. Help me wake the others and we’ll be on our way.”

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Okay, this chapter was more informal as far as purpose goes. It was a bit mushy but I felt it was needed. I was really trying to bring out Alek’s background, try to show why he is the way he is.