Naruto Fan Fiction ❯ Mended Hearts ❯ Secret sorrow ( Chapter 8 )

 

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto. I wish I did, but I don't.

 

Summary: AU Naruto hides many secrets from Konohagakure no Sato. As time continues, Naruto's precious people learn the hard way that many secrets are best left untouched, and that Naruto is not at all what they believed.

 

“Uzumaki Naruto wa mou inai” Means “Uzumaki Naruto no longer exists.”

 

“Boku wa omae-tachi ga Oinin no yugoi do zonzai da.” Means “I am what you call Hunter ninja.”

 

Yeah… I thought it would sound better in Japanese, so… yeah…

 

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~Chapter 8: Secret Sorrow~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

 

“I think we need to have a talk,” Kakashi said calmly.

 

Naruto's eyes narrowed. “There is nothing to talk about.”

 

“Naruto…”

 

“Uzumaki Naruto wa mou inai,” the blonde said firmly. Kakashi blinked. “Boku wa omae-tachi ga Oinin do yugoi do zonzai da.”

 

Kakashi crossed the room and pinned Naruto to the wall, his armored hands digging into the boy's shoulders. “How can you say that?”

 

Naruto stared blankly at Kakashi. “Boku wa Oinin, boku wa Jinchuuriki, boku wa shinobe da. I am a tool with no thought of my own. I took up the name Uzumaki Naruto for the sake of this mission.”

 

“How can you say that?!”

 

“Because it is true.”

 

Kakashi's eyes widened as he stared into dead blue eyes. “Naruto…”

 

The blonde's hands flashed through a series of seals and he vanished in a puff of smoke.

 

Kakashi stood alone in the room, staring sightlessly ahead. He knew that the image of the blonde's lifeless eyes would haunt him for the rest of his life…

 

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

 

“You want to move back into the Hunter's district?” Tsunade's voice was shocked.

 

“Aa. The mission pertaining to Team 7 has been completed. There is no more need for me to continue my residence in the Open sector,” Zeiguwa said.

 

She nodded, “Very well.” The Godaime studied the Hunter. “But what brought this on? Just yesterday you were all for staying in the civilian sector.”

 

“Things change.”

 

“Does it have anything to do with Kakashi coming in here looking as if someone had burned his books?”

 

Zeiguwa stiffened. “I would rather not talk about it.”

 

Tsunade sighed. “Naruto…”

 

“Iya. Uzumaki Naruto died the moment I became Zeiguwa.”

 

Tsunade blinked and Zeiguwa's eyes softened behind the mask. The Hunter reached up and removed his mask and said softly, “I always said that I would protect my precious people. Kakashi is getting too close. If I have to break him to protect him, I will do just that. Believe me, Tsunade-baa-san, it hurts me a lot more than it hurts him.”

 

Tsunade's eyes misted over. “One day, Naruto, you will break yourself with your selflessness.”

 

“If my precious people are safe and happy, I would suffer in the seventh level of hell for all eternity for them,” Naruto said, putting his mask back on. He bowed. “I take my leave Hokage-sama. You know where to find me when you come to a decision.”

 

Zeiguwa, for the first time since becoming a Hunter, left, not through the window, which served as a second door to the shinobe of the village, but via the door. Tsunade sat in the chair, frozen in shock and grief. Shizune stood behind her, clutching the pet pig in her arms, her eyes fixed on the retreating back of the young Hunter.

 

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

 

Ookami was tired and covered in the blood of his targets when he returned to the Hunter district a little after midnight. He blinked at the sight of lights in the window of an apartment that had not been in use for the past four years. His weariness fled as he vanished in a puff of smoke and reappeared inside the apartment. He looked around to see several boxes scattered around the room.

 

“Kobanwa, Ookami-san,” a quiet voice said.

 

Ookami turned around and studied the Hunter. “Kobanwa, Zeiguwa-kun,” Ookami said. “What brings you back to the Hunter's District?”

 

“My mission was complete, so I felt it prudent to leave the open.”

 

Ookami studied the boy, his sharp eyes not missing the sadness radiating from the young Hunter. “You are unhappy,” he remarked.

 

“I have done something that I both regret, but do not regret,” Zeiguwa answered.

 

“In other words, you did something you felt was best, but you wish that you had done something else,” Ookami said.

 

Zeiguwa's shoulders slumped. “Correct.”

 

Ookami sighed. “We are shinobe. We must live with our choices. You are still young. There is still time for things to change if you wish it.”

 

“I think it would be best to leave things as they are now, Ookami-san. I need to think some things over.”

 

Ookami nodded. “Remember, even a shinobe is human. You can change things if change it you must.”

 

Zeiguwa nodded. “Arigato, Ookami-san.”

 

Ookami nodded again, and his hands blurred as he formed several hand seals. “I'm here if you need me.” Zeiguwa nodded, and satisfied, the older nin completed the final seal and vanished.

 

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

 

The Rookie 9… ah… Rookie 8 with the addition of Team Gai was in chaos. Naruto had vanished again, only this time, anything relating to the blonde's existence had vanished with him. There were no records of Uzumaki Naruto anywhere, and not even the Hokage or Iruka gave any indication that they had ever known anyone by that name.

 

The jounin sensei, however, had a suspicion as to why he had vanished, and only Kakashi knew that they were correct. Uzumaki Naruto had become an Oinin, and would never exist in the records unless he was discharged or killed. And unless by some quirk of fate, a genin or chunin was needed with exceptional skill in the near future, then Naruto would most likely not reappear for some time.

 

Zeiguwa had been reassigned, ANBU Squad 5 discovered not long afterward. The Tensai Oinin had returned to his original position in the shadows, unknown by the general populace, and unseen even by other Oinin and the ANBU, reporting directly to the Hokage, and the Hokage alone, taking on S class missions at such a level of difficulty that under normal circumstances, only three Oinin working together or the Hokage was capable of taking care of it.

 

Kakashi felt his chest tighten. If he had not revealed himself that night, would Naruto have retreated behind the Hunter's mask?

 

He didn't know.

 

For the longest time, he would never know…

 

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

 

Over the course of the next three years, Neji and Sasuke joined the forces of the ANBU, and Sakura began to gain herself a reputation as a highly skilled medic-nin to rival Tsunade herself. Then it happened.

 

Four years ago, Konoha had sent out three Oinin to lead fifteen ANBU and jounin into the Sound to slow down Orochimaru's planned invasion of Konoha, buying the Leaf time to build up their forces and prepare plans for defense and counterattacks. None of the konoha-nin returned from the S class suicide run, and for Konohagakure no Sato, time had just run out.

 

Orochimaru, royally pissed at having lost the Hunter-nin who had captured and converted Sasuke back to the side of Konoha, attacked the Leaf desiring the power of the Sharingan and thirsting for revenge. To counter the looming threat of invasion by the Sound, the Godaime Hokage, Tsunade, summoned from the shadows the hidden legacy of the Yondaime Hokage, the Hunter Zeiguwa…

 

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

 

The floor rippled softly as if it were water as white feathers and pale pink sakura blossoms fell onto the glossy surface. It was darkness for as far as he could see, broken only by the feathers and the sakura. A dark red substance flowed up from the depths of the ground and rose up, intertwining and forming the figure of a person. The features solidified and definition. His eyes widened behind his mask as he stared into the face of his mirror image.

 

“Why?” the image asked.

 

“Why what?” was his only reply.

 

“Why do you deny yourself, us, solace from the pains of this harsh existence?”

 

“You and I are one and the same,” he answered. “You know the answer to that question.”

 

“Then you are aware that you are the one who suffers from this decision in the long run.”

 

“I am well aware of that.”

 

“Then why do you persist in this foolishness? You know that being distracted can kill you, especially in your position.”

 

“I cannot turn my back on this choice,” he fisted his hand over his heart and looked upward. “Even if it destroys my heart, scarred as it is, I will protect and love him from afar. I will not allow my precious people to become targets because I am the Hunter or the son of Kazama Arashi. I cannot…”

 

“And even if they never forgive you for not allowing them to choose if they desire your protection?”

 

“Even then…”

 

“You cannot lie to me. We are one and the same.” The Other's eyes softened. “Do not deny yourself that which you desire most. Let yourself live, Kazuki…”

 

Cerulean eyes opened slowly. The Hunter sat up and raised his hand slowly to his chest and made a fist over his heart, clutching the thin fabric of his pajamas. His head lowered, and a single tear slid down whiskered cheeks. For a moment, the tear hung in the air, a single shimmering jewel, glittering in the moonlight before it hit the bed covers.

CSA Version 7 Mended Hearts What Are You Hiding?