Naruto Fan Fiction ❯ Mended Hearts ❯ Behind the Mask of Suzaku! The Yondaime’s Lost Student! ( Chapter 22 )

 

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

 

Original 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.

 

New Summary: AU Beginning and ending with his name, Naruto's past is veiled in mystery. Even as Kakashi teaches him the meaning of affection and love, Naruto's secrets come into the open, and it falls to Naruto's precious people to protect and support him as his father's name and legacy threatens to crush him and destroy the Hidden Village of the Leaf.

 

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~Chapter 22: Behind the Mask of Suzaku! The Yondaime's Lost Student!~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

 

Tora dodged into an alley and vanished into the shadows. Suzaku stormed to the mouth of the alley, and her eyes narrowed and her hand tightened around the grip of her katana and she stepped into the alley warily.

 

The sound of something hitting the ground drew her eyes downward as three black balls spewed out smoke. Suzaku's hand shot into her equipment pouch and a flick of her wrist snapped open a thin metal crescent.

 

“Fuiton: Kamaitachi no jutsu!”

 

The smoke was blown away, and dark eyes narrowed. Tora was gone.

 

A cool autumn wind blew past, shifting shoulder length hair and whipping her short pleated skirt about her fishnet clad legs…

 

The sky paled in the distance…

 

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

 

A golden haired child clad as a Hunter appeared in a swirl of leaves in front of the eightANBU.

 

“So you lot are ANBU Squads 8 and9? Hmph, let me set a few thing straight, you are now under the jurisdiction of the Hunters, and you are the assistants of the Hunters. You will bandage their hurts if they are injured in the middle of a long term mission, you will provide backup if the prey has some friends, you will harrey the prey toward the Hunterif neccessary. In some cases, you will destroy the body while the Hunter rests, or you will perform the kill while the Hunter destroys the body. In short, you are watchdogs. My name is Zeiguwa by the way, and you lot will be my watchdogs. I will not tolerate tardiness or laziness or sloppiness. I will remove the very thing that identifies you gentlemen as men if you are late, lazy, or sloppy. For the lady, I'll shave you bald. Any questions? No? Good. We'll meet up here tomorrow at 12:00 for team building exercises.”

 

He vanished in a puff of smoke.

 

“He didn't even let us ask the question,” the Wolf masked ANBU whined.

 

Pale lips twitched and the chains clinked slightly as the wings rustled…

 

The masked child tripped over the crate, pulled himself to his feet, turned, and promptly walked smack into a lamppost.

 

“Umm… Zeiguwa-san? Are you alright?” Wolf askedtentatively.

 

“Fine!” Zeiguwa snapped, and stalked away only to walk into a wall.

 

The Wolf coughed, hiding a laugh and said, “Are you sure you don't need help?”

 

“No!” Zeiguwa snapped, stomping his foot in a fit of childishness and vanished in a swirl of leaves.

 

The Wolf blinked and muttered, “Well, at least he acts his age…”There was a smattering of laughter from his fellow ANBU behind him…

 

The fox lifted its head off its paws and a low voice rumbled in the darkness…

 

“You miss him…”

 

A silver haired jounin with two thirds of his face covered stuck his head in, and was hit on the head by a chalkboard eraser. “Hmm…” he said, “My first impression of you is… I hate you. Meet me on the roof in fifteen minutes.”

 

A tear slipped from closed eyes and dropped into the black floor, making the surface ripple as though it were liquid…

 

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

 

“It's been a week, and no sign of Tora,” Hagetake reported. “Perhaps she left the village?”

 

The four out of six Primary Hunters stood still in front of the Oinin Commander's desk. Suzaku placed her elbows on the desk, lacing her fingers together, and rested her chin on top. Her lips were pursed into a thoughtful frown under the mask.

 

“I highly doubt that she would leave Konoha just yet,” she said carefully, “Not while her main target lies helpless inside the village.”

 

“Suzaku-sama,” Mizuhebi said, “You don't think that she'll make an attempt against Nar-I mean, Kazuki-kun?”

 

“She made one direct attempt, once,” Kurohyou said, “And it drove him to the edge. The easiest way to hurt Naruto is to attack the people he loves most. Even if he's not awake to know it, somewhere, inside, he must know that she's hunting them down. Tora has already attacked Shizune-san and Umino-sensei, and made an attempt against Yamanaka Ino near Haruno Sakura's home. Even if Kakashi spends most of his time in the hospital with Nauto, he has his own duties to see to, so he would have to leave at some point.”

 

“But the rest of the Konoha Twelve and their former jounin-sensei and Shiranui Genma as well as Izumo and Kotetsu set up a watch in Naruto's room as well,” Ookami protested. “Tora wouldn't be able to attack Naruto without having to engage them at some point, and Hyuuga Neji and Uchiha Sasuke are ANBU. Hyuuga Hinata and Haruno Sakura are top notch medic-nin who look after Naruto when Shizune-san and Hokage-sama aren't available. There is at least one member of the Konoha Twelve near Naruto at all times.”

 

“But can any of them stand up against a Hunter of Tora's caliber for long alone?” Suzaku said, “That is the true question. Ino got lucky. I was on my way home from the Hokage Tower after being recalled from the field when Tora attacked her, and she was mere moments away from getting killed.”

 

Silence fell. Suzaku sighed and slammed her hand on the desk, causing the four Hunters to jump.

 

“First Seat, send out the Specials. Have them scour the forest around Konoha in a ten mile radius for Tora.”

 

Ookami saluted and vanished in a puff of smoke.

 

“Third Seat, sort through the Potentials and the Apprentices. In the worse case scenario, we will have to replace several members of the Primary Oinin.”

 

Kurohyou saluted and left.

 

“Fourth Seat, your assignment doesn't change. Continue monitoring and recording the status of our people in the field by analyzing the reports they send back. I expect the next report on my desk in forty-eight hours.”

 

Hagetake saluted and left.

 

“Sixth Seat, arrange for the Apprentices to patrol the village while the others watch Second Seat and his precious people.”

 

Mizuhebi saluted and vanished in a swirl of leaves.

 

Suzaku gathered her papers, and left, making her way through the multiple levels of Oinin Headquarters to the surface. Once outside, she leapt onto the rooftops and made her way to the Hokage Tower…

 

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

 

That day, Suzaku received a three hour long lecture from the Godaime for mobilizing the entire Oinin Force without authorization. Then, to the surprise of more than one ninja, the lecture ended with a fierce question along the lines of, “Are you sure that the entire Oinin Force is enough?” Within several hours, the standoff between the Oinin Commander and the Hokage had become legendary among the upper echelons of the village.

 

The Hunters and the ANBU themselves were more than a little amused. After all, anyone who spent any amount of time with the Hunters or the Godaime knew that if there was one thing they had in common, it was their tendency to become overprotective mother hens where one Uzumaki Naruto was concerned.

 

The next day, Suzaku regulated the Sixth Seat, Mizuhebi, back into arranging for Hunters to hunt nuke-nin.

 

That, of course, earned her another lecture from the Godaime about the necessity to be on guard with a rogue Oinin running about in the village.

 

Four more attacks were made over the next week, against Nara Shikamaru, Higurashi Tenten, Sarutobi Asuma, and Yuuhi Kurenai. Each time, a Hunter intervened in time for the victim to get away with relatively minor injuries, and at the end of the day, it was usually the hunters who left worse for wear.

 

Umino Iruka and Shizune, who had been the first of Tora's targets, were discharged from the hospital at the end of that same week with strict orders to rest.

 

All the while, Naruto slept on, unknowing, unseeing, uncaring…

 

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

 

Suzaku was visiting Naruto, when she sensed it, a cold, roiling, vengeful chakra just outside the window. Wordlessly, she stood up and slipped a mask out from beneath the folds of the dark cloak she was wearing, slipped it on, and tightened the ties. She slipped a headset out from beneath the cloak, and slipped it on, carefully checking it, and tuning it onto the frequency shared by both ANBU and Oinin inside the village. She vanished out the window, taking care to slide it closed so the cold autumn wind would not disturb the sleeping blonde and cause him to catch cold. The only sign of her presence in the room was the lightweight black cloak draped over the chair…

 

The chakra was moving, Suzaku noted, and carefully slid a ninja-to out of its sheath. Several patrolling ANBU spotted the glint of sun off of steel, and noticing the Commander of the Oinin chasing a dark figure, split apart and followed her. Suzaku barely acknowledged the ANBU's presence by slowing slightly so they could catch up before picking up the pace once more, this time, with eight ANBU behind her.

 

“Spread out and cut the target off. Drive her back toward me, but do not engage the target if possible,” Suzaku murmured into the headset.

 

There was a flurry of movement and six ANBU peeled off to the sides and flashed past her.

 

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

 

Suzaku never realized how horrifyingly brutal Tora could be when cornered. Come to think of it, she had never in all her years as a Hunter, seen Tora cornered. Eight Elite ANBU, cut down as though they were merely mindless beasts. Suzaku was able to heal the more life threatening wounds and a blood pill was all that was necessary to ensure that they didn't bleed to death, but two of the ANBU died before she could reach them. She didn't allow it to bother her, as she had a quarry to catch, so she had sent a signal, stopped briefly to check over the injured, and moved on.

 

Tora had led her on a merry chase throughout the village, but with the help of Hyoudoku, the commander of the ANBU, and five squads of patrolling Hunters, Suzaku had managed to chase Tora to the roof of the hospital with minimal casualties. Perhaps it wasn't the best place to hold a high level ninja battle, but the upside was that several blocks away were the two four story buildings that were the ANBU and Hunter headquarters, both of which extended several miles underground and then fanned out in a network of tunnels, halls, and large chambers which served as common rooms, offices, barracks, medical centers, labs, and in more than one case, prisons and interrogation centers. And needless to say, they both had hidden entrances in various parts of the Hokage Tower to ensure that both ANBU and Hunters could reach the Hokage swiftly as possible with the least amount of hassle.

 

In any case, any Hunter or ANBU worth their salt would be able to sense the high level ninja battle taking place five to six blocks away. If they couldn't, well, needless to say, retraining would be in order. But they could sense it, and they were watching from the roofs, ready to intervene if necessary. For that, at the very least, Suzaku was thankful.

 

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

 

Three of the Six landed on the fence and Hagetake tossed the limp figure of a Kumo-Oinin to the ground between the two opponents. Mizuhebi tossed two open scrolls into the air, and they fluttered down to land on the Kumo-nin. Suzaku glanced briefly at the symbol of Kumo on the Oinin's mask and the writing on the scrolls, and swiftly turned her attention back to Tora.

 

“You've been passing information to Kumo.” It was not a question. The characters on one of the scrolls in Tora's meticulous writing detailing Konoha's current security measures and the various high level nin and the unfamiliar writing on the other, detailing the actions to be taken, most likely instructions to Tora, told a tale of its own.

 

Tora's grip on the katana tightened and Suzaku tensed, lifting the ninja-to higher. Tora blurred and reappeared in front of Suzaku, and their blades clashed, throwing off sparks. Then they shifted, and the two combatants began a deadly dance of flashing steel, with a series of thrusts, slashes, blocks and parries, fighting for dominance, and ultimately, death. Suzaku found an opening and quickly disarmed Tora, who leapt back and her hands flashed through a quick series of handseals. Suzaku swiftly sheathed her ninja-to and her hands flashed through a series of seals, and both Huntresses finished at approximately the same time. Tora summoned a fire dragon that was almost immediately blown away by Suzaku's Fuiton jutsu.

 

Suzaku's eyes widened behind the mask and a kick connected with her stomach, sending her flying. Her back hit the wall, and she leapt into the air as several kunai and shuriken hit the spot she had previously occupied. She landed deftly on top of the chain link fence and quickly wove a genjutsu to conceal her presence and quietly moved behind Tora, a kunai in hand.

 

But Hunters did not gain their positions by being lax. Out of all the Hunters that Konoha housed, Tora and Zeiguwa were most aware of what went on with ten yards of their person, and thus, it was no surprise to Suzaku when Tora spun around and blocked her kunai strike with a kunai of her own. Another kick sent Suzaku sprawling. She picked herself up, and dodged away as a katon jutsu hit the spot she had previously occupied. She quickly formed several seals and tugged a fan from her equipment pouch.

 

“Fuiton: Daitoppa no jutsu,” she intoned quietly, waving the fan.

 

Tora leapt away, and the three Hunters on top of the fence leapt away to avoid getting caught in the attack. Tora grasped her Katana and darted forward, and Suzaku drew her ninja-to as she pursued. Tora spun around and flicked the tip of the katana upward, aiming for Suzaku's throat. Suzaku dodged out of the way, and once she was close enough, Suzaku slashed from left to right and back with her ninja-to, and Tora leapt back and slammed the hilt of the katana into Suzaku's stomach. Suzaku's eyes widened and she vanished in a puff of smoke from which a log shot out and clattered across the floor. Tora leapt aside to avoid the rain of shuriken and formed several hand seals and spat out a mouthful of fire at Suzaku. The watching ANBU and Hunters formed several seals and several small water dragons doused the small flames that had started on nearby rooftops and streets, covering the surrounding area in mist.

 

Suzaku's fan made another appearance and the mist was blown away…

 

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

 

Practically every shinobi in sight of the Konoha Village Hospital had been alerted of the high level nin-battle on the roof. Even those not in the vicinity could sense the massive chakra output of the two huntresses. Even genin had noticed it, and every time the brasher genin and young curious children attempted to go and get a closer look, they were intercepted by chunnin, jounin, and even ANBU and Hunters and found themselves herded gently away. Civilians in the vicinity were encouraged to either finish what they were doing and leave with all haste and to stay indoors, or to take care of any business in that area later when the problem had been sorted out.

 

Kakashi and Genma, rushed into the hospital, not to interfere, they both, as seasoned shinobi, knew better, but to check on Naruto. Kakashi because he was Naruto's lover, and Genma because if he didn't Iruka (who was Genma's lover) would nag at him. None of the ANBU or Hunters made any move to stop them.

 

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

 

Kakashi was somewhat surprised to find the lightweight black cloak worn by high-level Hunters slung over the chair next to Naruto's bedside. The surprise was quickly replaced by understanding as another chakra flared outside. It was no secret that the Hunters were fond of their youngest member. Most likely, one of the Hunters had been visiting, and had sensed Tora coming, and had left to intercept her. Because the hospital was so close to the ANBU and Hunter Headquarters, the bulk of ANBU and Hunters were centered in this area, hence the high level ninja who were busy intercepting the curious genin or children, and ensuring that no permanent damage occurred to civilians below.

 

A flare of a familiar chakra from above drew his attention, and he swiftly left the room.

 

“Eh? Kakashi? Where are you going?” Genma called.

 

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

 

Suzaku specialized in medicine and close ranged combat, Tora in ninjutsu and long range combat, both were moderate in mid-range combat, rendering both in a stalemate. So long as Tora kept Suzaku at a distance, Suzaku could not hit any vital parts, so long as Suzaku forced Tora into close-ranged combat, Tora would quickly loose the use of her limbs, but both were swift, agile, and precise. As kunoichi, it was their greatest assets, but at the same time, it rendered them equal.

 

Well, not quite, Suzaku thought, as her back hit the wall for the umpteenth time. Tora was much stronger and faster, though her strikes did not have the surgical precision of a medic.

 

Her eyes widened behind the mask as she heard the faint sound of porcelain cracking. A ripple of movement ran through the watching ANBU and Hunters, and they vanished. Protocol required absolute secrecy among the masked elite, and as a Commander of the Oinin, once Suzaku's face was seen, a loyal Konoha-nin would hold the knowledge close and never reveal it, but a traitor or an outsider would be executed. All the same, it was a show of respect to avert the eyes from a broken mask, and all the masked elite followed the unspoken code without fail.

 

The door to the roof was flung open, drawing both Huntresses' attention to the newcomer. Suzaku's eyes widened as the mask shattered on her face and the pieces fell to the floor in a tinkle of broken ceramics.

 

“Kakashi…”

 

“Rin…” Kakashi breathed, his sole visible eye wide in shock.

 

The beat of rubber against cement drew Suzaku's attention and her eyes widened to notice Tora racing across the roof.

 

“She's headed for Naruto since he's no doubt vulnerable now,” she murmured, and moved to chase after the rogue Huntress.

 

“Don't leave Naruto alone! Don't give her an opening!” Suzaku called over her shoulder. “For once in your life, keep your promises and pull your share of the weight Kakashi!”

 

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

 

Suzaku woke to the sound of the heart monitor, and the sun shining in her eyes. She turned her head away from the sun, and noticed at the other side of the window, was Naruto. Kakashi was seated in between them, his eyes closed.

 

She shifted slightly and hissed quietly as pain ran up and down her spine. Kakashi's eye snapped open, and his head jerked in her direction.

 

“Rin!”

 

She smiled painfully at her former genin teammate. “How have you been, Kakashi?”

 

Kakashi gave her a pained look.

 

“You were here the entire time,” he said.

 

“Yes,” she replied.

 

“I accused you of not being there for sensei…”

 

“You didn't know.”

 

“I'm sorry,” he said.

 

“It's alright,” she replied.

 

Silence fell between the two former teammates…

 

A gentle wind blew outside, whisking several leaves into the air…

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

CSA Version 7 Mended Hearts What Are You Hiding?