Naruto Fan Fiction ❯ The Fox and The Phoenix ❯ Returning ( Chapter 12 )

[ X - Adult: No readers under 18. Contains Graphic Adult Themes/Extreme violence. ]

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.

The Fox and The Phoenix
(Sono Kitsune Oyobi Sono Fenikusu)

Key

S.S = Sick Shit (is more than likely NC-17 and etc.)

*thinking*

"talking"

*thoughts progressing into speech"

'substitute for italics' (Kyuubi or Soriyu at times)

//telepathy//

::scene change:: (more for my reference than anything else)

~POV~
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Summary: Naruto's 6 years old, his caretaker, Iruka, was killed by bandits, and he was left orphaned. Well, until a mysterious wanderer appeared...


A/n: I'm not starting the Chunin Exam in this chapter, I may in the next one, but I don't know yet. Just trying to delve into a bit of Sanziya's past before she came back to Konoha I suppose, oh, and of course about Naruto's father.


Chapter Twelve: Returning


~Author~


::Tazuna's House::


After a few days of rest, being yelled at, and basically doing nothing that even promotes the word 'ninja' in any sense. Team Seven and the two missing Kiri (Mist) nin, were definitely ready to get out of Wave Country. Sanziya, much to Naruto's annoyance, was still asleep. Apparently Soriyu exhausting his chakra and hers as well was a big burden on her body, it'd take him some time to fully heal her, and a whole bunch of other bull that Naruto shrugged off angrily.


He didn't particularly like waiting, but there was no way around it. They had gotten some medical attention for them all, Sasuke had minor neck problems and a twisted ankle from the fight with Haku, who, in turn, had a broken nose and trouble moving his torso for a few days. Sakura, as she didn't do much of anything, didn't have any ailments to speak of, other than her airheadedness, but sadly that can't be cured. Zabuza, of course, had two broken arms and many superficial wounds, the arms of which, had to be painfully reset before casting them. Naruto, with his fast healing due to his tenant, deciding to forgo the doctor and just confined himself to taking it easy as Kyuu-san did her thing. Sanziya's wounds healed on their own of course, and they got a blacksmith to repair Zabuza's Zanbatou.


As the days wore on he got more impatient, until finally his 'good for nothing kaa-san' as Naruto so affectionately called her, awoke.


"Oi...what in the seven hells ran me over?" a groaning voice asked from across the room. The only ones there to hear it were Sasuke and Naruto, who were playing Go, the blonde and raven haired boys turned to see the eccentric woman sit up on her futon. She immediately grabs her head in pain. "Fuckkkkkk..." she hisses, rubbing her temples. "That hurts like hell!"


While Sasuke contemplates his next move, Naruto reaches over for the canteen and little white bottle beside him, tossing them to his mother.


"Here. Take one of those, Haku made them for you 'cause I said you'd probably have a headache when you got up, and although I could annoy the crap outta you now for sleeping so long, I won't."


Sanziya catches the two items, glaring at the blonde boy so hard it seemed like her gaze would melt steel.


"Quit complaining, you're in no hurry to return to that backwater village and we both know it."


Sasuke kinda chokes at that statement, trying not to laugh, and Naruto smiles grimly.


"Ne, kaa-san, not true. I want my money." he replies toothily, Sanziya sighs, downing a pill with the water.


"Whoa, that stuff gives you a rush. Damn, I feel better already, Haku'll do good in the medical field, where are they now?"


Naruto nods his head towards the open window.


"They should be outside in the forest somewhere. Did you know Haku was the 'girl' who rescued Sakura? He's so androgynous that I didn't know till he took off that damn mask."


Sanziya lets out a full belly laugh, wiping tears that spring to her eyes.


"Yep, I knew it was Haku, he's always been like that, and the green nail polish doesn't help any." she replies, winking as she gets up and jumps out the window. Naruto sighs, turning his attention back to the game. He glares at the board, the glares up at a smirking Sasuke.


"Sasuke-teme,......I hate you." he whines to the stoic boy, pouting as he glares back down at the board.


He had lost by 10 komi.


::Forest::


Haku is in that pink kimono again, picking herbs, while Zabuza sits off to the side, watching. Both are startled when Sanziya hops down out of seemingly nowhere, eyeing them critically before going over to Zabuza.


"Zabu, let me see your arms." she tells the masked man as he stands up so she can get a better look at his arms. "Shimatta, I didn't mean for you to break them this bad, oh well, I can speed up the healing."


With that said she places her hands over his arms, a glowing green chakra surrounding them, along with 'clicks' and 'snaps' as the bones mend themselves somewhat. Zabuza winces at the sharp pains, but she soon finishes.


"There! They should heal in half the time now!" she states happily, pulling a tea set out of seemingly nowhere. "Now let's have that tea like you said Zabu."


Zabuza just looks at her skeptically, as if actually remembering how insane she was, then grunts an affirmative. Sanziya grins widely, going to get logs and water from the nearby river.


Haku looks to Zabuza, smiling.


"She hasn't changed has she?"


Zabuza shakes his head and grunts.


"Nope."


::River::


Sanziya holds the canteen underneath the water of the rushing river as she drifts in and out of memories.


::Flashback, 6 years ago::


The green kimono clad woman crushes the letter in her hand, tears rolling down her cheeks.


*-sigh- I can't put it off any longer, I did promise.*


A few days later finds the Phoenix vessel packing her things in the middle of the campsite the three shared.


"Oi! Oi! Where are you going, nee-chan?" a small black haired boy asks as he comes up to her, tugging at the sleeve of her kimono. She smiles down at the boy clad in a blue and white yukata, bending down to pat his head. "I'm going back to my home village Haku-chan, it's time I took responsibility for something."


Tears well up in the chibi's eyes.


"I don't want you to leave nee-chan, don't go!"


Sanziya smiles sadly, shaking her head.


"I'd stay if I could Haku-chan, but this must be done. I've put off my duty for too long."


Haku nods, still crying.


"Okay, but I made a present for you nee-chan, Zabuza nii-san helped me pick them out, he said you liked these shiny things." he tells her, holding out a medium sized package. This piques the woman's curiosity and she opens it, finding numerous silver bracelets and twelve earrings. She smiles, grabbing the child up in a hug.


"And nii-san was definitely right, this is the best gift ever Haku-chan. Thank you, I'll wear them from now on." she tells the boy, and with that said she takes out the earrings, putting them in the holes in her ears that would never heal, and slipping the bracelets on as well. It was then that Zabuza comes out of his tent.


"Sanziya, you should find those bracelets useful in...hiding things. No more long sleeves."


The woman nods, appearing to zone out for a moment, before snapping back to herself.


"Well...I have to go, will you not follow?"


Zabuza shakes his head as she hugs the boy a final time.


"No, in six years, maybe, but I want to try pursuing my own goals first."


The woman nods, hugging the ex-Kiri jounin, he stiffens slightly, then hugs her back.


"Bye Zabu, bye Haku-chan, take care and we'll meet again in six years!"


Zabuza nods, Haku jumping up and down and waving furiously.


"Bye-bye Sanzi nee-chan! We'll miss you! Bye!!!"


::End Flashback::


"Never thought we'd meet like that, heh." she says to herself and sighs, standing up and capping the canteen to go search for wood. She seems distracted as she goes deeper into the forest.


::Flashback, 10 years ago::


"Ahh, it's so nice here, if I hadn't made that promise I'd stay here forever!" she exclaims, looking out from her balcony among the vast expanse of green and blue that made up Yarnis. A man poofs beside her, bowing low.


"Sanziya-sama, for protecting us from the Phoenix, we would like to present you with some of the most advanced protection we have available to help you in your travels." he tells her, holding up an ice blue ring. "Please accept this meager gift as a sincere expression of our gratitude."


"What is it, Norimu-san? And get up please, there's no need to bow to me you know...or call me sama." she tells the man, smiling gently. He nods, getting to his feet and giving an explanation of just what he has given her. "Sugoi! This will be useful, but are you sure? What if I was to steal the technology and claim it as my own?"


Norimu smiles, leaning back on the balcony railing.


"Even if you did Sanziya-sama, we are sure you would put it to good use."


Sanziya looks down at the ring, slipping it onto her finger, and it melts into her skin.


"Now Norimu-san, you know I could never do that. Thank you." she replies, bowing to him and looking back out, over the blues and greens of this doomed land.


::End Flashback::


Sanziya slowly gets up to find herself nose to nose with Zabuza, she jumps back, startled, and drops the wood she had been collecting.


"I could've killed you right there and you wouldn't have noticed, you don't normally let your guard down that much Sanzi, you've been crouching there on the ground for a good ten minutes, staring at that stick." he pauses, looking pointedly at the piece of branch. "You're reminicising about the past aren't you?"


Sanziya nods numbly, going about collecting the scattered bits of wood.


"Sorry I was taking so long, go on back, I'll...be there in a bit."


Zabuza nods, going back to camp.


Sanziya sighs, standing up slowly and adjusting the firewood in her arms as she looks up to the sky.


::Flashback, 12 years ago, 2 months before the Kyuubi attacks::


"I'm lost without you, you know." she says, leaning back against the blonde haired man, who smiles and sighs.


"I know dear, I know, but we'll be together as long as possible, and soon we'll have a little one."


Sanziya, her hair a dark blue in this stage of life, pats her swollen belly and nods happily.


::2 months later::


"It's a healthy baby boy!" the nurse tells Sanziya, snipping the crying blonde child's umbilical cord. Sanziya holds out her arms to hold the child, just as an lizard masked ANBU poofs into the room.


"The Yondaime requests that child right now! He says it's an urgent matter!"


Sanziya, although she is angered by the decision, nods, the nurse handing over the boy, and the ANBU poofs out. She immediately gets up, despite the protests of the nurse, going to the bathroom to clean up.


"I hate this, I hate this, I hate this!" she growls, smashing the mirror. "But it cannot be helped, he knew it would come to this I bet, the bastard."


She comes out of the bathroom and quickly dons her clothing, heading out to meet the nurse and give her a letter.


"Give this to whoever is Hokage after the Kyuubi battle, can I trust you with that?"


The nurse nods dutifully, calling after the woman as she exits the hospital.


"Where are you going Sanziya-san?!"


Said woman looks back over her shoulder wearily.


"It is of no matter to you, I just won't be back anytime soon."


The nurse gulps at the blank look in the woman's eyes before Sanziya turns around, exiting the hospice.


It was raining.


::End Flashback::


*No one ever said life was fair, right Soriyu?*


'I suppose not.'


She nods, getting up and quickly going back to their meeting place, not looking up at the other two occupants of that space as she makes the fire, putting on the tea kettle.


Haku looks to Zabuza pointedly, who shakes his head.


"Nee-chan, how have you been all these years?"


Sanziya's frown immediately turns into a wide grin as she lifts her head.


"Well, I've really just been living out in the Leaf, doing missions for them, and watching over Naruto. Not much, but I'm itching to get out and back to wandering." she says, fake happiness in her voice. "How about you two? Besides the whole 'I'm going to take over Hidden Mist and kill an innocent bridge builder in the process'?"


Haku laugh and Zabuza snorts.


"We've been alright, nothing too stressing."


"Yeah, we all know Zabu's a big softie inside!" the eccentric woman says, jabbing Zabu lightly in the ribs. Earning a laugh from Haku and another 'now annoyed' grunt from Zabuza.


::Tazuna's house::


Naruto has just finished packing everything, as have Sasuke and Sakura. The blonde boy hefts Sanziya's pack onto his shoulders as well, the three heading out to the forest.


"We'll say goodbye at the bridge you guys!" he yells back to Inari and the others, who nod, the little boy having tears streaming down his cheeks.


::Forest::


The trio have just finished drinking their tea, Zabuza having help from Haku since he couldn't fully use his arms yet, when a kunai flies into the clearing.


"Kaa-san, Haku, Zabuza! Time to go!" a voice yells out as the three genin appear.


Sanziya rolls her eyes, packing her tea set into her pack and hefting it onto her own shoulders. Haku takes his and Zabuza's small packs from Sasuke, putting them both on his back.


"Good, now back to Konoha!"


::Bridge::


After teary goodbyes and promises to come back one day, Team Seven, their temporary sensei, and the two missing Kiri-nin were on the road again.


Inari looks up to Tazuna.


"Jiijii (Grandpa), what should we call this bridge?"


Tazuna smiles, looking out as the nin fade into the distance, eyes alighting on the red and green of Naruto's jacket.


"We'll call it, The Great Naruto Bridge, because that boy himself demonstrates courage."


The other villagers nods thier affirmative on that decision.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Anaki: Awfully short, but still good.


RC16: Eh, you just say that cause you don't like changing scences so dramatically in the same chappie


Anaki: Yup. ^.^


RC17: Oi....review! -dances-