Naruto Fan Fiction ❯ The Road We Walked ❯ It Rises With The Fall ( Chapter 1 )

[ Y - Young Adult: Not suitable for readers under 16 ]

Summary Note: It’d be much appreciated if ya’ll were to leave a review every now and then. Original characters are a sensitive area, and I would like nothing more than to create characters readers will enjoy. Drop me a line anytime if you think my little guys are in danger of becoming the terrible Mary-Sue.

Characters: Hebiza Mikazuki, Uchiha Itachi, Uchiha Madara, Himura Chizuko, Tsunade, Uchiha Sasuke.

Rating: T

Warnings: I can’t write yaoi, but it’s present in the background because that is about as much as I’m capable of. So be warned.

Her sensei looked beyond the point of exhaustion and she found herself forced to assist him in the simple act of standing. Frowning in concern, she helped him take a seat upon what once was a wall. She had to force herself to just watch her sensei and ignore everything else. She didn’t want to see the littered bodies of war’s casualties. The blood of innocent lives splayed across the streets of her village.

So many deaths ... over what?

Absently, she tightened her hold on the Jounin’s shoulder, only realizing upon seeing his wince of pain. She mumbled a soft, “Sorry,” and released her hold, hoping he’d be capable of stabling himself on his own.

He nodded, sighing deeply. Something was wrong, she knew. Chizuko's name crossed her thoughts but she quickly shook it away, knowing she’d see her after all of this madness. She wasn’t worried whether or not Chizuko was safe; the older girl was just too damn stubborn to die now, it wouldn’t be right.

“Mika…” He broke off in a cough, doubling over. He had fought hard against the few remaining Sound Nin’s, and she couldn’t help but feel proud to be his subordinate. His strength amazed her. But he had been too busy protecting them, and because of that, he’d taken the brunt of the force, leaving them more or less unscathed. “Go check on Chizuko, will ya…”

She found it hard to breathe for a moment, and she found herself wondering again why earlier, he hadn’t allowed her to see Chizuko.

“Of course.” She mumbled, hurrying away in the general direction she remembered leaving Chizuko in. It didn’t take long to find her, what with the Sound and Sand Nins having either fled or…died.

Chizuko was easy to make out, and she looked healthy enough, but…what was that in her arms? With a frown, she slowed her pace as she approached the older girl.

“Chizuko? I’m back. Genma-sensei…” She trailed off, and time seemed to just stop. “Oh…”

Chizuko made no move to acknowledge her, though, at that moment, Mika wasn’t aware of anything else at that moment except…Ayame. Ayame slumped lifelessly over Chizuko's frozen form, dull green eyes staring up at her, features frozen in horror. And the blood…all the blood. It wouldn’t stop coming, her mouth and nose; even her eyes issued blood…almost like tears.

Crimson tears.

Her jaw clenched and she swallowed against the sudden lump in her throat; blood circling her feet, she could almost feel it try to drag her in. She swore her heart stopped for a minute, before excelling to a neck-breaking speed, lungs constricted and useless as if someone had shoved a steel pipe straight through them. Her hands…no…her entire body was shaking uncontrollably and she suddenly found herself unable to stand.

From ashen skin to the bluish, almost purple tint to her lips and, of course, the gaping hole through her chest, she knew. Ayame was dead. Ayame was gone; she was never coming back.

She frowned, feeling moisture on her cheeks.

Was it raining?

It wasn’t tears that burned her eyes and streaked down her cheeks, it was rain. Rain for Ayame. Ayame; dead Ayame. Ayame, whose vacant eyes stared up at her, not quite looking. Ayame, who cried crimson tears, trickling down her horror-stricken face, mixing with Chizuko's tears.

And while they cried, while her best friends cried before her, it rained.

Rained for Ayame.


“I thought I’d find you here.”

Mika opened her eyes far too quickly for her own taste, a tinge of pain at the back of her head opposing the sudden movement. She took a breath and glanced at Chizuko, the older girl standing beside her with an air of something too close to pity. Perhaps it was empathy, but Mika didn’t care for any of that either. Dropping her gaze to the floor by Chizuko’s feet, she willed the not quite liquor-induced headache to subside.

Turning to alcohol in any state of depression was never the smartest thing to do. Chizuko didn’t approve, but what did it matter? She wanted something to wash things off. Something to help her forget. To help her get past the foolish emotion consuming her from the inside out.

_____________________________________


Hebiza Mikazuki fingered the placid mask almost affectionately, tracing the golden and gray markings. It had a strange affect on her, drawing her. Calming her. It was strange how the mask she held in her hands seemed to symbolize so much more than her rank and position as a Shinobi. And it was so white, contrasting immensely with her relatively dark ensemble. Her entire uniform consisted of black, the only form of color was the armor strapped along her forearms, hands, chest and legs; and even that was rather bland.

The weight of her armor was surprisingly light and comfortable. She wore a large black trench coat to help against the early winter frost, her newly issued katana strapped to her back. She had taken a particular liking to her newest weapon, highly favoring the art of kenjutsu.

It was early, just before dawn, when the village was still relatively dark and quiet. Chizuko was late. But then, so was Hatake-san. Although admittedly the arranged time of departure had not been set – only a vague “meet at dawn” that could hardly suffice – she felt that, as an A ranked mission, with possible encounters with S-Class nin, it really shouldn’t have been too much to ask for her teammates to arrive early. What ticked her off, as Chizuko would say, was that not even their assigned captain had bothered to make an effort to be punctual.

She was upset. Or, perhaps not upset, so much as frustrated – in the dullest sense of the word. It wasn’t like she expected more from a Jounin – elite or not –renowned for his incredible sense of tardiness, and Chizuko's lack of punctuality. She had thought that, becoming ANBU, it would allow her a chance to grow as Shinobi outside the Himura. Not that she and Chizuko did not work well together – they had been teammates for years. They could read each other better than anyone. But she despised that dependency and expectancy that came with knowing your teammates so wholly.

And she had already resigned herself to spending a large majority of her years as Jounin with Chizuko at her side. It was a logical decision on the Hokage’s part. They worked well together – why not keep them together. Mika knew as well that as long as Genma had a say, they would stay together for as long as he deemed necessary. It was something that could infuriate her at times.

Now they would be heading into potentially dangerous territory, and knowing Chizuko as well as she did, she was already prepared to expect some sort of catastrophe. Some sort of foolishness. Chizuko was irrational when it came to certain things. She didn’t think. Headed straight into danger and let all hell break loose and then it was Mika or Genma’s job to clean it all up.

“You’re unusually late,” she said softly to the approaching footsteps.

“I went to visit Ayame.”

Of course.

She could feel her mood darken with that simple statement. Mika hated to be reminded and Chizuko just wouldn’t let go.

Losing people hurt, but you had to move on. That was life. That was what a Shinobi did.

The night stretched out above them, the foreboding frost of snow coming in a form of a tight breeze. It filtered in through the eyes of her mask, cooling her face. She suppressed a shudder, raising the hood of her cloak over her head, clenching her gloved hands into fists and shoving them into her pockets. She never had been fond of the cold, which was why she preferred to live in Konoha. It was supposed to be warm and sunny…and peaceful.

She scoffed at the thought.

This village was anything but peaceful nowadays. Everyone was so consumed with suspicion of one another, it was ridiculous. Disharmony and cynicism was breaking their village apart, making them weak for the picking. Oto would be sure to overrun them with ease if they ever caught wind of that. Or any other hidden village, for that matter.

“Kakashi will be here soon.” She heard Chizuko say, breaking from her thoughts. The only indication she’d allow to show she’d heard the Himura being the slight tilt of her head in her direction. “He’s in the memorial park…paying his respects to someone…a friend, I guess. I saw him there when I went to see…”

Mika turned sharply so she was facing the other girl, the action enough alone to silence the Himura’s words. “I’m not interested.”

Chizuko was silent for a moment. Mika could imagine Chizuko processing her caustic words through a sort of filter the other seemed to have for her and deciphering some meaning that wasn’t really there. “He seems cool.”

“If he doesn’t get here soon, I will leave without him.”

She was surprised to find herself spun harshly, coming face to face with Chizuko. Chizuko no longer bore her mask and looked beyond frustration, scowling down at her; the grip on her wrist was beginning to burn, she noted wryly. Chizuko's eyes were narrowed, mere slits of crimson.

“Listen, Mika, I understand if you’ve got shit going on, but that doesn’t mean you can act like a brat!”

Mika remained unfazed. “I am not acting like a brat.”

Chizuko released a repressed sigh, “Then what the hell is your problem? Why the hell are you acting this way?”

“I don’t know what you are talking about.” She dropped her gaze to the hand around her wrist but didn’t tug for release, “Let me go.”

The hand only tightened, “No. You’re going to answer me now!”

“Chizuko…”

“Himura 230;I think that’s enough.”

Hatake Kakashi. How lovely, Mika mentally scoffed, her internal clock telling her it was well past dawn, even if it didn’t look it. About time. She wasn’t about to deal with a – clearly – uncaffeinated Himura who’s emotions were running rampant. Mika could understand that maybe this mission was hitting a little too close to home for Chizuko – certainly, Mika wasn’t thrilled about possible encounters with the very bastards who had cut her three-man team to two. So, she understood already that Chizuko would be a little more emotional than usual. Was expecting it. Had prepared for it, in fact. But that didn’t mean she had to take the bait every time the Himura sought out a fight for nothing.

“Are we ready to go?” Chizuko asked, glancing back a Mika briefly and slipping on her mask. There was a touch of petulance in that gaze, Mika noted before turning away. Chizuko was really going to have to learn to rein in her temper.

_____________________________________

Mika had never known her parents.

Her mother had died during her birth. Or during the Kyuubi’s attack. She wasn’t exactly sure. She would have only been one during the assault and she remembered nothing of those times. Obviously. Her father…Well, her grandparents had said he’d left when she was too young to remember in search of power. To anyone else, it would be understood that her father had been a traitor – a deserter – abandoning the clan for his own gains. However, the Hebiza were all too proud of him. After all, the Hebiza were a clan that thought only of themselves as a single individual, and perhaps what that individual could do for the clan. Outwardly, your allegiance was to the clan. But in truth, a Hebiza only served himself.

She lived with her grandparents, who were surprisingly young when they first took her and her big brother in. His name – her brother’s, that is – was Tochi, and she had looked up to him ever since she could remember. He wasn’t particularly strong, but he was kind, and it was rare, almost nonexistent, to find someone like him in her clan. But that had been the problem. He was too kind. Because of this, on his fifteenth birthday, he had been banished from their clan and run out of the village. Although, according to Meiyo-sama, the reasons for his banishment involved some sort of unsavory matters that were all really rubbish.

She had been eight then. And she had been eight when she realized just what kind of family she was living in. However, at such an age, she had been unable to comprehend the reason behind her brother’s departure, and thus, held him in contempt. Granted, she was older now, but that hatred had yet to wane. Resentment, when left unchecked, can be a dangerous thing. It was unreasonable in all pursuits.

Shaking the thoughts from her head, she sped up, falling into place on Chizuko's left, Kakashi taking the lead as they cut through the woods by way of trees. It was obvious the Himura was still holding onto her anger from earlier by blatantly refusing to as much as look at her. Mika would let her stew on her own. It was no skin off her back to have an angry Himura give her the silent treatment – silence from the redhead was something not to be taken for granted. The only one suffering was the girl herself, who would at some point realize that Mika didn’t really care whether or not they spoke. It was better than arguing.

“We will stop at Kumogakure and speak with the Kage. At this rate, we’ll arrive at the border in a couple of hours.”

It was a weeks’ worth of traveling to Raikou no Kuni. One had to go through several smaller countries and villages to reach it and maneuvering around Oto had cost them an extra day. Not that she didn’t think it was necessary. She understood the danger of their mission alone, which was simply to find and capture the two wanted nin and return whatever precious records had been stolen from the Raikage. On top of that, they had to be weary of Akatsuki, who were apparently after these men – or whatever information these men had stolen. With Akatsuki seeking the bijuu, and Kumogakure’s very own Nibi a target, they couldn’t afford to get involved with Oto as well.

True to his word, it took no more than two hours to successfully progress past the guards located at the main gate. They had been directed towards the Kage Tower in the central part of town to meet with the woman in charge. Kumogakure’s temperature and climate were drastically different than Konoha’s. It had been fortunate Mika had thought to bring extra clothing to keep warm. Where winter had only just began to touch Konoha’s green leaves, Kumo and its mountainous terrain seemed caught in a constant fog, the clouds thick and heavy and black, sizzling with energy. They had been fortunate enough to have missed the blizzard that had struck only days prior, but snow still sat at a good six inches and more in some places.

They met with the Jinchuuriki, but only briefly. They really had no business with the girl at all, but it was best they were familiar with her face, in case anything … came up.

_____________________________________

“All clear?”

Chizuko turned to look at the older Jounin as he appeared behind her. She had just finished recon of the area assigned to her. They had deduced that the two wanted nin were unlikely to tread too close to Ta no Kuni. On the chance that they would, however, Mika had been sent to scout for any signs that they were indeed heading in that direction. Her tracking abilities far excelled Chizuko’s but that was only because of Mika’s doujutsu. The Himura’s own Kurushimeru, a distant cousin of the Hebiza’s Kurutteiru, was only good for offensive purpose. It did not posses any of the many quirks the Kurutteiru did.

“Yeah, everything’s good. No sign of them yet.”

He nodded and dropped his attention to his two nin dogs. She watched him for a moment, with the vaguest sense of awe. Hatake Kakashi was famous amongst the Jounin and younger generations. One could only have respect from him from afar – unless you knew him personally, but the stories she’d heard seemed too outlandish to apply. She came from an old-fashioned type of family who took their careers as Shinobi seriously and served the Hokage faithfully. Not that she was belittling anyone else’s loyalty to the Hokage, but her small clan was not particularly renowned for anything special. They made the most of what they had. Her little family had never produced any prodigies or geniuses like the larger clans – Hyuugas, Uchihas, and the Hebizas were all fine examples.

“Your friend should be back soon, I hope,” the Copy Ninja said suddenly. She blinked, realizing with a jolt that she had been staring. He didn’t seem to mind, pulling out a little orange book from his back holster, but she was still utterly grateful for the mask covering her face.

“Yeah she should,” she replied, “Don’t worry, she’s good at what she does.” For some reason, she always felt the need to defend Mika’s abilities, even when not necessary.

“I have no doubt that she is.”

She tried to decipher any double meaning to his words, but was distracted by one of the nin dogs bursting through the foliage to land at the man’s feet.

“Kakashi–!”

Then they were running, following the pug dog through the trees. It was difficult to maneuver, because he was following a ground route. They weaved through trees and shrubbery with few difficulties – it took some concentration not to slide on the ice that had formed in patches along the ground. It would take some time to become accustomed to the limited peripheral the ANBU mask allowed. It was, at the very least, forcing her to use senses she had honed but never bothered to use. Her brow was furrowed into a sort of frown that was more out of habit than anything else and she wondered how far Mika was and how long it would take the girl to reach them.

Pakkun – was what Hatake called the nin dog – brought them to a sudden stop and it was fortunate, she realized half a moment later when she saw that ahead laid a ravine, carefully hidden within the foliage. Perfect for an ambush. Fun. Chizuko took a step towards the ravine and grimaced down at it. It would be an incredibly steep fall, with no chances of survival. The kind of place one would hide a body.

“Will you look at that....” she grumbled, steadying herself with a hand on a branch as she peered at the dark depths before her. Her vision had begun to swim for a second there. “Wonder where this came from… “

“Definitely man-made,” Pakkun supplied behind her.

She glanced back at her team captain. He was focused on something else. When she followed his gaze to the other side of the ravine she saw nothing but trees … and more trees. The forest was thick, trees clustered so tightly together that no sun could breach through. There was not even a speck of snow to be seen. Ice covered patches of grass and frost had created a sort of solid layer over the bark of the trees. It was colder in the forest, and dark. She knew it was day time only because the mist yet to roll in. And when it did, they would be helpless to the environment. Raikou no Kuni’s climate was insufferably difficult to work would.

“Pakkun,” Hatake said suddenly. And that was all he said. It was all he needed to say. Pakkun seemed to understand, jumping up into the tree above. Chizuko bit back a shiver as the temperature seemed to suddenly drop.

She turned to the other Jounin. “What’s that about?”

“It looks like we were a little too late,” he replied vaguely.

“You mean …?” Chizuko frowned, trailing off.

He nodded, but said nothing more.

This was bad. Very bad. Mika better hurry up. So much for her first mission. What a fuck-up job they’d done already. She closed her eyes and sighed, turning her back to the Copy Ninja. When Pakkun returned, it was only to confirm whatever suspicions Hatake had held. They followed the nin dog up the massive trees to where the tree tops met with the ones on the other side of the ravine and crossed over.

What they had found shocked her. Pakkun led them to the two bodies of the very men they had sought after. It didn’t look like they’d put up much of a fight. The area had not been terribly disturbed, telling her that the fight could not have lasted longer than maybe a couple of minutes, but there was blood everywhere. Hatake was crouched down beside the men.

“Why would they just leave the bodies here, then? Did they want us to find them?”

“I don’t know.”

“Do you have any idea who …?”

“Akatsuki, presumably.”

Chizuko rolled her eyes at his back. “Well, obviously, but I mean … Tsunade-sama gave us two names of known members. Do you think it could be them?”

He was contemplatively silent for a moment. “No.” He offered no further response.

That was just even better. They knew that Akatsuki members traveled in pairs. As far as the actual members went, though, they knew of only two.

Finishing his inspection, the Copy Ninja stood. “Call Hebiza-san. At this point … we can deem this mission a failure. Looking for the ones who did this would be foolish. We don’t know anything about Akatsuki’s members, but we know they are all incredibly skilled Shinobi.”

“But--! The stolen documents…!”

This wasn’t just a mission to her. The results of this mission would make or break her chances at ANBU. She had never had to abandon a mission before. She refused to do so now. They couldn’t just turn back and leave. Incredulous, she couldn’t believe that this was what Hatake was actually having them do. How were they expected to return to Kumo without anything to show for the days they’d spent searching for the two wanted nin?

“There’s nothing that can be done. We have no choice.”

_____________________________________

R 20;…going back. Mission failed.”

Chizuko’s voice cut off the ear monitor and Mika frowned as she replayed the other’s words in her head. The two they’d been after were dead. The documents they’d been hired to retrieve were gone. The mission was a failure. How?

A blow to her side caught her completely off guard, sending her to the ground below. Pain exploded down her right side, but she managed to land on her feet and draw her katana. She had not sensed anyone come upon her, and even know could not detect any other Shinobi’s chakra. Why was she being attacked? She didn’t linger on the question – movement to her right, and she sent a kunai hurtling in that direction.

“It’s been a while, Mika-chan.”

She didn’t have time to react. Her attention had been foolishly at her right, expecting another attack; she had not sensed her attacker come up behind her until she felt the pressure of a kunai at her spine. Scowling, she relaxed her stance and straightened, eyes narrowing. How did this man know her name and why was he using it so familiarly? She couldn’t place his voice, nor recognize his chakra. That he had recognized her with her ANBU mask…

“Who are you?” she felt it was safe to ask. The other had not killed her yet, but she didn’t know what he could want from her. For a moment, she wondered if he could be Akatsuki – but that didn’t make sense. She didn’t know anyone from that organization … Wait a minute. The Hokage had given them two names of known members to Akatsuki. Mika tensed quickly. “Uchiha Itachi.”

The kunai remained at her back, but no more pressure was applied.

Uchiha Itachi. A name she hadn’t uttered in probably ages. He had been one of the two names listed at the time; she hadn’t registered the fact that the S-Class missing-nin was the very same Uchiha Itachi she had known as a child. However, given her position, she did not feel it was the time to be reminiscing. Itachi was a wanted man now, and incredibly dangerous. He was part of Akatsuki. And he wasn’t alone. He had a partner – somewhere. Her eyes narrowed and her Kurutteiru activated as she searched for the other missing-nin.

“My partner is preoccupied with your friends at the moment, so it’s just the two of us.” The kunai was removed.

She scowled, taking the opportunity to place distance between herself and the missing-nin, facing him. She held her katana in one hand, glaring into the face of the man she had known as a boy. Itachi looked no different than he had when she’d known him – and yet, nothing about him was the same. There was no doubt that this man was dangerous, despite his passive expression. Itachi had always been a passive individual. He hated conflict. He avoided unnecessary battles, either because he found them to be a waste of time or for other reasons entirely.

What were the odds she’d run into him now? Perhaps this was some sort of foul irony she wouldn’t understand until later. But there was one thing she was certain of – she could not defeat Itachi. He was a prodigy, and certainly stronger now than he’d been at ten. Engaging in any sort of battle would result in defeat or death, and she was interested in neither.

He lacked expression as he spoke again. “I have no intention of fighting you.”

Of course not. Itachi would not fight her because she could not defeat him. She knew this, and he knew that she knew this. Neither one of them had ever been the type to engage in unnecessary battle, after all. And it had nothing to do with their past. However, there was still the matter of him being a missing-nin. It was her job now to capture or kill men like him. She couldn’t very well walk away, nor would she question him, because she knew it was pointless.

“So you’re stalling, then?” It was a rhetorical question. She knew the answer. Yes. Sheathing her katana, she jumped into the nearest tree.

Itachi merely stared back and made no move to stop her as she took off in the direction of her teammates.



Yikes. It's always dangerous to bring in a favorite character.... Be gentle.