Naruto Fan Fiction ❯ The Road We Walked ❯ Racing On The Thunder and Rising With The Heat ( Chapter 3 )

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

Summary Note: IMPORTANT!!!

Okay, so this particular chapter is the first amidst many more to come containing spoilers. For this fic, I intend to have it follow the original storyline for as long as possible. This story is really something like taking the camera and pointing it on someone beyond Naruto. So everything that's going on with Naruto and those people around him doesn't change, but there is still a whole village of people and many who haven't and won't be introduce.

Mika and Chizuko are two of them. They're just as prejudiced as everyone else, and although some people are learning to tolerate him, you know there are still those who are too stubborn to give up their prejudice. Chizuko is an example of that - people who just blindly go along with a bias because they don't care to learn more. Mika is an example of those who have come close to Naruto and are affected by his spirit.

And now, later on, I get the feeling my OC's will be accused of being, I dunno - whatever it's called - but I feel it's best to place them amidst characters who have already been introduce and others I create. After all, these characters should also have a life outside of Naruto.

Do you kinda get where I'm coming from? If not, drop a review and let me know what you think I'm doing wrong. Or right. Even if its just to let me know this story sucks ass. Maybe the idea is crappy. But how's my writing? That's mainly why I'm writing a fanfiction, because I've got characters in my head that I want to explore so I'm creating their personalities by watching them grow in these little fanfictions.


Winter faded into spring, which quickly became summer as the months passed. It was during these times that the village became most alive, with its many week-long celebrations. People were just putting up the decorations for the festival commemorating the end of the first Great War and the founding of Konohagakure. It was a big event, but it also meant that things were notably more hectic than usual.

Mika had been kept busy with family matters – mostly involving the Hyuugas. She still wasn’t entirely sure what Neji wanted. She’d met with the Hyuuga prodigy for several small events and had been caught completely off guard when he’d invited her to join him to the upcoming festival, but hadn’t refused. Hokori, in particular, seemed to approve that Neji had taken some interest in her, but Meiyo only became all the more set against him with each day. Mika saw little of Hiashi. She’d met him in person only a few times, but he’d belayed no clue as to how he felt towards her.

Hyuuga Neji wasn’t unattractive. If she had been the type of girl who cared about superficial things like that, she supposed she would have been grateful enough that she wouldn’t spend her life with someone terribly lacking in the looks department. And she was. But more importantly, he was an intelligent and a highly capable Shinobi. She had told Chizuko all of these things, probably to assure herself just as much as her fretting friend. He came from an esteemed clan, and at least he wasn’t some distant cousin. In all, it really was a good match.

“I have no intention of marrying someone I know nothing about. If I am to spend the rest of my life with someone, I would have it be someone I can trust implicitly.”

Romantic words for an arrangement that was nothing more than just that – an arrangement. She didn’t understand where the Hyuuga was coming from. He spoke as though Mika herself had any say. It was honorable of him to take into account her feelings, but completely unwarranted given she knew full well what was expected of her and had never had any qualms about fulfilling her dutiful role as heir.

“Yes, I know you are fully willing to abide your grandfather’s wishes by marrying whomever he chooses. I’m not talking about your grandfather. I’m talking about you.”

“Mika-san, an arrangement like this between our families could serve to be very beneficial to both clans. However, in our clan, such marriages are not made without the consent of both parties involved – in this case, you and I. Not my uncle and not your grandfather.”

“Are you talking about love?”

“Not at all. That would be foolish.”

Shaking the thoughts, she collected her holster and mask from her locker. It was another uneventful day-shift patrolling Konoha, but she wasn’t complaining. Less missions weren’t necessarily a bad thing – it meant things were peaceful, which could only be a good thing. And the less–

“Take this to the Godaime! Now!”

Mika turned in time to see a woman disappear in a column of smoke, casting an inquisitive look to the Jounin that had stayed behind. She recognized him as Yoruichi Ito – the very man she had replaced on guard duty due to his injured arm. He seemed distressed, running his uninjured hand through his short hair with a sigh. “This isn’t good…”

“What’s going on?” she asked, because she knew he wouldn’t otherwise be forthcoming with an answer.

He looked startled, glancing over at her like he hadn’t expected her to acknowledge him. “Suna’s been attacked. The Kazekage has been kidnapped.”

“Hebiza Mikazuki, you are to accompany team Kakashi to Sunagakure. Once there, your mission will then be to find Akatsuki’s locations and gather as much information as you can without endangering Kakashi’s team or their mission .”

Mika bowed, frown hidden behind the serpent mask she wore. Perhaps she had spoken too soon earlier. Peaceful certainly did not describe the situation now. Sabaku no Gaara she knew only from records and the Chuunin exams two years ago when Oto had made its attack. Genma had been an examiner for the final matches of the examination and what she had caught of the match between the now-Kazekage and Uchiha Sasuke had determined for her that the former was a megalomaniac best avoided.

“This is your first mission without Himura Chizuko or Shiranui Genma to accompany you, but I trust you’ll do fine. This mission of utmost importance. Neither Sunagakure nor I can afford any mistakes. Understood?”

“I understand, Hokage-sama. You needn’t worry.”

Tsunade studied her critically, but gave an eventual nod. “Fine. I’ll be dispatching reinforcements as soon as I can find an available team. Kakashi’s group should be just about ready to head out and–How much do you know about seals?”

She tried not to let the question catch her off guard and probably took a second longer in answering than the Hokage would have liked. “I’m quite familiar with them. As you know, my family conducts much of the research available for most seals.”

“Yes, I know,” the Godaime said quietly, an indecipherable tone in her words and eyes. Brown eyes had narrowed sufficiently to be a glare, but Mika didn’t allow it to ruffle her. She knew well enough that her clan and the Hokage had never gotten along, since her grandfather and grandmother openly supported Danzo. “Team Kakashi consists of Haruno Sakura and Uzumaki Naruto. My concern, mainly, is Naruto.”

Mika’s eyes narrowed, catching on quickly to what the Godaime was hesitant to say out loud. “If you’re concerned with Uzumaki’s control over the demon, why would you send him out on this mission? If he loses–“

“I’m well aware of the repercussions,” Tsunade cut her off; this time, she was glaring. “Keep an eye on him. If necessary, restrain him to the best of your abilities.”

“I doubt any of the seals I’ve been taught are anything in comparison to that demon’s monstrous chakra.”

With a sigh, Tsunade bowed her head with a sigh, hands steepled together into an almost prayer. “I know. But you’ll have Kakashi to assist you. Your Kurutteiru may be of some use as well. However, this is only in the event that Naruto cannot detain the fox himself. He has remarkable control. I don’t think you really have to worry about him. I’m just making you aware of the situation. Your primary concern should be Akatsuki.”

“I understand.”

“Good, then you can accompany me to the gate and we’ll see you and team Kakashi off.”

Team Kakashi was just preparing to depart by the time they arrived. If Kakashi was surprised to see the addition of an ANBU to his team, he didn’t show it, though the Uzumaki boy seemed to become all the more awestruck as the Hokage explained her role in their mission. He continued to gawk at her openly, and she frowned to herself. She wasn’t looking forward to working alongside the boy. Granted, she was indifferent to the boy himself, she was not comfortable with the demon host so close. On a mission no less. If he lost control of the Kyuubi … she was not looking forward to testing her knowledge and sealing abilities.

She had told herself it didn’t matter, but that she hadn’t even the chance to offer Chizuko a proper goodbye on her first solo mission as an ANBU – not necessarily solo – away from her former team left her with a small amount of guilt. This would be the beginning of her career as an individual nin amongst many and she felt the vaguest sense of anxiety. But she would do fine, she assured herself. The Hokage would not assign her to something she did not believe Mika was capable of handling. The Hokage hadn’t the luxury of handing out high level missions to ANBU when so much was at stake.

Standing beside Kakashi, she watched his students say their good-byes to the Hokage and Iruka.

“Okay, Tsunade-shishou. Off we go.”

“Do your best,” Umino bid them.

“Of course!” Uzumaki grinned.

Beside her, she heard Kakashi chuckling. Unbidden, she recalled the mild altercation she’d had with him some nights ago and wondered if that didn’t have to do with her involvement in this mission. She was relatively fresh with things regarding the Akatsuki. But Kakashi had not said anything about mentioning her encounter with the Uchiha in his report to the Hokage. If he had, he wouldn’t have confronted Mika personally about it. She wasn’t sure what compelled him to keep that secret, but hadn’t thought to press it. At the time, she’d only wanted to get away from him and his questions as quickly as possible. It wasn’t that she had anything to hide, but she could see that particular interrogation leading them into territory she’d rather not tread with company.

“Yo! Going on a mission, Naruto?” Mika was nearly startled by the Gama Sennin’s sudden appearance. The Uzumaki in response provided him with a loud cheer. The Sannin chuckled, walking past Kakashi’s former students to the Hokage. “More importantly, Tsunade, something terrible has happened. Sunagakure’s Kazekage–“

“I know,” the Godaime interrupted him exasperatedly, pointing at Uzumaki. “I was just sending these guys off to check it out now.”

The Gama Sennin frowned, stepping close to the blonde Hokage. He murmured something for only the Hokage to hear, and the Hokage did not appear pleased with whatever he had to relay. The taller Sannin straightened, calling over Uzumaki and pulling the kid away from the rest of them to speak to him confidentially.

It took nearly ten minutes before everyone seemed to have said their piece. Even Mika could tell that these nin were intimately familiar with each other. She felt out of sorts amongst them and was more than ready to be off. They left on the Gama Sennin’s request to Kakashi that he watch out for the Uzumaki boy. Both Sannin, it seemed, were particularly weary of the Kyuubi container – perhaps not so much weary as much as they were worried. It confused her; they seemed to care deeply for the loudmouth blond renowned throughout the village as the Number One Loudest, Unpredictable, and Hyperactive Knuckleheaded Ninja.

In her younger years, Uzumaki Naruto had been the most unpopular and openly despised kid, constantly ostracized for no apparent reason. She had been ahead of him academically, though only two years older. By the time he had entered his second year of the Academy, she had already graduated, and so what she’d seen of him had only been from a distance. He had been a quiet boy initially. Upon starting his courses at the academy with the other children his age, he had steadily become something of a lurid menace, causing unnecessary amounts of noise and disorder. He had reminded her of Chizuko, for both shared similar qualities of drawing needless amounts of attention to themselves via their flamboyant nature. Chizuko had despised the association.

The villagers hated him. This was very nearly a fact. Most tolerated him, but none very much liked him. To her knowledge, the only ones to ever express some sort of affection for the blond were Umino, the Hokage, and the Gama Sennin. However, she had to admit, Kakashi and Haruno both seemed to consider the boy a friend. She supposed he was finally earning himself some friends, but that didn’t change what he was.

Meiyo had never been one to care about the Sandaime’s decrees. She’d had no qualms about relaying to Mika about Uzumaki’s true nature. Or, rather, of the creature lurking within him. Not even ANBU were privy to such information – if they hadn’t already been around to know of it from the Sandaime. It was a secret the Sandaime had meant to keep within his generation. Mika understood that, to some extent, the treatment the boy received as a whole was unfair – though he was rather annoying. It had taken some time to grow out of her bias and maintain only a certain degree of distaste for the boy from a distance. He was a danger to the village, after all. There was the possibility that a day would come where he could no longer maintain control over the beast inside of him.

And she knew the boy managed some control over the fox. She had seen it for herself two years ago in the Chuunin exams in his match against – ironically enough – Hyuuga Neji.

“It’s Temari!” Haruno cried out suddenly.

Mika and Kakashi stopped, and the other two dropped down from the trees to the Sand-nin. They had begun to near the edge of the forest where it would lead them to the barren desert between Fire and Wind countries when they came across a traveler. It was indeed the Suna representative; she was supposed to have left the village earlier that day. Her lack of hurry indicated the woman knew nothing regarding the status of her village – Mika was not looking forward to the delay she knew was inevitable while they paused to catch the Sand-nin up on the current events.

The shock came as expected as soon as Haruno finished explaining the situation to Temari.

“What?! Gaara…!” Temari looked properly disturbed, but no other outcry followed. She was quiet as her mind quickly worked. Kakashi jumped down to land by his two subordinates, who both seemed uneasy as they waited for Temari’s response. At last, Temari murmured, “I had a bad feeling earlier…”

“It’ll take three days to reach Suna from here,” Kakashi spoke calmly and Temari’s attempt to compose herself faltered at the reminder. “We should hurry.”

The pain in her eyes was impossible to hide. The Sand-nin bowed her head, “Yeah…”

They took up to the trees again, a notable rush to their step now as they sped through the trees. Mika fell back behind Kakashi, Haruno and Temari, taking it upon herself to keep alert for anyone who might intend to delay them. Up ahead of them, the Uzumaki boy picked up speed, and she frowned while Kakashi called out after him. Foolish boy. If he tires himself out now, it’ll only take longer to get there.

“Naruto! Just because I said we should hurry doesn’t mean you should split up the team. Don’t get so heated!” The Uzumaki boy didn’t seemed to have any intentions of slowing down. “Isn’t that what Jiraiya-sama told you? Don’t let yourself–“

“Kakashi-sensei!” Uzumaki shouted, his voice oddly strained. “I know why they’re after me and Gaara.”

Mika frowned. It was a little difficult to hear what the boy was saying, but it was something in his tone that grabbed her attention and drew her to fall into line with Haruno.

“You still don’t know, do you, Sakura-chan?” Uzumaki continued, sounding wounded. The girl in question perked up. “Inside me … is sealed the demon fox, Kyuubi.”

Mildly alarmed by where this confession was going, Mika had the mind to remember a certain condition that came with the Sandaime's decree. Uzumaki Naruto had not been meant to know about what was sealed within him.

“Me and Gaara … Because we have these monsters contained in our bodies–that’s what they’re after! That’s what I can’t stand! Just seeing us as monsters! I can’t stand them looking at us like that’s all we are!!”

The Kazekage-sama has a demon sealed within him as well. If that’s what Akatsuki is after, then the reason they attacked Suna and kidnapped the Kazekage was to…

“He and I are the exact same.” Mika blinked, drawn from her thoughts as the blond continued. “And he was fighting–He was much lonelier than I ever was! He was targeted by Akatsuki. Just like I was before! But why is it always him fighting alone?! Why does he have to fight so hard?! Why him?! Why is he always alone?!”

Uzumaki was crying; she didn’t have to see his face because she could hear it in his voice. Her heart clenched in unfamiliar pain – sympathy? – and it startled her.

“That’s why! What’s why I won’t just sit around and waste time! This time, for sure, I want him to know that he’s not alone! I’m going to save him, no matter what!”

Tsunade knew when she was letting her emotions cloud her judgment. It was dangerous. Allowing her emotions to guide her made it that much more likely for her to make mistakes – but she was human, and she was going to make them anyway. A lot of good things had come from her following her instincts – but so had a lot of bad. She tried not to leave room for regrets, but she still carried many. Tsunade knew she had been allowing her past to blind her better sense when she had kept the Hebiza from taking on any missions outside of the village, going so far as to sacrifice Himura Chizuko’s progress by holding her back as well. Mikazuki was far more than qualified for her position, and Tsunade knew it would have been suspicious to send out the Himura on missions while she kept the Hebiza on meager patrolling shifts around the village.

But damned if she couldn’t find it in herself to trust the girl. And could she really be blamed? When the girl was nothing more but the embodiment of Tsunade’s own anguish. A reminder of the betrayal she had suffered for allowing herself to be so blind. She didn’t blame herself for the past. She knew there was nothing she could have done to prevent it. She had come to terms with the reality of what had happened – she had suffered enough that she knew better than to linger on it – but that didn’t mean it didn’t still hurt to look at the girl.

Everything about Hebiza Mikazuki was just like him – or, at least, the person she thought she had known. The girl was a damn genius. Cold, calculating, and a perfect instrument to be used. Pale features, expressionless face, dark hair – even those damn eyes looked just like his; a golden-amber color that struck out so sharply in contrast to her features. They merely lacked the maniacal gleam his had slowly begun to harbor.

“She’s grown up a lot, hasn’t she?”

After seeing off Kakashi and his team, Tsunade and Jiraiya had retired to her office while Iruka attended to outgoing missions. She looked up from her bottle of sake – the only one to escape Shizune’s hands – into the weary brown gaze of her childhood friend. His face was uncharacteristically somber. It reminded her painfully of that day so many years ago, when he had come to her, lost, betrayed and hurt; of how he hadn’t even the tears to cry for his anguish he had been so stunned.

“Tsunade-chan … I couldn’t … I couldn’t stop him.”

She closed her eyes and leaned back against her chair, bringing the sake with her and welcoming the burn after knocking back a gulp. “It’s hard to treat her like everyone else. When I came back to Konoha–I think I must have convinced myself I’d forgotten all about her.”

Jiraiya sighed wearily; a sound belaying his age. “Even with that mask – she still feels like him.” He chuckled dryly. “I suppose that isn’t necessarily a good thing.”

“No,” she agreed, “It isn’t.”

“Does she know? About … him?”

“No.” Tsunade frowned, opening her eyes to the bottle in her hand. “About the only thing those difficult old coots will agree with me on. They haven’t told her anything, and it doesn’t appear as though she has any interest in knowing. For all she knows, her father was just another Shinobi who died during the Kyuubi’s attack.”

“Is that what they told her?” There was a note of disdain in his voice. She didn’t blame him. After all, Mika’s father had hardly died by such noble cause – he wasn’t even dead.

“Like I would know.” Hokori and Meiyo were quite possibly worse than the village elders, constantly voicing their complaints over every little thing Tsunade did. Avid supporters of Danzo, she had no trust for them at all. Certainly not for the very people who had brought up and raised an orphaned boy who had turned out to be nothing but a terror for the village.

“They haven’t changed at all, huh? Sounds like you have a lot on your hands.” Tsunade snorted, glaring up at her childhood friend. Jiraiya offered her a grin, but it didn’t hold the same careless qualities it usually did. She could see it when he looked away and refused to meet her eyes that his next question only pained him, though it was phrased so casually. “So … what’s she like?”

Tsunade frowned, swirling her drink; it was nearly empty. “She’s just like he was at her age. Before … you know.” Jiraiya scowled at the answer and she grabbed the file sitting on top of one of her smaller piles – where she usually kept it. For a moment, she merely held it, staring down at it as if expecting some answers. She did this often enough to know not to expect results. Blinking out of her trance, she held the file out for Jiraiya to take. “Here.”

“What is it?” he asked, taking the file regardless. He frowned at her for a second, but when she didn’t offer a response, he opened the document and looked inside. Tsunade studied him carefully, watching the way his expression seem to freeze to one of subtle shock, his eyes only widening just a fraction and lips parting with a silent gasp. “This is…”

“Your goddaughter.”

Jiraiya seemed at a loss for words. It was understandable; the man hadn’t seen the girl since she had been a baby.

“I remember …” he said at last, his voice dangerously choked. Tsunade felt her heart break for the man in front of her, his features shadowed by his long white mane. He was clutching so hard to the file it had begun to crinkle in his hand but she couldn’t bring herself to scold the man for being so careless with an ANBU’s personal file. “That same year she was born … and he ask me to be her godfather … that same year …”

There was a faint tremor beneath the bulk of his heavy clothing, but Tsunade detected it with expert ease and her jaw clenched as her anger burned anew towards the man who had caused her friend so much pain. She knew how much Jiraiya had loved the other man, although he would never admit to it – and he never had. She suspected that was in part the reason he had never been able to forgive himself, even after all these years. And even though it had been another woman to bear that man’s child, Tsunade was sure those feelings Jiraiya harbored must have been reciprocated to some extent.

Or, at least, she had thought they had. She’d realized a long time ago how little she had known of the other man all along.

It must have pained Jiraiya to look at Mikazuki’s picture now, her resemblance so uncanny. But it was better he see her this way – she doubted his ability to control his reaction were he to have met her in person for the first time since she was but an infant.

“And Toshimasa?” It seemed an effort for the younger Sannin to keep his voice steady.

“I don’t know. Banished, apparently,” she replied with no small amount of bitterness. Everything about the Hebiza clan angered her. She blamed much of what happened all those years ago on their twisted moral. Toshimasa had not been of the same father as Mika, though it was a secret the Hebiza guarded heavily. Not only that, but he had lacked that certain maliciousness unique to all Hebiza – something even Mika harbored, though to a lesser degree than her kin, to be sure. Toshimasa had been a kind boy, and it had only fueled her hatred for the clan the more upon hearing of his exile.

“No wonder he was so messed up.” It wasn’t Toshimasa he was talking about, she knew, and she agreed wholeheartedly.

“But you know,” Tsunade murmured tentatively, dropping her eyes to her desk; she couldn’t look at her old comrade in such a moment of vulnerability. “She does have someone. She seems to care a lot for her friend, Himura Chizuko. Genuinely. Maybe I’m just being foolish, or desperate to avoid repeating the past, but I feel like if I just …”

“Keep them together, you can keep her from going over?” Jiraiya finished for her, looking up at last. She met his gaze and tried not to acknowledge the glassy quality in his eyes.

She inclined her head in a nod, sighing. “I keep thinking that, maybe, that’s all she needs. A friend. Someone important to her. To keep her from the darkness, because…” Squeezing her eyes shut together, she set her sake down and pressed the palm of her other hand to the bridge of her nose. “I can already see what they’re doing to her. I want to protect her, but I can’t help hating her, and I don’t even know how I’m supposed to protect her from her own family, and I just–Ugh!“

“Do you really think that’ll make any difference?” Jiraiya’s voice was cold and it startled her. She opened her eyes to see him regarding a potted plant in the corner of the room with such intensity she wouldn’t have been surprised if it were suddenly to combust. “Do you think he didn’t know he had people that cared for him? He knew. But he left anyway...”

Jiraiya was right.

“… Then tell me,” she whispered, searching his unreadable expression beseechingly. “What do I need to do to keep her from committing his sins?”

“There’s nothing you can do.”


“Naruto, you’ve gone through a lot, haven’t you?”

It was a rhetorical question. Of course he had. So many years suffering the brunt of the hatred harbored not for him, but for the thing inside him. And unjust existence he had never asked for and yet bore all the same with that ridiculous smile of his Sakura had grown to be fond of. She knew she was not an innocent; she had aided in the abuse, blindly, foolishly – they had all been naïve. They hadn’t known better as children, but they’d followed along all the same, shunning a mere child for something he had no control over.

“Uchiha Itachi … You’re his target.” She caught Naruto’s blue eyes over his shoulder, surprise reflecting within them. Determination filled her, and she made sure he could hear it in her voice. “I wasn’t just training these two and a half years. I was looking through Tsunade’s notes, and researched outside as much as I could.”

“There is something I wish to do. To revive my clan, and … to kill a certain man.”

She was tired of watching her friends suffer alone. She was done being the one left behind. She wouldn’t be useless, and she wouldn’t stand by this time around and let Naruto shoulder the weight all alone. They were going to bring Sasuke back, if it was the last thing they did. She would help Naruto fulfill his promise.

“Only I can kill him. I must become strong than him…”

“The man Sasuke-kun wants to kill … it’s really his older brother, Uchiha Itachi, isn’t it?”

“You are indeed brothers. Your eyes hold an ability greater than that of Itachi’s.”

“I will have Sasuke-kun. I will have his power …”

“Because of that, Sasuke is now with Orochimaru. To gain power,” Sakura continued, the memories she had been forced to endure in the form of nightmares resurfacing for the first time in a year. “But Orochimaru just wants Sasuke's body, doesn’t he? And all we have left is half of a year…”

So little time to work with before they lost Sasuke for good. Before that snake bastard took Sasuke's body as his own, and–No! Don’t think about that!

“Orochimaru was originally a member of Akatsuki…” She had spent enough time mulling over this without speaking in circles. “In other words, what I’m trying to say … is this: As we get close to Akatsuki, we get closer to information about Orochimaru. And therefore, we get closer to Sasuke-kun. And our time limit to rescue Sasuke-kun is about a half a year …”

And after that is Uchiha Itachi, our worst enemy, who caused all the suffering Sasuke-kun has had to endure and who is targeting Naruto …

This time, I will protect my comrades, no matter what!

After some delays due to Suna’s inconsistent desert weather, they had managed to arrive late into their second day of travel. Their remarkable timing was overlooked, for immediately upon reaching the fortress protecting Suna from outside invaders, a guard was there greet them and immediately led them to the Kazekage’s tower. The Sand-nin spoke rapidly the entire time, giving them a condensed version of what had not been included in the letter to the Hokage.

“But … the Kazekage was abducted, and after that, Kankuro-san pursued them, but he was wounded…”

“What?! They got Kankuro too?!” The Sand-nin was startled by Temari’s outburst.

“Yes, and he was caught by the enemy’s poison. We have no way to neutralize it…” the Sand-nin continued, a little wearily. “At this rate, he has half a day at the most…”

Temari cursed, and Mika almost pitied the woman for her bad luck.

“Let’s hurry, Temari-san. I’ll examine him.” Haruno had that determined look in her eye again and Mika watched the girl head off with the two Sand-nin, Uzumaki in tow.

Frowning, she recalled the younger kunoichi’s words from the beginning of their journey. For some reason, they had settled with an uncomfortable weight somewhere inside her. She had never heard the story of the reason behind Uchiha Sasuke's disappearance. There was much speculation about it, but it was a matter no one outside Kakashi’s group and the Hokage herself really knew. The rest of the Jounin elite were handed little scraps of knowledge, but nothing specific. Thinking about her former playmate abandoning the village in search of his brother so that he could enact his revenge was almost as strange as considering it had been that same brother Sasuke was so resolute in killing with whom she had initially been betrothed to.

Itachi had always been a mystery. Respected profoundly and admired by his clan, but always a mystery. She suspected that even his own father, the esteemed Fugaku, had feared him. She had never once thought the older prodigy capable of murder – let alone the massacre of his entire clan – but she had been eight. What did an eight year old know of such things? Even a Hebiza?

There encounter nearly a month ago now only made things that much more confusing for her now, although she now realized just why Kakashi had been so concerned with the matter. Uchiha Itachi was a particularly sore topic amongst Kakashi’s group. To Kakashi, or even his two subordinates, allowing the eldest Uchiha to just go would be equivalent to murder, it seemed. Not that she presumed permitting a wanted criminal to escape was in anyway excusable, but before her knowledge of the situation involving him and the members of team Kakashi, it had hardly seemed like something one would linger on. Konoha prized the life of their nin over the success of any mission, after all, and she’d had no intention of foolhardily engaging someone she knew she stood no chance against alone.

“Kankuro!”

Inside the room they were led to was a small crowd of Sand Jounin and an unconscious man lying on an uncomfortable-looking medical cot. Temari and Haruno hurried to the man – presumably Kankuro – and Uzumaki stumbled inside just after them.

The next instance happened rather quickly, and Mika reacted solely out of instinct as she placed herself between Kakashi and the immediate danger. She had a kunai drawn and stood in the defense – she was surprised when Uzumaki took the initiative to take on the enemy – who appeared to be one of Suna’s elders. Mika tensed and waited to see if the woman would attack again while Uzumaki exploded; his Bunshin vanished in a puff of smoke, though she hadn’t seen him even summon one in the first place. Not quite a dunce, is he…?

“Why are you attacking Kakashi-sensei so suddenly for, you wrinkled old hag!”

The woman caught herself, glowering up at Kakashi darkly. “I remember well enough–The White Fang of Konoha. My son’s enemy. I will get revenge for him today!”

Behind her, Kakashi spluttered, waving his hands frantically. “No, no! I’m not …!”

“There’s no use arguing!”

Almost quicker than her eyes could catch, the elderly man that had previously stood beside the unconscious Kankuro appeared before the elderly woman, holding his hand out for her in a halting gesture. “Sister, take a good look. There’s a strong resemblance, but he isn’t the White Fang of Konoha.”

“Hah?” Mika very nearly gave in to the urge to smack her head against something very solid as the old woman gawked at Kakashi for several seconds, eyes widening. “Whaaaaaaat? No way! I was just pretending to be senile!”

Behind her, Kakashi seemed to let out a breath of relief.

“More importantly, Kankuro-san needs to be examined now! So can we please focus?” Haruno removed her gloves quickly and Mika relaxed her stance, assured the crazy old woman wouldn’t be making any more attempts at Kakashi’s life.

“Please!” Temari prompted, standing at her brother’s side but careful to give Haruno the room she needed.

Replacing her kunai in her holster, Mika stepped aside to allow Kakashi to enter the room and watched from a distance as Haruno placed her focus on Kankuro’s body. Her hands became alight with chakra and she positioned them over Kankuro’s chest. Mika had little knowledge regarding the workings of medical ninjutsu, fairly limited to healing minor scrapes and slowing the bleeding on the bigger wounds – but nothing as complex as what she was watching.

Time seemed to stretch forever while everyone seemed to hold their breath in anticipation. Because she couldn’t ascertain much from her vantage behind Haruno’s back, Mika focused instead on Temari’s face, which was the image of fear and apprehension on her brother’s behalf. The woman had moved away to give Haruno more room – that, or watching her brother’s pain-stricken face had become too much for her. Suddenly, Mika felt rather safe behind the protection of her ANBU mask – at the same time, she felt a distance between herself and the situation at hand. She felt nothing more than a distant sort of empathy for older nin, but overall, she felt remarkable indifference. Maybe it was knowing that there were connections between the individuals in this room she knew nothing about. They had their own story to follow, after all. By chance she had happened to catch a glimpse into it, but she didn’t belong.

She didn’t want to belong. She preferred her own simpler life to that of Uzumaki’s or Haruno’s.

Her eyes flickered to Uzumaki and she frowned behind her mask. In the little time she had spent with him, she had discovered that there was something rather intriguing to the boy. There was a certain depth to him one wouldn’t expect by just looking at him. She couldn’t understand it. It was an indefinable something that made Uzumaki Naruto someone special.

“Gaara-kun is a Jinchuuriki, like him. So Naruto understands Gaara’s feelings more than anyone else. How a Jinchuuriki is treated … is the same no matter the village. That’s why … he can’t just leave him. He has a mysterious power. Even without saying much, he can become friends with anyone quickly.”

She suspected Kakashi’s words had been meant for only her ears, although she hadn’t understood their purpose at the time. And although she had grown up under the same bias everyone else had, she was not blind to the unique and yet unnamable potential within the blond. Mika wasn’t even sure she’d be there to see it when he discovered it, but she knew it would be for the best. She could only foresee great things for the boy and the people in his life – but she knew she didn’t want to be a part of it. In a sense, his ability to form such powerful bonds with nearly everyone frightened her.

“Got it!”

The tension dropped from the room like a weight at Haruno’s exclamation and Mika watched as Temari collapsed against the wall, exhaling heavily in relief. She wasn’t sure what the medic girl had accomplished in her inspection of the victim’s body, but everyone seemed to relax a little around her – bar, however, the elderly woman who had attacked Kakashi and was scowling at Haruno now instead.

“I don’t think there’s any need to worry about his life anymore. I’ve directly removed the poison.” Haruno straightened, depositing something from her hands into the water basin at Kankuro’s bedside table. “Now I have to make an antidote for the little bit of poison left in his body, so let’s not relax just yet. I need you please to help me gather the proper ingredients.”

“You’re a lot like that Slug Woman,” the elderly woman mused in that hoarse voice of hers. “That a girl like you would come …”

Haruno smiled, the expression a little strained from weariness. “Yes, that’s because Tsunade-sama is my master. She was the one who ordered me to come.”

“Your mission is to track down Akatsuki, correct?” Mika nodded once in the affirmative. “And I’m guessing this mission is one separate from our own.”

“Correct.” Kakashi accepted the answer with a nod of his own, a contemplative expression falling over his features.

Her mission was to find Akatsuki’s whereabouts and to further investigate their interest in the Jinchuuriki. Of course, she couldn’t very well reveal her true mission out loud in present company – certainly not considering all ANBU missions were considered classified information, and Copy Ninja or no, Kakashi was no exemption to the rule.

Suddenly, Uzumaki stood up from where he’d been seated on the floor, a determined scowl on his face. “Alright, as soon as Sakura’s done with getting the antidote, let’s get going!”

“Naruto, hold on a bit,” Kakashi turned to the Sand Jounin beside him, ignoring any attempt at a protest from his subordinate. “Excuse me; there is something I would like to ask. What came of the pursuit of Akatsuki after the kidnapping?”

“Kankuro went alone after them. There were no others.”

“…Then, have we completely lost them?”

The Sand-nin bowed his head. “Yes, we have.”

Mika frowned, but Kakashi didn’t seem disappointed. “Well, could you please guide me to where Kankuro-kun was fighting? Though I might not seem it, I am an expert at tracking. Even if a small amount of their scent is left behind…”

“That isn’t … necessary.” It would seem the patient in question had recovered. Mika glanced at the brunette to see him struggle to sit up, trembling visibly with the effort. “There are two enemies … One abducted Gaara … You should follow Gaara’s scent. Even assuming they split up, the other caught a bit of their clothing on Karasu’s hand.”

Kakashi hummed in approval, “Making a success from a failure. You are indeed a Shinobi of the Sand.”

At that moment, Haruno entered, but she was stopped before entering, a Sand medic speaking with her in low tones, appearing a little apprehensive; for her part, Haruno seemed perfectly calm, despite the fact that Kankuro’s life still rested in her hands, as he was not fully cured from whatever poison had been administered to him. They had yet to find time to sit down and talk about what had specifically occurred, though that was mostly due to Kankuro’s state of unconsciousness; they couldn’t exactly extract much from the Sand-nin when he was comatose due to some unknown poison.

Temari was at her brother’s side in an instant. “Kankuro! Are you alright?”

“Yeah … I’m feeling a bit better …”

“Kankuro,” the elderly woman spoke gravely, her persona suddenly more severe. “Are you absolutely certain that one of the two you followed was Sasori?”

Kankuro was startled. “Chiyo-baasama? Ebizou-jiisama?”

The old man, Ebizou, ignored Kankuro’s surprise. “Well?”

Immediately, Kankuro scowled, “Yeah, it was Akasuna no Sasori. He said so himself.”

Akasuna no Sasori. Mika scanned her mind for the name, recognizing it distantly as one of the many names found in an ANBU’s bingo book. What she knew – or otherwise remembered – of him was scant. Akasuna no Sasori was a missing-nin from Sunagakure for reasons Suna had thus far kept secret. He was regarded as a highly dangerous criminal, and even more so if he was part of the Akatsuki. What she knew of them was nearly as little as what she knew of Akasuna no Sasori – Akatsuki was a criminal organization consisting of S-Class missing-nin and anything else about them was a mystery. She suspected the Hokage knew more than she let on, but Mika could hardly fault her leader for being weary of whom she disclosed such information.

“Akasuna no Sasori?” Mika glanced at Kakashi, noting the degree of concern he had allowed to seep into his expression – what could be seen of it, at the very least, amongst all the cloth and his hitai-ate.

He seemed to read her thoughts. “May we hear more about the two who attacked? Please.”

“Before that,” Haruno interrupted, pulling herself away from the older medic and smiling at the room in that calming manner all medics seemed trained for. Her smile seemed to brighten upon seeing her patient was sitting up and alert – though the man looked very near collapsing again. “Kankuro-san, I going to need you to drink this.” She handed him a small vile that he took shakily and made a point not to look at too closely before choking it down. “I think you’ll be fine now. But until the paralysis goes away, I’m going to have to ask you not to move. And please, get some rest.”

Kankuro shook as he struggled to remain upright on the medical cot, and Haruno frowned as she set the empty vile at his bedside table. Wordlessly, the Sand medics left the room after ensuring that their fellow nin was out of danger, though Temari remained at her brother’s side. Beside Kakashi, Uzumaki stirred, strapping on his backpack with that same indomitable scowl.

“Okay then, let’s go!” Uzumaki declared determinedly.

Haruno rolled her eyes, but smiled at the blond nonetheless. He misunderstood her exasperation for approval and quickly handed her the medical bag she’d been toting around with her – noticeably larger than the bags Uzumaki and Kakashi were carrying. Mika had not brought with her anything that she considered spare. Everything she required she could keep in a scroll as her grandfather had taught her, saving on the room and making for lighter travels. Were she a medic, however, she doubted she could get away with that luxury. As it was, ANBU were rarely sent out on long-term missions. Konoha liked to keep its most prized Shinobi close at hand.

“Uzumaki Naruto…”

Kankuro’s voice was weak, but it quickly drew the desired nin’s attention. Uzumaki paused as he assisted Haruno with her gear and regarded the Sand-nin with surprise. It was Kankuro’s following words that shocked Mika.

“Please, save my brother.”