Naruto Fan Fiction ❯ The Road We Walked ❯ The Truth Is Hiding In Your Eyes ( Chapter 4 )

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

Rating: T

Warnings: More spoilers in this chapter on the Gaara and Akatsuki bit.

She had been staring at Uzumaki’s back since they had left Suna to seek Akatsuki's base and she cursed her own curiosity in wanting to know what it was about Uzumaki Naruto that allowed people to place their undivided trust on a single person. He was not an extraordinary Shinobi as far as skill went – if one didn’t include his remarkable ability to completely surprise his opponent. Perhaps what disturbed her the most about him was that she wanted to know, and she’d be damned if she got sucked into his little vortex and become another fool who set their hopes on the shoulders of a mere boy. He was only two years younger than herself, but that made all the difference in the career paths they had chosen.

Mika had begun to regret looking forward to this mission. She was beginning to wonder if this hadn’t been some sort of curse on Chizuko’s behalf for leaving her behind – for it had been three days now and she was certain the girl had noticed her absence by now. She was learning too much about these people, it was unlike any of her other missions with Genma or Chizuko. She was more than accustomed to taking on S-Ranked missions, but such jobs had always been so impersonal. Nothing at all like this.

Three days with this group and while she had exchanged little to no words with the team – in fact, the only one she had spoken with thus far was Kakashi; otherwise, she played her role as the higher ranked nin by keeping lookout for the rest – it felt like she was some witness to a story unfolding before her.

But she admired their camaraderie, and their willingness to suffer any extents for the sake of their friend – although, from what she had come to see of Uchiha Sasuke the years following the Uchiha massacre, she wasn’t entirely sure their efforts weren’t all for naught. The careless and loving boy she had known had become increasingly dark over the years, and any remnants of his childhood naïveté had vanished. She supposed he had avoided her for the memories she undoubtedly would have resurfaced, as she was likely his only existing reminder of the brother whom he had once adored unconditionally.

“Uchiha Itachi … You’re his target.”

“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.”

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

“Because of that, Sasuke is now with Orochimaru, to gain power…”

“But Orochimaru just wants Sasuke's body, doesn’t he? And all we have left is half of a year…”

“Orochimaru was originally a member of Akatsuki…”

“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 …”

It didn’t feel right. Something didn’t feel right. Maybe she was a part of their unwritten story, she realized with a start; and maybe it was fate that had led her to this mission, to these people. After all, the only other living person who had known Itachi before apparent insanity had struck him had been herself. She had been close enough to the older prodigy that they could have almost been thought of as friends, although she had never considered themselves as such. She hadn’t known the other well enough to regard him with a title similar to the one she used for Chizuko and Ayame. Because allowing herself to become close with an individual not her own brother had always been difficult for her, she did not like to use the term “friend” so loosely so as to apply it to someone she had more or less considered a rather close acquaintance. After all, while she had not know the man intimately in the way she had known Chizuko and Ayame, she was certain she was perhaps one of the few who had known the Uchiha Itachi she had; that same Uchiha Itachi who’s brother had loved him so absolutely.

To be completely honest, she had thought the then boy to be a loving older brother, despite the coldness he portrayed to everyone else. It wasn’t that he had been anything but that calculating, silent prodigy everyone else saw him as when she had known him, but like Sasuke, she had been young enough to be able to ignore it and simply appreciate the remarkable nin for what he was – something to aspire to, someone to admire. Even if she hadn’t really revered him in the way Sasuke had – what with Meiyo always fill her head with reminders of the Hebizas’ superiority to the Uchihas. It was bizarre now to hear of him spoken of as some cold murder. When she had heard the news of what had happened, she had been shocked – distantly so. She had been close to the Uchiha brothers, but not so much that it had impacted her life severely to learn the disturbing truth; she’d had Ayame and Chizuko, after all.

Not only that, but she’d been preoccupied with her own problems – like her suddenly absent brother, who, she was later informed, had been banished from the clan for crimes no one bothered to tell her of. With that to efficiently distract her from any deeper contemplations regarding the Uchiha massacre and Itachi’s alleged involvement in it, the magnitude of the event that had rocked the rest of the village took some years longer to sink in. By then, too much time had passed, and the fact that it had been Itachi charged of those crimes hadn’t seemed to register with her.

She didn’t think she had ever acknowledged that it had been Itachi who had killed – no, murdered – his entire family in one night, leaving only his little brother behind. And now, rather than disgust or horror, she could only think of how appropriately Itachi it had been to leave his beloved little brother as the sole survivor.

Maybe something was wrong with her.

“Naruto, can I ask you something?” Haruno caught up to the blond boy ahead of them, and despite herself, Mika couldn’t help but listen. “When did Akatsuki start targeting you?”

“I don’t know …”

Surprisingly, it was Kakashi who answered when Uzumaki didn’t seem to be able to supply one of his own. “A while ago. Two of Akatsuki’s members infiltrated Konoha in order to contact Naruto. It’s been three years since then, and they’ve started moving. Though, I can’t quite see the motive behind this.”

“Why did they wait three years?” Haruno asked.

“Maybe it was that they couldn’t take action, rather than choosing not to,” Kakashi explained. “He always had Jiraiya-sama by his side.”

“Well, from what I’ve gathered,” Chiyo remarked, “I heard there were other reasons. It requires considerable preparation to separate a bijuu that is sealed within an individual. I assume that’s what hampered their effort.”

“Bijuu?” Haruno queried.

Chiyo scoffed, “What? You call yourself Tsunade’s apprentice and you don’t even know that?”

Kakashi cut in on Haruno's behalf, who became a little incensed by the jibe. “Information regarding the Kyuubi is top secret in Konoha, so…”

“Well, I suppose,” Chiyo continued. She showed remarkable stamina for a woman of her age, speaking freely whilst traveling by speed via trees. “The bijuu are in fact magical beasts possessing tails. Suna always possessed the Ichibi. That is, the Shukaku sealed within Gaara-sama.”

“Ichibi?” Haruno looked at Chiyo, frowning. “So there are others? Aside from the Kyuubi?”

“Indeed,” Kakashi answered again, “There are a total of nine bijuu in this world.”

“Each beast differs in characteristics depending on the number of tails they have. The Ichibi possesses a single tail; the Nibi possesses two, and so on until the Kyuubi. Each possessing a number of tails according to their name.”

“The bijuu are a monstrous formation of chakra,” Mika surprised herself by saying suddenly. Evidently, from the startled looks in her direction, her fellow Leaf-nin had not anticipated her participation in this conversation. She went on, “During the Great War, every Hidden Village tried to acquire the power for military purposes. They competed to obtain these beasts. However, no one can control such power beyond the ability of men.”

“I’ve yet to know why Akatsuki attempts to acquire such power,” Chiyo continued when Mika allowed her words to hang. “It’s too dangerous. And even through this time of peace, the ages shift on. I’ve heard that all the bijuu are now scattered across the world.”

“Hatake-san.” Mika pressed forward to fall into line beside Kakashi as a somber silence befell his subordinates. “This is where I leave you. It would be best we separate ways now.”

He seemed to be able to understand her true meaning, for he nodded. “Alright. I’ll have one of my ninja dogs meet up with you.”

She nodded and veered off their trail, heading east and taking to lower ground, where she worked best. She didn’t know what to make of the troubling feeling she was left with, and recognizing it as her instincts attempt to warn her of forthcoming danger, she couldn’t for the life of her figure out what it meant. Picking up speed, she activated her Kurutteiru, uneasy for ignoring the feeling in her gut that she couldn’t comprehend, but she couldn’t afford distractions.

Mika hadn’t been away from Kakashi’s team for even half an hour before she met with her first query. Perhaps it was sheer irony that the one to invade her thoughts for these past hours as they followed Akatsuki’s tracks back to their lair was the very same to offer resistance. Uchiha Itachi stood before her some yards away, the heavy foliage placing much of him in shadow, but he was recognizable enough. She could practically feel those Sharingan eyes upon her and recalled her first experience with them as a child and how frightened she’d become. A scowl settled over her face, but she didn’t place herself in either offense nor defense.

“Your chakra is rather unique, Mika. I can recognize it easily, even after all this time.”

“I wouldn’t know.”

Her words came out colder than she had intended. The feeling that had been in her gut began to grow, churning defiantly in her belly. Without thinking, she walked forward, closing the distance between them until there were only a few steps separating them. For a moment, she was content to study his features from a lesser distance, amazed by how little he had changed. This time, however, she detected a certain weariness in his eyes she hadn’t before. Reaching up to her own face, she didn’t hesitate before slipping off the ANBU mask that had practically become a part of her these past three days. For the first time in years, she faced the older prodigy with no obstructions.

There was no shift in his expression, nor his eyes, but Mika felt it inside her just the same like she had as a child. It wasn’t an emotion she could name – more like a mixture of them. Nostalgia, surprise, curiosity … an assortment of emotions that came with seeing a person after so long. Or, maybe it was only her own emotions she was sensing.

“You’ve grown,” he said simply.

She watched his eyes as they studied her face in turn, feeling something like nervousness well up in her chest inexplicably. She kept her face carefully composed, and realized somewhat belatedly that her Kurutteiru was still active when he continually refused to meet her eyes. Mika almost smirked, releasing the doujutsu and remembered from experience how the Sharingan and Kurutteiru did not play favorably against each other. Both techniques involved Genjutsu. However, the Sharingan was one that applied both the defense of and offense against Genjutsu, whereas the Kurutteiru was merely an offensive technique when used against an opponent.

By far, the Sharingan outmatched the Kurutteiru in a normal match. But even at a young age, Itachi and herself had nearly mastered their respective doujutsus and had learned that when pairing one against the other, the result was only one big Genjutsu mess and double the migraine.

“Do you trust me?” The question held some disbelief, and Mika frowned as she considered it, unsettled by how quickly she came to her answer.

“You’ve given me no reason not to,” she replied, meeting his gaze directly to prove her point; his Sharingan spun lazily, inactive.

“Foolish.” There was no accusation in his voice.

“To each his own.” She was almost pleased to see his smirk. Instead, she quelled her urge to return the expression and frowned instead. “You’re stalling again.”

The smirk didn’t widen, but it didn’t disappear either. “So it would seem.”

Her eyes narrowed. “I have a mission.”

“As do I.” He paused, and the smirk seemed to become more of a smile – just barely. “And yet, you refuse to engage me in combat.”

“I can’t possibly win,” she replied matter-of-factly. “It’s common sense when fighting your Sharingan. I stand no chance in a one on one match against you.”

“Wouldn’t you rather find out?”

This time, she did smirk. “I like my head where it is, thank you. And I would be rather useless to Hatake-san if I were to get killed here.”

He studied her again, his expression blank once more and she slowly followed suit, clearing her face as well. She recognized the severity of the situation, even if it lacked the sense of danger one would expect from it. It was difficult to consider the man before her an enemy when he seemed no different from the boy she had known. She realized that this could be problematic. A time would eventually come where she might have no choice but to fight him with the intent to kill and if she couldn’t find it in herself now she didn’t want to wait to find she had the ability when it was too late.

“I wouldn’t kill you, Mika.” She dropped her gaze at his admission, finding no comfort in his words as she studied the red cloud pattern on his cloak. “I have a request.” She blinked, properly startled, and looked up to see him watching her intently. “When you go back to Konoha, I want you to find anything your grandparents may have on Orochimaru.”

She wasn’t oblivious to his choice in wording; when I go back to Konoha. He intended for her to come out of this alive – it was a little reassuring, considering the gravity of the situation and the people involved. She frowned, “Why would I do that?” Old acquaintance or no, she had no intention of give out Konoha’s personal files to a missing-nin of his caliber. She wasn’t a traitor – perhaps a nostalgic fool for her inability to fight the man before her, but she was no traitor.

“I’m not asking you to spy.” Mika waited for him to continue, not surprised he had read her so well. “You will be amazed by how much information your family has secreted away in regards to Orochimaru. Perhaps you may find something there to your … interest.”

She regarded him suspiciously for a moment. “Why?”

“He is a mutual enemy of ours.” But she heard the unspoken meaning beneath his words nonetheless, and that did surprise her. Judging by the way he was watching her, however, she had the impression that it had been his intention all along.

Frowning, Mika felt herself shoulders relax of their own accord. “Why do I feel like I’m not going to like what I find?” she murmured, rhetorically.

He smirked again. “You’re a smart girl.” He turned away, attention shifting to a distant point in the darkness of the forest. “I suggest you regroup with the rest of your team. They’re at the base now.”

And then he was gone.

A Bunshin.

“Zetsu. Dispose of the two used for the Shouten Jutsu.”
“Understood.”
“Itachi, how many are there and who are they?
“From Konoha, Hatake Kakashi, Haruno Sakura, and the Kyuubi’s Jinchuuriki, Uzumaki Naruto. With an adviser from Suna, Chiyo, they make up a four-person party. In addition, there is Hebiza Mikazuki from Konoha. ANBU. She is alone.”
“Itachi-san, why did you send a Bunshin to stall ANBU girl? She’s nowhere near the base.”
He opened his eyes, practice and experience allowing him to do so whilst still channeling his chakra to the target source. Glancing at Kisame, he studied the older man’s face for a moment. “It isn’t the base she is seeking.”
The shark-like man grinned, exposing his razor sharp teeth. “Oh? Should I dispose of her?”
“No.” Kisame seemed surprised; Itachi went on. “She may have some use for us.”
“Some pesky little Leaf? How?” Kisame sounded appropriately incredulous. Itachi had to admit, his theory seemed farfetched, even to him, but he was certain it would work. Trying to explain himself to Kisame, however, would only confuse the older man the more, and thus he didn’t intend to waste his time divulging the details of his plan.
“What do you know of the Hebiza clan?”
“Nothing at all,” Kisame replied quickly and candidly.
“The Hebiza are an old clan. Originally, it was their line that inhabited the land Konoha lies now. Until they were conquered by the Senju and Uchiha. When Hashirama took the title of Hokage after years of strife between the two clans, neither the Hebiza nor the Uchiha were happy.”
Kisame laughed, “So you’re telling me your old village was born at the hands of three feuding clans? No wonder they’ve got crazies like Orochimaru and you running around.”
Itachi said nothing about that. Closing his eyes, he focused a little harder on the Jinchuuriki and the extraction. It was almost over. Unlike Kisame, he did not harbor a near limitless supply of chakra at his disposal. “The Hebiza clan was known for meddling in the dark arts. They weren’t always a power seeking clan, and though they had reason to despise the Uchiha and Senju alike, they recognized the power of their respective leaders and eventually resigned under Hashirama’s rule.”
“And this girl is from the Hebiza clan?” Kisame asked, sounding more confused than ever – as Itachi had feared. “I don’t think I’m following where this is going…”
“Many years passed,” Itachi continued patiently, “And the three clans eventually learned to work together to produce the village you know now. Eventually, other countries followed suit, giving birth to the many Hidden Villages that reside now within their respective nations. And as a result, more warring ensued. One particular boy was orphaned due to all the battling. Konoha took him in, as they took it upon themselves to take in as many refugees from their neighboring villages as they could manage. Do you know what distinguishes a Hebiza from everyone else?”
He could tell the older man had been a little thrown by the sudden shift in topic, for he hesitating a moment before answering the rhetorical question. “Eh… No?”
“Their eyes. All Hebiza have golden eyes. They too have a special doujutsu exclusive to their clan. The Kurutteiru. The clan, as you can probably guess from their name, has a certain affinity for serpents…”
Kisame caught on quickly with that. “Wait! You mean like …?”
Itachi continued. “The boy who was taken in had similar eyes, and it was later discovered, carried Hebiza blood within him. So the Hebiza clan took him in and raised him. As he grew older, he became a notable Shinobi of great skill.”
“Wait.” Kisame craned his neck around to look at him, never once breaking his hand seal. “We’re talking about that bastard, right?”
“Eventually, however, he became consumed by the corruption of the Hebiza and their lust for power. He was forced to leave the village when he realized Konoha no longer held anything to aid him in his quest for immortality.”
Kisame snorted. “Yeah. We’re talking about that bastard. But what’s he–?”
“However, before he left the village, he married, and it appeared she conceived a child. The mother didn’t survive the Kyuubi’s attack.”
“Whoa!” Kisame nearly stood up, but caught himself just in time. Closing his eyes, Itachi waited for the older man to piece his story together – though, by his reaction, he would wager the shark-man already had. “You mean that girl is his brat? You kidding me?”
“I am not,” Itachi reassured the other, feeling fatigue set in from the Jutsu. But the bijuu was nearly completely extracted. Not much longer now. “Which is why I believe we can use her to get to her father.”
Kisame considered this for a moment. And then he laughed. Loud. Throwing his head back, the shark-like man laughed for all the world to hear.
“Ohh man! He is going to be pissed!”
“Hatake-san.”

She found team Kakashi in a small ravine down which flowed a stream, standing in front of a large rock entrance otherwise closed off – and judging from the paper seal on the face of the bolder wall, it wouldn’t be an easy matter of simply allowing the Haruno girl to punch her way through the rock. Kakashi and his team tensed, but relaxed quickly when they saw it was only her.

“We’re waiting for Gai’s team to find the other four seals,” Kakashi explained, hand to his ear – likely awaiting Gai’s signal on the other end of the radio. He looked up at her a second later, as if something had suddenly occurred to him. “Did you come across any trouble?”

She knew what he was asking, but had no reason to lie; she wasn’t sure why he seemed to suspect she would. “I ran into Uchiha Itachi.”

“You seemed to have handled yourself well enough,” he commented. She could see Haruno and Uzumaki were both brimming with questions, their interest sparked upon hearing Itachi’s name. “Was my ninja dog of any use to you?”

Mika froze. I forgot about that. She hadn’t seen any one of Kakashi’s dogs, but judging by the severe look in his single visible eye, she had the feeling Kakashi had kept her closely monitored. It occurred to her that Kakashi would also be the type to place radios on his hunter dogs so he could keep tabs on each – which meant it was quite possible he had caught some of her conversation – if not all – with Uchiha Itachi. Nothing she had said had been incriminating in the least, she knew, but the fact that she had resolved to speak to her enemy rather than engage him … would not sound good to the Hokage. She was distrusted enough for her affiliations to the Hebiza, she knew, she didn’t want this added to the list of things the Godaime seemed to hold against her.

“We did not engage,” she said simply, realizing she had allowed her silence for go on for too long. She knew it was the response Kakashi was looking for; it would have been pointless to try to avoid the truth. She also Kakashi would not pursue on this particular argument in front of his subordinates or the Suna representative.

Kakashi nodded, and then turned to Haruno. “Alright, Gai’s ready. Sakura, get into position; I’m going to pull of the seal. The moment I do, I want you to smash that wall.”

“Got it!”

Kakashi got into position on the rock above the seal, hand poised to tear it off upon the order; he listened intently to the other line in his radio. Mika waited beside the Suna woman with baited breath. The Uzumaki was shaking with suspense, and she wondered why it was that he was so passionate about saving the Kazekage. Another close friend, perhaps, she mused, impressed that the boy was capable of so many relationships even at long distances.

“Sakura! Now!”

Kakashi tore the seal, a second before Haruno’s powerful fist connected with the solid rock wall. Mika could almost feel the pulsations of the girl’s chakra in the swift moment before the entire cave wall erupted and shattered into debris. They rushed the cave before the rock had a time to completely settle, but what awaited them inside was not an organization of wanted criminals – rather, only two, donned in coats identical to Itachi’s. And another.

Mika scowled behind her mask. The Kazekage.

“Well then, which of you is the Jinchuuriki, I wonder …? Hmm?” The blond Akatsuki mused, grinning to his own amusement. He was sitting upon the Kazekage's prone form in an attempt to provoke a reaction from them, no doubt. To his left, a large, white, bird-like creature that seemed to be made out of clay rather than flesh or feather. On the man’s right, his partner, dressed identical, but proportionally larger than the blond by far.

Mika was startled by the flare of burning chakra from Uzumaki – not at all the chakra she had come to associate with him. The Kyuubi’s chakra… She remembered the Hokage’s warning and thought that this would be a bad time to have to try and seal the boy’s massive chakra.

“You bastards! I’ll kill you!” Uzumaki screamed, his voice carrying around the cave.

The larger Akatsuki man seemed to growl. “That one.”

His blond partner smirked, “Well, seems like it, hmm?”

Uzumaki ignored them, continuing just as furiously. “Gaara! What’re you doing sleeping?! Stand the hell up!!”

“Chizuko? I’m back. Genma-sensei…”

“Oh…”

It was if all her breath had been stolen; an old wound reopened. Vividly, she recalled her friend’s unfortunate death. Chizuko’s denial. The pain. Sorrow. Anguish. It had felt so unfair. Foolishly, childishly, she had wanted to enact her revenge on her friend’s behalf – for what right did one have to take the life of someone so young. It had taken a year for her to come to terms with the fact that in war, casualties were unavoidable. Several more had died, both ninja and civilian, that day, and it would have been irrational to cling to remorse as if that would somehow make things better – because it didn’t. The only one hurt by doing so was your own self; and at the end of the day, Ayame was still dead.

“Hey, Gaara, are you listening to me?!”

She felt her face contort, grateful for her mask because she could not keep her own pain from manifesting itself upon her features. Her heart went out for the boy, and the Kazekage, though she didn’t truly know either. But something about Uzumaki was so utterly genuine, it was impossible for her not to feel something while watching him scream at the lifeless body.

“Stop, Naruto…” Kakashi murmured quietly. Haruno looked torn, doing nothing to hide her own anguish for both her friend and the Kazekage. “You understand, don’t you?”

“Yeah, yeah. Don’t you get it?” The blond Akatsuki man studied Uzumaki like a predator would his prey. “He’s been dead for a while now.”

Uzumaki lost it. Mika felt the moment the Kyuubi chakra seemed to swallow the younger nin’s original chakra, spreading around him and it was nearly a presence before her. The chakra itself seemed to have a life of its own, and for a second, she faltered. She glanced between Kakashi and Uzumaki, unable to make a decision. What am I supposed to do? Is he losing control?

“Give him back.” Uzumaki growled, and his posture seemed to slump forward like an animal preparing to pounce. And then he was charging the two Akatsuki men, crying out, “Give Gaara back, you bastards!”

She moved a split second after Kakashi, sensing the Copy Ninja’s movements, and used her speed to place herself between Uzumaki and the Akatsuki, halting his movements. Kakashi’s voice was dangerously low. “Calm down. If you go rushing in there without thinking, they’ll destroy you.”

Mika didn’t allow herself to look over her shoulder at Uzumaki, his chakra still livid and unsettling. She placed her entire attention on the two Akatsuki men, having the thought to use her Kurutteiru to scan their bodies for any distinguishing details. Like a Hyuuga or Uchiha could read ones chakra patterns or signature, a Hebiza was capable of reading thermal temperatures, which were unique within every creature.

“I’ll look after this one,” the larger Akatsuki man said gruffly. “It seems like that Jinchuuriki wants to take this one back.”

Mika frowned, feeling both Kakashi and Uzumaki tense behind her.

“Yo, this’ll probably make you angry, but …” The blond man glanced at his partner, “I’ll handle that Jinchuuriki.”

“The assignment is one person to one beast. Don’t push it, Deidara.”

Deidara frowned, “If an artist doesn’t get inspiration, his sentiments are dulled.” He looked at Uzumaki, musing, “It’s said that the Kyuubi Jinchuuriki is considerably strong…”

The other man, Sasori no doubt, snorted derisively, glaring at his partner. “What? You call those explosions fine art? Fine art is something wonderful that’s left long into the future. Eternal beauty.”

“They involve the same skilled labor.” Shrugging, Deidara smiled, though it was not a pleasant expression on his feminine features. “I respect you, but fine art is the beauty of that single fleeting moment of explosion.”

Uzumaki’s patience seemed to have worn out at last, and his chakra flared again with his anger. “Stop playing around, bastards.” This time, Mika didn’t try to stop him as he charged forward.

He summoned a Fuuma Shuriken, hurling the weapon at the two – it was immediately reflected by Sasori and his strange, elongated … tail? It indeed appeared to be some sort of tail protruding from under Sasori’s cloak; it seemed to be made from some sort of metal, light, but strong.

“Deidara, you little shit,” Sasori growled, ignoring Uzumaki entirely. “Are you trying to piss me off?”

Deidara blinked, glancing over his partner. “Well, then … I was right when I said it’d probably make you angry, huh?” He stood with a sigh, brushing off his cloak absently. Beside him, the clay bird creature opened its beak, grabbing the Kazekage's form; the young leader’s limbs dangled precariously over the sides of the creature’s mouth as it took flight. “My fine art is explosions. Completely different to your little puppet show.”

That same tail abruptly struck out at Deidara, so quickly Mika could hardly follow the movement with her eyes. The blond Akatsuki narrowly avoided being impaled, leaping to the air and landing easily upon the clay bird. “See ya!”

And then, to their horror, the clay bird swallowed the Kazekage.

Haruno and Chiyo stayed behind to fight Sasori alone after Deidara took off. Uzumaki and Kakashi had followed the blond man, and Mika had gone after them, remembering the Godaime’s words and order that Mika keep an eye on the Kyuubi brat. She wasn’t sure if this situation had gone from bad to worse. Taking on the two Akatsuki men individually drastically improved their odds of success, but now their team was split up – and unevenly so. She had little faith that the Haruno girl would be enough to take on Sasori, even with Chiyo there to aid her. Deidara himself had admitted his partner was the stronger of the two.

Mika had considered staying with the girls, but her sense of duty overruled her conscience, which reminded her that she needed to keep Uzumaki from allowing the Kyuubi to run rampant. Kakashi and Uzumaki held better odds against Deidara, but Uzumaki was running high on emotions and Kakashi was preoccupied with his subordinate and protecting him, and she wasn’t sure how much of his focus was on actually defeating the enemy. But all these thoughts came to a quick halt when she came to one abrupt realization.

I’m being followed!

She cursed, landing on the thick root extending from one side of the ravine to the other, propelling herself back to land on a similar one several feet behind just as a kunai struck the space she’d occupied a second before – and then, before she had time to find footing, an explosion rocked her back even further. The force of the eruption sent her hurtling back through several thick roots and into the shallow waters bellow.

Water surged around her. Years of intensive training allowed her to gather herself quickly. Kicking off the floor of the riverbed, she broke the surface of the water. She had just enough time to block a kick she barely registered, crossing her arms in front of her to protect her face while focusing chakra at the soles of her feet to prevent her from going under again. The attacker retracted, using their momentum off of her to place distance between them.

Seeing the attacker for the first time, she frowned. He bore an Akatsuki cloak, but his face was masked, which was of an odd design. Orange, the mask displayed a continuous swirl carved into it that met at the right eye; the only eye visible, although she could not distinguish any details, as it was obscured in shadow. She didn’t bother asking for a name or purpose. He was Akatsuki; he had attacked her – she didn’t need to ask.

She rushed forward, drawing several tagged kunai she aimed at a distance behind the man. He dodged them, predictably, and she closed the distance between them, ducking low quickly to sweep a right-legged kick under his legs. He jumped, so she twisted her body while it was still low on the ground, balanced on her hands and brought out her left leg for a back-hook kick. A moment later, the tags on the kunai went off, and the explosion drove the man forward. But he came straight for her, attacking with his leading fist. She let it come at her, and wrapped her arm around his forearm, pulling him forward into a right uppercut.

The Bunshin dispersed in a cloud of smoke.

Activating her Kurutteiru as she was momentarily blinded, she barely had time to avoid the kunai aimed at her back, replacing it at the last second with a Kawarimi. Her Kurutteiru allowed her to read the heat signature of her opponent, enhancing her occipital and olfactory senses while also giving her the ability to sense the movements around her via the vibrations in the air around her and the ground below. Like her clan’s namesake, the Kurutteiru gave a Hebiza abilities one would find in a serpent.

Without knowing anything about Akatsuki or its members, she had no way of knowing where she stood against her opponent. As she searched around her, vision heightened, she couldn’t seem to find him anywhere, and that was just odd. You couldn’t hide from the Kurutteiru. You couldn’t just stop your body from producing heat. Nor could she sense any immediate movement around her vicinity. The only way someone could disappear was–

Dammit!

Hands clasped around her ankles, pulling her under water for the second time. Fuck! What am I doing? Stop daydream! Focus! She couldn’t seem to pull away, and she choked on water as a punch was administered to her gut, her body doubling in response. Swallowing reflexively, she forced her eyes to open kicked off the only solid thing nearby – it felt like a wall and was probably the wall of the ravine – and leapt out of the water. Gasping for breath, she readily dodged another powerful punch. Now! She dodged another kick, doubling around for a back kick. He dodged, and she used her momentum to continue into a roundhouse to the body.

At last, she managed to close in on him and prevent him from fleeing, keeping him occupied with a combination of punches and blocks and kicks. His movements became easier to read with her Kurutteiru active, but something seemed off.

The disadvantage that came with focusing on the sensory enhancing prospect of her Kurutteiru when facing multiple opponents was that her senses became so overloaded with the information from one opponent – his scent, his breathing patterns, thermal patterns, movements – that it left a sort of blind spot to any other opponent. It was why she preferred using merely the Genjutsu elements of her Kurutteiru in combat and leaving the rest for tracking and such.

It was due to this disability that she didn’t sense the attack that came behind her until it was too late. When she tried to avoid it, the man grabbed her leg before she managed to leap away, swinging her into the rock wall of the ravine. Her vision exploded in white and pain seared down her entire back as though every bone had just been shattered. The second attacker – a Bunshin – followed up with a punch to the gut.

She wasn’t released, even as her body slumped. She felt it was his hands at her shoulders that kept her up but she could barely open her eyes to see anything, let alone find the strength to retaliate. What’s … going on? He’s so fast. And strong … Is this Akatsuki?

Cool air assaulted her face, and it took a long time before she realized her mask had been removed. “As I suspected. A Hebiza.”

She scowled, forcing herself to straighten and raise her face up defiantly; she would not be weak.

The grin could be heard through the man’s tone. “You're as proud as one, that’s for sure.” He leaned forward, and she opened her eyes, straining to see anything to give him away through the single eyehole in his mask. Inexplicably, her head began to throb, as though being assaulted from all over. His grip on her shoulders tightened to the point of bruising, and she grimaced in addition to the blinding migraine that had sprung out of nowhere. What is he doing to me? “What is this? One of your Kurutteiru’s many troublesome techniques?”

He struck her with an elbow to her temple and her Kurutteiru was disabled just like that. “What …?” she broke off, coughing what tasted distinctly like blood, her vision all but gone, and her mind unable to refocus after the sudden impact. How does he know about my Kurutteiru?

“I know all about your clan.”

His words began to sound distant to her ears, and absently, she realized she was losing consciousness. She didn’t try to stay awake – if she was going to die, she’d rather not feel it.

“…don’t know how long I’ve waited to get my hands on one of you. I would have killed that man your clan nurtured into the fine psychotic bastard that he is now, but he still has his uses. As for you…”

“Enough.” In her disassociated state, she recognized a second voice had appeared, and that it sounded familiar … but she couldn’t seem to be able to place a face or name to that voice. “Release her.”

A chuckle. “My, this is unlike you. What makes you think you have any right to order me around?

There was no response as Mika’s world faded into darkness.

“I thought so. And I think I might just kill this girl after all. She’s a nobody. A Hebiza.” Madara frowned at the younger man, who didn’t rise to the bait. “Why? Is she important to you? Don’t tell me you harbor some foolish attachment to this child.”

The younger man was completely expressionless. “No, but it happens that she is more useful to me alive than dead.”

Madara scoffed, “Useful? This girl? Why is she so interesting to you?”

“Because she is Orochimaru’s daughter.”

If it hadn’t been for the Byuakugen, she probably would have drowned. As it was, she had inhaled too much water.

Neji set the girl down on the bank just before the cave the Akatsuki men had been using as their hideout. Laying her carefully, Byuakugen still active, he pressed his fingers carefully over the pressure points along her chest to relieve the stress in her lungs. Turning her on her side, he eased her mouth open with a finger to let the water drain. In this position, he noticed the bruise on the side of her head he hadn’t before. Tenderly, he fingered the swollen flesh with a frown – it was easily the size of his hand, and it seemed to have been caused by incredible impact directly to the temple. Quickly, he examined the wound with his Byuakugen, relieved when he found no fracturing.

After catching up with Kakashi’s team and disposing of the last of the two Akatsuki men, Neji had left on Kakashi’s request that he search for his fifth-party, an ANBU. To be sure, he had not expected to find Mikazuki and couldn’t explain his mild panic at finding her at the bottom of the river, unconscious. Her mask had been removed, and it had been the first thing he had found, where it had drifted downstream.

Mikazuki choked suddenly, doubling over as she coughed out the last of the water from her lungs. He brought her up into a sitting position and allowed her to rest against him, her chin cradled over his shoulder. His fingers skimmed along her upper back, finding more pressure points, but when he was finished and pulled his hand away, he found his fingers tinged red with blood. Frowning again, he shifted the girl in his arms slightly, examining her back with his eyes but finding no scrape wounds. Pressing his palm to the fabric of her drenched uniform, he came up with more blood and wasn’t settled in the least.

His search led him to the back of her head. When he careful buried his fingers into the thick main, he elicited a hiss from the still unconscious girl. Inspecting his hands, he saw them covered in a red darker in color and far less diluted by the water. Head injury. That wasn’t good. Pulling back from her, he steadied her with an arm around her shoulders, taking her chin in his free hand to keep her head up. The bluish tint to her lips had faded, and after taking another long moment to inspect the bruise down the left side of her face, he pressed a point at neck.

“Mikazuki-san, wake up.”

Slowly, her eyes fluttered, and immediately, her brow furrowed in pain. A soft groan escaped her lips, and she struggled to keep her eyes open. It seemed forever before amber-gold eyes met his, though they were a little dazed and unfocused. “… N-Neji-san?”

“Mm,” he nodded, shifting his arm from her shoulders to her waist. “Do you think you can stand? We need to get back to the others.”

She swayed a little in his arms, but he held her firm. He watched her try to remain conscious, and remembered that proud, stoic girl he’d seen only during meetings between their families while their guardians debated over agreements and arrangements. Mikazuki had caught his interest since the first day he had seen her. She was beautiful, after all, and the type of person who stood out amongst others. But more than that, she was different than anyone he had ever seen of the Hebiza. His uncle had been reluctant to negotiate with Hebiza Hokori because of the clan’s shady background. But they were an old clan – as old as the Uchiha clan, though the Uchihas were now practically extinct.

“Alright…” Her voice drew his attention; it was still hoarse and weak. Nodding, he was prepared to carry most of her weight as he stood and helped her to her feet. She nearly collapsed again but defiantly stood her ground, testing her eyes by blinking. Then she stepped back, pulling away, and swayed dangerously again before meeting his eyes with considerably more clarity. “My mask?”

He retrieved it from the ground and handed it to her, a little concerned to see her slip it back on – she really shouldn’t have been restricting her breathing with the mask – but he understood the responsibility and said nothing about it.

“Let’s go.”

She nodded, not looking any stronger, but Neji took off anyway, leading the way back to their group. If he offered to carry her, he knew she’d refuse. Not only was she stubborn and proud to a fault, but he understood that the last thing she would want was to seem weak amongst her peers, given her apparent status. Neji knew she was not weak, but whoever she had fought must have been tremendously skilled, which didn’t surprise him, given what he’d seen so far of the Akatsuki. He didn’t know why he was regretting not being able to assist the Hebiza – logically, he had no way of knowing she was even on the mission.

“The Kazekage?” She startled him by speaking.

It took him a moment to remember to answer her. “We got him back. Sakura-san is healing him as we speak.”

“He’s dead.”

She said it simply enough, but Neji frowned, detecting something beneath her tone he couldn’t quite decipher. “Probably.”

“Uzumaki …” she trailed off, and Neji frowned, hazarding a glance at her, remembering belatedly that she was wearing a mask now and he was unable to read her expression.

“Naruto, I know, will take it hard. He and the Kazekage were close.”

That was the extent of their conversation but Neji was surprised nonetheless since Mikazuki had always been difficult to coax into conversing when she didn’t have to. They reached the rest of the group faster than he would have thought, but he suspected the Hebiza had been exerting herself more than she should. Sakura was still trying to heal Gaara, but he knew, as Mikazuki had said herself, that the Kazekage was long dead. He had seen it himself earlier; Gaara’s heart had stopped beating, and he had likely been dead for a while now.

When Sakura stood, expression downcast and remorseful, it was Naruto he watched. His back to them, the blond’s shoulders shook, and Neji knew the younger boy was crying.

“Why … was Gaara … always Gaara …”

Neji frowned, feeling regret on the younger boy’s behalf. Naruto, who had proved that enough drive and determination could change everything so long as you tried hard enough; Neji hated seeing such a strong individual so vulnerable.

“To die like this …! He’s the Kazekage! He didn’t just become the Kazekage…”

It was Chiyo who dared to speak up. “Relax, Uzumaki Naruto.”

“Shut up!” Naruto spun, and Neji was startled to see such raw emotion on the boy’s face. Tears flowed freely down his cheeks, but his expression was one of anger. “If you Sand-nin hadn’t put that monster inside Gaara, none of this would have happened! Did you ever care to ask how he felt?! What is a Jinchuuriki anyway?! You assholes just arrogantly made up a name so you could label them!!”

“Naruto…”

Sakura reached out to Naruto, but she didn’t touch him. He looked so fragile right now, head bowed and sobbing openly. Neji felt pained for the boy, he chest constricting oddly.

“I couldn’t save Sasuke … and I couldn’t save Gaara. For three years … I trained desperately … But what good has that done? It didn’t change anything.”

Chiyo stood from where she had been knelt beside Kakashi, walking over to Gaara’s prone form and lowering herself beside him. Neji watched her place her hands upon the Kazekage’s chest – and then suddenly felt the surge of powerful chakra that she discharged.

Sakura seemed to realize what the Sand advisor was intending. “Chiyo-sama! That jutsu is …!”

Naruto looked up, “What’re you trying to do …?”

Medical jutsu …? Neji frowned. No. It wasn’t like any medical jutsu he had ever seen before or heard of.

“What the hell are you doing?!” Naruto shouted.

Sakura turned to him, expression belaying the gravity of whatever Chiyo was doing. “She’s bringing Gaara back.”

Naruto was startled. “Bring him … back?” He turned to Chiyo, eyes suddenly desperate. “Can you … really do something like that?”

“This jutsu is Chiyo-sama’s alone,” Sakura explained.

Activating his Byuakugen, Neji frowned. That chakra flow … Every reserve had been tapped, even those not normally accessible to a nin. Everything was flowing outward, and into Gaara. Almost as if

… I cannot believe such a convenient jutsu exists… Perhaps …

Chiyo cursed. “Dammit! Not enough chakra …”

No, of course not. Such a jutsu would demand for much more chakra than the average person had to offer. It was a life, after all – not some superficial injury.

With a start, he watched as Naruto kneeled on Gaara's other side, holding his hands out to Chiyo. “Please. Use my chakra.” Naruto stared at the Sand-nin imploringly. “Old lady … can you do that?”

For the longest moment, Chiyo only looked at Naruto, but with her back to him, Neji couldn’t see her expression. Finally, she nodded.

“Put your hands on top of mine.”

Naruto did so, and almost immediately, his immense chakra was drawn forth like a living force. After a long silence, Chiyo spoke again

”I am glad that someone like you appeared in this world of Shinobi that we old people created. Everything I’ve ever done has been a mistake. I see that now. But here, at the end of the line, it looks like I can finally do the right thing.”

Beside him, Neji felt the Hebiza shift.

“Suna and Konoha,” Chiyo continued, “Their futures … are differing from our past. What Kakashi said about your mysterious power–that power may change the future. You will become a Hokage unlike any before.” She paused. “And Sakura, don’t risk your life for an old hag next time. Save that which is important to you. You are a lot like me. There are not many women with chivalrous spirits to match those of men, and you may become a kunoichi surpassing your own master. And Naruto … a request from an old hag.”

Neji watched as those reserves began to close within the woman and knew the time was coming.

“You are the only one who can know Gaara’s pain. And Gaara knows yours. Please … help him find his way.”

… Who is it?

Who … are they calling?

Who …?

This hand …

My hand again …?

My hand …

Me …?

I …

Who … am I …?

I am …

Gaara.

“Naruto …?”

“Everyone came to save you.”

Gaara looked around himself in surprise. There were hundreds of nin, a great majority from Suna, from the looks of it. But his attention was drawn back to the blond Leaf-nin at his side, grinning down at him widely despite his many apparent injuries. What … happened?

“Hey, you put us through a lot,” Naruto teased, serving only to confuse Gaara the more.

“For sure.” It was Kankuro; his brother stood beside him, looking a little weary, but grinning all the same. “You’re a little brother I always have to worry about.”

On his other side, Temari scoffed. “Hey, don’t get so complacent. Gaara’s still the Kazekage, so don’t be so cheeky.” Turning a worried look upon him, she asked, “Gaara … how are you feeling?”

Confused, he couldn’t make sense of why his body suddenly felt so … fatigued. Something was missing. He felt a little emptier … strangely. I don’t … He made to stand, but every muscle in his body seemed to protest, and he all but collapsed back to the grass.

“You shouldn’t be in such a hurry to move,” Temari chastised, “Your body’s not back to full health yet.”

Somewhere in the crowd, a commotion seemed to rise when people seemed to realize that he was awake. Frowning, he watched Temari stand to address the girls, feeling completely lost. Distantly, he heard Kankuro speak, but he didn’t pay attention until he heard Naruto respond.

“You should be saying that to the old lady, not me. She saved Gaara with her amazing medical jutsu.” Gaara followed Naruto’s gaze to a small group of Leaf-nin. Chiyo-sama? “She’s passed out from exhaustion now, but she’ll be fine when she gets back to the–“

“No.”

Naruto frowned. “What do you mean, ‘no’?”

Kankuro sighed. “That was no medical jutsu. It was a Tensei Jutsu. Chiyo is dead.”

“What … What are you saying?”

“It’s a jutsu that restores life, in exchange for the user’s own …” Kankuro explained, and Gaara listened careful, never taking his eyes from the elder. “At one time, in Suna’s Puppet Squad, people tried to research and develop a jutsu to give life to puppets. Chiyo-baasama was in charge of that. She worked out the theory behind the jutsu, but in the process, she realized that the risk was too high, and before the experiment was even carried out, it was designated a forbidden jutsu … and sealed away.”

Why would she … give her life for mine?

“Naruto,” Temari murmured, “You really are a mysterious person. You have the power to change people. Chiyo-sama was always saying that she didn’t care about the future of the village. She wasn’t the kind of person who would do something like this for Gaara.”

“… Chiyo-sama entrusted the future to you and Gaara,” Naruto’s sensei said, and Gaara blinked. The Copy Ninja’s expression seemed remorseful, and for the first the Gaara had seen of him, both eyes were revealed – although Kakashi’s scarred one was closed. “A truly fitting last moment for a Shinobi.”

“Yeah…” Naruto stood. “Just like the Sandaime.”

Kakashi nodded. “That’s right.”

“I think … I understand the old hag’s feelings for sure now.”


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