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electrasev5nwrites · 8 months

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Ninja Daily: AIC 17

'Is it really necessary to have me approve office supply acquisition?' Aiko wondered, scanning through the lists for anything that seemed odd. She wasn't saying it was extraneous paperwork, because she really didn't know. Maybe it was good procedure to know what had been done with public funds even in such small accounts, so that larger possibilities for abuse didn't go unnoticed. Or maybe it was just that the public funds were currently so low that it was a reasonable exception in procedure.

She rubbed at her eyes.

The purchases seemed to be in order, anyway, for a small office. She really needed to get some staff assigned to help with organization. But now wasn't the time to take anyone away from other projects. Everyone was overworked and everything was time sensitive, so the fact that she was overworked wasn't an excuse to take resources from anything else going on.

She looked up sharply before she knew why.

Nothing was outwardly wrong- the genin were still working on their warm-up exercises, and dawn had nearly broken over Konoha, bringing with it enough light for her to work by.

But there was something coming. She could feel it. Wary, Aiko stood.

There was a rustle in the trees, an ominous wind that pulled smaller branches to the point of bending.

"I HAVE COME FOR A REMATCH!"

Aiko closed her eyes. She put her face in her hands. She did not look at where she knew Gai-san would be standing, teeth gleaming in the sun and expression one of absolute determination.

"Sensei?"

Ryuusei's voice was impossibly meek.

She sighed. "Keep working," she told the genin. There was nothing to do for it, so she faced the jounin head-on.

'He brought Lee. He came to challenge me, and he brought Lee. Why? Surely he doesn't bring Lee around with him all the time. He certainly doesn't always bring his students when he wants to compete against Kakashi.'

"Shinobi-san," Aiko greeted. "Have we met?"

His face fell, just for a moment. "Surely you remember me!" Gai was certainly standing in a heroic manner, backlit marvelously by the rising sun. "The last we met, you defeated me in a foot race. But I have been training hard, shinobi-san! I've come to regain my honor. Perhaps through another competition. What do you say?"

'He's either teaching Lee a lesson on perseverance, or he's trying to make me regard this interaction as harmless and dismiss him as a threat,' Aiko decided. 'Probably both. Gai is clever, and he'd be able to give a very good gauge of my abilities after even one spar. He's not doing this for the hell of it, although he probably would spar me for the sheer fun of it.'

"Ano…" She tugged on the end of her braid. "Sorry. I don't recall. And I'm pretty busy anyway, I don't think I have time in my schedule for a competition. I'm sorry, but I'm going to have to say no. Perhaps another time."

She was, in fact, too busy to get into a spar that would quite possibly put her in the hospital. But that would look like a bald-faced lie to Gai-san. She regretted that a bit.

To his credit, he looked only a little downfallen. "Another time, then!" Gai gave a bow. "I will try again another day. Lee! We must begin our training."

"Yes, Gai-sensei," Lee agreed cheerfully. "Goodbye, Kiri-san!"

Aiko waved. "Goodbye, Gai-san, Lee-san," she said, nearly stumbling over the honorific for Lee. Her habitual, reflexive honorific would have been inappropriately friendly.

They made no reaction, but Gai would have noted the oddity. Who knows what, if anything, he would think of it.

Her genin stopped pretending to be absorbed in their stretches. "Wow," Ryuusei said. "That man was really weird. Why did he think that he knew you?"

"He was telling the truth, obviously," Aiko responded absently. "We met in Fire Country months back. When I was traveling with Utakata."

"Why'd you pretend that you didn't know him, then?" Yuusaku asked. He sat up straight, giving up on reaching his palm past his toes.

"So she didn't have to spar with him, obviously." Ryuusei gave a little laugh. "What would be the point? She's far stronger than he could be."

That… might not be true. She would probably win in an actual fight, if she was the one to start it. But that was no reason to be dismissive. In a spar, when neither of them were playing to kill, he would probably win 4 times out of 5. She could surprise him once, or maybe twice, but after he knew her tricks… He was good enough to counter her and win.

"Don't be foolish," Aiko said sharply. "I'm a taijutsu specialist, and he's my superior in that by far. I wouldn't fight with him unless I had no other option."

Yuusaku made a face like he thought she might be joking. Ryuusei and Keisuke exchanged skeptical looks.

"Why would you make the assumption that he's weak?"Aiko pushed, irritated by the arrogance of that lazy thinking. "Because he's loud? Because you think his clothes are strange for a shinobi?"

"Because he's weird!" Keisuke burst out. "He's really weird and not stealthy at all."

"He's not?" She let her eyebrows raise. "How do you know? Do you think he was trying to be stealthy right now? And as for weird, so what? If anything, that should make you wonder if he's not more than you would otherwise assume. Eccentricities are more easily afforded to the powerful. An administration will excuse more irritations or oddities for an especially valuable resource."

"Jeeze." Keisuke huffed, shrugging. "Alright, we won't judge books by covers."

"Thank you," she said. "And with that in mind, let's try again. Why do you think I refused to engage?"

Keisuke rolled his eyes, but answered quickly. "Foreign jounin comes looking for a spar, he's probably trying to gather information. Which we didn't think because of our assumptions, which means that by being loud and weird he was in fact being stealthy. Yes, I get it now, sensei."

Aiko blinked. "Yeah, you kinda cut off my next point," she agreed. "I was on kind of a teacherly-roll there, couldn't you let me finish? The other two didn't think that far ahead in the conversation, did they?" She looked at Ryuusei and Yuusaku for confirmation.

Yuusaku shook his head, a little embarrassed by the failure.

"Not for a minute," Ryuusei said honestly. "I was thinking about lunch." He did not look shamed at all.

"It's five thirty," Keisuke said incredulously. "We just ate."

Ryuusei shrugged.

"See?"Aiko asked Keisuke, who was giving his teammates withering looks. "Let me finish next time, don't spoil it for the others."

"The short version is fine," Yuusaku disagreed. "Feel free to cut sensei's lectures off. I don't understand half of them anyway."

Aiko tossed the scroll she'd been reading at his head, slowly enough for him to dodge but with enough force that it rolled a while. "No," she said firmly, shaking a finger at him. "Bad."

He raised his hands, palms-out. But he was smiling, so she hadn't gone too far and frightened him or anything.

She sent them all back to work. Aside from a nap between 8 am and 10 am, she worked diligently as well, approving requisition notices and going over the reports of the disturbance that Utakata had mentioned as well as other security notes. It probably was Yamato's backup… Who would that even be? ANBU, for certain. Which of Yamato's ANBU peers would be doing missions out of Konoha at the moment? Not Kakashi or Genma, for certain.

'Oh, crap.' Aiko nibbled on the end of her pen, getting ink on her lips. 'I have a suspicion.'

They broke for lunch a little late, but this time Aiko actually shelled out for a hot lunch that she and Yuusaku carried back to the others. This time, the students sat a little closer, which was a nice expression of progress. Maybe they'd make a team after all.

She didn't want them to know that she was pleased or draw attention to it, so Aiko kept up with her work while she ate again.

The next papers she found were dossiers from the outgoing genin class that would be graduating in a month's time. Really? It was her job to look at these folders and decide how the teams would be made up? That was…. shouldn't their teachers have input in that? They'd know better than she would how the students interacted on a personal level.

A little worried, she flipped through the stack to see what kinds of teacher comments were given to each student. They were briefer than she would have liked- each student got a sheet of paper with the class rank, skill levels, and a few comments about personality and work ethic. Some of them didn't have more than a half-page of writing. This seemed… it made her nervous to make this kind of decision. She wanted a lot more information than this.

There was some general things about the composition of the classes that she noticed, however. It was considerably smaller than Konoha's graduating class, with 3 classes of twelve students rather than 4 classes of 36. If enrollment had dropped that low, no wonder they'd had to get rid of that graduation death-match tradition, they'd have no shinobi at all otherwise. The general demographics were sharply weighted towards water-natured shinobi with better skills in blades than any other specialisation, there were no students with any type of special ability noted, and the male-female ratio was the same as it was in Konoha.

"Oh." Aiko tilted her head. "So we're kind of an odd team then."

The genin exchanged a look, their conversation trailing off. "Sensei?" Ryuusei ventured.

She waved the papers. "I'm looking at the new team assignments," Aiko explained. "Looks like the gender ratio is about 2 to 1 male to female, so that's the usual team breakup. I guess we're an anomaly."

The genin looked deeply, deeply uncomfortable and didn't look at each other. Ryuusei strategically shoved an entire dumpling in his mouth. Keisuke opened his mouth, and then closed it.

"O—kay," Aiko said uncertainly. "It's not that interesting, I know. Wanna go back to talking about how to hit things really hard?"

"This team was intended as a standard formation," Yuusaku said carefully. "Is that a problem?"

What?

Oh.

She blinked. "No." For a moment she wondered which genin had been- but no, it didn't matter. "Of course not. I don't care what your birth certificates say, I care how much you improve your running times this month. Speaking of which, some of you are making more progress than others. Some people could stand to daydream less when they should be sprinting. Not naming any names, Keisuke." She paused pointedly. "Oh, damn."

"I'm not daydreaming," he argued. "You said not to push myself if my ankle hurt."

"Wait, your ankle has been hurting and you didn't tell me?" She felt a headache coming on. "You've gotta be fucking with me here."

"It's not that bad." He looked mutinous. "Just a twinge sometimes."

"Don't sass me, we're in the country with the best medical care in the world." Aiko scowled at him. "It'd be stupid not to make sure things are fine."

"Are you my mother?" Keisuke asked. He crossed his arms. "Because you sound like my mother."

"Your mother sounds like she knows what's up," Aiko retorted. She sat up straight, putting her paperwork away. "Maybe I'll bring her along next time we have a long mission and she can help me. I'd love to hang out with your mother. We'll be friends."

"Please don't bring his mother," Ryuusei said under his breath, stabbing at a piece of chicken.

Keisuke gave his friend an offended look.

"What? You don't want her to come either," Ryuusei defended.

"Yes, but you can't just say that about someone else's mother," Yuusaku pointed out, incredulous. "What would you say if I said I didn't want to spend time with your mother?"

"I'd say-"

"Boys," Aiko interrupted. "This was a half-decent attempt at distracting me from the hospital trip and all, but we're leaving in four minutes and anything you've not eaten is going to be my snack while you all do pushups. I won't even enjoy eating all your food, but I'll do it. It'll probably make me sick. Do you want to make your poor sensei sick?"

Yuusaku sighed, pushing his hair out of his face. "It was a good try," he said philosophically.

Ryuusei started scooping rice into his mouth with rude haste. Luckily, they all finished their food before her imposed time-limit.

The hospital in Konoha was a somewhat awkward experience as a foreigner. The civilian staff didn't seem to care much, but there was a definite chill to the air with which the student medic-nin took Keisuke's initial questioning before a matronly doctor did his exam and said he'd strained the large muscle up the back of his ankle.

The doctor pushed her rolling chair backwards to give the genin some space, blinking behind square glasses. "If you've no hurry, it would be better to heal the natural way. I'll get you a brace and have you ice and elevate. But if you've got to get back to your work in the next week, I'll find one of the shinobi interns and have them soothe you right up. What do you think?"

When Keisuke looked at her, Aiko shrugged. "Your medical treatment is your call," she reminded. "You'll lose some conditioning if you heal slowly, but you'll probably have a stronger ankle in the long term. It's not a huge risk, though. Either decision is fine by me."

"Um." His jaw flexed.

"I'll give you a moment to think about it," the doctor said. "You there, young man. Yes, you."

Yuusaku stiffened.

"You're breathing rather shallowly. Since you're here, why don't you hop up on the table and let me have a listen to your lungs?"

Aiko suppressed a smile at the dumbfounded expression on her genin's face. This was the kind of medical environment that she remembered. "Yamaguchi-sensei?"

The older woman didn't entirely turn. "Yes, shinobi-san?"

"I'm going to go to the restroom. Thank you for your excellent care." She threw her genin one last look. "Do as the good doctor says."

"Yes," Ryuusei answered cheerfully, echoed a moment later and with less smugness by his peers.

"Good." She slid the door quietly behind her and took off to the right. She hadn't been lying about her destination, although she was more interested in washing her hands after lunch than using the facilities. Aiko checked her reflection, grimaced, and made a conscious note to put some makeup on tomorrow. Her skin was not exactly glowing after the sleepless nights she'd been having.

It was pure coincidence that she was leaving the room when someone familiar went to step inside.

"Hey." On impulse, Aiko nearly reached out to take Karin's sleeve and only thought better at the last moment. "Uzumaki Karin?"

"What?" Karin whipped around, sneering. She gave Aiko an up-and-down without showing the slightest hint of intimidation at a foreign jounin, because of course Karin wouldn't.

Aiko felt a fond smile threaten to come out. "Uzumaki Aiko. I see that incredible good looks are genetic."

The look Karin gave her now was longer and kinder, lingering on the set of her jaw and her nose. It was a little uncomfortable under that stare, but Aiko endured it knowing that Karin was looking for hints of shared heritage.

"Good looks are genetic," Karin allowed generously. "Some of us get more than others, but there's not much to do about that."

"Sad but true," Aiko agreed, letting her mouth curve into a bitchy little smile and her gaze rest on Karin's chin judgmentally. Karin occasionally worried that it was too pointy.

Her itty bitty cousin began coloring pink.

"It's nice to meet you," Aiko said, seriously meaning it. "If Grass doesn't work out for you, come find me."

Karin gave a cutting little laugh. "Me? In Kirigakure?"

"I don't have a lot of family," Aiko said, not rising to the bait. "If you get into trouble, or maybe if you're just not seeing your career going anywhere, tell a Kiri-nin you're my little sister. They'll probably curse at you, but they'll take you to me." She nodded goodbye and stepped away while Karin was still looking for a response. "Please excuse me."

She could feel the teenager staring at her back.

'Nostalgic.' Aiko flexed her fingers. 'Maybe I should find Sakura and see how she is, since I'm here. Would she still be in the hospital?'

Probably not. And actually, no one would be happy about her presuming to visit one of Konoha's genin. Kakashi was more protective than he seemed- he might actually try to drag her out of Konoha himself. He'd already warned her off of his team once.

It was, on some level, a relief that he would take care of the rotten little bastards, since she couldn't do it.

'He's doing better without me anyway. I'm the only difference, and Sakura survived this time. That probably means that I fucked up somehow in the test design or administration. There was some weakness that Orochimaru exploited last time that he couldn't now.'

"No, brain," Aiko told herself. "We're not doing that recrimination today."

A passing medical ninja pretended not to be watching her intently. Aiko privately acknowledged that she, too, would be somewhat wary of a Kiri-nin talking to themselves in a hospital. She kept her mouth shut until she reached her genin again. They had acquired suckers in the time that she'd been gone, and Yuusaku had a blue bandaid with ducks on his arm.

"You went with the chakra healing, then?" Aiko asked, because Keisuke didn't have a brace on his leg.

He nodded. "I'd rather work hard while we have your undivided attention. Who knows what time you'll have when we get back to the village?"

She opened her mouth. She shut it, because actually she couldn't say that she would make time for them. Although she was starting to like them, and she did like training sweet baby ninjas. It was so sweet watching them try to be deadly. But no. She had a job. A full-time job.

'Tsunade trained Sasuke while she was Hokage.'

Yeah, well, Aiko wasn't Tsunade. Also, Sasuke was just one genin.

…but he was one genin who was younger than these ones, and needed more individual attention. But he'd still become perfectly terrifying in good time, and he'd gotten an excellent education in leadership and administration that would give him valuable job prospects.

Hm. Something to consider. And not just for these three- what training opportunities did Kiri's genin and chuunin have? Autonomy was needed, yes, in order to begin branching out and working as an adult. But these three had been working without supervision far too early in their careers. Was that the norm in Kirigakure for children who didn't catch a powerful sponsor's attention? How could she begin to change that?

'Oh my god, stop,' Aiko told herself. 'No. No, no, no, I can only have so many projects at once. Mark that in a folder labeled 'consider later' and just leave it be until I've put away what I'm doing now. I can't do everything at once.'

Outside the hospital, Aiko stopped to consider what needed to be done now. It was 2:30… Far too early to stop training for the day. But she needed to head to Wave. Her impulse was to set the boys to training on something that they could do without supervision. But they'd all done muscle-building exercises yesterday. It didn't make sense to push that two days in a row. A rest day, or some other kind of growth day was a good option.

"Sensei?" Ryuusei laced his fingers behind his head. "What now?"

'I want to take them with me to Wave,' Aiko decided. 'Can I do that without anyone getting really suspicious?'

Probably not. If there were no noises coming from the hotel rooms that supposedly had four people, the ANBU might risk peeking inside.

'I can take one, and leave the other two to watch tv or something. Read a book, play a game.'

It'd be hard to do that without singling a student out. The other two would feel excluded, and then one who went would probably resent missing a chance to relax.

She sighed. "Here." Aiko unfolded her wallet and pulled out man-en. Yuusaku took it on reflex, eyes wide. "I think you should take a few hours off. Do whatever you want. There's a movie theater, a bowling alley, or a game parlour. Ask around, maybe spend time with some foreigners. You've got to be getting bored with me by now, find someone your own age." She used a hard tone on the end that hopefully made clear that 'make a friend' was the assignment for the day.

Keisuke opened his mouth, probably to ask her what she would be doing. Then he realized that of course she wouldn't and shouldn't answer that. He shut his mouth sheepishly and shrugged. "Alright. We'll find something to do. Is that our budget? Can't you find a little more within your heart?"

Ryuusei gave him a scandalized look.

"You're going to have to live with that," Aiko said dryly. "I know you three have some money of your own. You got a budget for this trip, you rotten bug, and you've been letting me pay for it all out of pocket."

'Did he forget that I assigned the budget? Honestly, trying to pull one over on your kage. Cheeky.'

"It was worth a shot." He shrugged. "What time should we be back?"

"Curfew," Aiko said firmly. "Eat without me, I'll make my own plans." She paused, knowing an ANBU was closer than usual and they would wonder what she intended to do all day. "Or maybe I'll just sleep through it."

"That's not healthy," Yuusaku scolded. He frowned down at her. "Sensei, how are you ever going to get big and strong if you don't eat your vegetables?"

Her eye twitched. "I'm going to throw you in the river, see if I don't," Aiko said in her most reasonable tone. "I'll lean over the bridge and laugh."

"Can you see over the railing?" he asked. He actually looked concerned, the little bastard.

She took a moment to check their surroundings, and determined that there were too many civilians milling by for her to sweep his feet out and put him on the ground. It would be unfortunate to cause an accident.

"Be good, children." She reached out and punched Yuusaku's arm. "I'll see you in the morning, if not tonight. Practice is at 5:00 am, and I'm not waking you up this time. Meet at the field."

"Hai, hai," someone muttered, but she was already walking away.

XXX

"Hikari-chan!" Tsunami actually hugged her as soon as she realized who was in her doorway. "Oh, what are you wearing?"

"Hello, Tsunami-chan," Aiko said fondly. She returned the squeeze, careful not to use too much strength. "I've found myself working for Kirigakure lately, actually. I was hoping to talk to your father on their behalf." She glanced down at the drab uniform that had surprised Tsunami- it was black slacks, white socks, and a black high-necked shirt with subtle grey stripes. It was meant to go under the flak vest, but Aiko hadn't managed to scare up a vest that was truly in her size yet. The one that she'd brought to Konoha for when she absolutely had to have one was large and, of course, fucking heavy. The design really was unfairly preferential to shinobi with a lot of upper body strength in the same way that Konoha's were. It was just so incredibly shitty.

"Is that so?" Tsunami barely seemed surprised, but then, she was under a helluva genjutsu. Aiko didn't think she could end it now if she wanted to. "Well, that's interesting. We are very close to Kirigakure, so that makes a lot of sense. I'm sure Inari-kun will be excited to see you dressed like that. He's been playing ninja since that team from Konoha left."

"Oh?" Aiko followed the older woman into the house, noting with pleasure that it looked less shabby. The water-marked shoji had been replaced since she had last visited. "I can imagine. He had a very good experience with shinobi."

"Haven't we all?" Tsunami asked absently. She put on some water for tea. "Would you believe that after you left, Hatake-san told me that you were a shinobi?"

Aiko froze, because, awkward.

"He thought I didn't know!" Tsunami had a sweet laugh, genuine and a little hiccupy. "Honestly." She shook her head. "I told him that we grew up together. Oh, we didn't talk about it, but we knew there weren't many reasons for a woman like your mother to travel for work the way she did."

'She's been filling in the gaps of the genjutsu I gave her with whatever makes the most sense,' Aiko realized. 'Well… It's a good story. And Konoha will believe it, coming from her. Kakashi probably put as fact on my record that I grew up in Wave with a single parent and worked as a solo contractor.'

"I'm happy to have a village to work for now," Aiko said, steering the conversation back to the present. "It's a lot more secure, although a large cut of my mission earnings have to go to public funding and other things. It's not quite as lucrative, but it's safe."

That was all true. The bits about losing her earnings to fund public works was true to a hilarious degree that Tsunami would not assume.

Tsunami hummed. "Oh, I can imagine," she agreed. "Although it's hard to imagine Kirigakure being secure. They don't have the best reputation. There's a reason that Father went to Konoha."

Aiko winced.

"Partly that they wouldn't know there were Mist-affiliated rouges in the area," Tsunami allowed thoughtfully. "He didn't want to pay for that."

…She didn't even want to get into that discussion, although she was aching to burst in with an educational lecture about how wrong that was. No. Now was not the time.

"Do you think your father would be interested in working a contract with Kirigakure?" Aiko asked, a little strained. "I'm empowered to negotiate salary considerations and can provide a little information on the project. We would also offer shinobi assistance, assuming he believes water or stone jutsu would be helpful to provide materials."

Tsunami paused, looking up from pouring the boiling water over leaves. "We," she said thoughtfully.

….what?

"You said we," Tsunami explained. "You really are considering yourself part of Kirigakure already, aren't you? How long have you been working for them?"

Aiko strained to remember a date, but couldn't. "Since after you saw me last," she said. "I met a Kiri-nin and became friendly. We went there together and I ended up getting a position that I think I'll keep for a while."

"Hmm." Tsunami's eyes narrowed, but she seemed to shake away whatever trepidation she was having. "Well, father might like another story to tell, since this project went so well. And I know that several of the men who were on his crew would like some work. Would Kirigakure want to hire them too?"

"As many workers as possible," Aiko said honestly. "The skilled manpower that Kirigakure can direct to this project is low." She took the tea she was offered, though it was still a bit too hot.

"I see." Tsunami tapped her fingers against her cup. "Father won't be back for hours. Will you be waiting for him?"

Hours? Aiko shook her head. "I can't," she apologized. "I could try to return at a more convenient time tomorrow?"

"He leaves pretty early most days. How about 7am?" Tsunami suggested. "I'll talk to Father tonight and see what he thinks. We'll have breakfast together and talk business after I take Inari to school."

She tried not to be too obvious in her relief. At least, until she remembered that Tsunami wouldn't judge her for it or run to tell anyone about Aiko being suspiciously exhausted. "Thank you," she stressed. "I really appreciate this. It's the first big project I've meant to get going, and Tazuna-san was the first person that I thought of."

Tsunami smiled brightly. "It's no trouble at all. I was going to do some sewing- would you like to stay and just talk for a while, or should you be leaving soon?"

"I can spare an hour." Aiko ran her fingers over the scroll in her thigh holster. "Actually, there's something I could work on."

"Oh?" Tsunami asked politely. She reached to the counter for a basket of oranges and began to peel one.

Aiko watched the way the peel came off in one long spiral and enjoyed the scent released into the air. "I need to write a letter. A few quiet minutes to sit down and think about it could be very helpful."

Not to mention a place to write where there was no one trying to see the paper or waiting to dig around in her garbage for clues. She didn't want to try writing her letter to Nadeshiko sitting outside while someone used binoculars on her.

She got her first draft done, and was rather pleased with it. Carefully, Aiko blew to dry the ink, and then rolled it back up.

"I'm heading out," she told Tsunami. "I'll see you in the morning. Is there anything I can bring?"

"Oh, no," Tsunami demurred. "We have enough on hand."

Aiko waved that away. "How about fresh fruit? Maybe some melon?"

"Well… That would be very nice." Tsunami brightened. "I look forward to seeing you, then. Please have a safe trip."

"Thank you, I'll do my best." Aiko gave her friend another hug, and then stepped into her boots. "Please have a good night. Excuse me."

She stepped out of the house, shut the door, and immediately moved to her office where she bumped into her desk. The lights were off, and the shutters drawn. She grumbled under her breath and flipped on the light.

The Konoha shinobi who had been standing very, very still in the hopes that she continued not noticing him gave her an alarmed look.

Aiko sighed. "Hello," she said unenthusiastically. She tossed the envelope she was holding onto her desk. "Please consider yourself a guest of Kirigakure as of this moment, Konoha-san. Unless of course you would prefer to fight?"

He looked at her, really examining her. She could see him calculating the odds. "You're the Mizukage, aren't you?" he asked, somewhat awkwardly.

She nodded. She sat down at her desk and held out her hand.

Raidou carefully put the letters he'd been reading into her waiting grip. "I, ah. I'm looking forward to my stay," he said in a tone heavy with irony. He put his hands behind his back.

"Lovely." She indicated the seat across from her desk. "Let's talk about how you'll be helping Kirigakure while you're here."

He blinked.

"Yamato-san is very skilled with wood-working," she said blandly. "Do you have any similar talents?"

"Um." Raidou reluctantly sat, eyeing the entrance in her peripheral. He folded his hands on his lap. Someone had heard voices and was knocking on the door. "I'm afraid not."

"That's fine. We'll find something you can enjoy until Konoha gets around to sending the paperwork explaining that you're meant to be here for diplomatic reasons," Aiko said dryly. "I imagine that yours are just as lost at Yamato-san's?"

He didn't blink for slightly too long, clearly wondering if this was the story Yamato had given her. "Must have left them at home."

"Probably in your other pants," Aiko agreed. "Do you like bridges?"

#vapors #uzumaki aiko #electrasev5n #ninja daily #fanfiction #naruto fanfiction #clarity #AIC #Aiko in Canon

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prince-everhard · 1 year

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Weekly Oneshot Challenge - week 10

Title: the pursuit of knowledge Rating: T (mild swearing) Fandom: Naruto Word count: 1647 Summary: Kakashi expects his team to shake the world someday. He doesn’t expect them to shake his world doing homework of all things. [strike team au]

“Sensei?” Kakashi looks up from his book at Sakura’s tone.

All of team seven is studying, even Kakashi. After the grueling month of “conditioning boot camp” that Kakashi shamelessly stole from his ANBU days, the team had fallen into a more sedate routine. Sedate in this case is relative, as Kakashi has also just as shamelessly scoped out how his fellow jounin sensei are treating their students. He won’t say that he finds his peers’ work to be lacking. He’ll certainly think it, but he won’t say it.

The other genin teams of this graduating class meet three times a week, train for a couple hours, and take on a D-rank or two a week. They rarely see each other outside of training or family functions. Team seven trains almost daily, with a mandated rest day in the middle of the week. From the time they wake up until the time they get ready for bed, they are in some way training or working. Kakashi has made a point to have his team study in the evenings after pushing their bodies during the day. D-ranks are just another kind of training with added parameters and his students’ naturally competitive natures.

His team also has the benefit of seeing each other almost all day every day thanks to Kakashi’s digging. Jounin sensei aren’t required or even expected to house their students like with an apprenticeship, but there was enough of a precedent for him to offer his family home to his students despite the council’s pushback. Opening his family home to them only made it easier to foster their teamwork and oversee their progress. Naruto was happy to have someone to come home to, Sasuke quietly grateful to have an excuse to avoid the ghosts of his clan, and Sakura was eager to escape the smothering presence of parents who didn’t understand her shinobi lifestyle. So team seven eats, sleeps, trains, and even relaxes together. Between the proximity and the shared misery of their initial training Kakashi can see how his genin has grown both as a team and as individuals.

Their studying in the evenings is varied and intense. There are days where he lets them loose on his father’s old library with no direction; whatever catches their fancy or they want to pursue is fair game. Kakashi finds those evenings entertaining, in a way. He finds himself surprised by what his genin choose to study. Seeing Sasuke thumbing through medical texts surprised him. Naruto’s gravitation toward traps and fuinjutsu is on-brand enough to settle his nerves, though in a few years he knows others are going to have a problem with it. Sakura seemingly picks something at random and when Kakashi comments on this after the third or fourth time she’s changed subjects she tells him firmly that no knowledge that can help the team is bad knowledge and he lets her be after that.

This night isn’t one of their free study nights. Kakashi has them focus on history, his family library supplemented with choice books from the jounin section of the Konoha library. With the Hokage’s purpose of this team weighing heavily on his mind, he has them studying the founding of Konoha. Naruto has a text on the clans of Konoha laying in his lap, though his focus is on notes from the Uchiha clan that Sasuke had offered when they found out the evening’s study topic. If Naruto seriously wants to be Hokage, he’ll have to know the people he’ll be leading. Sasuke is reading about the founding of ANBU and standard training procedures first created by the Nidaime. While Sasuke doesn’t have any goals beyond fratricide, Kakashi thinks that molding the next generations of the village’s elite protectors might suit him. And Sakura-

Well, Sakura has a veritable mountain of books around her armchair, but the one in her grip isn’t one that Kakashi remembers giving her. Kakashi can see general history books on the founding, the major and minor ninja wars, immigration into Konoha, and even a small tome about the battle at the Valley of the End. He’s mildly alarmed at the origin of the book in her hands. Kakashi just barely remembers seeing the same book in Kushina’s hands, once. It’s the journal of Mito Uzumaki.

“Sensei,” Sakura repeats, and something about her voice has her teammates looking up as well, “Were we put on this team together because Naruto is the kyuubi jinchuriki?”

Sasuke’s brow furrows immediately in thought. By contrast, Naruto’s eyes go wide and his usually tan face goes concerningly pale. Kakashi pings his chakra to check that the security seals on the house are intact and active. He sets his own book down (a tome on wartime psychology gifted to him by the current Yamanaka head) and turns his full focus to his brightest student. Something like that damning feeling of being handed their files in the Hokage’s office fills him. “What makes you think that, Sakura?”

Once, Sakura might have quailed under the full force of his scrutiny. But he’s proud to see that she glances at her team for moral support and straightens her posture even though he’s not muting his chakra. “It’s a lot of little pieces that I’ve been putting together,” she begins. “At first, I thought that being put on the same team as someone with the sharingan was a political statement. Something like, look at our two oldest kekkei genkai working together. And without other details, that makes sense.” It really does, if you’re looking at it from a political angle instead of a military one. “But that leaves a few loose ends. If they wanted to make a political statement, we would have been under a sensei from a clan, probably the Sarutobi.” Sakura seems to come into herself as she speaks; her confidence only grows as she goes further into her reasoning. “And while the Hatake family have fielded several noteworthy shinobi, they’re not politically powerful in the current village climate.” Kakashi shouldn’t be surprised that Sakura has researched his family. No knowledge is bad knowledge, after all.

“But then that leaves the third teammate. Choosing someone with no clan and no kekkei genkai would have been the best move if this team was politically motivated.” At this, Sakura looks over at Naruto and something in her gaze settles his fear, even if just a bit. “Naruto is an Uzumkai. Even in the orphanage, they kept his last name. It didn’t take much digging to find out there was an Uzumaki clan.” Kakashi can see Naruto mouth the word clan to himself and curses the Hokage and his edict under his breath. Sakura pauses for a sip of water. “The Uzumaki clan has historical ties to Konoha, sure, which could have explained Naruto being in this team if there was still a clan to make that point. But the Uzumaki clan was decimated and scattered when Uzushio was destroyed.”

All the air seems to leave Naruto in a gust. Sakura looks unsure, hesitating on the edge of her chair, but Sasuke reaches over and taps Naruto’s shoulder with his fist. Naruto waves Sakura on, looking at the floor. “The Shodaime’s wife was an Uzumaki. Uzumaki Mito. The details are a little fuzzy, but it does seem to line up- Madara Uchiha defected from the village and attacked it, but it’s not widely known that he did this using his sharingan to control the kyuubi.” Sasuke doesn’t seem surprised by that announcement. How much of his clan’s history had been taught to him before they were wiped out? “It’s more widely known that the Shodaime used the mokuton to subdue the tailed beast, but it’s not publicly known what happened from there.” Uzumaki Mito was a fuinjutsu master, as were most of the Uzumaki. While the Shodaime was holding the kyuubi, she used her fuinjutsu skill to seal the tailed beast inside herself. She became the first jinchuriki of the kyuubi.” The journal was a big piece of the puzzle, but Kakashi is still impressed with how well Sakura had gathered the information and slotted it together.

Sakura points at herself. “Mokuton.” She points at Sasuke. “Sharingan.” She doesn’t point at Naruto, but instead looks at him with something sad and gentle in her expression. “And an Uzumaki with startling amounts of chakra, an insane healing factor, born on the night of the last kyuubi attack.” At that Naruto does look up. His eyes meet Sakura’s and something happens there that Kakashi can’t quite name. The end result is a ghost of a smile on Naruto’s face and Sakura turning to look at her sensei with defiance in the set of her jaw. “Were we created as a tailed beast containment squad?”

Sasuke has moved his hand to grip Naruto’s shoulder, his gaze also heavy and insubordinate. Naruto is looking between his two teammates with wonder and hope. Kakashi decides, in this moment, that he won’t lie to his students. They deserve the truth. “Yes.”

“Fuck that!” The expletive comes unexpectedly from Sakura. It startles a laugh out of Naruto and even Sasuke nearly smiles. “We’ll be the best squad Konoha has ever seen, and we’ll do it on our own terms.”

Kakashi watches fondly as Naruto’s grin goes as wide and carefree as usual. “The best ever, believe it!” He puts his fist out into the space between them, which Sakura immediately leans forward and presses her fist into his.

“On our own terms,” Sasuke agrees, and he also reaches out and presses his fist into theirs.

All three of his students look at him expectantly. Kakashi’s heart swells and his eyes prickle with emotion. Maybe before he vowed to make them strong out of fear, but now there is only affection as he reaches out his fist as well. You’ll shake the world, he vows.

#fanfic #naruto #weekly oneshot challenge #strike team au #prince fic #a little dialogue and exposition heavy #but i do have other oneshots for this au planned #so a necessary evil

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avversiera-writes · 3 years

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touch your heart [senju tobirama/you] - prologue + chapter 1

Summary: Hashirama might go down as the worst matchmaker in history, but he thinks he might be on to something. Tobirama sees through his brother's schemes and is determined not to fall for it. Or fall for you.

Word Count: 5k-ish

A/N: Yoooo sorry for taking this long to post it LMAOOO anyways, this work is available on AO3 with 12 chapters in, so if you want to read away!

also dedicating this post to @senju-sekhmet you’re the best, and happy belated XD

AO3 LINK FOR TOUCH YOUR HEART

LINK FOR THE REST OF THE SERIES

[PROLOGUE]

Thank you.

Those two words are what Tobirama’s mother seemed to tell his father all the time. She looked grateful saying it too. Too grateful to the point that she is cooped up in the Senju compound all the time, with nowhere to go. Tobirama was a smart kid–too smart for his own good–and he saw that the last place she wants to be was here, with family and raising children in this godforsaken war zone.

His mother said that was how she met his father, and how she fell in love with him, by the words of gratefulness, but Tobirama is a smart kid. He knew nothing of love, but he could tell that his mother did not love his father. She mistook feelings of gratitude as feelings of love.

His mother has a cold face, but she was gentle and fierce and was a great story-teller. She told stories of the great mountains and rivers that she has seen before everything fell into disarray. His mother loved art, books, and knowledge. She always encouraged Tobirama and his brothers to pursue their own curiosities beyond war.

Tobirama always took that to heart. Sure, his body and his mind are well-suited for battle but his interests lie elsewhere. He loves to explore, to discover, to observe and to experiment to prove something foreign to him. He loves to break down something to its smallest detail and build it back up to make something new. He wants to create.

Thank you.

Those were two words that were too much for his mother to bear all her life. It weighed on her. It chained her down.

Thank you.

Those were her last words to Tobirama.

Thank you, for being my son, for letting me be your mother.

Those were two words that stuck to him like a curse. They were binding, until the bitter end.

[PART ONE, CHAPTER ONE]

The first time Tobirama sees you, he immediately forms the opinion that you are too loud. Loud, in a sense that everything that passes by you, has to pay attention to you. Loud, in a sense that, when you speak, everyone has to hang by your every word. You are too loud, and he immediately concludes that you will not last long in a battle because you seem like an easy target. It is not like him to make fast conclusions without further observation, but you are just so loud that he wants to immediately shut down his senses.

So loud in fact, that even among the crowd, Tobirama cannot help but look your way and be wary of your presence.

Contrary to what he thinks, you are not that much of a blabbermouth nor a person who speaks aimlessly, but he does not know you yet. He has not even had a chance to look you straight in the face.

Today, he finds you standing by an umbrella stand, where a dozen colorful and detailed parasols are opened as a display to passerbys. You are in your casual kimono, and because it is spring, there are lovely pink cherry blossoms etched on your left sleeve, spreading towards your chest. Your obi cinches your waist and holds your sword by your side, so that it is easy to rest your hand on top of the hilt. Your hair is held back from your face with a simple hairpiece, and a festival fox mask hangs on the side of your head.

Tobirama stares, not having anything else to look at.

Hashirama and Madara are also walking around, greeting the citizens of Konoha, and holding children up in the air. Hashirama’s young sons follow closely behind, playfully roughhousing each other and anyone who happens to get in their way.

Hashirama notices his brother, glaring at a distant point and decides to step in lest Tobirama accidentally offends someone. He knows that his brother does not mean to glower at times. It’s just his eyes are a bit sensitive to the sun.

At least, that is the reason, most of the time.

Tobirama immediately looks away from you, but Hashirama already saw who he was looking at. He gives Tobirama a curious smile.

“What?” Tobirama deadpans.

“You should go talk to her,” Hashirama suggests. “You seem interested.”

Tobirama folds his arms. “No.”

Hashirama opens his mouth to add another thing, but Tobirama beats him to it.

“Brother, I said no,” Tobirama affirms, and that was that.

Hashirama sighs, and pouts a little. “She’s nice!”

Tobirama fakes a cough, making sure to spit out the words idiot clearly, and he crosses his arms. “You think everyone is nice.”

“Well, innocent until proven guilty, as they say!”

Tobirama glances back at you, and finds that he can easily track you.

“With all due respect, elder brother, that is a very naive statement coming from you.”

Tobirama has heard of you and he stops himself from telling Hashirama that, and instead lets him point out that you were one of the newly ranked jounins and that you specialize in kenjutsu. You also have been spending your free time teaching some of the older genins the basics of close range fighting and defense.

As the Hokage, Hashirama is more than happy to get to know those who are rising to the ranks and especially those who are gifted. It means that their Academy is working, even though it hasn’t been very long since it was established. You were one of those people from a clan who are already shinobi, but had to be evaluated in order to determine your rank and the Shodaime Hokage saw how skillful you are, despite not being the most powerful user of ninjutsu. He wants Konoha to have dependable teachers who will pass on useful skills and knowledge to whoever wants to learn.

You start to walk away from the umbrella stand, when suddenly a bunch of kids and teenagers rush towards you. Tobirama sees some young students in the group that he had picked himself. Hiruzen stands out among the rest, loud and rambunctious, while Danzo follows closely behind like a shadow, but as obtrusive.

“Sensei! You should join the sparring competition later! They have bokkens, you’re good with bokkens!”

You laugh, and try to back out before the others start to make your decision. “I think I will pass!”

“Aww, no!”

Tobirama watches the commotion, and then you look towards him. He freezes, as you smile at him and continue to wave him forward. Tobirama glares, because you are still waving at him but he does not know you so obviously he is not going to wave back, but suddenly Madara passes by him and Tobirama almost feels embarrassed.

Almost. He checks himself.

The wave was not meant for him.

He glimpses Madara give a small wave, and this makes him pause.

Madara waves? Tobirama almost scoffs at this, but he must keep his public appearance.

You smile warmly, and introduce Madara to the younger children who were starting to cower a little because of his serious and glum expression. Tobirama watches as you slip your arm through Madara’s arm like you have done it many times. Tobirama’s students look at each other, but they do not harbor any bad sentiments toward the Uchiha clan leader. Some of them even crack a smile at the younger children’s reactions. Madara can be a little intimidating at first, if you do not know him.

Then, you say something to the kids, earning a laugh from them and a small, tight-lipped smile from Madara.

Tobirama notices that the edges of Madara’s eyes have softened, something he only does around Hashirama.

“Are you sure you don’t want to get introduced to her? She is a very warm person,” Hashirama asks. “She’s also very smart and I think you’d benefit from her insights.”

Tobirama watches her say her goodbyes and pat a few children’s heads, and walk away. “I’m fine.”

Hashirama looks at Tobirama, doubt painted across his face, but he lets it go.

For now.

You stand in front of the Hokage, waiting for him to speak. You have been called early in the morning to meet with him, and you have been there for a few minutes, standing awkwardly. You are not sure whether to start some small talk since the Shodaime is busy peering over a few scrolls. Usually, whenever you see him, the Hokage is pretty chatty and offers a lot of kind words. He also seems to talk a lot about his younger brother to you, bragging about him and his accomplishments, and underwhelmingly explaining his personality, which you find strange.

It makes you think that there’s something off about Tobirama.

The door behind you opens and you step to the side to make a wide berth for the incoming person, even though there is enough room for at least a few more people to stand there. Tobirama walks in, his face sporting deep eyebags, but his eyes are hard and alert. You look him over, and your eyes go to his rough hands, where there are dried ink stains on his pale skin. His veins protrude out, blue and green rivers criss-crossing over his hands and up his arms. You see hints of faded scars on his skin, but in this light, his pale skin makes up for the blemishes.

“Brother,” Tobirama greets, although it sounds more like he is about to scold his elder brother.

Hashirama smiles and he motions for you to step closer.

You do, and you feel Tobirama’s eyes track you. You immediately look up and you catch his gaze, which makes him look away.

“I have a task for the two of you,” Hashirama casually brings up. He looks strangely cheerful. Like he has a step by step plan that went exactly as he wanted.

You look at the Hokage, all ears. And curious as to why he is acting this way.

“It has come to my attention that while we are training the next generation to be good shinobis, I do not think that we have a proper and standard curriculum,” Hashirama begins.

Tobirama’s head snaps upright at this. “Brother, what do you mean?”

He sounds almost angry, and well, if you were the creator of the education system in the village you built and someone had found flaws in it, you would be too.

“I think that there should be specific learning materials for each year before graduating to a genin, and so on,” Hashirama elaborates some more. “The two of you are to come up with these materials, and I want you to include other aspects that are not just related to being a shinobi. I want the next generation to not only be bred for war, but to have dispositions in other areas.”

Hashirama stands up and he places his palms on his desk. “Tobirama, you know this. You want to expand our village, I think this is a good step to make that happen.”

Tobirama looks at his brother with narrowed, suspicious eyes. He is not an idiot. He knows this is some set up, otherwise, why would his brother call you earlier than him? Why would his brother need you for this? These are the types of things he can accomplish on his own, so why are you here?

“I understand. Then, I think it is time for that to happen. We are at peace, after all.”

You slowly raise your hand. You notice that Tobirama does not even glance at you, and you want to laugh. You have heard a few things about Senju Tobirama from his own brother, and while it does not surprise you that he has a prickly attitude, it is another thing to see it upfront. It does not intimidate you, rather, it makes you want to see more of his reactions. He reminds you of the shy children that you have met in the Academy.

You just need to push the right buttons.

“If I may, Lord Hokage,” you start.

Hashirama nods for you to continue.

“With all due respect, what qualifications did I have to help Lord Tobirama with this new project?”

You swear you saw Tobirama’s eye twitch from the way you said his title. You hide your smirk by biting the side of your cheek.

Hashirama lets out a small chuckle, in which he earns a glare from his younger brother.

“I have heard about your dedication in teaching the children when you have the time, and since you insisted that you do not want to be a jounin sensei yet, like my brother is, I think it is a good idea for you to keep your head busy. Besides, I have heard you are quite the quick learner. You will find that my brother here is a very good teacher and can offer guidance well, if you can look past his mean demeanor.”

Tobirama opens his mouth to snap at his brother, but instead, takes a breath and holds his tongue.

Hashirama gathers up some documents from the corner of his desk. “You two can start tomorrow. I would love to have this done by the end of summer, just as the new school year is upon us.”

“Brother, stop being ridiculous. That is in three months,” Tobirama interjects. “I think I’m going to need time to plan.”

Hashirama glances at his brother. “Well, luckily for you, someone is here to help you. I have faith in you.”

“Too much, perhaps,” Tobirama dryly says, not even bothering to hide that he does not like this.

“And you, as well,” Hashirama says to you with a cheerful smile.

“Lord Hokage, with all due respect, am I going to get paid enough for this? I am practically jobless, I have a living to make,” you inquire with a smile. “Besides, you may also have to compensate for putting me up with your dear brother.”

In the corner of your eye, Tobirama crosses his arms.

Hashirama laughs heartily, and he gives Tobirama a grin. “I like her!” He nods. “You will surely be thanked for your services.”

He extends the pile of documents towards you and you step forward to accept them. You thank the Hokage with doubt, half-serious about the salary, but you decide to not push it today and you give him a smile. Then, you also smile at Tobirama.

“I will see you tomorrow then,” you tell him.

Tobirama carefully gazes at you, and then he nods. He turns to his brother with a determined look on his face. Or an angry look. You are honestly not sure.

“The Hokage mansion’s library,” Tobirama grounds out curtly. “9 am. Sharp.”

You look at him, wondering what type of bad day he is having to be this abrupt, or if this is how he really is. You understand that he and his brother have been at war for all of their life, so maybe this is how he has turned out.

“I will see you.” You bow quickly and walk out of there, ready to dive into the materials the Hokage gave you.

Madara aims a punch towards your way, but you quickly dodge it and block it with the palm of your hand, and you follow through by sending his movement forward by using his momentum and landing a charged punch to his lower ribs, just where his liver will be.

Madara chuckles and he flips himself away from you.

“Brutal,” Madara comments breezily. “That can actually kill someone, but fortunately I’m not just anyone.”

You roll your eyes. “Yeah well, give me an A for effort.”

Madara falters and his eyes narrow at you. He knows as well as you do that you are slacking and there is a lot on your mind. “Is this about what Hashirama told you earlier?”

You meet his eyes and let out a sigh. “Wow, word travels fast.”

Madara starts to walk towards you and he gathers his hair to one side. “That was not fair of him. If you want, I can talk to him about that.”

You watch Madara’s face, and a cloud passes overhead. You are almost tempted to say yes and cling to the wings that Madara has put you under to shelter you, but you are not that woman anymore. You are not a quitter. Besides, you need to have a purpose to pour your efforts in. If not, then what else could be in store for you?

“It’s not like the Hokage asked me to cut off my hand, I will be fine, Madara,” you finally answer. “Really.”

Madara folds his arms and he presses his lips together. “If you ever need me to go beat him up then say the word.”

You cannot help the chuckle that escapes your mouth. “I’m sure it’ll be fine. There will be no need of beating.” You pause and a smirk forms on your face as an idea takes form in your mind. “However, you can help me get to know Tobirama.”

Madara scowls, knowing that you are pushing his buttons. “No, you are on your own,” he grits out.

The air around your friend changes, and suddenly all the silliness in your demeanor fades away. Your eyes narrow warily, as his face darkens at you with disapproval. You know that he still holds a grudge on Tobirama, and it really is quite low of you to mention him so casually.

Madara narrows his eyes at you and shakes his head. "You have some guts."

You point your chin towards him naughtily. "Everyone's fair game." You break out into a smile, even if Madara can decide right then and there to end your life. "You just can't take it."

Madara used to always intimidate you, and he furthered that feeling at times by showing you his sharingan, because you know, you know , what he is capable of doing with those eyes, but he never really did anything to you. It was more of the idea of what he can do to you, at any given time.

Madara stays silent for a few more moments. Then, he attempts to soften his voice. “What do you want to know?”

You raise an eyebrow at this. “Uchiha Madara is finally giving in?”

Madara rolls his eyes and he lets out a small, tight-lipped smile. "Just this once, but you are paying for lunch.”

You gasp, taking offense at this. “You do know I am broke, right?”

“Who’s fault was it for not taking my offer to live in the Uchiha compound?” Madara matches his footsteps with yours as the two of you head towards the village.

“First of all, I am not an Uchiha, your people will oust me the moment I step foot, and second, I want to make a living for myself.”

Madara rolls his eyes. “Yeah, but you’re all alone.”

“Aren’t you?” You retort without thought.

Madara falls into silence. “You know someday, you will get in trouble with that mouth of yours.”

“You just can’t handle me.”

“The offer still stands,” Madara mutters, and he glances at you. “And it’s safe there. I will make sure no one even says a bad word about you. If you are with me, they won’t even look at you.”

“That sounds like a lonely life, and you know that I have been mostly caged in my childhood.” You sigh and you bump your shoulder against his arm. “I appreciate everything you have done for me, but I have nothing, Madara. It’s time I do something for myself and invest in something bigger than me. I need that.”

The Hokage mansion is huge inside, and since you do not visit this place often, you are not sure where the said library is. It could just be any room in here. Or, there is no such thing as the library in the Hokage mansion and Tobirama just said that because he wants to avoid you and send you on a goosechase away from him. You know that he is not thrilled to be put up on this project with you, based on his expressions yesterday, but you are kind of determined to change his mind now.

Besides, you are fun and cool, something he can take notes on as he seems prudish.

You sigh as you decide to just wait for Tobirama outside, instead of wandering inside the mansion. There are still some parts being built, and you do not want to cause any trouble to the workers there.

You are quite early, hoping to beat Tobirama to the punch to solidify yourself in his good graces and show him that you are serious about this. However, due to your punctuality, the waiting time is becoming ridiculously long. Sometimes you are not big on the whole waiting patiently thing.

You sigh, and aimlessly walk around the whole building.

You hear people starting to mile about to start their day, and you hear children laughing and talking loudly among themselves, which brings a smile to your lips. You decide to stay near the entrance of the mansion so Tobirama will not have any trouble looking for you.

Lost in your thoughts, you brandish your blade from its scabbard and you start to draw stick figures on the soil, and you add little details such as trees, kunais and shurikens.

You are not sure how much Tobirama knows about you, but you have heard many things about him, mostly from his brother, both good and bad. You know that he is a great warrior and one of the most brilliant minds that his generation has seen. He is responsible for the complex system of the very village you reside in, and the Hokage’s trusted advisor, even more than Uchiha Madara, who you know is very close to Hashirama. You also know that he is a great sensei, according to his students, which you have no doubt about since he is very intelligent.

Personality wise, he remains a mystery to you. Mostly because Hashirama glosses over that when talking about him. All you know is that Tobirama can be difficult at times, but you figure that it is how one should act when you are at the forefront of leading this village.

However, you are not in the least intimidated, even if he is a little older and has experienced more in life. Now that you are going to be working with him more, you are curious as to what the famed Senju Tobirama is really all about.

“I hope I did not keep you waiting,” Tobirama’s rough voice interrupts the quiet that you have immersed yourself in.

You perk up, and put your sword back with a loud click. He glances down at the ground, where you have made silly stick figures of shinobis fighting. You attempt to erase them with your foot.

“Not at all!” You lie, but Tobirama sees through that and he narrows his eyes suspiciously.

His serious face does not change, and instead you think he grew even more serious. He nods and gestures towards the mansion. He clutches the books and the scrolls he has close to his body.

“Shall we?”

You follow Tobirama towards the entrance, trying to keep up with his long strides, though he seems to be speeding up on purpose. Finally, he unlocks the library doors and opens them wide. The two of you step in, and you cannot help but feel underwhelmed at the great reveal of the Hokage mansion’s library.

It is bare, with a lone wooden table and three chairs situated next to the windows.

To the side are empty bookshelves, with the exception of one shelf, which is almost halfway filled.

“This is a sorry library,” you comment under your breath.

Tobirama walks up to the table and puts down the materials he has been carrying.

“We are going to fill it, starting today,” Tobirama says. “And for the rest of the year.”

You raise an eyebrow. “How? Write and publish our own books?”

Tobirama glances up at you, without irony. “Yes.”

You feign a smile. “Oh,” you deadpan. He does seem like the type of person to do that.

“We are also going to visit every clan in the village and ask if we could transcribe some of their writings,” Tobirama continues. “We can make our references through that, integrate their history and make a comprehensive one for Konoha. We also need to learn some of their jutsus and study them, among other things.”

You nod, understanding what he means. “Alright, where do we start? And how do we rewrite the Academy curriculum part?”

“Well first, I will have to set a few rules,” Tobirama drones on, looking at you pointedly.

You walk towards him so that you are standing on the other side of the table. “Alright, shoot,” you say.

“I have written the deadlines of the parts that you will do. You must give them to me, on time ,” Tobirama sternly says, slipping one of the scrolls forward. “I have a vague plan of what the curriculum can look like, but you will also have the chance to express your ideas.”

You take the scroll and open it gingerly, and you look at the back to back due dates.

“You must not talk to me aimlessly, unless it is about this project or if you need any clarification on the tasks you have to do,” Tobirama continues. “When we are working, I expect you to only work.”

You nod, thinking that these are easy, reasonable rules.

“You must be punctual.”

You are way too punctual, so you know that you are going to follow this rule perfectly.

“Do not eat near me.”

At this, you almost roll your eyes, but you hold yourself back.

“Do not touch my things, unless I give them to you. I hope that you can call my title with respect,” Tobirama drones on and on, mostly about the little things he is apparently very particular about. “You will also be training with me and my students, and I expect you to always be on top of your game.”

“Yes, of course.” You blink at all his so-called rules, and fight the urge to roll your eyes. It’s like he already has the impression that you won’t be as dedicated to your job as he is.

But you are dedicated.

However, you cannot help but talk back. He probably made a rule for that, but it goes unheard by you.

Tobirama nods. “Very well.”

“Did you stay up all night making this up?” You ask, unable to help yourself garner some reaction from him.

Tobirama’s stare is stormy, and his eyes narrow strictly. “It is common sense that you abide by such unsaid rules.”

“But you just, well forgive me, enumerated them. If they are common sense, then you would not have to re-tell it.”

Tobirama lets out a stream of breath from his nose that sounds a tad bit impatient, and he rolls his eyes.

You smile, feeling a little triumphant at getting a reaction from him. He catches your expression and he schools his face to become serious once more.

The two of you sit in silence for a moment, and you wait for Tobirama to speak.

“I heard you teach at the Academy at times,” Tobirama suddenly brings up. “When did you start?”

Your eyes narrow slightly at this. Tobirama built the Academy, so he must be aware of the things happening there. “Almost a year ago.”

Tobirama taps a finger on the books that he set down. “And you teach when?”

“Wednesdays and Fridays,” you reply.

Tobirama nods. “I will be coming with you.”

You pause at this. “Wait, why?”

Tobirama looks at you as if it’s obvious. “To size up what the kids need to learn, observe which materials are appropriate for age groups until they graduate as genin, and so forth.”

Of course, that makes sense.

Tobirama pulls out the chair and he slides into it. “Then, let us begin. We have many things to research and read up on.”

You look at him as he opens the books, and distributes some of them to you.

“Will you get around to telling me what your plan is, or are you just going to let me guess?” You ask as you flip to the first page of one of the books that he handed to you.

You slide on the chair across from him, taking care to move to the side so that you are giving him his space.

“Silence, when I am working,” Tobirama states without looking up from what he is reading. “Do not talk to me aimlessly. You will get a chance to ask me questions later, I suggest you start listing them down.”

“Alright, alright,” you mumble.

You read the first paragraph of the book, already taking note of the main idea. After a few pages, however, you glance up at your book and to Tobirama, who has not moved an inch except to turn a page. You observe his pristine expression, your eyes going down the slope of his strong nose, his high cheekbones, and his lips that form into a pout, and then to the markings on his face and chin.

He’s handsome, you’ll give him that.

His eyes never waver, unlike you, and from this, you can tell that he always pours all his focus and efforts when he does something.

“Work,” Tobirama reminds you. “And look at the due dates so you can think about how you can strategize your time.”

You snap up and pretend to go back to your reading, but you glance at him one last time. Something about him piques your curiosity, and it makes you want to push his buttons just to see what the famed Senju Tobirama is all about.

You cannot help but let out a tiny smile and you raise the book to hide your face.

Well, if he already has some sort of prejudice towards you, you might as well play that to your advantage.

You smirk to yourself, finally looking forward to the time the two of you will spend together.

[CHAPTER TWO >>>]

#angelica writes #avversiera writes #Tobirama Senju #Senju Tobirama #senju tobirama x reader #senju tobirama x you #tobirama x reader #tobirama x you #Senju Hashirama #Uchiha Madara #naruto fanfiction #'til death do us part

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another-kakashi-blog · 4 years

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Reclamation

Title: Reclamation

Rating:M

Pairing: Kakairu

WC: 10k+

Summary:

Survivor’s guilt was an inevitable part of being a shinobi, they’d been taught this early on.

They just hadn’t been taught how to deal with it, and as Kakashi got older, he was starting to realize that was because no one knew how.

Every day was a lesson in living.

Notes:

After many, many years of reading Kakashi fanfics, I’ve decided to finally give in and have a try at it myself. It was a lot of fun and a great challenge to write this. I am very excited to continue writing kakairu, kakagai, and kakayama in the future (for those of you who know me as that BNHA writer ( @fucking-zawa-sensei) don’t worry I’ll still write EM).

As with most of my fics, this is very sad, but I promise there will be happiness by the end. Hang in there.

Below is a portion of fic, read all of it on AO3 here

Reclamation

To anyone else, they might call this silence.

For Kakashi, the rustling of the tree leaves, the rush of wind passing by his face, the constant, endless pounding of his pulse, mimics the sound of waves crashing into breaker rocks. It’s akin to the crackle of thunder as the lightning leaves the ground, returning back to the clouds.

It’s missions like these that make him feel alive.

More than that, it’s missions like these that make him feel untethered, haunting, as if he’s floating above his own body, desperately out of control of his own limbs, watching them move without him, soaring from tree branch to tree branch with all his muscles pulling him back to Konoha.

It’s missions like these that make him feel like there’s nothing holding him down, nothing keeping him here, like one wrong step would send him catapulting into the night sky’s embrace, leaving no remains for hunter nins to burn.

He’d leave no secrets behind.

These nights bring a heavy burden, bring reminders that life is nothing but a body, too easily taken by another hand, that each breath, each moment is so easily wasted.

Missions like these make him feel invincible, untouchable.

Missions like these make him feel terrified.

Petrified.

Horrified.

Barely human.

He’d lie down on a hundred kunai for Konoha, had certainly already taken that many at various times throughout his long life as a shinobi, but lately he was starting to feel like there had to be something else.

Konoha wasn’t enough to bring him home on nights like this.

The air he sucks into his lungs feels sharp, stinging with the late night chill that has already settled over his worn muscles.

Each footfall, the bounce back of the wood beneath his sandals, manages to ground him only slightly.

Half his mind is focused on the gates he knows he is closing in on, once a beacon, large doors that signified a job well done, a mission complete, but anymore felt like a hiatus, a small pause in a journey elsewhere.

The other half is still lingering behind him, running through every move, every kill. His sharingan, as usual, had recorded it all, adding to an endless loop of jutsu and gore and blood.

He tried, here and there, to supplement it with other things.

Occasionally lifting his headband to take in the sight of the river flowing through Konoha, as he leaned against the side of the bridge, watching as dragonflies landed on the small rocks, little droplets of water falling off their feet as they rose up again, taking flight.

Even this had backfired on more than one occasion, though.

Happy memories had soured.

Fallen friends’ smiling faces now passed quickly in his mind’s eye, some more violently than others, replaced with their last moments, gasped out final requests, promises, and pleas for a life already lost.

Every jounin carried a bingo book, a burden that only seemed to increase in weight with each new entry, and sometimes, even more so when the pages were torn out.

It meant different things for different shinobi, a list of people to avoid, flea on sight, or a list of targets, people to hunt down. Some ninja seemed to use it as a leaderboard, wanting to add page after page to their own entries, while challenging themselves to take down their competition.

For Kakashi, it was a list of people coming for him, chasing him, always right behind him every hour of every day. It was a reason not to trust a single face he saw on his travels, a reason not to let anyone close.

Everyone he knew was at risk, all fodder for a fire that sometimes felt far out of his control.

The book had never felt heavier than it did the day it had been slid across the godaime’s desk, his former pupil’s name now prominently featured.

Team 7 had been one of the few things that disrupted the replay of death after death, but now, Naruto, Sasuke, Sakura, their laughter, their pranks, their teasing, all melted away. Replaced with a Konoha headband, deep cut through the middle. Replaced with a small, broken, bloodied blond body limp in his arms as he carried it home. Replaced with a set of green eyes glazed over with tears, and then a fierce determination that Kakashi knew too well.

He’d been there.

He’d chased those ghosts.

He’d trained himself raw like they all were now. He’d worked himself to exhaustion, until sleep was something he fell into in more ways than one, just to get the memories to quiet for a moment.

Except the sharingan didn’t allow that, never had, never will.

So each step closer to the village is one more fight left behind.

On nights like these, he feels a trail manifesting leap by leap, miles and miles of bone and muscle and blood and voices all grabbing at his ankles as he does the one thing he’d never been able to train out of him:

Run.

The bingo book was a burden, but Kakashi sometimes felt like he had something far heftier stored beneath his skin, a catalogue of lives stolen and lost and never returned.

Survivor’s guilt was an inevitable part of being a shinobi, they’d been taught this early on.

They just hadn’t been taught how to deal with it, and as Kakashi got older, he was starting to realize that was because no one knew how.

Every day was a lesson in living.

In the distance, something rustles, but Kakashi’s instincts are running at full throttle and even over the post-battle haze of unwanted memories and recordings resurfaced by his childhood friend’s gift, Kakashi can easily attribute that particular kind of twig snapping to a small animal.

Probably a field mouse, his mind supplies.

Sometimes, being a ninja felt an awful lot like coming up for air only to find that the surface of the water has been frozen over.

The suspicion, the paranoia, it never really faded away. Kakashi could fall back into a casual, relaxed slouch all he wanted, but there was never a moment where he wasn’t keeping tabs on any movement in his limited peripheral vision. Even more so, his ears were tuned to every sound in the village, always waiting, always expecting something out of place.

Like the unsettling stillness right before the explosive release of summoning smoke that occurred all those years ago, before the blistering sound of shrill screams and the rush of adrenaline reached Kakashi.

The better your senses were, the warier you were, the higher chance of survival.

The village needed him.

The sole of his shoe slips just slightly on the next branch and his pulse triples as he glances back at the wood.

He sees blood, not much, not enough to affect his footing.

As he hits the next branch, another shock of instability jolts through his leg. He looks down at his body, taking stock, something he really should have done after the battle was over, but he’d been too caught up in ghosts to notice anything out of place.

He was leaving a small trail of blood behind him. His skin begins to prickle and his eyes narrow at the crimson drop plummeting down from his chest, watching it fall and vanish behind him, gone before it hits the ground, as he continues to race through the forest.

This was a genin level mistake.

A tail of breadcrumbs that would get you killed, every time, without fail.

Survival was imperative.

Dying meant Konoha lost one of its best protectors.

More than that, dying meant failure to uphold his responsibilities.

Naruto could tell everyone he’d bring Sasuke back over and over, and all his classmates could believe him, that’s fine, they were young.

Kakashi saw the way any lingering jounins’ mouths turned down at the edges when they overhead these words.

These kids didn’t have the experience Kakashi did, that the other jounin and ANBU did. Their generation hadn’t lived through war, they hadn’t seen the in-fighting among the elders and clans, they only knew the destruction second-hand, as people they never got to meet and things they never got to see, lost before their time.

They didn’t know how powerful revenge could make a person.

Kakashi did.

Sasuke may still be a child himself, but there was always a fierce shadow consuming the boy.

He’d never admit it, not out loud, but after their fight on the hospital rooftop, a chilling wave of reality he’d always dreaded came crashing down over Kakashi’s shoulders that night. With the village decimated by Orochimaru’s attack, he’d hardly had time to have many thoughts beyond complete the mission, as one after another they piled up. Exhaustion was becoming the norm, both physically and mentally. Still, the alarming chirp of the his jutsu, perhaps foolishly passed down to the surviving Uchiha boy, and the unsettling swirl of chakra just centimeters from his hand as it had wrapped around Naruto’s wrist, were a constant presence in his psyche between accepted mission scrolls.

He’d never forget it, didn’t need the sharingan to keep the memory sealed tight in his mind.

The first night after their fight, he’d found cover in a small crevice tucked into a cliffside after completing his mission, taking a small reprieve to regain some strength before returning back to the village, still not fully recovered from Itachi’s attack. A heavy weight settled in his stomach as he accepted the inevitable.

One day he’d have to kill Sasuke.

That had become all the more clear after he’d abandoned the village and forsaken Konoha.

Some part of Kakashi still wanted to believe Naruto, still wanted to see that there was another option for Sasuke, that he hadn’t been wrong to try and steer him back toward team 7, away from Itachi, away from Orochimaru, away from the false solitude of vengeance.

Kakashi was a realist, though.

Those fleeting hopes were hard to hold onto.

Instead, he tried to fool himself into thinking he could have the strength to do what the sandaime failed to.

Read the rest on AO3 here

#kakairu #hatake kakashi #kakashi #umino iruka #kakashi fanfic #naruto fanfic #kakairu fanfic #my fanfiction

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discendia · 4 years

Text

Naruto OCs part III

Since I just finished created him yesterday, I don’t have too much info on his story or his role, but I’m sharing the ideas I have for the moment.

Yasai Shouga

Second cousin to Momo and Ichigo, his father is their father's cousin.

His name means ginger.

He's around the sensei group age and, by the beginning of the Naruto series, he's a jounin.

When Satsuma became the head of the Yasai Clan after the Third Shinobi War, he and the clan elders decided that Shouga had to be trained to be his heir, since he always showed great talent and smarts, and Satsuma didn’t have children at the moment.

That was until Ichigo was born. (Momo doesn’t count, she’s a girl)

Honestly, he didn't care he wouldn't be the next leader anymore.

Hiroyuki's ( @hiddenleafstoryteller 's OC) teammate and best friend since the academy, they're the troublesome duo of their generation. Whenever they're together they start sharing a single brain cell and the rest stop working.

Would support and follow Hiroyuki until the end of the world. He wants to write a fic full of churros? Shouga will be the first one to read it and recommend it to others. Jumping off a cliff? Hell, yes!

He’s casual and loves to have fun, but he can get serious when it’s mandatory, like in front of his father and Satsuma. He doesn’t want to get scolded and punished for life.

Although he's considered a rising star by his clan, he doesn't stand out in the academy. It’s not that he has forgotten about the competitive spirit every Yasai man has in him but, let's be honest, standing out is hard in such a talented generation.

So is flirting when every girl is falling head over heels for Kakashi. 🤷‍♂️

He excels at locating the enemy by extending a root system underground.

He values senpai-kouhai relationships, and when he's the senpai, he doesn't miss the opportunity to mess with his kouhais and kids from the village.

Loves to play "I’ve got your nose" with Momo when she's little, but he always makes her cry because she believes he's got it for real.

Ichigo always calls him uncle and that bothers him, he's not that old. He would prefer to be called big brother.

In the canon timeline of my fic, he dies in the fourth war, sorry.

#naruto oc #yasai shouga #dis draws #dis writes #he's ambassador of the churro too #girls are you blind? look at this churro #maybe he's married when he dies? idk

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evil-overlord-scriptology · 4 years

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But I Don’t Want to be a Sensei! Pt 4 (ARCHIVED)

Chapters 14 & 15

Chapter 14: Round 2 with Peach-boy

I nudged Naruto's side with the toe of my sandal. He didn't even twitch. Squatting down I poked the brat's cheek with a rigid finger, “Hey, dumbass...” I said loudly, knowing that a knucklehead like Naruto would react if I called him names. He still didn't move. “Obito Mini-me. Brat. Idiot. Dumb blonde. Dead last. Coward.” When the brat didn't react at all I stood back up with a sigh and turned to the others standing in the doorway.

“Well either he's dead or out like a light post.” I told them, scratching the back of my head. Hinata gasped a little, her hands going to her mouth as she no doubt thought that her precious 'Naruto-kun' was dead.

Tsunami looked as equally worried as the little Hyuuga heiress, “You don't think he overdid it in training, do you? He was looking pretty exhausted last night.

“Hn. He was passed out in the forest yesterday morning.” Sasuke commented thoughtfully.

I groaned and hung my head, I really didn't need this at the moment, “Fine, Sasuke will be on guard duty today and Hinata will train.” I said defeated. I hated it when people screwed up my schedule! “Hinata you know the rules. If anyone suspicious shows up, head for the bridge and warn everyone.”

“H-Hai.”

Sasuke frowned, “But that was the rotation yesterday.” I glared at him. Like I didn't know that already, idiot.

“Hinata still needs to train in her stealth and since Naruto is stealing your rest day, you can take his spot on guard duty. Don't complain, Duckass, true shinobi don't protest orders.” Like I predicted, Sasuke snapped his jaw shut and didn't make another sound.

Really, it was insulting how predictable that kid was.

“Look, if it makes you feel better, I'll go with you that way you can relax at the bridge.” Everyone but Inari gave me strange looks. I returned their gaze with an unamused look, “Stop staring like calves at a new gate. I'm bored.” I snapped, perhaps just a little too defensively. By Sasuke's sudden smug look I was guessing he knew why I really was going.

I was worried about the brat.

With good reason though. There was no such thing as a jounin who didn't have a sixth sense for danger; and I felt more jittery than when Obito accidentally released those rabid squirrels in the house.

I mentally shuddered at the memory.

I moved past the miniature crowd and lead them outside. Turning to Tsunami I began issuing orders, “When Naruto wakes up, just tell him to practice his taijutsu; you also have permission to send him on any errands you have. Hinata, I want you to try and sneak up on as many woodland creatures as you can. If you catch five animals in a row then join Sasuke and I on the bridge. Duckass, Grandpa Dunk, let's go.” I turned on my heel and immediately started for the bridge without waiting for the two idiot males catch up to me.

“Geez, for a woman you walk pretty fast.” Tazuna panted when he and my cousin finally caught up. It was really pathetic that we were almost to the bridge by that point.

I gave the old drunk an unimpressed look, “Not all women are geishas or civilians who don't have anywhere important to be. The success of a mission could rely on fast feet, I could possibly save a life that would otherwise be lost if I arrive quicker than my enemies anticipate.”

Tazuna pulled a face, “Hey kid, are all shinobi like this one or is it just her?” He asked Sasuke.

Sasuke just shrugged and didn't comment. He practically had to jog to keep up with us adults; I couldn't tell if he wasn't answering because he didn't want to or because he was too focused on not falling behind. I was guessing it was a little bit of both.

“Tazuna, how long do you have before the bridge is finished?” I asked the old man. Now wasn't the time for fun and games. That sense of dread I had been feeling all morning was getting worse the closer we got to the bridge.

Grandpa Drunk shrugged, “Depends. If I have a full roster of workers, it should only be a few weeks. But with Gatou controlling everything and scaring the people, I keep losing my workers. Just yesterday I had one of my foremen quiet! I don't even have half of a roster now, it could take months with the amount of workers I got.”

Grimacing, I halted at the entrance to the bridge, “That's what I feared.” I muttered.

Tazuna gaped at his unconscious employees littering the bridge. I could tell by their chakra levels that the men were still alive, but only just. “What tha-?!” Tazuna exclaimed, his face twitching in horror. I glanced at him then at Sasuke. Sasuke looked back at me, his eyes gleaming with an odd shine of excitement. He was ready.

A sudden mist blew in from the ocean. I snarled in frustration and stepped in front of Tazuna, “Stay behind me.” I said sharply. Tazuna didn't say anything, but he didn't move.

That stupid creepy chuckle drifted out from the fog, “Sorry to keep you waiting, Uchiha. I see you still got that brat with you, but what happened with the other two? Did they run off?” I heard a slight clicking behind me, but didn't glance towards my cousin. I knew he wasn't doing something stupid. Of all my genin I trusted Sasuke the most in a fight, even if he had bouts of cowardice when I least expected it.

Peaches chuckled again, “Oh look, he's shaking again. Pathetic.” The nuke-nin laughed mockingly.

There was a small intake of air from Sasuke and I felt Zabuza's chakra spike as water clones surrounded the three of us. I tensed and palmed a kunai, ready to throw it at the clone's head that was in front of me if he so much as blinked in a way I didn't like.

Sasuke scoffed, “I'm trembling with... excitement.”

The Zabuza water clones seemed surprised at the admission and I only rolled my eyes. Why couldn't the need for dramatics skip Sasuke? It skipped Itachi and me, why not one more generation?! I had enough drama from Naruto, I didn't need Sasuke filling in for that little brat too.

Speaking of brats...

I glanced at my cousin out of the corner of my eye, “Play nice.” I said teasingly. That was all the permission Sasuke needed. He twirled the kunai in his hand around a finger so that the blade was pointing at the clone in front of him. With a delightful smirk that reminded me a little too much of Obito's sadistic grin, my baby cousin pounced at the water clones.

While Peach-boy's clones were busy trying to defeat an Uchiha brat, I ran through the signs for a summoning and slammed my hand to the bridge's surface, “Kuchiyose no Jutsu!” I heard Zabuza growl angrily as a swarm of normal sized hawks flew up from the seal, spiraling into a twister of feathers and harsh cries that surrounded me like a moving wall. I held up my right arm and one of the hawks detached itself from it's flock. “Fly to Hyuuga Hinata and inform her to come as back up.” The hawk dipped its head at my command and took off to the sky, flying out of sight before turning in the direction of Hinata. No need to tell our enemies where an ally was after all. The rest of the hawks dispersed among the cables of the bridge, their sharp yellow eyes watching.

While I was busy with my summonings, Sasuke finished up his little spar with the water clones. He looked about as cocky as a true Uchiha when he returned to his spot beside me. I mentally whimpered and hoped that I didn't get an arrogant little brat who thought he was God's gift to man. If so, I was going to beat that out of him and suffer Itachi's wrath with a smile on my face.

“Ooooo, the brat's improving.” Peach-boy said from my right. All three of us turned to see the man with horrible fashion sense giving us a leer. At least I thought it was a leer, it was kind of hard to tell when the lower half of his face was bandaged up. His ally stood beside him, still wearing that false hunter-nin mask. “Looks like you've got competition... Haku.” Zabuza continued.

“So it seems.” The boy, Haku, murmured quietly.

Trolling time.

“Oi oi. Peachy's ally, or whatever the hell your name is, are you a boy or a girl? Because honestly, you're a very androgynous individual.” I asked, intentionally playing the ignorant idiot. Tazuna and Sasuke were giving me looks that could only be described as 'way to ruin the suspense, dummy'.

Haku and Zabuza exchanged looks and I took my chance to continue, “You know what? It doesn't matter anyway, I think I'll just call you Zabuza's Bitch.” I said with a smirk. Both nuke-nins snapped their heads around to glare at me–well I assume Haku glared, it was hard to tell with the mask–while I cackled in delight of pissing my enemy off.

“Take care of the brat. I'll take the bitch.” Zabuza growled.

Haku turned his gaze on Sasuke, “Right.” The kid murmured again. Then he moved. Startled I opened my mouth to shout a warning to Sasuke, but Zabuza was on me before I could utter a single syllable.

I back flipped away from Tazuna, distancing myself from the client and the man trying to kill him. At the moment Zabuza seemed pretty focused on me, so I didn't have to worry. I smirked as I kicked Kubikiribōchō away from me. “Don't tell me I struck a nerve.” I cooed as I deflected another swing with my kunai. Zabuza snarled like an angry animal and charged at me again. I snorted and ducked under his swing. If I had know pissing Peaches off would make him attack like a predictable wild animal, I would have done it a long time ago.

Kicking off the ground, I gave myself enough time to spare a glance at Sasuke. My eyes widened as I saw Haku performing hand signs with only one hand. That wasn't something you saw everyday. I wonder if the sharingan could somehow pick it up.

Before I could activate my sharingan to see if I could, Zabuza attacked again, “You're opponent is me! Let's leave the kids to their game.”

I shot Zabuza a nasty glare, “Oh, go drown in your own water ninjutsu! I didn't come all this way with a bunch of brats and a drunk old man to hear you blowing steam, ya old windbag.” I snapped, getting irritated. I knew Zabuza wasn't taking this fight seriously. He was just trying to keep me from Sasuke and Haku's fight.

Peachy paused, “A bunch of brats, eh?” He quoted, sounding oddly interested. “So you don't think that those genin are worth anything either.”

“Oh I think they're worth a lot of things, I just like calling them brats. They're my brats and I'm the only one allowed to call them that and get away with it.” I snapped back and flung my kunai at Peachy-boy's head to emphasize my point. He easily ducked under the kunai and charged at me, his sword back and ready for a strong strike to my legs. I leaped into the air over his blade and put my hands down on Zabuza's back, flipping over him to land between him and the kids.

I smirked, “Ya know, some people would think you were compensating for something with that big blade of yours.” I commented sweetly.

“You're letting that big mouth get away again, Uchiha.” Peachy growled.

I shrugged, “Well at least I'm not trying to prank you as well as fight you like my brother does. That's just annoying.” I said coolly. From the look in Zabuza's eyes, he thought my inappropriate remarks were a hell of a lot more annoying.

“Argh!” Both of us whipped around to see Sasuke kicking Haku away.

Sasuke stood in his spot, smirking, “Seems you're not as fast as you think you are.” He said, idly spinning his kunai around his index finger. Cocky little git, I was definitely beating that arrogance out of his system.

Zabuza glared at his ally, “Haku. Stop messing around and letting a brat beat you, get on with it!” He ordered.

The masked boy stood back up easily, “Yes.” He responded in an almost robotic voice.

Frowning I turned my back on Zabuza to watch what the masked brat was doing. Icy blue strands of chakra haloed Haku and he bowed his head, “I'm sorry it's come to this.” The boy said softly and made a strange sign. The temperature dropped drastically and I uttered a curse under my breath as I automatically regulated my chakra to keep myself warm. Of course our newest enemy would have some kind of tie to cold weather. It wouldn't be hell if he didn't.

Stupid karma demons and their stupid agenda against me.

The water around Sasuke and Haku suddenly leaped up into the air to form flat frozen surfaces. Haku stepped into the mirrors, senbon needles in his hands. Meanwhile I gaped in surprise, it was not cold enough to form ice like that. Even the most powerful shinobi with water nature had a hard time creating ice even in temperatures where it was easy to form. That only meant one thing.

Kekke Genkai.

Peaches chuckled behind me, “Seems you figured it out.”

Growling I ran for the ice mirrors, but Peach-boy flash stepped in front of me. “If you're going to fight, you will fight me.” He snapped.

I glared at him. “Bastard.” I spat out.

The peachy nuke-nin chuckled creepily, “Oh? Out of your witty comments? I'm crushed.” I could practically taste the sarcasm in the air.

“You have three seconds to step aside before I really crush you.”

“How cute. You think you can defeat me. You weren't able to before, what makes you think you can now that we're surrounded by even more water than before?” My eyes widened a fraction and I flung my kunai at the water clone that I thought was Zabuza and leaping away before the real Zabuza could cut me down. He didn't look all that happy when he turned to face me. He scoffed when he saw my sharingan, “That again? Are all the Uchiha so weak that they rely on that silly Kekke Genkai of theirs? How pathetic.”

Sasuke yelped and I looked over Peaches shoulder to see Haku raining senbon down on my cousin like a vengeful thunderstorm. Anger washed over me, hot and heady, when I landed my gaze back on Zabuza. “Two seconds to move.”

Peaches sneered.

“One.”

He didn't move.

I held my right arm above my head and brought my left to my mouth. Curling my index and thumb around my tongue I whistled loudly, using a small wind ninjutsu to amplify the sound. My hawk summons, having been sitting on the sidelines forgotten, all took flight. They flew in circles like a roiling thundercloud of brown and black, using my upraised arm as the pivot point.

“Last chance to move.” I said. Zabuza stubbornly stayed where he was. My mouth twisted in an ugly grimace and I lowered my right arm to point at the Mist nuke-nin. The hawks gave one last turn before following my finger and shooting straight towards Peach-boy.

He smirked.

My eyes widened.

“Hha!” I felt water douse my back and I spun around to see Hinata standing in a puddle of water, formerly a water clone, panting slightly. She gave me a shaky grin, “I-I'm sorry Y-Yanagi-sensei. I c-came as fast as I c-c-c-could.” She stuttered slightly, a blush forming on her cheeks. I didn't blame her, Hinata had suddenly become the center of attention after pulling a stunt like that. Even Haku stopped torturing my poor cousin to stare at her.

I grinned, “Hey, I'm not complaining. You just saved me from being skewered like a roast pig.” I joked before turning serious, “Guard Tazuna, don't leave his side for any reason.” I ordered. Hinata gave a firm nod and leaped sideways until she was in front of Tazuna, in a Gentle Fist stance. When I turned to face Zabuza again, he did not look amused.

“Oh... did she ruin your little scheme?” I asked innocently, pressing an index finger to the corner of my mouth like a slut trying to act cute.

That did it, I could practically hear Peachy's patience snap. He snarled and charged at me, “Shut up!”

I laughed as I jumped away from him, “Looks like you underestimated my brats, Peach-boy. Sasuke and Hinata are clan kids and having been training with their families since they could hold a kunai right.” I ducked under Peachy's swing and shot my left leg out for a round house kick. Zabuza launched into the air to avoid my leg and I pulled back before he could land on it. “Sasuke is the best in his class and no one can defeat Hinata in taijutsu. She's a Hyuuga after all, it's in her blood.” I taunted as I back flipped away from the Kubikiribōchō.

Skidding to a halt a few feet away from Peaches I smirked, “And what have you got? A coward with a nice Kekke Genkai. Well, I've got two brats with Kekke Genkai and neither of them are cowards!”

Zabuza's face twisted unpleasantly, “Haku, stop goofing around and kill that pest!” He barked out, his gaze darting over his shoulder to where the ice mirrors stood. Haku didn't respond, but only started throwing more senbons at Sasuke at a more rapid pace than before; I tried not to flinch when I heard Sasuke cry out. Peachy looked back at me, his gaze deadlier than before, “That big mouth of yours is going to get your brats killed, Uchiha.”

I only smiled, “I'm confident they can handle one little brat, even one as powerful as yours. Besides, you forgot something.” Peach-boy stiffened as it dawned on him that Naruto had yet to appear. My smile twisted into a sneer, “You know, I think my last student deserves to be called the 'Stupidly Brave Shinobi of Konoha' more than I do. After all, not many genin are brave enough to fight someone like you, Peach-boy, let alone get the better of you.”

As if planned there was a puff of smoke to the right of Haku's mirrors. Naruto's voice drifted from the white billowing vapors, “I resent that, Frizzy-sensei! Call me the 'Fearless Shinobi of Konoha'! That's right, Uzumaki Naruto is here!” My eye only twitched a little at the nickname. I'd let it slide this one time.

Peach-boy blinked slowly at Naruto then looked at me, “You think some brat like him can do anything?”

I shrugged, “Why not? It was a dead-last like Naruto who helped turn the last shinobi war back in Konoha's favor.” I responded coolly. I should know, Obito was the idiot I was talking about. “I feel Naruto can do the same with this little spat we have. Dead-last shinobi have a tendency to surprise people.” Naruto took a second to gawk at me, not use to my free praise. All I could say was he had better back up my claims or I was going to murder the little sucker.

Naruto got a really big grin on his face, “You know how the hero always shows up at the last minute and kicks butt? Well that's what I'm going to do, right now! So don't you worry sensei, you can just sit back and watch me beat these guys!”

I facepalmed.

The blonde idiot ignored me, “Alright, you're history!” He formed a sign, “Shadow Clone Jutsu!” But before Naruto could form a single clone, Zabuza twisted around and threw a handful of shuriken at him. Like with the Demon Brothers, Naruto's first reaction was the freeze in fear.

“Move Naruto!” I yelled, my heart in my throat as I watched the throwing stars head for my frozen student. I wouldn't be able to get there in time to stop them, not even my hawks surrounding the bridge would be able to grab the shuriken in time.

Out of no where, senbon needles collided with the shuriken and knocked them off course. I jerked in surprise and twisted to stare at Haku half leaning out of his mirrors, still in the position of someone who had just thrown something. Zabuza narrowed his eyes at his ally.

Now that he was out of danger, I felt it safe to yell at Naruto, “You imbecile! This is a real battle not a stupid spar; a shinobi's lifestyle is deception, not a damn talent show! Always keep your enemy guessing, be unpredictable so they can't figure out how to defeat you. So get your head outta your ass and think before someone makes a dartboard out of you!”

Naruto turned about as red as Hinata did when Naruto got within ten feet of her. He started yelling apologies, but I ignored him to glance at Haku. Everyone else seemed to think that Haku had thrown senbon at Naruto at the same time Zabuza did and their attacks ended up colliding; but I knew better. One look at my cousin-turned-porcupine told me that Haku did not miss his targets. Which could only mean... he meant to throw those shuriken off track.

The question was why.

Peach-boy seemed to be thinking the same thing I was, “Haku, what are you doing?” Peachy demanded. His tone was dangerous and angry, he was pissed at Haku for disturbing his attack. In Zabuza's state of mind at the moment, I wouldn't be entirely surprised if he attacked his own ally out of anger.

One could only hope.

Haku straightened out of his position and dipped his head towards Peaches, “Zabuza-sama, let me fight this boy in my own way... please.” The brat rasped. Mildly I wondered if all Kiri nins had that smoker rasp, or if it was just these two idiots.

Naruto glared at the masked boy, “Bring. It. On.” He challenged before I could tell him to not be stupid. I suppressed the urge to hang my head in defeat at the stupidity of the blonde brat and wondered if he knew how powerful Haku was. Sasuke was hardly a match for the nuke-nin, what chance did Naruto have against him?!

Zabuza chuckled, “As usual you're too soft, Haku. Fine, if that is what you wish.” Soft? What part of that masked brat was...

I glanced at Sasuke. He was injured but not too bad, nothing that would cause any lasting damage. So either Haku was very sadistic and liked to play with his enemies; or he was soft as Zabuza said and wasn't trying to hurt Sasuke, just stall him. Still, knowing Naruto, he'd piss Haku off enough that the nuke-nin would tear him to shreds. I started to take a step forward to intervene before things got worse, but Peaches blocked my path.

“Don't even think about it.” Oddly enough, Peachy sounded amused. “You know what will happen if you take on Haku. I'll go after the bridge builder and that little girl.” I stiffened and looked to the left where Tazuna and Hinata stood. There was no way that I would be able to end Haku and protect those two at the same time. Against a long sword like the Kubikiribōchō, Hinata's taijutsu was useless; and without me guiding my hawk summons they couldn't do shit but sit there and look pretty. I supposed I could summon a larger hawk to deal with Zabuza while I took out Haku, but that would cut down on my chakra and possibly put me in a dangerous position.

Damn.

Zabuza seemed to know I was in a bind, he smirked underneath those bandages, “Relax, Uchiha. Lets see how our students do... one on one.” I gave him an Uchiha Glare, but he wasn't even paying attention to me. I didn't dare attack, he might not be looking at me, but I know the Peach Bastard was still prepared to fight me. Only an idiot would think otherwise.

Apparently Sasuke was an idiot.

While Haku was talking to Naruto, a kunai came flying out of the ice prison that held Sasuke. Haku easily dodged the knife and looked at my cousin, “Don't think I forgot about you, not for an instant.” The masked nuke-nin tilted his head a little, “Some warriors accept defeat gracefully, they know when they are beaten...” Oh great, know I was going to have two idiots who couldn't think straight, “Others do not. So be it, let us finish our battle then.”

I couldn't help but groan quietly as Haku reentered his mirrors. Zabuza actually snorted and gave me an amused look as if we weren't enemies fighting to the death but two people just watching our students spar. I shot him a brief glare and looked away. I refused to think Peaches was anyone else but my enemy.

It was torture having to watch my cousin practically being torn to shreds by multiple attacks coming from all the mirrors. With my sharingan I could pick up the real Haku and how he jumped from mirror to mirror to keep the element of surprise. The little pest was fast, even with my sharingan I could just barely pick up his movements as he flashed between the mirrors. But I still didn't know how the mirrors worked.

“Sasuke, Naruto think! You have to attack the mirrors from the inside and outside at the same time to figure out how they work!” I yelled. Naruto's face brightened with an idea and there was a poof and...

He was gone.

It was only when Sasuke started yelling did I realize where he went. My eye twitched and I glanced at Zabuza. The nuke-nin looked like he was on the verge of laughing, I was almost tempted to tell him that I was disowning Naruto as my student after a stunt like that.

“Katon: Phoenix Sage Jutsu!” Sasuke yelled out and there was a brief glow of orange that surrounded the multiple mirrors at various angles, but none of them melted.

I could hear the amusement in Haku's voice when he said, “You'll need more firepower than that to melt this ice.” I stiffened slightly. More firepower? I could easily do that, but...

Peaches smirked at me, easily reading my mind, “If you melt the mirrors you'll incinerate your students. Doesn't that defeat the purpose?” He asked. I shot him a nasty look and mildly wondered why he hadn't attacked yet. Peach-boy didn't have a problem earlier, was he just stalling then to get to this point and showcase his student? He had been hired to take out my client, not show off his student's prowess.

Once again my suspicions of his involvement with the Mist Rebels surfaced. I eyed the man, trying to figure out his game. I doubted that he was ever fighting me seriously. All he had done was send water clones and swing that big ass sword around. Zabuza had been part of the Seven Swordsmen of Kirigakure, he had gotten the position by being a master of kenjutsu. So far Zabuza had been attacking as if the Kubikiribōchō was just a piece of metal to be swung around and not a great sword.

Of course it was always possible that he was downplaying his abilities to keep the element of surprise; I had been doing the same by only dodging Zabuza's sword and tossing kunai around when I got the opening. But it just didn't fit Peachy's personality to use deception when he had the opportunity to strike. I glanced at the ice prison as Haku bounded from mirror to mirror, raining senbon down on Sasuke and Naruto. Haku was the same. I knew that that jutsu was meant to trap and destroy an opponent. The positioning of the mirrors and the pure speed of Haku proved that point easily enough. So why weren't my students dead yet? From what I had gathered on Haku, I knew he wasn't the sick twisted kind of shinobi that enjoyed toying with their victims. Not even Zabuza was that way. Zabuza's way of killing was quick, painless, and silent; leaving any survivors baffled and frightened of the Demon of the Mist.

Naruto's yelling stopped my musing, “I won't quit! Not ever, I'm going to survive and become Hokage because that is my dream!” I didn't know if I should be proud that he still wasn't giving up even after that downpour of needles or still embarrassed that he had gotten himself into that mess.

What Haku responded with surprised me, “I didn't want to be a shinobi, it's painful. I don't want to kill you, but if you come closer I will have no choice.” What? “I will kill the kindness in my own heart and fully embrace the shinobi way. This bridge will the battlefield where our dreams collide. I will fight for my dream, just as you fight for yours. Please do not blame me, I fight for someone who is precious to me. I live for him and I will face death for him so that his dream will become reality. That is my dream, and for the sake of that dream, if I must I will act as a shinobi and take your lives!”

I bowed my head and glanced at the silent Zabuza. It was obvious that Haku was referring to Peach-boy, but why? What did Zabuza do that made the kid so loyal to him? And furthermore, just what was Zabuza's dream? The more I listened to Haku, the more reluctant I was to kill the kid, but if he got in the way of my mission then I would cut him and Zabuza down.

Peaches shot me a haughty glance, “Tell me Uchiha, does that wimpy village of yours still avoid the most important rule of being a shinobi?” He asked as if he were genuinely curious.

I only started at him in silence. It was a loaded question, so I saw no need in wasting my breath with an answer that was already obvious.

Peach-boy cackled like a madman, “I wonder what your precious little Hokage will say when you come back with two bodies instead of three live genin... if you survive that is.” I heard Tazuna inhale sharply as it dawned on him just how outnumbered the genin truly were. I glanced out of the corner of my eye to see how Hinata was holding up to the news of her possible death.

Not too well.

Zabuza followed my gaze, “She's going to faint.” He observed in a tone that could only be amusement. He looked back at me, “How is it that you ended up with three incompetent brats? You're supposed to be an A-class kunoichi, and yet here you are... babysitting.”

“Hn.” I grunted. That insult was so pathetic I knew I would lose brain cells just by answering it. One would think that the Bloody Mist would pencil in a trash talk class right after their academy students learned how to gut a helpless victim. At least so they wouldn't kill their opponents from the lame insults flying around.

Unless... that was their stupid plan all along.

The damn man didn't shut up though, “Falling back on the Uchiha customary response? How unlike you.” Great now he was adding sarcasm to the list. My eye twitched and I came close to planting my fist in his stupid, bandaged face if only to shut him up; but I somehow refrained... for now. “It must goad you that your precious Hokage would dump a bunch of brats on you. It's such a waste of your skills, chasing after three brats like you're their nanny while shinobi weaker than you take over your missions.” Peachy continued on, not even bothering to see if he was really insulting me or not.

Finally I got fed up, “Your insults are pathetic. Even my pacifist cousin can talk trash better than you.” I deadpanned. Peachy didn't even have the decency to look offended. He only smirked at me from underneath his bandages.

I reached into my weapons pouch and brought out a fan. Snapping it open I began lightly fanning myself like a geisha would. I even fluttered my eyelashes at Peaches, “Let's get this over with, ne? I want to leave by dusk.” I simpered like a primping airhead and reactivated my sharingan, having had deactivated it once I realized I would never figure out Haku's jutsu with my eyes.

Zabuza jerked his gaze away from my sharingan and he reached back into his own kunai pouch. As he charged at me, I made a sweeping motion with my arm so that my fan cut through the air like a blade. When he came into my range, I thumbed the little lever on the handle and fourteen senbon needles shot out of the fan's ribs. Unfortunately due to the large curve of the fan's edge, only five senbons were heading directly at Peaches. He easily knocked them away with his two bladed kunai and jumped back.

I snapped the fan shut and pointed it at him, “Lesson number one of kunoichi tactics: Everything can be a weapon.” I depressed another button on the bamboo frame of the fan and a three inch blade shot out of the little slot that was embedded into the fan, just to prove my point. Zabuza did not looked very pleased with my Fan of Wonders–as Obito called it.

In fact, I could swear he was pouting.

“This won't be like last time, Peach-boy.” I promised him, my smirk melting away to be replaced with the expressionless mask every shinobi seemed to have.

The bandaged nuke-nin seemed to have stolen my smirk, “You're correct, because this time even if you do defeat me, you have no chance against Haku. When I found him he was just a street rat, but I trained him in the most advanced techniques. I taught him everything I know, and with that Kekke Genkai of his, soon he was able to take on dangerous enemies. Even outnumbered and in total darkness, he could strike with perfect accuracy. He cared nothing for his own life, or the lives of others. Haku became a unique fighting machine, a shinobi. In the end even he surpassed me, with that Kekke Genkai of his nothing can defeat it! I've created a tool that can destroy anyone who stands in my way, unlike those useless brats that follow you around like little lost puppies!”

I grimaced in disgust at the man before me. Then I glanced over his shoulder at the prison of ice mirrors where the shouts of pain from Naruto and Sasuke were still originating. When I head heard Haku's speech I was ready to put an end to the battle peacefully, just to save the kid the pain of losing his precious person. Now I was ready to roast the fool who dared take advantage of loyalty like that.

Zabuza laughed as he looked back at the ice mirrors with a crazed look in his eyes, “You think those punks can defeat Haku? He's the ultimate battle tool of destruction!”

“Would ya shut up already? Geez you sound worse than my uncle when he's talking about Itachi!” I snapped, getting irritated with this 'Haku is so great! You can never defeat him!' bullshit. Was Zabuza Haku's fangirl or senpai?!

Zabuza didn't understand the reference, so he wasn't offended. Though I had now doubt he would be throwing a temper tantrum if he knew how Fugaku was when he was bragging about my cousin. “Fine, but there is one more thing you should know.” I raised an eyebrow and decided to humor him, not that he needed any encouragement, “Did you really think our last battle was just win or lose? Haku had been watching the whole time, watching every move your made with that sharingan of yours. Haku can see a move once and immediately devise a counterattack; it's one of his... gifts. I've been waiting to see the look on your pretty face when you realize that your sharingan has become worthless!”

I kept my face blank just to annoy him.

Zabuza held up two fingers, “Suiton: Hidden Mist Jutsu!”

Deja vu, anyone?

The thin mist that had already layered the air thickened to the point of no visibility. I cursed, my sharingan eyes darting to pick up the slighted movement in the mist; but all I could see was Hinata and Tazuna fidgeting around, looking left and right for a thin spot in the thick mist. I pinned Hinata with a look. She was twitching nervously and shaking in fear, “Hinata, stay with Tazuna. Don't leave his side for any reason.” I ordered her in a sharp tone. The Hyuuga girl seemed to get over her fear at the order and nodded firmly before shifting from an offensive to a defensive taijutsu stance. I had noticed over the weeks that she seemed to lose her cowardice when given a direct order. Hopefully she would stand by it even if I went down.

Shuriken came out of no where and I easily batted them away with my closed fan. I took a cautious step in the direction the throwing stars had come from but stopped and twisted around when I felt Zabuza's chakra behind me. I blinked when I saw that his eyes were closed. Was he trying to prevent looking into my sharingan or was it another reason entirely? I frowned when he started to speak.

“Next time you see me, will be the last time you see anything.” Okay, for Peach-boy, that wasn't a half bad attempt to be intimidating; but still... even goofy Shisui still beat him by a mile. Of course, goofy Shisui happened to be pretty terrifying when someone did the impossible and actually pissed him off, but that was irrelevant. “Without your sharingan, you're nothing.” Zabuza rasped and then disappeared again before I could attack. I twitched in annoyance. If this was just going to be a hit-and-run tactic I was going to murder someone.

Preferably Peaches; but I would take Tazuna for putting me in this mess in the first place too.

Fine. If he wanted to play this game, then I would just pull and Uchiha Tactic straight from the Book of Bullshit and own his sorry ass before he could sneeze. I ran through the appropriate hand signs and slammed my palms together with a loud clap, “Fūton: Gale Palm!” In a large ejection of wind oriented chakra, I managed to disperse most of the mist thinning it out enough that I could see Zabuza's faint outline several paces to my right. I turned to face the outline and began a new set of hand signs, “Katon: Great Fireball Jutsu!” I shouted and sent a steady stream of fire at Zabuza.

I grinned when Zabuza had to leap out of the mist and into my sight, just like I wanted, “I'm sorry, I didn't catch that last part. You left to quickly. Something about me being without my sharingan...?” I said teasingly. Boy, did Peaches look pissed off.

Somehow that set off a monologue of how Peach-boy had figured out the secret behind the sharingan. I almost started nodding off when he started explaining the piercing eye and the hypnotic eye and how I had used them in battle. Seriously, what was with this guy and explaining things to invisible audiences? Was he so enamored with his own smoker voice that he liked making long winded speeches over obvious things?!

That would explain a lot of things, actually.

After he finished lecturing me about things I had grown up knowing, he started talking about his 'ultimate plan to win the day'. Finally I gave up pretending to listen and groaned loudly, “Oh. My. Kami. SHUT UP! At least try to make it harder on me by not explaining your stupid little plan. Dear Lord, do I need to give you the 'a shinobi's lifestyle is deception' lecture I gave Naruto too?!”

There was a beat of silence when even Haku stopped fighting Naruto and Sasuke, before Zabuza's annoying raspy voice spoke again, “Fine. I just won't give you a sporting chance.” If that was what he called a 'sporting chance' I would gladly go without, if only to keep my ears from bleeding.

In the back of my mind I wondered who could out talk the other: the Hokage or Peaches.

The fighting between the three boys resumed with vigor, but something was different about it. I could hear Sasuke using the fireball jutsu as well, which was strange. Didn't he already try to melt the ice and figure out that it didn't work? What could those two idiots possibly be up to? I risked a glance in their direction, hoping that it might shed some light on their plan.

“Pay attention to your own fight!” Zabuza roared and I snapped my head around with a gasp just in time to feel his foot connect with my jawline. There was a dull crunch and I tasted the sharp coppery twang of blood flooding my mouth; seconds later a wave of pain bloomed from my jaw, momentarily causing my mind to blank. I landed in a heap on the ground, my jaw throbbing painfully. I reached up to cradle it and winced when my hand grazed against the bruising area. The bone was cracked at the very least.

High killer intent brought my head up and my eyes widened when I saw Zabuza descending from the air, the Kubikiribōchō raised over his head and positioned to bisect me at the waist. Scrambling, I twisted to the side and got my feet under me just as the long blade dug into the ground almost three inches deep. I winced and tried not to imagine what would have happened to be had I been any slower.

I was really starting to regret pissing Peaches off.

The Kiri nuke-nin yanked his big ass sword out of the ground and turned towards me, a deranged look in his eyes. “Seems I finally succeeded in shutting up the Uchiha with the runaway mouth. Now to make it permanent.” I couldn't help but roll my eyes at the lame trash talk. This guy was truly pathetic when it came to being intimidating. I was starting to think that awkward Iruka could be more terrifying than this guy. The chunnin might be terrifying to kids, but he was just a socially awkward wimp when it came to adults.

Peachy disappeared.

I stiffened and looked around, trying to discern any chakra signal with either my sharingan or my sensory abilities. I swallowed a mouthful of blood, trying not to gag at the overbearing taste of copper, and ran through my options. While the wind jutsu had momentarily cleared the mist, it was back in full force, once again hindering my line of vision. Sight was out, I could deal with that. Peaches was a master of the silent killing technique; he could enter a crowd full of people, kill one person, and be gone before that person even hit the ground–all the while not making a smidgen of noise. That mean I could not hear Zabuza's attacks either and if I did it was probably a distraction. Still I could manage without hearing too.

That left my sensing abilities and scent. I wasn't a tracker and I was no where near as good at olfactory perception as Kakashi or the Inuzuka clan, but I still had a sharp nose. However, the problem with that was my sense of smell was being overridden by the smell of my blood still filling my mouth. My chances of predicting Peaches next attack were starting to slim down. My chakra sensing abilities weren't the best, it was mostly just raw talent, but I still should be able to pick out Zabuza's large chakra source in the thick mist he had created. It would be like trying to pick out the early morning sun in a thick fog, but it was still doable. Unless Peach-boy suppressed his chakra, I should be able to sense him.

I closed my eyes and concentrated on spanning my awareness about the bridge. I could feel the chakra of the three boys flitting around inside the ice prison, which appeared to be a thin dome of Haku's chakra, and I could pick out Hinata's still relatively high chakra reserves right in front of Tazuna's stunted civilian level chakra. Wait.

Hinata.

Damn it! I had a Hyuuga with me the whole time and I was too caught up in my ego to even think about asking her for help. There wasn't anything that could hide from the Byakugan! And now, I couldn't talk because of my cracked jawbone. Growling deep in my throat I was about to shunshin to Hinata and signal what I needed in my rusty genin hand signs, when the object I was looking for appeared.

Right where I didn't want it.

Chapter 15: Not Everything is Black and White

Hinata screamed.

I gasped as a sheering pain ripped across my chest; blood from my mouth dripped down my chin and joined the splatter of blood already on the ground. I was extremely lucky to have been able to shunshin right where I needed to be in order to take the blow meant for Hinata and Tazuna.

I reached up to cradle my wound, trying to stop the blood flow, and glared at Zabuza with slow spinning red eyes. Unfortunately he didn't meet my gaze, “Too bad, Uchiha, you let concern for those brats cloud your mind and adding further to the fog that already hinders your sharingan. You're eyes are sharp, but not sharp enough to read my moves.”

Kami above, why did I have to be injured and listen to Peach Bastard's shitty insults?

Peach-boy cackled in a cliché villainous pitch, furthering my annoyance with the man. Did Kirigakure hand pamphlets out on how to be a lame antagonist?! “Come on, Uchiha, I want this to be fun!” Can anyone say psychopath? “I want to enjoy myself while I extract my revenge! As for those pest... don't worry. They're at Haku's mercy, no they're breathing their last breaths right now.” Peaches twisted Kubikiribōchō so that the sharp edge of the blade was facing up and he reached behind him into his weapons pouch. I didn't move. “Relax. You'll have plenty of time to weep out an apology when you see them in the next life.”

Where the hell did he get the assumption I was tense in anyway?

He started cackling again. My eyes narrowed slightly as he seemed to dissolve back into the mist surrounding us. Peachy's crazed laughter drifted so that it sounded like it was coming from all around us. There was a moment of silence after Zabuza's awful guffawing faded away filled only with my labored breath. Damn this stupid wound, I was going to be in pain every time I got dressed for a month! Not to mention my bruising jaw; I'm not going to be able to eat solid foods for a long time. Plus when Obito sees it, there would be hell to pay.

Exactly who would pay... that was the question.

Because I was going to make damn sure that Peaches didn't leave this bridge alive.

Hinata whimpered behind me and I glanced over my shoulder to see her staring intensively at the ice prison. “N-Naruto-kun... Sasuke-san...” She whispered and took an instinctive step towards the place where her team was fighting for their lives. Hinata stopped and her breath started to shorten with panic, in another moment she would start hyperventilating and I couldn't do shit about it. The one time I wanted to comfort my student and my damn jaw was locked up from the pain.

Luckily Tazuna stepped in, “Don't worry, Hinata-chan. I have faith that the boys will pull through. That blonde kid... I thought he was just some goofy little brat with the maturity of a two year old. And the one with the attitude, I didn't think he cared about anyone! But I see now that I was wrong. All of you aren't what I expected and, by golly, I know Naruto and Sasuke will beat that masked pest to a pulp!”

My sharingan eyes darted to Tazuna to convey my silent thanks. The old man smirked at me and reached out to place a hand on Hinata's shoulder. The Hyuuga heiress was looking more confident than she had been, she stood straighter and held the kunai in a tight, firm grip.

I returned my gaze forward again and I was surprised to see Zabuza's outline among the fog. Maybe he hadn't disappeared as completely as I had thought. Peach-boy laughed sardonically, “You think those punks can defeat Haku? No one has ever stopped his secret jutsu.” Zabuza reached up for Kubikiribōchō and I clinched my fists, wishing that I hadn't lost my grip on my fan when Peaches landed that damn round house kick on my face. I was down to the senbons I had carved out of twigs earlier that week. Against the Kubikiribōchō, they wouldn't do squat. Mentally I ran through my other options.

When I realized my opponent was Zabuza, I had raided my pack until I managed to dig up my old, worn, and very out-of-date copy of Konoha's Bingo Book. While the brats were out training, I had been cooped up in the room I shared with Hinata, pouring over Zabuza's page. What I had read made me frustrated and ecstatic at the same time. Peach-boy's stats were solid straight across–practically invincible–except for one little detail. Zabuza was below average in genjutsu. As an Uchiha, I was fairly good at genjutsu, but I wasn't the best. Furthermore, Zabuza would be avoiding looking into my eyes which hindered my chance of catching only him in a genjutsu. My best chance was casting an area of effect genjutsu, but that would also endanger my team and Tazuna.

My other option was that I could also use my hawk summonings that still perched around the bridge, waiting for me to order them around. The downside to that option was that I had to focus my attention on directing the hawks, those small summons couldn't fight by themselves very well as they would attack anyone who wasn't me. I would have to concentrate on making sure none of the hawks went after Team 7. That meant that Zabuza, or even Haku, could bypass me and go for the bridge builder. I supposed I could create a shadow clone to handle the hawks, but I was already low on chakra and that would only eat away at my stores even more. I knew that if this fight was prolonged any longer I would suffer from chakra exhaustion again or worse.

I needed to end this now.

My hands rose and I started going through the hand signs for my signature technique, water ninjutsu be damned, when a spike of chakra made me freeze in utter fear. Hot, cold, anger, red... red... red. That chakra...

vvv FLASHBACK vvv

“Stay with your cousin, Itachi. I'll be right back.” Mikoto-oba called as she dashed off. I stared wide eyed and frightened as my aunt left. Alarms had awoken me in the middle of the night calling for an extreme state of emergency. Obito-nii was in my room only seconds after the alarm started wailing and dragged me to the Main Branch house, telling me to stay with Mikoto. When I tried to tell him that I was a genin now and I could help with whatever the crisis was, Obito had gotten uncharacteristically serious and ordered me to stay in the house.

Now the bells were calling for all shinobi ranked above chūnin, retired or otherwise, and Mikoto had left me in charge of my cousins while she ran to respond to the summons.

Itachi and I sat on the porch, watching ghostly red ribbons float through the sky, and keeping an ear trained on any changes in the constant alarm. Sasuke thankfully was being relatively quite, I wasn't having to try and listen over a brat's soft crying. Itachi seemed surprisingly responsible with his little brother, so I left Itachi was baby duty. I didn't like kids that much; the only kid I liked was Itachi and that was because he was more like an adult anyway.

My heart dropped when I heard the alarm pick up in tempo and changed to a higher pitch. That was the call for all civilians and lower ranked shinobi to evacuate to the Monument. Whatever was happening in the village it must be bad if it was a village-wide evacuation. I stood, “Come on Itachi, we've gotta-” I cut myself off when I saw my cousin already heading for the compound gates. I didn't even have it in me to be angry at him for leaving me behind.

I had only gotten five feet when there was a thunderous crash that shook the ground. Itachi and I stumbled, trying to regain our footing and still move fast enough to get to the shelter. Then I felt it. A tangible anger, so hot and violent that I felt sick to my stomach. Sasuke, who had been quietly whimpering until now, shrieked in fear, his small face turning a dark red. I was scared, I wanted to run away and hide, to give into to whatever was attacking. It was the predator and I was the cornered prey, I stood no chance against that anger; that raw, potent Killer Intent.

Something firm but small tugged at my wrist. I jolted out of my frozen state and stared down at my little cousin. Itachi looked as calm and impassive as he always did, as if he couldn't even feel the Killer Intent infused in the very air–no, it was the air. I was breathing in that powerful anger with every breath until it became my whole being. I wanted to hide. I wanted-

“Yanagi-itoko, we have to get to the shelter,” Itachi spoke, cutting off my thoughts. To anyone else he might sound bored and indifferent, but I could hear the small lilt of concern in his voice. That seemed to wake me up. I was frozen like a deer downwind of the wolf and here my six year old cousin wasn't even bothered about the attack. He was trying to comfort me! What was worse, I actually needed to be comforted. It angered me, I was weak. A child barely in the academy was more rational than I, the Rookie of the Year, was!

I promised myself I would never freeze again.

vvv FLASHBACK OVER vvv

I concentrated on my sensory ability, trying to determine what would make Naruto lose control. I doggedly ignored the hotredredredthatnightfearmustrun chakra that was the Kyuubi's and instead on the chakra points all over the bridge. Zabuza was a little ahead of me, his chakra thick and languid like honey; there was the smooth, silky feel of Hinata's chakra behind me beside the stunted civilian amount that was Tazuna's. Haku's, hard and sharp like ice yet surprisingly warm, was darting all over the place as he tried to dodge Naruto's crazed strikes. Sasuke's chakra was muted, almost to the point of...

I snapped my head around and stared as the ice mirrors shattered and Haku came flying out, laid out flat by Naruto. In between the broken shards of the still hanging mirrors I could see a dark lump in the center, not moving.

...of death.

It wasn't the first time I had seen death, and certainly not the last. I wasn't even bothered all that much by it. Except... I was. There was a difference between seeing a teammate die in the course of a battle, when you didn't have time to think or even notice that they had just died; and seeing the body of a child, your own cousin, crumpled on the ground like a thrown away doll.

Suddenly all the horrible things I had said to him, all the unkind actions and unfriendly glares, all came rushing in like a tidal wave. Like a tsunami. Obito was right, I was a horrible sensei. I had gotten one of my students killed on their first C-rank mission. It didn't matter that it had been updated to an A-rank. I had in essence killed my own student; I had signed his death warrant the moment I didn't withdraw from the mission when it was clear that it was out of Team 7's capabilities. I felt sick, both physically and emotionally. I felt like I was drowning with no life line to pull myself out. I... needed an outlet, I needed to rid myself of all the pent up guilt and anger at myself.

“Awww... are you going to cry?”

I found my outlet.

Slowly I turned to stare at Zabuza, That Bastard, all my emotions draining away and leaving nothing behind. I didn't take joy in seeing him jolt in surprise at my flat gaze, or the way he when white under his tan skin when my Killer Intent washed over him. All I cared about was beating the shit out of that bastard for putting my cousin in the position that killed him. I raised my hands slowly and, almost in a trance, I ran through the hand signs, never breaking gaze with that bastard. I stared straight into his soul and found it... lacking.

Zabuza's death wouldn't bring back Sasuke, but it would sure make me feel a hell of a lot better.

I could only hope.

Demonic Illusion: Shackling Stakes Jutsu. I thought, since my injured jaw prevented me from saying the jutsu. Zabuza's eyes bugged out when he felt the imaginary genjutsu stakes driving into his body, pinning him where he stood. I dropped the last hand sign and started another jutsu. I kept my eyes on Zabuza the whole time, letting him see my cold indifference to him. I wanted that bastard to know that I wasn't killing him because he was my enemy or because I hated him.

I was killing Zabuza just because I fucking felt like it.

Katon: Great Fireball Jutsu. I didn't channel too much of my chakra into the fire. I didn't want to incinerate Zabuza on the spot. That wasn't good enough, I wanted to slowly roast him alive. I wanted him to die a slow agonizing death, covered in third degree, maybe even fourth degree if I was feeling merciful, burns for even thinking of harming my baby cousin. I took a deep breath and brought my fingers up to my mouth. I watched dispassionately as Zabuza tried to evade the oncoming fire, I didn't feel the pleasure of watching my prey squirm before I killed them. All I could think was 'how dare you.'

I noticed Haku too late.

vvv 3rd POV~ Hinata vvv

Hinata was frightened. She stood there shaking on spot as she watched the plume of red chakra spiraling out of the mirrors. With her Byakugan activated, she had seen all that had happened. She saw the spike of chakra in Sasuke's eyes and saw the glint of red–the sign of the sharingan. Hinata saw him fall, saw his chakra sputter like a candle before dying out. She saw Naruto lose control, she didn't need her kekke genkai for that. That violent red chakra was clear from even the distance between the boys and Hinata.

Hinata saw Yanagi-sensei freeze up when she spotted Sasuke's body. Afterwards, Hinata saw Sensei take on a whole new personality. Hinata shivered, with her Byakugan activated there was no missing that cold look in Yanagi's eyes. There was a saying in Konoha: 'The four things any Konoha nin fears are an angry Aburame, a focused Inuzuka, a motivated Nara, and a bereft Uchiha.' Until now, Hinata had never realized why.

The Hyuuga heiress clung to her kunai as if it were a religious symbol, she wasn't ready for this. When she had graduated as a genin, she knew there would be death and fighting, but... not like this. She hadn't expected to see her first death so soon, and definitely not her own teammate! Hinata would happily go back to doing D-ranked missions if she survived.

She hoped she survived.

But that hope was dwindling into an unattainable dream. If Sasuke, the strongest genin of their class, couldn't survive, then what hope did she have?! Yanagi-sensei had promised she would protect them with her life when they first fought Zabuza, but she had failed. Yanagi had broken her promise. There was no guarantee that Sensei would protect Hinata if Zabuza came after her, Yanagi didn't even protect her own cousin.

A sentimental fool, that's what Yanagi-sensei called Hinata. Was this what she meant? Sasuke had ran to protect Naruto from being hurt, Hinata saw that, and in turn the Uchiha boy had gotten killed. “If you live past your Chunnin Exam I'll be amazed” That's what Yanagi-sensei had said, had she been right? Were emotions really a hindrance to a shinobi? From the way Yanagi-sensei was going after Zabuza, it seemed like she was right. Emotions were an obstacle to a shinobi, they got in the way of the fight and clouded the mind. Hinata remembered that there was a rule about emotions, Rule 25: A shinobi must never show their feelings. It was one of the only rules she actually knew by heart because it was the rule most shinobi strove to achieve.

But... did Hinata have what it took to get rid of her emotions?

Movement behind Yanagi-sensei alerted Hinata and she opened her mouth to call out a warning, not even thinking about it, but she was too late.

vvv Normal POV vvv

I stumbled back a step, caught off guard by the sudden body in front of me, cutting of the steam of fire to only a small fireball barely bigger than a cat. Time seemed to slow as I watched the small jet of fire fly from my mouth and connect with Haku's chest perfectly. Surprisingly, he didn't go flying back from the force of the fire. It should have sent him back twenty feet minimum, but he didn't budge a single inch. I stared straight into the kid's brown eyes for the first time, his mask was gone– probably Naruto's doing– as my ninjutsu hit him.

He looked... peaceful.

It was Sasuke all over again.

I had killed many people in my career as a kunoichi, I've even enjoyed it at times. Many of those kills had been children, kids who had gotten in my way; but I never liked admitting to those kills. I always felt ill when I watched the light go out in their young eyes. But... it was necessary for Konohagakure to keep going, so I swallowed my disgust and soldiered on. I didn't look back and reflect upon my kills, I didn't find pride in the high number. I knew that if I did I would never be able to live with myself again. Haku though... he did it willingly. He jumped in front of my fireball to protect the bastard he found precious to him.

Haku, a Kiri nuke-nin, had the Will of Fire.

And I almost killed him.

Almost.

There was still a chance to save the boy.

The question was: would I take it?

He was my enemy, he killed my cousin.

But he was only a boy... barely older than Team 7. If I let him die, it would be just another Sasuke. A death of a child saving someone precious to him.

No, I would not let that happen.

My decision made, I wrapped my arms around Haku and leaped back away from a shell shocked Zabuza. Once the demonic illusion fell, the bastard would no doubt come after me, regardless that Haku was now in my possession. I knew the Peach bastard didn't care for Haku, his sordid little speech of Haku being the ultimate tool was enough evidence for that. I needed enough time to try and heal the kid, at least enough that I could leave him to destroy Zabuza if he attacked.

I laid Haku down gently and ran a diagnostic jutsu to check how injured the boy truly was. Deep second degree burns across the chest, as well as minor second degree on the right arm and shoulder; but fortunately no internal bleeding or ruptured organs. Not as bad as I thought then. I sighed and allowed my eyes to close a brief moment; I was glad that I had intended to slowly roast Zabuza alive, it had probably saved the kid's life. Haku would need help beyond my capabilities, but I should be able to heal him enough so he would last until I got a medical nin.

Reaching into my pack I withdrew a kunai, intending to use it to cut open Haku's haori and shirt. Zabuza, however, jumped to the wrong conclusion. “Get away from him!” The Demon of the Mist shouted. It surprised me how desperate he sounded.

Was... his speech about Haku just a ruse?

No, I shook my head, I couldn't think like that. It was bad enough that I was healing the boy. I couldn't start going soft on Zabuza. He needed to die, otherwise Tazuna would always be in danger. Haku... once I healed him I would take him prisoner and turn him over to T&I when Team 7 returned to Konoha. This kid was a gold mine of information about the Mist Rebels, and being partners with the infamous Demon of the Mist and one of the rare Kiri nins to have a Kekke Genkai meant he probably had a high bounty.

I stubbornly ignored the disgust I felt.

I fingered the pinstriped collar of Haku's bodysuit to determine the patterned stitch. Luckily it was a downward weave, which would make slicing through the fabric much easier for me. I raised the kunai to Haku's neck...

...and hissed when a shuriken embedded itself in the back of my hand.

Zabuza was charging towards me when I looked up to see who had thrown the shuriken. I was shocked that he was even able to move; Demonic Illusion: Shackling Stakes was a powerful paralyzing genjutsu. Only the most powerful were able to move under it, and even then it wasn't without struggle. So how the hell was Zabuza moving as if he was never under the genjutsu?! Genjutsu was supposed to be the nuke-nin's weakness! No time to think about it, Zabuza was already swinging his sword, trying to behead me. I barely managed to duck under the Kubikiribōchō and rolled away from Haku. Zabuza snarled at me and placed himself between the boy and I. His blade raised in a defensive position.

Interesting.

So Peaches didn't attack Tazuna, even though he had the perfect opening... again. Zabuza had had the element of surprise. I hadn't known that Shackling Stakes had ended, which meant he should have assassinated Tazuna, and possibly Hinata, before I knew what had happened. But he didn't. Zabuza came to the rescue of his fallen comrade, had even warned me by shouting. And when he had managed to separate us, instead of going for Tazuna or me like one would expect him too, Peaches continued to guard Haku from me. He totally ignored the bridge builder who stood behind him. It was a perfect opportunity to attack, there would be no way I could reach Tazuna in time, both Zabuza and I knew that. And yet, there wasn't a twitch from Peach-boy to indicate he meant to attack.

Only defend.

“Yanagi-sensei!” Someone landed beside me. I jolted and looked down at Naruto in surprise. I hadn't even thought of him since he smashed that ice prison to pieces. I was too focused on making Zabuza pay for Sasuke's death, and then saving Haku's life, to even think about the other two genin.

Naruto was staring at me, “Sensei, what happened to you?!” That's right, the blonde didn't see me get my ass handed to me by Zabuza. He was too busy with the Ice Princess.

I grunted and pointedly looked at Zabuza, trying to convey my meaning since my jaw was still out of commission. Unfortunately, the Kyuubi brat was too dense to get my meaning. He squinted at me, “Hey, I asked you a question!” I was really really tempted to kick him off the bridge. I was trying to think and-

“HEY, WHAT DID YOU DO TO HAKU?!”

That did it, as soon as this fight was over, I was murdering Naruto.

Zabuza growled at Naruto's demand, but didn't take his narrow eyes off me. The man was finally serious about the fight. This wasn't some little show anymore where we threw a few half assed attempts of trying to kill each other. We were fighting for our students now, and that meant there was no holding back. In the shinobi world, students were considered the last straw. If someone went after a student, they had better prepare to fight for their lives against the master.

Zabuza was guarding his one and only dying student.

I still had two students to protect. No matter how much I wanted to strangle one at the moment.

Tazuna be damned, this was no longer about a bridge builder and some petty shipping company. It was personal now. It became personal the minute Sasuke died, and I sure as hell wasn't letting my cousin and student go without being avenged. Even if I didn't kill Sasuke's true killer, I would damn sure take out the master. If it was the last thing I did, then so be it.

“What the hell are you doing?!”

There was a beat of silence before Zabuza and I turned to look at the new speaker. There were very few brave, or stupid depending on how you looked at it, souls who would willingly speak when two jounin level ninjas were releasing large amounts of Killer Intent. It was a well known fact that shinobi weren't mentally stable, and in the height of battle one could easily turn on some idiot who opened his big mouth. I deadpanned when I spied the little midget standing in front of a large crowd of thugs, all leering as if they were something special. Honestly, quantity did not equal quality. Every shinobi knew that, but it seemed that civilians forgot that little fact constantly.

I could already tell where this was going.

The midget piped up again, “You're supposed to be attacking the bridge builder, not playing ninja with a whore.” My flat expression turned to one that screamed, 'do you have a death wish?!' Zabuza wasn't even injured and here the idiot was mouthing off to an A-class nuke-nin. What an arrogant little dwarf. I didn't think it was possible, but I had finally found someone more arrogant than the entire Uchiha clan and Zabuza combined.

Zabuza did not look amused, “Gatou,” Boy talk about loathing, I could feel just how much Zabuza hated the man by the levels of contempt in his voice, “what is all this? Why are you here and who are these thugs you brought with you?”

This Gatou tapped his cane against the ground. “Well, you see there's been a change of plans.” Called it! But still, this guy was an Idiot, with a capital 'i'. Betraying a nuke-nin who was already pissed off... how did the little dwarf become one of the richest men in the world? “According to the new plan, you die of this bridge... Za-bu-za.” Oi! That was my plan, the little bastard.

Peaches didn't look all that surprised, “What.” It wasn't even a question. More like a 'Really? You're actually trying that shit?' statement. If I wasn't still burning with adrenaline and anger I would find this whole thing hilarious.

Gatou leered, as if he thought he was something special. “That's right. You're too expensive, so I decided to take you off the payroll.” See Zabuza? That's what you get when you're greedy. Your rat bastard employer pulls the most cliché move in history on you. “Of course, even these thugs with me cost something, so if you could slaughter a few of them before they take you down, I'd appreciate it.”

Seriously, how was this guy still alive? Betraying a nuke-nin was one thing, but asking said nuke-nin to kill a few of his hired thugs who were standing right behind him before they 'killed' Zabuza was just asking for it. All it took was one of the thugs to stab the midget bastard in the back and then they could go loot his no-doubt richly furnished home for payment. They'd probably get a lot more money that way.

But of course, male egos would prevent them all from thinking clearly and they would just battle to the death.

Delightful.

Gatou went even further and started adding mockery to the list, “Think you can manage that, Demon of the Mist?” The midget chuckled condescendingly. “Look at you, you look about a demonic as a wet kitten.” Apparently Gatou had never faced a wet kitten before. Especially when they're called 'Tora'.

I turned to look at Zabuza. Of the both of us, I was the one who was more injured. In fact, Zabuza didn't even have a scratch on him. The only thing to his disadvantage was that he was mentally fatigued from the genjutsu I had cast on him. But like all good ninja, Peaches didn't show signs that the genjutsu had bothered him. I could tell Zabuza wasn't going to last much longer under the insults and blood would soon spill, but he didn't move. He thought I still meant harm to Haku.

Even if I did, I would be willing to call a truce if only long enough to shut Gatou's damn mouth.

I struggled to a stand, feeling slightly dizzy which meant that the blood loss was finally getting to me. This fight would be over for me soon, but I still had enough chakra in me to at least heal Haku so his life was no longer in danger, maybe even a little more. I swayed a little as I walked towards Zabuza. The man tensed and tightened his grip on the hilt of Kubikiribōchō. I stopped just out of reach of the big ass sword and forced myself to speak, “Heal...Haku.” I manged to push past my aching jaw, though it was so garbled that even I barely understood it. I really hoped Peach-boy got my meaning, because it was obvious that I couldn't explain in depth. Damn man, why couldn't he break my ribs or something?!

The Kiri nuke-nin stood there for a moment, I could see in his eyes that he wanted to trust me but didn't dare. Not that I blamed him, until recently we were ready to kill each other. But like every experienced shinobi, we both knew that situations could change in an instant and enemies could become close allies in the blink of an eye. The problem was if those allies would return to enemies once the fighting was done. If I did, which I wouldn't dare, then I would be in the perfect position to off Haku without any intervention from Zabuza.

By pure luck, Haku whimpered quietly at Zabuza's feet. A small reminder of how close to death the kid was. I couldn't wait around for Peaches to decide, Haku might be dead by the time Zabuza made up his damn mind.

Unfortunately our conversation drew attention from that grub Gatou, “Ha! So that little brat is dying, eh? Serves him right for trying to break my arm! Do us all a favor, dear, and kill the runt for me, would you? I'll pay you handsomely for your troubles!” The little man asked me. I shivered in disgust and shot the midget a dark look over my shoulder. I hadn't noticed that his left arm was in a cast until now. My respect for Haku rose several notches. Too bad Ice Princess didn't slay the cretin when he had the chance.

Zabuza narrowed his eyes at Gatou and I mentally laughed at the midget's stupidity. Insulting a man was one thing, but insulting his student when the kid was on the doorstep of death was something else entirely. Peach-boy looked at me with murder in his eyes, but I knew it wasn't directed at me. “You're in luck, Uchiha, our fight is over now” Zabuza rasped. My mouth twitched into a brief smile, but I let if fall when even that hurt. Peach-boy raised his voice so the rest of the people on the bridge could hear him, “since I am no longer in Gatou's employ, Tazuna is safe.”

Gatou twitched, obviously infuriated that his little display of audacity was backfiring on him. Did he honestly expect that Zabuza would still go after Tazuna after he cut Peach-boy's pay? That was just arrogant in the extreme. And I was an expert on arrogance.

I was an Uchiha after all. The trait for arrogance was in our blood just as much as the Sharingan was.

Quietly I knelt beside Haku again and nicked a small cut in his collar before ripping the shirt open. I grimaced when I saw my handiwork. The skin across his thin chest was warped and yellowish. White bubbles dotted the skin like small snow capped mountains; some were as round as coins and others barely bigger than the head of a pin. The burn continued up Haku's neck, fading to a pale rosy pink as it curved up his jaw line and half way to his right eye, looking no more superficial than a sunburn. Haku's upper right arm was a glossy vivid red with sparse clear blisters running along the inside of his arm. Further down the arm, just below the elbow, the burn faded into the same rosy red color that marred the poor boy's cheek. It was honestly a surprise that Haku was still alive at all. The shock alone from the jutsu should have sent him into cardiac arrest.

I felt Zabuza's heavy gaze on my back and looked up to meet the nuke-nin's glare, “You harm one hair on his head and I will end you.” Zabuza said and for the first time since I clashed with him, I felt intimidated by the Demon of the Mist.

Wordlessly I nodded and activated the Mystic Palm Technique. I wasn't nearly as good as Rin was, but she taught me the basics of medical ninjutsu. That would be enough to keep Haku alive. He would be horribly scarred for the rest of his days, but it was better that he be hideous than dead. Besides, those who truly loved the boy wouldn't care what he looked like.

vvv 3rd POV vvv

Naruto didn't understand at all what was happening. One minute Yanagi-sensei and that peach guy were glaring at each other with the intent to kill, then the weird short guy with the weird hair showed up and started insulting Zabuza and all of a sudden Zabuza and Frizzy-sensei were friends! It was all so confusing and Naruto couldn't keep up. He wanted to scream and make them explain, but Yanagi-sensei would probably knock him upside the head again. And she hit hard!

Yanagi-sensei was kneeling down beside Haku. She was... healing him. Naruto frowned at his sensei. He remembered what she said to him when she refused to give anything to that sick boy, “I don't see the point in wasting resources to a lost cause when there are more likely cases around that can live.” Naruto didn't know how Haku had gotten hurt, but it looked bad. Almost like Haku-san wouldn't live, even Naruto would admit to that no matter how much he didn't want to. So why was Yanagi-sensei healing a lost cause?! Sasuke! If Yanagi was willing to heal Haku, then shouldn't she try to heal Sasuke too? Naruto looked over to where the body of Sasuke laid, why wouldn't Yanagi heal Sasuke? He was her cousin, and Haku was the enemy; so shouldn't she focus on Sasuke and not Haku? Naruto wanted Haku to live, sure, but he wanted Sasuke to live more!

“Yanagi-sensei, what about S-Sasuke?” Naruto asked. He wanted to yell, but he could barely even bring his voice above a low mumble. He didn't like the way Yanagi's shoulders stiffened, Naruto's sensei was normally more reserved than that. Naruto could hardly ever figure out what Frizzy-sensei was thinking unless she was mad, so for her to act out of character didn't bode well for Sasuke.

Zabuza hefted his large sword up onto his shoulder and looked at Naruto. The nuke-nin's voice was surprisingly soft when he spoke, “Kid... your teammate is dead.”

“Then why...?” Naruto started to ask as he turned wide eyes on his sensei's back. Why was she healing Sasuke's killer?! His blue eyes turned up to Zabuza, wordlessly demanding answers.

Zabuza only looked away, unable to meet the kid's gaze. Death normally didn't bother him, he enjoyed killing and enjoyed seeing the survivors' fear when he took credit for his kills. But... there was something in that blonde kid's eyes that made him almost feel ashamed of it all.

The short midget laughed harshly, “Look at you! So soft! Awwww, are you going to cry?”

Naruto couldn't take it any more. He spun around and leveled a harsh glare at the scruffy little rat, “Shut up!” The Kyuubi container roared. He couldn't stand it! Not anymore! If Yanagi-sensei was going to be a coward then fine, Naruto would take care of those thugs by himself! Screw the shinobi code or whatever bullshit Yanagi spouted at him, Naruto would just follow his own code then!

Naruto charged forward before Zabuza or Yanagi could stop him.

vvv Normal POV vvv

I tried to grab Naruto as he shot off, but I wasn't in a good position. He had been standing behind me and I wasn't at my best so my reaction time was off. I twisted awkwardly and landed on my stomach, my arm stretched out before me. I didn't even come close to grabbing the blonde. Grimacing I pushed myself off the ground and was preparing to run after my hot headed student, when a blur of grey shot past me. I fell back in surprise.

“You heal Haku, I'll get the brat!” Zabuza ordered over his shoulder. I blinked after him; it was common that enemies would temporarily call a truce to deal with a mutual foe, but it was always an uneasy truce. The way Zabuza was acting... it was like we had been allies for a long time. And that, I did not understand.

“S-sensei!” I turned to see Hinata and Tazuna coming forward, Hinata's lavender eyes landed on Haku and she swallowed audibly. Even Tazuna looked horrified at the warped mess that was Haku, and I was sure he had seen many nasty injuries during his career in construction.

No time to think about that. I couldn't deal with those two, not while I was dealing with Haku. In quick succession I ordered Hinata to retreat and continue guarding Tazuna–even if Zabuza said he would no longer go after the bridge builder that didn't mean he would stop any thug going after my client–through basic genin hand signals. There was a chance she didn't know even one of them; the Academy never really went into depth with hand signals, which was stupid in my opinion. It was inevitable that one day all shinobi faced a situation where silence was the difference between life and death. It was at those times that hand signals were an essential tool to a ninja. I would be damned if another one of my students died because I didn't teach them something basic and easy In the back of my mind I added teaching Naruto and Hinata all the levels of hand signals to the growing list of things I should have done.

Luckily, Hinata seemed to understand me. She nodded a bit shakily and backed up, pawing at Tazuna's sleeve. The old man stood frozen, his eyes on the boy that was slowly dying. I ignored them both as I activated the Mystic Palm Technique again and spread my palms out just inches above Haku's chest. Green chakra seeped into the affected area and I mentally twisted it so that the chakra spread through the skin, going no deeper than the burns. I was in my own little bubble, completely ignoring all that went around me as I laboriously worked to save my cousin's murderer.

vvv 3rd POV~ Naruto vvv

A heavy hand landed on Naruto's shoulder before he could get within two meters of the first thug. Furious the blonde kid spun around, expecting to see his cowardly sensei, but was surprised to see the no-brow nuke-nin Zabuza. A small twinge of fear shot through him and he wondered if Zabuza was going to take him out. Naruto could barely hold his own against Haku, he knew there was no chance he could even make Zabuza sweat. Sure there had been that time before, when Yanagi-sensei was captured, but that was with Sasuke. Sasuke was gone now, and Naruto honestly couldn't think of any way he might stand against Zabuza on his own. All his plans included Sasuke.

Whap!

“Ouch! HEY!” Naruto yelped and glared up at Zabuza, the person responsible for smacking Naruto upside the head.

“Stupid. What do you think one little pest like you can do against them?” Zabuza grouched as he grabbed the blonde by his hideously orange jumpsuit and dragged him back a few steps. “You're nothing but target practice to those bastards.”

Naruto didn't want to hear it, “Shut up! This is all your fault! If you... If he hadn't... Then...” He didn't know what to say, all he knew was this whole mess, from Sasuke to that creepy short guy, was somehow Zabuza's fault.

Zabuza's answer wasn't helping matters, “Haku is nothing but a tool to me, just like your friend was nothing but a tool to your sensei. You shouldn't linger over his death, it makes you soft. A true shinobi-”

The blonde growled, “You shut the hell up! I don't give a damn was a true shinobi does. Haku thought the world of you, you were one of his precious people and Sasuke...” Naruto trailed off for a moment, unable to push away the image of Sasuke dying in his arms.

“Aniki... he's going to be mad at me. He made me promise to... try and surpass him. But...”

Naruto shook his head fiercely to clear the image of a senbon-riddled Sasuke, his friend, “Sasuke died because of me! And Haku is dying because of you!” Naruto finished with a shout, pointing a rigid finger at the silent Zabuza, “You and Haku were together for years, doesn't that mean anything?!”

Zabuza's eyes didn't change from their cold flat gaze, “You don't understand the way of shinobi, you're still just a child who knows nothing. I merely used Haku as Gatou used me. He is nothing but a broken tool now, one that will never be the same. A broken tool is a useless one.”

The anger roiling inside Naruto's gut boiled down to utter disgust. He couldn't understand how someone as loyal as Haku could get mixed up with a rat bastard like Zabuza, “If you really mean that, then you're a bigger rat than I thought. You're worse than Gatou!”

Zabuza simply watched the kid.

“Yanagi-sensei said that she wouldn't waste resources on a lost cause, but she's over there right now trying to heal Haku for you; and you say you don't care about him! Haku wanted me to kill him when I defeated him, he didn't want to dishonor you, damn it! He thought the world of you, so much that he was willing to die for you! While he was sacrificing everything for you, you never felt anything for him? What does that mean for me, huh?” Naruto's voice started dying down as the grief he had felt for both Haku and Sasuke began overwhelming his anger, “If I become strong, does that mean I become as cold hearted as you are? Haku almost thew his life away... and for what?! For you and your dream? He never had a dream of his own, but you don't care, you just tossed him aside like he was nothing...” Thick tears began streaming down Naruto's cheeks. “It's just... so wrong...”

The Kiri nuke-nin looked away, unable to face the genin. “You talk too much...” He muttered under his breath. Naruto looked up, surprised at the tired tone in Zabuza's voice. The blonde kid was nearly shocked to see tears gathering in the nuke-nin's eyes. “Haku was always too soft for this life, and curse you I refuse to let him throw away his life on one as worthless as I.”

Naruto stared at the man in silence, unable to even think of what to say. He had never meant to actually change Zabuza's mind or anything. He just wanted Zabuza to see how wrong the shinobi way was.

The man seemed to be smirking under the bandages covering his mask, “What, cat got your tongue, gaki? Or are you so surprised to discover that I'm human? Even shinobi are human, no matter how much we try to escape that fact. That's what your sensei was trying to teach you... but we always fail. Or at least... I have.” Zabuza reached back and wrapped his fingers around Kubikiribōchō's hilt, “Stay back, kid. This fight is between me and Gatou.”

There was a brief pause, a small moment of silence, before Zabuza suddenly charged forward with the speed only a shinobi could achieve after years of training. Naruto watched the nuke-nin in awe and horror as he met with the numerous thugs of that Gatou guy and, like a wave breaking on a rocky shore, blood pieces of thugs went flying into the air. Arms, legs, torsos, heads, it didn't matter what it was; but some appendage would go into the air every time a thug thought he had a chance against Zabuza. Naruto suddenly knew how out of league he was, a simple genin, against someone like Zabuza; and he was immensely glad that Zabuza wasn't against Team 7 anymore.

“Rah! Damn it, I'm not going to sit this battle out like a coward!” Naruto suddenly shouted and made a hand sign, “Kage bushin no Jutsu!” Three other Naruto's popped into existence, drawing the attention of a few thugs that Zabuza left alive to go after Gatou. Their eyes lit up at the sight of an easier target.

One thug snickered as he took a step towards the genin, “Awww, look. A little brat thinks he has a chance against us. What'chya say, boys? Shall we teach him a lesson?” There was a collect of evil chuckles as each thug brought out their weapons and turned to face the boy.

Naruto was not amused, “Don't underestimate me!” He snapped and two shadow clones charged forward. While the thugs were busy taking care of them, Naruto concentrated on the jutsu Yanagi-sensei had taught him. He had mastered it, but he didn't even have a fan to concentrate the chakra. Naruto doubted that the jutsu would work without a fan or something to concentrate his chakra, at least that was what Yanagi-sensei had told him. However this was a live or die situation and he didn't have a choice. “Fūton: Wind Blade!” Naruto shouted and prayed to kami that this worked.

It didn't.

The thugs laughed at him when nothing happened, “Look at him, you're a long way from home, little kid. What a pathetic-” The thugs' self proclaimed speaker was suddenly cut off when a hawk shot past Naruto's shoulder and slammed full speed into the man's face, its wings smacking the man upside his head. The thug's laughter turned into screams of pain as the hawk raked its curved talons down his face, carving deep bloody grooves in his cheeks, and pecked at his eyes with its sharp hooked beak. He reached up, trying to pull the bird off, but it only fell back for a moment before swooping back in and digging it's talons into the man's neck. The thug fell backwards and laid prone, dead, underneath the now calm hawk as it cleaned it's blood spattered feathers. The whole thing had only lasted a short moment.

Naruto spun around, his blue eyes going wide as he saw Yanagi-sensei walking towards him. A swarm of hawks flew around her, a cacophony of shrieks and caws. The hawk that had clawed at the thug took flight and landed on Yanagi-sensei's shoulder, looking utterly smug with his perch of honor. The rest of the hawks spread out among the bridge work, each of their sharp yellow eyes seeming to pick a victim to claw the face off of.

Even though the blonde really didn't like his sensei all that much, he was glad to see her. “Frizzy-sensei! How's Haku, did you heal him?” Naruto asked when his sensei stopped beside him.

“I don't know,” The tall woman said blandly as she shrugged, “Taicho is healing him.”

Naruto blinked at her, confused before looking over his shoulder at where Haku was. He was surprised to see another Yanagi still crouched over the older boy's body, green chakra pouring out of her hands and into Haku's chest. Naruto twisted to face the Yanagi beside him, “You're a shadow clone!” He exclaimed.

Let be known that, shadow clone or not, Yanagi-sensei's hits still hurt. “Idiot. Of course I am.” She cracked her knuckles and made a strange hand sign that Naruto didn't recognize, “You take care of these buzzards, I'll take the rest of the stragglers that Peach-boy leaves.” The hawks seemed to respond to Yanagi-sensei's hand sign and like a storm cloud of feathers and sharp talons, all shot forward after any thug standing still.

Naruto decided to ignore the horrible screams that were now rising from the masses.

vvv Normal POV vvv

Haku groaned quietly under my hands and I sighed in relief. That he was responding meant that Haku was out of danger. I could quit healing him if I had to and not worry about him dying regardless of my efforts. I was already dangerously low on chakra again after I had created that shadow clone to offer some protection and assistance to Naruto. I didn't really trust Zabuza to watch out for the blonde kid and there was no way in hell that I would let another student die on this mission, especially since the two more dangerous opponents were out of the fight. Naruto could handle civilian thugs easily one on one, but no one could survive being overwhelmed. Even by wussies like Gatou's so called bodyguards.

“Otou...san...” Haku wheezed. I frowned at the boy as he lolled his head away from me, his eyelids fluttering uselessly. Who the hell was Haku talking- I looked behind my shoulder where the training dummies were getting their asses handed to them by Zabuza. Did Haku think of Zabuza like a father? That would explain his suicidal behavior when it came to protecting the kenjutsu master.

The boy's eyes suddenly snapped open and he tried to sit up. I cut the healing chakra to pin him to the ground and gave him a wordless stern look in hopes to convey my meaning. Haku's chocolate brown eyes glared back at me. I noticed that his right eye was blood shot from capillaries that had burst when I hit him with the fire ball, and felt a twinge of guilt at the reminder that I had almost killed the kid. Had I not wanted Zabuza to suffer painfully, I would have killed Haku. Strange to think that my thirst for revenge had saved someones life.

...I was signing up for therapy when I got home after this.

Haku looked away first. He looked strangely unhappy. I blinked down at my impromptu patient, confused as his change in mood. I had been expecting anger or... something other than sadness. “Let me die...” Haku rasped quietly.

I raised an eyebrow and leveled a flat look at Haku. I wasn't going to let the kid die, not after going through everything to keep him alive. I was almost at the point of chakra exhaustion again, damn it! And this little brat had the gall to ask me to kill him. I got it that Zabuza basically raised the gaki only think of himself as a tool, but every human should have some self-preservation. And if this was Haku trying to get away without having to face the fact that he killed my cousin then I say he could go screw himself.

Instead of answering, since I really couldn't anyway, I reached into my weapons pouch and brought out a roll of bandages Rin forced me to keep on my person at all times. Without meeting Haku's gaze, I gently lilted his head forward and began wrapping the slim bandages around his skull so that they covered his right eye. I didn't have the medical talent to heal capillary blood vessels, his eye would have to heal naturally, or at least until he got better help.

The ice user reached up and grabbed my wrist with a surprisingly strong grip. I paused in my work and met Haku's single uncovered eye. “Kill me.” He hissed. By his grimace I guess that the boy's vocal cords had been damaged as well. With my free hand I activated the diagnostic jutsu and laid my palm against Haku's throat. Despite his pleading for me to kill him, Haku tensed when he felt my touch. I couldn't help but smile inwardly at that. Any good shinobi didn't like having their neck exposed, it was a sign of helplessness and defeat.

Withdrawing my hand after scanning the damage, I went back to work wrapping Haku's eye up. It wasn't serious, something more like a sore throat than an internal burn. Haku's grip on my left wrist tightened almost to the point of breaking it. I glared at him, if he didn't let me go I was going to make him seriously regret it. There was only so much touching a jounin could take before their temper snapped.

The boy quelled under my full glare and he released my wrist in a hurry. I might not be able to talk at the moment, but I could easily get my point across with glares.

“I'm useless now...” Haku whispered after a moment of silence. I rolled my eyes and contemplated the consequences of knocking the Ice Princess out. Since Zabuza was a little busy at the moment he might never know, but there was always the risk of Haku tattling on me.

Best not risk it.

“Shutit.” I ground out, not even bothering to enunciate my words clearly. I hated the kid for killing my cousin, but it wasn't Haku that I wanted to kill in revenge. It was Zabuza for taking such an innocent child like Haku and twisting his rare loyalty into something ugly. But if it was that manner of thinking then I couldn't blame Zabuza either, I realized. It was Kirigakure for creating so many monsters like Zabuza, for teaching children that death wasn't just a part of life, it was something to enjoy.

I loathed the Bloody Mist.

Haku started begging, “Jounin-san... please.”

I shook my head. I would not give in to his demands. I refused to kill the child, if only because I didn't want to see my work and efforts to keep him alive go to waste.

“Frizzy-sensei! Haku!” Naruto's joyous yelp sounded from further down the bridge. I shifted to look at my blonde student bounding towards us. Behind him Zabuza followed at a more sedated pace, Kubikiribōchō on his shoulder gleaming red with blood and gore. My summonings were scattered among the dead, feasting upon their reward for helping me. I couldn't suppress the grimace at that. I had always been slightly revolted at the contract I held with my summons: that anytime I called them into battle they got the remains of any flesh left.

My shadow clone was crouching even further back, close to the edge of the bridge where a small lump that no hawk touched laid; I was guessing it was the remains of Gatou. I had given her orders to get something with Gatou's writing for purposes I intended to use later.

A soft scrap of someone's sandal against the rough ground brought my attention back to what was in front of me. Zabuza stared down at me passively, his face bandages splattered with the scarlet blood of his enemies. He glanced at Haku laying beside me, who looked away, then back at me, “I suppose you held up your end.”

I wasn't going to try and ask what he would do if I hadn't.

Instead I looked at Naruto where he knelt beside me and jabbering endlessly to the silent Haku. The kid had seemed to forget that the ice user had killed his teammate, but I wasn't going to point it out to him. I wasn't that cruel.

Placing a hand on the ground, I slowly got to my feet carefully concealing any sign of struggle from Zabuza. We might be allies now, but until I could secure the alliance it would remain unsteady and must be treated as if it were a wild animal. I did not trust Zabuza in the slightest and I could only expect the same regard he had towards me.

Besides, I didn't want that bastard's help.

My shadow clone was coming back towards us. Our eyes met, her red against my black, and she nodded before turning to Naruto, “Hey, bratling, go find Hinata and make sure Tazuna is secure.” Naruto twisted around to stare at the shadow clone then at me standing beside her. I narrowed my eyes at him in a silent threat. Clone Yanagi was still his sensei, just as a copy of me. The brat had better get used to taking orders from my clones just as much as as he took orders from me.

Naruto quickly scrambled to do my bidding, leaving Zabuza and Haku alone. I turned my back on the nuke-nin pair and brushed passed the shadow clone, dismissing her as I went. I had another matter to attend to, and it wasn't a pleasant one. I did not wish for either of my remaining students to be around as I stored Sasuke's body in a storage scroll like he was a common bounty.

The area where Sasuke had died was further back on the bridge, away from where the fighting had taken place. My little cousin laid where Naruto had left him, senbon needles still sticking out of him like some sick attempt at a porcupine. He looked like he was still in pain, his pale face scrunched up and etched with fine red lines from stray needles grazing his skin. I stared down at Sasuke, feeling empty.

Uchiha do not show sadness; they use their grief as a tool to fight. We were the strongest clan in Konoha, we must lead by example. That was what every Uchiha child was taught long before they even entered the Academy. Emotion was a liability and a hindrance. Tears are a sign of weakness. Something Kakashi-nii pounded into my head at an early age; further cementing Uchiha teachings. I never really bothered with it all though. My short temper was an emotion and one I readily applied to almost every situation I came across. I used it to my benefit though, instilling some small level of fear among those I could. On that small foundation I built my entire reputation. I was ruthless, vulgar, quick tempered, and more arrogant that most Uchihas on a good day; and I was proud of that.

I wanted to feel sad that Sasuke was gone forever, but I couldn't. Regret, yes. Regret that I hadn't taught him more to keep him alive. Disappointment in myself for living up to Nii-san's prediction and being a horrible sensei. Anger that I wasn't tearing Zabuza and Haku apart right now for killing the boy. But no grief. I had seen too many children die already, what was one more?

Even if he was my cousin.

Slowly, I knelt by his body and pulled out a premade storage scroll used exactly for this purpose. I had no talent for fuinjutsu, so I relied on other people to make them for me. I mildly wondered if Nekobaa would be sad to know that one of her body storage scrolls was being used on her favorite little Uchiha and if she would be disappointed that Sasuke would never complete that Paw Encyclopedia she always talked about when I visited her.

I unrolled the scroll and laid it down beside Sasuke's corpse. There was no time to ponder useless things. With a gentleness I knew Mikoto-oba would expect, I lifted her dead little boy and laid him on top of the seal's focus point. I sat back and studied him before absently pulling a senbon needle from his shoulder. I knew that his family would not appreciate seeing the weapons that killed him, I should pluck them before sealing Sasuke's body. I reached for the senbons in his neck, feeling that those were the most demeaning. After all, good shinobi didn't like having their neck exposed.

There.

I froze, not sure what the hell I was feeling. Not a heartbeat, Sasuke's heart had long stopped, that was sure of it. But... warmth. Chakra. Life. Like a small ember still clinging to the warmth of flame, determined not to burn out and become a lowly lump of coal. Steady, waiting for that extra push to turn back into a brilliant fire. There was still a chance to save my baby cousin. I was low on chakra, what I gave possibly couldn't help, but if might keep that ember flickering for just a while longer until someone could stroke it alive again.

Screw it.

I laid my palm flat against Sasuke's chest and pushed what remaining chakra I could spare into his coils. It wasn't much, but I felt his heart flutter beneath my fingers like a caged little bird. Good, then he no longer needed help, Sasuke could make it back to us on his own.

Which was excellent, since I was passing out again.

#Script's Archives #sensei fanfic #naruto fanfiction #fanfiction

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rainhalydia · 5 years

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Dude! Imagine the Ironborn as Kiri-ninja in the Naruto world! What specialties would Theon, Asha, Dagmer, Alannys, Aeron, Viktarion, Balon, Euron, Wex, Tris, Qarl, etc have? What kind of kekkei-genkai would the Greyjoys, Harlaws, Boatleys, Merlyns, Farwynds, etc have?

I can’t say that this in an au I’ve ever considered before, nonny, but I love the idea of the Ironborn gang as Kirigakure ninja. Before getting into it, let me show you that we’re not the first to think of a Naruto au: this amazing artist has some Sandor fanart that might interest you. But they’re focusing on Konoha, and we’ll talk about Kirigakure.

I have no idea what their kekkei-genkai would be, but I know for sure that Asha would be the equivalent of Mei Terumi, a reformer who is opening the village to diplomatic relationships after years of a cruel regime. She has the same bloodline skills as Mei, and so does Theon. They get the lava thing from the Harlaw side and the corrosive fog thing from the Greyjoy side.

Theon would be Ao. No one thought he would even survive the blood mist ritual, but he did. Being treated as a living casualty by his family fucked him up, though. Once he was considered a possibility for Mizukage and was in open competition with Asha for it, but then he gave it up and became her bodyguard with no explanation. It happened after a very long espionage mission near Konoha, though. Details are top secret, but he came back with a Byakugan that he refuses to say how he got (it’s Robb’s) and a new determination to help Asha open their country. He was pretty sexist in his youth and now Asha never lets him live it down.

Wex is Chojuro, but more confident. He has a family legacy as a legendary swordsman that is trusted on him for lack of better options, since many of his cousins died under Euron’s reign and Tris gave it up to pursue Asha. Has a strange mentor-mentee relationship with Theon, who gives him terrible advice he doesn’t follow but who he admires greatly anyway for no apparent reason. Asha is actually the one who is nicer to him.

Dagmer is Theon’s jounin sensei. He’s not Kirigakure, technically, but he was taken in as a young orphan due to his bloodline. He was a survivor of the purge of the Yuki clan.

Qarl is another of the legendary swordsmen. Probably from a branch house, expected to work as a servant and not make more than genin, instead he rises quickly in rank and becomes ANBU and Asha’s right-hand man.

Euron is the Mizukagi before Asha. He does the same as Zabuza and shocks the village by murdering all other participants, but he manages a successful coup against Balon. Life is so hellish under his rule that Kirigakure is finally ready to try something different by the time he dies under unexplained circumstances.

Victarion is the legendary swordsman with the needle sword, just because I find it ridiculous :)

#naruto au #theon greyjoy #asha greyjoy #wex pyke #Anonymous

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quirrrky · 5 years

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strange

secret lovers (tumblr thread | fanfiction.net)

Chronological One-Shots / Post-War / Pre-Last

After the Fourth Shinobi War, Naruto’s huge crush on Hinata gradually surfaces and the whole village of Konoha knows it…Well, aside from him.

entry nine

Prompt:

Hinata started helping Naruto with his studies under Iruka-sensei's supervision. Naruto realizing that his friendship with Hinata is strange.

/strange/ unusual or surprising in a way that is unsettling or hard to understand

"Uzumaki Naruto! I, the Sixth Hokage, hereby grant you the rank jounin of Konoha…That is what I'd like to tell you, but there's something you must complete before that…"

Stock of books appeared before him.

Pfft! As if he would be able to recall any of it.

To be fair, Naruto wasn't exactly dumb. Let us say that academics wasn't exactly his strongest suit and this Philosophy, Psychology and Rhetorics and why was he even studying them again?

Were you going to really use this stuff in practical terms?

What did these things have to do with being a Hokage?

All those stuff were practically irrelevant and he still didn't understand why did he have to study these when he should be focusing on learning new jutsu instead?

Well, that's more applicable and rational, right?

Oh Kami! It was boring. It had already been few months since Kakashi-hokage-sensei came up with the bright idea and Iruka-sensei decided to help and personally instruct him with his studies, but it felt like a year. Plus, writing with his left hand wasn't exactly easy. For months, he'd been trying to do things all by himself, but there were just those stuff that he couldn't do alone.

Outside the birds chirped merrily. The sun was thawing what's left of the previous season that it didn't even look like it snowed.

His mind wandered off to what other fun things he could be doing if the odds were just different.

Hmmm…. He could enjoy training Konohamaru with the other technics that can be done with Rasengan. And then, they'll have ramen afterwards, which reminded him that Kiba challenged him to an eating competition. In speaking of Kiba, he wondered what was Hinata doing, he had to show her what progress he had made with just his left arm.

Yes, that's right!

If he managed to write legibly using his left hand, he now has another thing to show to her.

"Naruto!" Iruka-sensei called as he approached from the blackboard to his direction.

"Iruka-sensei,"

"I would like to congratulate you for your quarter report." He said as his student's eyes sparkled in success and started shouting for joy. "Yes, yes, as I thought you would behave like that,"

The blonde then excitedly bombed his teacher questions, while enthusiastically jumping up and down, "Hmph! I told you I can do it dattebayo! Does this mean I'm going to be a jonin now? What's next am I going to be trained as the hoka-"

"What I mean was I'm congratulating you for your consistency."

His energy was drained a little bit. Well, consistency seemed to be a positive word. "Well, it doesn't matter at least I'm getting there -ttebayo!"

"Oh no! No, Naruto. What I really meant was I'm congratulating you for your consistency in failing."

Naruto was taken aback momentarily. He couldn't believe, he couldn't believe-

"How could you kid like that Iruka-sensei?!"

Iruka just pinched the bridge of his nose, while thinking of a way to explain the matters to his student, "You see, Naruto. I really don't know how to explain that you need to give importance to these subjects to become Hokage. Shikamaru won't be able to assist you for now as he has to help Kakashi in diplomatic missions. And all there's left was me and I am already doing my best, but it seemed like none of these lessons was going through your head."

The student fell silent for a while. He was trying but, "I don't really see the importance of this Philosophy stuff as a shinobi or whatever."

"See! Naruto, our subject right now is not Philosophy it's Psychology!"

"I don't know! What the hell is the difference anyway. Well, yeah, the spelling. I get it!"

Iruka paused for a moment and examined his student. He was standing with a slumped shoulder, hand inside his pocket, head was lowered down and he was sporting an evident pout.

He sighed. Naruto was still Naruto after being the hero of Konoha. It was a good thing and there were also apparent changes in his behavior like he would just choose to daydream than butt in with non-sense remarks, but Iruka knew that he had to mature in vital aspects. He had to develop and he had to start now. Naruto was already seventeen and it would only be few years before he should be developed into a fine young man that the Yondaime, his father, could be proud of. And what kind of teacher was he if he couldn't guide his growth.

Right now, Iruka was wondering how could he, for the very least, jumpstart his student's journey to maturity. Reluctantly, he released his student, who in every way, was in no mood to continue the lessons.

Feeling a bit despondent, Iruka stood by the swing, where he usually saw the young child back then when the whole village still used to criticize him.

He drew a heavy sigh.

Naruto really carved his own path to his dreams now. It's an open secret among them ninjas that Kakashi would sit as the Hokage only to train and pass the title to his student. Now, it would only be a matter of few years before Naruto would become the Hokage and the first step to the transition must be through him.

Well, if his student can do it, he can as well, right?

He just needed some unexpected way to encourage his unexpected student to study.

Yeah, but what would that be though?

Iruka started walking to the Training Grounds as he tried figure out what would enlighten Naruto to give the subjects some importance.

"Our team can no longer have an alone time now, you idiot!" The Inuzuka's voice caught his attention and he glanced towards the shinobi's direction, not shocked to find that he was, again, bantering with Naruto. However, Iruka was a bit interested as the fights between the two can get humorous at times.

"Shut up you, dog face! I'm not talking to you." The blonde threw back, but he instantly turned away and faced the giggling Hyuga with his cheeky grin.

"Look Hinata!" Naruto said as he showed her a notebook, "I can draw now with my left hand dattebayo! Look at here, that's Kurama then these are the other stuff and look! Right there! I tried to draw you as well."

Hinata blushed at the thought that Naruto drew a somewhat mini version of herself. But, she scrapped the thought away, because he drew many other doodles as well, including a cup of instant ramen.

"Show off!" The brunette muttered, as Shino added, "You must be forgetting that I'm here," but went unnoticed.

"I did that during Iruka-sensei's lectures on those boring subjects."

"Naruto-Kun! That's-"

The blonde chuckled quite guiltily. "Don't worry, don't worry. Next time! I'll just try to focus on writing and I'm going to show it to you, Hinata! I'll write all that notes in that darn boring book -ttebayo!" Naruto proudly proclaimed.

"Okay, Naruto-kun. Just write notes alright?" She said softly. Hold on! What did Naruto say?

Iruka suddenly felt the light shining through him. His prayers must have been answered.

"Your stupidity makes me sick! Whatever you do, you still have one arm, so don't act so cool and tough as if you will impress Hinata with that!"

"You talk too much for someone who takes a bath with his dog, bastard!"

The fight went on and soon the blonde summoned his clones and the brunette prepared with his dog-nin, while the dark-haired girl stood watching and giggling.

Hopefully, the gods were with him in this uncanny plan. Iruka admittedly knew nothing of this kind of things, but if what he read from his silver-haired friend's books were somehow right, his plan could probably work.

Before he left the now crazy yet petty battle between his two notorious students, a sudden presence made him stop and quite weirded out at the same time.

Sai. He was sitting on a sturdy branch of tree with a sketchpad and paintbrush in hand. He never became his student, but he was the new member in Naruto's team and he heard a lot of stories about him, especially those that involved nicknames and studying people carefully.

"He has, recently, always been like this with the Princess after all." Sai flashed him with his signature stiffened smile as if he knew exactly what Iruka was thinking.

Iruka made sure to give Naruto a small pep talk before he entered the classroom for their next meeting.

"A classmate dattebayo?"

"Yes, it would be a great help for you, Naruto."

Naruto pouted and looked away. He couldn't understand why did he had to have a classmate with all honesty. Did he also want to become a Hokage like him as well?

Upon entering the most dreaded four walls, the shinobi was greeted by a familiar face.

"Hi-Hinata?" He asked, shocked yet happy to see Hinata as his classmate.

"Naruto-kun," she greeted with a sweet smile as the blonde sat beside her.

"You-you've come to save me here dattebayo?!" He said and ran up to her, grabbing her arm in excitement.

Hinata blushed at his actions, but find it hard to explain things to him, "About that Naruto-kun…"

"Naruto, Hinata would be filling in everytime Shikamaru wouldn't make it to assist you with our lessons." Iruka-sensei informed them as the dark-haired girl gave him an apologetic smile.

Naruto's shoulders fell off and he heavily sat on the chair beside Hinata, "I couldn't believe this. How could you this to me, Hinata?" He reacted animatedly that made the girl laugh softly.

"Naruto-kun," she said while softly laughing.

"There you go, you're laughing at me." He said and gave a pout afterwards.

"Naruto, you should know that when it comes to studies Hinata was a forerunner in your class back then. Her grades came in close competition to that of Shikamaru, Sasuke and Ino." Iruka thought about this seriously. He even searched for his students' records to check the stats. The result made him wonder why Hinata and Naruto weren't even in the same team when the two would definitely complement each other really well. The Hyuga girl was excellent in everythinng Naruto failed and his blonde student was great at one thing Hinata failed, Positivity.

This news delighted Naruto for a moment, but his reaction went a downward slope.

These academics were not his game and Hinata was an A-Grade student, while he was a big failure back then and even now. He didn't want to disappoint her yet how could he do that when he still didn't know why he had to study all this shit?

Hinata knew that look. Although there were times wherein he would try to hide it, these were the moments that Naurto-kun needed to be encouraged. She knew how he preferred action than sitting down in a classroom and how he'd rather remember things by relating them to events in his life. And she knew that he was having a hard time right now.

"I'm here to help you, Naruto-kun. So don't worry, okay? I-I believe in you."

Her sweet smile at him made him reciprocate the expression. However still a bit embarrassed by his lack of knowledge, he rubbed the back of his head, eyes chinked in his usual way, "I don't know how to say this, Hinata, but, uhm, I don't really know much about these things. Heck, I don't even know why should I study these."

"I understand that you might not yet grasp the importance of these subjects, but soon I know you will. I believe in you Naruto-kun and I will help you. We can do this to-together."

Yes, that's right. He will show her that he can and make her proud. He always wanted to make her proud and he'll continue to do so in his studies, even if he still didn't know why was he so motivated by that thought.

"Thank you, Hinata, for standing beside me up until now." Naruto said, while he hoisted his fist, feeling the determination.

The blushing girl, being reminded by the bond they had during the war, was further moved to help the blonde with his studies. She put her hands down the desk and stood up, "Yes, Naruto-kun, because I never go back on my word."

"That's right, Hinata. Let's do this!"

Iruka just scratched the non-existent itch on his head as he watched his students' dramatic display of encouragement. As he began the discussion, he noticed how the two had an uncanny understanding. Hinata was quick to pick up Naruto's frustration and she had a way in explaining the lessons to him. How was she doing that? No one could learn. But being able to hold Naruto's attention and comprehension for that long, Hyuga Hinata must be an expert.

"Re-reward system?" The blonde asked the dark-haired girl.

"Hmmm… You-you love Ramen right, Naruto-kun?" Naruto nodded in response and she continued, "And whenever you are in a tiring mission or feeling a bit down, you'll just think of ramen and it will light up your spirit, right?"

"Yes! Yes! And so…"

"And a reward is something that you look forward to and-or feel delighted about which means that for Naruto-kun…."

"For me… then ramen is a reward!"

"Exactly, then the reward system is…"

"Ah! Ah! I got this. I believe, I got this! The motivation I'm getting from the ramen is the reward system dattebayo!"

"Right! That's right Naruto-kun, the reward system is about the reward, how it motivates you, the kind of motivation you get from it and the choice we make because of it."

"Ah, so that was it. It was like Kakashi-sensei and his Icha Icha books, although I didn't really see what's to look forward about it and how does reading a boring book like that could be motivational."

Hinata, knowing what the books were all about, was a bit taken aback. "Uhmm…Tha-that's…Maybe we can have another example like…"

"I know! I know! Must be Sakura-chan to Sasuke. I-Is that a…" Naruto rubbed his chin in deep thought as Hinata tried to figure out how to properly cite examples.

"Well, I-I can't speak for Sakura-chan, but what I know is that rewards come in different forms. It could be through an activity like cooking, knitting or singing. It could also be through something. It could also be through a place. And…" She paused for a while, voice going softer while she fiddled her fingers together, "It-it could also be through someone or somebody."

"Somebody?"

"Yes, maybe just like Naruto-kun to the village or being the Hokage?" Hinata stated in question-sounding manner for she really wasn't sure if Naruto-kun was still motivated by that.

"Well, about that. Being, a Hokage, yes. Plus, I'm really happy that the village is nicer to me. It's just that there's this something strange that I couldn't point out to, uh," Trying to veer the frustration away, he chuckled and asked, "Well, I think, let's just talk about you Hinata. What's the reward for you? Something like ramen for me."

"W-well, I like Zenzai and cin…" She trailed off, averting her eyes from the sight of the energetic blonde.

"Oh! I like Zenzai too!"

"Yeah, but I don't think that it's like your ramen for me."

"Then, what's yours, Hinata?"

"It's k-kind of s-strange, Naruto-kun, because…" It's you.

"I understand, Hinata. Uh, what about this Dopamine thing?"

Iruka-sensei cut his question, saying that he wouldn't get what it was anyway and proceeded to give his own examples and with the next topic. The discussion was beginning to have a life. Naruto's behavior around Hinata made him pay attention more. Iruka noticed that he'd keep himself awake, whenever the discussion was getting sleepy and Hinata was there to back the topic up with some stories to keep him from falling asleep.

Perhaps, a lot of things happened during the war. Iruka hadn't seen them this close all throughout their academy days, for the knucklehead always had his eyes set towards Haruno Sakura, trying to pull-off pranks just to catch her attention. However, Naruto's determination right now was a bit different from how he wanted to please the pink-haired girl. It seemed that, now, Naruto was inspired to be the best that he can be. Even if he still couldn't quite understand what the discussion was for, he was trying and Hinata's presence was a big factor for the motivation. Iruka took note of the grin Naruto gave the shy student when he answered a question correctly. It was as if he was seeking her acknowledgement, which she immediately gave through a demure thumbs up.

As promised, Naruto took patience in writing the notes legibly with his left hand. He told Hinata the about it the last time and even swore on writing the boring notes. However, he couldn't help but feel conscious around her. The way she'll highlight the books for him, her stories and ideas. He just liked all of it! Like, how something so boring like this could be so fun with her? If he only knew, he could've seated next to Hinata during their academy days, which reminded him…

Why weren't we close back then, anyway?

Soon, Iruka called it a day with a great deal of relief evident on his face. He was making an improvement.

"Hey Hinata! Where are you heading?" Naruto asked enthusiastically.

"I'm heading home."

"Are you going to do something?"

"Hmmm… No-Nothing really."

"Is it okay if we study more?" He was flashing that trademark grin he always had that made Hinata quite flustered.

"Ye-Yes, tha-that would be okay."

Iruka didn't miss it. For the first time, he saw Naruto willing to study extensively. Well, he also didn't miss the side glances Naruto was giving Hinata in between lessons and those side glances contained a sly smile.

Who knew what Naruto was thinking?

"Kagebunshin no jutsu!" The blonde summoned clones as Hanabi lunged forward with her byakugan ready.

Naruto surely got the storm with him when he entered the calm and peaceful Hyuga compound. At first, he was in awe to see how grand and massive the manor was. No wonder why Hinata was called, Hinata-sama all this time. That made him wonder if he should call her such as well.

Perhaps, some other time he'd ask her.

"Ugh! Not again!" The brunette Hyuga grunted while her opponent followed her neechan inside the hall.

"Hanabi, I'm sorry. Naruto-kun and I have to study." Her sister said as the blonde laid out his stuff on the table and began sitting cross-leggedly. The younger Hyuga pouted and stuck her tongue out to the blonde, who just scratched the back of his head apologetically.

"Hold on, neechan! You promised to cook some afternoon snacks for today."

"Yes, I remembered. Don't worry I will prepare some for us."

"Oh! You go ahead, Hinata! I'll start with writing notes for these pages first, so we can head straight to discussion after you cook -ttebayo!"

"Okay, then, I'll head to the kitchen. Hanabi, make sure Naruto-kun is at home, okay?"

Her younger sister proudly announced, "Don't worry, neechan! I got you covered."

"Yeah, just don't mind me, Hinata!"

As soon as her sister proceeded to the kitchen, Hanabi sat facing the blonde with a mischievous grin on her face. "Are you sure you're here to study?"

"Eh?! What else should I do here? Your home seemed so quiet and kinda' boring. Although, I really admired that you have your own training grounds and training hall in here. Plus, the ambience is really good for some meditation."

"Pfft. Oh, really? You sure you're not here just to hang out with my sister a little bit longer?" He dry gulped at her comment and his fingers flinched, surely Hanabi didn't miss that.

Got 'ya!

"Well, I love hanging out with Hinata! She's really fun to be with."

Hanabi tapped her fingers on the table, while she rested her chin on her other hand. "So?"

"So, what? Huh?" Naruto just tilted his head in confusion as Hanabi sighed her lungs out.

"We've got a long way to go." She muttered, while the blonde started jotting down notes. Hmph! If not only for my neechan…

Naruto couldn't believe that he was writing down notes. Back then, he was just so lazy to do so that had him sleeping during the class, but right now he just couldn't believe that he can do it. Well, Hinata must see the improvement in his penmanship using his left hand. He promised her that. From all of that though, he still was not able to fathom where was the determination to make Hinata proud of him coming from?

It was not long enough before Hinata entered the hall with a cooked meal in tow. She placed it atop the table and the blonde's senses immediately caught up with the delicious aroma of the dish.

"This is Yakisoba, Naruto-kun." She informed him after noticing his dumbfounded expression on the dish. He looked at her with those blue eyes, with her not knowing it is filled with admiration. Not knowing that, at that moment, he was wondering how amazing she was.

She didn't seem to notice his stupid stare, but her little sister did and she didn't even know how to feel about it. Happy, because her neechan was already being noticed by the boy she admired for so long. Annoyed, because the said boy couldn't notice that he was already admiring her sister.

Her neechan sat beside him and he still had the dumb look on his face, wide eyes and parted lips, while looking at her sister. Her sister started giving him some food on his plate, but he just looked at her as if his soul was fleeting.

"Are you okay Naruto-kun? You-you don't seem well."

He was jolted at her neechan's question and started to move frantically. His nervousness was apparent to the younger Hyuga. "I-I-I'm really okay. I guess I'm just hungry that's all. I mean you do cook really well and it's amazing actually. You're amazing!" He word-vomited that made the heat on Hinata's face spread like wildfire across her cheeks and left him speechless for several seconds.

Hanabi quickly cut through their awkward stare-fest and the three of them quickly began eating in silence.

Naruto confidently took out the chopsticks showing that he could already manage eating on his own. Hanabi, seeing the lack of progress between her neechan and that stupid Naruto decided to take matters on her hands. As he was about to bring the noodles for consumption, the younger Hyuga lightly bumped the table with her knees causing Naruto to drop the noodles he carefully stuck on his chopsticks back to his bowl again.

He looked at Hanabi, confused. He knew she was just acting like she didn't know what she did. Naruto was about to call on her, when Hinata asked him, "What's wrong Naruto-kun?"

"Ah! It's nothing -ttebayo!" he responded cheerfully as he got few noodles in between his chopsticks and started to lift it up, but another bump rendered him to fail.

He snapped his head up planning to ask what the hell was wrong with Hanabi, when she immediately caught up and retorted, "Maybe niisan's hand is already tired of writing."

Naruto was about to protest, but Hanabi continued, while twirling her kunai around her index finger, "I think you need to help him eat, neechan."

He thought over the idea quite carefully before speaking this time. He glanced at Hinata, whose cheeks were dusted with pink. He was used to see her blushing like this after all the time he spent with her. It was something that he found weird at first, but now, it was something that made him chuckle inwardly.

"I-I'll help you." She said as she grabbed the bowl in one hand and the chopsticks with the other. Naruto faced her, but he suddenly felt the impulse to avoid her gaze.

She lifted the chopsticks towards his direction, but their cross-sitting position made it hard for her to avoid spilling the food. "Neechan, I think you should move closer."

Hinata gave her a sly glare before doing so.

"Closer, neechan." Hanabi said in a sing-song manner and Hinata made sure that her little sister got the message clearly by giving her sharp side glance.

Hanabi, getting the sense of defeat, stood up and went near the two. "The space is still far away, you should really move closer."

That's it! Hinata knew what her sister was setting them up to tease her with Naruto-kun. And as she was about to call her on it, it was the boy who moved closer to her. She looked at him disbelievingly and, as if everything was on slow motion, he raised his head to meet her eyes with a smile slowly forming on his face.

Her world stopped. She had never seen him smile like that before and Naruto had different smiles. The cheeky smile, the proud smile, the embarrassed smile, and many others that she witnessed. But right now it was, strange. She had never seen that smile from him. Not when she looked at Sakura-chan, to Sai-kun, to Shikamaru-kun or just basically to anyone. However, it was a smile she was familiar with, but it wouldn't be possible that he did so because…

Hinata shook the thought away. She was daydreaming again and jumping into conclusions.

Hanabi saw that look on Uzumaki Naruto's eyes, his smile and everything about it. Silently, she slid open the door and went out. She suddenly find it so difficult to breathe. She saw that look on the knucklehead's face on her sister's magazines, by the way the authors described how a man looks at his woman in her sister's books and by how the films showed it. Before, Hanabi used to laughed at how ridiculous it was, kept on believing that it wasn't true. But that look on that stupid blonde's face said it all, and he gave that to her sister! She bit her lower lip trying to fight her tears from falling.

She could feel it.

Her neechan's slipping away.

It was bound to happen.

She's going to lose her.

She's going to lose her to him.

Nevertheless, she wanted her neechan to be happy. All this time, it was very rare to see her smile, but that idiot was obviously making a difference. Not just to her sister, but also to the dull silence of their clan. Ever since he came here, even if it was just for few hours, Hanabi didn't feel alone in being the one lacking cool, calm and reserved nature in their family. At least, she didn't have to act composed while he was here and soon the compound will get used to him and probably will never notice her mischievous nature.

Yes, that's right! Plus, her neechan and that boy were really interesting together. She swore on playing a big part on bringing them together and she wouldn't back down. But before Hanabi walked away to study more stuff in her room, she could not deny the feeling that there were several byakugan watching her sister. And that was the day she knew, that she wasn't the only one interested.

"Wow! This really tastes great dattebayo!" Naruto complimented as Hinata just finished feeding him with a bowl of Yakisoba that she prepared.

Deep inside, Hinata was very happy. Recently, she was blessed to have moments like this with Naruto-kun and how she wished they could continue to get closer and get to know each other more. Being with him, made her feel like it's okay to be herself. It's not that she wasn't comfortable being with her teammates, but being with Naruto-kun was a different kind of happiness and she knew the reason behind it.

"Th-thank you, Naruto-kun." She said, trying to be more confident by starting to look at his face. Right at the corner of his lips, she noticed a stray cut of cabbage. Without giving any thought, Hinata wiped away the residue with her curled index finger.

Her skin lightly touched his lips.

Naruto's breath was caught in his chest. The mere contact sent shivers running down his spine. His mind going blank for a second.

This feeling.

Ever since the war ended, he'd been getting this feeling from her.

It was something he couldn't explain, yet it didn't feel unfamiliar.

It was just there.

It felt good, it felt right.

He wanted to hold her hand and feel if it would be there again, just to check. Without a doubt, he did so. Naruto held Hinata's hand that was now resting on her lap. Her heart jumped and her gaze shoot up at him, confused at what he did. His clueless eyes were telling her that he didn't know as well. Naruto wanted to ask her, if this weird yet happy feeling was normal. If it was real and if she was getting the same too. Because he had never felt such way and he didn't know how to identify it, it was…

"Strange…You-you are sort of strange, Hinata… I mean, uh," He panicked knowing that he was not sounding the way he must sound. On one hand, Hinata couldn't help but feel a bit down. Did he really find her…

"No! No! What I mean is I couldn't call you a best friend because it's for Sasuke and Sakura-chan and it's just different. I don't know you-you are sort of a-my strange friend that is. Strange in a good way! Like, uh, what word could that be?" Naruto glanced at the table beside him, there laid the open notebook to where he was writing. "S-special! That can be right. Right, Hinata?"

Special?

She could feel the drumming of her heart getting louder and louder. Could Naruto-kun be…

"Then you're like a special kind of friend to me, Hinata –ttebayo! But, err, isn't that all friends are special? I don't know, but it's just different. This is so strange…" Naruto continued with an incorrigible mumbling, certainly feeling all confused with what was happening. The same could be said to Hinata, who was lost in her own thoughts as Naruto-kun was not only holding her hand right now, he just said she was special.

"S-special?" She asked almost breathlessly, while the blonde chuckled his usual way.

"Well, it's strange, huh. Yeah, special..." Naruto didn't know why he was feeling a bit embarrassed by the word special. I mean Hinata was his friend so something must not be wrong about it. It was just that she's his strange kind of friend and up until now he was slightly bothered as to why.

"W-well, Na-Naruto-kun is s-special too." She said, red-faced and avoiding his dumb-founded stare.

Naruto felt happy when she said that. It was as if he was being rewarded. It was one of the nicest he'd ever felt about and it put to rest all of his confusions. Well, if Hinata thinks so too, then I think there's nothing wrong with what I feel.

"Neechan!" Hanabi entered and soon the scene dawned in her.

That Naruto was holding her sister's hand and he looked like he just woke up or something and her neechan! She was red as the carnations in their garden.

Damn it! Did she get in the wrong time? Were they finally happening?

"Ha-Hanabi!" Her neechan called out of a panic and the younger Hyuga noticed how she immediately pulled her hand away from the blonde's grip.

Hmph! Realizing that there was still no progression between the two, Hanabi didn't pass up the opportunity to tease her sister, something that she found to be amusing and really fun to do lately. "You sure, you two are studying?"

"O-Of course, dattebayo!" Naruto said as he had awoken from his trance and started preparing the books for discussion.

Hanabi sat right beside her sister, "Right, right." And whispered clearly into Hinata's ear, "You sure are studying each other quite diligently, isn't neechan?"

#naruhina #naruto #hinata #naruhina fanfiction #fanfiction #took me so long to upload #whyyy #naruhina fanfic #slquirkynovelist

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