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CHAPTER FIVE
Tensai
Disaster











I woke up to the sound of Kankuro’s snoring in the middle of the night; I couldn’t ignore it. I stepped outside to soak in the onsen, even though it was at least three in the morning. To my surprise, I found myself bathing with Temari again. “Did Kankuro wake you up, too?” she asked, giggling softly. I nodded and slipped out of my robe and into the water beside her, sinking to my knees in the warmth and comfort. “Hey, I have something I need to tell you,” Temari said after a few minutes. “Oki, go ahead,” I nodded. “Well, Kankuro and I were thinking that we were two people too many on this trip, so we’re going home after today. If you want, we can stay behind as backup, but we don’t want to be in the front squad with everyone else. You understand, right?” she said. “There’s always a method behind the madness. But have you talked to Gaara-sama about it? I mean, I’m fine with it, but will he be?” Temari nodded and explained, “You see, we’ve already talked to him about it, and he said for us to run it by you to make sure it’s okay. We don’t want to go if we’re going to be needed for something important.”
We sat in silence after that and watched the moon slowly sink behind the fence; I finally spoke as the edge disappeared. “Temari-san?” I asked, my voice seeming louder than it should have been. “Mmm?” she responded, her eyes closed. “Why did you allow me to become your apprentice? No one else would take me in because I was an outsider, so why did you, of all people?” It seemed slightly out of place for me to ask this question, but I’d always wondered about it in the back of my mind. “Well,” she began after a while, “I took you in because I thought you had the potential to be a really great ninja. And I was right, it seems. Now you’re married to a village leader and you’re off to go rescue a village leader. Sometimes I think ‘Wow, it seems like just yesterday that I took her in; now it’s been ten years and you’re off saving someone important like the hero in a story would.’ What happened to that cute little girl who walked up to me begging for me to train her?”
Awestruck, I turned to find her staring off into space as she remembered all the past times. Her eyes glazed over as she remembered what life was like a decade ago. But what interrupted us was none other than Mizuhana exclaiming that we’d “gone missing, and that someone must have kidnapped us.” Rolling our eyes, we quickly hopped out of the warm water, dried off, and went inside so we could assure everyone that we were fine. “There you are!” Kankuro announced when we entered our rooms. “Mizuhana was worried that something happened to you two.” Temari nodded. “Yes, we know; we heard her,” she mumbled, rolling her eyes. The three of us walked back to the living room, to find the mattresses ripped from the floor and tossed aside. “She’s going crazy tearing the hotel apart looking for you two; where were you?” Gaara asked as he strode into the room. “She should have checked the onsen,” I grumbled, sighing. “Let’s put the rooms back together and get ready to leave. Mizuhana-baka will come back after a while.” With that, I pulled the mattresses into the rooms they were originally positioned in. Sure enough, after a few minutes, Mizuhana moped her way back into our rooms. When she saw Temari and me, she immediately slumped and cried, “Where were you? I looked everywhere, but you disappeared!” I waggled my finger in her face. “You didn’t actually check everywhere; you forgot to look in the onsen, stupid.” She pouted and folded her arms like a child would and growled at being called “stupid”. “Now help us move the rest of these mattresses!” I said, pulling another from the floor.
About half an hour passed, and the rooms looked just like they had before we inhabited them. We were about to head out of the door, when our hostess entered the room. “I don’t mean to invade your privacy, but the Hokage requests all of you to leave now!” She bowed deeply as if we were in trouble. “Time to go,” I sighed with only a hint of happiness. The hostess ushered us out of our rooms and into the main hall. There stood Naruto and the group he gathered together, oblivious to the stares and whispers around them. “Ready to head out?” Naruto asked as we drew closer to him. Everyone looked at each other and nodded. “Let’s go,” Gaara announced. One by one, we left the onsen, and as I was the last one to walk out into the open, I turned around to gaze at the building one last time. I stood there for a moment as the wind blew around us knocking some cherry blossoms from their perch. One drifted above my head, and, snatching it out of the air, I pressed it close to my heart and let it go, watching it blow away. Turning, I followed the others, thinking, Don’t you dare die on me, Shirunai. I’m coming, so hold out just a little while longer. . .

¤ ¤ ¤

“Okay, we’re gonna drop back now,” Kankuro announced as soon as we left the crowed city. “Alright, see you later!” I said, waving goodbye. “Come get us if something big happens!” Temari reminded us. “Don’t worry, I won’t,” Gaara sighed, rolling his eyes. “Yeah, we don’t want you to miss all the action!” Naruto exclaimed, pumping a fist in the air.
The sun beat down on us, but not as harshly as it did back home. It was quiet as we jumped through the trees of the Leaf. We were finally on our way to rescue a leader and face the Akatsuki, whom some of us have already dealt with at least once before. I kept thinking of Ame and Kitoku and how I might have to kill them or order someone else to kill them to rescue my friend. Flinching at that thought, I begged my mind to think of something else. So instead, I wondered how Suki was doing without her mother and father. She must be so sad, I thought to myself, She’s never been away from us for so long. Then Inner Kizuki interrupted my thoughts. She’s fine, so stop worrying about her! Suki is strong, and she knows everyone will return. You have nothing to worry about except for completing our mission. So buck up and forget her for a little while!
I was stung by what she said, yet I knew she was right. I knew that if I kept fretting about my daughter, the mission would most likely fail because my head was somewhere else. I took my Inner self’s words to heart and concentrated on running faster and jumping farther. I soon found myself in front of everyone instead of lagging behind. I never took my eyes from what lied before me: the promise of finding someone dear to me, and, though I didn’t realize it, I was about to find out a secret about me that no one would ever be prepared for.
We didn’t take a break ‘til dawn the next day. I leaned heavily against a tree as I shoved a water bottle between my lips. The coolness of the water felt great against the burning in my throat, and I had to force myself not to drink it all at once. Suddenly, I sensed someone staring at me, and I whipped my head in the direction of where I felt the gaze. It seemed to have been coming from the forest around us. I couldn’t see any movement, but I felt that something or someone was standing just out of range for me to see. Flinching, I dropped to the ground as a kunai wrapped in a paper bomb whizzed past my ear. I flashed a glare behind me in the direction from which the kunai was thrown and found Neji tense and staring just above my shoulder. There was a loud grunt in the trees just before the bomb exploded. Leaves and pieces of tree bark flew around us and smoke swelled from the earth.
It grew quiet again, but something began to move in the smoke. I tensed and prepared for a battle though I was just about to collapse of exhaustion. It was a strange shape – man on bottom, but what looked like plant on top. “Zetsu!” Naruto hissed. There was a creepy laugh that came from the shape, and then it began to speak. “Indeed, little fox, I am Zetsu. I see you brought us the cat, too!” I hissed ferociously at him and he smirked at me as his face became clear through the smoke. “Why are you following us, little demons?” Zetsu asked innocently.
“Give us back the Mizukage!” I roared, unable to control my anger. I was about to launch myself at him if he answered me wrong. “I don’t think I can do that. That little wolf-demon friend of yours is becoming quite a nuisance and is manipulating one of the members of our group. We thought it fair if we took away one of yours as well–”
At that, I screamed demonically and threw myself at him. “Shut up, you b*****d!” I shrieked. I was about to gouge his eyes out with my claws, but he disappeared out from underneath me. I could barely sense him, when I heard his voice saying, “Looks like it’s gonna be one heck of a fight if you catch up to us!” After that, he disappeared all together.
I stood there in the middle of the spot that had been blown up by Neji’s kunai, my blood boiling. Someone neared me, but I hissed, “Don’t even think about touching me!” and whoever it was hurriedly ran back to the campfire. It felt like I stayed unmoving in that one spot for at least an hour before Gaara neared me. “You’ve had time to calm down; now get over here and eat something,” he demanded. I didn’t have the strength to argue with him, so I did as I was told, following him back to where the others slept. We sat before the dying embers of the flames and Gaara handed me a bowl of negi-rame. I sat with the steaming bowl in my hands, but I didn’t have an appetite for it. I stared unseeingly at the sky and started to quiver. Gaara scooted closer to me and placed an arm around my shoulder. Shi jumped down from a branch into my lap and nudged my hand with his face. “Kizuki-san, listen to me: act like yourself again or I’m calling off this mission. We’re risking all of our lives for your friend,” he growled, staring into my eyes. I could feel his gaze, but I couldn’t see it.
The next thing I knew, I felt myself land in unconsciousness.
I began to dream. I was around six years old and I was sitting alone in my room. I was holding myself, trying to keep from crying, when Ame slid open my door and joined me in the darkness. “I’m so sorry that they don’t see what I do, Big Sister,” she told me as she wrapped her arms around me in a hug. “Why?” I whispered, fighting back tears, “Why do they act like I’m a demon? I’m just as normal as any other girl, right? I’m not some weirdo, am I, Little Sister?” Ame shook her head. “No, I promise you’re not!” she announced, squeezing me tight. Shi, who was just a kitten, meowed loudly at me and curled up next to my feet. We sat there for a while, until we heard Mother yell, “Ame! Leave –––––– alone and come to bed now!”
There was a strange, unnatural silence when Mother screamed my name. Ame gave me a sad, small smile and whispered, “I have to go or Mother will be mad. See you in the morning, Big Sister!” I returned her smile, and Ame let herself outside into the hall. I sat, pondering why it went quiet where my name was supposed to be. Ame acted as if she didn’t notice, so maybe it was just me? But then everything went white and I found myself standing before a large gate. Behind it was a monster –– my two-tailed cat demon. “Little girl, what happened to my last host?” it snarled at me with its demented voice. Strangely, I didn’t cringe under its steely glare. “I don’t know what you’re talking about. You survive because of me, and I know nothing of a previous host. I can force you into the back of my mind just like the way I can force others away from me.” The only thing between a giant demon and my defiance was a metal gate that even I could open with a tap. The demon laughed at me. “You’re tough, girl. I’ll grant you with someone to talk to, even when you’re alone.”
Something white and ghostly swirled around me and entered my head through my mouth. I coughed as it forced its way into my head, and I heard my own voice echo around me. What do you know? Now you really will be a freak because you talk to yourself! my voice smirked. “But, wait,” I said aloud, “If you’re in my head, I can just think what I want to say and no one else will hear me. Right?” The girl whose voice reflected my own was quiet when she couldn’t think of a comeback. “You’re a smart kid,” commented the demon behind the gates. “I’ll tell you what. I will answer one of your deepest questions for you,” –– the demon paused, smirking, and I started to worry –– “but only if you leave your family behind.”
I stood before the gates, mouth gaping at the thought. Come on, now you can know why your parents hate you so much! Now you can have a reason to get away, commented the voice inside my head. “But. . .” my voice trailed off. The only one I have is Ame-chan. Could I take her with me? I thought to myself.
“Come on, girl. I may be inside of you, but I don’t have all day,” growled the two-tail. Its tails thrashed against the gates again and again signaling each second that passed. I stood before it, suddenly feeling very small. “I. . .” I began. I held myself as I spoke the words that felt so cold. “I want to know why Mother’s voice stopped when she said my name!” The demon brought its head back slightly. “That’s it? You didn’t want to know why your ‘parents’ don’t look a thing like you? Why everyone looks at you with fear or hatred?” I shook my head, even though I had considered them for a moment. “Well,” said the two-tailed with a hint of boredom, “It’s because ‘Kizuki’ isn’t your real name. Your head injury caused you to forget, and ‘Kizuki’ is just something you were given to replace it.” It laid down and placed one paw over another, still growling at me.
I was stunned. Not my. . .my real name?
Of course not! Did you honestly think you would remember that? You didn’t even like that name! scoffed the voice inside my head. “Then,” I paused, wording my next question, “ What was . . . is my real name?” I finally asked, pressing a fist to my heart.
Suddenly, there was a violent trembling as the floor beneath us shook tremendously. “Later,” hissed the demon as it turned. The room was illuminated with whiteness, blinding me severely. “Wake up, it’s time to eat!” Ringo’s voice chimed. The blinding light turned out to be the midday sun shining in my eye from behind a dense cover of leaves. The shaking was caused from Gaara waking me up by shaking my shoulder. “You’re so cruel! I was dreaming, and that shaking caused an earthquake! No!” I shrieked sadly. Gaara, startled, put his arm in front of his face as he jumped back a little. “What are you talking about? I barely touched you!” he remarked. “Oi,” I pouted, folding my arms and gluing myself to my perch – a log I happened to fall asleep on. Shi purred at me, and urged me to go eat. “Oh, fine,” I sighed, standing up and making my way towards everyone else. “Good afternoon! How did you sleep?” Ringo smiled as she handed me a plate of I had no idea what.
“Um, hi to you too?” I mumbled, eyeing the strange breakfast she’d provided me with. “Huh? You don’t like them?” she asked, a little down, as she noticed my gaze. “No, it’s not that,” I said with a sweat drop, “It’s just. . .” I looked up to find her confused intensely. “What are they?” I asked, slightly afraid to touch them for fear they might be poisonous. Ringo laughed at me. “They’re kinoko keiki, silly!” I stared at the cakes wide-eyed for a long while, sweating the whole time, until Sora patted my shoulder with a smirk. “It’s all right, the mushrooms are edible. Neji-san, Sakura-san, and us two picked ‘em this morning while you were out.” I smiled half-heartedly and mumbled, “Well, if you’re sure. . .”
And so, I took a bite. Boy, was I unprepared for the flavor. It was probably the most disgusting thing I’d ever tasted in my life! I swallowed hard, smiling. “It’s great!” I lied. “Really?! Oh, thank you so much!” Ringo exclaimed. “Sure,” I replied, coughing. When she turned her back to me, I ran into the forest around us to spit it out. What was that? Inner Kizuki shrieked, That stuff was nasty! You could kill somebody with that! “Ugh, I’d prefer to hunt instead of eating that stuff. Sorry, Ringo-chan,” I apologized with a sweat drop as her voice shouting my name carried through the trees. With Shi at my heels, I began to hunt for prey. I sniffed the air and caught a whiff of several squirrels, a few birds, and a rabbit or two. Neji’s scent also played around me, making me wonder if he was following me. I smiled darkly to myself when the thought of an ambush crossed my mind. Don’t even try it, kid, Inner Kizuki snarled, even though Neji was at least a year older than I. I chose a large, plump bird a few branches off who seemed totally unaware of our presence. Easily, I pounced on it, and started to devour my prey. Shi also chose a meal: a squirrel that seemed to be mostly fur, but I didn’t question him about it.
I snapped the backbone of my bird and clawed away some of the feathers at its neck. I drank the fresh blood happily; though it was a little thin, I didn’t mind as long as the mushroom flavor was gone. I began to laugh a little as the blood dripped out of my mouth. “Well, now, aren’t I the little vampire?” I asked myself aloud. “Blood certainly is delicious!” I wiped the blood away with the back of my hand and was about to lick it off, when I noticed Neji standing in front of me. His expression was priceless. “Morbid!” he announced disgustedly. I smirked and offered him the corpse. “Want a taste? It’s not too bad; better than the mush-muffins.” I smiled at the word I’d invented.
He held up a hand to block it. “No thanks!” he stated matter-of-factly. “Gaara-sama said he wanted me to find you. He could have done it himself, but. . .” I shook my head. “It’s all right. But if you don’t mind, I’d like to finish my meal.” Neji nodded, not looking at me. “Sure, just make sure the remains are gone next time I turn around, okay?” he said a little weakly. I laughed once and swallowed the bird in a few bites. I was in the process of wiping my mouth when he turned around. “Why did you choose the bird? There are many squirrels out here, and some rabbits.” Does he have something against eating birds? Inner Kizuki frowned. “Um, because I like the taste of bird blood? And to be honest, squirrels are just a wad of fur, and rabbits are too much work! All sinewy and muscly. . .” My voice trailed off as he wasn’t paying attention to me anymore, but rather staring at the sky. Looking up too, I wondered what he was staring at. A flock of seven white birds flew through the sky with a smaller bird falling behind steadily. It called out to the others for them to stop or slow, but they didn’t respond, and the last bird was eventually abandoned.
“I was that bird,” Neji mumbled, frowning. I gazed at him. He did seem to be a little on the alone side, even with his two genin. “Then Naruto-sama showed me I could change things in my life. If this was when I was participating in the Chunin Exams, I would have told you that it was impossible to save the Mizukage. That it was ‘destiny’ that she was kidnapped, and you would never get her back.” Negative much?! I questioned silently. “You know, Gaara-sama used to be much different. He was very dark, very morbid. He would kill you just as soon as he’d look at you. Was it you who changed him? Who pushed him to be Kazekage?” I shook my head and smiled. “As much as I’d love to take credit for that, it was mainly Naruto-san who did it.”
It was quiet as Neji and I stood there. I hardly even knew this guy, yet we were sharing what had happened in our private pasts like old friends, which was something I didn’t do regularly! “Let’s go back. Things are getting rowdy the longer we wait.” Neji turned from me and headed back to our small encampment. I followed him through the trees, still thinking about the abandoned bird. No, I thought, not an abandoned bird. A caged bird seems more appropriate. Everyone was ready to start moving again, because it was unnatural to stay in one spot for so long on a journey and we all knew it. “C’mon, let’s go! The longer we wait, the harder it will be to find the Kage of Mist!” Naruto exclaimed, pumping a fist in the air and grabbing Gaara in a sort of headlock. I smiled softly at him, for he reminded me so much of a child.
Before we knew it, we were bouncing through the trees like we were not but a day ago. It was quiet for the most part, except when Sora ran into a tree while she was racing a hawk. Sora kicked the tree while rubbing her head, and a garden snake fell at her feet. She stood silent for a second and then her scream resonated throughout the forest and we laughed at her, continuing on our way. The sky above began to grow dark with rain clouds when we were about two hours away from the Leaf’s border. “We should stop,” Neji announced. I looked back at him and was a bit startled to find his face covered in veins. “The clouds are full of electricity and could kill us if we aren’t careful.” Mizuhana smiled widely. “Well, I guess it’s sort of good. I love the rain, and we get to take a break!” I glared at the ground slightly as I came to a stop. “No, rain is not a good thing!” I mumbled. “Why don’t you like rain? It feeds the plants and makes everything really pretty!” Ringo said cheerfully as she opened her palm to the falling water. “It’s not that I don’t like rain,” I explained as a drop fell against my cheek, “Actually, I love rain. It’s just that I have a problem with something when it rains.” Nakago was confused as ever. “What kind of problem? Flooding? I could see how that would be bad in the Sand Village, if that’s what you mean.”
Naruto snorted and I turned my attention to him. “Not quite ‘flooding,’ Naka-chan,” he smirked. I stared at him wide-eyed when I realized what he was talking about. “How do you know about that?” I asked, bewildered. “I’ve heard stories from two little birds,” he hinted, scratching the side of his face and looking at Gaara. “You didn’t. . .” I began, giving my best “if you did, I swear I’m going to kill you” face to Gaara. He looked into the woods with a sweat drop, trying his best to avoid my gaze. No! both Inner Kizuki and I screamed, If Gaara-sama told Naruto-san about it, he’s bound to know every last detail! And if he didn’t give them, then Ame-chan would’ve repeated everything I’ve told her! I stood there holding my head as those thoughts wound through it, not caring about the stares I was getting from the others. “You!” I shouted as I ran towards Naruto. Shoving my finger in his face, I hissed, “Don’t you dare say a word about that to anyone, or I promise I will remove your head from your neck, shove it on a stick and burn it over an open flame, and then I’m going to feed your insides to the crows! And you don’t wanna know what I’m going to do with the rest of your body –”
Gaara placed one hand on my shoulder and the other over my mouth to shut me up. “I believe he’s thoroughly scared now, Kizuki-san. He’s not going to speak of it,” he mumbled with a sweat drop. “And you!” I shrieked, “What the heck were you thinking, telling him about the. . . That?!” My husband rolled his eyes. “Don’t worry, I blamed it more on the alcohol than I did on precipitation.” Sakura made a disgusted sound when she’d figured out some of what we were saying. “Shut your mouth,” I glared at her. She tightly pursed her lips and blushed slightly. “Um, can we find a place to hang out before the rain soaks us?” Sora asked hurriedly, gazing at the sky. “Sora’s right; we need to find a place to stay. Neji, a little help?” Naruto questioned. “Byakugan!” Neji announced, and the veins returned. From my point of view, it looked as if he was staring through the walls of trees, seeing something none of the rest us could. After a few moments he said, “700 meters west is a large tree with a huge hole in the middle of it. By the looks of it, we could easily all fit!” So he could see something we couldn’t. Must be the ‘Byakugan,’ or whatever it was, Inner Kizuki stated.
We followed Neji through the forest until we found our large tree. Neji wasn’t lying when he said we could fit –– this tree was enormous! You couldn’t stand up all the way unless you were Suki’s size, but you could sit quite comfortably in it. “Great! Now let’s get inside so we won’t catch cold from being wet!” Sakura said cheerfully. We climbed in one at a time until the last person, Nakago, crawled inside the tree. Just as he did so, it began to pour outside. I watched the rain drip from the leaves outside of the tree with the longing to see my daughter tugging at my heart. Shi meowed at me and yawned, curled up next to my lap, and fell asleep purring. “I want to see her again,” I sighed to myself. “See who?” Ringo asked as she crawled over to sit next to me. “My daughter, Suki. She’s four-and-a-half,” I told her. “What does she look like?” she pondered, smiling. I sat for a moment, then said, “Here, let me show you,” turning to the bark behind me. Taking a claw on one finger, I started scratching Suki’s face into the wood.
After a few minutes, a picture in her likeness was etched into the inside of the tree. “Oh-! She’s so cute!” Ringo squealed, blushing. “I really like little kids; I’d love to meet her!” I smiled and laid a head on Gaara’s shoulder. “Yeah. She’s a great kid,” Gaara murmured as he thought of her also. “She’s such a daddy’s girl!” I smiled as I elbowed Gaara gently. “Hmm,” Ringo said as she curled up next to me. “I miss someone, too. His name is Lee-kun!” She smiled as she said his name. “He’s too old for you!” came both Sora’s and Neji’s voice from across the tree-cave. I laughed once, and asked her to tell me about him. “Well, he’s tall and he has shiny black hair. He’s really strong, but he can’t use chakra because of a birth defect, I think. Oh, and he’s really nice, too! I would have wanted for him to be my sensei, but I got Neji-san instead––” when Neji gazed at her with a face that clearly stated he was insulted, she quickly said, “––um, but Neji-san’s great, too! I guess,” Ringo mumbled quietly. I laughed once again but asked, “How old is this ‘Lee-kun,’ and why do those two over there say he’s too old for you?” Ringo looked down, slightly embarrassed. “Well, he’s twenty-five,” she told me. “And how old are you?” I asked, raising an eyebrow. “Nineteen,” she squeaked. I was silent for a minute, then I mumbled, “With six years between you two, I can definitely see why they complain.”
“Wait a minute, isn’t Lee that guy who wears that obnoxious green jumpsuit and the bowl-cut with bug eyes and thick eyebrows?” Gaara asked. “Gaara-sama!” I hissed, elbowing his arm. “Yes,” droned Neji’s voice. “No!” Ringo countered. “Well, sort of,” she agreed after a while, “but you make him sound like a dork!” Though I couldn’t hear it, I could’ve sworn that just about everyone told her otherwise in their thoughts. “Um, how long do you think it’s going to rain?” I asked, changing the subject with a sweat drop. “For at least an hour, by the looks of it,” Mizuhana told me. Crap. The longer we wait, the more dangerous it becomes for me and my lost virginity, Inner Kizuki grumbled. I blushed angrily at her words and was glad that no one else heard her. So instead, I grunted in response. I felt eyes boring holes into the back of my head and turned to find Gaara staring at me with lust clouding his vision. Oh, I was afraid of this, Inner Kizuki and I both groaned. Instead of meeting his gaze, I glared at the floor.
Suddenly I felt his hand sneak its way up the back of my shirt and I resisted the urge to scream, knowing that if I did, everyone else would know what Gaara was up to. That would definitely be disastrous. “Get your hand out of there!” I hissed, just barely loud enough for him to hear. Gaara brought his hand out from the back of my shirt with a dissatisfied growl, and I forced myself to scoot away from him and sit by Mizuhana and Nakago. Neji lifted an eyebrow with curiosity, and I blushed slightly as I realized he was watching me. “Why’d you move away from Gaara-sama?” Mizuhana whispered in my ear questioningly. “Long story,” I whispered back, and closed the topic by closing my eyes and pretending to sleep. Nakago, on the other hand, actually was asleep on the other side of Mizuhana, and was snoring quite loudly. I couldn’t help but try to suppress a smirk when he woke up choking on spit.
The sky outside of the tree-cave was slowly getting lighter, and the rain began to let up. “Let’s get moving!” Naruto announced suddenly, and crawled his way out into the open. The rest of us looked at each other with confusion, but followed the Hokage. The air surrounding us was extremely cold compared to the air in the cave, and I began to shiver as I wasn’t used to cold weather. “Naruto-san, are you sure about this? I still see dangerous electric storm clouds about to pass over,” Neji exclaimed. “Well, then, let’s race the rain! We’re heading for the Mist, right? It rains there all the time! We gotta get used to it!” Suddenly, the wind picked up and I felt cold chills running down my spine. “Ugh! I hate the cold!” I grumbled as the cold temperature stayed. Someone threw a piece of cloth over my head, and as I pulled it down, I saw Sora elbowing her sensei with a wide smirk, whispering, “You like her, don’t you?” When he shook his head to defend himself, Ringo countered, “Why would Neji-sensei like Kizuki-san? He has Ten-Ten-san, remember?”
I immediately started to feel warmer when I wrapped myself in the cloak, and Shi took it upon himself to lay on my shoulders underneath it, warming both himself and me. Maybe an hour passed before anything was said. “How much longer is it going to take before we reach the Mist?” Sora asked as it began to thunder again. “We’ve been traveling for two days, so about four more until we get into the heart if Kirigakure,” Sakura answered. Sora sighed exasperatedly but was silent until we could no longer see anything in front of us. “Neji! Lead the way!” Naruto announced as he fell back. I may not have been able to see as far as Neji could, but I do have cat’s vision; I can see in the dark. Did Mr. Hokage Naruto ever think of that? No. But I let Neji lead and tried my best to tell the Shirohana twins where to step. “Ringo, there’s not a branch there!” I warned as she stepped into blackness. She couldn’t stop herself and began to fall a good twelve meters from the ground. I grabbed her arm and jammed my foot into the “v” between two branches to stop myself from falling also. “T-Thanks!” Ringo gasped as she stared down into the dark. Who knew what was waiting down there? A squawk sounded and the fluttering of wings caused Ringo to scream and twist her way out of my grasp.
“Crap!” I shouted, and something whizzed past my ear to stop her. I turned to find Gaara with a serious frown on his face and sand gushing from his gourd, and I gave a relieved sigh. “Ringo-chan, are you alright?!” Sora panicked as she jumped a few branches away from us. “I-I’m okay! Something broke my fall, but I don’t know what it is,” she squeaked. Gaara’s sand began to retract, and the shadow of Ringo’s frightened face gave everyone a sigh of relief. “Thank you very much,” Neji bowed as he hopped over to Gaara. “Ringo!” he scolded. “Yes, sensei?” came her frightened voice. “You’re staying up front with me so I can keep an eye on you,” he growled. “Nice catch!” Naruto smiled as he punched Gaara lightly in the arm. “Somehow, I have a feeling that that’s going to happen with Suki-chan one day,” Gaara mumbled, glancing at me sideways. “I should hope not!” I fretted.
“I think we should settle for the night,” came Mizuhana’s voice in the dark, “A heavy storm is blowing through from the east, and that will stop us from moving.” She was right. I could smell the electricity in the air and it made my spine tingle. “It’s not safe to be in a tree when lightning comes. Even with a medic nin, things could be bad,” Nakago added, worry thick in his voice. Even with the thick blanket of black, Naruto’s face told me he was extremely reluctant to stop, if even for a few minutes. “Naruto-san, it’s up to you if we need to stop or continue,” I reminded him. I feel like a mother, I told myself suddenly. Saving a child, comforting another; what is up with you today? Inner Kizuki asked. I laughed quietly to myself, and Nakago’s voice broke the silence. “We need to go somewhere now. The rain’s going to hit us any moment and we haven’t even staked out some form of shelter!” Naruto sighed, and mumbled, “Alright, alright. I guess we need to build a tent or something.” Are you kidding me? Naruto-san, you’re an idiot! Inner Kizuki screamed, The wind will blow us away if we put up a flimsy little tent! I had to agree with her, but I didn’t have the heart to tell him so. “Um, why don’t I try to find another tree-cave, or at least something that’ll be a little safer?” Neji asked, trying his hardest to cover up the fact that his brain was screaming at him to call Naruto an idiot, like mine had. I could definitely tell that Sakura was holding back the urge to beat him senseless, and I was amazed that the Hokage didn’t even notice.
Within a few minutes, Neji had found an underground cave for us to stay at. We reached it just as the rain began to pound in the earth. I couldn’t help but have the sneaking suspicion that someone had set this up. I mean, to have a place to stay, right where and when you need it? That seemed a little fishy to me. Fish, I thought, and found my stomach yelling at me to feed it. It growled so loud that everyone in the cavern looked up at me, smiling. “Hungry?” Mizuhana jokingly asked me, and I laughed as she handed me some dried squid. “Ooh, yummy,” I beamed as I chewed on it ravenously. I fed some to Shi, and he purred loudly as he ate. “Too bad I can’t build a fire to cook some mushroom cakes,” Ringo smiled sadly. “Oh, please don’t!” I begged, snapping my head up at her. She gazed at me confusedly, and I stammered trying to find the right words to come up with. “Um, I meant, I don’t want you going through so much trouble to make them. Again. Yeah, that’s what I meant!” I laughed nervously. Mizuhana was shaking her head, and I knew she was thinking I was a total idiot. “Oh, um, thanks? I think,” Ringo said, scratching the back of her head. “Try not to think to hard on it,” Sora sighed, patting her sister’s shoulder. We sat in the near-dark in total silence, listening to the rain pounding on the earth above us. I began to grow tired, and I heard the others yawning and settling in for the night. Gaara crawled his way to my side and quietly offered me his shoulder so I could sleep. “Thanks,” I smiled, and rested my head against him. Drifting off to sleep, a vivid dream began to shake me.
An eerie darkness swallowed the forest as I wound my way around the trees. “Look, it’s the little cat come to rescue her friend. Why waste your time with puppies, little kitten?” a voice sneered from somewhere in the dark. I tensed and the breath caught in my throat. A scream sounded somewhere in the distance; something that sounded painfully close to a howl that I remembered from my pre-teen years. “Shirunai,” I breathed, and started to run as fast as my legs would take me, through the trees and into a clearing. I felt my claws elongate as the adrenaline seared through my veins. Straining my ears to detect any movement, I hissed loudly when I heard a thump behind me. I whipped around, and the one who stood before me was my little sister. “Ame?” I asked, unsure of the person standing not but a meter away. “Please, get out of here!” she begged, tears streaming down her face.
I ran to her, grabbed her shoulders, asking, “What are you talking about? Ame-chan, tell me what’s wrong!” Her eyes screamed that she was in pain as she repeated, “Leave! I’m begging you, get out of here! It’s a trap! They’re going to kill you all! You must go, and take the others with you!” She faded into the blackness, and I awoke, trembling and gasping for air. Suddenly, an acrid taste hit the back of my throat making me gag, yet something told me I was the only one who noticed. “Get up!” I shouted, and everyone’s reactions were slow. They didn’t even start to stir until the third time I screamed. “What’s wrong?” came Mizuhana’s slurred speech. There’s poison messing with their systems! Someone is after us, I gasped. “We have to go! Everyone, get out of here, now!” I began to drag the others by the arms, watching them stumble over the rocky earth. As soon as they breathed in the fresh night air, they began to be themselves again. Coughing, Nakago asked, “How in the world did you know there was something wrong?” I bit my lip, wondering if I should answer. “Yes, how did you know?” Sakura piped up questioningly, “I’m a medic nin, and I didn’t even notice it!” I never answered them and busied myself, checking to see if everyone else was alright. “Thank you, Ame-chan. I am forever in your debt,” I whispered to the sky. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw a shadow; a silhouette of my sister and two others running through the trees.

¤ ¤ ¤

“Why the heck did you do that, you idiot!” Konan shrieked. “Yeah, hmm? We were gonna kill the nuisances with a poison smoke bomb I created,” Deidara added. “I’m sorry! I can’t let you kill my sister like that!” I apologized. Heck, I can’t even let you kill her anyway! “Rgh! Just wait until Pein-sama finds out about this! He’ll kick you out for sure!” Konan growled, and we silently ran through the dense forest. In a few minutes, we came to a chakra-sealed hideout that not even the smallest insect could pass through. “Pein-sama, we’re back!” Konan chimed as she wrapped her arms around his neck. “They dead yet?” Pein asked, looking at me more than anyone else. “No. This one chickened out and warned the cat. Watcha gonna do now, hmm?” I glared menacingly at Deidara as I warned, “Shut your mouth, bomb boy, or I’ll finish my sister’s job and make you bald using your own bombs! Sasuke-kun!” I added happily as he made his way towards me. Deidara quietly bored holes into the back of my head as I turned from him. “Now, now. Be nice, Ame, or I’ll let Tobi have his way with you,” Pein smirked. Sasuke squeezed my shoulder and I ground my teeth screaming to myself, Oh God, anything but that! I so don’t want to relive that again! “Anyways,” Pein continued when I glued my mouth shut, “I do believe that you will have to let the others go if you want to stay in the Akatsuki. But you know that already, don’t you?” He carried on without waiting for me to speak. “So, in order for you to stay, you have to perform a simple task, or you can leave.” I had a sneaking suspicion I knew what that would be, and my stomach knotted as I thought of it. Please don’t make me kill them, please? I begged quietly.
“You must bring your sister to me-”
Oh, well I guess that’s good. I don’t have to kill her. I gave a sigh of relief.
“––Don’t sigh yet, I’m not finished.” Pein chided. Aw crap, don’t you dare. . .! “You must take out her demon. . .and kill her.”
“There’s no way I’d ever, you idiot!” I screamed as I launched myself at him. Huh, I thought as I attacked the Akatsuki leader, I feel strangely like Kizuki.

¤ ¤ ¤

I sneezed out of nowhere and a cold chill ran down my back. “What was that?” Sora asked me as we took off into the night. “Nothing; it must be the cold getting to me.” I waved it away uncaringly as we slipped through the darkness until sunlight peaked up over the horizon. “Let’s take a break,” said Naruto, and I noticed that he was starting to get tired. “Here,” Sakura said as she offered him a water bottle. He smiled at her as he chugged it down. “Man, I miss ‘em both,” Naruto sighed. “Miss who?” I asked. Naruto has a love life?! I questioned disbelievingly. “Ame-chan and Hinata-chan,” he answered. He’s a player! A player, I say–wait, did he mean my sister? “You said Ame. Do you mean Kyuketsuki, Ame?” I asked. Naruto shook his head. “No, Inuzuka, Ame, the girl who’s your sister.” Same person, idiot. “And who’s Hinata? Do I know her?” Sakura answered this one for me. “Hyuga, Hinata is Neji’s cousin. She has a serious crush on this blockhead of a Hokage over here, and the idiot’s just now realizing it. Of course, he doesn’t like her the way she thinks he does, and he’s crushing the poor girl’s heart without even realizing it.”
“That’s so not right!” Naruto sighed. “You don’t talk to the Hokage like that; it’s just mean! But Sakura-chan’s got it a little twisted. I do like Hinata-chan a little, and she’s a good friend, but I think I’m in love with your sister,” he smiled bashfully. I gave an evil smirk, saying, “Wait until she hears about that one! Won’t I get a kick out of her reaction when I tell her that the Hokage’s got a crush on an Akatsuki member!” After that, I began to run in some random direction, like I was going to go hunt down my sister and tell her that. “No, wait, shut up! You’re not supposed to tell her that!” Naruto shouted as he chased after me.
“What the heck?” Sakura started as she watched us. “They’re acting like kids!” Neji grumbled distastefully in the background. “Well, that’s just the way they are,” Gaara sighed as he folded his arms across his chest. I laughed loudly as Naruto tripped over a branch and I helped him up after a moment. “Can we go now?” Sora asked, clearly bored. “Fine, fine. But the rest of you need to lighten up, seriously. Like freakin’ stone statues of sadness over there!” Naruto sighed. I giggled. “What’d you just call me?! I’ll make you a statue, and then everyone will point and laugh at the idiot Hokage who pissed me off!” Sakura screamed, bearing her fist to him. “Temper, temper,” Mizuhana sang, waggling a finger at fiery medic nin. “My, but just a few years ago, you would have been mistaken for a Kizuki with pink hair!”
I flinched. “Oi. That’s a nightmare in itself in two ways!”
Nakago nodded. “Yes, yes, Kizuki with pink hair would definitely be a sight!” Shi growled with disapproval.
“I don’t think the world could handle to Kizuki’s at once,” Gaara sighed.
“I am totally confused!” Naruto groaned. “You’re not alone,” sighed Neji, Sakura, Sora, and Ringo in unison.
I twitched suddenly. Gaara, beside me, placed a hand lightly on my shoulder and whispered, “What’s wrong?” in my ear. “Someone’s watching us,” I growled, and turned to the woods to my left, and I felt a sinister pair of eyes watching us from not far off. My attention was then drawn to a tree branch behind me. A large, black bird suddenly took flight from the shadows–if I wasn’t mistaken, the same one that had frightened Ringo when she was about to fall from the tree the other night. “Let’s go,” I stated, loud enough for everyone to hear me, and started heading in the direction of the Sound Village. “Wait, where are you going?” Naruto asked, “I thought we were going to the Mist Village first?” I shook my head. “There’s no time. Two different people are tracking us, presumably the Akatsuki and Orochimaru. He’s bound to know of our plan by now.”

¤ ¤ ¤

“Very smart, little cat demon. Just a week before you and the fox come into my possession,” Orochimaru hissed, licking his lips. A crystal ball sat before him, with the “bird’s” view as the pictures being seen. I’d never seen him so thrilled, except when Sasuke began to undergo training from the almighty Orochimaru-sama. “Kabuto-san,” he called. I got up from my spot at the foot of his chair and bowed before him. “Yes, Orochimaru-sama?” A slight snake’s hiss blew out from his mouth. “Tell me, how long has it been since the Mizukage was kidnapped?” I counted the days quickly in my head. “Tomorrow will be the fourth day, I believe. Why do you ask?” He gave a short, evil laugh. “It’s only a matter of time, then, before I have the fox, the cat, and Sasuke all at once!” He clasped his hands together as he thought up some evil plan silently.
“A bet with the Akatsuki?” I guessed. “You’re too smart for your own good sometimes, my dear Kabuto-san,” Orochimaru sighed, “But yes. And if they win, which they won’t, our most recent successful experiment will be theirs.” I was silent. Then I’d better make sure to set a triply good trap, because I don’t either of them to win this bet! I thought to myself. “Orochimaru-sama, I must go check on something. May I go, or would you like something else?” I asked. He shook his head. “No. You may go,” he murmured. I turned to leave, when he said, “Oh, Kabuto-san? Make sure to not disappoint me. I know what you’re up to, and if you use your trick once to many times, I fear I will have to make you the test subject of my next experiment, Kyuketsuki, Ame. Or Inuzuka, I should say?” He smiled demonically at me, and I hurriedly left without looking back.
Crap, he knows! was the only thought running through my head as I escaped the lair of death known as Orochimaru-sama’s hideout. “Let’s get out of here!” I hissed to Sasuke as I raced past him. “I told you that place would give you the creeps after a couple of days,” he chided. “Yeah, yeah, I know. Let’s just leave for good! Jeez, I never want to have to do that again––” I suddenly paused when I remembered the bet. Sasuke’s, Naruto’s, and Kizuki’s lives and an important experiment. That’s so jacked up! I cringed.
“So, you asked him about the bet?” Sasuke asked. I nodded.
“I told them you wouldn’t like it. Proves I was right.”
I sighed heavily. “Yeah, okay. I just want to relay the information and go to sleep. I can’t stand having that in my head!”
It was quiet as we ran together.
“You do know that Kisame’s the one who set this up, right?” Sasuke murmured after a while.
“What?! I thought he loved Shirunai-san?” I asked, stunned.
“There was a fight because of Hidan. Kisame was so hurt that he promised to kill her, even though he still loved her. He couldn’t do it himself, so he hired Orochimaru-sama to do so after consulting Pein-sama behind Hidan’s back,” Sasuke explained.
“How’d he manage to do this?” I asked. It’s only been maybe a week since their fight; wouldn’t Kisame have to plan all this out beforehand? I thought to myself.
“After Kisame talked to Orochimaru-sama, he sent a fake letter to Kizuki-san. He even drugged Shirunai to get her to write the letter, and used her chakra to imprint a message on the envelope. Everyone else but Hidan knows about this, and he’s getting suspicious because Kisame’s gone so often, setting up traps for your sister. You know all of those resting spots they’ve been staying at?” ––I nodded–– “Deidara used bombs to set that up. With so many perfect spots, your other group is going to know something’s up, especially with Orochimaru-sama and the Akatsuki involved.”
“How cruel,” I whispered.
“The shark’s an idiot, I say. With two jinchuriki, he’s going to be killed, no matter how strong he is,” Sasuke sighed.
“I believe you’re right, Sasuke-kun. Now let’s get back to Pein and be done with this!” I exclaimed.

¤ ¤ ¤

“Kizuki-chan! Are you okay?” Naruto asked worriedly when I ran into a tree. “Ouch,” I flinched as I examined a giant gash across my arm. “I’m fine,” I told him. “Kizuki-san, be careful. You can’t go and damage yourself by thinking too deeply,” Gaara sighed. “Sorry,” I mumbled. I stood and continued forward, not waiting for the others. “I think something’s wrong with her,” Sakura whispered. “Kizuki, come here!” she shouted. I sighed heavily as I slowly walked back to her. Crap, she noticed, Inner Kizuki grumbled. “Nothing’s wrong with me,” I promised. “Let me see your arm. This won’t hurt; I’m just checking something,” Sakura explained. I growled at her as she felt over my fresh wound, her handing glowing with chakra. “Uh-huh, it’s just as I expected,” she sighed. I looked at her questioningly. “Not only is there bacteria growing rapidly in your wound, there is poison running through your veins. Any minute now, you should start to feel a burn.” And she was right. My limbs felt like they’d burst into flames and I felt my body temperature start to rise rapidly. I fought the urge to scream in pain as it crawled up my chest into my heart. “Is she going to be okay?” Ringo asked fearfully. Gaara was silent, but I saw the worry and sorrow dancing solemnly in his eyes. “She’ll be fine,” Sakura assured everyone, “Just as long as I retrieve the poison quick enough, which I’m already doing.” Her chakra-illuminated palm was pulling a yellowish fluid from my cut, and I started to feel a little better.
“Neji-san, will you check to see if there’s any more poison in her system?” Sakura asked as she placed the poison in a small container. His face filled with veins as he looked into me. “No, there doesn’t seem to be any left,” he informed after a thorough examination. Everyone gave a sigh of relief when the bleeding stopped, but we tensed again when Mizuhana gasped. “Give me that!” she shouted when Sakura held the poison up to the light. “What’s wrong?” Naruto asked when Mizuhana bit her lip until it bled. “How dare they?!” she roared. My eyes widened. “Don’t tell me. . .” I started. “What the heck is going on?” Sora fretted. “This poison,” Nakago whispered, “is from our clan. The Nairu clan is still after us. They’re responsible for Kizuki-san’s injury!” I shook my head slowly. “The whole world is after us, isn’t it?” I asked, not expecting an answer.


My wound healed the next day, and it took us another three and a half days to reach the border of the Sound Village. “We’re finally here,” Naruto panted. “Good thing, too. I was beginning to wonder if we’d get there in time,” Sora smiled, exhausted and out of breath. “Let’s go deeper. We’ll walk this time,” I said and shuffled forwards. My legs felt like deadweights, and I was sure everyone else’s did, too. “Who goes there?” a voice shouted. A man about our age wrapped in bandages and tortoise shell-printed clothes jumped from out from behind a tree. “Crap, I should of smelled him,” I hissed under my breath. The trip’s landscape had gone from dry and sandy to dense green forests to humid swamps in just a week, and it was messing up my sense of hearing and smell. “We are ninja from the Sand, Leaf, and others from the Mist. There are two others from the Sand following behind us a little ways. We request passage into this village to rescue the Mizukage!” stated Gaara. The man was quiet for a moment, then straightened from his battle pose. “Fine, you can pass, but on one condition,” he said, extending his sword to prevent our passage. “And that ‘one condition’ is?” I asked, narrowing my eyes. “It’s simple: let me join your rescue team.”
I blinked in surprise. “If we have him with us, we won’t be stopped by every single ninja in these parts. We should let him join,” Neji whispered. “But if he’s traveling with so many different ninja, someone’s going to think something’s up,” I countered, even though I took his words into consideration. “It’s better to have him with us than have to explain to every other person, and possibly resort to bloodshed,” Sakura explained. “I’m fine with it,” Naruto whispered. “Me, too. Kizuki, how do you feel about it?” Gaara asked. “Well,” I started, looking back at him. “I guess it’s alright,” I sighed. He gazed at us expectantly as we turned to face this new member of our team. “It’s fine with us,” Gaara told him. “Sweet! Thanks so much!” he exclaimed while pumping a fist in the air. “By the way,” I asked, “What’s your name?” It felt a little awkward to not even know this guy and yet we’d already let him into our rescue squad. “Oh, me? My name is Asano, Seiji. I’m 21, and I absolutely despise Orochimaru-sama,” he informed us. Nakago smiled. “Well, that’s good. We’re rescuing someone from Orochimaru-sama. You can take out all your hatred on him.” We all laughed, and Seiji led us into the heart of the Sound Village.
“Seiji! Who are those people with you?” a deep voice demanded. “Don’t worry, Kannazuki-san, they’re friends.” A buff man in his mid-thirties walked up to us, scowling. He was huge––almost twice the size of us. “Dude,” Sora whispered as she tilted her head upwards to look at his face. Shirtless and covered in tattoos, I was officially freaked out by the size of Seiji’s friend. “Everyone, this is Kentoshi, Kannazuki. Kannazuki-san, this is, um, everyone,” Seiji introduced. There were a few murmured “hellos,” but that was about it. “I’m going to take them to the edge of Orochimaru-sama’s hideout. They’ve come to retrieve a friend,” Seiji told Kannazuki. “Good luck with that,” Kannazuki scoffed, “Orochimaru-sama will kill you so fast, you wouldn’t even have time to blink!” He walked away from us, and that was the last person to talk to us for a few hours.
“No one really knows where Orochimaru-sama’s lair is, but most of the people in this village have a pretty good idea, and that it’s somewhere in the mountains nearer to the northwest,” Seiji explained when we set up camp for the night. “I’m guessing it gets dangerous even before you set foot into the mountains, right?” I asked grimly, holding a bowl of thin tonkostu#. He nodded solemnly, and quickly slurped down his bowl. “Why do you hate Orochimaru-sama so much?” Ringo asked as she sat down next to him. “I mean, I know he’s a bad person, but what’s your reason?” Seiji was quiet for a moment, staring into the fire. “He stole the life of my family. He slaughtered my father and my sister; poisoned my mother with snake’s venom when she tried to escape and left her to die. He bit me, too, but he left a black scar instead of injecting venom. I was the only one who got out alive, but he let me live. He might’ve killed me too, if he hadn’t said that I might make a good vessel for him one day. To this day, I wonder what he means by that,” he mumbled, holding his shoulder. “Do mind if I take a look at your shoulder?” Sakura asked quietly. Naruto bit his lip hard and stared at the ground. I could tell he was deep in thought so I didn’t bother him.
“Go ahead,” Seiji mumbled and offered Sakura his shoulder. When she pulled on his shirt, she gasped painfully, whispering “Sasuke-kun.” Naruto snapped his head up. “So Sasuke wasn’t the only one, then?” Naruto asked, trying to hide the pain in his voice. “Only one for what?” Seiji asked. Naruto took a deep breath and said, “One of my closest friends was taken by Orochimaru-sama. He had the same curse mark that you have on your shoulder that he did. We’re still looking for him, but we’re also looking for the Mizukage–the wolf jinchuriki.” Seiji nodded, sadness seeming to have frozen his face. “That rotten snake causes so much grief to everyone!” Mizuhana spat with fury. The others seemed lost in their own thoughts after a long while; so deep in thought that they hadn’t noticed a branch snapping behind us. “Who’s there?” I hissed, standing and drawing one of my fans. “Relax, it’s just us!” Temari said hurriedly as she and Kankuro stepped out of the shadows. Gaara looked up, his face saying something that I didn’t catch, but Temari nodded slowly and stepped closer to me. “Ah, Kizuki-san, may I speak to you alone?” Temari whispered. She looked very uncomfortable, and I began to fear something drastic had happened.
“What’s wrong?” I asked as we stepped into the shadows. Half of my sensei’s face was lit by the moon, and her face screamed that something was terribly out of line. “It’s Suki,” she whispered. I gasped deeply. What?! Gaara-sama didn’t tell me about this! How could he be so cruel as to not tell me something had happened to our child? Inner Kizuki and I both cried, stunned and hurt. “Don’t worry, she’s fine now, but you need to be careful not to bring this up when you see her again,” Temari began. I bit my lip to keep from saying anything so I could know what had happened to my daughter. “You see, um, how do I put his, you remember that Kokoro girl, right? Matsuri’s friend? Well, anyways. . .”

¤ ¤ ¤

I jerked awake in the middle of the night. It’s too quiet, I thought to myself. My stomach clenched into a knot as I stood up. I might as well go check on Suki-chan. . . I walked from my room, down the hall, and into her bedroom, but I stopped just before entering. “. . .you’re such an adorable little girl, but of course, you are the Kazekage’s daughter. That mother of yours is such a brat, stealing Gaara-sama from all of the other girls in this village. I wonder how I could hurt her for that?” whispered the voice of my closest friend–Kokoro. What’s she talking about? I asked myself. I watched as Kokoro drew a kunai from its holster. “Let’s see. . .I could take your life and give Gaara-sama a child that was mine? Yes, that will do nicely, but I’d have to get rid of you mother too, wouldn’t I? Works for me,” she giggled softly, raising the kunai with both hands high above her head.
At that, I bolted forward, knocked the kunai out of her hand, and locked her arms behind her back. “Rgh! What are you doing? I’m trying to make ourselves a chance with Gaara-sama!” Kokoro screamed, waking Suki from her slumber. “Looks more like you’re trying to commit homicide! I can’t let you hurt her, Kokoro. Guards!” I shouted, holding Kokoro back from launching herself at the little girl I’d come to love like a sister. Kokuochi and another whose name I didn’t know came bursting through the doors. They saw Suki huddled on her bed, frightened nearly to death, and Kokoro in my hands with a kunai and still trying to wriggle free of my grasp. “We’ll take it from here,” Kokuochi growled as he and the other yanked Kokoro out of my grasp and out of the apartment. I rushed to Suki, held her tight, and whispered, “It’s gonna be okay now. You don’t have to worry any more; Kokoro’s going away for good. She won’t try to harm you, I promise.” She sobbed into my shoulder, screaming, “I want my Mommy and Daddy to come back! I want them back, Matsuri-chan! I don’t want them to die!” She cried like that for an hour, and I had no idea what to say. I mean, what do you say to a four-year-old who might never see her parents again? Do you tell her that they’ll come back, even though they probably won’t because they’re going to face the biggest criminals in ninja history?!
“Matsuri-chan?” Suki asked, hiccupping once her tears had slowed. “Yes, Suki-chan?” I answered, holding her close. “Can I sleep with you? I don’t want to be alone,” she mumbled, burying her face into my shoulder. “Of course,” I whispered, picking her up and carrying her to my bedroom. As soon as I pulled the covers over her, she fell asleep. Crawling into bed next to her, she started crying in her sleep, whispering, “Mommy” and “Daddy.” I felt so bad for her. Hello! She’s four-and-a-half! She should have to go through all of this! I yelled to myself mentally. “It’ll be okay,” I murmured, kissing her on the forehead, even though I knew deep down inside that it most likely wouldn’t.

¤ ¤ ¤


~End of Chapter Five~