Changing Tides Chapter 1 Revised
This chapter was somewhat painful to revise( damn you kakashi's scene damn you)
Changing Tides : Prologue
Changing Tides
Chapter 1: Fragile Minds
The man slowly stood up from his chair and walked to the window overlooking the village. He was somewhat amazed at how much the village had changed over the past year and allowed a slight smile; maybe it was because something good happened to him within the past year.
A little more then a year ago he was ready to rip the spines out of two doctors at the hospital for treating a ninja not from this village, but when they gave him the blood work he decided to spare them his wrath. The blood work they have given to him was proof that his lineage wouldn’t be severed when he died and for that he was glad. His family always chose to pass this village down to one another due to their blood limit and going out of that tradition might have put a strain on the village its self. He knew that his own personal child wouldn’t be taking his place since his own wife and children were assassinated several years ago, him having a child now wouldn’t change the fact that if something happened to him the village would fall into hands other then their own. He could have sworn that he would have been the last to actually inherit this duty.
He moved back towards his desk and reached into the bottom drawer where he pulled out a rumpled letter that looked as if it was more than a decade old. He scanned through the letter quickly - he’d memorized the words that his older sibling had written him from wherever she was. It was just a letter to say that he was an uncle and that he would never be able to see his nephew.
He scowled at the letter before folding it back up and tossing it into the drawer carelessly. He was as usual upset by the words written on the piece of paper, but he had to smile at how fate always found a way to help out those in need. His family’s blood was tied to this village and his sister knew that even before she ran away.
He sat back down in his chair and leaned back as he looked up at the ceiling of his office. He couldn’t blame his sister though; so much was pushed onto her since her birth several minutes before him. The graduation exam when she was at school drove her to leaving the country as fast as she could even if she was only twelve years old and marked by their father to take his place. His back ached painfully as he recalled how a year after she had left he was branded by the same mark she would carry to her grave. He had a fleeting thought of his younger sister and wondered if she was doing okay. He knew she was married and left the village shortly after with her poor husband, not intending to have anything to do with her family again.
Leaning forward in his chair he called out in a firm voice, “Yoshi!” a second later a man appeared shaking slightly. He knew that he had a legendary temper but as of late his pride in having a nephew to teach and hand down Kiriga had made him happier than he cared to admit.
“Yes Lord Mizukage?” The quiver in the young blonde’s voice was audible even to the deaf and the older man laughed internally that he could still terrify people even when calm.
“Go get Aikido, tell him it’s time to train.” The Kage looked at the wall and saw that it was half past one and he should be teaching his nephew.
“Yes Sir!” Yoshi said and in a flurry of water he disappeared. The Mizukage stood up and looked outside the window again. Yes he had to train his nephew who knew nothing about his past, but still showed the blood limit of his clan. The man crossed his arm over his chest as he looked to the farthest reaches of the village. Everything would reside with Aikido and he hoped that nothing would happen to the last member of his family.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
A young looking man was gazing into one of the many streams that ran in and out of the village. The clear blue stream was abuzz with fish jumping in and out and the man smiled at the simple act before returning his gaze back into the stream.
He had killed another person from that Village and they called him by that name again.
Placing his hand into the stream he let a bit of chakra flow through his fingertips and his blood limit froze the water for a second before allowing it to thaw again instantly. His memories seemed to be coming back after encountering that person, but it wasn’t much.
He hated the fact that he couldn’t remember anything and hated the fact that poison did this to him. Shortly after waking up the doctors told him he might never be able to get his memories back. They were coming back, but nothing that he could really grasp on to.
He sent more chakra into the stream, this time completely covering the top area of the entire stream with a thin sheet of ice. His mind went over the possibilities: Either his uncle was lying to him or this village wanted to turn him against his own. Unfreezing the water again, he withdrew his hand, this time the water followed him through the force of his will and he watched as it hovered in a sphere a few inches above his hand.
‘Would my uncle lie to me?’ he thought to himself as he allowed the ball of water to reshape into a weapon and freeze before bending it back into a ball hovering a few inches above his hand. Was the man even his real uncle? He’d only told him about a month after he woke up in the hospital. He knew that blood limits weren’t something that could just be given out carelessly and tended to run only through family members’ blood. There were times when he could see a resemblance between them such as how quickly they both were to anger and how they both were more perceptive then people gave them credit for.
Letting the ball of water fall back into the stream he closed his eyes as he took a deep breath and tried to look into his memories and saw nothing but darkness surrounding him. Trying harder to force every piece of his being into remembering he felt his ties to reality slip away into nothingness as he got lost in his day dream.
He was surrounded by fire -- everyone around was screaming and panicking as a giant nine tailed fox ran through the village, destroying everything in its path. He jumped back as the building next to him exploded and felt relief as a tall woman ran to him and hugged him. She was crying and mouthing words that he couldn’t hear no matter how hard he strained his ears. She pushed him into a pair of arms that belonged someone that looked about his age before he was pulled away, her eyes sad the entire time. He couldn’t hear anything and he tried to pull himself away and run back to her but the grip on his arm was as firm as steel. The only thing he could make out was as soft as a passing breeze before she turned away her braid flowing in the wind.
“I Love you.”
“Aikido!” the voice sounded distant and didn’t seem to belong in the world he was currently in.
“Aikido!” The voice was louder than he would have preferred and the world of his memories seemed to be breaking; the fire was phasing in and out as he was roused out of his dream.
“Aikido.” The voice was close and he felt a hand on his shoulder before his eyes snapped opened instantly, he made an arch with his right hand while grabbing the arm that touched him with his left hand and flipping Yoshi onto the floor in front of him. The water from the stream came at his call spiraling around his left hand before solidifying and forming a wicked looking blade of ice. Bringing it to Yoshi’s neck he growled. The look in his eyes was a bit insane as if he was high or coming off of one.
Yoshi gulped as he felt the blade began to bite into his skin and instantly regretted not waiting until the man was done with whatever he was doing before interrupting him. He let out a whimper and thought of how quickly his life would end just because he was delivering a message.
Aikido blinked a few times letting his foggy mind bring him back to the current world and he saw Yoshi looking at him terrified. He threw the ice weapon back and heard a splash as it deformed back into water and fell into the stream that he was gazing at so intently a while ago.
“What do you want” Aikido said voice almost as cold as the weapon he wielded a few seconds ago. He brushed the dirt of his pants and glared at blonde.
“I just came to tell you that the Mizukage said that it was time to train,” he gulped and stood slowly to his feet, taking a few cautious steps back slowly so as not to piss off the dark haired man who almost killed him without a second thought.
Aikido said nothing as picked up a coat Yoshi knew was not there moments before and headed to the center of the village. Sometimes the Mizukage and Aikido were so alike that it scared him. He just hoped none of their anger was ever directed at him.
The blonde gulped before he left going back to the mission room where he was needed.
~~~~~~
Revenge was a vicious cycle -- everyone knew that and to avenge someone was to have someone come after you when you least expected it. Sasuke was an avenger due to his brother killing every member of his family and leaving him alive. He swore with every fiber of his being to be the one to destroy his brother; that was his life’s goal.
Aiming high and fighting for perfection throughout his academy days and showing dedication that Konoha hadn’t seen since his brother. Lusting for power and deserting Konoha just so he could gain more power to defeat Itachi and finally succeeding in his goal a while ago. Instead of feeling ecstatic about it he felt even worse off. He deserted everyone he knew just for the sake of revenge and now he was left with nothing.
There was a down side to revenge no one ever talked about and that was this empty feeling. When all revenge is done, what do you have left? Sasuke had nothing but his name and even that wouldn’t get him anywhere. The once prestigious Uchiha name was worth nothing with the betrayal of not one but two of the last remaining clan members. Well one if you counted the fact that Itachi was no long alive. No other village would take him and he was forced to go back to where it all started: Konoha.
Of course, when you were once the highlight of the village as he was, it was shocking how he could no longer see the looks of admiration, jealously, and respect people used to gaze at him with. Those looks were all gone and all he saw was the scathing glares people directed at him since he set out to kill his brother. Some even went as far as to throw rocks at him, which he dodged them simply enough and nearly activated his Sharingan upon some of the attackers, but stopped himself from attacking when he saw that it was only kids that barely came up to his waist. He watched as they ran behind their mother as she shielded them as if he was going to attack them. He had to scoff at that thought, if he wanted them dead they would be dead and it was as simple as that.
The talk about him coming back to the village was an interesting one and the Hokage was close to executing him right when he appeared in her office. They came to an agreement, but he wouldn’t be doing any solo missions or have the trust of the villagers anytime soon.
He was glad that he could return to his home but frowned as he felt he was being tailed. He should have known that they were going to watch him constantly to make sure he wouldn’t leave the village and go missing again.
So here he sat in the middle of a dark room of the Uchiha compound, which had been ransacked and cleaned out of every single weapon, jutsu and everything dangerous that the Uchihas ever possessed. He didn’t care that much though, he had mastered everything that the scrolls contained long before he left and was grateful that they hadn’t take everything such as beds and clothing when they cleaned out the place.
Looking out the window he stood up and stretched for a few seconds before heading towards the door. Although everyone hated him the number one knuckle headed ninja of Konoha still valued him as a friend and he’d be a fool to throw that friendship away again.
Walking outside he put on his best passive mask and headed to the ramen stand. Rain drizzled lightly, but he didn’t increase his leisurely pace - he needed time to think before he reached his destination.
The two constant chakra signatures of his guards following him never wavered.
~~~~~~~
Eating ramen has always been one of Naruto’s best ways to gain nutrition and to pass time, but since everything that had happened lately; he couldn’t find enjoyment in the taste of his favorite food as much as before.
When he had come back to Konoha after his long time away, the first thing he did was run to his favorite ex-sensei’s house, expecting him to be home. He knocked outside for several minutes, but he wasn’t there at all. Which was odd considering the man was usually predictable in his schedule. He snapped his fingers and turned to run into the mission room expecting him to be taking mission reports. He was in for a shock to find out that he wasn’t there but a fellow ninja quickly told him that his old sensei was away on a mission.
Days quickly turned to months and months turned into a year and he still saw no sign of his old sensei. One day when he was knocking on the door he was surprised to find not his sensei, but Anko coming out with a box of what looked like his stuff.
“Hey you what are you doing with Iruka-Sensei’s things!” he yelled loud enough to shake a few windows.
“Hey you quiet down!” she yelled just as loud before knocking him upside the head and laughing as he cried out in pain. She looked back at the apartment and back down at the boy.
“Iruka has been gone for a while now and they are going to start removing his stuff to make the apartment available for rent in a few weeks.” She sounded somewhat sad. “So instead of them tossing it out on the street I am going to take it to my place till he gets back.”
She muttered something to herself that he couldn’t make out before shoving him aside and descending down a flight of stairs leaving the boy standing there.
So here he sat a ramen stand not too long after that, wondering if and when his old sensei would come back. He could feel tears prickle at the back of his eyes at the thought of his old sensei not coming back at all.
He should be glad that Sasuke was back and to a sense he was but Sasuke wasn’t Iruka and he would never be able to replace the place the dark haired man had in his heart. He looked down and noticed that he was only on his second bowl of ramen while he would usually be on his 5th or 6th by now. Worried eyes of the owner looked at him and he grinned trying to hide the tears of someone who had just lost someone close to them. Iruka wasn’t dead. He wasn’t going to let his mind go through those depressing thoughts.
He looked to a stool next to him and could have sworn he saw a ghost of his teacher smiling at him from his own bowl of transparent ramen. A crash of thunder was heard and he jumped for a second, glancing outside to see a streak of lightning and seconds later another boom. He turned back to where he saw the image, and wasn’t surprised to see it gone. It was just a lack of ramen, he told himself as he began to finish his second bowl.
“Don’t tell me you can barely finish up two bowls of ramen you loser,” a teasing voice said sliding into a stool besides him.
“I can so you bastard,” he growled at Sasuke who seemed to just appear out of nowhere, although he did invite the other ninja to the ramen stand earlier.
“Oh yeah prove it,” he taunted. Never one to turn down a challenge, Naruto stood up from his chair.
“Give me 5 more bowels of ramen!” Naruto screamed, then he realized what was happening and allowed a small smile to cross his lips. Leave it to Sasuke to get Naruto out of his depressive mood with a challenge. He smiled as he glanced over at the other boy who was talking to the owner, ordering his own bowl of ramen.
‘Thank you bastard’ he mentally thought as he dug into the piping hot bowl of ramen that was placed in front of him.
~~~~~~~~~~~~
The rain was falling onto his head, yet he didn’t care in the least, all he could do was stare at the memorial stone that had been here for longer than he has been alive. Moving slowly towards the stone he traced one of the many names that adorned the object, a name that he had became familiar with a long time ago.
“Hello again old friend,” the voice was sad and low, barely audible over the sound the rain was making. “Sorry I haven’t been to visit you lately, but things have been a little more hectic than usual for me.” He stopped tracing the name and placed his hand back into his pants pocket.
“Remember how when we were kids we always said we’d start a family sometime before we died?” he asked the cold stone, pausing for a few seconds as if the person he was talking to was going to answer him. “I was a few months from starting one.” The voice was cold and hinted at a great loss.
“I guess I should start at the beginning ey?” he looked away from the stone to the stormy sky above him.
“Remember a little more then ago when-,” a loud boom sounded as he said the name, effectively concealing it from any listeners that would have happened to be in range. “Went on that mission and never came back?” He looked back to the stone waiting for an answer that would never come. “Well after that I met Saya.”
Kakashi brought a hand up to his face wiping off the water droplets that were getting in his eye before continuing, “She was something else you know? Smart, talented and other things I can’t even begin to describe.” He smiled at his own memory. “We dated for a few months before she broke up with me suddenly. I thought it was going to be the usual excuse you’re a ninja and I can’t stand knowing that you might be walking out the door for the last time.” He shook his head and chuckled darkly. “In a way I wish that was the reason. A month later she came and told me she was pregnant.” He waved a hand at the stone. “Yeah, yeah I know your laughing your ass off at me. Trust me I think I was more terrified of being a father than anything else in my life.”
He turned away from the stone looking towards the graveyard and sighing.
“Do you know why I said was?” He turned to look at the memorial stone again. “She died last Sunday from pregnancy complications. Two months before my child was to be born.”
The silver hair man laughed, which sounded hollow even to his own ears.
“Everyone I care about dies; you’d think I’d learn that lesson by now. You, Sensei, Rin-” thunder roared taking a name that no one could even began decipher. Kakashi continued on as if the thunder did no such thing. “You guys all faded away and left me alone here in this world. Even my unborn child died before I could even get a chance to know and see him. It was said that is was supposed to be a boy.” He looked up to the sky feeling the raindrops fall down his face like tears.
“I would have made a lousy father anyway,” his shoulders began to shake. “I mean look who my father is -- a disgrace of a ninja who didn’t even die with his honor intact. He didn’t care that he had a son, all he could care about was his honor.” Turning to face the hokage monument he looked at the face of the 4th.
“You know you were more like a father to me than my own, Sensei? Even though we didn’t even have that much time left when you were still in this world. You becoming Hokage and me joining ANBU... There are so many things wrong with growing up too fast even during a time of war. I almost wish I could go back and live out my childhood not as a Genius but just as a kid.” He turned back to face the memorial stone.
“If I could go back in time there are a lot more things I’d change than that, like your death Obito or Rin leaving, even- ” another crash of thunder over that name as if the sky it’s self wanted to silence it. “-leaving on that mission. The worse part is they never knew how I felt. All we did was argue, although after he left things looked up for me for a little bit.” He grinned through his mask.
“Did I ever tell you I love the rain,Obito?” he reached a hand up to brush the water out of his eyes. “The sky cries for me when I should but can’t.” He turned towards the graveyard and began walking slowly, mentally preparing what he was going to say to Saya and his unborn child.
~~~~~~
The Hokage’s assistant fled from the room as soon as she handed over the folder, knowing what kind of reaction those sheets of paper inside would invoke.
The blonde haired woman looked at the door where her ran out of in a confused manner before she looked into the black folder. Eyes roamed over the pages, going through reports from a shinobi she had sent to do surveillance in Water Country. She looked at the last paper and her eyes widened.
Picking up the folder she threw it across the room and let out an angry growl. Papers scattered everywhere, yet one paper floated on top of the desk stating MIA in vivid red letters. She picked up the paper from her desk and tore it into several pieces before tossing them up in the air. Everything was going so well for Ken as he was able to visit most of the villages there without any problems. What could have happened to him? His contact said he hadn’t reported back in a week.
“How many is that now?” she questioned herself as she knew this wasn’t the only time her ninja went on a one way surveillance mission to Water never to came back. It all started a little over a year ago when she first sent Iruka and his team on a mission there. Surveillance wasn’t supposed to be that hard -- a C to B ranked mission of ninja that she put together herself and knew was more than capable of completing.
A fist came down on the desk almost hard enough to crack the wood and she growled again. What was wrong with Water? Was Mist planning an attack on one of the other hidden villages? Was Konoha a challenge to them? Were they planning something big that they had put a lock down on the whole country?
“No that would make no sense, Ken checked out most of the Villages in that country and saw nothing to show a planned attack on anyone, although none of those other villages has any shinobi power.”
“I must be missing something.” She said softly as she opened a draw with 10 other folders all stamped with a red MIA across the first page. Opening each folder she took some time to survey how they all went missing in action and found out each of them had one thing in common -- all were planning to go to Mist.
“Does Mist have a hit out on anyone from the mainland?” she shook her head as she remembered that several families over the past year have went there safely for vacation and back without any problems what so ever.
“Even if they did why would they? They have their own problems and chose to keep themselves isolated as much as possible.” She walked to a window and looked outside at Konoha. She knew that she needed answers and she needed them quickly if Mist was planning on attacking this village she wanted them to be as ready as possible.
“But how can I get my men over there when most ninja that went there have disappeared?” she ran a hand through her blonde hair and looked at the calendar.
“Winter Solstice is coming up and Mist seems to allow any and all visitors to visit them all that week.” She said thinking back to the time when she used to travel and sighed. She missed her responsibility free lifestyle.
“Shizune!” she called out. A few seconds later her dark haired assistant came into the room shaking a little as if she knew Tsunade might still be mad at the information she brought her.
“Go get the brat and tell him I have a mission for him, also get-” she said two other names and watched her assistant nod and leave again going to deliver her message to a messenger.
She looked towards the desk and pulled out a folder that was the first in the ever growing pile. “Was your team the first victim of Mist’s hitman? She put it back away and opened another draw with alcohol in it. She poured herself a cup and sighed. The life of a Hokage was stressful.
Changing Tides: Chapter 2
Changing Tides : Prologue
Changing Tides
Chapter 1: Fragile Minds
The man slowly stood up from his chair and walked to the window overlooking the village. He was somewhat amazed at how much the village had changed over the past year and allowed a slight smile; maybe it was because something good happened to him within the past year.
A little more then a year ago he was ready to rip the spines out of two doctors at the hospital for treating a ninja not from this village, but when they gave him the blood work he decided to spare them his wrath. The blood work they have given to him was proof that his lineage wouldn’t be severed when he died and for that he was glad. His family always chose to pass this village down to one another due to their blood limit and going out of that tradition might have put a strain on the village its self. He knew that his own personal child wouldn’t be taking his place since his own wife and children were assassinated several years ago, him having a child now wouldn’t change the fact that if something happened to him the village would fall into hands other then their own. He could have sworn that he would have been the last to actually inherit this duty.
He moved back towards his desk and reached into the bottom drawer where he pulled out a rumpled letter that looked as if it was more than a decade old. He scanned through the letter quickly - he’d memorized the words that his older sibling had written him from wherever she was. It was just a letter to say that he was an uncle and that he would never be able to see his nephew.
He scowled at the letter before folding it back up and tossing it into the drawer carelessly. He was as usual upset by the words written on the piece of paper, but he had to smile at how fate always found a way to help out those in need. His family’s blood was tied to this village and his sister knew that even before she ran away.
He sat back down in his chair and leaned back as he looked up at the ceiling of his office. He couldn’t blame his sister though; so much was pushed onto her since her birth several minutes before him. The graduation exam when she was at school drove her to leaving the country as fast as she could even if she was only twelve years old and marked by their father to take his place. His back ached painfully as he recalled how a year after she had left he was branded by the same mark she would carry to her grave. He had a fleeting thought of his younger sister and wondered if she was doing okay. He knew she was married and left the village shortly after with her poor husband, not intending to have anything to do with her family again.
Leaning forward in his chair he called out in a firm voice, “Yoshi!” a second later a man appeared shaking slightly. He knew that he had a legendary temper but as of late his pride in having a nephew to teach and hand down Kiriga had made him happier than he cared to admit.
“Yes Lord Mizukage?” The quiver in the young blonde’s voice was audible even to the deaf and the older man laughed internally that he could still terrify people even when calm.
“Go get Aikido, tell him it’s time to train.” The Kage looked at the wall and saw that it was half past one and he should be teaching his nephew.
“Yes Sir!” Yoshi said and in a flurry of water he disappeared. The Mizukage stood up and looked outside the window again. Yes he had to train his nephew who knew nothing about his past, but still showed the blood limit of his clan. The man crossed his arm over his chest as he looked to the farthest reaches of the village. Everything would reside with Aikido and he hoped that nothing would happen to the last member of his family.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
A young looking man was gazing into one of the many streams that ran in and out of the village. The clear blue stream was abuzz with fish jumping in and out and the man smiled at the simple act before returning his gaze back into the stream.
He had killed another person from that Village and they called him by that name again.
Placing his hand into the stream he let a bit of chakra flow through his fingertips and his blood limit froze the water for a second before allowing it to thaw again instantly. His memories seemed to be coming back after encountering that person, but it wasn’t much.
He hated the fact that he couldn’t remember anything and hated the fact that poison did this to him. Shortly after waking up the doctors told him he might never be able to get his memories back. They were coming back, but nothing that he could really grasp on to.
He sent more chakra into the stream, this time completely covering the top area of the entire stream with a thin sheet of ice. His mind went over the possibilities: Either his uncle was lying to him or this village wanted to turn him against his own. Unfreezing the water again, he withdrew his hand, this time the water followed him through the force of his will and he watched as it hovered in a sphere a few inches above his hand.
‘Would my uncle lie to me?’ he thought to himself as he allowed the ball of water to reshape into a weapon and freeze before bending it back into a ball hovering a few inches above his hand. Was the man even his real uncle? He’d only told him about a month after he woke up in the hospital. He knew that blood limits weren’t something that could just be given out carelessly and tended to run only through family members’ blood. There were times when he could see a resemblance between them such as how quickly they both were to anger and how they both were more perceptive then people gave them credit for.
Letting the ball of water fall back into the stream he closed his eyes as he took a deep breath and tried to look into his memories and saw nothing but darkness surrounding him. Trying harder to force every piece of his being into remembering he felt his ties to reality slip away into nothingness as he got lost in his day dream.
He was surrounded by fire -- everyone around was screaming and panicking as a giant nine tailed fox ran through the village, destroying everything in its path. He jumped back as the building next to him exploded and felt relief as a tall woman ran to him and hugged him. She was crying and mouthing words that he couldn’t hear no matter how hard he strained his ears. She pushed him into a pair of arms that belonged someone that looked about his age before he was pulled away, her eyes sad the entire time. He couldn’t hear anything and he tried to pull himself away and run back to her but the grip on his arm was as firm as steel. The only thing he could make out was as soft as a passing breeze before she turned away her braid flowing in the wind.
“I Love you.”
“Aikido!” the voice sounded distant and didn’t seem to belong in the world he was currently in.
“Aikido!” The voice was louder than he would have preferred and the world of his memories seemed to be breaking; the fire was phasing in and out as he was roused out of his dream.
“Aikido.” The voice was close and he felt a hand on his shoulder before his eyes snapped opened instantly, he made an arch with his right hand while grabbing the arm that touched him with his left hand and flipping Yoshi onto the floor in front of him. The water from the stream came at his call spiraling around his left hand before solidifying and forming a wicked looking blade of ice. Bringing it to Yoshi’s neck he growled. The look in his eyes was a bit insane as if he was high or coming off of one.
Yoshi gulped as he felt the blade began to bite into his skin and instantly regretted not waiting until the man was done with whatever he was doing before interrupting him. He let out a whimper and thought of how quickly his life would end just because he was delivering a message.
Aikido blinked a few times letting his foggy mind bring him back to the current world and he saw Yoshi looking at him terrified. He threw the ice weapon back and heard a splash as it deformed back into water and fell into the stream that he was gazing at so intently a while ago.
“What do you want” Aikido said voice almost as cold as the weapon he wielded a few seconds ago. He brushed the dirt of his pants and glared at blonde.
“I just came to tell you that the Mizukage said that it was time to train,” he gulped and stood slowly to his feet, taking a few cautious steps back slowly so as not to piss off the dark haired man who almost killed him without a second thought.
Aikido said nothing as picked up a coat Yoshi knew was not there moments before and headed to the center of the village. Sometimes the Mizukage and Aikido were so alike that it scared him. He just hoped none of their anger was ever directed at him.
The blonde gulped before he left going back to the mission room where he was needed.
~~~~~~
Revenge was a vicious cycle -- everyone knew that and to avenge someone was to have someone come after you when you least expected it. Sasuke was an avenger due to his brother killing every member of his family and leaving him alive. He swore with every fiber of his being to be the one to destroy his brother; that was his life’s goal.
Aiming high and fighting for perfection throughout his academy days and showing dedication that Konoha hadn’t seen since his brother. Lusting for power and deserting Konoha just so he could gain more power to defeat Itachi and finally succeeding in his goal a while ago. Instead of feeling ecstatic about it he felt even worse off. He deserted everyone he knew just for the sake of revenge and now he was left with nothing.
There was a down side to revenge no one ever talked about and that was this empty feeling. When all revenge is done, what do you have left? Sasuke had nothing but his name and even that wouldn’t get him anywhere. The once prestigious Uchiha name was worth nothing with the betrayal of not one but two of the last remaining clan members. Well one if you counted the fact that Itachi was no long alive. No other village would take him and he was forced to go back to where it all started: Konoha.
Of course, when you were once the highlight of the village as he was, it was shocking how he could no longer see the looks of admiration, jealously, and respect people used to gaze at him with. Those looks were all gone and all he saw was the scathing glares people directed at him since he set out to kill his brother. Some even went as far as to throw rocks at him, which he dodged them simply enough and nearly activated his Sharingan upon some of the attackers, but stopped himself from attacking when he saw that it was only kids that barely came up to his waist. He watched as they ran behind their mother as she shielded them as if he was going to attack them. He had to scoff at that thought, if he wanted them dead they would be dead and it was as simple as that.
The talk about him coming back to the village was an interesting one and the Hokage was close to executing him right when he appeared in her office. They came to an agreement, but he wouldn’t be doing any solo missions or have the trust of the villagers anytime soon.
He was glad that he could return to his home but frowned as he felt he was being tailed. He should have known that they were going to watch him constantly to make sure he wouldn’t leave the village and go missing again.
So here he sat in the middle of a dark room of the Uchiha compound, which had been ransacked and cleaned out of every single weapon, jutsu and everything dangerous that the Uchihas ever possessed. He didn’t care that much though, he had mastered everything that the scrolls contained long before he left and was grateful that they hadn’t take everything such as beds and clothing when they cleaned out the place.
Looking out the window he stood up and stretched for a few seconds before heading towards the door. Although everyone hated him the number one knuckle headed ninja of Konoha still valued him as a friend and he’d be a fool to throw that friendship away again.
Walking outside he put on his best passive mask and headed to the ramen stand. Rain drizzled lightly, but he didn’t increase his leisurely pace - he needed time to think before he reached his destination.
The two constant chakra signatures of his guards following him never wavered.
~~~~~~~
Eating ramen has always been one of Naruto’s best ways to gain nutrition and to pass time, but since everything that had happened lately; he couldn’t find enjoyment in the taste of his favorite food as much as before.
When he had come back to Konoha after his long time away, the first thing he did was run to his favorite ex-sensei’s house, expecting him to be home. He knocked outside for several minutes, but he wasn’t there at all. Which was odd considering the man was usually predictable in his schedule. He snapped his fingers and turned to run into the mission room expecting him to be taking mission reports. He was in for a shock to find out that he wasn’t there but a fellow ninja quickly told him that his old sensei was away on a mission.
Days quickly turned to months and months turned into a year and he still saw no sign of his old sensei. One day when he was knocking on the door he was surprised to find not his sensei, but Anko coming out with a box of what looked like his stuff.
“Hey you what are you doing with Iruka-Sensei’s things!” he yelled loud enough to shake a few windows.
“Hey you quiet down!” she yelled just as loud before knocking him upside the head and laughing as he cried out in pain. She looked back at the apartment and back down at the boy.
“Iruka has been gone for a while now and they are going to start removing his stuff to make the apartment available for rent in a few weeks.” She sounded somewhat sad. “So instead of them tossing it out on the street I am going to take it to my place till he gets back.”
She muttered something to herself that he couldn’t make out before shoving him aside and descending down a flight of stairs leaving the boy standing there.
So here he sat a ramen stand not too long after that, wondering if and when his old sensei would come back. He could feel tears prickle at the back of his eyes at the thought of his old sensei not coming back at all.
He should be glad that Sasuke was back and to a sense he was but Sasuke wasn’t Iruka and he would never be able to replace the place the dark haired man had in his heart. He looked down and noticed that he was only on his second bowl of ramen while he would usually be on his 5th or 6th by now. Worried eyes of the owner looked at him and he grinned trying to hide the tears of someone who had just lost someone close to them. Iruka wasn’t dead. He wasn’t going to let his mind go through those depressing thoughts.
He looked to a stool next to him and could have sworn he saw a ghost of his teacher smiling at him from his own bowl of transparent ramen. A crash of thunder was heard and he jumped for a second, glancing outside to see a streak of lightning and seconds later another boom. He turned back to where he saw the image, and wasn’t surprised to see it gone. It was just a lack of ramen, he told himself as he began to finish his second bowl.
“Don’t tell me you can barely finish up two bowls of ramen you loser,” a teasing voice said sliding into a stool besides him.
“I can so you bastard,” he growled at Sasuke who seemed to just appear out of nowhere, although he did invite the other ninja to the ramen stand earlier.
“Oh yeah prove it,” he taunted. Never one to turn down a challenge, Naruto stood up from his chair.
“Give me 5 more bowels of ramen!” Naruto screamed, then he realized what was happening and allowed a small smile to cross his lips. Leave it to Sasuke to get Naruto out of his depressive mood with a challenge. He smiled as he glanced over at the other boy who was talking to the owner, ordering his own bowl of ramen.
‘Thank you bastard’ he mentally thought as he dug into the piping hot bowl of ramen that was placed in front of him.
~~~~~~~~~~~~
The rain was falling onto his head, yet he didn’t care in the least, all he could do was stare at the memorial stone that had been here for longer than he has been alive. Moving slowly towards the stone he traced one of the many names that adorned the object, a name that he had became familiar with a long time ago.
“Hello again old friend,” the voice was sad and low, barely audible over the sound the rain was making. “Sorry I haven’t been to visit you lately, but things have been a little more hectic than usual for me.” He stopped tracing the name and placed his hand back into his pants pocket.
“Remember how when we were kids we always said we’d start a family sometime before we died?” he asked the cold stone, pausing for a few seconds as if the person he was talking to was going to answer him. “I was a few months from starting one.” The voice was cold and hinted at a great loss.
“I guess I should start at the beginning ey?” he looked away from the stone to the stormy sky above him.
“Remember a little more then ago when-,” a loud boom sounded as he said the name, effectively concealing it from any listeners that would have happened to be in range. “Went on that mission and never came back?” He looked back to the stone waiting for an answer that would never come. “Well after that I met Saya.”
Kakashi brought a hand up to his face wiping off the water droplets that were getting in his eye before continuing, “She was something else you know? Smart, talented and other things I can’t even begin to describe.” He smiled at his own memory. “We dated for a few months before she broke up with me suddenly. I thought it was going to be the usual excuse you’re a ninja and I can’t stand knowing that you might be walking out the door for the last time.” He shook his head and chuckled darkly. “In a way I wish that was the reason. A month later she came and told me she was pregnant.” He waved a hand at the stone. “Yeah, yeah I know your laughing your ass off at me. Trust me I think I was more terrified of being a father than anything else in my life.”
He turned away from the stone looking towards the graveyard and sighing.
“Do you know why I said was?” He turned to look at the memorial stone again. “She died last Sunday from pregnancy complications. Two months before my child was to be born.”
The silver hair man laughed, which sounded hollow even to his own ears.
“Everyone I care about dies; you’d think I’d learn that lesson by now. You, Sensei, Rin-” thunder roared taking a name that no one could even began decipher. Kakashi continued on as if the thunder did no such thing. “You guys all faded away and left me alone here in this world. Even my unborn child died before I could even get a chance to know and see him. It was said that is was supposed to be a boy.” He looked up to the sky feeling the raindrops fall down his face like tears.
“I would have made a lousy father anyway,” his shoulders began to shake. “I mean look who my father is -- a disgrace of a ninja who didn’t even die with his honor intact. He didn’t care that he had a son, all he could care about was his honor.” Turning to face the hokage monument he looked at the face of the 4th.
“You know you were more like a father to me than my own, Sensei? Even though we didn’t even have that much time left when you were still in this world. You becoming Hokage and me joining ANBU... There are so many things wrong with growing up too fast even during a time of war. I almost wish I could go back and live out my childhood not as a Genius but just as a kid.” He turned back to face the memorial stone.
“If I could go back in time there are a lot more things I’d change than that, like your death Obito or Rin leaving, even- ” another crash of thunder over that name as if the sky it’s self wanted to silence it. “-leaving on that mission. The worse part is they never knew how I felt. All we did was argue, although after he left things looked up for me for a little bit.” He grinned through his mask.
“Did I ever tell you I love the rain,Obito?” he reached a hand up to brush the water out of his eyes. “The sky cries for me when I should but can’t.” He turned towards the graveyard and began walking slowly, mentally preparing what he was going to say to Saya and his unborn child.
~~~~~~
The Hokage’s assistant fled from the room as soon as she handed over the folder, knowing what kind of reaction those sheets of paper inside would invoke.
The blonde haired woman looked at the door where her ran out of in a confused manner before she looked into the black folder. Eyes roamed over the pages, going through reports from a shinobi she had sent to do surveillance in Water Country. She looked at the last paper and her eyes widened.
Picking up the folder she threw it across the room and let out an angry growl. Papers scattered everywhere, yet one paper floated on top of the desk stating MIA in vivid red letters. She picked up the paper from her desk and tore it into several pieces before tossing them up in the air. Everything was going so well for Ken as he was able to visit most of the villages there without any problems. What could have happened to him? His contact said he hadn’t reported back in a week.
“How many is that now?” she questioned herself as she knew this wasn’t the only time her ninja went on a one way surveillance mission to Water never to came back. It all started a little over a year ago when she first sent Iruka and his team on a mission there. Surveillance wasn’t supposed to be that hard -- a C to B ranked mission of ninja that she put together herself and knew was more than capable of completing.
A fist came down on the desk almost hard enough to crack the wood and she growled again. What was wrong with Water? Was Mist planning an attack on one of the other hidden villages? Was Konoha a challenge to them? Were they planning something big that they had put a lock down on the whole country?
“No that would make no sense, Ken checked out most of the Villages in that country and saw nothing to show a planned attack on anyone, although none of those other villages has any shinobi power.”
“I must be missing something.” She said softly as she opened a draw with 10 other folders all stamped with a red MIA across the first page. Opening each folder she took some time to survey how they all went missing in action and found out each of them had one thing in common -- all were planning to go to Mist.
“Does Mist have a hit out on anyone from the mainland?” she shook her head as she remembered that several families over the past year have went there safely for vacation and back without any problems what so ever.
“Even if they did why would they? They have their own problems and chose to keep themselves isolated as much as possible.” She walked to a window and looked outside at Konoha. She knew that she needed answers and she needed them quickly if Mist was planning on attacking this village she wanted them to be as ready as possible.
“But how can I get my men over there when most ninja that went there have disappeared?” she ran a hand through her blonde hair and looked at the calendar.
“Winter Solstice is coming up and Mist seems to allow any and all visitors to visit them all that week.” She said thinking back to the time when she used to travel and sighed. She missed her responsibility free lifestyle.
“Shizune!” she called out. A few seconds later her dark haired assistant came into the room shaking a little as if she knew Tsunade might still be mad at the information she brought her.
“Go get the brat and tell him I have a mission for him, also get-” she said two other names and watched her assistant nod and leave again going to deliver her message to a messenger.
She looked towards the desk and pulled out a folder that was the first in the ever growing pile. “Was your team the first victim of Mist’s hitman? She put it back away and opened another draw with alcohol in it. She poured herself a cup and sighed. The life of a Hokage was stressful.
Changing Tides: Chapter 2