Fanfic: The Woman Warrior; Chapter 4: Betrayal
Title: The Woman Warrior; Chapter 4: Betrayal
Author: meepers369
Pairing: Nejiten
Summary: AU. Being a woman warrior is not easy during times dominated by men. A retelling of Mulan.
Read the Previous Chapter | Backup on Fanfiction.net
...
To my surprise, shortly after my adventure at Lady Ino's, I was promoted along with a few other soldiers. Some were from famed families -- Naruto, the loud, but genuinely cheerful youth with unparalled amounts of raw power; Kiba, the quick-footed boy hailed as the number one tracker; and Shino, a mysterious youth who spoke little but held an impeccable record of success in his missions. There were a few others that I recognized but never spoke to, sent elsewhere before I could learn their names. Neji, naturally, was promoted, too. However, despite being in the camps much longer than I, Lee remained a mere foot soldier. I felt pained that I had a higher rank than he, but he seemed to take it all in stride. We still served together under Gai, so little seemed to change, but now I had the authority to command small groups of soldiers when it was required of me and attended strategy meetings with the other officers.
Shikamaru, who now appeared frequently, would grumpily shamble into these strategy meetings with hardly a smile for anyone. Kiba and Naruto would tease him with the easiness of an old friendship until he begin to show signs of a smirk. After a while, Asuma would harrumph everyone into silence. Then the meetings would begin, officiated by a grim Kakashi, who listened carefully to everyone's reports. He took into consideration everyone's thoughts, even the newly promoted rookies like me.
…
I often met up with Neji and Lee after the meetings to chat about what we learned. While Lee wasn't technically supposed to hear all the information, we included him anyway in our discussions. Lee often had wisdom that neither of us knew, coming from a commoner background unlike the two of us. (While I claimed orphanage, it was clear that neither of them believed me, though they never brought it up.) Neji, however, with his ever watching eyes, always had extra observations that gave our tactical meetings more meaning than numbers and geography. It was he who pointed out that those who were promoted had recently gone to the Nara castle to meet Lady Ino. I could tell that Lee didn't understand the implication as strongly as I, but it didn't matter. Neji saw that I understood. I felt silly thinking it had just been based on looks.
A few days after Shikamaru joined us, Neji made another observation that left Lee and I incredulous. "He's hiding something from us," muttered Neji. Lee and I looked at each other, confused. "The Lord Nara does not leave his post for months on end without the emperor's leave. He's a key strategist in our country, after all. You can be sure that he was away on some mission, and the results of the mission were bad enough that he isn't allowed to talk about it. See how grim he appears all the time." Thinking about it, I could see how frustrated Shikamaru always looked during tactical meetings, and his short retorts when called for his inputs. But that could be easily attributed to war itself.
Despite my and Lee's objections, Neji remained convinced there was something big that Shikamaru was not telling. "I just hope the information he is hiding is not disadvantageous to us all," said Neji ominously. Lee and I laughed nervously.
"I'm sure that's not the case, oh Neji! He must be sad to leave his home for so long. I hear he is quite fond of his deer," Lee joked. I laughed. But Neji remained stony-faced.
...
After our meetings, long marches, and camp activities, I would also visit Haruno's tent. I did not tell Lee and Neji of her secret, of course, but they knew of my friendship with her. Often, Naruto would charge in to the tent, too, chatting happily until Haruno got annoyed with his endless noise and kicked him out. On the times when it was just Haruno and I, she told me of her past, how she and Ino spent their childhood together, and how she knew Naruto so well. I learned that despite coming from the famous Uzumaki family, Naruto was rejected by their village thanks to some unnamed tragedy, but slowly worked his way into peoples' hearts with his easy smile and happy demeanor. "Naruto has always liked me," explained Haruno wryly, "So the idiot followed me here, to the battlefield." We often talked of the Legendary Tsunade, our hero, a lady renowned for her medical knowledge and battle prowess. She told me of her difficulty in coming to the battlefield, and her reasons for being a man.
Her hands looked as though they were once dainty. They were soiled by dirt and blood now. I could tell through our conversations that she hid a major part of her life from me, but I understood. We both had our secrets.
…
The new promotions had come not a moment too soon. Only a week after, a harried messenger ran into our camp, white-faced from shock and exertion. He found Kakashi and Shikamaru, and barely managed to stay up when giving his report. "Sir!" he bowed at Kakashi and Shikamaru. Asuma and Gai immediately stood to join them. "It's as Lord Shikamaru suspected. We've confirmed that Orochimaru is with the enemy." Everyone within hearing distance of the report started. Neji and I exchanged looks.
Kakashi motioned at the poor messenger and gestured at the officers. We quickly followed them into a nearby tent. The messenger sat down, gratefully accepting a canteen of water from Gai.
"Six nights ago, Genma from the 8th located an enemy encampment by the Northern River. It was larger than previous ones that we've heard of. Unlike before, they appeared to be a mix of the northwest tribes and the northern horsemen. He stayed with them for two nights, trying to get an accurate count and learn their movements. However, on the second night, from the commander's camp he saw Orochimaru emerge. It appeared that he was giving instruction to both the northwest tribe leaders and the horsemen tribes. So Genma ran back to the emperor immediately to report this development." The messenger took another long swig of the canteen, then looked apologetically at Shikamaru. "The emperor has sent messengers to all the camps to alert them of this news. He also has a special message for Lord Shikamaru: He says 'I am sorry for not believing your report and I apologize for calling you a liar in the heat of the moment. You are no longer bound to secrecy. I beg you, on behalf of the country, to help us overcome this threat. China is all ears.'"
We all turned to look at Shikamaru, who scowled. "Looks like it took a report from his personal spy to believe me. The old man is letting his old emotions interfere with his thinking way too much." We all waited for his response. He sighed. "Well of course I'll help, that's why I came to the battlefield, is it not?"
While Shikamaru and Kakashi didn't looked too shocked at this report, the rest of us were. This indeed was terrible news. Lord Orochimaru had been a foremost General in our previous war, along with the legendary Jiraiya. The two had both been apprentices of the current emperor. Unfortunately, Orochimaru was also found slipping state secrets to a (thankfully unthreatening) neighboring country. Normally the punishment for a spy was death, but the emperor could not bear to give the command against his former student. So in a moment of weakness, he let Orochimaru go, though banished from China. It was rumored that Orochimaru took refugee in the northwest mountains.
Previously, there were small encounters with the northern horsemen who tried to push against our cities. So far we had been able to defend against their attacks, thanks to the strongholds at the borders. Now, the enemy was someone who intimately knew us. Few doubted that Orochimaru would happily give away our carefully hidden weaknesses.
"Well, don't look so grim, everyone," drawled Kakashi in a calm voice. "We haven't been training you for nothing." With a nod to Shikamaru, Kakashi continued. "Our new officers should be ready enough to handle this threat, right?"
With that statement, the rookie officers shifted. The playfulness usually found in Naruto and Kiba were gone. Both were grinning hard, angry smiles. Shino and Neji had equally cold and haughty stares. "We are ready," said Neji. "No need to doubt us." Asuma, Gai, and even Kakashi smiled in approval.
"Good. We'll count on it. Now shut up and listen to what Shikamaru tells you to do."
…
Neji was struggling to hide a smile when Lee praised him. "I cannot believe it! How did you know? How did you see! That's amazing! Neji! You're amazing!" We laughed at his exaggerated movements, a rare act of merriment despite the grim mood.
The conversation, however, soon turned serious. Lee and I tossed around a few strategies while Neji listened. Lee's were usually quite haphazard, with huge charges at the enemy with lots of YOUTH and ENERGY. Neji would shake his head, and said no. Just no.
My ideas were far more direct -- we needed to find Orochimaru, and kill this head of the snake. Neji also shook his head.
"We don't have enough information. Information is key to this war." Neji again looked grim. "Frankly, I'm surprised we have so little of it. Right now, we are nearly blind. Lord Nara's spy network is famed for its extensiveness and reliability. Usually he would have much more information at his disposal." Lee and I digested this remark.
"Perhaps someone has broken it," I whispered. Neji nodded in assent. This time, there was no exuberant denial from Lee, for it seems he had come to the same conclusion.
…
We pitched a semi-permanent camp next to a middling village for a couple of days while Shikamaru dove into maps and awaited further reports. Kakashi, Asuma, and some other men I didn't recognize joined him in this planning. This left the newly promoted officers in charge of overseeing the regular foot soldiers, while Gai oversaw us. His enthusiastic training sessions left us all breathless and too exhausted to dwell on the shadow of Orochimaru's betrayal.
One night, as we were settling by the campfire before retiring to bed, a letter came for Shikamaru from a couple of giggling girls from the village. "Lord Shikamaru, it's been so long!" They fawned over him until he was red with embarrassment, while the entire camp looked on with undisguised interest. Despite being banned from doing so, some soldiers had snuck into the nearby village at night. Those same men now murmured whispered recognition of these girls from a main pleasurehouse in town. As the girls left, they waved flirtatiously to the men in the camp with winks and feigned sighs. Teasing immediately ensued from Kiba and Naruto, until Shikamaru angrily waved them off to read his letter.
"Ah. It's from Ino." Shikamaru announced this with disgust. "Of course she would chose the most embarrassing way to deliver this to me." Shikamaru held the letter glumly in his hands, as if fearing its contents. He sighed, and tore it open. Most people had returned to their own activities by then, but I was still watching him as he scanned the contents. Beside me, I could also see Neji's watchful eyes on the tactical genius. Upon finishing the letter, Shikamaru turned a deathly white. He sat, brooding for a while, then in a fit of seeming anger, threw the letter into the fire.
"Marital issues?" drawled Kakashi, who was watching Shikamaru with interest. Neji and I leaned forward to pay close attention to this conversation.
Shikamaru snapped out of his stupor, and turned to Kakashi. "Ino has informed me that she has spent the last few days renovating our castle and as a good wife is reporting all the expenses. Northwest wing: 250 each for our 10 rooms. Eastern wing, riverside: 6,220 total. Western "Desert" wing, 100 in 20 installments. Main wing, 18,100, though a few thousand might be diverted for another task. Nice and precise numbers, the last one." Shikamaru's voice was dripping with sarcasm throughout his recital. I was amazed, though not shocked, that he had already committed the contents of the letter to memory.
"She also complains that no one is around to help because quite a few servants decided to take an unannounced vacation, and begs for me to hire more. The blasted woman! Please excuse me," he muttered as he stalked back into his tent with his maps. Kakashi and Asuma looked thoughtful at this news, then also followed Shikamaru into the tent. I threw Neji a puzzled look. He shrugged in response. The campfire soon quieted afterwards.
…
Early next morning, before the camp rose, Kakashi gathered the officers. He and Shikamaru had a grimmer look on their faces than ever before. Even the usually jolly Asuma was unsmiling.
"I've received word on enemy numbers," Shikamaru announced. "Around 2,500 from the northwest tribes are moving in, traveling in ten packs. Around 6,220 were also spotted by the eastern edge of the river. They have joined approximately 2,000 desert riders. Furthermore, a main group of 18,100 men have cleared the border, traveling to or have already occupied our most northern forts."
We all stared at him, dumbfounded. I also realized that the numbers were the same as the figures from Ino's supposed renovation. Neji's eyes met mine, and I knew we had both came to the same conclusion.
"It's clear that with Orochimaru leading them, they are becoming bolder, and are aiming for our strongholds. Here are the places they have captured according to the latest report, and as you can see, they are moving much faster than we previously thought."
"What an understatement!" exclaimed Kiba. We were all staring in horror at the latest marks Shikamaru had made on the map. The previous day, the dots of our enemy were leagues away. Today, they were less than two weeks' march from us. Shikamaru sighed tiredly.
"I apologize for the tardiness of this information." We started at these strange words from Shikamaru. He had the blackest expression yet. "Along with these numbers, it has come to my attention to several of my most trusted spies have disappeared. Definitely the work of our enemy." Shikamaru sighed again. "For me, this information is more devastating than knowing the pure numbers. War is won with information, not just brute power. Even worse, this information is likely a day or two old, since the method that it came by to me was distinctly irregular."
We all stood quietly, digesting this new information. Everyone looked beyond shocked by the new information. I quickly totaled the numbers in my head, and came to the sickening conclusion that while our main force may outnumber them, our troops were far too scattered if they attacked with their combined forces. I thought about our divisions in the north, and wondered if they could hold up against the coming turmoil. I glanced at Neji again. He was deep in thought, his frown a fraction lower than normal. Seeing the storm in his eyes somehow frightened me more than the numbers Shikamaru had reported.
A loud voice broke the silence. "Well, what are we waiting for? It seems like we need to move quickly!" cried Naruto. "You have a plan, right?"
The tension defused. Shikamaru grinned. "Of course. Who do you take me for?"
…
Unfortunately, Shikamaru's plan was not to be. It seemed that even for a tactical genius like him, we had underestimated the enemy greatly. As we were making preparations, a second harried messenger stumbled into our camp. He found Shikamaru and Kakashi, and dropped into a low bow.
"My lord!" he cried, panic in his voice. "Shimura Castle has fallen!" Our attentions snapped at the words. Shimura Castle and its surrounding village was the biggest fort in the northeast. They had fought back against the brunt of the skirmishes, but the main enemy body we heard from the detail should have been at least a week away. "Kurama was leading the 5th and 6th. They managed to get the villagers to safety, but the general...he died bravely, as any general of our country would be proud to die." Here he paused, as we took in news. Shikamaru tried to get the messenger to stand, but he refused, shaking his head frantically.
"And I'll swear on this -- I swear my life on this, my lord! You know my eyes, and how I do not fail to recognize anyone!" He clutched at Shikamaru's sleeves in emphasis. "I swear what I saw -- I saw that the attack was lead by none other but Lord Sasuke!"
I didn't recognize the name, but it was clear that others did. Shino and Shikamaru's faces darkened; Kiba growled softly. Naruto's reaction was not as subdued. He jumped up and yelled loudly in disbelief. "SASUKE? ARE YOU INSANE? ARE YOU SAYING HE JOINED WITH OROCHIMARU?"
"Naruto! I trust my men, as should you," Shikamaru spoke angrily. Naruto quieted at his reprimand, but resentment remained on his face. Shikamaru stood, drawing his messenger with him. "You have done well. Go rest."
…
I found Kiba with Shino, talking softly amongst themselves. It always surprised me to see the expressionless Shino talk so fluidly with the loud Kiba. When I approached, they stopped their conversation and turned towards me with nods of acknowledgement.
"Who is Sasuke?" I asked Kiba. He grimaced.
"He was a boy our year, from the Uchiha family. You heard of them, yes?"
"Only as a family of great renown. They were slaughtered."
"That's right. The great Uchihas, killed off by one of their own child geniuses, who killed himself afterwards. The only survivor was Sasuke, spared for some odd reason." Kiba paused slightly, as if unsure how to continue the story. "I met him a few times. The one who knows him best, of course, is Naruto. Both orphans, basically lived with each other. They were rivals and best friends in a weird sense. He was fiercely intelligent, a mean fighters, and almost as quiet as my man Shino here." Kiba gave Shino a toothy grin. Shino naturally didn't respond, but Kiba laughed anyway.
"Never liked him really back then; he seemed too moody, a little ruthless, and uncaring. I don't know how Naruto got along with him, especially since every time he talked it seemed like he was trying to put Naruto down!" Kiba shook his head. "He also had nearly as many admirers as you can imagine someone oh-so-handsome and wealthy could be. Kind of like Lord Neji there." Kiba grinned at me. I felt myself turn slightly towards Neji's direction, and Kiba laughed again.
"So one day. Sasuke just ups and leaves the village without a word to anyone; next day Naruto is freaking out and asking everyone if they'd seen him. No news." Kiba shrugged for effect. "As far as I know, that's the whole reason Naruto came to the army in the first place. Free travel around to search for the guy." With that, Kiba ended the story, leaving me more questions than answers.
…
Neji and I chatted with Lee after the camp had returned to semi-normalcy. He confirmed what Kiba told me about Sasuke. The Hyuugas and the Uchihas had a connection of sorts until the tragedy, it seemed. It was the first time that Neji spoke of his family. I wanted to know more about this childhood he kept from us, but he continued on about Sasuke in a low murmur. "I also heard that the reason the Uchiha boy left was because of a nasty rumor. It became known years after the fact that the emperor himself either ordered or endorsed the slaughter of the Uchihas. The youngster who killed his family was only acting on orders. Sasuke was spared because he was the killer's younger brother." Lee and I looked at each other in horror.
"This is much worse than you can imagine," continued Neji. "Orochimaru hasn't been in China for a while. But Sasuke knows fresh and intimate details about us all. I know for certain that he's been on the Hyuuga complex many times, and there's little doubt he's visited homes of other nobles, too." Neji paused, lapsing into a pained silence. Lee and I exchanged glances, but there was little to be said.
"Hyuuga Manor is not far from Shimura Castle," murmured Neji softly, painfully. "Lord Nara would be a fool not to see that. Nevetheless, I am going to see him, just in case."
With that, Neji left us. I watched his uncharacteristically slow, pondering steps as he walked away, wishing with all my heart that I could be given a chance to help him.
...
I visited Haruno after. Naruto had just left, muttering apologies to me as he almost trampled into me. Haruno looked like she was about to cry. Her voice when speaking to me, though, was quite even.
"I assume you heard the story about Sasuke?" she asked. I nodded. Haruno sighed. "Well, I'm the other part. I apologize for keeping this from you. Just not something I wanted to talk about, ever." I nodded again, hoping it seemed sympathetic. Haruno smiled sadly. "I loved Sasuke, and couldn't stand the idea of waiting for news from Naruto while he was galvanizing around China searching for Sasuke. So I decided to join the military, too." Haruno lowered her head sadly. "And now it seems we've found him, in a place that cannot be reached."
I put a comforting hand on Haruno's hand. "Take heart. It might not have been him. You don't know for sure." Haruno shook her head.
"Just as I idolized Tsunade and Naruto admired Jiraiya, Sasuke was always interested in Orochimaru when we were children. It would not surprise me at all if he went to find him." Haruno paused. "What I tell you is confidential but it's important to understand. Sasuke left because a rumor reached him saying that the emperor had ordered the slaughter of his family. How could he stay after hearing such a thing? So it makes perfect sense for him to seek the destruction of the man who destroyed him." Haruno put her face in her hands. "And it seems he has left no happy feelings for us."
I stood silent in the tent for a while, then left quietly, leaving Haruno to her thoughts. What could I say? The love of her life was now a dangerous traitor. If confirmed as the dangerous criminal, he would be second, maybe even the number one enemy.
Author: meepers369
Pairing: Nejiten
Summary: AU. Being a woman warrior is not easy during times dominated by men. A retelling of Mulan.
Read the Previous Chapter | Backup on Fanfiction.net
...
To my surprise, shortly after my adventure at Lady Ino's, I was promoted along with a few other soldiers. Some were from famed families -- Naruto, the loud, but genuinely cheerful youth with unparalled amounts of raw power; Kiba, the quick-footed boy hailed as the number one tracker; and Shino, a mysterious youth who spoke little but held an impeccable record of success in his missions. There were a few others that I recognized but never spoke to, sent elsewhere before I could learn their names. Neji, naturally, was promoted, too. However, despite being in the camps much longer than I, Lee remained a mere foot soldier. I felt pained that I had a higher rank than he, but he seemed to take it all in stride. We still served together under Gai, so little seemed to change, but now I had the authority to command small groups of soldiers when it was required of me and attended strategy meetings with the other officers.
Shikamaru, who now appeared frequently, would grumpily shamble into these strategy meetings with hardly a smile for anyone. Kiba and Naruto would tease him with the easiness of an old friendship until he begin to show signs of a smirk. After a while, Asuma would harrumph everyone into silence. Then the meetings would begin, officiated by a grim Kakashi, who listened carefully to everyone's reports. He took into consideration everyone's thoughts, even the newly promoted rookies like me.
…
I often met up with Neji and Lee after the meetings to chat about what we learned. While Lee wasn't technically supposed to hear all the information, we included him anyway in our discussions. Lee often had wisdom that neither of us knew, coming from a commoner background unlike the two of us. (While I claimed orphanage, it was clear that neither of them believed me, though they never brought it up.) Neji, however, with his ever watching eyes, always had extra observations that gave our tactical meetings more meaning than numbers and geography. It was he who pointed out that those who were promoted had recently gone to the Nara castle to meet Lady Ino. I could tell that Lee didn't understand the implication as strongly as I, but it didn't matter. Neji saw that I understood. I felt silly thinking it had just been based on looks.
A few days after Shikamaru joined us, Neji made another observation that left Lee and I incredulous. "He's hiding something from us," muttered Neji. Lee and I looked at each other, confused. "The Lord Nara does not leave his post for months on end without the emperor's leave. He's a key strategist in our country, after all. You can be sure that he was away on some mission, and the results of the mission were bad enough that he isn't allowed to talk about it. See how grim he appears all the time." Thinking about it, I could see how frustrated Shikamaru always looked during tactical meetings, and his short retorts when called for his inputs. But that could be easily attributed to war itself.
Despite my and Lee's objections, Neji remained convinced there was something big that Shikamaru was not telling. "I just hope the information he is hiding is not disadvantageous to us all," said Neji ominously. Lee and I laughed nervously.
"I'm sure that's not the case, oh Neji! He must be sad to leave his home for so long. I hear he is quite fond of his deer," Lee joked. I laughed. But Neji remained stony-faced.
...
After our meetings, long marches, and camp activities, I would also visit Haruno's tent. I did not tell Lee and Neji of her secret, of course, but they knew of my friendship with her. Often, Naruto would charge in to the tent, too, chatting happily until Haruno got annoyed with his endless noise and kicked him out. On the times when it was just Haruno and I, she told me of her past, how she and Ino spent their childhood together, and how she knew Naruto so well. I learned that despite coming from the famous Uzumaki family, Naruto was rejected by their village thanks to some unnamed tragedy, but slowly worked his way into peoples' hearts with his easy smile and happy demeanor. "Naruto has always liked me," explained Haruno wryly, "So the idiot followed me here, to the battlefield." We often talked of the Legendary Tsunade, our hero, a lady renowned for her medical knowledge and battle prowess. She told me of her difficulty in coming to the battlefield, and her reasons for being a man.
Her hands looked as though they were once dainty. They were soiled by dirt and blood now. I could tell through our conversations that she hid a major part of her life from me, but I understood. We both had our secrets.
…
The new promotions had come not a moment too soon. Only a week after, a harried messenger ran into our camp, white-faced from shock and exertion. He found Kakashi and Shikamaru, and barely managed to stay up when giving his report. "Sir!" he bowed at Kakashi and Shikamaru. Asuma and Gai immediately stood to join them. "It's as Lord Shikamaru suspected. We've confirmed that Orochimaru is with the enemy." Everyone within hearing distance of the report started. Neji and I exchanged looks.
Kakashi motioned at the poor messenger and gestured at the officers. We quickly followed them into a nearby tent. The messenger sat down, gratefully accepting a canteen of water from Gai.
"Six nights ago, Genma from the 8th located an enemy encampment by the Northern River. It was larger than previous ones that we've heard of. Unlike before, they appeared to be a mix of the northwest tribes and the northern horsemen. He stayed with them for two nights, trying to get an accurate count and learn their movements. However, on the second night, from the commander's camp he saw Orochimaru emerge. It appeared that he was giving instruction to both the northwest tribe leaders and the horsemen tribes. So Genma ran back to the emperor immediately to report this development." The messenger took another long swig of the canteen, then looked apologetically at Shikamaru. "The emperor has sent messengers to all the camps to alert them of this news. He also has a special message for Lord Shikamaru: He says 'I am sorry for not believing your report and I apologize for calling you a liar in the heat of the moment. You are no longer bound to secrecy. I beg you, on behalf of the country, to help us overcome this threat. China is all ears.'"
We all turned to look at Shikamaru, who scowled. "Looks like it took a report from his personal spy to believe me. The old man is letting his old emotions interfere with his thinking way too much." We all waited for his response. He sighed. "Well of course I'll help, that's why I came to the battlefield, is it not?"
While Shikamaru and Kakashi didn't looked too shocked at this report, the rest of us were. This indeed was terrible news. Lord Orochimaru had been a foremost General in our previous war, along with the legendary Jiraiya. The two had both been apprentices of the current emperor. Unfortunately, Orochimaru was also found slipping state secrets to a (thankfully unthreatening) neighboring country. Normally the punishment for a spy was death, but the emperor could not bear to give the command against his former student. So in a moment of weakness, he let Orochimaru go, though banished from China. It was rumored that Orochimaru took refugee in the northwest mountains.
Previously, there were small encounters with the northern horsemen who tried to push against our cities. So far we had been able to defend against their attacks, thanks to the strongholds at the borders. Now, the enemy was someone who intimately knew us. Few doubted that Orochimaru would happily give away our carefully hidden weaknesses.
"Well, don't look so grim, everyone," drawled Kakashi in a calm voice. "We haven't been training you for nothing." With a nod to Shikamaru, Kakashi continued. "Our new officers should be ready enough to handle this threat, right?"
With that statement, the rookie officers shifted. The playfulness usually found in Naruto and Kiba were gone. Both were grinning hard, angry smiles. Shino and Neji had equally cold and haughty stares. "We are ready," said Neji. "No need to doubt us." Asuma, Gai, and even Kakashi smiled in approval.
"Good. We'll count on it. Now shut up and listen to what Shikamaru tells you to do."
…
Neji was struggling to hide a smile when Lee praised him. "I cannot believe it! How did you know? How did you see! That's amazing! Neji! You're amazing!" We laughed at his exaggerated movements, a rare act of merriment despite the grim mood.
The conversation, however, soon turned serious. Lee and I tossed around a few strategies while Neji listened. Lee's were usually quite haphazard, with huge charges at the enemy with lots of YOUTH and ENERGY. Neji would shake his head, and said no. Just no.
My ideas were far more direct -- we needed to find Orochimaru, and kill this head of the snake. Neji also shook his head.
"We don't have enough information. Information is key to this war." Neji again looked grim. "Frankly, I'm surprised we have so little of it. Right now, we are nearly blind. Lord Nara's spy network is famed for its extensiveness and reliability. Usually he would have much more information at his disposal." Lee and I digested this remark.
"Perhaps someone has broken it," I whispered. Neji nodded in assent. This time, there was no exuberant denial from Lee, for it seems he had come to the same conclusion.
…
We pitched a semi-permanent camp next to a middling village for a couple of days while Shikamaru dove into maps and awaited further reports. Kakashi, Asuma, and some other men I didn't recognize joined him in this planning. This left the newly promoted officers in charge of overseeing the regular foot soldiers, while Gai oversaw us. His enthusiastic training sessions left us all breathless and too exhausted to dwell on the shadow of Orochimaru's betrayal.
One night, as we were settling by the campfire before retiring to bed, a letter came for Shikamaru from a couple of giggling girls from the village. "Lord Shikamaru, it's been so long!" They fawned over him until he was red with embarrassment, while the entire camp looked on with undisguised interest. Despite being banned from doing so, some soldiers had snuck into the nearby village at night. Those same men now murmured whispered recognition of these girls from a main pleasurehouse in town. As the girls left, they waved flirtatiously to the men in the camp with winks and feigned sighs. Teasing immediately ensued from Kiba and Naruto, until Shikamaru angrily waved them off to read his letter.
"Ah. It's from Ino." Shikamaru announced this with disgust. "Of course she would chose the most embarrassing way to deliver this to me." Shikamaru held the letter glumly in his hands, as if fearing its contents. He sighed, and tore it open. Most people had returned to their own activities by then, but I was still watching him as he scanned the contents. Beside me, I could also see Neji's watchful eyes on the tactical genius. Upon finishing the letter, Shikamaru turned a deathly white. He sat, brooding for a while, then in a fit of seeming anger, threw the letter into the fire.
"Marital issues?" drawled Kakashi, who was watching Shikamaru with interest. Neji and I leaned forward to pay close attention to this conversation.
Shikamaru snapped out of his stupor, and turned to Kakashi. "Ino has informed me that she has spent the last few days renovating our castle and as a good wife is reporting all the expenses. Northwest wing: 250 each for our 10 rooms. Eastern wing, riverside: 6,220 total. Western "Desert" wing, 100 in 20 installments. Main wing, 18,100, though a few thousand might be diverted for another task. Nice and precise numbers, the last one." Shikamaru's voice was dripping with sarcasm throughout his recital. I was amazed, though not shocked, that he had already committed the contents of the letter to memory.
"She also complains that no one is around to help because quite a few servants decided to take an unannounced vacation, and begs for me to hire more. The blasted woman! Please excuse me," he muttered as he stalked back into his tent with his maps. Kakashi and Asuma looked thoughtful at this news, then also followed Shikamaru into the tent. I threw Neji a puzzled look. He shrugged in response. The campfire soon quieted afterwards.
…
Early next morning, before the camp rose, Kakashi gathered the officers. He and Shikamaru had a grimmer look on their faces than ever before. Even the usually jolly Asuma was unsmiling.
"I've received word on enemy numbers," Shikamaru announced. "Around 2,500 from the northwest tribes are moving in, traveling in ten packs. Around 6,220 were also spotted by the eastern edge of the river. They have joined approximately 2,000 desert riders. Furthermore, a main group of 18,100 men have cleared the border, traveling to or have already occupied our most northern forts."
We all stared at him, dumbfounded. I also realized that the numbers were the same as the figures from Ino's supposed renovation. Neji's eyes met mine, and I knew we had both came to the same conclusion.
"It's clear that with Orochimaru leading them, they are becoming bolder, and are aiming for our strongholds. Here are the places they have captured according to the latest report, and as you can see, they are moving much faster than we previously thought."
"What an understatement!" exclaimed Kiba. We were all staring in horror at the latest marks Shikamaru had made on the map. The previous day, the dots of our enemy were leagues away. Today, they were less than two weeks' march from us. Shikamaru sighed tiredly.
"I apologize for the tardiness of this information." We started at these strange words from Shikamaru. He had the blackest expression yet. "Along with these numbers, it has come to my attention to several of my most trusted spies have disappeared. Definitely the work of our enemy." Shikamaru sighed again. "For me, this information is more devastating than knowing the pure numbers. War is won with information, not just brute power. Even worse, this information is likely a day or two old, since the method that it came by to me was distinctly irregular."
We all stood quietly, digesting this new information. Everyone looked beyond shocked by the new information. I quickly totaled the numbers in my head, and came to the sickening conclusion that while our main force may outnumber them, our troops were far too scattered if they attacked with their combined forces. I thought about our divisions in the north, and wondered if they could hold up against the coming turmoil. I glanced at Neji again. He was deep in thought, his frown a fraction lower than normal. Seeing the storm in his eyes somehow frightened me more than the numbers Shikamaru had reported.
A loud voice broke the silence. "Well, what are we waiting for? It seems like we need to move quickly!" cried Naruto. "You have a plan, right?"
The tension defused. Shikamaru grinned. "Of course. Who do you take me for?"
…
Unfortunately, Shikamaru's plan was not to be. It seemed that even for a tactical genius like him, we had underestimated the enemy greatly. As we were making preparations, a second harried messenger stumbled into our camp. He found Shikamaru and Kakashi, and dropped into a low bow.
"My lord!" he cried, panic in his voice. "Shimura Castle has fallen!" Our attentions snapped at the words. Shimura Castle and its surrounding village was the biggest fort in the northeast. They had fought back against the brunt of the skirmishes, but the main enemy body we heard from the detail should have been at least a week away. "Kurama was leading the 5th and 6th. They managed to get the villagers to safety, but the general...he died bravely, as any general of our country would be proud to die." Here he paused, as we took in news. Shikamaru tried to get the messenger to stand, but he refused, shaking his head frantically.
"And I'll swear on this -- I swear my life on this, my lord! You know my eyes, and how I do not fail to recognize anyone!" He clutched at Shikamaru's sleeves in emphasis. "I swear what I saw -- I saw that the attack was lead by none other but Lord Sasuke!"
I didn't recognize the name, but it was clear that others did. Shino and Shikamaru's faces darkened; Kiba growled softly. Naruto's reaction was not as subdued. He jumped up and yelled loudly in disbelief. "SASUKE? ARE YOU INSANE? ARE YOU SAYING HE JOINED WITH OROCHIMARU?"
"Naruto! I trust my men, as should you," Shikamaru spoke angrily. Naruto quieted at his reprimand, but resentment remained on his face. Shikamaru stood, drawing his messenger with him. "You have done well. Go rest."
…
I found Kiba with Shino, talking softly amongst themselves. It always surprised me to see the expressionless Shino talk so fluidly with the loud Kiba. When I approached, they stopped their conversation and turned towards me with nods of acknowledgement.
"Who is Sasuke?" I asked Kiba. He grimaced.
"He was a boy our year, from the Uchiha family. You heard of them, yes?"
"Only as a family of great renown. They were slaughtered."
"That's right. The great Uchihas, killed off by one of their own child geniuses, who killed himself afterwards. The only survivor was Sasuke, spared for some odd reason." Kiba paused slightly, as if unsure how to continue the story. "I met him a few times. The one who knows him best, of course, is Naruto. Both orphans, basically lived with each other. They were rivals and best friends in a weird sense. He was fiercely intelligent, a mean fighters, and almost as quiet as my man Shino here." Kiba gave Shino a toothy grin. Shino naturally didn't respond, but Kiba laughed anyway.
"Never liked him really back then; he seemed too moody, a little ruthless, and uncaring. I don't know how Naruto got along with him, especially since every time he talked it seemed like he was trying to put Naruto down!" Kiba shook his head. "He also had nearly as many admirers as you can imagine someone oh-so-handsome and wealthy could be. Kind of like Lord Neji there." Kiba grinned at me. I felt myself turn slightly towards Neji's direction, and Kiba laughed again.
"So one day. Sasuke just ups and leaves the village without a word to anyone; next day Naruto is freaking out and asking everyone if they'd seen him. No news." Kiba shrugged for effect. "As far as I know, that's the whole reason Naruto came to the army in the first place. Free travel around to search for the guy." With that, Kiba ended the story, leaving me more questions than answers.
…
Neji and I chatted with Lee after the camp had returned to semi-normalcy. He confirmed what Kiba told me about Sasuke. The Hyuugas and the Uchihas had a connection of sorts until the tragedy, it seemed. It was the first time that Neji spoke of his family. I wanted to know more about this childhood he kept from us, but he continued on about Sasuke in a low murmur. "I also heard that the reason the Uchiha boy left was because of a nasty rumor. It became known years after the fact that the emperor himself either ordered or endorsed the slaughter of the Uchihas. The youngster who killed his family was only acting on orders. Sasuke was spared because he was the killer's younger brother." Lee and I looked at each other in horror.
"This is much worse than you can imagine," continued Neji. "Orochimaru hasn't been in China for a while. But Sasuke knows fresh and intimate details about us all. I know for certain that he's been on the Hyuuga complex many times, and there's little doubt he's visited homes of other nobles, too." Neji paused, lapsing into a pained silence. Lee and I exchanged glances, but there was little to be said.
"Hyuuga Manor is not far from Shimura Castle," murmured Neji softly, painfully. "Lord Nara would be a fool not to see that. Nevetheless, I am going to see him, just in case."
With that, Neji left us. I watched his uncharacteristically slow, pondering steps as he walked away, wishing with all my heart that I could be given a chance to help him.
...
I visited Haruno after. Naruto had just left, muttering apologies to me as he almost trampled into me. Haruno looked like she was about to cry. Her voice when speaking to me, though, was quite even.
"I assume you heard the story about Sasuke?" she asked. I nodded. Haruno sighed. "Well, I'm the other part. I apologize for keeping this from you. Just not something I wanted to talk about, ever." I nodded again, hoping it seemed sympathetic. Haruno smiled sadly. "I loved Sasuke, and couldn't stand the idea of waiting for news from Naruto while he was galvanizing around China searching for Sasuke. So I decided to join the military, too." Haruno lowered her head sadly. "And now it seems we've found him, in a place that cannot be reached."
I put a comforting hand on Haruno's hand. "Take heart. It might not have been him. You don't know for sure." Haruno shook her head.
"Just as I idolized Tsunade and Naruto admired Jiraiya, Sasuke was always interested in Orochimaru when we were children. It would not surprise me at all if he went to find him." Haruno paused. "What I tell you is confidential but it's important to understand. Sasuke left because a rumor reached him saying that the emperor had ordered the slaughter of his family. How could he stay after hearing such a thing? So it makes perfect sense for him to seek the destruction of the man who destroyed him." Haruno put her face in her hands. "And it seems he has left no happy feelings for us."
I stood silent in the tent for a while, then left quietly, leaving Haruno to her thoughts. What could I say? The love of her life was now a dangerous traitor. If confirmed as the dangerous criminal, he would be second, maybe even the number one enemy.