Naruto 1. Prologue: The Sacrifice

This is my first story on fan fiction and my first step towards becoming a writer on this site. Considering that I'm a rookie at this I ask that any criticisms be levelled and constructive so that I may improve my style of writing for the benefit of all.

I don't expect this work to become well received by all but I am simply writing what I consider to be good so I take any recommendations to become by better by all.

**Notice:**

Before you start reading this fic there are some things that need to be verified in advance:

This work has an OC (original character) set as the main character.

Sakura is not in this fic, its nothing personal but I simply couldn't find a way to fit her into this story.

Naruto is female and goes by the name of Nariko.

The storyline will gradually branch away from the actual manga storyline.

The OC character will be very "different" from normal shinobi.

Some of the character may seem OCC (out of character)

The Jutsu and terms are in Romaji though the translation is next to it

This story is told from multiple view points

If any of the above completely ruins a story for you then it is advised that you do not read it at all.

Disclaimer: I do not profit from this story and the rights to _Naruto _belongs to Masashi Kishimoto

**Naruto: Tale of Yin and Yang**

Prologue: The Sacrifice

Konohagakure no Sato _(the Village Hidden in the Leaves) _one of and considered by many to be the mightiest of the five great ninja villages. Many a talented shinobi has been produced by this village with the greatest believed to be Minato Namikaze the Fourth Hokage, Konoha's no Kiiroi Senko _(Yellow Flash of the Leaf), _and many times hero of the village.

Yet like all great heroes Minato carried a great responsibility to the village and must be willing to sacrifice everything to preserve the village's peace…

And that time seemed close. The village of Konoha was in deep turmoil and had suffered the most brutal of attacks, the mighty Kyuubi_ (nine tailed beast), _the greatest and most terrible of the nine Biju _(Tailed Beasts) _had appeared and laid siege to the village unexpectedly in the dead of night. Though the village was renown for its strength even the entire armada of shinobi and kunoichi were helpless before the near immortal demon, countless ninja had selflessly given their lives in an attempt to halt the Kyuubi's rampage but despite the villages best efforts, the demon advanced inexorably towards the village.

It seemed that all hope was lost when the Fourth Hokage finally showed himself, astride his mighty summon, Gamabunta, even the Kyuubi paused its relentless assault, but the Hokage, no matter how mighty, was still a mortal being and could not compete against such a foe, the only way to stop the rampant demon was to invoke the powers of an even greater entity; Shinigami _(Death God)._

But like all higher beings, a price would be demanded and there is only one thing of worth a God, especially a Death God, would see in a mortal…

* * *

With a sigh Minato gazed calmly at the snarling visage of the _Kyuubi, _he knew that this was the only way to stop the Biju was and was fully willing to pay the price, he only wished that others did not have to suffer for what he had to do.

Below him Gamabunta squatted warily eyeing the Kyuubi, he knew what Minato was going to do and what it would entail from his summoner and was saddened that he would lose a friend that night.

"Are you sure this is the only way?" Gamabunta spoke. Minato sighed and smiled sadly down at his summon "Bunta, you know as well as I that this is the only way to stop a Biju _(Tailed Beast)_, there is no alternative".

Gamabunta released a great breath. "Very well, do what you must, but I'm sorry that I could not be of any further help".

Minato nodded distractedly, all his concentration trained on the Kyuubi while gathering chakra for his technique.

Below them the shinobi of the leaf were tending to their wounded comrades, they all wanted to help but knew that they were of no use in this battle, all they could do was hope that the Yondaime _(Fourth Hokage) _could prevail in this battle as he has done so many other times.

Minato took a ragged breath when he finished the jutsu preparation, the only thing left to do was to release it but he hesitated, "_Is this truly the only way_" he thought "_Is there nothing else I could do_". Unfortunately in that moment of weakness the Kyuubi acted, gathering chakra into its massive jaws it fired its _Kyubiko Imari (Nine-Tailed Menacing Ball) _towards Gamabunta and Minato.

Minato barely reacted in time and frantically attempted to use a counter technique. "_Futon: Tsuisutashirudo (Wind Release: Twister Shield)", _a spiralling wall of air immediately materializes and blocks the _Kyubiko Imari (Nine-Tailed Menacing Ball). _Minato almost collapsed when he felt the force of the attack against his defence, never had he encountered such a potent technique, his shield would be overcome in only a few seconds, so, gritting his teeth, Minato began gathering chakra for a second defence.

Just as the shield of wind began to rupture Minato declared his jutsu _"Futon: Guretoenkyanpumento (Wind Release: Great Encampment)"_ a sphere of wind encompassed the _Kyubiko Imari _just as it detonated.

A massive explosion filled the forest straining against the seams of air that forced it back, although Minato and Gamabunta were caught in the attack the sphere of air successfully held the radius just short of the leaf shinobi.

With a gasp Minato crawled out of Gamabunta's mouth, Gamabunta had used his tongue to quickly grab Minato and pull him into his mouth seconds before they were engulfed by the blast of malevolent chakra, it was a wonder that he was still alive though he knew he would not last much longer, pain wracked his entire body and from the feel of his chest he had sustained multiple fractures and possibly bleeding internally, his outer body was in little better shape, one leg sank to the ground useless while his body was practically smothered in blood, both his own and Gamabunta's, and he could tell he was in danger of haemorrhaging to death.

A glance a Bunta told him that the Toad Boss also suffered near fatal wounds, Bunta's entire body was blackened and shrivelled from the explosion and it appeared that the blast had dealt severe internal damage to his body as well.

Forcing himself to look around he saw the true horror the Kyuubi's attack had dealt, the surrounding forest had been completely vaporised, there was not even a hint of dust left, and a massive crater had been punched into the ground were the attack had detonated.

Minato felt tears leaking from his eyes, all of this happened because he couldn't bring himself to finish the Kyuubi, he had considered his own life above the villages and here was the price. Bunta lay in the mud, likely dead and such irreparable damage had been wreaked on the land and he himself was likely to die, whether he used the kinjutsu _(Forbidden Technique) _or not, it would be so easy to just give in and die...

A sudden wave of evil chakra spurred the Yondaime from his dark thoughts, he was not dead yet and the Kyuubi had to be stopped, this was his final task and so Minato forced himself to stagger to his feet and saw the Kyuubi looming over the crater of its handiwork. Clasping his hands together Minato coldly gazed at the Kyuubi, it was time.

"Shiki Fujin!_ (Dead Demon Consuming Seal!)" _

* * *

The Kyuubi stared at the broken remains of toad and human, they were both alive which was surprising given that the _Kyubiko Imari _was one of its most devastating techniques it had in its arsenal, few could withstand its might.

It had no qualms against the village, it was simply bad luck that this was the chosen area, it was then when it noticed that the human had recovered to a degree, the Kyuubi wasn't worried as it was clear the human was going to die soon enough without its intervention. That was when the Kyuubi felt an odd ripple emanate from the human as though something had been summoned and that the summoning somehow distorted reality, like a stone dropped into water, the Kyuubi began to grow uneasy. Perhaps it was best it finished the mortal, just as it raised one of its nine tails to smite the broken creature, it felt a sudden stabbing pain at its heart. The Kyuubi stared in shock as a figure cloaked in white suddenly appeared before him, one of its arms had sunk into its body while passing through the humans, that was when realization hit the Kyuubi.

"_That's right", _the Kyuubi sharply glanced at the human, it was still torn and injured but the look it had was triumphant, _"so this was you plan" _the Kyuubi thought as it stared at the mortal, it appeared that as long as they were connected by that arm they could communicate on a telepathic level. _"Yes, I have invoked that powers of Death itself to contain you, even your might is useless in this situation," _the human answered.

At that moment Shinigami began to pull on whatever it had in its grip and slowly the Kyuubi's blood red soul began to exit its body. Seemingly unconcerned the Kyuubi continued its conversation _"you must be aware of the repercussions of what you have done," _the mortal gave a humourless smile _"of course, my life in return for your end," _the Kyuubi snorted at the fearless attitude the human had even in the grip of the Kakari no ashiato _(Taker of Souls)_ _"then you must be aware of what we will happen to us," _the human gave that cold smile again _"yes, whoever calls upon Shinigami shall be sacrificed along with the victim, they shall be devoured and forever forced to battle in the belly of Shinigami," _the Kyuubi snorted again _"Shinigmai? Is that your name for the Kakari no ashiato? Well no matter, you may believe that you have sentenced me to an eternity of doom but you are wrong. Pain, suffering, despair all those things are what I am drawn to, what I crave. Send me to whatever hell you desire it does not matter I shall flourish!" _At that point the Kyuubi's soul was almost completely removed by Shinigami.

The human kept smiling _"well in that case I am sorry to tell you that you are not being sentenced to hell of any kind," _that caught the Kyuubi's attention _"what," _the human looked almost laughingly at the Kyuubi and gave a cryptic response, "_Your ultimate fate will not be some burning pit nor freezing wasteland, the price for a Demon's soul is too great for a mere mortal soul to pay, no you shall live the rest of your days forced to help the village you have tried to destroy." _

The Kyuubi glared but could not make sense of the humans words, how could any power force it to bow down to a small insignificant herd of hairless monkeys, to help those it would rather turn on and tear to shreds. It was then that it noticed a small stream of its essence being drawn towards the village, separating its mind, it followed the stream the Kyuubi moved along the pathway with an ever growing sense of foreboding, at last it saw the stream dip into a large construct, the Kyuubi followed and at last saw the prison it would be confined too.

It was only then that the Kyuubi began to struggle and howl, frantically attempting to prevent what was its inevitable fate, it saw the humans soul be swallowed by the Kakari no ashiato, a kinder fate as far as it was concerned. The Kyuubi was drawn ever closer to its prison as it moved past the village it tried to destroy slowly until it was forced into the abomination that was now its prison, the Kyuubi felt a seal, held tight by the power of Death, lock itself over his entry and the Kyuubi howled its despair.

* * *

The shinobi of the leaf stared in awe as the Yondaime, battered and bloodied, confronted the Kyuubi, no one was sure what happened but they were all shocked when the Kyuubi's body suddenly began rotting away, its fur was shed first while the flesh beneath began to decay at a rapid rate, all the muscles, veins, arteries and tissue were revealed and slowly they too began too rot, slowly all organic parts of the demon disappeared leaving nothing but the gleaming white bones, slowly the bones began to crumble and fall apart eventually collapsing in a massive heap on the ground and then the bones began to dissolve into a strange red aura in the vague shape of the Kyuubi, eventually even that disappeared as well.

There was silence for a minute before the shinobi, as one, cheered. The Yondaime had prevailed, the almighty Biju has been slain. No one was particularly worried when the Yondaime collapsed, dismissing it as chakra exhaustion for defeating the Kyuubi, it wasn't until they leapt down to help and congratulate the Yondaime when they realized the price that was paid to vanquish the Kyuubi…

To be Continued

Authors Notes: Like I said this is my first story so please forgive any mistakes you may see, constructive criticism is welcomed.

On an added note I'm sorry if the beginning seemed a bit dark but this was a completely serious event, hopefully the next part of the prologue will be light so until then.


	2. Prologue: Aftermath

For those who want to know the status of my stories, please visit my profile

I know this is a fairly recent update, but I decided it would be best that I finish the prologue so most of the confusion gets cleared up. As it was brought to my attention by one particular reviewer, the original version was more then just a little unbelievable so I have made some changes. It won't have any real effect on the storyline so it doesn't particularly matter. If said reviewer comes again I would appreciate a new opinion

Disclaimer: I do not profit from this story and the rights to _Naruto _belongs to Masashi Kishimoto

**Naruto: Tale of Yin and Yang**

Prologue: Aftermath

Hiruzen Sarutobi, the formerly retired Sandaime _(Third Hokage), _sat in the office of the Hokage Residence that, once again, belonged to him.

He had declared ten days of official mourning for the passing of the Yondaime _(Fourth Hokage), _who had given his life for his village like the Shodai Hokage_ (First/Founding Hokage) _and the Nidaime _(Second Hokage)_.

Sarutobi remembered the night when they brought the Yondaime's broken, lifeless body back to the village, he didn't need to see the body to know what had happened, what the Yondaime had done to stop the Kyuubi _(Nine Tailed Beast)_.

He remember the grieved faces of shinobi, no doubt reflected in his own face, when they presented the Yondaime's corpse, Gamabunta had been dismissed upon the Yondaime's death and could not relay any information about what happened.

Sarutobi gave and involuntary sigh, it would have been much simpler if that was the end of the matter but he knew that the Kyuubi could not be sealed away forever and that like all other Biju _(Tailed Beast) _had to be sealed into a human host to contain it. At that he turned his head towards the crib at the other end of the room and slowly stood up and walked towards it, inside asleep was a little baby girl, blonde and with soft features, anyone who saw her could make a connection between her and the Yondaime and no wonder.

She was Nariko Namikaze, the daughter of the Yondaime, and his potential successor. His gaze dropped lower towards a spiral seal engraved on her abdomen, and she was the host of the Kyuubi.

With another sigh, Sarutobi turned towards the window and gazed out at the village, he knew that revealing the truth of what happened was a mistake, far better to let everyone ignorant that the demon that took so many lives, destroyed so much, was dead. But the Yondaime refused to lie to Konoha, he believed that they deserved the truth and had sworn an oath from Sarutobi that he would reveal to the village the truth of the matter and that he would ask the village to view Nariko as the saviour of the village for containing the Kyuubi within her body.

He continued to stare at the village, he wondered how many would respect that oath, almost none if he was going to be realistic and he knew that he could not reveal the true identity and heritage of Nariko, that wouldn't guarantee any change anyway. The only thing he could do was make sure that the older generation could not pass on this view towards the younger generation and hope that was enough, but he knew that it would be hard, Nariko would have to endure on her own, her mother Kushina Uzumaki was already dead, she would have no support from her father and mother and Sarutobi could not care for her with him now out of retirement.

A soft yawn stirred him from his thoughts, that was when he turned and slowly moved towards another crib, inside was a little baby boy, only a few months older then Nariko, this baby had dark blue, almost black hair that neatly hung down and framed the babies face. As he drew closer he involuntarily flinched when he saw the eyes, extremely pale yellow that never seemed to show any emotion, eyes that seemed to stare right into your soul. Sarutobi inwardly shuddered at that gaze, even the Yondaime never got used to those eyes despite the innocence of the babies look. This baby was an enigma, his father was unknown and his mother refused to divulge that information which, in itself, condemned the father as being someone who is an enemy of the village. All that was known was that his father was not from Konoha and was reportedly a powerful ninja. Like Nariko he was now an orphan, his mother had lost much blood during labour and died soon after arriving in Konoha and giving birth. If his mother was an ordinary ninja then most likely he would have been either foisted onto a normal civilian family, ignorant of his parentage and forbidden from being allowed to become a shinobi, or, in an extreme scenario, sent away from the village to be raised in the country, compltely unaware of any affiliation to Konoha _(Hidden Leaf Village)_.

However things in life were rarely so simple, his mother was Tsuyoi Yamaguchi, a famous Kunoichi of Konoha, the now former captain of the ANBU Black ops and with a reputation that almost rivalled even that of the Yondaime, and her dying wish was for the village to take in her son and treat him as he was a true carrier of the Will of Fire, however this alone would not have saved her son, but Tsuyoi and Minato had long been childhood friends and ultimately thanks to the Yondaime's favour that her son was considered her legitimate son.

Several ninja clans however disapproved not liking the idea that one of their famous elites would be tarnished by "Outsider scum", some even claiming that Tsuyoi was not the boy's real mother, "And no wonder" Sarutobi thought looking down at the baby, he looked nothing like his mother, none of their features resembled each other in the slightest and, though a simple blood test had confirmed their blood relation, the boy's appearance in contrast with his mothers was disconcerting.

Shaking himself from his thoughts, Sarutobi picked up the child and watched as the boy snuggled into him and went back to asleep. A small smile appeared of Sarutobi's face, despite all misgivings about the boy he was an affectionate, if somewhat serious, child who always needed the warmth of someone holding him to go to sleep. This helped ease the discomfort both he and Minato had when they look into his eye. Some of the few clansman who agreed with letting him keep the name Yamaguchi even though that he could be the birth of a new clan in Konoha, either way he was now officially a member of Konoha.

But still, Sarutobi had misgivings about the child and couldn't shake the strange feeling he got around him. He had the impression that this child would never grow into an ordinary ninja, his lineage would almost guarantee that, but he just had an ominous feeling that this child will be important to the future of Konoha some day, whether for good or bad, only the child could decide. _"Or perhaps I'm just going senile", _he thought to himself

The sound of a crowd outside snapped Sarutobi out of his reverie, carefully placing the baby back into the crib, he turned and performed a Shunshin _(Body Flicker) _and quickly appeared outside in front of the crowd of assembled villagers and ninja, "I hope this is the right decision" he thought before be began to address the crowd

"People of Konoha, today I have an important truth to tell you all", Sarutobi began.

To be Continued

Authors Notes: Sorry if this is rushed by I wanted to get the prologue over and done with so that I could focus on the main story. Hope that readers enjoy.


	3. Chapter 1: Graduation

Sorry about the late update but this chapter took a while for me to finish but anyways this is where the story will now begin, I hope that people have enjoyed the story so far, I can't tell since I don't have any reviews to tell me any opinions, but either way if anyone has any complaints please post something, constructive criticism is welcomed as always.

This first chapter is basically an introduction to the Rookie 9, some descriptions may be different from the actual series, and more importantly the OC character and FemNaruto will be shown. There will also be some explanations on basic information such as chakra and this chapter will be told from the perspective of the OC character.

**WARNING!: **Nariko/Naruto is VERY out of character.

Disclaimer: I do not profit from this story and the rights to _Naruto _belongs to Masashi Kishimoto

**Naruto: A Tale of Yin and Yang**

Chapter 1: Graduation

_Thirteen Years later_

The village of Konoha was finally enjoying a time of peace and prosperity. Many in the village now woke up content with the world. No one would think that there was anything wrong with Konoha and they would be mostly right but, like all villages, the Hidden Leaf has secrets it would prefer to not exist, the dark side of the village forced into a small unseen corner, but the more pressure is placed the greater the feedback when those secrets become known, and one of those secrets was awakening.

In a small apartment in the quieter part of the village a small grunt could be heard from underneath some bed covers as the occupant attempted to shut out the sunlight that was resolutely shining where his face was. With a groan the occupant sat up blinking his eyes.

With a sigh he forced himself out of bed, and glanced at the clock over his bed, 8:00am, he had an hour before he had to go to the academy, with another sigh he grabbed a towel and walked towards the bathroom.

Inside he paused to stare at his reflection in the mirror, a young face framed by dark navy hair with startling light yellow eyes stared back at him. Releasing the breath he was holding he turned away so he couldn't see his image, his name was Kiro, named because of the colour of his eyes, he was not allowed to take his mothers birth name and leaving him a mystery. As Kiro began his day he pondered what his life was like, for as long as he could remember he was always shunned by most of the village. People weren't openly hostile to him but he could tell that most people didn't like him or were uncomfortable around him, some people tried to ignore him while others tried too hard to be nice, still others were more cruel and frequently made offhand remarks about him, either way he was unwanted in the village and it was only due to the Third Hokage's grace that he was permitted to stay in the village.

For a long time he had wondered what had he done to deserve this treatment, the obvious reason was due to his mysterious father who was known to be an unknown person from the village and thus his birth had upset the status quo of the village, he was, effectively, a living embodiment of the villages compromised security. Another reason for his isolated nature was because of his eyes, many times he had seen people shy back when they saw them and most of the time he couldn't blame them, he himself occasionally startled himself when he saw them. But all those reasons weren't related to him personally, he himself had not done anything particular.

Abruptly shaking himself from these thoughts, he thoroughly soaked his face with water and pushed those thoughts to the back of his head, now wasn't the time for these thoughts, today was the day that he, and all the other young shinobi of the village, could graduate as part of the new generation of shinobi to protect the village. Glancing at the clock again he found he still had plenty of time before the test, making himself a quick breakfast Kiro began to reminisce again.

He had only started living by himself quite recently, before then Hiruzen Sarutobi, the Third Hokage, had been his guardian. At that thought he paused, Sarutobi never really told him the reason he had acted as his guardian, on the rare occasion he asked his only answer was an enigmatic "I have my reasons". Because of this unsatisfactory answer Kiro had come up with a number of different explanations over the years.

Firstly, because of the fame his mother had, children like him would generally get some form of special treatment no matter how hard people would try to deny this, however there was a big hole in this theory; why him. There were plenty of other young ninja from prestigious families and more importantly, families with a clean slate. It was no surprise that his mothers name was mud because of her actions which effectively means this theory is wrong.

Another, though less plausible, idea was his "unique" chakra. Chakra was, at the lowest level, a mix of living physical energy produced naturally in the body and spiritual energy gained from experience and is normally invisible to the human eye. Virtually all forms of jutsu _(skills/techniques),_ a mystical art that shinobi utilize in combat, require some amount of chakra either to power the jutsu or simply enhance it. The difference between his chakra and normal chakra was that his chakra was far more "dense" then regular chakra making it unsuitable for normal jutsu, any attempt would cause the jutsu to rupture and the excess chakra could harm anyone in its vicinity, because of this he was forbidden to attempt any jutsu.

Kiro paused his thoughts and glanced at the clock, ten minutes, it was about time he left. Standing up he glanced down at what he was wearing, simple shirt and trousers while his feet were clad in sturdy leather boots, in direct contrast to the sandals leaf shinobi preferred wearing which he dismissed as impractical. Turning around he grabbed the one object that was left to him by his biological father: a pure white sword, the sword was the only tie he had with his father and had been given to him by Sarutobi the day he moved into his apartment. Although many shinobi and kunoichi had disapproved about giving him the sword, but they were unable to persuade Sarutobi from changing his mind, nevertheless they were eased by the fact that he had no formal training so the sword was little more then an ornament.

Strapping the sword onto his back Kiro ran out and began sprinting to the academy, as he ran he wondered whether he could pass the graduation exam, normally someone like him wasn't even allowed into the academy both because of his past and his inability to perform any form of Ninjutsu _(ninja techniques) _orGenjutsu _(illusionary techniques) _because of his unique chakra however his chakra had different properties to normal chakra and have been theorized as a possible birth of a new Kekkei Genkai _(Bloodline limit),_ potent genetic abilities unique to a clan. In his case his chakra had the curious ability to neutralize any sort of Ninjutsu, Genjutsu or Taijutsu _(Martial Arts)_ that required chakra and, because he had so much of it, he could manifest his chakra as potent offensive and defensive constructs which generally make up for his lack of jutsu and in turn, allowing him to stay at the academy. Arriving at the gates, he leapt over several startled students and teachers and skidded into his class seconds before the bell went.

"Almost late" a voice said with disapproval, glancing up he saw his instructor Iruka Umino looking at him, "The key word is almost" he answered before taking his customary seat at the back row. He usually (and deliberately) irked Iruka with his frequent near tardiness and witticisms but he preferred Iruka to most teachers, for one thing Iruka was one of the few people in the village aside from Sarutobi who treated him without suspicion sometimes showing more concern for him then an academy instructor should, though he always did so with a slight air of unease as if it was done with reluctance. Granted he was wary about Iruka in the beginning and he had his suspicions that Sarutobi had something to do with it but he gradually learned to ease the tension in his body and open slightly to Iruka.

As Iruka began lecturing the class on the graduation exam Kiro's gaze wandered about the class, most of the students here would pass by his reckoning but there were only a handful of academy students that could grow into genuinely talented shinobi.

Glancing at this generations "Ino-Shika-Cho", each of their fathers made up the former and first "Ino-Shika-Cho" and the chances that they'll be on the same team were fair with each of them having abilities that compliments each other.

First there was Shikamaru Nara, a member of the Nara clan. Although consistently having low, border lining failing, marks and having below average skills in Ninjutsu, Genjutsu and Taijutsu, he has observed Shikamaru long enough to know that there was more to him then meets the eye. In one attempt to test his theory he challenged Shikamaru to a game of shogi, one of the few things Shikamaru seemed interested in, to which he lost fairly quickly. Now Kiro knew he wasn't the smartest in the class but he wasn't an idiot, in fact, if he was honest, he would say that he was actually very intelligent, partly due to lack of friends causing him to read most of the time because of the lack of other things to do, and because of this the speed at which he was beaten was surprising, he had calculated every move, weighed the pros and cons of every single one of his actions, he still lost.

After that he had reviewed the game and more importantly how Shikamaru had played, although Shikamaru was generally more concentrated when playing shogi he still retained some air of laziness so the sheer ease he had when playing was shocking, from what he could tell Shikamaru had mapped out the entire game from the beginning and had prepared multiple scenarios and strategies against every move he made, in other words beneath the lazy exterior laid a sharp analytical mind that was well above that of any student in his class and probably the entire academy.

After Shikamaru there was Choji Akimichi, the overweight representative of the Akimichi clan. What drew Kiro's attention was empathy towards Choji, there were many occasions when he had seen Choji be ridiculed for his weight and consequently Choji was almost friendless save for Shikamaru. Despite the spiteful jabs made at Choji's expense, Choji was a gentle hearted person who would never go out of his way to hurt someone for some petty reason. He had noted that Choji, despite his love of food, was more then willing to share his chips with anyone and his compassion would be a valuable asset for any shinobi. In terms of ability, Choji was not the fastest nor the more agile of shinobi but his forte was strength. Kiro had once read about the Akimichi clan that their jutsu were particularly chakra exhausting because of their sustained usage, so to compensate they often overate so that they could convert their calories into chakra to power their jutsu, an ingenious idea that was both easy and effective, if frown upon because of its unorthodox nature. Either way, if his prediction was correct then Choji would prove a valuable asset to his team.

The final member of the possible future Ino-Shika-Cho was Ino Yamanaka member of the Yamanaka clan. As a member of the Yamanaka clan Ino, like most other clan members, relies primarily on their telepathic jutsu to otherwise attack opponents on the mental level. Unfortunately, like most kunoichi in this generation, she was more concerned about the more superficial things in life such as appearance, gossip and boys. Though she frequently claims to be the best, and the most beautiful, kunoichi in the year, Kiro grudgingly had to admit there was some truth in her statement, she was definitely one of the better kunoichi in the year, at the very least she was capable in all the basic jutsu and skills needed, but she could be much better if she dropped a few of her personality flaws, but hopefully a few months as a ninja might sober her.

Turning his gaze towards the other promising ninja in the room, he noted that Kiba Inuzuka of the dog and wolf keeping Inuzuka clan was as outgoing as ever. As a member of the Inuzuka clan he was always accompanied by his partner animal, Akamaru a small dog that was similar to Kiba in many regards. Although one of the worst students theory wise, when on the practice field his true abilities shine. Among students Kiba ranks as one of the best in combat, his physical abilities were superior to most members in the class and he works in perfect coordination with Akamaru making the duo difficult to fight by any single opponent, his abilities were based around his clans unique Taijutsu style, mainly fighting with the ferocity of a wild animal which are enhanced with Ninjutsu based around strengthening the body. These abilities made Kiba and Akamaru a formidable Taijutsu team, though hampered as it were by Kiba's short temper and frequent overconfidence in his own skills.

Looking past Kiba now, Kiro found himself looking at the mysterious Shino Aburame of the Aburame clan. Silent and matter-of-fact, Shino was probably an even bigger mystery then he was and was likewise regarded as "creepy" by many of the students in the class. Kiro on the other hand simply saw Shino as being reserved, rarely speaking and mysterious, something that was complimented by his clothes which hid most of his body, save his face, from view. Despite this Shino held a strong aura and he would certainly be invaluable on any team he was placed on, chances are his name will be well known throughout the shinobi world in time. There was not much Kiro could say on his abilities, he kept much of that hidden and the books he had acquired on the Aburame clan were just as sketchy, they only thing he knew was that, like the Inuzuka clan, the Aburame clan relied upon insects that act together in a hive mind in combat as well as making them an expert in tracking and espionage.

Turning now towards another female in the class and quite a famous one, Hinata Hyuga a member of the famous Hyuga clan. Unlike almost every other girl in the year, Hinata was not frivolous and did not waste her time over trivial matters, however he couldn't say for sure whether her personality was any better as it was now. In direct contrast to the strict and stiff members of the clan, Hinata was timid, kind-hearted and humble. Although if she was simply a normal member of the Hyuga this would not have been such an important matter however, Hinata is in fact the heiress to the Hyuga's main house and thus a lot of turmoil has occurred over this.

Glancing at her white eyes, some might believe the poor girl was blind but Kiro knew that she, like all members of the Hyuga clan, possessed the infamous Byakugan a Dojutsu _(Eye Techniques)_, which allow the user 360 degrees field of vision as well as some degree of telescopic vision, but what is probably most impressive is that the Byakugan can actually see both the chakra circulatory system and chakra itself, a feat normally impossible to human eyes, which in turn forms the basis for the Hyuga clans primary Taijutsu style, the Gentle Fist which allowed the Hyuga to create short bursts from their own chakra from their blows to damage the chakra circulatory system as well as the internal organs. Unfortunately for Hinata she did not have the cold-bloodedness to fight to such a degree hampering her abilities. There was little doubt to Kiro that Hinata's main problem was self-confidence, if she managed to work out of her shell there is no doubt she could become a potent Kunoichi of the Leaf and could potentially become one of the strongest ninja in the village given her heritage.

Sighing Kiro directed his gaze towards the last two skilled ninja, both of them were easily them best out of the entire class, scoring significantly better then everyone else. Looking at the darker one first Kiro's face grew more grim as he stared at the one and only Sasuke Uchiha, member of the almost extinct Uchiha clan. As the last surviving member of the Uchiha clan still loyal to Konoha Sasuke was esteemed then ever however he was also brooding, dark and simply cold to anyone around him. Though he never was an extroverted child ever since his clan was slaughtered he grew more and more distant until he became completely antisocial and distant to everyone. To match this unsavoury personality he also held quite an amount of pride with an ego to match, it was no secret that Sasuke thought he was superior to everyone else, though he admittedly did have the skills to back up most of these beliefs. Kiro theorized that this stemmed from an inferiority complex he had with his brother Itachi Uchiha who was apparently always ahead of him. He was also very popular among the young the female kunoichi which, needless to say none of them had any success at winning his affection. Kiro couldn't see what they liked about Sasuke, true he had looks and skill but apart from that there was nothing else remotely appealing about him.

Looking towards to the second top ninja in the academy, Nariko Uzumaki. There was not much Kiro knew about her background, there was no clan called Uzumaki from what he read and she was an orphan like him that was also raised by Sarutobi, this would indicate that she was very important but he had never spoken to her. What he could tell about her was that she was talented, she was the top Kunoichi of the year and was just barely shoved aside by Sasuke, this can be seen from her attitude towards being a kunoichi, she focused on training and nothing else most of the other girls got into and because of this would no doubt grow into a powerful Kunoichi of the leaf, her one vanity appeared to be her rich, golden hair which she had grown long and thick down halfway of her back.

Personality wise there was no much that was attractive to say the least, she was cold and callous, almost rivalling that of Sasuke himself, yet he could sense that beneath the indifferent coldness a fiery personality was buried deep inside. Like Sasuke Nariko was popular particularly among young shinobi, there was no doubt that she was very beautiful with golden hair and pure blue eyes, so much so that even Sasuke couldn't completely resist her charm, nevertheless she looked upon her suitors with scorn and almost seemed to hate the village, no surprise why. Kiro had often seen the treatment she got from the village, which was several times worse then the polite shunning they gave him; the village outright despised her and took any opportunity to show this, vandalised belongings, near constant taunts and jeers and some less then appropriate advances from lecherous men. From what he could see, her coldness was a shield from the hostility, to date the only person he had seen her relax around was Iruka.

"... and so I hope that each and every one of you will prove yourselves as worthy of being shinobi and kunoichi of the hidden leaf" Iruka finished. Shaking himself from his thoughts Kiro glanced down to see that the Graduation exam was beginning. Steeling himself for the worst he began to walk down along with everyone else, prepared to show themselves as being worthy of the title of Genin.

To Be Continued

Authors Notes; Over three thousand words, definitely the longest I've written so far, anyways I hope everyone enjoys and please review, I'm not asking for thousands of reviews but I just want to know some opinions on this story and what I could do to improve.

Until the next chapter then.


	4. Chapter 2: Examination: Practical

Hello all, sorry it took so long to get this chapter out but it took me a little while to figure out what to right. As always I hope that readers have enjoyed this story. As always status for this story is in my profile, I won't leave authors notes as chapters for explanations. Anyone who wants to know the status of my story, its written in my profile,

I hope that my version of the characters in this story doesn't offend anyone but more importantly I am sorry about how Sakura isn't in this story but like I said I couldn't find a way to fit her in. Oh and this and the next few chapters will mostly be told from my OC characters perspective.

Just to clear up some things:

Shinobi: Male Ninja

Kunoichi: Female Ninja

Ninja: General term for female and male

"Speech"

"_Thoughts"_

Anyways onto the chapter

Disclaimer: I do not profit from this story and the rights to _Naruto _belongs to Masashi Kishimoto

**Naruto: A Tale of Yin and Yang**

Chapter 2: Examination: Practical

Curious, that was the only thing Kiro could describe the exam right now. Normally the academy had the theory exam first before hosting the practical, this would ensure that the students could conduct their theory examination without having been exhausted from the practical examination. "There must be something new to these graduation exams" he thought as he lined up with the other twenty six students in his class.

Iruka cleared his throat and spoke, "Now then students, I know that this is different from how the previous classes have graduated but starting today we will be having a slightly different exam for your graduation exam". Iruka nodded towards his co-instructor Mizuki who continued, "We will now be beginning with the practical exam, afterwards you will be given your theoretical portion of the exam. Upon finishing both examinations you will have one last test that we will explain later".

"We will now begin the practical examination, please follow us to the training fields" Iruka proclaimed. The class, as one, got up and followed their instructors towards the grounds.

Kiro glanced around at the faces of his fellow shinobi, some looked nervous, some looked confident, still others didn't show any emotions. He himself wasn't feeling particularly confident nor pessimistic about his chances of passing, but his inability to perform jutsu was going to be a problem.

"Alright now," Kiro glanced up with everyone else, Iruka began speaking again. "Each of you shall run a basic survival course, you will all be graded on your performance, skill and so on".

Looking around making sure everyone was paying attention Iruka continued, "Now the goal of this exercise is to travel through the course until you reach the end, you will be graded depending on how well you make it though. So everyone take a position at the course, you will get a signal in a few minutes to start the exam, you will have an hour to finish the course so good luck to all of you". With that both Iruka and Mizuki disappeared in a cloud of smoke.

Kiro and everyone else turned their attention to the obstacle field. Because it was only a basic academy exam the survival course was quite simple, though still more difficult then anything they have done before and more than likely filled with an assortment of unpleasant traps to bar their way.

With a sigh he took his place at the far end of the field away from most of the other graduate candidates, more then likely this test was going to be more difficult then any other practical tests that have been done, for one thing none of the traps were visible on this field, and consequently only a small, by his estimation, handful could pass and an even smaller handful could pass well.

Readying himself he took one last quick glance at the course; thick expanses of trees hid most of the field from view while various bushes and other vegetation were scattered around presumably hiding pit traps, trip wires and all sorts of other unpleasant snares that were scattered around.

Looking up Kiro noticed a smoke bomb explode in the air with a loud bang; the signal. Leaping forward through the branches Kiro deftly swung himself onto the top of a tree and glanced around, he could hear the other shinobi weaving through the forest and from some of the sounds he could hear a few had already been caught in a few traps.

Leaping forward again Kiro suddenly felt a small tug at his foot, immediately several kunai knives were flung out. Quickly grabbing a branch near him he swung away using the momentum, barely avoiding the kunai knives as they zoomed past him.

Landing on the ground he glanced at the kunai as the clattered uselessly against the tree. A slight smile touched his lips. Because it was only an academy level exam, the sharp edges of weapons were extremely dull and otherwise non-lethal to ensure that none of the students would get injured.

Dusting himself off he took a step forward and felt his foot sink slightly into the ground followed by more kunai being flung at him, frantically throwing himself into a roll avoiding all but one of the knives which managed to nick him on the leg.

Stopping and crouching on the ground Kiro examined the area that was struck; a vivid red slash marred his trousers. Grimacing at the mark, he stood up and combed the area for any other wires or loose shifts in the ground, though the mark appeared to be blood it was actually a dye with similar appearance. Because all the sharp weapons were blunted and thus left no discernable marks the instructors needed a simple way to find out how well students made it through the field, consequently a special blood like liquid was developed and the various traps were thinly coated with said substance so that instructors could easily tell where the students were struck and allowing them to easily separate the student's various skill levels.

Swiftly moving again, Kiro mentally berated himself, _"I've gotten careless, those traps were hardly complex or subtle in any way. I'll have to take better care"._

Kiro abruptly stopped. Ahead of him was a large clearing, very out of place considering the amount of forestry he'd been going through. Now there were a few possibilities from what he could see; firstly the clearing was a trap, presumably some sort of pit, that would spring on whoever walked into it, secondly the clearing was safe and instead the area around the clearing was the real trap, or thirdly the entire area was a snare.

Just as Kiro was weighing up whether to risk moving forward or not there was a resounding crash and a young shinobi stumbled into the clearing. Kiro didn't recognise him so he was most likely just an average academy level ninja and considering the various red slashes and foliage clinging to him, below average in stealth and espionage. Just as he was making these assessments the shinobi suddenly tripped over a then invisible wire, predictably several shuriken spun out from all around the forest towards the hapless shinobi.

Rather then move to avoid them he cried out and tried to shield himself with his arms resulting in several red cuts being left on his arms and back, losing his balance again the shinobi fell on his back near the centre of the clearing… which promptly gave way to his weight.

Wailing he tumbled into a large hole that appeared when he fell into the clearing while the dirt and foliage that had concealed the pit fell in with him.

Kiro gave a low whistle, he had been wrong in his estimation; the trapping pit wasn't in the clearing, it was the clearing. _"Well this explains how such an empty area was placed in this forest" _he thought while carefully moving towards the hole that gaped out of the ground. Staring into the pit he noticed the shinobi was quite dazed, _"Good thing that the spikes were replaced with wooden poles" _Kiro though absentmindedly _"otherwise he would have been skewered". _

Looking around he grasped a long vine, he couldn't just leave him there. _"Though I doubt he's going to pass anyway"_ Kiro though glancing down at the wooden poles, the tops glistening with the red dye.

Cutting down the vine with his sword, he tied the vine to a nearby tree and tossed it down the pit. Hopefully he could get himself out once he's lucid enough.

Looking up now, Kiro casually glanced at the area ahead of the pit. He could jump over the pit easily enough but if there were any traps set up chances are he couldn't evade them.

Taking out a few of his own kunai knives he threw them towards the shrubbery over the pit. A sharp twang resounded and several kunai clattered against the ground, exactly where he would have been if he had jumped over the pit.

Now sure it was safe he quickly leapt over the pit trap and landed neatly on the other side. Wasting no time he sprinted forward, he couldn't let his guard down and the traps were only going to get more elaborate as he made his way closer to the goal.

No sooner did this thought cross his mind when a hailstorm of kunai and shuriken rained down on him. Forcing some chakra into his legs he quickly began moving faster, relying on the temporary boost to get him though the barrage unscathed. It was only a basic skill, one that even he could do. Simply by channelling extra chakra into a specific part of the body they could enhance its strength and speed, and because of the extra potency of his chakra, it gave him just that much of an edge over the other student's.

Easily dashing away from the weapons clattering behind him, Kiro wondered how long before the weapons ran dry. Evidently he'd chosen a bad path but he hoped that he could keep up his chakra enhanced sprint before he escaped the trap. His supply of chakra, though higher than that of most other academy students, was not inexhaustible and it would be very bad if he failed to channel his chakra to his legs midway through.

A few more minutes of running later he noticed that the trees were starting to thin out and likewise the storm of kunai and shuriken began to lessen. Slowing down and releasing his chakra he glanced behind him, _"I made good time" _he thought. Though he used up a fair amount of chakra, that jog covered a fair distance of the course.

"_Maybe I've covered a little more then quarter of this course" _Kiro thought, while stopping. Unfortunately the traps he would have to deal with now would presumably entail more then just a few wires and kunai.

As if Karma was listening to his thoughts a rope promptly snared around his legs and hoisting him up leaving him upside down and tied to a tree, the only thing worse was the humiliation of being forced into this position. Grabbing the rope that was restraining him he pulled himself up and grabbed the branch the rope was tied onto.

Making sure that he had a firm grip on the branch Kiro began to saw through the rope with a knife he had tucked into his boot. Bracing himself he cut through and would have fallen had he not been holding onto the branch.

Pulling himself up he undid the rope that still tied his legs together and glanced down. These rope snares had a bad habit of being set close to each other and he frankly didn't want to get in another one. _"It'd be safer to travel though the trees for now" _Kiro thought while examining the area the rope had touched. A bright streak of red circled his ankles.

Releasing the breath he was holding, Kiro tossed down the remains of the snare towards the ground and leaped through the branches, determined to finish the practical examination quickly.

* * *

He'd been travelling for almost twenty minutes when he heard a high pitched shriek, glancing at the direction of the scream he saw, to some surprise, Hinata Hyuga dangling from a rope snare similar to the one he'd been caught in thirty minutes ago.

He quickly assessed the trap while Hinata squirmed and wriggled in the snare. Unfortunately this snare was much more elaborate then the simple one he had escaped from, rather then a single loop of rope tied around Hinata's ankles, a single large rope was wound repeatedly around her, pining her arms and legs together and the only way to loosen it was to cut the rope the snare was hanging from which would loosen the rope that trussed her… something impossible to do in her position.

Kiro wondered what to do, for a brief moment he considered just leaving her there and get on his way. He had been caught in numerous traps while moving through the forest, most of which left small red marks in various areas over his body, a particularly nasty slash on his arm was caused by a buzz saw like contraption that normally would have cut his arm in two, and he did not have much room left for more traps that might be set up around Hinata.

But that impulse quickly vanished. As much as he refused to admit it he had a bit of a soft spot for that girl. She was one of the few people who did consider him in any suspicious or hostile way, of the few times he's spoken to her she always tried to be friendly and her shyness was actually rather endearing, not that he'd ever dream of telling her this.

His decision made Kiro pondered what to do, he couldn't go over there and get her down because:

1. He didn't want Hinata to know he was helping her and 2. There was a chance he'd end up in a similar position to her if there were any traps set up around her (very likely).

"_I'll have to get her down from here" _he thought. Unfortunately neither his kunai or shuriken would be able to strike down the rope Hinata was hanging from, his accuracy wasn't good enough that he couldn't risk hitting her anyway. That left him with only one option left.

With a sigh he began to draw on his, mostly exhausted, supply of chakra. Apart from its ability to negate regular chakra his chakra could also be focused as an offensive attack. Gathering chakra into a single point at the end of his index finger he waited for the pressure to build. The attack that it manifests is a potent bolt of pure chakra with concussive and explosive properties.

A spiral of light began to gather at the end of his finger, _'Good enough" _Kiro judged and aimed at the rope. Bracing himself he released the pressurised bolt of chakra, immediately it zoomed forward at incredible speed, neatly severing the rope that tied up Hinata.

With a squeak she fell onto the ground as the now loose coils of rope tangled around her. As Hinata began to pull of the rope and look around to see her rescuer, Kiro decided to make a hasty exit. He didn't want her to see him and he had wasted enough time and chakra at this point.

* * *

Kiro sighed as he began leaped from branch to branch forward again, he had maybe around a quarter of his original chakra supply left and from his estimation was reaching the end of the obstacle course. He glanced down at his clothes.

He had several red slashes on his shirt and trousers and some mud and leaves stuck to his boots. The test was harder then what he had expected but overall he was pleased with how he did and would most likely pass the practical examination with a reasonable mark.

Kiro finally saw the end of the forest coming up and with some relief leapt of the last tree and onto a grassy field on the other side of the course.

"Very good" Iruka said noticing his arrival, "If you will just follow me, we'll mark you off and you can rest along with the others". Too tired to say anything Kiro followed Iruka towards a small line of desks with several Chunin seated behind them, he noted that they looked up as he passed and began jotting down on clipboards, presumably how well he did. Iruka duly marked off Kiro's name and told him to go back to his classroom.

With a little difficulty Kiro trekked back to his classroom and opened the door. Inside he glanced at the amount of ninja that had finished before him. Predictably, Sasuke and Nariko appeared to be the least winded with only a small number of red marks over them. After them there were only four other people who made it before him, of them the only one he could pick out was Shino who sat calmly by himself.

When the other finishers heard the door open most of them turned to see who joined them. Kiro could see some surprise among the faces which quickly dulled as they looked away, only Nariko, Sasuke and Shino didn't bother paying attention.

Kiro quietly walked to the back and took his customary seat near the window. Propping himself up on his elbows he stared out towards the field. He was surprised in all honesty that he made it back so quickly, he quickly glanced at the clock; it only took him half an hour to make it through the practical course.

Releasing the breath he was holding he laid his head down onto his arms, it would be some time before everyone finished the course and he had no one to talk to and plenty of time to kill so the only thing he could do was rest for the next examination.

Just before sleep overtook him he wondered, not for the first time, who his mysterious father was and whether he had inherited his unique chakra from him.

To Be Continued

Authors Notes: Another chapter over 3000 words, I hoped that my readers (if any) enjoyed the chapter. Writing it was certainly fun at times. Like I said before if there are any comments about this story please leave a review, I know this isn't among the good stories but someone always wants to know what others think about there work.

Anyways the next two chapters will also be on the graduation examination and told from my OC characters point of view.


	5. Chapter 3: Examination: Theoretical

Hello all, chapter 5 is up

This chapter took longer then most to get out I suppose but anyways I'll try to get later chapters out quicker. As always I hope that any readers enjoy my story.

Disclaimer: I do not profit from this story and the rights to _Naruto _belongs to Masashi Kishimoto

**Naruto: A Tale of Yin and Yang**

Chapter 3: Examination: Theoretical

It only felt like minutes when Kiro woke up again. Blearily opening his eyes he glanced around the room, there were now twenty students in the room excluding him.

A look at the clock told him that the exam was over a few minutes ago which meant that three students didn't complete the practical exam.

Looking around, Kiro noted that plenty of people looked pleased with themselves, even Sasuke and Nariko, both of whom normally have all the soft emotion of a brick wall, could not completely hide their satisfaction.

The door abruptly opened. Everyone looked towards the door to see Iruka and Mizuki leading three very miserable looking academy ninja, all three of them were completely splattered with red dye and were covered in foliage in varying degrees.

After berating the three failed students and sent them trudging up the to take their seats, Iruka turned to the class. "Alright now" he began, "I can honestly say that many of you have done very well and many of the instructors are in full agreement with me". He paused and allowed the students to feel pleased with themselves, "however" and brought the students back to reality, "you must not allow yourself to relax simply because of success on the field, now you must prove your worth mentally".

"_In other words, don't stop at the first flag," _Kiro thought as he contemplated Iruka's speech.

"Now then it is time for our theoretical examination, you will have ninety minutes to complete the test" Iruka finished as Mizuki appeared holding a large stack of papers. After duly handing out the papers Iruka told the class to quietly begin.

Skimming through the paper, Kiro mentally separated the sections of the test. First was the traditional multiple choice section that seemed to appear on virtually every test paper and was, in his opinion, a form of simple trivia, after that was a general response section that required more ingenuity in answering, finally there was an extended response section that most of the marks were centred on and was generally some sort of scenario.

Kiro sighed. As expected the theoretical test was the culmination of all the various theories, justu's and other general information that the class had studied in the year as well as several more advanced information that the academy students were required to study at home.

"_Though I doubt there's more then a handful of students who actually studied this stuff," _Kiro thought cynically and this suspicion was not completely unfounded. All around him he could see several of his fellow students struggling with the test, some of them even looked on the verge of hyperventilating.

"_Ah well" _he thought before looking at the first question.

* * *

Iruka looked around the around the room. The students had surpassed his expectations during the practical course, many of them had managed to finish well within the time allocated and even the ones who only finished barely on time carried only moderate "injuries". Overall, he was impressed with his students.

Unfortunately he couldn't say the same with their skills in bookwork. Although he could not say that every single student was horrible at theoretical work, it was clear that the ratio of ability in theory to practical was very different.

At that train of thought Iruka looked at the students. Out of the entire class perhaps only a little less then a third of the students seemed to be completely calm with the test.

Iruka sighed. Because the village was enjoying one of its rare moments of peace, the youngest generations of shinobi were far more carefree and relaxed then during times of war. Consequently, the standards of passing the academy were much more lenient and, as a direct result, the ninja and kunoichi of this generation were more interested in shopping, gossip and how "cool" each individual ninja was.

Iruka sighed again and rubbed his forehead in annoyance, despite everything he had done to ensure that these academy students would spend equal amounts of time on both theory practical work it seemed that the students either worked solely on their field abilities, or their knowledge skills or simply didn't work at all. It was a bad balance between skills.

Iruka now looked at the two protégés in the class, he didn't know much about Sasuke Uchiha save that he was the only survivor of the Uchiha massacre several years ago, after that incident Sasuke spurned any attempts to open up the cold shell he built around himself, and after several failed attempts to make Sasuke more open, the decision was simply to leave him be.

Now looking towards the second protégé in the class; Nariko Uzumaki. In many ways she could be considered a female version of Sasuke, her skill, aloofness and appeal to the opposite sex were almost identical to each other. Iruka inwardly sighed, it saddened him to see the once happy bright child reduced to a cold and callous adolescent especially since he considered her as a surrogate daughter, he couldn't help but wonder how she would have turned out if she was born without the Kyuubi _(Nine-Tailed Beast) _sealed into her.

Overall Sasuke and Nariko were the top in the year in both ability and knowledge and would most likely become famous ninja in their time, however given their near sociopathic behaviour and dubious loyalty to the village Iruka honestly couldn't say if they would be famous for the right reasons.

* * *

With some relief Kiro finished the final short answer question. He had encountered some difficulties and had gotten lost on the questions a few times, but most of the questions were simple enough that he could answer them without too much difficulty, _"At the very least I doubt I'll be dead-last in this" _Kiro noted at the amount of anxiety thick in the air around the other students, _"Now for the extended response" _Kiro thought glancing down at the question_._

It was a diagram question. Kiro Glanced at the question, calculate the degree of the kunai at point A needed to hit the target at point B and explain how you came to this conclusion. Blinking Kiro rubbed the bridge of his nose, this question would require several mathematical equations and explanations and would take time to complete.

He took a quick glance at the clock, fifteen minutes left, _"enough time" _Kiro thought resigned, beginning to write out the first equation, _"hopefully"_.

To Be Continued

Authors Notes: I know that this chapter isn't very long, especially for how long it took to finish, but there wasn't exactly much that I could put into the story for this chapter and I wanted to keep the three exams as separate chapters, anyways the next chapter may take a little longer then this one so please be patient. As usual constructive criticism is welcome (actually any review is welcome at this point).


	6. Chapter 4: Examination: Final Exam

Final Chapter of the Graduation Exam is up, I hope that people have enjoyed my version of the examinations, I decided that the ones in the manga and anime were a little lacklustre so I tried to make some of my own, I hope that I didn't do too bad.

Anyways thing chapter took a little long because the final test segment needed more imagination then the practical and theoretical one, I hope that any readers like it.

Anyways after this chapter it'll be the end of the Graduation arc, oh and the next one will be told almost entirely from Naruto/Nariko's view with maybe a few small segments with my OC character, all will be explained when it comes out, which might be a while.

Somewhat recently I've put up a poll on my Authors page so if any of my readers (if any) are interested in it please check it.

Disclaimer: I do not profit from this story and the rights to _Naruto _belongs to Masashi Kishimoto

**Naruto: Tale of Yin and Yang**

Chapter 4: Examination: Final Test

"And pens down" Iruka called out. Kiro released the sigh he'd been holding and put down his pen, the extended response question was harder then he thought and he had scrawled over most of the paper before finally finishing it.

"_I hope they can read it" _Kiro thought tiredly, he had crossed out and rewrote a lot of information and would likely take some time to decipher all of it, _"lucky you don't get marked on neatness" _he thought.

As Iruka and Mizuki moved up to take the papers Kiro looked around towards the other students, quite a number of them looked rather uneasy about how they went, while others looked quite pleased with themselves, still others looked positively sick with worry.

"_They should worry more over the final test" _Kiro thought grimly. Because of the ambiguity of what the final test would entail, and because it was a surprise, chances are no one studied for it. Suddenly at that thought several things clicked. Groaning mentally, he would have smacked himself if not for the fact that the action would draw unwanted attention to him.

"_Of course" _Kiro thought while mentally going over the facts he realized.

Firstly, this was a graduation for ninja's and the students would thus be expected to learn not to take things at face value.

Secondly, because of the above point, there should be some sort of hidden meaning in what the exams would need to qualify them as ninja, skill in and seeing through deception is an integral part of being a ninja.

Finally, ninja must adapt if they are to survive. By thrusting an unexpected examination, they could separate the abilities of the ninja candidates.

A grimace appeared at Kiro's mouth, unfortunately he still had no idea what the final test was, and given his lack of ability in Ninjutsu and Genjutsu…

"Alright now", Iruka began, "please wait until your name is called, each of you will be taking this final test individually, you many talk amongst yourselves quietly". With that, Iruka and Mizuki walked into the next room presumably to prepare the test.

With a sigh Kiro leaned back in his chair. There was no use worrying about what the final test was, he would just have to do as well as he can.

A shuffling sound to his right caught his attention, looking towards the source of the noise he was surprised to find a nervous looking Hinata. As a result of his appearance and past Kiro had no friends or even any acquaintances and was used to solitude with nothing but his thoughts for company, having someone approach him upset that status quo and so he was wary.

Looking at Hinata now, his hard gaze softened slightly, if it was Hinata then at least he could be sure that whatever intent she has it wouldn't be malignant in any way. Regardless, given her lack of self-confidence, he doubted that she would actually express what she wanted verbally, she already flinched when he looked directly at her and was starting to fidget.

Sighing Kiro decided to put her out of her misery, partly out of pity and mostly because she was starting to draw attention. "What do you want" he asked bluntly, he never was one for verbal gymnastics.

Hinata "eeped" and looked like she was going to faint in a minute but managed to remain conscious. After mumbling a few times Hinata managed to answer, "um I j-just wanted to th-th-thank you f-for helping me with the exam".

Kiro had an unreadable expression on his face, his thoughts though were working furiously, trying to wonder how she knew. He made sure that he left before she saw… _"Ah, the Byakugan" _he realized,with the telescopic vision and 360 degree's field of vision granted by her clan's unique Kekkei Genkai _(Bloodline limit)_ she could easily see anything in a circumference around her.

Mentally sighing at his mistake he wondered how to answer. "Don't mention it" he tried, "I really didn't do much". Hinata shook her head, "no, it d-doesn't matter how m-much you do, it was you intent th-that mattered".

It was a surprisingly deep answer and despite himself Kiro felt momentarily touched. Before he could answer Iruka called Hinata down. Hinata quickly gave a low bow and hurriedly followed Iruka to the next room.

Propping his legs on the table Kiro pondered this development. For the first time someone had approached him without apprehension, he had long given up hope of making a friend and this unexpected event had renewed his secret desire for friendship… and this made him uneasy.

"Kiro". Hearing his named called, he abruptly looked up before standing up, evidently it was his turn to do the final test.

* * *

Idly walking into the next room Kiro casually looked around. Mizuki and Iruka were both seated behind a table, a few papers were in front of them, presumably a report on the students and on a small table next to them were a large number of forehead protectors.

Kiro's eyes narrowed, there didn't seem to be anything resembling a test or examination in this room practical or theoretical and he wasn't sure what that left, "alright now", he glanced towards the voice, Iruka had stood up. "When your ready please stand over there and look at the picture", looking around he suddenly noticed a small picture frame hanging from a wall. Shrugging he walked towards him until he could clearly see the image inside it. It wasn't like any picture he'd ever seen before. The image could be considered some sort of abstract drawing, but not a very imaginative one, it was basically just a big swirl with some minute characters written around it. He couldn't see how this poor artistic image could be a test in any way.

Kiro squinted a little at the image, _"Is it just me or is something happening to that picture", _he thought. He wasn't sure what was happening but it looked like the air in front of him was starting to swirl around as well as if it was a whirlpool.

Kiro's eyes widened, the distortion was starting to expand and it looked like something was starting to appear from it. What appeared to be a vaguely person shaped figure began to manifest itself, then the figure seemed to colour. Blackish grey seemed to leak into the figure as if an invisible hand poured paint onto it, at the same time, it seemed to solidify, and features began to grow.

Eventually it seemed fully formed. Kiro stared in horrified fascination, it looked like a human shaped person clad in a strange substance so skin-tight that he couldn't tell whether it was a suit or its actual skin, the head was likewise devoid of anything aside from two white slits that could be eye-holes or even its eyes. It was either a person with very bizarre taste in clothing, or some sort of mannequin.

Kiro spun around, practically bursting with questions for Iruka and Mizuki. To his horror they seemed to have disappeared along with the chairs they sat on, the tables and the headbands were also gone. The room had been completely stripped bare, another look revealed that even the door was gone.

Kiro wildly looking around trying to discern what had happened, he couldn't find any solution, all the while the mannequin stood there, the only thing in the room with him. Forcing himself to calm down Kiro glanced back at the mannequin, it was obvious enough that is related to what happened, and this was evidently what the test was.

Unfortunately no matter how hard he tried to bend his mind around this situation he couldn't come up with a solution. A movement caught his attention, looking towards the mannequin, he noted that it was still inanimate like a statue, but all his senses were practically screaming at him that something was wrong.

That was when he saw the mannequin's head jerk upwards and seemed to stare at him with its eyes. Kiro took a measured step backwards, he wasn't sure why but he was getting a distinctly bad feeling about the mannequin. That was when he saw the mannequin, swing its arms… and two viciously curved blades burst out of them. He took another step back, "_definitely a bad feeling" _he thought drawing his sword.

The mannequin crouched down slightly as thought it was about to pounce, Kiro took a basic stance and steeling himself for the confrontation. Suddenly it darted forward with astounding speed, Kiro barely blocked that strike but was still forced backwards several inches, _"It's Strong" _he thought while managing to force the mannequin back, it just flipped around and leapt at him again swinging its arm-blade towards him. Kiro gritted his teeth and blocked again, this time however the mannequin released a savage kick which caught him in the torso and sent him sprawling onto the ground.

"_Focus", _Kiro thought while rolling as he landed on the ground, managing to get back on his feet. The mannequin easily rushed forward, easily managing to get under his guard. Kiro leapt backwards just as its attack cleaved the air he stood a second ago.

Kiro kept moving backwards, warily keeping his eye on the mannequin. From that brief scuffle, it was obvious that the mannequin was physically superior to him and was evidently more skilled in Taijutsu _(Body Techniques)_ as well, the only thing that left Kiro with was strategy.

The mannequin stood up and rushed towards Kiro again. This time he forced chakra into his arms and legs and moved forward too, _"time for me to get some moves in" _he thought before his sword met its arm-blades. Dodging the next swipe he swung at the mannequins arm, intending to sever the blade connected to it, the mannequin neatly jumped up, avoiding the sword and made its own attack which Kiro's chakra enhanced reflexes only barely managed to dodge.

"_This is not good", _he thought grimly while his sword clashed against the mannequin's blades. Even after increasing his abilities with chakra, he was inferior to the mannequin's physical abilities, _"None of this makes sense, how can this be a test". _The mannequin was attacking him with the intent to kill, and he could barely hold it off, even worse its relentless assault meant that he didn't have enough to time to gather chakra for any of his other attacks.

Unfortunately, with Kiro's thinking his grip on his sword and concentration loosened slightly. The mannequin, sensing the slight weakness in his guard, rushed forward. Kiro saw the attack coming too late, and watched horrified as the mannequins blade sink into his shoulder. Searing pain shot though his arm, and in desperation swung at the mannequin.

The mannequin easily avoided his attack, but he achieved his original purpose of forcing the mannequin back and giving him some breathing space.

Gasping, he instinctively grasped his injured arm while dropping his sword, though the cut wasn't very large it was deep and he could feel blood welling from the wound and dripping down his arm. Either way, he doubted he could keep fighting, he was losing even when he had perfect use of both arms and he doubted he mannequin would give him a rest break.

Almost as if it could hear what he was saying in his mind, the mannequin rushed at him, eager to press its advantage. Kiro only had enough time to pick up his sword before he was attacked by a furious barrage of Taijutsu _(Body Techniques)_ and Kenjutsu _(The Art of the Sword). _

With his damaged arm, Kiro could only try and fend of the mannequins bladed attacks while enduring the hard blows that rained against his body. _"I… can't keep… this up", _he thought. His crippled arm was starting to deaden and the continuous attacks were draining him of strength.

The mannequin suddenly leapt forward kicked his sword away, _"Shit" _thought the now defenceless Kiro. Without his sword, he couldn't defend himself at such a close range, desperately grabbing some shuriken from his hip pouch and sent them flying towards the mannequin.

The mannequin easily deflected that shuriken and continued to rush towards Kiro who drew a kunai in a last ditch effort to fight back. The mannequin easily knocked the kunai out of his hand, before slashing him across the chest. Before he could react the mannequin continued to attack, slicing Kiro relentlessly.

Kiro staggered trying to stop himself from losing consciousness, pain throbbed from every laceration and his body was practically covered with blood. He could feel that the air was thick with the scent of his blood and he recognised that he was in danger of haemorrhaging to death, an arm grabbed him around the throat. Looking towards the mannequin he saw that it was prepared the plunge its sword right into his head.

"_Is this how I'm going to die", _Kiro thought, _"Fighting against some enemy dressed as a training dummy during my graduation exam". _Suddenly, in a moment of clarity, his eyes narrowed, he reviewed that statement and realized how ludicrous that sentence and this entire situation was. Because of the danger of the situation he never really thought about anything but surviving but now he suddenly realised a few things, for one thing he wasn't the first person called to take the test and the people who went before him didn't exactly come out hacked to bits. More importantly they came out just fine, without a single wound on them.

Leaving those points aside, it was impossible for the room to be completely left bare so quickly, more ridiculous was how the door disappeared, an impossibility considering he had walked through it minutes beforehand, and how the mannequin had appeared the way, either it had an addiction for dramatic entrances or it never really happened, _"after all, this are happened when I looked at that weird picture"_.

Kiro stared at the mannequin in suspicion, now that he figured everything out the only thing left to do was test his theory. Just as the mannequin was ready to sheathe its blade in his head his hands came together in a hand sign; Kai _(Release)_!

* * *

Kiro had instinctively closed his eyes when he used the standard Genjutsu cancelling. Though he knew he would have died already if everything that happened wasn't an illusion but he was still a little apprehensive about confirming it, either way it didn't hurt to keep his eyes closed.

He suddenly heard clapping. Opening his eyes Kiro saw that the room was back to normal and Iruka was the one clapping. "Very impressive, you're the first one in the class to figure everything out" Iruka said with a smile, quickly looking down Kiro saw that all the wounds his mind believed he sustained were gone; it was all an elaborate Genjutsu.

Sighing he walked up to Iruka and Mizuki and waiting for their judgement. Iruka grinned, while Mizuki was busily writing down something on his paper. "Congratulations" Iruka began, "you have passed your ninja examination and I present to you a symbol of Konoha and the rank of Genin _(Low Ninja)_" while holding out a headband_._

Carefully taking the headband, Kiro looked at it before carefully tucking it away. Taking a deep breath Kiro asked, "Before I leave I want to ask something?". Iruka's grin broadened, "Well, that's new. Most other ninja would have bolted by now to show of their new status to their friends". _"If only I had any" _Kiro thought sadly before beginning, "Why would you make young ninja graduates endure something like that. The first two tests should have been ample enough to show the abilities of academy level ninja".

Iruka's smile disappeared and he sighed, "The first two examinations were at very basic level and were meant to test your skill, but they do not give you or your classmates the experience on what being a ninja is truly about. The saimin: shadō faitā _(Hypnosis: Shadow Fighter) _Genjutsu was designed to show them that being a ninja is not something that is meant for the light of heart or something that is to be taken lightly," before Kiro could respond Iruka continued, "I know that this seems very cold-blooded to you, but it will prevent them from actually experiencing what it is like on the field, in other words the final exam was to test you resolve."

Kiro pondered Iruka's answer, though he disapproved of using such a brutal method to accomplish this he couldn't deny the logic behind it. Words and diagrams could only convince young ninja so much, they would need to experience what it was like to fight for their lives and lose.

Mizuki looked up from his paper, "Well know, since you asked a question, may I ask one of own?". Kiro answered, "Shoot", Mizuki smiled slightly at his answer, "Well what made you realize that the test was a Genjutsu", Kiro shrugged, "When the Genjutsu began, a lot of things happened that doesn't make sense. I'm guessing that was deliberate to make it suitable for a Genin exam", at this both Iruka and Mizuki nodded, "The mannequin, by my guess, was put there to make the mind panic and in turn stop thinking logically". Iruka and Mizuki both nodded, impressed at his reasoning.

"Just one more question", Kiro added, Iruka and Mizuki acquiesced. "What would have happened if I didn't break the Genjutsu". Iruka answered, "You would have blacked out and woken up out of the Genjutsu on the floor", "and you would have either failed or barely passed the final exam" Mizuki finished.

Finishing their conversation, Kiro stood up and walked out back into the classroom. Because he had already finished the final exam and no one to talk too he found no reason to stay, so he casually walking out the door and out onto the streets.

* * *

It was perhaps a few minutes later he felt a familiar presence that had distinctly been following him for a while, glancing around he saw no one but that was to be expected, _"After all she wouldn't be openly following me in broad daylight. Well I'll see if I can lose her". _

After a few more minutes of cat and mouse Kiro finally decided he'd had enough, stopping and without turning, "Alright Hinata, I know you've been following me, just come out and tell me what you want", he gave it about five seconds.

After seven seconds he turned around and saw, without surprise, Hinata Hyuga standing nervously after coming out from behind a garbage can, he raised an eyebrow and repeated his statement. Hinata, after composing herself, managed to look slightly more confident then before, "Umm, I-I was just wondering, erm", Kiro nodded. "W-W-Would you be my friend" she hastily forced out while her head ducked down.

Kiro was rather stunned, this was different from when she thanked him for helping her during the practical test, and he didn't know how to respond, given the fact that no one wanted to be his friend. Inside he waged an internal battle, on one hand he had long resolved that he would be better off alone, given the discomfort he caused people. On the other hand, he had desired a friend ever since he was little and the conversation he had with Hinata earlier had renewed that desire.

Still he hesitated, the pain of rejection was still raw ever since he was child and accepting friendship was also opening potential doors to great pain, he wondered if it was worth the risk. Suddenly he remembered what Sarutobi had told him years ago, _"What is life without a little risk", _he had more or less ignored that remark but this event caused him to remember it and now he realized its significance.

Living was a risk, every decision, every action, everything people do has a potential to hurt them in some way but not doing anything was a kind of pain too, an emptiness that couldn't be filled, he knew that feeling all to well, _"Maybe it is time to relax a little", _he mused wistfully.

His decision made he walked up to Hinata who looked up in trepidation. He stopped at a respectful distance, "I think I'd like that" Kiro answered with a smile. Hinata looked stunned for a moment before her face broke out in a smile as well,

"_It seems that I've gotten what I wanted at last" _Kiro thought idly as he walked alongside Hinata, _"Now the only thing left is to see where it leads me"._

To Be Continued

Authors notes: Longest chapter yet at over three thousand and seven hundred words, anyways as you can see the Graduation arc is over now, and as I said above the next chapter will be told mostly from Naruto/Nariko's view. I hope people have enjoyed reading this story, I've certainly enjoyed writing it.

As always constructive criticism is welcome, oh and if anyone can recommend a good site where I can get translations that would be a real help


	7. Chapter 5: Life from another view

Sorry this chapter took so long, but since it's the longest chapter I've written, and I did mention it in the last chapter.

Anyways this chapter will, more or less, be told from Nariko/Naruto's view and will also explain some parts of her life. There will also be a few flashback scenes to explain sections of her/his past and to make it more broad the flashbacks won't be told entirely from how Nariko sees' it.

Disclaimer: I do not profit from this story and the rights to _Naruto _belongs to Masashi Kishimoto

**Naruto: Tale of Yin and Yang**

Chapter 5: Life from another view

Nariko calmly walked out of the test room with a headband worn proudly as a choker around her neck, the Genjutsu final exam was definitely unexpected and more difficult then what she had expected but it was easy enough once she worked out the secret in the test during the last few seconds.

She watched impassively as many of her admirers immediately converged on her as soon as she entered the classroom, as per usual they were showering her with praise and affection and vying for her affections. Utter nonsense as far as she was concerned.

It was a well known fact that Nariko Uzumaki spurned any advances towards her, whether they were offers of friendship, shyly asked dates or love declarations. Naturally this did not deter anyone as her status as an "untouchable flower in the garden" made her an irresistible prize to be won, to her male classmates anyway.

The endless pack of young adolescent would be shinobi's were starting to annoy her, unfortunately she couldn't just blow them all away with a wind jutsu, she still remembered the earful she got from Sarutobi, or "old geezer" as she called him in verbal conversations, the last time she did that.

Focusing chakra into her legs she easily leaped over the heads of her suitors and neatly landed on her desk, before anyone could react she leaned over and opened the window next to her seat. Grasping the window sill she swung herself out the window and upwards onto the roof, out of the reach of her many admirers.

* * *

Nariko sighed in relief and leaned back onto the ground. Dealing with all of her admirers was tiring and annoying work and it almost made her wish that they treated her like most of the other village treated her.

At that train of thought she involuntarily gave a sad sigh, ever since she was a child she had been shunned by the village, they avoided her like the plague and made no secret of their hatred of her. Her mouth tightened, she remembered the pain those years of solitude had caused, it would have been easier if it was only the older generation that treated her like this but it seemed that they had passed this attitude onto their children.

She remembered how she was bullied mercilessly at the playgrounds whether she was pushed around, verbally abuse or deliberately excluded from their circle of friends, in one particular situation she even remembered how she tried to escape a group of boys who decided to use her as target practice by climbing up a tree. This didn't stop them and they threw rocks up at her all the while calling her an unloved monster, a freak in the village and all sorts of other things. She remembered falling when a rock hit her head, after that she woke up in a hospital with Sarutobi sitting next to her in concern.

She quietly snorted at the change now, it wasn't until maybe a few years ago when the male students began taking a liking towards her, naturally this did not endear her to her female classmates but they had no reason to fell jealous about her, she never forgot how the boys treated her before however and refused to accept their pathetic advances despite the weak excuses they came up with to justify their behaviour.

Nariko reached up and fingered her long hair, the length of her hair and her figure were the only real things that could be considered feminine, part of the reason for this was her hard training schedule and apathetic attitude and Nariko needed something to remind herself that she was a girl that had feelings like everyone, it was also something of an rebellious act against the village. Long hair was generally frowned upon for ninja as they were often disadvantageous for missions and were generally only good for posing, but this was the other small reason she grew her hair out, it wasn't like she was the only ninja with long hair anyway.

She sighed and sat up, she remembered how when she was younger she used to crave attention and had tried to everything she could to get it, perhaps even becoming a ninja was nothing more then an attempt to be acknowledged, she sighed again. She was getting attention now, but not the sort of attention she wanted and by then she had already decided that she would rely on herself only, she did not need the sanction of anyone else nor desired it. A small smile appeared on her face, even so she remembered the day she finally enrolled at the Ninja Academy and made her first true friend…

---Flashback: 7 years ago---

A seven year old Nariko happily skipped towards the gates of the Ninja Academy, she was tall for her age but petite and delicate, and carried a sunny smile on her face. Finally she was going to become a ninja.

For a long time Nariko had been in awe of the many stories of the exploits of famous ninja and had resolved that one day she would also become a famous ninja, she had subsequently pestered Sarutobi into letting her enrol at the Ninja Academy and he had reluctantly acquiesced to her demand.

Smiling happily Nariko walked into the school towards the line of other young children enrolling at the academy. Upon reaching the end of the line however some of the boys who had been talking amongst themselves turned around at her arrival, "What do you want you monster?" one of them said aggressively, Nariko's smile dimmed slightly before she rallied, "I'm here to learn to be a ninja" she answered exuberantly, the group of boys glowered at her. "Forget it, they won't let your kind here. Why don't you go away you freak", said the same boy from before.

The corners of Nariko's smile began to turn downward. Even here it seemed like she couldn't make any friends, she was just about to turn around and go wait for the line to finish when she heard a voice call out, "Hey, what's going on here".

Both Nariko and the group of children antagonising her turned towards the voice, striding towards them was a tall looking ninja wearing a green vest over a loose dark blue body suit. He had a scar across the bridge of his nose and a kind expression on his face.

Stopping in front of them his gaze stopped at Nariko and widened slightly in recognition. "Alright what's the problem here", he said sternly, before Nariko could say anything the boy that seemed to be the leader of the group pointed his finger at Nariko, "I'll tell you what the problem is. The problem is letting this freak show into the Ninja Academy with all the normal kids" he proclaimed.

The scarred ninja raised an eyebrow, "Oh, what's your name", the boy seemingly thinking that he was being going to be praised preened and answered, "Shu Yamamoto". The scarred ninja nodded briskly and said, "Alright, Shu come with me, we're going have a word to your parents about you suitability, or lack thereof, as a shinobi". At these words Shu blanched. "And the rest of you", the scarred continued turning towards Shu's group, "Let this be a warning to you".

As he passed Nariko he paused and gave her a crafty wink. Glowing with happiness Nariko turned and stuck her tongue out at Shu as he walked past, he scowled in response. Smiling again Nariko happily bounded to the end of the line and waited for her turn to turn in her application.

* * *

Nariko sighed, she was bored. She had been waiting in the line for who knows how long and she had no one to talk too. She considered leaving and getting something to eat but she didn't want to lose her place in line.

Pouting she crossed her arms over her chest, she always seemed to be filled with reckless energy and was never particularly good at waiting patiently.

"Hey there", at that voice Nariko turned and saw the same scarred ninja that had helped her before, "Hello, scarred ninja, thank you for helping me with those means boys from before" she gushed out happily.

The scarred ninja chuckled at her nickname for him and answered, "It's alright, we don't tolerate that kind of behaviour at the Ninja Academy and new students are no exception to the rule". Nariko smiled happily, he was the nicest ninja she ever met and she hoped that she would see him at the Academy, she told the ninja so.

The scarred ninja smiled indulgently, Nariko happily smiled back. She didn't know why but she liked the ninja, he was nice to her and treated her fairly and there was something about him that just made her feel like she could trust him.

He suddenly looked towards the registration area and suddenly looked a little uneasy, he abruptly turning to her, "Please come with me, I think it would be better if I registered you in". Nariko seemed ecstatic at the thought, mostly because she didn't want wait any more.

Happily following the scarred ninja Nariko pelted him with questions about what being a ninja was like, "Is it hard?", "What sort of missions have you gone on?", "Where did you get that cool headband?", "Can I have one?"

All the while the scarred ninja just grinned and answered each question, "Sometimes", "Not too many dangerous ones", "I got this when I became a shinobi", "If you pass the graduation exam."

Nariko kept smiling happily, this was the first time someone had talked to her without calling her a Monster. She decided to ask one last question, "What's your name?"

"My name" the scarred ninja answered. He turned and smiled, "I'm Iruka Umino. Nice to meet you".

---End Flashback---

Nariko sighed at the memory, _"I was such a little fool then" _she thought. Regardless it was one of her favourite ones because she met Iruka who became her first friend, in a funny way it was all because of that obnoxious Shu, although he wasn't forbidden from attending the academy he got in some trouble and she remembered the black looks she got from him since that day.

Nariko suddenly frowned, although she trusted Iruka without question she never could shake the feeling he was hiding something unpleasant from her, it was the same feeling she got whenever she and Sarutobi discussed her past and she couldn't help but suspect it had something to do with why she was so mistreated by the village. Her eyes narrowed at the thought, if that was true then one day she would find a way to get to the truth.

Nariko looked up and noticed that the sun was already starting to set, she had been on the roof longer then she had expected. Shrugging she decided to go get an early dinner at her favourite restaurant.

Standing up she casually leaped down onto the streets, immediately she could fell the hostility of the people around her, most of them simply ignored her and went on their way, some of the more audacious ones openly sneered and spat at her. She inwardly shrugged she was so used to it now that it hardly bothered her what they thought about her, she had already accepted that she would always be an outcast, trying to change that was a fruitless endeavour as far as she was concerned.

Taking a familiar path that cut towards her favourite restaurant she idly wondered when her beliefs on the village changed, it was probably around her time at the Ninja Academy, although she said she wanted to be a ninja because she greatly admired them she realized that it was just another attempt to be acknowledged in the village.

The protest against her admission into the Ninja Academy had been great and it was that time when she realized why Sarutobi had been so reluctant to allow her to attend, it was probably when the people in the village began treating her even worse then before during her time at the Ninja Academy that changed her, she knew that greatly saddened both Iruka and Sarutobi but she had decided that the village would never accept her, well she didn't care as far she could tell, her lack of friends and support had allowed her to become self dependant, in retrospect maybe she should actually thank the village for that act.

Shaking her head and forcing out those bitter thoughts Nariko realized she had arrived at her favourite restaurant; a small ramen bar called Ichiraku Ramen. Although some people have scorned her strange taste for her favourite restaurant she had always ignored them.

As Nariko walked into the bar she allowed her cold emotionless "mask" to crack. "Hey there, Nariko, been a while since you've come here. I was worried that you'd forgotten about us" a cheerful middle-aged man wearing a standard chefs uniform and hat said at her appearance, a small smile appeared on Nariko's face at seeing him, his name was Teuchi and he was the chef of Ichiraku Ramen. More importantly though, he and his daughter was one of the few people who treated her like and actual human being. _"Which is probably why I keep coming back," _Nariko thought before answering, "What are you saying old man, I thought that you had learned to trust in me by now".

The man just smiled back and answered, "Yeah well, it's been a while since you've come here, me and Ayame were starting to get worried." Nariko's smile broadened, although she hadn't been to Ichiraku Ramen for several months she was never put off by Teuchi's comments, he made them every time she took longer then a month to visit for lunch or dinner and as far as she was concerned, it was his way to show he cared.

"Father? Is she back?" a voice called out from the back of the bar, Teuchi grinned and called back, "Yep, and you were worried that she wouldn't show up any more. Come on out and say hello". Rummaging could be hear from the back before a young women with long brown hair with a similar uniform to Teuchi's appeared.

"Nariko-chan" she declared happily, rushing forward to greet her. Nariko smiled and answered, "Ayame". It always made her happy to come here, even though ramen was not exactly her favourite thing to eat the warm atmosphere and lack of hostility she received made her feel comfortable, Teuchi and Ayame always treated her as well as they treated everyone else, of course it didn't hurt that they usually gave her discounts for food given her fairly meagre allowance.

"So what'll it be?" Ayame asked quickly reverting to a professional tone of voice, Nariko hid a smile and looked down at their menu, it was always amusing to her how Ayame would act whenever she took and served Nariko's order.

Looking through the selection available Nariko noticed that Teuchi had added a new product during her absence, _"Special Seafood Ramen", _she read. Sounded interesting.

Nariko quickly looked over the list again, given her frequent visits to Ichiraku Ramen she had sampled every single dish on the menu, consequently she was always eager to try new products and sometimes even gave her opinion on them.

After looking over the menu twice she decided. "I'll have the Special Seafood Ramen" Nariko ordered, Ayame nodded, "One Special Seafood Ramen coming up" she declared walking into the back.

Nariko closed her eyes and smiled happily, she allowed the relaxing atmosphere around her leak into her, the familiar smells of spices, condiments and cooking of the restaurant began to stir nostalgic feelings, barely realizing it she began to relax. It really had been a long time since she came, so much so that she forgot the simple feeling of pleasure she enjoyed whenever she came to Ichiraku Ramen.

Of course it wasn't always like this, in fact it took her nearly half a year before she finally managed to relax at Ichiraku Ramen. Nariko gave a short inward chuckle when she remembered how wary she was when Iruka first brought her here those years ago…

---Flashback: 3 years ago---

A rather sullen looking eleven year old Nariko was following Iruka down the streets, it had been four years since she had first enrolled at the Ninja Academy and she was starting to lose hope of being recognised in the village, Iruka was still the only friend she made and even then, because of his duties as a Chunin academy instructor, he couldn't spend too much time with her.

Nariko sighed, resigned to her situation. Iruka had been pestering her for months about visiting some restaurant that was supposedly very good, unfortunately her past experiences in eating out were less then pleasant to say the least, whether the restaurant she went too was high class, normal everyday restaurants or even just food stalls, the reception she received was the same.

Sighing again Nariko moodily looked at Iruka, he had frequently insisted on her giving this restaurant a try and when she asked why he just answered, "You'll like the people there". She frowned when she remembered that statement, rather then claiming that the food they serve was "heaven on earth" or any other clichéd line that would normally be used for this kind of persuasion, he had hinted that she would actually be accepted whether they were going.

She quietly snorted at the thought, she had given up hope on something like that ever happening and doubted that Iruka understood the true extent of the villages enmity towards her, she honestly wouldn't have even gone with him if wasn't for the fact that she had forgotten to go shopping and had no food left.

"_Well either way, at least this proves that Iruka knows something about why the village hates me" _Nariko thought as she listlessly followed Iruka down a rather empty street.

"We're here" Iruka called out cheerfully, Nariko glanced up and stared; it was only some ramen bar. _"Ichiraku Ramen" _Nariko read in surprise, despite everything she had been expecting, she never imagined that this restaurant was actually a ramen bar.

Grinning Iruka walked into the bar while Nariko more reluctantly followed, a middle

aged looking chef who had his back to them turned at the sound of them entering, "Hey Iruka, how've you been?" he asked immediately. Iruka answered, "Pretty good, how's business been?" the chef shrugged in response, "Oh you know, the usual".

Judging from the casual way they interacted Nariko decided that Iruka must have been coming to this restaurant for a while. She idly wondered how long it would take for the chef to notice her, if he was going to treat her like the rest of the village treated her, _"Which is probable", _she thought, then she would have preferred it if he didn't see her.

Nariko was just about to retreat backwards when the chef suddenly noticed her, "Hey Iruka, who's the kid?", Iruka grinned and answered, "Oh she's a student from the Ninja Academy", the chef grinned back. "Well if you brought her here then I doubt that she's just some regular student of yours", he remarked casually.

The chef turned to Nariko, "Hello there, my name is Teuchi", Nariko jumped a little, she wasn't used to people, other then Sarutobi and Iruka, talking to her without any spite or scorn in their tone. The now named Teuchi chuckled at her response, "Hey its okay I won't bite. Don't worry about the rest of the village I don't see what on earth is so bad about you, you look like a sweet little girl to me".

Nariko smiled shyly at the compliment and relaxed a little. Teuchi straightened and suddenly looked more professional, "So what can I get you two?" he asked. Nariko and Iruka sat down and glanced at the menus.

"Lets see, I'll have the Tonkotsu _(Pork Bone)_ Ramen with extra broth", Iruka said after surveying the menu. Teuchi nodded and turned to Nariko, "And have you decided what you want?" he asked, she didn't answer.

Nariko frowned as she stared at the selection before her. As a result of her isolation from the village she had never had a choice on what she could dine on, among the few shops that were willing to sell to her fairly their selection was generally quite meagre, coupled with their obvious discomfort with serving her. Consequently, she did not have a very broad diet.

Looking at the variety of different foods, all ramen, that was printed on the menu, Nariko felt a little lost. She was briefly tempted to order everything just to see which one she enjoyed the most, but she didn't want to have force Iruka to pay for everything.

"Should I translate the menu for you", Teuchi asked, amused at the length of time it was taking Nariko to decide. Nariko glared up at him and answered, "I'll have the… the…", she took a quick glance at the menu again, "The Miso Ramen!", she declared.

Teuchi smothered a laugh and walked into the back, "Coming up" he yelled out. Nariko leaned on the counter and scowled at Iruka who was chuckling at her, "Don't let it get to you, Nariko" Iruka said, "He's just messing with you", she nodded begrudgingly in response.

"Father, is that a new customer?" a young women's voice called out. Nariko stiffened at the voice and turned towards the source of the voice. A young women with long brown hair was standing there carrying a bag full of various groceries and ingredients.

"Ayame, your back" Teuchi said coming out from the back, noting Nariko's wary expression Teuchi quickly tried to dispel any suspicions, "Don't worry, she's just my daughter. She won't bite". Nariko nodded but still didn't relax as Ayame walked into the stand, "Hello, you must be new here. I'm Ayame" she said as soon as she put down her groceries. Nariko just stared warily at her, wondering whether to answer or not.

Ayame frowned slightly, "What's wrong, did I upset you or something?" she inquired, Nariko still didn't answer. Iruka nudged her slightly, "It's rude to ignore someone like that" he whispered at her, Nariko's shifted uncomfortably at the statement, "I'm Nariko Uzumaki, Iruka-senseibrought me here" she finally answered in a uncharacteristically formal tone, still carefully eyeing Ayame.

Ayame smiled sweetly at her answer, "Well it's nice to meet you Nariko-chan". Nariko just nodded, taken aback by the honorific she added to her name. If she remembered correctly honorific's were generally used as a form of endearment or respect, she had never expected that someone other then Iruka would use them for her, especially when they had just met.

"Order up" Teuchi declared, carrying two bowls filled to the brim with hot steaming ramen. Setting the bowls in front of Iruka and Nariko he stepped back and waited for their judgement.

Iruka immediately took a pair of chopsticks, said his thanks and dug in. Nariko was more conservative, she carefully lifted some of the ramen to her mouth and began wordlessly eating.

Teuchi and Ayame exchanged worried looks, although Nariko had let down her guard a few times it was evident that she was still defensive around them and still found it hard to trust them.

Ayame shook her head and took on a determined look, she marched out of the stand and up to Nariko and sat down next to her. Nariko turned in surprise but before she could say anything, Ayame spoke first. "So is this your first time here?" she asked with a big smile on her face, Nariko looked rather confounded at the unexpected company and lost her composure for a few seconds before answering.

"Yes, Iruka-sensei brought me here", Ayame nodded before firing off another question, "I see, so how long have you known Iruka?", Nariko considered the question, "About four years", Ayame nodded again before asking another question "So how did you two meet".

"_Why is she asking me all this?" _Nariko thought to herself as she answered all of the questions being fired at her. Although she tried to maintain her curt and indifferent answers she gradually began to loosen her guard, she began to answer in longer and fuller sentences. Before she knew it she was telling her everything about herself, what her life was like before joining the Ninja Academy, what her classes were like and even what her hobbies after classes were.

Eventually she realized that she had finished her bowl and reluctantly put down her chopsticks, despite herself she had enjoyed the food and company and now felt guilty about the way she treated Teuchi and Ayame before.

"Well I think we're finished" Iruka declared, pulling out his wallet and paying for their food, "And it was just as delicious as ever" he added standing up. Nariko also stood up with a rather conflicted look on her face, Iruka looked at her shrewdly before saying his goodbyes, "C'mon Nariko, its time to go home" he said before walking away.

Nariko hesitated and seemed to be struggling with a decision. Ayame looked at her with concern, "Nariko-chan, are you okay?" she asked, Nariko turned red, "THANK YOU FOR THE MEAL!" she shouted out before bolting down the street.

---End Flashback---

Nariko smiled at the memory, it had taken her some time but she gradually came to trust Teuchi and Ayame as much as Iruka, she even started coming to their ramen stand by herself after Iruka took her there a few more times. It was times like these that she was grateful that Iruka had convinced her to visit Ichiraku Ramen although she had resisted the idea in the beginning she now realized that she was just being a petulant child then. She also had a shrewd idea that Iruka knew how Teuchi and Ayame would react to her, not that she was complaining.

"Order up" Teuchi declared snapping her out of her thoughts, taking a pair of chopsticks she stared down at her meal, a tasty looking bowl of noodles with various seafood titbits floating in it. With Teuchi intently watching her for any sign of dissatisfaction she slowly lifted some of the noodles to her mouth.

Rich flavours danced in her mouth, she could taste a variety of different flavours all mixed together perfectly, yet she could still single out every one of the different ingredients that went into the ramen.

Nariko smiled and gave Teuchi a thumbs-up in approval. Teuchi relaxed in response and gave a sigh of relief, Ayame grinned and said, "Hey dad, you shouldn't take serving ramen so seriously, even if its our number one customer". In response he just shrugged sheepishly and walked into the back.

Still grinning, Ayame quickly turned to Nariko, who was busily consuming her meal with quick and expert precision, and began to catch up on several months worth of conversation.

Nariko inwardly grinned as Ayame fired all manner of questions at her ranging from what her schooling life was like to the latest news in Kunoichi gossip. She answered all of these questions to the best of her ability and was genuinely amused by Ayame's "older sister" persona.

"So have you gotten a boyfriend yet?" Ayame asked. Immediately all amusement faded and Nariko scowled at the question. That question was to be expected but Nariko had always held the (vain) hope that Ayame would refrain from asking that question during one of her visits.

Despite her growing fan club, or perhaps because of them, Nariko had, over the years, grown VERY thin-skinned about questions concerning her love life or lack thereof. If anyone else had asked her this she would have responded with a murderous look and, if the questioner was particularly obnoxious, a sound beating for an answer.

It didn't help that many of her admirers never seem to get the hint that she wasn't interested in romantic relationships, she had rejected every one of her admirers several times at least and this had worn down her tolerance for these questions to an all time low.

To date, Ayame was the only one who could ask that question without getting some antagonism from her and so, like all the previous times, Nariko just veiled her eyes and shook her head. Ayame, long used to this answer, took in into stride and asked her next question on how she kept so fit despite the generous amounts she ate. With some relief Nariko answered the new question.

* * *

Nariko calmly walked down the streets, she had spent more time then any other visit today, mostly to catch up on conversation with Teuchi and Ayame, and the street was entirely empty. She didn't mind, she actually preferred being left alone with her thoughts for company.

Now that she was a Genin she was officially considered part of the villages military, albeit at the lowest rank, and was thus under the obligation of protecting the village, more importantly she was now effectively out of the grasp of the village. With the Hitai-ite _(Headband) _she was given she could effectively abandon the village and become a missing-nin. Because of the fact she was now instated as a ninja, her name would appear in the Bingo Book regardless of her rank.

Almost wistfully, Nariko entertained thoughts on treason against the village, while most people would be shocked that she was considering abandoning her home village so easily, to her it wasn't so hard. In reality she had never considered the village her home and had considered running away from the village quite a few times over the last two years.

Nariko sighed when she remembered the main reason she never considered the idea seriously; the people she had managed to befriend over the years. Both Iruka and Sarutobi had always encouraged her to love the village, to believe that one day she could find acceptance there… she really try and believe them, but over the years it had grown harder and harder and finally she had decided that all of those beliefs and hopes were nothings more then overoptimistic delusions.

Likewise Teuchi and Ayame always did their best to keep that hope alive, they frequently told her that the villages hatred was just a misunderstanding and that some day people in the village would come to accept her, to support this they frequently used themselves as examples and while it had kept hope alive for some time, ultimately Nariko could not see any of those ideals come to fruition.

Nariko stared up into the sky. Although she cherished her friends more then anything in the world she couldn't deny that they would probably be the only thing in the end that would keep her from defecting from the village, it was ironic how the most important thing in her life would be the one thing that kept her from taking the final step in her dream to break free from the hate and indifference of the village.

A sudden sound caught her ear, the noise was soft but there was no mistaking what it was. Someone was following her.

Keeping her walk casual, Nariko lightly shook her sleeve and a concealed kunai knife slipped into her waiting hand, she had learned long ago that is was dangerous, especially for her, to wander around late at night so she had taken to concealing a few weapons in easy to reach places. Nariko discreetly kept her senses open as she continued walking, she would wait for the prowler to move again, and then…

A sudden darting movement behind her! Immediately Nariko turned towards the movement and flung the kunai towards the mysterious stalker…

Mizuki lightly caught the kunai that was one a course to impale him in the stomach. Dropping down he gave Nariko a grin and said, "Hey, you should be careful about where you throw these things, if I wasn't a ninja you could have gotten into some serious trouble".

Nariko mentally snorted, it wouldn't be her fault if she happened to injure someone whilst defending herself, but keeping her expression neutral she asked, "Why were you following me Mizuki?"

Still smiling Mizuki lightly tossed the kunai back to Nariko, she easily caught it in a swift hand movement all the while keeping her eyes trained on him.

Casually walking up but keeping a respectful distance away Mizuki answered in a teasing tone, "Now now Nariko, must you be so hostile towards you teacher", a slightly serious look crossed his face, "But your suspicions are correct, though not for the right reasons. I'm not following you for a social call".

Nariko face remained emotionless, Mizuki smiled slightly and stepped closer, "I'll be quick. Because your abilities are more advanced then the other students it was decided by the other teachers that there will be an extra test for you to check your abilities better", here he took a slight breath before continuing, "It's not compulsory but if you succeed you might learn some new jutsu in the process, what do you say?"

Nariko kept her face deliberately blank but her eyes narrowed shrewdly, wondering about what Mizuki had told her.

"I'm listening".

To Be Continued

Whew. This is definitely the longest chapter I've ever written, over five thousand five hundred words.

Anyways I'm sure you can guess what's happening right now and yes, the next chapter will also be told from Nariko's point of view.

As always constructive criticism is welcome, though I'm starting to give up hope that anyone will be reading this story, and so until the next chapter.


	8. Chapter 6: Secrets Revealed

Five reviews with the release of the seventh chapter, pretty good considering that just previously the review count was zero, but anyways thank you all for the reviews. To answer a few questions my first reviewer gave me (acap88), the OC character is the main character but he is not the only main character, that would just be boring, some of the other characters will have large roles as well but the OC will probably be just a bit more important then them.

As for his relation to the other characters lets say that he is a very introverted character and won't be interacting much with the other characters, aside from his team-mates, for a little while and even then… well you'll see.

Anyways onto the next chapter, again told from Nariko's view. The chapter will be stretching all the way from stealing the scroll, learning jutsu, and beating Mizuki. It should be somewhat faithful to the manga/anime but I've added a few things,

Disclaimer: I do not profit from this story and the rights to _Naruto _belongs to Masashi Kishimoto

**Naruto: Tale of Yin and Yang**

Chapter 6: Secrets Revealed

It was long past midnight and the village was silent. All the civilians had retired to their beds and even most of the ninja that were supposed to guard the village from intruders were relaxed and half drowsy with sleep. After all its been thirteen years since the village had been attacked, and who would be foolish enough to attack an entire village full of ninja? It had been so long since a genuine threat had appeared that the guards never bothered to check whether trouble was brewing from sources already inside the village…

A shadow was furtively darting along the roofs, fluidly moving from the silhouette's of various structures upon the rooftops whilst hiding in the darkness the cloud obscured moon gave out. The movement, speed and silence of the shadow all gave of a sense of skill, poise and grace and the owner of the mysterious shadow was without a doubt talented at the arts of espionage and surveillance.

After several more minutes the shadow seemed to reach its target, slowing down and perching neatly on the roof of some grocery store it observed the building it was looking for; the Hokage Residence. Clouds suddenly parted and a single ray of moonlight illuminated the ninja; pure black, conforming clothing with both the body and face muffled by the camouflaging folds. Only the eyes were free, brilliant blue irises glimmered out, a great contrast against the dark clothing.

Staring down at the Hokage Residence Nariko wondered about her decision, certainly anyone else with any level of sense would have outright refused what she was attempting to do right now, she was already wondering whether what she was doing was really worth it.

Though she had a reputation of audaciousness and habit of blatantly disobeying her teachers, she generally draws a line where she considered the "forbidden zone" and right now she had gone far into that area and was already wondering how she would wriggle out of punishment if she were to be captured.

Nariko sighed, thinking back to the event that was the root of all that she was doing.

-Flashback: Several hours ago-

"I'm listening".

Mizuki smirked at the short answer and began speaking, "Alright then, now this may shock you but bear with me its all just another examination", here he paused dramatically, "You must steal the Scroll of Seals" he stated dramatically. For an instant a sudden look of hunger appeared in his eyes before it vanished.

Nariko didn't even blink at the news and continued to regard Mizuki with a neutral expression, a brief look of disappointment flashed across Mizuki's face before he quickly rearranged his features back into a friendly smile.

"Now then, your probably thinking something alongside the lines of "he's crazy" but like I said this is just an examination" Mizuki said, seeing no reaction from Nariko he continued, "Now then, your goal is to steal the Scroll of Seals from the Hokage's Residence, to help with this endeavour, I've arranged for the defences to be… lessened. Afterwards you must escape the area while evading any ninja you come across, don't worry they're just there to make it more difficult, and finally come to this area where some ninja will appear and you will be judged".

He handed her a scroll containing instructions and a map to show the area he was talking about. Nariko briefly glanced at it before tucking it away in her carry pouch. Mizuki nodded before jumping back onto a roof, "Oh and if you happen to get there early you can take a look inside the scroll, if you can learn a jutsu _(Technique) _from it you'll get extra marks" he called out, with that he vanished in a swirl of leaves.

Nariko stared at the area Mizuki was before turning and began walking back to her apartment, she wouldn't start immediately as she needed some supplies before attempting to infiltrate the Hokage's Residence, i.e. the most heavily guarded building in the village, she needed to wait until after midnight before attempting anything anyway.

-End Flashback-

Recalling the conversation Nariko mentally snorted at the ropey attempt to trick her. From the beginning she could see that Mizuki's tale was a complete lie and was an obvious (and pathetic) attempt to manipulate her to steal the Scroll of Seals, _"presumably for himself", _she thought recalling the greed that appeared in his eyes when he mentioned the scroll. Mizuki evidently thought she was some kind of simpleton to fall for something like that, yet here she was all the same.

Nariko, despite herself, frowned at what she was going to do all the while going through the holes in Mizuki's story. The first and main reason was what her target was supposed to be. The Scroll of Seals was a large scroll filled with an assortment of A-Rank to S-Rank class jutsu, all of them dangerous Kinjutsu _(Forbidden Techniques)_. Consequently, the scroll was sealed away by the First Hokage and was nicknamed the "Forbidden Scroll" and would never be involved in ANY examination regardless of the skill of the examinee.

The secondary reason was why Sasuke Uchiha wasn't included in the "examination". If she really was being tested because her level was beyond the other ninja graduates, then Sasuke would also be included since he, as much she didn't want to admit it, was perhaps just as skilled as she was, maybe even more. The very fact that she was going solo rang a few warning bells in her head.

Bringing herself back to the present Nariko carefully adjusted her position out of the moonlight under a large water tank. It was obvious that this was treason against the village and the very fact that Mizuki had done this more or less proves that he plans on abandoning the village. If Nariko was an ordinary ninja then she would have immediately reported it to the Hokage… but against everything she had been taught, she had decided not too.

For all intents and purposes Nariko's goal above all else was to be recognised, a desire that was born from her early years of being almost completely isolated from the village, she had given up on being recognised for everything else, appearance, personality, behaviour, none of them achieved anything, so she was left to the only thing she could fall back on; power. She believed the only way for her to gain recognition was to gain more power.

And ultimately, that was what lead her here. The Scroll of Seals could be the key to her desire for power and Mizuki had, albeit unintentionally, given her the chance to access that key and if she was caught… _"Well Mizuki practically volunteered himself as the scapegoat", _Nariko thought glancing down at the Hokage's Residence. Provided this wasn't some sort of trick to make it seem like she was betraying the village and giving the village an excuse to dispose of her, but she had gone over the idea and had decided that Mizuki was genuine in his desire to posses the scroll, he didn't conceal his greed very well and unless he was a very gifted actor he truly was using her to steal the scroll.

Carefully looking towards the sky, she noticed that the sky was clear of clouds save a large cluster that was slowly floating towards to moon, she could tell it would be while before the moon was completely obscured. Sighing in annoyanceNariko sat down under the water tank, it was probably paranoia but she wanted to begin once the moonlight was completely darkened, according to the scroll she wasn't even supposed to start until around an hour later, which, chances are, meant that Mizuki was still arranging everything.

Glancing towards the sky again and noting the considerable distance between the patch of clouds and the moon Nariko estimated that she would have to wait perhaps a little under an hour, just the time she was supposed to start her "examination". Closing her eyes she mentally prepared herself for a long wait.

* * *

Mizuki was grinning wildly as he ran through the streets of Konoha and it wasn't the kind, empathetic smile he always carried, this smile was one full of malicious satisfaction.

How easy it had been to trick the demon into doing the task for him, although she was among the top of the class she didn't seem to see though his deception at all, _"If this is the future of Konoha then the village well and truly doomed", _Mizuki thought with glee as he sped along. He had always derived great joy at outwitting someone, even if it was just some idiot playing ninja.

The Ninja Academy was coming into view and Mizuki leapt over the gates. He knew that he had precious little time to spare, though they were in times of peace the security guarding the Scroll of Seals were still as sharp and dangerous as they were the day they were finished and only the Hokage knew how to access the scroll directly, which meant that he had to make sure the defences were as low as possible to give his little puppet a chance to succeed, stupid as Nariko was she excelled in the stealth and information gathering section of the curriculum.

Running across the familiar halls of the academy until he came to the rooftops of the academy, Mizuki saw the familiar doors that lead into the Hokage Residence. Bursting through them Mizuki ran along the familiar hallways, he knew that below them was the Mission Tower were the various ranked missions were marked and handed out, above him was the actual residence of the Hokage along with his office, above that still was the simple rooftop that allowed the Hokage to gaze out to the village both as a tactically placed area and for simple viewing pleasure.

But Mizuki wasn't interested in any of those areas, he had memorised the structural plans of the building for one specific area; the forbidden jutsu section.

Coming to an abrupt stop just short of the curve in the hall, pressing himself up against the wall he carefully looked around the corner. Two ninja were standing guard over the door, though perhaps "standing" guard was a bit strong a term. They were both clearly not concentrating on their task and judging from the sleepy eyed looks in their eyes they would nod off in a few more hours.

Mizuki carefully prepared himself, drawing a kunai. Simply knocking them out was not good enough, they might see him in the process, killing them would be a much more effective way of keeping them silent, _"And besides, they're not exactly the most efficient guards I've seen", _Mizuki thought condescendingly.

It was only a flash but Mizuki had, with a simple Shunshin _(Body Flicker)_, moved behind the pair and, before they could react, slit their throats in one fluid motion that came from an adept user of the Sairento Kiringu _(Silent Homicide Technique)_.

Dusting himself off he stared at the corpses in contempt, even if they were fully alert he doubted they could have defended themselves against him, _"What a waste of a promotion", _Mizuki thought in contempt. Just before entering the room Mizuki paused and wondered whether he should do something about the corpses, he thought about his options before an evil grin stretched across his face as an equally evil idea came to him, _"After all, if Nariko is going to be convicted of stealing the Scroll of Seals then what's being convicted of killing one or two people going to change", _he thought before cackling at his idea and walked into the room.

As the blueprints stated, the end of the room was dedicated entirely to a large set of elaborate seals. Appearance wise they resembled large circuit boards with lines of multicoloured chakra running through them ending in complex seals, each of them controlling the defences that guarded the Scroll of Seals. Mizuki smiled in grim satisfaction, now came the hard part.

Clenching his hand, red marks began to spread along his arm until a tattoo like blueprint of the seals covered his arm. Glancing over the tattoo Mizuki looked at the seal and saw what he was looking for; two large seals in the centre in which all the other seals branched of from.

Mizuki took a breath before thrusting his hands into the two central seals. Immediately the seals activated and began releasing chakra. Feeling the chakra burn its way into his hands Mizuki gritted his teeth and twisted the seals clockwise.

Immediately he felt the chakra emanating from the seals weaken and with a gasp he wrenched his hands free of the two central seals. Mizuki, his job done, began to stagger towards the door all the while nursing his injured hands.

As he trudged along the halls Mizuki had time to wonder at the force of the seals in place. Even after gaining extensive knowledge on how the seals operate and how to control them, the effort had drained him considerably, of course he knew what had happened:

The various seal were all interconnected to the two central seals of which they operated all the other smaller seals, thus cancelling the two central seals would in turn completely destabilize and remove the defences guarding the Scroll of Seals. Naturally to counteract this there were a complex series of defences built into the seals that have been strengthened over time as each new Hokage added new defences to the seals. The primary defence of the seals was to reject and repel anything that would attempt to forcefully breach the seals by using the chakra as a counter system to reflect any force, object or foreign chakra back towards the breach. If he was someone who knew nothing about them, the seals wouldn't even allow him to place his hands of them.

Mizuki looked down at his arm which still had the blueprint of the seals tattooed on it. Clenching his hand again the tattoo melted into the same red marks as before and faded. Reaching into his carry pouch, Mizuki took out a Soldier Pill and swallowed it. Feeling some of his strength return Mizuki was pleased at his success at breaching the security of the Scroll of Seals, of course it wouldn't have even been possible without the "generous" donation from his… benefactor.

Walking out of the building and into the night air Mizuki looked around, _"Well, now the hard part is finished all that's left is to wait for Nariko to steal the scroll, and then I can initiate part two of the plan"_, Mizuki thought gleefully before leaping off the roof.

* * *

Opening her eyes at a sudden darkening of her surroundings Nariko looked around and stood up. It was time.

Leaping forward towards the front door Nariko carefully landed on the ledge just above it and reached into a small crevice hidden at the top of the doorframe, groping for the key she knew was placed there.

When she was younger, Sarutobi had given her complete access to his home and told her about the secret key hidden above the door, though it appeared to be hidden inside a simple crack in the walling it was actually a cleverly made Genjutsu Seal that would fool anyone who's name wasn't inscribed on the seal to see it as a flat surface, nevertheless, most would argue that it wasn't required, the primary factor for this was obvious: Who would be stupid enough to try and break into the Hokage's Residence?

Pulling out the key Nariko, ignoring all the warnings of common sense, slipped the key into the lock and turned the doorknob. She stealthily moved into the room and closed the door.

Surveying the area in front of her Nariko was suddenly attacked by a bout of nostalgia, she remembered the first day she had visited Sarutobi, how happy she had been when she had someone to talk to. It was sad that those days of simple enjoyment she got from talking to the Hokage were long gone, _"And now I'm using the trust between us to commit this act of betrayal. It's amazing how far I've fallen over the last few years", _Nariko thought sadly.

Forcing the sentimental feelings to the back of her head Nariko quickly focused on her objective, it was too late to go back anyway. She quickly darted towards the familiar room with the stairway. It would be easy finding her way to the room containing the Scroll of Seals, chances are it was the only room she had been completely forbidden from going into and, if she remembered correctly, it was still two floors above her.

The hard part would be actually stealing the scroll. Considering the incredible power of the jutsu contained in the scroll, it was going to be borderline impossible for her to obtain it in a normal situation. But Mizuki had stated he would weaken the defences and if he actually wanted the scroll then there was no reason to believe he was lying.

Nariko quickly made her way up the stairways onto the second floor and was confronted by two hallways branching off away from each other, she knew that the right hall would lead directly to the scroll while the left hall lead to something that apparently operated the defences of the scroll if the information she got from Mizuki was correct.

Turing right Nariko sped along the hallway and abruptly stopped. The hallway lead to a large room, the doorway was at the opposite end of the room and there was nothing out of the ordinary there… if one was to discount the floor which was made entirely out of some sort of black tiles each with a seal shaped like several concentric circles within each other imprinted on it.

Nariko stared at the seals, she couldn't discern what their purpose could be and she never read about them in any of the textbooks given out from the academy.

Nariko glanced at the door at the other end of the room and judged the distance from her position to the door. It was impossible for her to jump that far even if she enhanced her abilities with chakra, but if she just had something she could use as support even for a second.

Now looking towards the walls she quickly calculated the amount of chakra she would need to grip onto the wall, it wasn't a great plan but she didn't have the time to make something more sophisticated.

Stepping back, Nariko burst forward intent on hitting the edge of the tiled floor at maximin velocity. Although her calculations had indicated that she should be able to make from the wall to the other side even with minimum velocity she didn't want to take any chances.

Easily leaping off the ground, Nariko sailed towards the wall. Gathering chakra into her hands and the soles of her feet she landed against the wall, both feet planted on the wall with one hand against the wall as support. Just about as well as she could have hoped…

Which is why it was a rather nasty surprise that she felt the chakra gathered into her hands and feet drain away as soon as she came into contact with the wall.

With no chakra Nariko naturally had no support and immediately began to slide down the wall towards the tiled seals below. Quickly forming several hand seals, Nariko prepared to exhale a wind jutsu to propel her back into the air. Though she'd most likely get smashed against the ceiling, it was decidedly better then risking the unknown seals that waited below her.

"Fūton: Daitoppa _(Wind Release: Great Breakthrough)_",Exhaling a large stream of pressurised air, Nariko braced herself for a hard impact against the ceiling. Instead she felt the chakra gathered for the jutsu drain away and the blast of air collapsed.

Eyes widened in utter disbelief, Nariko looked sideways and saw the reason behind both incidents: A large seal had appeared on both walls parallel to each other and Nariko realised what they were. Chakura Tsuin Shīru _(Chakra Twin Sealing)_. Seals of various types that automatically absorbed, sealed and neutralised any amount of chakra in a certain radius around them, this particular version creates two large seals parallel to each that essentially create a "wall seal", any sort of chakra caught between them would automatically be sealed away, and considering the size of the seals, it was impossible to mold chakra anywhere on the tiled floors. Nariko just managed to think of all this before landing on the tiles.

Nariko gritted her teeth and prepared herself for anything that could happen. Nothing.

Blinking in perplexity she looked around, nothing had happened. No traps sprung, no paralysis sealing, nothing.

Or almost nothing, glancing down Nariko was surprised to find that one of the seals on the tile had imprinted itself onto the front of her outfit. The area the seal was had turned white and was completely devoid of any kind distinguishing mark, as if the seal was never on it.

Curious at this rather passive effect, Nariko shrugged it off. Standing up she walked towards the door whilst noticing that with that single seal imprinted on her all the others seem to lose their effect on her; no other seal attached itself to her no matter how many tiles she stepped on. Swiftly crossing the room to the next door she opened it and stepped in.

For the most part, the room was identical to the room she had just exited except for the larger size and the fact that the entire room was blank, the entire room was made of tiles so white that even in the darkness she could see every inch of the room with complete clarity.

Despite the lack of any hostile elements in the room, Nariko was very wary on how to proceed. Though there are no visible threats in the room, only an idiot would assume that the room was unguarded, most likely this room used seals as well which meant that the defences, like most types of seals, weren't visible until they were activated.

Sighing Nariko took a measured step forward. Regardless of what defences were placed there she wouldn't accomplish anything if she just stood there, too nervous to try anything. If the defences were going to activate and strike at her then she would at least see what they were and how to bypass them.

Grimly taking another step forward and then another, Nariko slowly made her way across the room and nothing had sprung up to stop her, yet.

As she took another step, making her way about halfway towards the next door, the entire room darkened and then thrummed as chakra suddenly began running through the room. Looking around Nariko saw several seals chained together materialize and detach themselves from the wall and began hovering just above and around her.

Nariko looked around at the seals that surrounded her, like before she didn't recognise them and had no idea what kind of threat they posed to her and with the seals and with the seals surrounding her she couldn't go any further either.

Nariko was just thinking on what to do when the one of the interconnected seals discharged a blast of chakra at her. Reflexes borne from years of training saved her as she somersaulted away, barely avoiding the blast as it harmlessly dissipated against the floor.

Nariko was just starting to relax her guard when several more blasts were fired at her. Dodging left and right she managed to avoid them all as the seals continually fired chakra at her.

Nariko had just ducked another blast when it suddenly swerved around and hurtled towards her again. Caught in surprise she was unable to dodge in time. The blast collided against her and she was flung against the wall of seals caging her, immediately they flared and discharged more chakra flinging her onto the ground.

As if sensing this moment of weakness the seals started releasing chakra at an increased rate towards Nariko. In response she shakily formed several hand seals and declared another jutsu, "Fūton: Kuki Kanmon _(Wind Release: Air Barrier)_", a barrier of compressed air surrounded her and managed to deflect the continuous blasts of chakra and giving her some respite.

Stifling a groan, Nariko writhed on the ground protected by the barrier she managed to erect. She could feel the foreign chakra coursing through her chakra circulatory system stifling her own chakra and numbing her body. Through this realisation Nariko realised what was happening. The defence wasn't meant to kill or grievously injure an assailant but just subdue them enough for security ninja to apprehend them, afterwards they would presumably be interrogated on whether it was a solo assault or whether a third party was involved.

Nariko stifled another groan but felt her chakra well up and begin smothering the chakra invading her body systems, as usual her accelerated healing rate quickened her recovery rate. Within seconds she managed to stand up on her feet, she didn't know why she seemed to heal faster then most people, she just did, even as a young child. Minor and even moderately severe injuries would simply disappear within minutes and she always seemed to be completely rejuvenated after a good nights sleep regardless of how badly she was wounded.

Nariko sighed, if only her healing factor worked on her mental injuries, the ones that never went away. Looking around, Nariko noted that her barrier was still holding strong against the assault but was obviously being weathered bit by bit from the relentless blasts of chakra.

Nariko frowned at the walls, obviously every single one of the tiles would hold seals and judging from the fairly small amount of seals and the rather lacklustre, relatively speaking, strength of the blasts, it was obvious Mizuki had somehow succeeded in weakening the defences.

Still, even at their current crippled state, they were not going to be easy to bypass. Nariko wracked her brains and frowned, it didn't make sense, all defensive seals generally released their abilities in an open effect, not targeting anything in particular, but these defensive seals seem to target her specifically as if they knew exactly where she was and how she was avoiding them, it was almost as if there was a homing beacon of some kind on her…

Nariko sharply looked down at the circular seal imprinted on her and suddenly felt everything come together. The seals from the previous room! They were only there to trigger the next set of seals something to track and corner, which also explained how the blasts redirected themselves at her; the circular seal was a literal target.

Now knowing what to do, Nariko quickly checked the barrier. _"Not long, maybe a minute or two left", _she though grimly. Placing her hand on the seal, Nariko began to focus chakra on it. During the final year of the academy, they were taught how to break basic seals by forcefully placing their own chakra into them which causes then to "unravel". The problem was that Nariko couldn't tell whether this technique would work on this one, they had been told from the beginning that this technique wouldn't work on more advanced seals and Nariko could tell immediately that the seal she was trying to break was a high level one. Ordinarily she wouldn't have tried it, but she was willing to gamble that whatever Mizuki did, it had weakened the seals from the first room as well.

Taking a deep breath Nariko thrust her chakra against the seal locked onto her, the seal immediately rebelled and began to deflect her chakra from disabling it, gritting her teeth, Nariko redoubled her efforts and felt the seal start to cave under the pressure she was putting it through, forcing even more chakra through she felt the seal give one final, defiant effort before collapsing.

The seals surrounding her immediately stopped and slowly withdrew back into the tiles of the walls returned to their startling white colour. Nariko allowed the barrier to fade and dropped down onto her knees in exhaustion, although tied for rookie of the year she doubted that she had ever had a more difficult task then the one she had just come across. Glancing around she noticed that no guard ninja had appeared amidst all the commotion which probably meant that Mizuki also disabled the defences so that they wouldn't alert security.

Standing up Nariko walked up to the room and opened the door. Stepping into the door she was surprised to see herself in another hallway which lead down to a large double door. Carefully surveying the hallways, Nariko couldn't see anything that could be considered dangerous. Just as she took a step forward the change in distance allowed something caught her eye; a thin wire of running chakra extended from a wall to the floor, thin as a hair yet potent enough that she would have sliced her throat open had she continued on carelessly.

Swallowing slightly Nariko stepped back, it was mere chance that she managed to see the trap and now that she knew what she was looking for she could see various chakra enhanced wires placed throughout the hallway. The only reason she could probably even see them was because of Mizuki's tampering with the defences, usually the chakra running through the wires were stable enough that they were virtually invisible and a person would generally need a Dojutsu _(Eye Techniques) _to see them, even with the chakra in them fluctuating a normal person would just barely pick out the outline whilst a somewhat accomplished ninja could see them clearly enough. Simple but lethal traps.

Nariko looked around at the wires, despite their current weakened state she didn't doubt for a fraction of a second that they could still cut off her limbs with a single careless move and she knew enough about them that trying to cut them with a kunai would be a waste of effort.

Placing her hands against the wall Nariko started to gather chakra to see whether the walls would siphon out her chakra like that of the first room. Though she knew that it would theoretically be impossible given that the wires clearly had chakra running through them it wouldn't hurt to be a _little_ over cautious.

As she expected the wall was completely normal which meant that she was not impaired from crossing the hallway. Of course that was assuming she could navigate her way through all the chakra laced wires without even touching one of them which, confident in her abilities as she was, made her just a little bit nervous.

Forcing herself into a meditative trance, Nariko felt her slightly sped up breathing slow back down to normal. She would have to simply keep herself calm, if she was agitated then she would be more prone to making mistakes.

Envisioning the hallway as simply another challenge to be conquered Nariko ran forward. See could clearly see the first wire, the one she almost walked into, and easily leaped over it, she could see another one clearly ahead of her, directly in her trajectory, forcing chakra into her left hand, she vaulted into the wall directly over the second wire and so she continued, easily moving past each wire in her path, she never hesitated, always in constant motion and continued on confidently and finally past the final wire and was standing in front of the double door.

Nariko released the breath she was holding, there were quite a few times when she almost faltered or came uncomfortably close to having her body sliced, enough so that she didn't relish the idea of having go through it again.

Opening the doors, Nariko walked into a large circular and unadorned room, the only thing that was in the room was a simple dais on top of which was a very large scroll; The Scroll of Seals.

Despite herself Nariko was awed at the sight, no matter what she was planning on doing with the scroll she still respected what it represented and it was a true pleasure to be in its presence. Shaking away those thoughts Nariko stepped forward towards the dais and seized the scroll.

Pulling it out, half-staggering under its surprising weight, Nariko just managed to set the scroll onto the ground when the dais sank into the ground, a seal immediately appeared and spread outwards, covering the entire room. Nariko could only stare in horror as she felt the room react to the removal of the scroll. She just had enough time to curse herself for not expecting the scroll to conceal a trap when a shock of jolting chakra coursed through her…

* * *

Hiruzen, the Third Hokage grimly stared out at the group of hastily assembled Chunin and Jonin. It was very late in the night and most of them had been roused out of their beds by the alarm; someone had broken into the Hokage's Residence and into the room of the Scroll of Seals, more importantly they managed to get away with it.

Ordinarily, Hiruzen wouldn't have been so grim faced, despite the enormity of the situation. The village had barricaded all the entrances out of the village and set a perimeter around the area it was believed the thief could have escaped to, which meant that the burglar would be captured sooner or later. No, what was worrying him was that the thief was none other than Nariko Uzumaki.

Although she originally had a prankster streak in her as a young child, which grew to become a rebellious attitude towards the village, Hiruzen had never imagined that she would do something so plainly _stupid_ as to steal the Scroll of Seals. A crime of that magnitude would generally warrant the death penalty and the fact that she was the Jinchuriki _(Demon Host/Power of Human Sacrifice)_ of the Kyuubi _(Nine-Tailed Beast) _would only worsen the situation.

For many years the village had been howling and baying for her blood, though this was naturally refused it did nothing quell the intense hatred the majority of the village felt towards her. This incident would serve as the perfect excuse for the village to legally execute Nariko and as much as he respected the laws of the village he didn't want that to happen.

Deciding that it was time to act, Hiruzen stepped up, all talk immediately ceased at his presence, "Alright, I'm not going to mince words, the Scroll of Seals has indeed been stolen", a fierce storm of muttering responded to this before quieting at a gesture, "And I am sad to say, one of our own had done the deed", more muttering, Hiruzen sighed and silently asked for forgiveness before continuing, "It was Nariko Uzumaki", a hurricane of shouts of rage and anger exploded from the field and it was some time before control settled back.

"But how did the demon brat even break in?", one Chunin questioned, Hiruzen shifted uneasily, "As a sign of trust, I had allowed her access to my residence at any time she desired", he finally stated reluctantly. Several ninja stifled looks of extreme disapproval. Hiruzen sighed, he knew they would react like this, the only reason they weren't openly sneering at him, then someone spoke up.

"I apologise for what I'm about to say Hokage-sama, but it seems like this decision was a poorly made one, not only is this a critical breach in village security but giving such a privilege to such a village pariah would give the wrong idea to the village and the other nations, although we are at peace right now, we shouldn't forget about the kinds of people we can trust and those we can't. I personally don't think you could have picked a worst person to place this rather unfounded trust in, as proven by tonight's events". Glancing towards the source of the smooth monologue he saw Mizuki standing there rather innocently.

Try as he might he couldn't truly find a way to counter this argument, and it was true that what had happened made the decision look all the worst. Looking around he saw that although none of the ninja showed it, it was clear that many agreed with what Mizuki said. The only one who seemed to be openly against it was Iruka who shot Mizuki a furious look.

Before Hiruzen could say anything, another ninja called out, "Enough talk, we must go and bring the demon to justice, justice I say should have been delt fourteen years ago", several ninja cheered at this declaration. Knowing he had no choice, Hiruzen began directing the ninja assembled before him to investigate and find Nariko, the only thing he could do was hope that they wouldn't succeed.

As the last few ninja disappeared, Hiruzen stopped and beckoned for Iruka. Iruka obeyed and walked over, "What is it Hokage-sama?" he asked. With a sigh he answered, "We both know that Nariko would never attempt something like this under normal circumstances and I believe that someone is manipulated her. When you find her, find out who has done this".

Iruka nodded in confirmation, he had wondered furiously on what could have driven Nariko towards such an act and the only logical explanation he could think of is that someone was using her to steal the scroll. He still remembered the shock he felt when Mizuki had reported to him on what Nariko had done.

-Flashback: Half an hour ago-

Iruka was reclining on his bed in the dark. Most people, even ninja, would have gone to sleep a long time ago but Iruka mind was still too restless to allow him to sleep, he remembered when Nariko was allowed into the academy and he found that he could relate to her and then the Hokage had told him that she and him were kindred spirits, that she had felt the loneliness he felt when his parents were slaughtered by the Kyuubi _(Nine Tailed Beast)_...

A sudden knocking at his door broke into his train of thought. Getting up he walked over and opened that door. He was surprised to see a stricken looking Mizuki standing there, before he could say a single word Mizuki gabbled out, "Quick, the alarm's gone off, someone's stolen the Scroll of Seals", all questions ceased after that sentence and Iruka was completely alert.

"Who did it?", he asked. It was no simple thing, stealing the Scroll of Seals was a feat most considered impossible, it was well known that the defences guarding the scroll were placed by the Shodai _(First/Founding)_ Hokage himself, and with each ascension of a new Hokage, the defences have been strengthened further.

Today it was considered impossible for all but the strongest of ninja to bypass the defences, so this event was one that was unprecedented. Unfortunately it seemed that the even more shocking news had yet to come.

"It was Nariko Uzumaki".

-End Flashback-

Thinking back he could still feel the shock and horror at the statement followed by denial, but as he followed Mizuki to the meeting, he was ultimately forced to accept that Nariko had indeed stolen the Scroll of Seals. Now he had to find out why.

"I won't let you down", Iruka declared before leaping into the trees. Hiruzen looked up at the sky, wondering how these events could have come to this. _"I hope you don't either", _he thought to himself.

* * *

Trudging through foliage, an exhausted Nariko managed to make her way to the designated clearing in the forest and sat down heavily onto the ground, miraculously she still carried the Scroll of Seals with her.

Setting the scroll down, Nariko briefly wondered whether the scroll was really worth the effort. Though she had attained the scroll, the entire village had been alerted to her deed and would certainly want to kill her even if she accused Mizuki of tricking her into stealing the scroll. In all honesty she knew that the village wanted to kill her, solely because she was herself and would be angered if she escaped punishment

Glancing at the scroll next to her, Nariko automatically grimaced when she remembered the seal that activated when she removed the scroll from the dais. The trap had automatically delivered a jolt of chakra to her to unbalance and weaken her, immediately afterwards it began to suck out her chakra at an alarming rate which caused her too lose consciousness for a while.

She wasn't completely sure what happened afterwards but when she woke up she felt, more of less, completely fine, her miraculous recovery was probably attributed to her healing factor which also seemed to replenish her chakra at a far faster rate then that of other ninja, it also seemed that the seal had shut itself down when she woke up. Perhaps in its weakened state it absorbed too much chakra and short-circuited?

Afterwards she managed to break out of the room, all the other defences from before had also shut down, and make it out of the Hokage's Residence. Unfortunately, because of the cumbersome scroll she was forced to carry, some of the security-nin managed to spot her and she only barely managed to evade them, eventually making her way to the clearing in the forest.

Sighing, Nariko began to unravel the scroll. If she going to have to be punished because of the scroll then she might as well take a look at it and see what she could learn from it.

Glancing through the scroll, Nariko noted that many of the jutsu were either unusable, required a heavy price upon use or simply had no use in battle; which meant that the majority of the contents in the scroll were useless to her.

One of the few jutsu that was easily usable to her was the Tajū Kage Bunshin no Jutsu _(Multiple Shadow Clone Technique)_ but the jutsu held no interest for her, she needed something more efficient then simply creating masses of clones that any decent hit would disperse. Skimming through the scroll, Nariko was starting to lose hope on finding anything when something caught her eye.

Rokukeijō tenrai-fū _(Six forms of Heavenly-Wind) _she read intrigued. According to the scroll, the jutsu was a conversion of the chakra of the entire chakra circulatory system into wind elemental chakra, in turn allowing six unique styles of battle, affording great power and versatility during combat.

The reason it was a kinjutsu was naturally the need to convert ALL the chakra of the user at once, something that is generally inadvisable for anyone to attempt. However, the idea alone sounded appealing to her and so, sat cross-legged in a meditative state. The actual transformation process needed very little movement and only concentration and peace of mind to achieve, afterwards the technique can be accessed at any time, though further training would be required to learn all six styles.

Closing her eyes into the familiar trance, Nariko felt her chakra running throughout her body, distributing energy throughout her body like how the bloodstream distributes nutrients. Focusing on the cycles of chakra in her body, Nariko began to concentrate…

* * *

Leaping through various trees, Iruka repeatedly sent out his chakra in an attempt to find Nariko. It was important for him to find her first and find out the truth behind the thievery, if he could find a way to prove her innocence then she would be spared. Despite this, a small, nagging part of his mind worried on about what he would do if she wasn't innocent and that she did steal the scroll on her own choice.

Although he did his best to ignore that part of his mind, pointing out to himself that it would have been impossible for Nariko to break through the defences guarding the scroll without outside interference, it still nagged at him, forcing himself to question whether he would be able to bring her to justice if that was the case.

Suddenly feeling a pulse on his chakra sensory web, he turned and changed directions towards the source. Due to years of being in her presence he learned how to recognise Nariko's chakra from a distance, something all the other ninja out searching lacked, and was now using this ability to track her down.

Leaping forward, Iruka felt Nariko's chakra growing stronger as he continued moving closer all the while thinking what he would say once he found her. Leaping through the trees he saw the leaves and branches were starting to thin out and landed in a surprisingly large clearing.

Scanning the clearing he quickly picked out Nariko sitting in the middle of the clearing away from him. Before he could say anything she spoke, "You found me already? And I haven't even mastered this jutsu yet", Iruka sighed and stood up. "I hope you know what you have done Nariko, do you have any idea of the consequences of your actions?" he questioned.

Nariko still didn't turn around and, ignoring his question, asked, "So what are you going to do then? Take me back to the village? You know they'll want to execute me without even a trial", Iruka sighed, knowing it was true.

"No, I just want to know who made you this", he asked more gently this time. This time Nariko stood up and turned to face him, he was shocked to see streaks exhaustion line her face, _"What kind of jutsu has she been trying to master?", _he thought tohimself.

Nariko slowly walked up to him, a sad and familiar smile crossed her face, "I know that it won't excuse me from punishment but I'll tell you anyway. It was…", a sudden flurry of sounds to Iruka's right, recognising the sounds, instinctively pushed Nariko out of the way, Iruka was impaled by multiple kunai knives thrown by…

"Mizuki!", Iruka gasped, horrified to see his long time friend as the betrayer.

Nariko rolled on the ground and got back onto her feet. She berated herself for not sensing Mizuki sneaking up on them, partly attributed to her exhaustion, from trying and failing to learn the Rokukeijō tenrai-fū _(Six forms of Heavenly-Wind)_. The jutsu was much more difficult then she had anticipated and she had strained her body greatly in an attempt to utilize it.

Forcing all her senses onto alert, Nariko drew a few kunai knives from her bodysuit and hurled them towards Mizuki. Easily dodging them he landed on a lower branch and smirked evilly down at her, "Now, now Nariko", he mockingly chided her, "Is that how you thank the person who so graciously helped you obtain the Scroll of Seals?"

"You were only using me to steal the scroll from the start", she spat back at him, "Any fool could have seen that". Mizuki's smirk widened, "And yet you still stole the scroll anyway, that just proves that you're the untrustworthy demon you are", he countered.

Nariko froze at those words. Although she had been called a demon by many of the villagers, the way Mizuki said it was entirely different; it was almost as if he knew something about her she didn't know herself.

Mizuki chortled at her reaction, "Well it seems like you don't know the truth and I never was one for keeping secrets. I guess I'll tell you", he said with malicious glee. Nariko was startled by Iruka's sudden reaction. "NO MIZUKI, YOU MUSNTN'T, IT'S FORBIDDEN!", he yelled out desperately.

Mizuki turned his malicious smile to Iruka, "Why? You don't want me to tell you that you've secretly hated her along with the rest of the village?". Nariko's eyes widened in shock at the declaration and starred at Iruka in horror, pleading that it wasn't true. Iruka, seeing Nariko's look, shook his head, "Don't listen to him! He's lying!" he implored, desperate to make her believe him.

Mizuki threw back his head and roared with laughter, "I'm the liar!", he gasped in his mirth, "Get real! You've been lying to her everyday you didn't tell her the truth. You know as well as I do that's true!".

Nariko looked between Iruka and Mizuki, torn in who she wanted to believe. On one hand, she trusted Iruka with her life, yet Mizuki sounded genuine in his proclamations. Mizuki seeing her turmoil grinned and spoke, "Now then, the truth", Nariko slowly turned to him, afraid of what he might say yet unable to turn away.

Mizuki smirked and began, "Fourteen years ago, the Kyuubi _(Nine Tailed Beast) _attacked the village and was slain by the Yondaime _(Fourth Hokage) _in battle, at least that's what we tell all the brats in the village, including you", Nariko continued to stare up at him. She, along with everyone else, knew about the Kyuubi's _(Nine Tailed Beast's) _attack on the village, but didn't see how this could relate to her being shunned from the village.

Mizuki bared his teeth in a grin and continued, "In reality, the Kyuubi _(Nine Tailed Beast) _was never killed but merely defeated, it still lives to this day!", Nariko drew in her breath at this declaration.

"But a law was made" he continued on, "A law that you alone would be kept ignorant from", Nariko started breathing shallower, a sense of foreboding was rapidly building in her and she had to ease the feeling, even it hurt her. "TELL ME!" she screamed at him, more out of desperation then anger.

Mizuki closed in his eyes while chuckling, she stared back up at him in desperation. He opened his eyes and answered, "The law forbade anyone to talk about how **you are **the Kyuubi _(Nine Tailed Beast)_".

For the first time in three years Nariko's impregnable assurance was broken. She was trembling so violently, breathing so shallowly that she suddenly felt like she was four years old again, crying, alone in a corner in her room. Wrapping her arms around herself Nariko collapsed on the ground, unable to respond or rebuke the statement no matter how much she wanted to deny it. Suddenly everything made sense, the unexplainable hatred of the village, the reason she was called a demon, why she always felt that Sarutobi and Iruka were keeping something important from her, it all made sense now.

Mizuki grunted in satisfaction at her mental collapse before going on, "Now you see, you're the demon that ravaged the village, you're the demon that slaughtered so many ninja, you're the demon that killed the Yondaime _(Fourth Hokage)_", Nariko, unable to retaliate, just weakly shook her head in denial, still Mizuki continued on remorselessly, "You're the demon that tore apart so many families, YOU'RE THE DEMON THAT KILLED IRUKA'S PARENTS!", Nariko whimpered in distress. "Stop. Please stop", she begged, too emotionally crippled to resist. Mizuki grinned wildly leapt down and delivered the final blow, "YOU"RE THE DEMON THAT CONTINUES TO DEFFY THE VILLAGE BY LIVING. YOUR VERY EXSISTENCE IS AN UNFORGIVABLE SIN", Nariko lost all her remaining self-control and cried, tears pouring down her face without restraint.

Mizuki grinned in satisfaction at bringing Nariko down to rock bottom, finally the arrogant kunoichi knew her place. Placing his hands onto the ground he declared his jutsu, "Doton: sekijun tsukisasu _(Earth Release: Stalagmite Spear)", _creating a spike of earth around his arm, "AND IF YOU HAVE AN OUNCE OF LOYALTY TOWARDS THIS VILLAGE YOU'LL DIE!", he yelled leaping into the air and launching the spear at Nariko, who was too stunned to try and counter.

Everything happened so fast, Nariko wasn't able to take everything in, but she knew was that she was still alive. Dumbly looking above her she was shocked to find that Iruka had wrenched himself up, despite his injuries, and shielded her with his own body as the stalagmite pierced his back.

"Why?" she asked quietly, too stunned to say anything further, Iruka chocked back, "Because you're like me," Nariko's eyes widened. She suddenly felt a drop of something warm fall on her face, reaching up she thought is was blood when she saw that they were tears; Iruka's tears.

"When my parents died, no-one seemed to care, nobody had time for me. Seeing all the other people going on with their lives as if everything was normal, it hurt and it seemed like I was cheated because I wasn't allowed a happy life like them", Nariko looked at Iruka with new eyes, shocked at how similar it was to her own feelings when she was younger. Iruka continued, despite the tears starting to blur his voice, "I became the class clown, I acted like an idiot, I did everything I could to get people to notice me even if it was in anger. It was hard", Nariko felt her own eyes start to water, everything he said brought back memories and the pain she felt in them, still Iruka continued despite the mutual pain, "I should've been there more for you, I knew better then anyone of the instructors what kind of pain that's like but I still didn't do everything I could. I'm sorry".

The feelings the last few minutes invoked almost overwhelmed her, so Nariko did the only thing she could do; she ran. "NARIKO!", Iruka shouted in despair as she disappeared with the scroll into the forest. Mizuki landed on the ground with a snort, "Nice speech, Iruka. But demons don't have hearts, so it didn't to any good", he sneered, "And even if she did, it'd have died a long time ago", he added.

Iruka coughed and spat out a globule of blood. Pulling out the spear imbedded in his back, he glared at Mizuki for his words and for hurting Nariko in the worst possible way. Mizuki just ignored him and stood up, "I'll have to go get the scroll. don't worry I'll come back and take care of you, after I kill the demon", he said nonchalantly, before leaping into the trees.

Coughing, Iruka forced himself onto his legs, _"Not if I stop you first", _he thought grimly before leaping into the trees after him.

* * *

The trees were rushing by quickly, Nariko frantically ran along them, never stopping, not going in any direction. Just escaping.

"Nariko", turning towards the voice, Iruka leaped out and was moving beside her, "Quick give me the scroll, Mizuki will find us any minute now", he said frantically. Without missing a beat Nariko turned and rammed into Iruka with brutal force.

Gasping Iruka landed on the ground while Nariko landed at the base of the tree, warily eyeing Iruka. Iruka stood up, coughing and glared at Nariko, "How?" he snarled, he disappeared in a swirl of smoke and an angry Mizuki appeared in his place, "How did you know I wasn't Iruka", Nariko smirked and also disappeared in smoke. A triumphant Iruka sat in her place and answered, "Because I'M Iruka".

Mizuki suddenly also smirked, "I'm impressed that you managed to fool me like that, especially in your condition", he admitted, "But I can't believe you would protect the very demon that destroyed your family". Iruka answered back, "I can't let you have the scroll and I won't let you kill Nariko". Impossibly, Mizuki laughed and said, "When will you get it? Nariko and I are the same. You heard her before, she knew everything I told her about the scroll was a lie and yet she still went after it. Why? Power, she wanted power and will do whatever it takes to get it".

Unbeknownst to either of them, Nariko had taken refuge behind a large tree only a few metres away from them and could hear every word of their conversation, but didn't know what to do or how to act.

"After all she's just a demon, power is the only thing she cares about", Mizuki finished, Iruka never lost the triumphant look on his face and said the one thing that no-one expected, "Your right, the Kyuubi _(Nine Tailed Demon) _would do that"

Nariko felt the last remnants of her hope break. So it was true, behind the smiling face and kind eyes Iruka had hated her just as much as everyone else. How many other people she had come to trust felt the same way? Ayame, Teuchi, Sarutobi, were all of their friendships lies as well? It seemed that she was always destined to be alone and if she lived, she felt that she would never trust again.

"That is, if Nariko WAS the Kyuubi _(Nine Tailed Beast)_", Iruka added. Nariko's head shot up as she heard his last words, _"Could it be…?", _she thought, suddenly desperate to know what Iruka would say.

Iruka continued talking, "She is one of my favourite students, dedicated and hardworking. She is Nariko Uzumaki, a ninja of Konoha!". Nariko closed her eyes as tears of joy ran down her face and smiled, even if trusting someone meant she would get hurt, it was worth all the pain.

Mizuki stared at Iruka with contempt, "Looks like you don't get it no matter how many times I say it", he sneered before placed his hand onto the ground again.

"Doton: Sekijun Tsukisasu _(Earth Release: Stalagmite Spear)_", he declared forming another spear into his hand and pointed it at him, "Iruka, I said was going to kill you later, but your becoming annoying. I'll just kill you now", he said before launching himself at Iruka, intent of impaling him.

Iruka still smiled and closed his eyes, _"Looks like this is it", _he mused, it was funny, he never imagined he would die at the hands of another Konoha shinobi. "Fūton: Daitoppa _(Wind Release: Great Breakthrough)_", a voice declared, a gust of wind immediately blasted into Mizuki and sent him spiralling head over heels onto the ground.

Iruka's stared in shock, Nariko suddenly landed in front of him. His eyes widened further, not because Nariko had appeared but because she suddenly seemed more at ease, the traumatized Nariko from before had gone and was replaced by one that exuded confidence and self-control. Nariko looked up and said in a low dangerous voice, "Don't. Touch. Iruka".

Mizuki got up again, rage spreading onto his face, "Why, because you told me too? So you saved Iruka but no-ones going to save you! As far as I'm concerned you just saved be effort of finding you. I'll just kill you both now", he snarled.

Nariko answered back, "Just try it!" forming a hand sign. Mizuki growled at the challenge and placed both hands on the ground and began focusing large amount of chakra. _"Judging from the level of chakra he's using he's going for something to take both of us out in one hit", _Nariko thought gathering her own chakra.

Her inventory of jutsu didn't have anything above C-Rank, so she would have to rely on Rokukeijō tenrai-fū _(Six forms of Heavenly-Wind)_. She wasn't sure if she could use it however, before she couldn't even begin to alter her chakra to such a level. But now, she knew the truth and, more importantly, she still had people who cared for her, the inner turmoil within her found peace. Closing her eyes, she allowed the calming feeling to flow through her and was answered by a feeling unlike anything she had felt before and knew that she had succeeded.

Mizuki snarled when she closed her eyes. In actuality he was far more tired then he had expected. It seemed that breaking the defences took far more chakra then he originally believed and Nariko was starting to unsettle him. Did she manage to learn a jutsu from the Scroll of Seals?

"_Well, it doesn't matter", _he though as he felt his jutsu complete; a massive sphere of stone hovered above him, "Doton: Gyokuseki Hasai no jutsu _(Earth Release: Boulder Crush Technique)_" he roared sending the attack at Nariko and Iruka.

Nariko opened her eyes. Both Iruka and Mizuki were shocked at what they saw, her chakra frequency had suddenly changed, it rippled of her in almost visible waves and her eyes had taken on a slightly green tone and was glittering like gems. Drawing a kunai, she made a single slash against the boulder hurtling towards her, a wave of sharpened air flew out and neatly cut the boulder in two.

The two halves of the attack careened of just to the sides of Nariko and Iruka. Both Iruka and Mizuki gaped, Nariko just stood there, calm and serene. "Saisho Keijō: Tenkū _(First Form: Air)_" she declared.

Mizuki grinded his teeth in frustration, she countered his jutsu with almost no effort and that B-Ranked jutsu drained him of almost everything he had left; he had lost.

"DAMN YOU!" he screamed making several hand signs, "Doton: Hahen Danmaku _(Earth Release: Shrapnel Barrage)_", he yelled, firing several shards of rock at Nariko. Nariko effortlessly dodged them, moving forward, she suddenly appeared in front of Mizuki and cupped her hands together, "What!", he screamed, "You can't perform any jutsu without hand signs any fool knows…", the words died in his mouth as wind began to gather in her hands. She raised her eyes up to him, cold and unmerciful,

"Fūton: Reppūshō _(Wind Release: Violent Wind Palm)_", she declared. A concentrated blast of wind was released into Mizuki at point-blank range, sending him crashing through the forest.

Sighing Iruka finished tying up Mizuki's unconscious form, it took some time to find him after Nariko blasted him into the forest, luckily Mizuki was knocked out from the force of the attack and so was easily subdued. He glanced over at Nariko who was resting against the base of a tree, whatever jutsu she used to defeat Mizuki it also used up most of her chakra, though considering it was a jutsu from the Scroll of Seals that wasn't very surprising.

"Iruka", glancing up at the voice he saw that Nariko had gotten up and was looking rather nervous. "What is it?" he asked, suspecting he knew she was going to ask, "Is it really true? Am I really the Kyuubi _(Nine Tailed Beast)_", Iruka sighed, normally he wouldn't talk about that subject because of the law, but she deserved to know, especially after today.

"Not quite", Nariko waited for more, Iruka obliged, "When the Kyuubi _(Nine Tailed Beast) _attacked, it was unstoppable in battle even for the Yondaime _(Fourth Hokage), _he had to seal the demon into a new-born baby to stop it and sacrificed his own life to do it", seeing her eyes widen at the revelation he continued on, "That's right, he sealed the great demon into you. You are the one that keeps the Kyuubi imprisoned, the one who ensures it will never return… the one that saved the village and everyone in it from certain destruction".

Nariko had a look of wonderment and awe as the final truth was revealed and she didn't know what to say. Smiling Iruka walked up to her lightly patted the top of her head. Nariko came back to earth and fiercely hugged Iruka, surprising him, she never showed such emotion before_, "But then again", _he thought smiling down at her, _"She finally knows the truth"_.

After Nariko let him go he turned and said, "Let's go back to the village", Nariko nodded with a smile. Although she had gotten far more then she had bargained for, she couldn't be happier with how things turned out and she could finally look forward to becoming a true ninja.

To Be Continued

Authors Notes: Over ten thousand words, I'm really pleased with that. I hope that some of the things I put into the chapter aren't too "exotic" but I sort of let my imagination run loose. Anyways, I'm sure that many of you would have guessed by now that Nariko has found her primary method of combat and you'd be right. But I won't be revealing much about it right now.

More importantly though, I'm taking a small break from writing, this chapter really wore me out and I tried to keep it somewhat faithful to the manga/anime.

Hope readers enjoy and please check out the pole in my profile page if your reading this.


	9. Chapter 7: New Relations My name is Kono

Chapter 7 is out, I'm sorry if some readers are disappointed that it's nowhere near as long as the last chapter. Oh well, there it's still a long way away from finishing. As for acap88, to answer your questions, once again, I've already got the story ahead mapped out already so you'll just have to wait and see, don't worry there are plenty of better stories out there you can read while your waiting.

For those who are confused about how the Mizuki from my story turned out in the last chapter, hopefully this will clear it up:

The Mizuki from my story is based on the anime version of him, for those who don't know what it means, it's from an anime filler arc, entitled Mizuki Strikes Back where he is shown to be far more powerful then in the manga, (near Jonin level actually).

The "Benefactor" that gave him the blueprints to the Defence Seals would also be revealed in that anime filler, though not completely, you would need to think on it a little but it should be obvious .

You could say that the sole reason Mizuki lost was because of reckless use of chakra. First breaking the seals, then using excessively powerful jutsu would leave him weakened enough that Nariko could easily defeat him with some credibility, Nariko is after all, in my story at least, a Chunin level ninja at this point.

I hope this clears up some confusion, anyways onto the next chapter, incidentally this is also told from Nariko/Naruto's point of view. The chapter after this will be switched back to Kiro.

Disclaimer: I do not profit from this story and the rights to _Naruto _belongs to Masashi Kishimoto

**Naruto: Tale of Yin and Yang**

Chapter 7: New Relations. My Name is Konohamaru!

Sarutobi sat at his desk, Nariko sat in a chair directly across the room from him, the awkward silence between them was so thick it was almost palpable. Both knew that the truth about her was out and neither of them had any idea on where to start. Eventually, Nariko broke the silence with one word, "Why?". Although there were several answers she would be looking for, Sarutobi knew what she wanted to know.

Sighing and rubbing the bridge of his nose he answered with his own question. "Where should I start?" he asked, half to himself. Nariko answered immediately, "The beginning", Sarutobi sighed again at the uncharacteristically cold reception he was getting from her. Then again, he couldn't really blame her.

Leaning back into his chair, Sarutobi began, "When the Kyuubi _(Nine Tailed Beast)_ had attacked, it was unstoppable and Konoha would have been obliterated if it actually made it to the village", pausing to take a breath from his pipe he continued talking, "There was only one solution that the Yondaime _(Fourth Hokage) _was able to formulate; he would have to seal it into a newborn baby to stop it".

Nariko waited, still masking her emotions, but it was obvious, at least to him, that she was starting to lose patience. "So he devised the Shiki Fujin _(Dead Demon Consuming Seal) _to remove the Kyuubi's _(Nine Tailed Beast) _soul and seal it away along with its chakra", that got a reaction. Hearing those words Nariko made an involuntary movement. She quickly hid any reaction but she was clearly shaken at the thought that she contained the power of the most powerful of the Biju _(Tailed Beasts) _within herself.

Sarutobi waited for her to finish composing herself before speaking again, "The Yondaime _(Fourth Hokage) _sacrificed his life to seal the Kyuubi _(Nine Tailed Beast) _and his last wish was for everyone in the village to see you as a hero", he abruptly stopped there, waiting for a reaction. Nariko's already impassive face hardened further, and her eyes reflected the bitterness she felt at the injustice of it all.

Coughing Sarutobi moved on, hoping to ease her past that sensitive topic, "The village didn't keep his promise and I made a law that no one was allowed to speak of the Kyuubi _(Nine Tailed Beast)_ and what happened to it". That was what she waiting for, she'll finally know what drove him to make such a law.

"I had hoped that the younger generation, ignorant of the past, would not be so judgmental. But it seems I made an error", although the statement was carefully worded to avoid giving offence, the guilt in his eyes and tone conveyed more then his words ever could.

Nariko, despite herself, inwardly sighed with relief. Hiruzen never intended to hurt her, he was simply unlucky. Forcing the tension from her limbs and the suspicion from her mind, Nariko adopted a much more relaxed posture and finally spoke in response, "Alright then, old man, why couldn't you have told me then?".

Sarutobi started at the familiar tone she was now using and it was more then just the voice. Her posture, manner and expression all suddenly lowered their defences and she had adopted the familiar, and infuriating, slight slouch in her seat with a lazy smirk plastered on her face. It seemed that despite the previous suspicion she had regarded him with, she had wanted to believe that he had no malicious intentions towards her, which was amazing since she usually never forgave a breach of trust. It seemed that she was slowly finding a way to open up.

Focusing on the subject at hand Sarutobi answered, "Because I suppose I was afraid you would react badly to it, by the time I realised my mistake you were only about a few years younger then now". Nariko nodded lightly, if wasn't as if it was important anyway, the past was the past, and she had experience in ignoring things that happened in the past.

A light shuffling noise alerted both Nariko and Sarutobi, simultaneously looking towards the source of the noise they were rewarded with a small boy bursting out from behind the door towards them. "YOUR TIME HAS COME OLD MAN! I SHALL DEFEAT YOU AND BECOME HOKAGE _(Fire Shadow)_!", the boy declared running towards Sarutobi with a shuriken clutched in his hand… and promptly tripped over a rather cumbersome scarf wrapped his neck, cried out in alarm and fell flat on his face with his declaration gone in the wind.

Nariko stared wordlessly at the odd sight, Sarutobi just placed his hand on his forehead and sighed in annoyance, before either of them could find something to say he leapt up and began shouting, "As expected of the Hokage _(Fire Shadow)_, your traps are as sharp as ever!". As if the current scene wasn't ridiculous enough, a shinobi wearing sunglasses, a bandana style Haiti-ate _(Forehead Protector)_ and the standard ninja body suit sans the flak jacket hastily followed the child into the room, "Honourable grandson! Are you alright and incidentally there are no traps set in here" the shinobi said in frantic tones.

Nariko was busily wondering who the idiot was when he turned his attention to her, "You! You must have been the one who tripped me!", he declared pointing a finger accusingly at her. Pointedly ignoring the accusation she studied his appearance, wondering who he was; he was wearing a simple yellow shirt with a red Konoha symbol printed on the front, grey shorts with a long blue scarf, the thing he tripped on, wrapped around his neck, he also wore a grey helmet with some of his brown hair sticking from the top. She still didn't know who he was.

The kid was getting annoyed with being ignored, "Hey! Don't just sit there like an idiot! I'm talking to you", he yelled at her. Finally tired of the obnoxious kid she reached out and grabbed him by the spike of hair sticking out, standing up and yanking him up by the roots. In response he cried out and tried, unsuccessfully, to loosen her grip.

The shinobi babysitter also cried out, in alarm, at what she was doing and hastily spoke, "Young lady, unhand the honourable grandson immediately. Do you not know who he is? He is the grandson the Third Hokage _(Fire Shadow) _himself!", that gave her pause. She glanced down at the squirming kid, _"Can't see much resemblance", _she thought. Either way, grandson of Sarutobi or not, she wouldn't hit some kid just for being annoying, she had just wanted him to sweat a bit.

Nariko was about to let him go when he decided to open his mouth. "What's the matter? Too afraid to hit me now that you know the Hokage's _(Fire Shadow) _my grandpa!". That did it. Nariko drew her fist back and socked him cleanly in the gut, knocking the breath out of him, and released her hold on his hair causing him to crash to the ground.

Staring down at his crumpled form disdainfully, Nariko calmly stepped over his cringing form and exited through the doorway. The shinobi babysitter cried out even louder and rushed to the child's side, "Honourable Grandson! Honourable Grandson! Are you alright. Do not worry I shall make sure that miscreant is punished", he spouted.

"Don't worry Ebisu, Nariko held back enough that it wouldn't leave any serious damage", Sarutobi said over the combination of groans from his grandson the worrying of Ebisu over him. Ebisu stood up and answered, "That's not the point Sandaime-sama _(Lord Third Hokage)_, by striking the honourable grandson, she has offended not only me as his instructor but you as well", turning back to his student he suddenly noticed that he was gone.

"AAGH, WHERE DID THE HONOURABLE GRANDSON DISAPPEAR TO!", Ebisu cried out in panic, "I believe that he followed Nariko", Sarutobi commented calmly, predictably that did nothing to ease Ebisu's worry. "NO! THAT'S TERRIBLE! WHO KNOWS WHAT SHE'LL DO TO HIM!". he cried out even louder before leaping out of the window. Sarutobi sighed, that was the twentieth attack on him from his grandson today, "_Oh well_" he thought, "_Nariko should be able to teach him what it means to truly become Hokage (Fire Shadow). And this will be good for her as well_", reaching under his desk he pulled out a crystal ball.

"Tōmegane no Jutsu _(Telescope Technique)_"

* * *

Walking down the streets Nariko looked around the village, as usual anyone who saw her would openly sneer at her and the more daring ones threw insults at her. Yet for some reason it was easier to bear, now that she knew the truth she realised that their anger wasn't directed at her, at least not completely; the Kyuubi _(Nine Tailed Beast) _had destroyed many families in the village and they were simply doing what they believed, however misguided, was justified. Though it wasn't much comfort it eased the pain ever so slightly.

Thinking back to the night before Nariko smiled slightly, despite everything that had happened and everything that was revealed to her it only strengthened what few bonds she already established.

Despite Mizuki's attempts to break her, it had only made her resolve that much stronger. It was lucky that Iruka's quick thinking had allowed her to escape, for the most part, punishment for stealing the Scroll of Seals, of course it wouldn't have been possible without the support of Sarutobi…

-Flashback: Last Night-

Nariko ran alongside of Iruka, Mizuki's unconscious form was slung across her back. Despite Iruka's reassurances, she was worried about what would happen to her, many civilians and ninja would want an excuse like this to execute her and years of mistreatment from the village had also caused her to become cynical of happy endings.

Upon reaching the end of the forest she saw that many ninja were still running through the perimeter set up trying to find Nariko, chances were that most of them were still in the forest. At their appearance multiple ninja immediately converged in front of them, several of them wore peeved expressions, presumably because Iruka was the one who found her and Iruka was well reputed to be the "Demon Sympathiser". Still several others shot curious looks at the unconscious Mizuki who was, against the situation, the one that was bound and knocked out.

Before Iruka could say one word, one badly scarred ninja spoke out, "Alright you've apprehended the traitor but why the hell is she still free? And why is Mizuki in this state", the scarred ninja gestured at Nariko who was still carrying Mizuki's prone form.

Iruka spoke up in answer, making sure everyone could hear him, "Nariko was not the traitor, Mizuki was the one who orchestrated everything", several ninja exchanged startled conversations and more then a few of them were disbelieving.

The scarred ninja snorted, "If you honestly believe that then you are either very gullible, in denial or perhaps even a traitor yourself", was his answer. Iruka glared at the accusation, "Are you accusing me of betraying the village?", he asked in a low, dangerous voice. The scarred ninja didn't falter, "It's a possibility, one dubious character witness is hardly enough evidence to prove Mizuki's supposed treason, especially given your affiliation with the demon, coupled with the situation you're in now, we're hardily inclined to trust your word".

Iruka gritted his teeth in anger and stared furiously at the scarred ninja, but couldn't find any fault in his logic. The scarred ninja nodded in satisfaction and continued, "Either way, you'll both be questioned and interrogated on this matter. Because of your claim, Mizuki will have the same treatment", turning to the other ninja gathered around him, "Get these three up to the interrogation room", he ordered.

"That won't be necessary", a voice called out. Everyone turned and saw the Sandaime striding towards them, immediately everyone but Nariko dropped down to their knees in respect. Sarutobi stopped and spoke, "Don't worry, everything Iruka has said is true, this entire fiasco", everyone looked up at this but the scarred ninja replied back, while trying to keep his tone respectful, "How do you know that Hokage-sama _(Lord Hokage)_", Sarutobi answered, "While everyone was out looking, I was searching with the Tōmegane no Jutsu _(Telescope Technique)_, I didn't find them until near the end of what happened but I saw enough".

Still the scarred ninja persisted, "But what if Nariko, had simply doublecrossed Mizuki?", Sarutobi gave an answer immediately, "Because Nariko only fought back to protect Iruka", this time a different ninja argued back, "Either way, Nariko had committed a grave act against the village, deceived or not. She must be punished for this", Iruka answered back this time, "But if Nariko was tricked by Mizuki then nothing serious can be pinned on her", he said smoothly. Silence fell across the gathered ninja effectively killing all protest, although few probably believed that Nariko was so completely tricked, they had no evidence for this and as a consequence the regulations of the village would go into effect; in the case where a academy student is coerced into committing an unwholesome act, then the one who coerced the student will be punished, no blame can be attached to the student.

Sarutobi nodded in satisfaction, "Now that that's resolved, does anyone have any other protests?" Everyone shook their heads at his answer, even the scarred ninja, though with some difficulty. Sarutobi nodded again, "Alright then. You've all been kept up long enough, everyone back to their posts and their beds and get a good nights sleep, except for Nariko. Iruka, bring Mizuki to the interrogation room ", he ordered, "Yes sir", the assembled ninja answered before disappearing with a collective Shunshin _(Body Flicker)_, even the scarred shinobi left immediately though he shot Nariko a look of seething dislike before going. Iruka lifted Mizuki off from Nariko's back and also disappeared.

Releasing the breath he was holding, Sarutobi looked at Nariko who stared back warily as if he was a stranger. He spoke carefully, aware of the delicate situation he was in, "Nariko, there are things that must be said but not here, come to my office tomorrow, I'll tell you the whole story there".

Nariko nodded and Sarutobi also disappeared. Sighing Nariko also made her way back to her apartment, hopefully tomorrow would be the day revelations are revealed.

-End Flashback-

Finishing reminiscing, Nariko concentrated on walking. Now that she knew about her status as a Jinchuriki _(Power of Human Sacrifice)_ she realised that many of her abilities were probably a direct result of it. Although she was currently a Genin class Kunoichi, her chakra reserves were easily around the level of an upper ranked Jonin, another factor was her healing ability, during situations where she was injured if usually only took a few minutes to recover, sometimes even seconds and she was always completely healed, regardless of the severity of the injury, after a nights sleep. Likewise she seemed to have unusually high levels of stamina and pain tolerance, frequently allowing her to train at peak condition for far longer then all the other Genin.

It was around that time when Nariko noticed a presence following her, that was another thing about her; her senses were a good deal sharper then that of most people. Whatever the presence was it was moving rather surreptitiously, and very clumsily, which of course just drew more attention to it, but either way she knew who it probably was.

Turning around Nariko found her guess correct when she was a badly hidden child against a fence, "Alright kid, you can come out from that Kakuremino no Jutsu _(Cloak of Invisibility Technique)_", she called out. The piece of cloth was promptly thrown away and the "Honourable Grandson" jumped out, "Incredible! You saw through my clever disguise in an instant! How did you do it?". Nariko decided not to point out that when using the Kakuremino no Jutsu _(Cloak of Invisibility Technique) _it was generally a good idea to get the pattern blended correctly and went straight to the point.

"What do you want?", she asked brusquely. The kid gave a toothy grin and answered "Your strong, and I know you spend a lot of time with my grandpa so you must know about some of his weaknesses". Nariko raised an eyebrow, "Get to the point" she ordered.

The kid grinned even further, "You're going help train me to defeat my Grandpa! From this day on you're going to be my Boss", he declared loudly. Nariko grimaced, it seemed that when she belted him in the gut, rather then driving him away, she actually caught his interest. She promptly turned and began to walk away from him, hoping the kid would get a hint. Unfortunately it seemed that he wouldn't take no for an answer and followed her. In response she began to walk faster and then began to run when he was still following her

Eventually this escalated into a ridiculous game of tag, no matter where she went he found a way to catch up to her, even leaping from rooftop and rooftop she couldn't shake him and she didn't dare go back to her apartment in case he remembered where she lived.

Finally losing her patience with him she quickly ran into a small grove clearing and waited, predictably he scrambled his way out of the bushed and followed her until they were facing each other. "Are you ready to be my Boss yet?" he yelled out, despite her annoyance with him she had to give it to him; he was tenacious.

She fell into a basic fighting stance and answered back, "Fine, you're about to get a crash course in Taijutsu _(Body Techniques)_". Oblivious to her actual intentions the child immediately rushed at her with his fists in the air. Nariko readied herself, if she was going to get her point across then she couldn't hold back.

* * *

Hiruzen stared out at the village on his balcony, whilst smoking his pipe. He had managed to locate his grandson and Nariko in the middle of their chase and so far it seemed that his grandson hadn't yet pushed Nariko to the breaking point, but he had no doubt he would. If there was one thing that boy didn't lack it was determination.

A sudden presence behind him caught his attention. Turning around he asked, "Is something the matter Iruka?", said shinobi materialized and kneeled before him. "Get up Iruka, you don't have to do that every time you're going to speak to me", Sarutobi said. Iruka dutifully stood up, "I'm worried about Nariko. How did she take it?", he asked.

Hiruzen turned back to the village, "Surprisingly well. She seems to have found a way to cope with hostility from every corner that she is willing to simply trust my word", Iruka nodded in relief. Despite everything they've been through he was worried about how she would react to everything. Just as he was turning to leave Hiruzen spoke out, "Iruka, before you go…", Iruka paused and waited expectantly.

"Don't let your guard down just because of this. Nariko is still young and while she remains loyal to the village she does not love it", Hiruzen finished. Iruka's face became solemn at those words, "What do you mean, Hokage-sama _(Lord Hokage)_?", he asked, trying to get a better idea on what he was saying. Hiruzen answered without turning, "When you've lived your life without, love or acknowledgement from anyone, the damage can be catastrophic and difficult to repair. Although Nariko has a few people who care about her, including you and me, I don't believe it's enough".

Iruka tried to refute this, "I don't mean any disrespect, but aren't you being a little too anxious about this", Hiruzen still didn't turn around but his next answer conveying all his feelings that weren't expressed, "Nariko has suffered more then any one person should. When a person's very existence is ignored and persecuted then eventually their eyes will become colder then the harshest blizzard and they will know nothing but the bitterness of an unwanted existence".

Iruka gave a shudder at those solemn words. "You have also had some doubts of your own have you not?", Hiruzen asked. Iruka's hesitation gave him the answer and he took an opportunity to nurse his own bitterness on the mistake he made so many years ago, "_I will not allow it to happen again_", he thought grimly.

Hiruzen put on a lighter air in an attempt to raise their darkened spirits, "Do not feel guilty Iruka, there is still an entire life ahead for her and both us can help her along the entire way", Iruka nodded with some relief at those words. Hiruzen turned, "Alright then, you may go". "Yes sir", Iruka saluted before disappearing. Hiruzen leaned against the railing of the balcony, "_Lets just hope she makes the right decisions_", he thought grimly.

* * *

Nariko was relaxed and drinking iced water whilst sitting on a log, beside her the "Honourable Grandson" was lying in a bruised and battered heap, groaning from his injuries. Nariko glanced down at the kid, despite the bone-headed idiocy he displayed his tenacity was nothing short of astounding, no matter how much she thrashed him around he had just kept coming at her until she finally knocked him out cold with a well aimed kick to his head.

Normally she would have left someone she had beaten unconscious on the ground but the sheer determination he had shown had intrigued her; there was no doubt about it, something had happened in his past.

A particularly loud groan alerted Nariko to the kid's return to awareness. Turning her head she saw he had managed to pull himself up and was sitting on the log as well, wincing occasionally. Nariko offered him the water bottle which he accepted with a grunt of thanks. Gulping down the water, he wiped his mouth and turned to her, his grin back on his face, "You really are strong! With your help I'll become Hokage in no time! What else are you going to teach Boss?".

Nariko just turned a baleful eye at him, it seemed that as well as being stupid, loud and insufferable he was also so dim-witted that he hadn't even figured out she was beating him up rather then giving him a lesson. She was still incredulous at the fact that the kid and Sarutobi were related.

"Why?", Nariko asked in a low voice, the child gave her a confused look, "Why what", he asked curiously. Nariko turned completely and looked at him fully, "Why do you insist on becoming Hokage _(Fire Shadow)_? Why must you aim at such a goal? What possible significance could it hold for you?", Nariko questioned, listing off each point one by one.

The child looked at her in surprise before looking down at the ground, and his expression became surprisingly morose. Nariko waited patiently, knowing that she had reached a sore point. At last he answered, "My name is Konohamaru. My grandpa named me after the village, but nobody calls me that even though they all know my name. Everywhere I go it's always "Honourable Grandson", they don't actually see me, just my grandpa".

Nariko remained silent. Konohamaru briefly looked up at her and looked back, believing that she didn't understand what he was saying. In reality Nariko was hiding her surprise and disbelief at the answer, whatever answer she had been expecting it hadn't been anything along the lines of what he said, moreover it was startlingly similar to her own situation and her own bitterness she had been secretly nursing all those years.

It took her a while to realise Konohamaru had started talking again, "So that's why I plan on becoming Hokage _(Fire Shadow)_, that way people will start to see me for me, and once I find my grandpa's weakness I'll become the Hokage _(Fire Shadow)_ in no time", he finished with a flourish. "_And he's back to normal_", Nariko thought with a sigh, but nevertheless that brief change gave her all the information she needed and more. Like her, he was yearning for attention, to be seen, not based on the reputation of others, but to be seen for who he truly was.

"Honourable Grandson!", a voice called out from above, they both looked up. The shinobi that was supposed to instruct Konohamaru was standing on a branch several feet above them. "Oh no! He found us!", Konohamaru screeched out, Nariko just stared up at him, rather surprised he found them so quickly.

Ebisu surveyed the scene before him. It seemed that though the demon brat hadn't caused any serious injuries to his student, though it was obvious she roughed him up a bit judging from his bruised appearance. Leaping down onto the ground a few metres away from them, working his voice into a civilised tone he spoke, "Come now Honourable Grandson, it is time you returned and we finish your training", he said diplomatically.

Konohamaru shook his head, "No way! You never teach me anything useful! I'll never become Hokage _(Fire Shadow) _learning from you!", Ebisu smiled soothingly at him, "Do not be so impatient Honourable Grandson, you cannot expect to learn everything you need to become Hokage _(Fire Shadow)_ in one night". Konohamaru crossed his arms and put on a stubborn expression.

Ebisu continued trying to coax Konohamaru into agreeing but he still refused. Finally losing his patience he grabbed him by the scarf and tried to pull him away by force, "That girl has obviously contaminated you!", he shouted, ignoring the fact that Nariko was well within hearing distance, "The quickest way for you to become Hokage _(Fire Shadow) _is through my careful guidance, you must come with me and finish your training". Konohamaru, in response, just resisted further trying to escape.

"Let go!", Konohamaru shouted against Ebisu's incessant pulling. "Rokukeijō tenrai-fū - Saisho Keijō: Tenkū _(Six forms of Heavenly-Wind - First Form: Air)_", Nariko's voice rang out attracting the attention of both teacher and student. Turning they saw that Nariko was engulfed in a nimbus of green tinted chakra and she was obviously prepared for a battle. "I'll say it once. Let the kid go", Nariko warned.

"Amazing!", Konohamaru cried out in awe of the sudden display of chakra, Ebisu on the other hand didn't seem impressed. "Is that the technique you used to defeat Mizuki? How quaint", Ebisu commented walking towards her with a confident air, "However, I on the other hand am not some lowly Chunin. I am a Jonin, an elite ninja, and will not be defeated with such fanciful tricks", he finished, taking a battle position across from her, "Ready", he declared.

In response Nariko gathered wind natured chakra into her hands. As an added bonus to the technique, she didn't need to mold hand seals to facilitate her wind jutsu, the wind chakra around her served that purpose and she intended to take full advantage of that. "Fūton: Daitoppa _(Wind Release: Great Breakthrough)_!", she shouted out sending a large stream of concentrated wind at Ebisu.

Caught by surprise at both the force and ferocity of her attack. Ebisu managed to keep his footing for a few seconds but was ultimately flung into the air and sent careening away somewhere a fair distance away. A flicker of satisfaction crossed Nariko's face; as well as disabling the need for hand seals, the first style greatly enhanced the power of her wind jutsu, hence being labelled as air.

"THAT WAS AWESOME!", Konohamaru exclaimed, jumping up and down. Nariko just shrugged and cancelled the jutsu. Glancing at the direction she had sent the Jonin Nariko frowned slightly, perhaps she was being paranoid but it seemed a little too easy to win that battle, as if he wasn't actually trying to counter and defeat her, it was almost as if he didn't even bother dodging her attack.

"YOUR GREAT BOSS!", Konohamaru continued rambling, Nariko barely paid any attention until something he said caught her notice. "With your help I'll become Hokage _(Fire Shadow) _in no time!", he happily exclaimed. Nariko frowned at that, it seemed that Konohamaru was still stuck on that idea, it seemed that she would have to set the kid straight once and for all.

"Idiot". Konohamaru immediately ceased his rambling and gave Nariko a shocked look, hardly believing that she said that, his reaction after that was to get irate. Turning around and facing her he pointed a finger at her accusingly, "What do you mean idiot?", he exclaimed indignantly. Nariko stared calmly back, "You're an idiot for believing you can become Hokage _(Fire Shadow)_ so easily", she clarified. The offended expression on his face was replaced by a baffled one.

Nariko sighed and fixed Konohamaru with a stern look. "The Hokage _(Fire Shadow) _title is only bestowed upon the most accomplished shinobi or kunoichi in the village, it's a title that only four people have ever held in Konoha's history and it is not something to take so lightly", Konohamaru opened his mouth to retort but Nariko cut him off, "You believe that by defeating Sarutobi you will be granted the title immediately. Even if, by some impossible chance, you somehow overcome Sarutobi you will not be given the title, not by a long shot".

Konohamaru stared blankly at her, Nariko sighed again in annoyance, it seemed that she would need to go further. "Nothing in life has an easy way to achieve it, there are no short-cuts and no secrets to achieving life's goals", she continued, "If you do plan on becoming Hokage _(Fire Shadow) _then you must learn patience and discipline, especially if you truly intend to achieve such a goal", Nariko paused to let her words sink in before going on, "Becoming Hokage _(Fire Shadow) _is no easy task, you won't achieve it in a day in a month or even in years to come. It's a long and hard road and you will have to sacrifice a lot to accomplish it. I won't ask but if I had to guess, you weren't taking you're training very seriously before", by now Konohamaru was gaping at her with stupefied surprise.

Nariko turned away, "But if you have the conviction to achieve it then there is no obstacle you can't overcome. Until then, work hard", she finished with a flourish. Konohamaru had become rather contrite during her lecture but was suddenly roused into words at her final words, "Who are you to tell me what I should do?", he exclaimed angrily, Nariko turned and gave him a steady look.

"If that's how you're going to act then fine! I won't be your disciple anymore!". "_Looks like he got the wrong message_", Nariko thought in some disappointment. "From this day forth you and I are rivals!", Konohamaru declared, Nariko face became unreadable for a second before she turned away again, if only to hide the amused expression on her face. It seemed that he realized everything after all, he was just embarrassed at admitting it and was simply thanking her in his own unique way.

"Do what you want", Nariko answered carelessly, beginning to walk away. "I'll see you later… Konohamaru", Konohamaru started in surprise at the sudden goodbye and how she called him by his name, the first since his grandfather. Recovering he gave a respectful salute for all she had done for him, it seemed that in going after her he was given his answer after all.

Unknown to both of them they were both being watched by a shinobi hidden upon the treetops. "_Indeed, there are no shortcuts… in anything_", Ebisu thought as he watched the scene unfold. It had only been a split second decision but it seemed he made the right one in deliberately allowing himself to be blown away.

He had long worried over his inability to teach Konohamaru, despite all the claims and boasts that he was the easiest way for him to become Hokage _(Fire Shadow)_, if anything that made everything worse for him. But it seemed that Nariko Uzumaki had gotten through to him in a way he never even considered. Rather then coddling him or soothing him she was direct and brutally blunt, it seemed that she had broken the stubborn shell around him.

Pushing his sunglasses up Ebisu mentally revised his previous assessment on Nariko, it seemed that despite the Kyuubi no Yoko _(Nine Tailed Demon Fox) _sealed into her, she truly was an ultimately positive force for the village. Of course he still had some suspicions directed at her, old hatreds die hard. But the prejudice from before was gone at least, for the first time he could see what the Sandaime _(Third Fire Shadow) _and Iruka meant when they praised her.

Performing a quick Shunshin _(Body Flicker) _he began to travel back to the Hokage's Residence, the only thing left was for him to see whether Nariko's influence would help him.

* * *

Having observed everything through his crystal ball, Hiruzen leaned back in his chair with a contented sigh, despite all of Nariko's attempt to avoid his grandson it seemed that at the end of the day she had helped him realize how to achieve his goal, "_Konohamaru's finally learned his lesson_", he thought.

Focusing his thoughts on Nariko a smile came to his face. In helping Konohamaru it seemed that Nariko had created another bond to the village, it still wasn't a lot but it was a start. The only thing left was to see where everything would lead.

To Be Continued

Authors Notes: Well it's a relief to finally finish this chapter, I think the story might have gotten a bit ropey near the end but overall I'm pretty pleased with how it turned out, and at around six thousand words it's one of my longest chapters yet.

Anyways, as I said the next chapter will switch back to my OC character and it may be a bit longer then what I've written here so it might also take a bit longer to come out. Hope any readers enjoy, constructive criticism is welcome.


	10. Chapter 8: Formation of Team 7

Well, next chapter is out, like I mentioned in the last chapter this one is being told primarily from my OC characters perspective, but there will be a few instances where the perspective will switch from one character to the next.

So far the story has gone along quite well in my opinion, still not a lot of people read it but that's okay, like I mentioned in the last chapter, this should be a good deal longer then the last one, especially since it'll fill in what my OC character had been doing in the last three chapters, though not in explicit detail though, just a vague summary. Anyways this chapter will also finally show how my OC character will interact with the other characters in the story, though which characters I'm not telling but you'll find out at the end of the chapter and chances are it's quite obvious.

Well enough of that, onto the story

**Naruto: Tale of Yin and Yang**

Chapter 8: Formation of Team 7

Feeling the sun's rays shine onto him, Kiro woke while still lying in his bed. Sitting up he, as he always did, took a minute to survey his room. He couldn't see anything that was unusual or out of place of course, his room looked the same as it always did, nevertheless there was a feeling on contentment that he had never felt before, a slight smile came to his face.

It was actually rather obvious where the change had come from; Hinata Hyuga. When he was dismissed from the academy he generally spent his time on reading and studying the material or practicing his abilities in the fields, and he had been going through that same routine for years. Although he got some measure of fulfillment from those actions it was still a lonely way to grow up and he had never managed to completely numb himself to that feeling.

Since Hinata had approached him with an offer of friendship, surprising in his opinion given her bashful nature, he had felt genuinely shocked at the idea, so used to the fact that he was friendless, that he wasn't sure how to react at first. Even now he wasn't sure whether he had made the right decision but he had certainly enjoyed the companionship and he found the shy demeanor of the Hyuga heiress rather endearing.

Although Hinata was very nervous in the beginning, stuttering during conversations and fiddling with her fingers it was obvious that she was trying to make a genuine effort to befriend him, he on the other hand did his best not to drive her off. He tried to make his demeanor less stern and was careful about treating her with politeness and being respectful towards her. In his opinion she responded well and was slowly getting used to his presence, talking a little more and gaining a little confidence in her manner.

Thinking back to what happened in that moment that had given him such a sudden change in his daily life he thought about something he had never really considered before; What was he going to do with his life? Before he hadn't worried about that question because what he was doing then was enough for him, he wasn't content by any means but it was enough for him. But with this new development his old hunger for the new had returned to him with a vengeance and he wasn't sure whether he could close those feelings off again, or if he even wanted to.

Mentally shrugging he got out of bed, he would leave those thoughts for another time. After washing up, eating breakfast and getting dressed, he walked out onto the streets. For a change he was fairly early in leaving his apartment and he was thus one of the few people out on the streets, which suited him just fine.

As he walked along, Kiro had the time to contemplate what was going to happen when he arrived at the academy, information on Genin's was relatively obscure and the only extensive information was devoted to exceptionally talented or powerful Genin. What he did know however was that they would be divided into teams of three lead by one Jonin class ninja, the problem there was that since he didn't really know anyone aside from Hinata, and even then that was extremely recently, coupled with his classmate's general uneasiness around him he would most likely have some issues with working in a team.

Looking up Kiro noticed he had arrived at the academy. Walking through the doorway and finding his way to his class, he opened the door and walked inside. There were only three people present, Shino, Nariko and Sasuke all sat inside, they ignored his presence and just stared into space, presumably with their thoughts to occupy them. Walking up and taking his seat, he idly wondered how long it would take for everyone to arrive.

* * *

In the Hokage's _(Fire Shadow) _office a number of Jonin were crowded around the Sandaime's _(Third Hokage) _desk all craning their necks to look into the crystal ball to see the potential ninja that they would take on as students. Although it was an important event, several of the Jonin looked decidedly bored or even irked at the idea of having to lead a team of Genin.

Sarutobi was also looking at the newly ranked Genin in the room, but he was also aware that, most likely, very few teams would actually pass the final exam that their Jonin instructor is tasked with giving them, something deliberately withheld from books and other sources of information, to ensure that only those who can truly flourish as ninja could be picked out.

None of the Jonin present seemed to be particularly impressed with the new batch of Genin, though considering the lowered standard for becoming a ninja that was to be expected. Only one ninja seemed to have impressed the majority of the assembled Jonin; Sasuke Uchiha, the Genin of the year and last of the Uchiha clan. It was obvious that most of the Jonin were hoping on getting him as one of their students.

Sarutobi waited until most of the students had arrived, "Alright then", he spoke out, "Each of you will receive your three Genin shortly, you all know what to do then", the Jonin nodded in confirmation. Sarutobi passed them a list of which Jonin teaches which team.

One particular Jonin, upon receiving his team of Genin, glanced down at the crystal orb again, "_Kiro Yamaguchi eh?_", he thought privately to himself.

* * *

Kiro was busily trying block out all the noise that was being made when everyone had arrived. When Hinata had arrived they had talked a little bit, a few people had arrived then so they weren't too conspicuous, and he had enjoyed their quite conversations for a little while, unfortunately when about half the class had arrived the volume had grown to the point that he couldn't even hear Hinata anymore, by then he was more concerned with getting rid of the headache he got from too many people talking at once than anything else. Luckily Hinata understood and graciously allowed him his peace.

Several shrill voices combined with a number of loud yells punctuated the air. Lifting his head up he saw that the source of the noise was several of the classmates who had gotten into an argument on who would sit next to Sasuke, for the girls, and Nariko, for the boys. Naturally they just ignored their respective admirers. Groaning slightly Kiro hid his head in his arms, he was just glad that he wasn't the one at the center of all that noise.

It was about then when Iruka finally decided to intervene, "Alright Class, settle down", he called out above the chatter which didn't diminish in the slightest, "Please class quiet down now", he tried again, still no-one listened to him, "WILL YOU ALL SHUT UP", he roared, immediately all noises ceased.

Iruka nodded in satisfaction, "Good, now I can assign you all to your teams", this sudden announcement caused almost everyone to start talking, mindful of the volume this time, to each other. Kiro snorted, it wasn't surprising that almost no one knew that they were assigned in teams of three.

"You will all be placed into teams of three", Iruka coincidentally continued, "Each of you will be assigned a Jonin instructor", more furious muttering followed, several young kunoichi and shinobi gave Sasuke and Nariko veiled glances, it was obvious what they were hoping.

Kiro rolled his eyes, he honestly didn't care who he was with, if he had a choice he would pick Hinata and someone else, preferably someone like Shino or Shikamaru. Mentally tuning out the names that were being called out until he finally heard his own name.

"Team 7 - Kiro Yamaguchi…" Iruka called out. Kiro glanced up, though he looked uninterested there was an alert look in his eye, "…Sasuke Uchiha…" a small chorus of muffled groans from the kunoichi section of the class sounded out, "… and Nariko Uzumaki", Iruka finished, it was the shinobi sections turn to groan now.

Kiro gave a disappointed sigh, it could have been worse but… glancing down at his new team mates he couldn't help but grimace, Sasuke and Nariko weren't exactly what he would call team mate material, they were both too proud of themselves to even consider working with someone.

Although it was easy enough to deduce why he was placed with them; although he had scored reasonably high in practical and theoretical portions of the year he had scored the lowest for jutsu proficiency while Nariko and Sasuke had scored the highest each, the main factor though that grouped them together was their equally woeful marks for team effort which were at the bottom of the class. Logically grouping them together would allow their Jonin instructor to fix that all at once.

"_Of course that doesn't mean I'll be happy about it_", Kiro grumbled in his thoughts. Hinata also looked disappointed, "Don't worry", he reassured her, "You'll have your own team and I'm sure you'll make friends with them", Hinata smiled hesitantly at that. Sure enough she was paired with Shino Aburame and Kiba Inuzuka in Team 10, whose clan abilities were both complimentary towards each other and her.

Finishing with the last Genin team Iruka held up a hand for silence. "Now then, I know that all of you are very excited but I must warn all of you. You are still Genin, there is still much for you to learn and master, this is only the beginning of your ninja career", Iruka lectured. Most of the ninja only half-heartedly paid attention much to his annoyance, "Alright then, you can all have your lunch break", Iruka irritably said. To no surprise most of the class cheered and charged out of the classroom in an instant. Kiro still sat at his desk pondering over his new team. Hinata followed her team mates after giving Kiro a rather guilty explanation on wanting to know them better, he didn't mind and he needed time alone to wonder about how to get to know his team mates.

* * *

Nariko leaned back against a wall whilst nibbling on a bread roll, as per usual, the minute it was time for lunch she ran off to find a place of solitude, both to get her peace and avoid her avid admirers, but in this case it was so she had time to think about her situation. It had been a nasty surprise for her that she was forced into a team of three and she was rather irritated that Iruka didn't mention it to her.

Nariko's lip curled in disdain at the thought of having to work with other ninja. So far, from what she's seen, almost no shinobi or kunoichi were adequately skilled enough for her to work with, a view that wasn't helped by her hordes of shinobi fans. It seemed that she was still constrained to other ninja even as a Genin.

Finally thinking towards her soon-to-be team mates Nariko was forced to admit that, if she had to be forced into a team, who she had for team mates were among the best possible. If there was one thing she despised it was weakness and she thus refused to have someone who couldn't hold their own as a team mate, for her standards that virtually ruled out almost everyone in her class.

Luckily Sasuke Uchiha was the only person in the class she felt anything remotely akin to respect for. He was strong, clever and more than capable of handling his own life without outside interferences, another mark for him was that he wasn't very talkative, which suited her just fine. Of course he still had some faults, for one thing even he seemed to find her rather appealing as a girl, she had occasionally caught the brief side long glances he had given and she drew her own conclusions. What made her more tolerant of that was that, unlike all the other infatuated idiots, his look was more considered and intelligent, enough so that she was a good deal more tolerant of it then all others. Of course she still didn't consider the idea of trying to befriend him and much preferred on relying on her own strength, but she could go far enough to have a working relationship with him.

Turning her thoughts towards her other team mate, Nariko's brow furrowed slightly. Now that she thought about it, Kiro Yamaguchi was an enigma towards her, there was absolutely nothing she could discern from him other then what he's shown; Sharp, silent, apathetic and otherwise alone. He never really stood out much, he was not outspoken or particularly talkative, but possessed a keen intelligence that seemed to have allowed him clearance to become a Genin. Of course Nariko admitted that his pale yellow eyes were rather disconcerting even to her, there was just something that seemed inhuman about them that made people stay away. Nariko briefly toyed with the idea that he also had a Biju _(Tailed Beast) _sealed inside him before dismissing that thought.

Thinking back further Nariko knew that he had also been under the partial care of Sarutobi, but she had never met him during any instances, in fact she really didn't know anything that wasn't well known to the village. He was the son of the, now disgraced, Tsuyoi Yamaguchi but was born with an inability to perform jutsu, the first and last time he tried resulted in… unpleasant events. But beyond that she knew next to nothing about him.

"_Eh_", Nariko shrugged. He at least had never shown any interest in her at all, never even glanced at her, she got the feeling that he almost disliked her, so she didn't need to worry about something like that and coupled with what she did know about him, he would make a tolerable team mate for her. Standing up Nariko dusted off the remains of her meal, before beginning to make her way back to her classroom.

* * *

Kiro had spent lunch in the classroom, mainly because no-one seemed to spend lunch in the classroom, and was simply reviewing his notes over the last year, using the solitude to help him concentrate. Hearing the door open his eyes flickered up before immediately going back down at seeing who it was.

Nariko ignored his presence and calmly walked to and sat back down at the desk. A few minutes later most of the other students returned as well, including his other team mate who did the exact same thing as Nariko. Kiro briefly looked between the two of them before going back to his notes; it seemed that neither of them had even acknowledged that they were team mates now. As Hinata sat down next down to him a quick inquiry told him that her first interaction with her team mates went smoothly, which didn't help cheer him up.

When the last student had arrived, Iruka quickly followed after them. After giving them a quick lecture and explaining that their Jonin instructor will arrive to pick them up shortly. He then exited to the door, preparing to pass the responsibility of teacher to the Jonin's.

Several minutes passed and most of the students were gone. Soon only Kiro, Nariko, Sasuke, Hinata, Kiba, Shino, Shikamaru, Choji and Ino were left. The door opened again Team 8 were escorted out by their Jonin instructor. Only a few minutes after that Team 10 was also lead away leaving just Team 7 left in the classroom.

It was a popular belief that the mongoose and snake would attack each other if either of them so much as twitched at one another other, suffice to say the two species absolutely loathed each other. The three ninja that occupied the classroom now would have made the two species look like the best of friends in comparison, the frigid silence between them was practically palpable and it was obvious that none of them wanted to spend any more time together then necessary.

Kiro idly tapped his desk, partly to pass the time but mostly to try and distract himself from the uncomfortable silence that had settled in. His two team mates were still ignoring him and each other, though Sasuke probably gave Nariko a veiled glance once or twice, and it seemed that nothing short of the apocalypse could so much as bring them to speak to each other.

Glancing up at the clock Kiro was surprised to see that half an hour had already lapsed, whoever their Jonin instructor was, he or she was badly late. Folding his arms Kiro closed his eyes. Considering how long it's been it shouldn't be too long before their instructor shows up by now…

Another one and a half hour later the door finally creaked open and a masked shinobi walked in. The three, now very aggravated, ninja turned to glare at their tardy Jonin instructor. Their instructor's appearance was somewhat distinctive to say the least, his silver hair was spiky and was resolutely stuck up, he wore a very large mask that covered everything up to his nose and seemed to be attached to his body suit and his left eye was covered by his Hitai-ate _(Forehead Protector) _which acted as an impromptu eye patch. This left only his right eye and the area around it as the only visible part of his face, his only visible eye also seemed stuck in a perpetually bored or lazy expression. Other than that there was nothing particularly strange about him, he wore the standard ninja uniform and flak jacket.

Ignoring his students glowering at him he quickly surveyed his team, noting the distance, both figuratively and literally, between them before speaking, "Let's see. My first impression of you guys is… we're not going to get along", nobody reacted to his weak joke and he gave a rather sheepish shrug, "Alright then, meet me up on the roof", he said offhandedly before disappearing in a puff of smoke.

The three wordlessly stood up and followed each thinking their separate thoughts. "_Didn't even apologise for being late_", Kiro thought, the thoughts of his team mates were most decidedly darker. Reaching the roof they all sat down a few feet in front of their instructor who was regarding them with a bland expression.

"So, why don't you all introduce yourselves and tell us something about yourselves", their sensei _(Teacher)_ spoke. "What kind of things?", Kiro finally asked when neither Sasuke or Nariko bothered to answer. "Things you like, things you hate, hobbies, dreams for the future… something along those lines", he answered, "Why don't you go first", Kiro asked. Their sensei _(Teacher) _didn't answer. "My name is Kakashi Hatake", he finally began, "_The Kakashi Hatake?_" Kiro thought recognising the name, "I don't feel like telling you my likes or dislikes", Kakashi continued, "Dreams for the future…", he paused for a second before continuing, "I have lots of hobbies", he finished. Nobody bothered to voice the fact he only told them his name.

"Alright then", Kakashi said pointing to Kiro, "Since you seem marginally more talkative then the other two, why don't you go next". Kiro shrugged before speaking, "My name is Kiro Yamaguchi, my likes are reading, my dislikes are people who judge based on appearances. I don't really have any hobbies or dreams". Kakashi nodded and pointed to Sasuke, "Alright you're next".

Sasuke began speaking, "My name is Sasuke Uchiha. I hate a lot of things, and there aren't a lot of things I particularly like. I don't have any hobbies either. My ambition, which I have no intention of leaving as a dream, is to revive my clan… and kill a certain someone". Kakashi didn't even bat an eyelid at the response and just continued on like nothing out of the ordinary was said, "Alright, you're last", he said pointing at Nariko.

Nariko didn't respond for a while, but eventually it was obvious that Kakashi wasn't going to drop it. "My name is Nariko Uzumaki", Nariko answered in monotone, "And my likes, dislikes, hobbies and dreams are of no business to anyone here". Kakashi still didn't act particularly surprise while Kiro quietly revised his assessment of Nariko; it seemed that there were times that she was even colder than Sasuke.

"Alright then", Kakashi said, "Each of you seemed to prefer to keep your thoughts to yourselves and thinking before doing something. I like that. We'll be starting out first mission tomorrow". Kiro sat up a little straighter, "And what is this mission?" he asked, "Just a survival training exercise", Kakashi answered in the same offhanded manner he seemed to always talk with.

At this the rest of the team finally responded, "Survival exercise? We've done plenty of those at the academy", Nariko shot out at the same time Kiro asked, "What kind of Survival exercise", Kakashi, ignoring Nariko's implied question, just chuckled merrily to himself, "What's so funny", Nariko questioned.

Kakashi continued to laugh quietly to himself for a while before answering, "If I told you, you'll freak out". All three ninja raised an eyebrow expectedly at the answer, Kakashi adopted a grave look and spoke, "Of the twenty seven graduates that become ninja only nine are allowed to pass, this final exam is to eliminate the other eighteen who will be sent back to the academy. So in other words this is a pass or fail test to see whether you have the ability to become true Genin with a failure rate of sixty-six percent".

One could practically see the mood darken around the three graduate ninja, the thought of being sent back to the academy was definitely not something to make light off and it was obvious none of them had any intention on failing. "Well then", Kakashi said cheerily, completely aware of the change in atmosphere he caused, "I told you, you'll freak out". Standing up he began to give some last minutes instructions, "Well anyways, meet me at Training Ground three at 7:00am, don't be late. Bring whatever you think you'll need. You'll get the details of your survival exercise then". Turning around to leave he suddenly seemed to remember something, "Oh and don't eat breakfast tomorrow… or you'll throw up" he said offhandedly before disappearing.

The minute Kakashi was gone Nariko and Sasuke also got up and left, most likely for the training grounds to prepare for the final examination tomorrow, leaving Kiro alone on the steps. "_So much for forming a team_", Kiro thought resigned to his fate as he stood up and left. Since he didn't have anything to do he just went straight back to his apartment.

* * *

Lying back against his bed Kiro made sure he was completely relaxed before tackling the new conundrum he was faced with. He had no doubt Hinata and all the other teams were facing similar problems and since there was nothing mentioning this in the books he had, he had no idea what to expect.

Lifting a hand he began to focus chakra in his palm. This was a simple exercise he had used where he would try to improve the control of his chakra, because of his unique chakra he was the only one among his peers who could attempt it and get solid results. Ordinarily he would never try doing it in his home but he wasn't in the mood on running down to the training grounds to practice due to the off chance that either of his two team mates could be there.

It was typical that he was stuck with those two as team mates, he didn't hate them of course but their attitude and behavior simply made them intolerable to be around for long periods of time and since neither of them believed that anyone other than themselves could match him/her it would make working with them a difficult challenge.

Feeling the amount of chakra increasing and his control over it decreasing Kiro relaxed his hold on it and allowed the gathered chakra to slowly dissipate. It seemed that his progress was growing slower as he got better control over his chakra, right now it seemed to have all but halted. Getting up from the bed and sitting cross-legged on the floor he began to meditate.

* * *

Waking up, Kiro rubbed the drowsiness from his eyes and glanced at the clock hanging on the wall. 5:30am. He had plenty of time before he would have to meet the team, more if Kakashi was going to be late by another hour or two. Getting up he walked towards the bathroom.

Still having plenty of time he couldn't help but make breakfast. "_If I throw up I'll throw up_", Kiro thought finishing his meal, "_But it's always best to perform a mission at top ability_". Getting dressed and strapping his sword on he glanced at the clock one more time before leaving. With twenty minutes to spare Kiro walked leisurely towards training grounds three, deliberately taking his time all the while wondering what their survival exercise would entail.

Upon arriving he noticed that he was the first to arrive, shrugging he walked around and made himself comfortable sitting against a tree. It didn't take long for Nariko to show up after him, pointedly ignoring him like yesterday she sat down at the other end of the training ground, only a few minutes later Sasuke also appeared and, repeating Nariko's behavior, found himself a spot away from both him and Nariko.

Although outwardly they acted just as they always had Kiro had a feeling that neither of them had eaten breakfast as Kakashi had instructed. Settling himself down he estimated that they would have to wait at most two hours so if his guess was right Sasuke and Nariko were going to suffer hunger pangs for a while.

About three hours later their ridiculously tardy sensei _(Teacher) _finally showed up, moreover he actually had the gall to act like he had done nothing wrong. Both Sasuke and Nariko glared at Kakashi as well as they could as soon as he arrived but lacked the strength to do anything more drastic.

"Alright then", Kakashi began cheerfully, it didn't take long for Kiro to work out he had disregarded his own instructions and had eaten breakfast, "Now that we are all here we can begin". Stepping forward, while ignoring the silent questions on why he was late his students were shooting him, he placed an alarm clock on a stump and turned to face his students. Pulling out a few small bells he began speaking, "The goal is simple, all you have to do is get one of these bells off me within two hours and you'll pass".

It was an overall relatively simple task… if you were to minus the fact that there were only two bells. "If you DON'T get a bell by then", Kakashi continued, "You'll be tied to a stump", he said pointing to three wooden poles sticking from the ground, "And you won't get any lunch", he added gesturing at three bento's _(lunchbox)_ he brought with him, "_That's why he told us not to eat breakfast_", Kiro, Nariko and Sasuke thought as one.

Kiro carefully looked at Nariko and Sasuke it was obvious that they weren't pleased with how things had turned out, personally he was just surprised that their penchant for disregarding the advice of their peers and instructors could have failed them at such a crucial juncture of their ninja careers.

"Now to answer the question none of you asked but should have", Kakashi continued on, "It's obvious that since there are only two bells, at least one of you will be tied to the stump, fail and be sent back to the academy", that sentence had a predictably effect, it was obvious now that all three of them were planning on getting a bell for themselves, "_Now to see whether the two prodigies can think of things that aren't given at face value_", Kakashi thought before briefly glancing at Kiro, "_And if my evaluation of the Yamaguchi boy was wrong_" he thought before finishing his instructions, "Begin!"

* * *

Hiruzen was busily going through various folders on his desk looking for a specific one. Sitting in front of his desk was one worried Iruka Umino. He had come into his office a few minutes ago to ask about the teacher Nariko Uzumaki had received, while he could have just given Iruka the answer he felt it was better for Iruka to see Kakashi's full track record himself.

"Ah! Here it is", Hiruzen said pulling out a folder labelled Kakashi Hatake. Opening it he began to go through the files looking for the one about Genin's, all the while Iruka was slowly becoming more and more agitated.

Finding the file Hiruzen spoke, "Before I hand you this there is something you must know", "What is it Hokage-sama_ (Lord Fire Shadow)_?", Iruka answered, "In all the years Kakashi had taken a Genin team he had never passed a single one of them", this prompted an distressed response from Iruka but before he could say anything Hiruzen cut him off, "Before you become judgmental, Kakashi had every legitimate reason for doing so", Iruka swallowed a bit before nodding, Hiruzen slowly handed over the file.

Quickly opening it Iruka began to scan the contents all the while Hiruzen kept calm whilst lighting his pipe. Truth be told he was also nervous about how Nariko would do in the test, her recent track records indicated that it was most likely she would fail despite his hopes. Iruka, after going through several Genin teams and Kakashi's report felt his eyes widen "This is…"

* * *

All three of Kakashi's students disappeared the minute the exercise began. Balefully sending out his chakra he was pleased to find that he couldn't sense anything, "_I wonder who'll try first_", he thought idly reaching into one of the pockets on his flak jacket.

At the moment all three of his students were hidden in the trees and bushed quietly observing their teacher. While Sasuke and Nariko were busily formulating ideas on how to get one of the bells Kiro was being more wary.

Although at first glance it was simple exercise that simply entailed stealing a bell there was one thing that made that simply goal problematic; they had to take it from a Jonin i.e. an elite ninja. While Kiro wasn't exactly pessimistic about his abilities he certainly wasn't about to delude himself into thinking he could tackle a Jonin head on even if he was holding back, "_Especially if that really is the Kakashi I read about_", he thought, "_The one that mastered over a thousand jutsu_".

All three of them tensed when he slipped his hand into one of his pockets but what he brought out, none of them were expecting. Pulling out a book Kakashi immediately became absorbed with reading, seemingly oblivious to everything else around him, seemingly. All three of them took a moment to nurse their own ideas on what they thought about his action before concentrating back on their goal.

Nariko carefully shifted her position all the while keeping her eye trained on her sensei _(Teacher)_. The various stunts he's pulled since their formation had seriously curtailed what little esteem he had for her and reading in their midst was the last straw, not only was it being just plain careless but it showed what he thought about their abilities and Nariko did not like being underestimated Jonin or not.

Carefully drawing a kunai Nariko looked among the foliage she was hidden in until she spied a wire hidden in a thick cluster of leaves. Although it was underhanded she had gotten the idea of setting several traps in the training area yesterday whilst she was practicing her jutsu, in a battle between ninja there was no such thing as unfair so Nariko had no qualms about throwing the kunai at the wire.

Neatly severing the line, several shuriken and kunai were flung out at the opposite end of her position, she was careful about planning everything in advance so as not to give away her position. The bladed weapons whistled through the air right towards Kakashi who didn't seem to notice a thing. Her team mates did though and they all held their breaths in anticipation, if Kakashi was felled there would be a free-for-all for the two bells.

The weapons pierced Kakashi just as he was turning a page, without a sound he fell. Nariko immediately bent and sent chakra to her knees, preparing to jump, Sasuke did the same, only Kiro remained immobile feeling a brief flair of chakra from Kakashi and guessed what happened. Just as Kakashi hit the ground he vanished in a puff of smoke, replaced by a log which had several shuriken and kunai stuck in it.

"_SHIT!_" Nariko thought, "_Kawarimi no Jutsu (Body Replacement Jutsu)!_", A simple jutsu that replaces the user with a nearby object when an attack connects and giving the user an opportunity to counter attack or simply escape. Though a simple E-ranked academy jutsu it can be extremely useful especially when combined with the Shunshin no Jutsu _(Body Flicker Technique) _which allow a greater range of objects to become available to replace with. To seasoned ninja using Kawarimi no Jutsu _(Body Replacement Jutsu) _can be honed almost to the point of being a reflex.

Right now both Nariko and Sasuke were urgently trying to find a new area to keep hidden. Although they had serious doubts on Kakashi's credibility as a Jonin (Up until he dodged Nariko's trap) they didn't even bother trying to delude themselves into thinking he didn't feel the burst of chakra that emanated from them.

Sure enough Kakashi had already located both of the two prodigies moving through the trees and was now just waiting for a moment to strike, "_Let's see… who should my first target be?_" he thought as he felt Nariko and Sasuke dart around all the while keeping his own chakra signature hidden.

Chasing after one of the chakra signatures Kakashi quickly stumbled across Sasuke who was still oblivious to his presence. "_Now to begin_", he thought absentmindedly throwing a kunai at him.

Sasuke, hearing a whistling in the air, immediately turned and dodged. A kunai was lodged into the ground where he was and looking up he was his Jonin instructor leaning against the top of a tree still reading his book. "Well, well. Looks like you'll be the first one to try and get one of these bells", Kakashi noted, not even bothering to look at Sasuke.

Sasuke smirked in response, "Then you had better be prepared to lose a bell", he warned before leaping up at Kakashi. To his credit his blows were able to force Kakashi to put away his book but he was still unable to get close to one of the bells save for one instance where he just managed to graze the metal surface of one. "_Pretty good_", Kakashi thought blocking a kick with his arm, "_I'd say that boy's already at around Chunin level… however_", grabbing Sasuke's leg, "_He's still not good enough_". Throwing Sasuke several feet away he prepared for the next assault.

On the other side of the battle Sasuke was getting frustrated at how easily he was getting repelled. "_Okay so I can't get a bell through Taijutsu (Body Techniques) then I'll have to switch to Ninjutsu (Ninja Techniques)_", he thought. Flipping around he immediately prepared the hand signs, "_Katon: Gōkakyū no Jutsu (Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique)!_".

Kakashi stared in shock at what he was seeing, "_What! A fire jutsu at his level. There's no way he could…_" all thoughts were extinguished when a large fireball came hurtling through his mouth directly at him, he barely had a few seconds to think before he was enveloped by the flames.

Sasuke kept up the flame for a while determined to knock Kakashi out. Releasing the jutsu and allowing the flames to dissipate he dashed over to the charred ground, to his consternation there was no sign of anything. "_Drat! What happened_", he thought looking around wildly, "_Above? Behind? Where is he?_" A hand suddenly reached up from the ground and grabbed his foot, "Below", Kakashi's voice called out before pulling him into the ground before Sasuke even had a chance to scream.

Pulling himself out of the ground Kakashi dusted his clothes of before looking at Sasuke who was neck deep in the ground, "I must say, that was rather fun. And I never expected that you could perform a fire jutsu at your age. Lucky I avoided it with a Doton: Shinjū Zanshu no Jutsu _(Earth Release: Double Suicide Decapitation Technique)_", Sasuke didn't answer and was busily trying to force himself out of the ground.

"But that's your problem right there", Kakashi continued, "Always thinking you can do things by yourself", turning he began to leave Sasuke to his predicament, "_It seems that he's exactly what I was expecting, though he's more proficient in jutsu then I thought_", Kakashi mused, "_Let's hope the other two do better and find the real meaning of the test_".

Above the tree tops Kiro had managed to catch the fight midway through. When he felt the sudden rises in chakra he had guessed that Kakashi had found someone, he had made sure to mask his own chakra before tracking them down and had made sure to keep his chakra under control throughout the battle. What he saw only reaffirmed his beliefs from before, "_It seems that none of us are any match for him in direct combat_", he thought, "_So how are we supposed to get a bell?_"

Kakashi was busily trekking his way through all the forestry with no particular destination in mind, but if he was going with the reasoning that if he makes enough noise someone was bound to spot him. After that it would just be a matter of time and he had all the time in the world, "_Of course my would be students don't have the luxury of having time to spare_", he thought, "_So someone will probably come after me in a few minutes_".

Almost as if it someone was eavesdropping on his thoughts Nariko Uzumaki landed a few feet away from him with a kunai in her hand. Balefully rolling his eyes at the sight Kakashi readies himself for another confrontation, at the very least he would get a decent estimation of how each of the two rookies of the year stand in terms of skill.

On her part Nariko was not completely confident in her ability to confront Kakashi despite the outward appearance of calm she carried. Though she doubted his abilities in the beginning she now realized that was a grave error on her part and she needed to treat him with absolute caution.

"You know Sasuke also tried coming at me head on", Kakashi commented while adopting a loose defensive stance, "It didn't end too well for him", Nariko didn't seem to react but her grip on the kunai tightened slightly. This time Kakashi decided to strike first. Drawing a kunai, he leapt forward in a blur of movement. There was the sound of metal clashing against metal as Nariko barely managed to defend herself against his attack, "_Fast!_", was the only thing Nariko had time to think as she was fighting for her life.

A particularly hard strike penetrated her defenses and flung her backwards several feet. Performing a back flip in midair, Nariko managed to land on her feet and prepared herself for another assault but was surprised to see Kakashi idly threw his kunai up and down, his manner suggesting he wasn't going to attack. Still Nariko kept her guard up, the ferocity of the last clash still fresh in her mind, it was amazing how Kakashi switched so easily from a lazy and flippant shinobi to a cool and collected Jonin and Nariko had no desire to battle him like that again.

"Hmm, you're pretty good", Kakashi conceded, still throwing his kunai up and down, "Of course I was still taking it easy on you", he added almost condescendingly. Nariko gritted her teeth, ignoring the implied slur against her abilities. She needed all of her thoughts about her if she was going to get a bell and getting frustrated won't help her in any way.

Relaxing her posture Nariko let out a deep breath and closed her eyes, it would seem that she would have to rely on her greatest technique if she even wanted a chance to get one of the bells, luckily her wind attributed jutsu are well suited to that task. Slowly wind began to swirl around her, building up in strength and speed. Kakashi became wary at what she was doing, "_What's she going to use now?_", he wondered, Nariko's eyes suddenly flared open, her blue irises tinted green, "Rokukeijō tenrai-fū - Saisho Keijō: Tenkū _(Six forms of Heavenly-Wind - First Form: Air)_", Nariko declared.

Kakashi was rocked by this sudden move, "_That Jutsu is…_", he thought, he had no more time to think when Nariko rushed at him, her speed enhanced by her Jutsu. Thanks to her increased power, speed and reflexes, Kakashi was now the one fighting on the defensive, desperately avoiding her air strengthened attacks and keeping out of range from her wind based attacks.

Leaping over her Kakashi began to prepare his own jutsu to counter her, though he was restricted from using anything too lethal, "Doton: Ryūsha _(Earth Release: Quicksand)_", Kakashi called out, landing and planting his hands into the ground. The area Nariko was standing at immediately collapsed on itself, reducing the ground to sand like particles which began to suck Nariko down into the ground.

Realizing her predicament Nariko also prepared a jutsu, "Fūton: Bakuhatsu! _(Wind Release: Explosion)_", a blast of air immediately blew her out of the sand trap and she flew up into the air. Using her new height she quickly scanned the ground for Kakashi, unfortunately it seemed he used the time to make a quick escape, "_Shit! Where did he…?_", she suddenly felt something prod her at the base of her skull. Immediately she felt her body spasm and with a cry she fell heavily against the ground.

Nariko tried to stand up but found that she couldn't move any of her muscles; she was paralyzed. Kakashi landed in front of her, "What… did… you… do", Nariko questioned weakly, just having enough movement left to speak. "Kanashibari no Jutsu _(Temporary Paralysis Technique)_", Kakashi explained, "I sent a shockwave of chakra through your body and disoriented your nervous system. An old trick from my ANBU days"

Nariko glared but could do no more than that. Kakashi turned and began to leave while calling over his shoulder, "Don't worry, you'll get movement back after a while though you'll run out of time by then and fail the exam", Nariko almost screamed at him for that, "Ah well, better luck next year", Kakashi continued cheerfully before leaving Nariko on her own. "_She's good as well_" Kakashi reflected, "_Maybe even better than Sasuke. But she has the same problem_".

Above the site of the battle Kiro had also managed to watch the fight without being detected and the results were definitely not encouraging. "_So he was part of the ANBU_", Kiro thought grimly. The ANBU, which is an acronym for Ansatsu Senjutsu Tokushu Butai _(Special Assassination and Tactical Squad)_, is an elite division of high level ninja that operate only on special high-level missions, such as, but not limited to, assassination, surveillance or torture. When not performing missions they are tasked with protecting the village from exceptional threats. The Shinobi and Kunoichi of the ANBU are all handpicked by the Kage of their respective village. Factors such as age, rank, gender, background or anything else does not matter; they are chosen based on their skill and experience.

Written information on them is scarce and sketchy at best and they are under the direct command of the Kage and each and every single member of the ANBU is a force to be reckoned with. "_Which means I have even less of a chance at getting a bell then I thought_", Kiro reflected already more than a little disillusioned, "_And I don't think that I can get even close to Kakashi, especially on my own_", that thought led him to his last and only remaining favorable option; he would have to work together with Sasuke and Nariko.

Unfortunately that was task that would be almost impossible to accomplish even at the best of times, and with only two bells, it would be obvious that Sasuke and Nariko would plan to seize one for themselves. But still, he didn't really have any choice. Making sure that Kakashi was out of range, Kiro leapt down and landed in front of Nariko.

Nariko stared at him in surprise for a moment before her face quickly became blank. "Looks like you could use some help", Kiro commented conversationally, Nariko still didn't react, Kiro inwardly sighed and decided to get to the point, "Alright then. No time for small talk. I don't like you and you don't like me, but that's beside the point right now", Nariko's look now contained thinly veiled curiosity. It was fairly obvious that no-one her age had ever spoken to her so abruptly.

"It's probably pretty clear now that none of us stand any chance of getting a bell from Kakashi by ourselves", Kiro continued on, "Which means that we're going to have to work together to…", "No", Nariko shot out before he could finish. Kiro gave her an irritated stare, "Do you want to fail and go back to the academy", he challenged, "Because that's what's going to happen if you don't unbend that pride of yours and get a bell", Nariko glared at him, but he could see that she weighing the consequences between what he was saying.

"I don't have all day", Kiro warned, "If you're still going to refuse I'll have to leave you and try and convince Sasuke and that path does not lead to becoming a Genin", Nariko stared furiously up at him but he could see that she saw the truth in his words no matter how much she hated it. Reluctantly Nariko spoke, "Fine. Just get this damn paralysis of me". Kiro nodded and kneeled down.

Reaching out with his chakra Kiro sensed that Kakashi had used a burst of his own chakra to scramble Nariko's Chakra Circulatory system. Raising a hand he sent a burst of his own chakra into her, ignoring the slight gasp from Nariko from that action, immediately he could fell the neutralizing effects of his chakra work its way through her body and clear away the foreign chakra before dissipating.

Wobbling slightly Nariko staggered to her feet and gave Kiro a quick look that could have been either dislike or annoyance, "Thanks", Nariko grudgingly forced out, Kiro shrugged and leapt into the trees, Nariko quickly followed.

* * *

Iruka shakily handed back the folder to the Hokage _(Fire Shadow)_, what he had read had shocked him yet he couldn't deny the truth behind each of the reports. Yet it seemed that there was no course for Nariko but to fail

"As you can see", Sarutobi said, "Kakashi isn't exactly the most lenient of instructors. But he was correct in each of his assessments", Iruka nodded his thoughts still full of what he read. "I know that you're worried about Nariko", Sarutobi said, "But remember you can't coddle her forever. She must learn that power is not the only thing of importance to the village".

Iruka bit his lip and nodded, "Iruka. Even I don't know whether Nariko is ready to become a Kunoichi of the village if she can't understand what's truly important", Sarutobi said, "Kakashi's assessments have always been correct. Don't hate him if he fails them. All we can do is pray". Iruka looked up and answered, "Yes Hokage-sama _(Lord Fire Shadow)_".

* * *

"What now?", Nariko questioned as she followed him through the forest. Normally she would have ignored him and tried again to take a bell but the logic that Kiro had displayed forced her to accept that she didn't have the time to continually try and get the bell by herself, if she had to work with Kiro to get the bells then so be it.

"To go fetch Sasuke so we can all tackle Kakashi", Kiro replied without looking back. Nariko immediately stopped. Kiro turned and saw Nariko give him a flat look, "What?", she asked in an ominous voice. "Don't start now, please", Kiro said, waving one hand wearily, "We have a far better chance of getting the bells if there are three of us working at it".

Nariko mentally counted to ten before she trusted herself to speak, "I'm reaching the end of my patience here", she warned, "So you better explain what's going through your head. Because I'm not following you a centimeter more until you explain".

Kiro sighed and leaned against a tree trunk, it was a wonder she had followed him at all but he could see her point; trust had to go both ways. "Alright then", Kiro submitted, "We would have a far better chance of getting the bells with all three of us working at it. We don't have the kind of time needed to experiment on the best ways for two people to go at it, so we need everyone to ensure the best chances and we are a team after all." Nariko contemplated his answer before giving a curt nod, finding his reasons sufficient.

Kiro took it as a sign she would listen to him and continued on, behind him Nariko followed while wondering about the mystery that was Kiro, "_It seems that there are many layers to him_", she thought.

* * *

"_Damn! To think that there was this big of a difference between us_", Sasuke thought furiously. Because of his situation, he had no room or leverage to dig himself out and since the others were just liabilities he was stuck.

A sudden rustling sound alerted him. There was someone coming this way. Once he again tried to twist his way out but his body was stuck fast in the ground. The sound of branches being swung back and forth followed by the sound of people landing on the ground caused him to grimace; this was not how he intended things to go.

Nariko raised an eyebrow at Sasuke's predicament. Although they both lost miserably to Kakashi at least she wasn't the subject of a failed burial attempt which made Sasuke look like a headstone. "Are you going to just stand there or help me", the voice burst her thoughts and she kneeled down to help Kiro dig Sasuke out. All the while Sasuke deliberately kept silent.

"That's the last of it", Kiro said, after he and Nariko dug Sasuke out. Sasuke was sitting on the ground next to the sizeable hole that had tunneled out, unfortunately it seemed he had no intention of even thanking them and just stood up and began to walk away. In response he grabbed a hold of his shirt, Sasuke stopped, "Let go, now", he warned.

"Not until you listen", Kiro responded, they both glared at each other before Nariko broke the tension, "If you're going to explain the situation then explain it. You can have a staring contest afterward", Kiro sighed and nodded, "Alright then. You don't stand a chance of getting a bell by yourself", Kiro stated, deciding to go with the blunt truth.

Sasuke's look hardened, "It's true", Nariko interjected, "I tried as well and he took be down without any problems", Sasuke carefully looked between them, "It's best for all of us if we work together", Kiro continued. Sasuke's stare locked onto him, "There are only two bells. One of us will fail", he coldly stated, "Better for one of us to fail, then all of us fail", Kiro shot back just as coldly, "And there's no point wondering about who gets which bell if we don't have any bells to begin with".

Still it seemed Sasuke wouldn't be swayed so easily. Roughly shaking Kiro's hand off he stalked away, intent on getting a bell for himself. Kiro sighed in annoyance, "What to do now?" Nariko asked curious to see how Kiro would react. "Since diplomacy didn't work, I'll try baiting him", he answered before calling out, "It seems that the one thing the all-powerful Uchiha can't do is work with others", that stopped Sasuke in his tracks.

Slowly turning his eyes practically dared Kiro to say something else, "Be realistic", Kiro said, "Will you really allow everything you worked for in the past few years to be worth nothing just so you can keep your reputation of doing everything on your own?", Sasuke didn't answer and for a brief moment Kiro thought that he would walk away again.

Slowly turning Sasuke walked towards them a look that would have been resignation on anyone else covered his face. "Did you think about what you were going to do after recruiting me", Sasuke asked, "_That's how he asks what the plan is I suppose_", Kiro reflected before facing both Sasuke and Nariko.

"Now then, I don't exactly have what you would call a well formulated plan." Kiro began, "But before we go through what we'll do remember that our goal isn't to defeat Kakashi but to get the bells. Since it's doubtful we can get them while he has them, I think the best thing to do it separate him from the bells", Nariko nodded thoughtfully while Sasuke remained impassive, keeping his thoughts to himself.

"Anyways first I'll distract him", at this Nariko made an objection, "Why you? Are you saying we're incapable", Kiro sighed before answering, "I'm not going to be drawn into an argument about who's stronger. But to answer your question I'm the only Kakashi hasn't fought against, so he doesn't know anything about what I can do", "And just what can you do?", Sasuke half-jeered, Kiro ignored him and continued speaking, "As I face him, make sure to attack during an opening, afterwards if that doesn't work…"

* * *

Kakashi was now standing in the clearing he originally met his team. Glancing at the alarm clock he noted that there was only about twenty minutes left, "_It seems that the Yamaguchi isn't even going to try and confront me_", he thought.

He suddenly felt a flare of chakra. Turning he saw Kiro Yamaguchi land a fair distance away from him. "Well well, I was just thinking about you", Kakashi called out to him, "I'm the only one left it seems", Kiro answered, "You delt with Sasuke and Nariko rather easily". Kakashi chuckled slightly, "So you were there when I fought them? Then you must know that you can't win. At least not this way."

"We'll see", Kiro answer taking a battle position. Kakashi inwardly sighed and likewise prepared himself, it seemed that Team 7 wasn't going to pass after all. Kiro discreetly began to summon chakra throughout his body, he would need to go at Kakashi with everything he had.

With a wave of his hand Kiro sent a huge wave of chakra through the ground destabilising it and throwing Kakashi off balance both physically and mentally. Using the opportunity he rushed at him in a burst of chakra enhanced speed whilst Kakashi was still trying to gain his bearing and threw out a punch.

Surprised at both the attack and speed Kakashi barely managed to block the first blow, "_He's strong_", Kakashi thought while holding Kiro off, of course he was even more shocked when he felt Kiro channeling more chakra into his arm, increasing the force of his attack and making it harder for Kakashi to hold him back. "_What's with this monstrous chakra!_", Kakashi thought, whatever it was it wasn't normal.

Twisting around Kakashi used the force Kiro was exerting to send with flying over his shoulder. Landing on his feet Kiro turned and attacked Kakashi once more, this time he simply dodged to the side only for Kiro to send a barrage of chakra bolts at him which only barely missed him.

"_What is this?_", Kakashi thought, dodging another blast, "_What are these abilities?_", this time he leapt over Kiro and kept his distance. Warily they circled each other, Kiro on his part was far more winded then he was showing; he wasn't use to using his chakra so liberally and, although he still had about sixty percent left, his body wasn't use to the strain and he could tell he couldn't use those attacks much longer.

"_Looks_ _it's to Kenjutsu (Sword Techniques)_", he reached out and drew out his sword, gleaming white in the midday sun. Kakashi raised an eyebrow, "_A Daito class katana? (Longsword class sword)_", and drew out a kunai knife in response. They immediately clashed, with the sound of metal striking metal ringing out in the field, "_He's pretty good_", Kakashi thought, "_Especially with no formal training_", that was when a particularly hard slash completely severed his kunai and made a cut into his flak jacket.

Kakashi promptly retreated backwards several feet and inspected his destroyed kunai, the cut was neat and had no jagged areas which meant it was clean blow, with little effort, an impressive feat considering the relatively small size of the sword blade, "_That's a high quality blade he has_", Kakashi thought to himself.

It was around then a large fireball suddenly hurtled out from behind him, reflexes borne from years of being ambushed managed to just barely save him from being burnt to a crisp. What was more important to him was who fired the fireball, though, judging from his earlier experience he could make an educated guess.

"_Sasuke_", Kakashi thought, "_How did he get out? It would be impossible unless…_" A pulse of chakra blasted him and promptly sent him flying backwards, twisting around Kakashi landed only to see both Kiro and Sasuke rushing him, "_Well well_", he mused, thinking about this unexpected development.

Leaping into the air he made several hand signs, "Raiton: Tsuin Kaminari-dan _(Lightning Release: Twin Lightning shot)_", pointing his hands at Kiro and Sasuke he shot two bolts of electricity at their feet. Two explosions sounded out and knocked down both Kiro and Sasuke, stunning them.

"Fūton: Kami Sori Kyōfū _(Wind Release: Razor Gale)_", Kakashi had not time to react when a stream of razor sharp blew out and blasted into him. Twisting around he managed to land on his feet, though slightly shaken and a little worse for wear from being hit by those attacks, "_I must be getting careless_", Kakashi thought as Nariko stepped out from the trees, likewise both Kiro and Sasuke also got to their feet.

Kakashi warily prepared himself for another assault, so he was surprised to see that they just ignored him. Kiro walked forward and knelt down, Kakashi stared in slight bemusement. A sudden satisfied smirk crossed Kiro's face and he stood up and held out his hands with a flourish; the two bells gleamed brightly in his hand.

Kakashi stared stupidly for a few seconds before everything came to him. Giving a slight chuckle he realized the whole attack was just a ploy to distract him from the bells. Chances are the wind attack from before was sent by Nariko and was meant to sever the bells from his belt while Kiro and Sasuke forced him into a position where he couldn't avoid the attack. Overall very clever, he fell for it completely.

"Alright then", Kakashi said, "You've gotten your prize but now who's going to pass and fail". At this Team 7 exchanged mutually uneasy looks, "_I hope they see through this final test_", Kakashi thought, "_It'd be a shame if I had to fail them when they've come this far_".

Kiro's gaze flickered back and forth between Nariko and Sasuke, wary of any sudden movements, especially since he was the one with the bells. If he was honest, he had never expected that they would actually get the bells, as a result he hadn't bothered to wonder who was going to fail or not. The choice was either keep one of the bells for himself and let Nariko and Sasuke squabble over the remaining one or be selfless and give them the bells.

Sighing he realized there was only one real choice; if he was going to work in a team then he couldn't always see what the best benefit for himself was, he had to put his trust in his team mates and leave their personal decisions to them. Throwing the bells at them, he noted the surprise on their faces. Evidently they believed that he wouldn't hand over the two bells.

"I couldn't call myself a team player if I kept one for myself", Kiro explained, "If I'm going to be a real shinobi I can't put himself before the team at times like these". Sasuke snatched the bell from the air without hesitation, Nariko did the same although there was conflict in her eyes. Kiro began to walk away when Nariko suddenly threw the bell back at him, catching it he gave her a questioning look.

Tossing her hair back Nariko fixed him with a detached look, "Don't misunderstand. If you didn't help me back in the forest, I wouldn't even have a bell. It isn't right if I keep it", she explained coolly. Kiro stared at her for a moment before he closed his eyes and smiled slightly, "If you're alright with that then I have no right to complain" he answered. Sasuke seemed rather confounded at this and looked down at his own bell, after a moment he also tossed his bell at Kiro.

"I refuse to accept this", Sasuke said, "If I needed help to get it then I don't deserve this bell". "_His way of being grateful I suppose_", Kiro reflected. Kakashi had watched this exchange in wordless silence and suddenly began to clap, they all turned and gave him a confused look. "Well done all of you", he said, "You're the first batch of Genin to pass this exam and found the real meaning of it".

"Real meaning?" Kiro asked, Sasuke and Nariko looked just as confused. Kakashi chuckled, "And you didn't even realize you found the answer", he added. "You see", Kakashi began, "The real goal of the exercise was not to test how skillful you each were but to test your ability to work together as a group". "Teamwork", Nariko said incredulously, Kakashi became more somber at this, "Yes. The test put each of you into a situation that would deliberately pit you against each other and make teamwork all the more unlikely. The test was to see who could put self-interest aside and work together towards the greater goal".

Turning he beckoned his team to follow him. They walked until they reached a large stone monument that looked uncomfortably like a grave marker. "There are times when a ninja has to sacrifice themselves for a mission", Kakashi said, "Often the risk of this could be reduced if the team could work together better". Turning now he gave his team a serious look, "Selfish, one-man actions during a mission accomplishes nothing but putting yourself, your team and your entire mission in jeopardy. For example…" Kakashi suddenly appeared and put Kiro into a grapple hold with a kunai held at his neck, "Nariko! Kill Sasuke now or Kiro dies!"

Startled by this, Nariko couldn't react. "That's what could happen", Kakashi stated, letting Kiro go. Turning back to the monument Kakashi spoke on, "This is the Memorial Stone. The names of ninja that are considered heroes by the village are engraved onto here… But they aren't normal heroes. Do any you know why?", neither Nariko nor Sasuke answered, effectively saying they didn't know, Kiro on the overhand did. "They are ninja who lost their lives so their mission could succeed", he said gravely. Both Nariko and Sasuke looked at Kiro before looking down, realizing the significance of the stone.

Kakashi nodded sadly, "This Memorial Stone is dedicated to ninja who lost their lives for the sake of the village. My best friend's name is also carved here". No one said anything in response, recognizing the misery in his voice. "But anyways", Kakashi continued briskly, banishing the gloomy atmosphere, "All the past Genin I had were idiots who just blindly followed whatever I told them to do. A ninja must recognize what's underneath the underneath".

Now Kakashi looked directly at his team, "It is said that those who don't follow the rules are scum", he commented, "But those who abandon their friends… are worse than scum". All three of them held their breaths, "Congratulations. You all pass", Kakashi announced.

Kiro, Nariko and Sasuke were careful to keep their thoughts to themselves, but even a drunk could tell they were pleased. "Our first real mission begins tomorrow", Kakashi announced. "Oh and you might want these", Kakashi added pulling out three bento's _(lunchboxes)_. Sasuke and Nariko both took one, obviously trying to keep themselves composed, Kiro also took one even though he wasn't really hungry.

"Before you guys eat and go home though. I think it's best you get to know each other a little better", Kakashi warned, "Remember, teamwork is how you got this far", he finished before disappearing in a puff of smoke. Kiro, Nariko and Sasuke exchanged looks before they all slowly, and somewhat apprehensively, sat down together, "So", Kiro said casually, "What else can you tell me about yourselves?"

To Be Continued

Whew. At over ten thousand words this chapter is a lot longer then I originally planned. Still I think it's gone pretty well and I tried to keep the characters, well in character. There are some moments where I think it's gotten a bit weak though, so you'll have to forgive me for those. When the next chapter will be out isn't exactly clear, as usual check my homepage for story statuses.

Please read and review, constructive criticism is welcome as always.

Until next time.


	11. Chapter 9: Journey to the Land of Waves

Well I'm rather pleased at how this story is going, no matter how small the amount of reviews are, as long as people are enjoying the story that's what's important. Though I would like to know the opinions of some reviewers, rather then just leaving a message that says something like "Good chapter, keep going", not that I mind, it's just I want to know what you like about this story and how I could improve. You can never be too good a writer. As one review pointed out, I won't be putting the translation of every single Romaji term next to them, the words such as Hokage and honorific's will be left as it is, things like Jutsu's will be translated.

Anyways, this chapter will be following the arc, where Team 7 will be given their C-rank turned B-rank mission. As per usual most of the story will be told from my OC characters view, occasionally peppered with views from other characters depending on the situation.

So onto the story.

Disclaimer: I do not profit from this story and the rights to _Naruto _belongs to Masashi Kishimoto

**Naruto: A Tale of Yin and Yang**

Chapter 9: Journey to the Land of Waves

A dark shadow was streaking its way through a forest, leaping through trees and jumping off branches. As the mysterious creature continued to move through the forest three ninja stealthily darted behind it, making sure to keep far enough not to alert it, but just close enough they could track it.

Kiro pressed his body against a tree trunk, making sure to keep his movements quiet. Around him Sasuke and Nariko did too, they all knew what was at stake; they couldn't fail their mission.

"Come in", Kakashi's voice called out from Kiro's earpiece, "Have you located the target", Kiro answered, "Yes. We are currently following it to position B as instructed". "Good", Kakashi's voice answered, "Have you relayed everything to the others", Kiro responded, "Affirmative".

"Alright. I'll leave the rest to you guys", Kakashi's said before switching of his side of the communication just as the creature began moving again. As one Kiro, Nariko and Sasuke moved, this time circling around to close in and capture their target. Reaching to his earpiece Kiro spoke into it, "Nariko, Sasuke. Are you both in position yet?", both of them answered affirmative. "Alright then", Kiro said, "We'll go in three, two, ONE". Simultaneously they all leaped out from their positions and down at their prey which screeched and tried in vain to escape.

Grunting slightly Kiro made sure he had a tight hold on the cat that writhed and struggled to free itself while keeping himself out of the range of its claws, "_Why am I the one that has to hold it_", Kiro grumbled in his mind. Meanwhile Nariko had contacted Kakashi, "So you got her?", Kakashi asked, "Are you sure it's the right one?". Nariko gave an annoyed sigh before answering, "Yes considering that this is the third time we had to catch that cat I'm sure. And she does have the red ribbon tied to her ear". "Very good then. Operation capture Tora the lost cat is complete", Kakashi answered, "Just bring her back and we'll get paid".

Nariko suppressed another sigh before agreeing. Turning her headphone of she gestured for Sasuke and Kiro to follow her. Without complaint they did, all the while carrying their uncooperative target with them.

"Why are you always the leader during these missions?", Sasuke questioned Kiro as they made their way back to the Mission Tower. "Because of the three of us, I'm the best at tracking chakra signatures", Kiro answered in a long suffering tone, having to answer the same question repeatedly, which was not helped by the cat that was still trying to squirm out of him arms.

Of course despite their occasional bickering over who should have which role in their team they got along quite well, especially considering that originally the three of them didn't so much as speak to each other. But the incident when they passed Kakashi's final exam had helped them learn to work together and the, rather reluctant, conversations they held afterward helped break down a few walls between them partly because they were rather similar to each other in some regards.

Sure they still had their arguments and they didn't actively go out of their way to spend time together but they were uniform and skilful in their ability to work efficiently as a team. And, after several training get togethers, they each came to respect each others individual fighting abilities.

Of course there was little point in such abilities when all they had to do were simple D-ranked missions and none of them had expected the sheer simplicity of what they had to do and that was the frustrating part; they weren't challenged. "_You'd think we'd actually do something that wasn't community service by know_", Kiro thought somewhat bitterly.

For two weeks Team 7 had done nothing but things that civilians should have been able to accomplish on their own; gardening, babysitting and even grocery shopping just to name a few. Of course Sasuke and Nariko were even less enthusiastic about these bogus "missions" partly because of their mentality that such tasks were beneath them.

Their arguments and complaints cut no ice with Kakashi. Day in and day out they were forced to use their abilities to work for the village, as Kakashi said, "You're not the first batch of Genin to experience D-rank missions and you won't be the last. Once you've gotten more experience then we can think about a C-ranked mission", after that he had turned a deaf ear to his team mate's protests and Kiro's own questioning on the logic of how is knowing the best way to weed a garden going to help them with higher missions and they, sulkily, continued performing their D-ranked missions.

Finally making it to the Mission Tower they met Kakashi who cheerfully waved to them at their appearance, whilst reading his book in its customary place in his hands. They ignored him and filed past him, taking it into stride Kakashi followed them until they reached their client.

"Oh my adorable Tora-chan I'm so glad you're back!", a rather plump women cried as she violently squeezed the cat to her. Of course the cat did not share her sentiments, more accurately it was screeching and writhing in her arms trying to escape its owners smothering affection that seemed close to killing it; it wasn't difficult to see why it tried to escape so many times.

"Does she even know that "Tora-chan" is male?", Kiro questioned as he and his team observed the blissfully oblivious women wreak levels of affection that bordered on animal abuse. "Be a little more polite", Kakashi answered, still absorbed in his book, "That is Madam Shijimi, the Daimyō's _(Feudal Lord)_ wife". "The Daimyo _(Feudal Lord) _appears to have a bit of an acquired taste when it comes to spouses", Nariko observed as Madam Shijimi continued to torment her pet.

"Enough of that", Kakashi said, "It's time we get our next mission". Walking up to the desks they waited for their turn. "Alright then, Team 7 was it?", a Chunin with an eye patch said, "This is your list of missions for the rest of the day", he finished handing Kakashi a slip of paper. Turning to his team Kakashi began to read off the paper, "Let's see know. For the rest of the day we have to dig up potatoes at a Miss Yuji's, paint a backyard shed for a Mr Hayashi, track down a missing broom for…".

"Kakashi", Kiro interrupted. Kakashi looked up and answered, "What?". "It's more then a week since you said you'd consider a C-ranked mission. Is it about time we have one?". Looking over his student Kakashi could see that Nariko and Sasuke both agreed with him.

Sighing Kakashi glanced over at Sarutobi's desk where, chances are, he was handing out high class missions. "Alright then" Kakashi said, "But you're going to have to convince the Hokage if you a C-ranked mission so early".

That was enough, immediately both Kiro and Nariko walked off to confront Sarutobi about a C-ranked mission while Sasuke followed more slowly, being the only one without a personal relation to the Hokage.

"Hey, old geezer", Nariko called out to Sarutobi. "Nariko Uzumaki!", Iruka shouted in an outraged voice from another desk a few metres away, "That is no way to talk to the Hokage", "Settle down Iruka", Sarutobi called out to him, having enough experience dealing with Nariko to know that she wouldn't call him anything else.

Iruka shut his mouth and sat back down with some difficulty though keeping his eye on Nariko in case she pulled another stunt like that, glad as he was she passed the final exam, it didn't he still couldn't teach her things like proper manners. "Give us a C-ranked mission", Nariko ordered, ignoring the incredulous stares she got from the other ninja at her addressing the Hokage so blatantly.

Kiro didn't react, already anticipating such a command, Sasuke raised an eyebrow while Kakashi chuckled at Nariko's audacity. Sarutobi took a breath from his pipe before answering, but Iruka beat him to it, "Don't act so high and mighty Nariko!", Iruka shouted, jumping up again, "You're still a novice Genin! Everyone needs to start off at the bottom of the chain and work their way up!".

"But there's little point in doing these small D-ranked missions over and over", Kiro cut in, "There are only so much experience we can glean from them". Sarutobi took another breath from his pipe, "Kiro, Nariko. While all this is true it seems you don't know how missions are supposed to be distributed so I'll explain", he finally said, "Lots of clients come to this village everyday and request our help in matters as simple as menial labour to complicate matters such as high level assassination".

"Depending on the difficulty of each request, we categorise them into rankings of A, B, C, or D", Kiro nodded impatiently, "And each mission is given to either Genin, Chunin or Jonin depending on difficulty. We learned all this back at the academy.", Kiro said, finishing off Sarutobi. Before Sarutobi could say anything else Kiro continued on, "We know that the A and B-ranked missions are for either Jonin and Chunin because of the nature of the mission. We also know that D-ranked missions are meant to promote cooperation and teamwork in a team rather then actual mission experience. But the point is we have progressed far enough as a team that we are within our rights to request a C-ranked mission".

Sarutobi paused to consider Kiro's argument while the rest of Team 7 regarded Kiro with some surprise. Having come to a decision Sarutobi began speaking, "Kakashi", at the Hokage's summons he walked to the front of the desk, "Yes Sandaime-sama", he said respectfully. "As the Jonin instructor for Team 7 do you believe that they are ready for a C-ranked mission?", he asked.

Kakashi pondered for a moment before answering, "From what I've judged in the past six weeks my team has been able to work together almost flawlessly and each of them have impressive individual fighting abilities. I would say that they are more then capable of performing a low C-ranked mission". Team 7 tried not to act too pleased at their sensei's praise while Sarutobi mulled other this for a few minutes.

"Very well", Sarutobi finally said, "It just so happens that I was going to give out a C-ranked mission anyway. I'll call in the client now". Turning to the door at the far end Sarutobi called out to let their client in. As the door slowly opened Kiro, Nariko and Sasuke looked curiously, waiting to see their client.

An old man shuffled into the room. He had grey hair and a beard while carrying a backpack, another detail they couldn't help but notice was that he was drinking heavily from a bottle of sake, adding to that was the aroma of alcohol around him, his flushed face and his somewhat intoxicated demeanour obviously labelled him as a drunk.

As if their client wasn't distasteful enough his first reaction to Team 7 was rather forthright to say the least. "What's this!", the old man said, his speech slurred slightly in his drunkenness, "A couple pint sized kids playing ninja!? Is this some kind of bad joke cause I'm not laughing!". Kiro immediately decided he didn't like the man, from what he could see Nariko and Sasuke also reached the same conclusion he had; this was not going to be an easy dealing with the man.

"This is an escort mission", Sarutobi said, "You are to escort this man back to the Land of Waves while protecting him from any dangers such as wild animals or bandits. Now you are dismissed", turning back to his desk it was obvious they were stuck with this unsavoury mission.

"_I wonder if this is some kind of petty revenge, Sarutobi is using_", Kiro thought while he and his team faced their client. Drinking more sake the old man introduced himself, "I'm the super bridge building expert Tazuna. When we reach the Land of Waves I expect each of you to put your lives on the line to protect me until the bridge I'm building is completed. Not that I expect much from a couple of brats".

"_Is he going to poke fun at us every time he says something?_", Kiro thought while mentally restraining himself from doing something drastic.

* * *

Upon reaching the gate that lead outside of the village Tazuna rather loudly expressed his opinion of his escort to Kakashi. "Hey are these brats really able to protect me. They look like they couldn't fight off even one rabid dog", "Don't worry about that", Kakashi answered, "I'm a Jonin, an elite ninja, and I'll be able to handle anything they won't be able to. Rest assured you won't come to any harm". Both of them were either ignorant or, more likely, ignoring the fact that the three "brats" were well within hearing distance, "_This is going to be a long trip_", Kiro sighed in his mind, "_If one of us doesn't kill that drunkard first_".

Unknown to the escort, above them, well hidden in the branches of several trees, lurked two shinobi silently watched the scene with malicious intentions.

It has already been about half an hour since they left the village and each member of Team 7 sans Kakashi had grown very irritated at Tazuna who seemed to have decided that the best way to relieve the boredom of the trip was to make comments at the three Genin's expenses.

From comments about Sasuke's brooding manner, Nariko's long hair and Kiro's reptilian like eyes, Tazuna threw them out with gusto. Only the presence of Kakashi prevented them from delivering well-deserved retribution towards their smart mouthed client.

"Well if we're so incompetent", Nariko shot out, tired of Tazuna's tirade, "Why didn't you just hire ninja from your own country?". "There are no ninja villages in the Land of Waves", Kiro cut in before Tazuna could respond. "Each country is ruled by a Daimyo _(Feudal Lord)_. But for most countries, a hidden village is the main military power of that country", Kiro continued, "Each country is separated by the power of each respective country and they exist in a wary state of tolerance."

"Among the countries there are five that occupy a large mass of land. The Land of Fire, The Land of Water, The Land of Earth, The Land of Lightning and The Land of Wind. The hidden villages in each of these lands possess immense military power and are thus called the Five Great Ninja Powers. They are Konohagakure _(The Village Hidden in the Leaves)_, Kirigakure _(The Village Hidden in the Mist)_, Iwagakure _(The Village Hidden in the Stone)_, Kumogakure _(The Village Hidden in the Clouds)_ and Sunagakure _(The Village Hidden in the Sand)_".

"Of these five Hidden Village only the leader of each village is allowed to bear the title Kage. Hokage, Mizukage, Tsuchikage, Raikage and Kazekage. They are the considered the reigning powers among the ninja world", Kiro finished, seeing the taken aback looks he was getting from Sasuke and Nariko, presumably from the surprising amount of information he seemed to know, he shrugged, "My point is, a small, isolated island like the Land of Waves has no need of a hidden village. It is difficult for the other countries to interfere and there is little point in them doing so as well".

Tazuna took another gulp of sake, "Not bad for a snot-nosed brat", he commented, "Even one with those weird eyes". "_If he makes one more comment about my eyes then so help me I'll…_", a sudden pulse of chakra knocked Kiro from his internal reverie and alerted him that someone had just used a jutsu in the vicinity.

Feigning ignorance Kiro sent out a subtle wave of chakra in all directions. If the wave came across something he would know in an instant, in principle in acted similar to the echolocation abilities of bats. Glancing towards his team he could tell that neither Sasuke or Nariko had sensed anything wrong, outwardly Kakashi also seemed unaware, but Kiro had seen enough abilities from Kakashi that it was probably just acting.

Kiro felt his chakra wave pulsate and tightened his guard; that whatever he had detected it was close and he wasted no more speculative thoughts on why any ninja would be tracking them. Carefully and discreetly looking around for anything suspicious Kiro suddenly spotted a puddle of water.

Though it looked ordinary enough, so much so he probably would have passed over it without a second thought if he didn't thing anything was amiss, Kiro realized how absurd it was for a puddle to exist when it hadn't rained for days. Casting out with his sense Kiro found his suspicions confirmed when he felt the puddle continuously emanate chakra.

"How long does it take for a puddle to dry", Kiro commented light-heartedly, Sasuke and Nariko gave him a strange look before shrugging, Tazuna mumbled something to himself, Kakashi didn't react. Knowing there wasn't much else he could do without giving everything away Kiro began walking forward again all the while keeping his senses trained on the puddle, alert to any changes in the chakra fluctuation. It would be unwise to assume that the ninja were hostile, the only thing he could do was keep his guard up.

As soon as Team 7 and Tazuna had passed the puddle the water began to swirl around itself. Silently, two shinobi rose from the water back to back to each other. With a burst of speed the two of them immediately leaped out towards Team 7. Having waited for such an action Kiro spun on his heel ready to face them and alert his team but was forestalled upon seeing the shuriken chain attached between them at their clawed gauntlets, that moment of indecision was costly.

With two swift movements Kakashi was completely restrained by the chain, he only had enough time to utter his surprise before the two shinobi, as one, pulled in opposite directions, in response the chain tightened before completely lacerating and shredding through their sensei. Twisting the chain the remains collapsed onto the ground, "First kill", the pair of shinobi said gleefully.

Taking advantage of the disbelief that wracked the team they, in a blink of an eye, moved until they were on opposite sides of Kiro, "Second kill", they stated before preparing the same manoeuvre. Sasuke managed to react first, leaping up and drawing a kunai and a shuriken from his weapon holster he threw the shuriken at the chain just as it looped into the air.

Lodging itself into a tree the shuriken pinned the chain firmly against the tree. Taking advantage of the twin shinobi's confusion Sasuke threw the kunai into the hole in the centre of the shuriken. With both weapons restraining the shuriken chain the two shinobi were stuck fast, pulling vainly against the tree they were trapped against, Sasuke used the opportunity to land on their arms and threw two solid kicks at the side of their heads, feeling his heel connect with their heads Sasuke gripped their gauntlets ready to attack again.

Briefly stunned the two shinobi surprised Sasuke by activating a release mechanism and detached the chain from their gauntlets and throwing him into the air. "You die!", the roared as one, simultaneously aiming their claws at Sasuke's throat. A sound of metal grating against metal sounded out. Staring in consternation the two shinobi saw that Nariko and Kiro had also recovered their ambush and had intercepted their blows.

"Sasuke! Protect Tazuna! There may be more ninja out there!", Kiro yelled while holding off the clawed gauntlet with his sword. Nodding Sasuke leapt away towards Tazuna. Now able to focus on their battles Nariko and Kiro were promptly thrown into a fierce Taijutsu _(Body Techniques) _battle.

Blocking another strike, Kiro slashed down with his sword, the shinobi he was fighting leaned back and let the blow miss by a hairs breadth. Bringing his gauntlet down for another attack Kiro managed to parry after bringing his sword up in time, "_He's good_", he thought before going onto the offensive again.

A few metres away Nariko fought against the other shinobi in a flurry of movements and attacks. Holding two kunai knives in her hands Nariko had the advantage of two weapons but had less reach then her opponent who skilfully wielded his single gauntlet so that he could defend against both her weapons.

Feinting one way Kiro managed to land a blow, slashing a large wound across his opponents chest. Unfortunately it was only a surface wound but it allowed him a chance to attack with his chakra. Focusing chakra into both hands Kiro released it at his opponent, a large explosion engulfed the shinobi before sending him sprawling across the ground, unconscious.

At the same time Nariko blocked the gauntlet with one kunai before gripping the claws with her hand, immobilising his armoured arm. Now with her opponent defenceless Nariko thrusted her kunai into the shinobi's stomach. Howling with pain he fell to his knees, a solid kick to his forehead knocked him out cold.

Shaken slightly Kiro and Nariko walked away from their defeated opponents and were met by Sasuke who appeared as soon as the enemy shinobi were defeated. "Why did they attack us?", Sasuke questioned as soon as he arrived, "Well they are Kirigakure _(The Village Hidden in the Mist)_ ninja", Nariko commented remembering the insignia on their Hitai-ate _(Forehead Protector)_ from her battle, "But beyond that we don't what their motives could be".

"We have to go back to the village", Kiro said, "We need to inform the village what happened to Kakashi". Sasuke and Nariko agreed, recognising this was a serious situation and out of their ability to manage. "Hey guys!", a voice called out, turning they saw that Tazuna was running towards them, "I saw what happened. I guess I owe you kids an apology", just as he passed the unconscious shinobi they suddenly sprang up and leaped at Tazuna, claws centimetres away from tearing apart his neck, with the intent to kill in their eyes.

"_SHIT!_", they all thought, none of them fast enough to stop them at that far range; Tazuna was going to die! A blur of movement and two cries of pain, they all blinked. Kakashi was calmly standing in front of Tazuna, both, now unconscious, shinobi caught in a neck lock by him.

"Hello again", Kakashi said in a tone that was more suited to talking about the weather, "I'm impressed you three managed yourselves so well". Despite the evidence before them, some part of their minds recalled Kakashi being torn apart, turning to where the remains of "Kakashi" fell, they only saw a few cut up branches lying on the ground; Kawarimi no Jutsu _(Body Replacement Technique)_.

"Really now", Kakashi said at their disbelief, "Did you think I'd get killed that easily? I'm hurt". Walking to a large tree Kakashi swiftly tied up the two shinobi with their own chain and stepped back to make sure they couldn't escape. Satisfied he turned back to his team, "Well I'm sorry about not helping out in the beginning", Kakashi began, "But it seems my expectations of you were correct. Rather then freezing up you each managed to fight back and win. Good job all of you".

They all nodded, still a little subdued from the whole incident. Kakashi turned to Nariko, "Nariko, when you grabbed one of their gauntlets did you get scratched?", Nariko thought for a moment before raising her palm, on it were a few thin slashes. "I was afraid of that", Kakashi said, glancing back at the captive shinobi, "Their claws were poisoned". Nariko's head shot up at that revelation.

"Don't worry", Kakashi said, "It's a very shallow wound so you're not going to feel the effects for a while. But more importantly", at this Kakashi turned to Tazuna who was still recovering from the trauma of almost being killed. "Tazuna!", Kakashi called out. He jumped slightly at Kakashi's voice, "Y-yes", he said, uncharacteristically nervous and anxious, "I think we need to revaluate the terms of the mission", Kakashi said blandly.

After waiting for the two captive shinobi to wake up Kakashi began to explain, "These two are known as the Demon Brothers, they're Chunin level ninja and their names are Gōzu and Meizu. They are indeed from Kirigakure _(The Village Hidden in the Mist) _and are known to continue fighting no matter what the cost. They are also Nukenin _(Missing-nin)_".

"_Ah. So that's it_", Kiro thought. Nukenin _(Missing-nin) _are ninja who have renounced their loyalties to their village and revolted, leaving their village and severing all ties to friends and family. Reasons vary but can usually be grouped into two categories. One, because of dire criminal acts they've committed or two, for personal gain. Nukenin are problematic security breaches and each village try to eliminate them whenever they can.

"How did you detect us so easily?", one of the brothers angrily questioned. "It had been days since it last rained and the weather today is sunny", Kakashi replied, "So a puddle of water couldn't possibly exist", he turned to Kiro, "As he said; how long does it take for a puddle to dry", Kakashi pointed out before turning back to the Demon Brothers, "A very amateurish mistake that any decent ninja could see through", Kakashi finished.

"Then why did you let the kids do the dirty work if you knew about them the whole time?", Tazuna asked, his voice slightly hard with indignation. Kakashi glanced at him, "Because I needed to know who their target was", he answered, "If I had to I could have killed them both with no problems. But that wouldn't tell me why they were targeting us in the first place".

Turning and staring down Tazuna fully Kakashi began speaking, "You haven't mentioned anything about being pursued by ninja. The mission request stated that we were required to protect you from minor armed threats such as gangs or robbers until you completed the bridge. However if you have ninja after you then this mission would at be placed at least at a B-ranked mission".

A trickle of sweat ran down the side of Tazuna's face, the only outward sign of agitation. "It would seem you have your own reasons but it will only give us trouble if you lie about your request details, one of our members is already injured because of this. And lying to a village of ninja is guaranteed to make us suspicious". Kakashi briskly concluded.

Kakashi turned to his team, "Either way Nariko needs a doctor soon. The only thing to do now is decide whether to keep going with this mission… or quit now", he said. Both Kiro and Sasuke looked unsure, fully aware that Nariko needed medical treatment fast. Nariko's response shocked everyone. Taking out a kunai Nariko plunged in into her injured hand, gritting her teeth to prevent herself from crying out.

Ignoring the stunned looks she was receiving from her team mates, Nariko fiercely glared up at Kakashi, "I refuse to let you abandon this mission for my sake", she forced out, "I'm not going to burden everyone with my problems. When I became a Genin I vowed that I would never allow myself to become a liability to everyone. The Mission continues!". Both Kiro and Sasuke looked at her resolve with surprise before both came to their decisions, "If Nariko says she can go on, the we can't stop her", Kiro said.

Kakashi nodded, "Decision made". He glanced at the poisoned blood that dripped out of Nariko's wound, "_It seems I've underestimated my team again_", he thought before speaking, "Nariko, come over here so I can bind that injury of yours". Nariko walked over to him and gingerly allowed him to examine her palm.

Looking over the would Kakashi felt his eyes widen. The stab wound had already began to close and heal itself, he could tell that it would not be long before Nariko regained full use of her hand again, "_This must be the doing of the Kyuubi (Nine Tailed Beast)_", he thought while quietly binding Nariko's hand.

"_It looks like Konohagakure (The Village Hidden in the Leaves)_ _hasn't seen the last of that Biju (Tailed Beast) after all_".

* * *

In a faraway location, in a mist filled forest of trees, a loud incensed voice shouted out.

"FAILED!?", a short, long haired, middle-aged man yelled. "I spent a lot of money to hire all of you and you so called skilled ninja can't even kill one old bridge builder!?". A muscled shinobi, wearing bandages around his face as a mask and a Kirigakure _(The Village Hidden in the Mist) _Hitai-ate _(Forehead Protector)_ lifted his large broadsword, "How long are you going to keep complaining?", he asked, before squarely levelling the large weapon at the middle-aged man's neck who hastily stepped back.

"Since it seems that whatever guards the bridge builder hired are beyond my follower's abilities to handle, I'll go myself this time", he said nonchalantly. His client swallowed some excess saliva that was building up, "A-are you sure you can handle them? It looks like the bridge builder hired some good ninja, a-and since the Demon Brothers failed they'll be prepared for a second attack".

The masked ninja swung down with his weapon and neatly cleaved open his client's business suit. With a yelp he fell over and stared at the shinobi with terrified eyes. "Just who do you think you're talking to?", the shinobi questioned, an ominous tone in his voice.

"I am Zabuza Momochi and I was known as the Demon of the Hidden Mist", the now named shinobi stated, "Do you think that any ninja can stand against me?".

To Be Continued

Authors Notes: Around five thousand and two hundred words. Not bad considering the relatively short amount of time it took me to write this.

As you can probably gather, the next chapter will most likely be longer then this one and will probably take longer to write to put up as well. Although there were times when I thought this wasn't written as well it could have I think that it came out pretty well all things considered.

Of course that's just my opinion, for any readers; Good? Bad? Okay? Any advice? Opinions would really help, as I mentioned earlier, and constructive criticism is welcome as always.

Until the next chapter.


	12. Chapter 10: The Demon of the Bloody Mist

Well, here it is. Chapter 10 is out. It's rather amazing to me that I've managed to write this much in a fairly short amount of time, suffice to say, this story isn't exactly going to end anytime in the near future. I'll try and update as soon as I can and as stated before, check my profile for story status; I won't be leaving authors notes as chapters.

Anyways to answer the queries of raw666, remember that the appearance of being happy was simply a mask to hide the emotional pain and turmoil he was going through, in my story you could say that it was a mask, this time of indifference to shield herself from all the hate. You could say that this is just another path Nariko could have taken instead of becoming very cheerful.

As to the question on whether Nariko should begin to trust people and show her emotions, remember that for almost her entire life she had been shunned and mistreated, it will take some time for her to trust people unconditionally.

And finally, the reason Nariko didn't use any jutsu during her battle with one of the Demon Brothers was simply because she didn't have the opportunity; She was using kunai with both hands and the battle was so quick and fierce she would have left herself open if she started making hand signs for a jutsu.

To acap88, no Kiro did not surpass Sasuke. More importantly he wasn't leading them during the C-ranked mission, and the reason Sasuke listened to him during the attack was because they could trust each other to know what they were doing i.e. They trusted Sasuke could protect Tazuna from any further threats while Sasuke trusted they could handle themselves. Teamwork doesn't always have to involve working with someone in a battle. The only reason he was the leader during D-ranked missions because he was simply the best at what had to be done at the time so he could coordinate Nariko and Sasuke accordingly. As to how Kiro doesn't seem to have any real weaknesses is because his ability can be used to suit almost any situation and the foes he has faced are generally roughly equal to him in skill so there have not been any situations where he has been completely overpowered (That will come in time though), weaknesses are generally not overpowering as well. Exploitation of weak points is generally not as effective as it is always made out to be, in a way you could say that the reason some people lose (such as how both Sasuke and Nariko were disabled by Kakashi despite no particular weakness in their style) is simply because their opponent is stronger or more experienced then them. And to how Kiro doesn't seem to work directly with Nariko and Sasuke it's because there was no need to at this point, learning to work together is very important, but relying on it to the point of exclusion to individual abilities is a grave mistake.

Anyways onto the story

Disclaimer: I do not profit from this story and the rights to _Naruto _belongs to Masashi Kishimoto

**Naruto: A Tale of Yin and Yang**

Chapter 10: The Demon of the Bloody Mist

A wooden rowboat was slowly and silently being propelled through the sea, the boatman was steadily paddling his craft through the water. In the boat, Kiro, Sasuke, Nariko, Kakashi and Tazuna sat silently, now all fully aware of the true gravity of their situation. Before they had all boarded the boat they were told not to make any loud noises, any unnecessary sound could pinpoint their location to assassins, adding to that was the mist that was surrounding them to hide their location but the mist could also work against them if assassins actually knew where they were.

"We should be seeing the bridge soon", the boatman said quietly, sure enough as they moved further into the mist the silhouette of a large concrete structure loomed out. They all started in surprise at the sheer size of the bridge that was being constructed, although it clearly wasn't finished, even in the mist they could see constructions cranes and half finished structures, it was obvious it was going to be a noteworthy part of the landscape once it was complete.

"Once we reach the base of the bridge we'll drop off", the boatman said. Kiro sighed, slightly tired of the hours of just sitting and not doing anything, as an added precaution, the boatman didn't use the motor to keep sound to a minimum but as a result progress was painfully slow, more so because the thick mist created the illusion that they weren't actually going anywhere, the half finished bridge was the only landmark they came across so far.

"Tazuna", Kakashi suddenly said, "Before we reach shore there is something we must know". Tazuna didn't react so Kakashi continued, "Who are the people that after your life. If you don't tell us then for us this mission ends the minute we reach shore". Tazuna carefully considered what Kakashi said. "Alright then", he finally said, "It seems that I have no choice but to tell you.. No you've earned the right to know". Settling himself down comfortable Tazuna began, "You're right that this mission is far more dangerous then a C-ranked mission, but the actual picture of how dire my situation is far beyond what you think right now".

Pausing to take a breath he continued, "The reason I'm being targeted by ninja is because a super dangerous man is after my head". "Super dangerous man?", Kakashi repeated, "Explain". "You've probably heard of him at some point", Tazuna said, "The wealthy shipping magnate; Gatō".

Kakashi stared in surprise, "Gatō as in the CEO of Gatō shippings company? That Gatō?". Tazuna nodded grimly, "That's right. Officially he runs a large and successful shipping company and is well respected as a businessman. However that is all just a front, his real money comes from smuggling illegal goods and exporting drugs. He uses his money to hire ninja and mercenaries to take control of other businesses and countries to add to his collection of business. He's an utterly ruthless person when it comes to profit".

Tazuna glanced up, "He set his sights on Wave country about a year ago", he continued, "Through financial dealings and strategic eliminations he quickly took control of our countries shipping industry. And because our shipping industry is crucial to maintaining the economic stability of our country, Gatō now has a complete monopoly on all business dealings in Wave Country which in turn leaves the countries citizens in complete poverty as a result".

Tazuna looked towards the unfinished bridge, "The only thing that threatens his control over the country is the completion of this bridge which will allow free trade to flourish between the countries of the Land of Waves and the Land of Fire", he finished.

"And since you're the one building the bridge that makes you a dangerous threat to his monopoly", Nariko added, "And the Demon Brothers were hired by Gatō to assassinate you", Sasuke said, adding his two cents, "Which means Gatō will do whatever it takes to stop the bridge from being finished", Kiro concluded.

Kakashi glanced back at Tazuna, "But what I don't understand is why you had to hide the fact that shinobi would be coming after you in your request details". Tazuna looked down sadly, for a moment he just seemed like a tired old man rather then someone who was trying to save his country, "Because the country in super poor", he said, "Even the Daimyo _(Feudal Lord) _has almost no money, which means the citizens have even less money. Even with almost every civilian chipping in we could only just afford within the ranges of a C-ranked mission. So we certainly don't have enough money to pay for an expensive B-ranked mission".

Sighing noisily Tazuna looked down again, a distinctly, and suspiciously out of place, sad look on his face, "Well if you still decide to abandon the mission once we reach shore I'll surely be captured and killed before I even reach home. Maybe they'll even use me for a bloody public execution to teach my poor country a lesson", he said mournfully, all the while jabbing the metaphorical knife into Team 7's hearts.

"Don't worry about it though", Tazuna said, "The only long term impact that will have is my super cute eight year old grandson being completely traumatized for life at loss of his beloved grandfather". Nariko and Kiro exchanged uncomfortable looks, "Oh yeah", he said, seemingly remembering something, "And my poor windowed daughter will live a horrible, miserable life hating the Leaf ninja forever and ever for abandoning her father when then could have made a difference and yet chose not too". They all tried not to squirm at his overly accusatory descriptions.

"But don't worry about it", Tazuna said, "It's not like it's going to be your faults or anything", he finished, discreetly eyeing their reactions from under his straw-hat. "_That's was just completely unfair_", Kiro thought at Tazuna's overly obvious attempt to guilt route them into staying. Team 7 exchanged looks with each other; it was obvious that there was only one remaining choice left if they didn't want to look like complete asses.

"Alright then", Kakashi finally said sheepishly, "Looks like we'll continue to protect you". "Oh, thank you for your kind hearts", Tazuna said gravely. "_I win_", he thought gleefully in his mind.

* * *

About another hour later, they finally reached a tunnel. "This is it", the boatman said, "Once we're through here you'll need to go the rest of the way by foot". Passing into and through the tunnel they were surprised to find that the area through the tunnel was bright, sunny and completely free of fog and mist.

Stopping at a pier they all got off, "Be careful", the boatman warned. Tazuna nodded, "Yeah. Thanks for everything", he replied. Pushing off the pier the boatman quickly travelled back and through the tunnel back to the mist filled waters surrounding the island. Kiro released the breath he was holding, so this was it; no turning back now.

"Alright then!", Tazuna said cheerily, "Now escort me home safely and in one piece". "Yes, yes", Kakashi said distractedly, "_Most likely if another attack comes it'll be a ninja at Jonin rank_", he thought grimly, "_Looks like I'll have to step in this time_".

Walking through the forest there was surprisingly nothing particularly out of the ordinary, nothing at all suggested that they were being targeted for assassination. "_But looks can be deceiving_", Kiro thought, he was taking no chances and had created a sensory field around them, most likely his team mates were also on full alert for any dangers.

It was around then when his sensory field encountered an incredibly potent source of chakra. Not bothering to think, Kiro acted on instinct and threw a kunai into the bushed directly towards the source, immediately he felt it disappear. "What is it?", Nariko asked, "I'm not sure", Kiro answered as he walked over to check in the bushed.

"Hey don't scare me like that!", Tazuna yelled out in alarm, "I thought we were in danger or something!". Kiro ignored his yelling and parted the bushes. A rabbit, frightened out of its wits, was lying just underneath the kunai he had thrown. "A rabbit!? That's what you were attacking!", Tazuna yelled, Sasuke and Nariko looked rather uncomfortable on his behalf. Kiro stared down at it wordlessly, "_A false alarm? No I know I felt something_".

Kakashi watched the scene with the air of a disinterested observer but his eyes were alert. "_That's a snowshoe rabbit_", he noted thoughtfully, "_But it's spring. So why is it still wearing its winter coat_", he thought noticing its white fur, "_Snowshoe rabbit's coats change depending on the season. White is its winter coat_".

Carefully scanning the area around them Kakashi continued to ponder, "_That snowshoe rabbit must be domesticated and it must have been used for a Kawarimi no Jutsu (Body Replacement Technique)_". That of course left one unpleasant answer, "_They're already here_", Kakashi concluded grimly.

Several feet above them, crouching on a branch Zabuza carefully surveyed the ninja that were guarding his target. The three kids were no threat to him, however their sensei was another matter completely, "_I see now_", he thought, "_That explains how the Demon Brothers were taken out so easily. Konoha's (Hidden Leaf) Copy Ninja, Kakashi of the Sharingan_". He wasn't worried of course, in fact there was nothing more satisfying then proving his superiority in battle by crushing a famous ninja. With that Zabuza leapt of the branch and began his assault.

Although it was small, the sound of a branch swinging back immediately caught Kakashi's attention. "Everyone get down!", he commanded. Just as the last word left his mouth a large sharp-edged spinning object flew out, aiming right towards them. Everyone just managed to leap down in time and barely avoid the attack as it flew harmlessly over their heads.

Hearing the object hit a tree Kiro glanced up and saw that it was a very large broadsword with some passing resemblance to a giant butchers knife, noting how far it was stuck in the tree and the possible weight of the weapon it was obvious the wielder had a high degree of physical strength. Immediately a shinobi materialized on the handle. Feeling the power of the chakra he was emanating Kiro realised that he was the mysterious ninja he had sensed before, "_That guy is way out of out leagues_", he thought. Kakashi would be the only one with able to fight him, and between them he couldn't gauge who was more powerful, "_This could be bad_", he thought.

Kakashi narrowed his eyes at the shinobi, "_No. It couldn't be him, could it?_". Both Sasuke and Nariko warily eyed their foe, although they didn't have as many details as Kiro and Kakashi they could almost _feel _the difference between him and the Demon Brothers.

"Well, well if it isn't Kirigakure's _(The Village Hidden in the Mist)_ famous Nukenin _(Missing nin) _Zabuza Momochi", Kakashi bantered light heartedly. "_I think he means infamous_", Kiro thought. "Everyone", Kakashi suddenly said in a completely different tone, "Get back". They all stared at Kakashi. "This one's on a completely new level", he said without turning around, "It's best you guys don't get caught in the crossfire".

Not bothering to argue they all stepped back, warily keeping their eyes trained on Zabuza. "Against him", Kakashi said reaching up to his left eye, the one that he always kept covered with his Hitai-ate _(Forehead Protector)_, "It could get messy if I don't do this", he finished.

They all stared in confusion, unable to make sense of his words. Zabuza however seemed to understand perfectly. "It seems you really are the famous Sharingan Kakashi", he said, "It'll be an privilege to fight against you". Sasuke look immediately shot back to Kakashi, "_Sharingan?_", he thought incredulously, Kiro and Nariko were just a as baffled.

"It's nothing personal", Zabuza said, interrupting everyone's thoughts, "But hand over the old man and you no-one has to be hurt… much". In response Kakashi began to direct his team, "You guys. Surround and protect Tazuna and do not enter this fight… no matter what" they all gave Kakashi incredulous looks, "That's the teamwork right there", he explained, "This one's for me ".

Kakashi slowly pulled up his Hitai-ate _(Forehead Protector)_ revealing a scarred eye which was still closed. "Zabuza", he suddenly called, "Your battle is with me", Kakashi said opening the eye; revealing an eye with a blood red iris and three tomoe evenly spaced around the pupil.

"Oh", Zabuza said with interest, "I get to see the Sharingan already? I'm honoured". "Hey what are they talking about", Tazuna asked, "What's this Sharingan they keep going on about". "The Sharingan", Sasuke explained, "Is a special Dōjutsu _(Eye Techniques) _that is borne in the eyes and focused though the pupils. All Dōjutsu _(Eye Techniques) _has the ability to see chakra, each different type of Dōjutsu _(Eye Techniques) _have abilities unique to themselves".

"That's right", Zabuza interrupted, "The most fearsome thing about the Sharingan is its ability to read your opponent's jutsu and copy them. It is for this reason that the Sharingan is known as the Copy Wheel Eye". "_So that's why Kakashi is said to have copied over a thousand jutsu_", Kiro thought.

Suddenly a thick mist began to cover the area, within seconds everyone's visibility was almost completely obscured. "Everyone don't panic", Kakashi called out, "In these situations it's to keep yourselves calm", everyone heard him and tried to force down their alarm, not helped that Zabuza was somewhere out in the mist.

"When I was still a member of the ANBU from Kirigakure _(The Village Hidden in the Mist) _we were all issued a bingo book", Zabuza's voice sounded out, "It included information about you too". Somehow everyone knew that he was talking about Kakashi. "This is what it said", Zabuza's voice continued, "The man that copied over a thousand jutsu. The Copy Ninja Kakashi".

"_Kakashi's that famous_", Nariko thought furiously, thinking about what she knew about him. Sasuke however was more concerned about the implications of the title, "_What's going on?_", he thought, "_The Sharingan is a special physical condition that's unique to a select few members of the Uchiha clan_", he glanced at Kakashi, "_Could he be…? But then why does he only have it in one eye?_".

Zabuza crouched down, "Enough chatter for one day", he announced, "My job is to kill that old man". Kiro, Nariko and Sasuke immediately moved to surround Tazuna in a defensive manoeuvre. Zabuza ignored them and kept his attention solely on Kakashi, "But it seems that I'll have to go through you first, Kakashi" Kakashi didn't react and kept his face emotionless.

"Very well then", Zabuza said, "I'll kill you personally with my Kubikiri Hōchō _(Decapitating Carving Knife)_". Pulling his broadsword out of the tree trunk Zabuza disappeared into the mist.

Kiro gripped his kunai harder trying not to let the irrational panic in him lose control. Hearing the sound of water moving they all trained their attention towards the lake. Zabuza was standing calmly in the centre, the water swirling around him, "Kirigakure no Jutsu _(Hidden Mist Technique)_", he said. The fog thickened even further, completely obscuring him from view. Even only a few feet away they could barely see Kakashi.

At the same time Kiro felt his chakra signature disappear obscured by the mist created from his chakra, gritting his teeth he kept his senses open, his team mates did the same. Kakashi stepped forward, "He'll come after me first", he warned his students, "Keep yourselves on high alert. He's a master of Sairento Kiringu _(Silent Homicide Technique)_".

"Sairento Kiringu? _(Silent Homicide Technique)_". Nariko asked, "As the name suggests, it's a method of killing people without sound or detection and the favoured means of assassination in Kirigakure _(The Village Hidden in the Mist)_. You won't even know you're dead until it's too late and in this mist it will be even more difficult to try and react and counter him".

They all swallowed, "Of course if worst comes to worst then we'll just die, that's all", Kakashi deadpanned. Feeling a tiny trickle of annoyance welled up from the ocean of anxiety he was feeling Kiro sighed internally when he realized Kakashi was trying to batter down their fear and help them survive.

The mist began to grow even thicker, "What's happening", Kiro asked, he didn't feel any increase in chakra so Zabuza couldn't have done anything, "The Land of Waves is surrounded by ocean so mist and fog are super plentiful", Tazuna explained, "_So the environment conditions are also in Zabuza's favour_", Kiro thought.

Soon the mist became so thick even Kakashi was completely gone from their sight, it looked and felt like they were completely alone. Kiro breathed out, trying to control his rising dread at their situation, the only thing he could do was believe that Nariko and Sasuke were watching his and each others backs just as he was watching their backs.

"Eight choices", Zabuza's disembodied voice suddenly echoed eerily at them, seemingly from all directions, all three of them unconsciously moved closer together. "Liver, lungs, spine, jugular vein, carotid artery, brain, kidneys or heart", the voice continued mockingly, "Now which fatal area should the first blow strike? And to whom should it go to?". No matter how hard they tried, each of them felt an uncontrollable horror rising. Biting her mouth shut to stop herself from screaming Nariko, despite herself, felt her hands sweat in fear of her situation, Sasuke and Kiro were no better off.

Kakashi, noting the effect that Zabuza's mental attacks were having on his students formed a hand sign and released his own chakra against Zabuza's, dispersing the mist around him and his students and allowing visibility between them again. Staring in shock at their sensei who was now releasing chakra comparable or even greater then Zabuza, Sasuke found himself effected the worst; traumatic memories he had long buried away were beginning to surface again.

"_W-w-what incredibly dangerous sakki (Killing Intent)_", Sasuke thought wildly, "_The very air is thick with it. It feels like I'll die if I so much as twitch a muscle_". Swallowing excess saliva Sasuke felt uncharacteristic panic at the confrontation between Kakashi and Zabuza, "_Just being in the presence of two Jonin locked in a life or death situation… could drive a person insane_".

Without even realizing it he began to grip his kunai with both hands and fought to lift it up to his throat, both Nariko and Kiro were oblivious to his actions, "_I can't take it anymore! I'd rather die right now then…_", "Sasuke!", Kakashi's voice rang out.

Knocked out of his trance Sasuke looked up at Kakashi, eyes still a bit wild from the experience. "Keep calm and don't worry", Kakashi said calmly, "I'll protect you and everyone else even if it kills me". Te turned his head towards his team, "As long as there is still breath in my body I won't let my comrades die", he said, smiling at them reassuringly. Feeling their tense muscles relax they all fought not to heave a sigh of relief.

"We'll see about that", Zabuza's voice rang out. Immediately the feeling of relief vanished replaced with determination, unclouded by fear, Zabuza seemed amused at the sudden change in them. "I'm impressed", his voice sounded out, :"But whether you're afraid or not… makes no difference in the end".

They didn't feel anything, nothing wrong seemed to have happen. But when they all turned they couldn't deny the evidence before them. Standing in the middle of the team, Zabuza had effortlessly and instantly bypassed their defences without so much as hinting his presence to any of them. They had no time to react, no time to counter, they didn't even know until it was too late.

"It's over", he said and swung his sword around, preparing to sever them all at the waist with one swing. In a way it was because he had spoken was what ultimately gave him away. Kakashi turned and, in a blur of undetectable movement, leapt to and impaled Zabuza in the stomach before he could even begin to attack.

A groan of shock and pain shot out of Zabuza's mouth. That brief respite was enough, grabbing Tazuna they all immediately leapt back a safe distance away from the two Jonin and kept Zabuza surrounded within their sights.

A trickling noise sounded out from the stab wound Kakashi inflicted onto Zabuza. Kakashi glanced down at Zabuza's injury bleeding… "_Water?_", he thought in disbelief, "_Then that was just a Mizu Bunshin no Jutsu (Water Clone Technique)_", he realized. Behind Kakashi, another Zabuza materialized, "He's behind you!", Nariko yelled out. Her warning was just a fraction of a second too late.

Just as the water clone exploded back into water, Kakashi only heard the warning with enough time to turn his head when Zabuza swung his broadsword at him. "DIE!", he yelled, cutting through Kakashi horizontally. A smirk of satisfaction appeared on Zabuza's bandaged face as the remains of Kakashi exploded into… water.

Now it was Zabuza's turn to stare in disbelief at the scene before him. "_No way_", he thought, "_Mizu Bunshin no Jutsu! (Water Clone Technique)_". Connecting the dots Zabuza felt his eyes widen in shock, "_Then that means_", thinking back to his earlier move in the beginning and how Kakashi seemed so calm despite the mist obscuring his vision, "_It's not possible._ _Even in this mist he was able to…_", how his clone suddenly appeared in the middle of his students in a blink of an eye and the second Kakashi saw it, "… _copy my jutsu_".

Feeling the steel cold edge of a kunai touch his neck Zabuza realized Kakashi was now behind him. "Don't move", Kakashi warned, "It's over, you've lost". They all stared in relief at the sight before them, despite everything it seemed that Kakashi had managed to triumph.

Impossibly Zabuza began to laugh, "Well I'm impressed", he said, "During the brief amount of time you spent comforting your team you had already copied, created and stationed you water clone. You had the clone say those words to attract my attention while you hid in the mist, waiting to make your move. Overall a good plan. However…".

Another Zabuza appeared behind a stunned Kakashi. "…I'm not that easy to fool", he finished just as the Mizu Bunshin _(Water clone) _burst back into water. Swinging his sword around, Kakashi just managed to dive down in time to avoid the swing, but Zabuza was ready for that. Adjusting his grip on his sword, Zabuza sent Kakashi flying with a powerful kick to the stomach.

"_Now to finish you_", Zabuza thought dashing forward, preparing to end the fight before Kakashi could recover. A glint on the ground alerted him and he quickly stopped just short of a number of small sharp objects that littered the field around him. "Makibishi! _(Caltrops!)_" , he realized. "_Trying to slow me down eh?_", Zabuza thought before leaping over the traps.

Kakashi landed squarely into the lake a loud splash telling his students his location and predicament. "_This is bad_", Kiro thought grimly, "_Not even Kakashi can win?_", Nariko questioned in her mind, "_He's also strong in Taijutsu (Body Techniques)_", Sasuke thought after seeing Zabuza's fighting power. None of them needed to voice the single thought everything was linked too; if Kakashi was beaten, none of them stood a chance at winning.

Kakashi managed to surface but found, to his surprise, that the water was actually weighing him down, "_What's with this water? It's dense and it feels almost solid_", he thought, trying to drag himself out. Suddenly Zabuza appeared behind him with a Shunshin _(Body Flicker)_. "Fool", he said before announcing his jutsu, "Suirō no Jutsu _(Water Prison Technique)_".

"_NO!_", Kakashi, just had enough time to realise his situation before he was trapped in a swirling sphere of compressed water, "_Bad idea to try and escape into the water_", he thought furiously at himself. "Kakashi, if you genuinely believe that you had bested The Demon of the Hidden Mist so easily before, then you're not fit for the title of ninja", Zabuza said. "In all honesty I expected better from someone of your calibre. I'm disappointed", he added.

"_He's stronger then I expected_", Kakashi thought in horror. At this point all that was important was that his students and Tazuna escape, with him trapped Zabuza would slaughter them all easily. "So what was that you said before?", Zabuza said almost conversationally, breaking Kakashi from his planning, as he made a hand sign, "That you wouldn't let your comrades die as long as you had breath in your body? "

Slowly a Mizu Bunshin _(Water Clone)_ began to form from the lake. "Well, it looks like you were wrong", Zabuza said, "You'll have to watch your students die one after another". "Bastard", Kakashi said through clenched teeth. "Your not in a good position to call me names", Zabuza replied before focusing his attention on the rest of the team through his clone.

"Heh, wearing those Hitai-ates _(Forehead Protectors) _and acting like you're real ninja", the clone uttered as it was formed, "When all the while you don't have the slightest idea what being a ninja is really about". Fully formed the clone stood up and regarded them all with a very maniacal gleam in its eye, "But you know what? A real ninja is someone who has survived numerous brushed with death, to be brought to the very threshold of demise and yet still triumphed in the end", it said.

Looking between the wary expressions each of them carried the clone continued, "Until you're good enough to be in my bingo book…". The clone suddenly moved, appearing almost instantly in front of Kiro, "… you're all just a couple of brats who got lucky with their graduation exams", with a swift kick the clone sent Kiro skidding across the ground, gasping in pain from the force of the blow. Sasuke and Nariko quickly ran up next to him, but it was obvious they were scared, just like Kiro was. Just like against Kakashi they were completely outmatched, and in this situation there was no mercy.

"Humph! Just like I thought", Zabuza said in satisfaction at the sight of his clone effortlessly dominating the squad of Genin. "Everyone!", Kakashi suddenly yelled out from his prison, "Take Tazuna and escape as quickly as you can! You have absolutely no chance of beating Zabuza! As long as he has me trapped in this prison he can't move and his Mizu Bunshin _(Water Clone) _can't move very far from his physical body! This is your chance! Just run away!".

Forcing himself back onto his feet Kiro stared up in horror at the sight before him. Battling was out of the question, it was easier to just run away and…"_And what?_", the rational part of his mind suddenly sounded, "_Escape and live another day? I don't even have any guarantee that you'll be able to escape._"

Kiro faltered, suddenly running away didn't seem like such an attractive option. "_If I'm really a team player then I'll make decisions for the good of the team not out of personal interest_", slowly the shaking in his limbs began to stop, "_Now what's the best thing for me to do now? The real Zabuza can't fight and he only has a clone to do his dirty work_".

Standing up and taking a breath, Kiro felt all the insecurities from before just wash away leaving him, once again, composed and the answer became clear. "Guys", Kiro said quietly, Sasuke and Nariko both gave him a sideways look, not daring to take their eyes off Zabuza.

"I can't demand it of you", Kiro began, "But I ask that you stay and help me fight against Zabuza". Sasuke and Nariko exchanged incredulous stares, surprised by the sudden change over Kiro. "The only way we can succeed", Kiro continued, interrupting their thoughts, "Is if we work together like we did during the bell test".

Both Zabuza and his Mizu Bunshin _(Water Clone) _burst out into bouts of humourless laughter. "Work together?", Zabuza exclaimed incredulously, "That's how you pass the graduation at your village!? The standard of Konoha _(Hidden Leaf) _really must have fallen". "What are you babbling about", Kiro questioned.

Zabuza and his clone abruptly stopped laughing. Raising his free hand up Zabuza explained, "When I was about you age… These hands already had the blood of a hundred people dyed into them". They all stiffened at his words, somehow knowing that he was telling the truth.

"The Devil Zabuza", Kakashi said. "Oh, so you now a little about it then?", Zabuza said with interest. Kakashi ignored him and raised his voice so his team could hear him, "Several years ago, Kirigakure _(The Village Hidden in the Mist) _was known as the Chigiri no sato _(The Village of the Bloody Mist) _because of the final graduation test that had been implemented".

"So you even know about that", Zabuza interrupted. "And what's this final graduation test?", Kiro asked, silently dreading the answer. Zabuza chuckled to himself before looking up directly at the team, "Battles to the death between the graduates", he said excitedly. The horror on Sasuke and Nariko's faces were also reflected on Kiro's

" Friends that have trained, laughed and eaten together. Friends that have helped and shared their dreams with one another… were pitted against one another in long battles… Until one of them finally perishes". "What kind of test is that", Nariko whispered to herself in revulsion.

"It was only around ten years ago", Kakashi said, continuing where he had left off. "This custom was dropped when in the last graduation, the Demon child appeared". "The Demon child?", Kiro questioned. "Yes. This child, not even old enough to graduate yet… had single-handedly slaughtered all one hundred graduates without hesitation or remorse".

"That was the most fun I had in a long time", Zabuza laughed gleefully to himself before fixing his insane stare at the team. The Mizu Bunshin _(Water Clone) _suddenly rushed forward and delivered bone crushing blows to each member of Team 7, sending them in all sorts of directions.

Coughing out blood, Sasuke was sprawled on the ground, injured the worst by the sudden attacks. "Die!", the clone said, swinging down his sword. Kiro, having recovered from the attack first, managed to just barely intercept the blow with his own sword. Despite augmenting his strength with chakra, the sheer force of the blow nearly drove him to his knees, but he managed to provide the time for Nariko to quickly grab and retreat several feet with Sasuke.

"Well I'm impressed", the clone said at Kiro, "Even though I only have about a tenth of the strength of the original, you still managed to parry my attack. Not bad for a brat". Kicking out with a knee, the clone landed a powerful blow against Kiro's chest and sent him into the ground so hard he literally smashed through the earth from the force of the impact.

"Do you see now?", Kakashi yelled urgently, "Even if you all work together, you can't defeat him. Just take Tazuna and run, your first priority is to protecting Tazuna! Did you forget that?! Go, I'll be fine!". Forcing himself to stand up, his brow furrowed from pain, Kiro picked up his sword again, "Sorry Kakashi but that's not an option", he said calmly despite the situation.

"What?", Kakashi asked, baffled. Wiping the blood off his face Kiro looked up, "You were the one who said those who abandon their friends are worse then scum, we can't just leave you at Zabuza's mercy. Besides, even if we do take Tazuna and by some miracle we escape, Zabuza could catch up and kill us anytime he wanted too", he said, "We lost the moment you got captured, the only thing that we can do now is break you out of that prison".

Zabuza laughed mirthlessly again, "Break this prison?", he chortled, "That's not possible. This prison is made from water that is held together with my chakra and is built to be even harder then steel. You can't break it". "_Held together with…? That's it!_", Kiro realized.

"Guys", Kiro said in a low voice, "No matter what happens to me, I have to get to that water prison". Both Sasuke and Nariko stared, confused before understanding flooded their minds. "Got it", Sasuke said, "I understand", Nariko said at the same time. Remembering something they all looked at Tazuna, "Hey I'm the reason you guys are in this mess", he said, holding his hands out in a placating fashion, "If you guys think you can do it then who am I to stop you". Nodding they all turned back to the clone.

"When you find an opening, use it", Kiro said before leaping towards the clone. Easily blocking his sword strike, the clone retaliated with its own sword. Kiro barely managed to dodge, even with his chakra enhanced reflexes. In response the clone sent a fierce punch into his stomach. Gasping slightly, Kiro leaped back several feet, putting some distance between them.

Refusing to let Kiro escape the clone went after him and swung down a heavy blow. Remembering the last time he tried to block a downward slash, Kiro leapt to the side just as the giant blade crashed into the ground next to him. At that point the clone simply attacked Kiro with various combinations of Kenjutsu _(Sword Techniques) _and Taijutsu _(Body Techniques)_ to beat him into the ground. His superior skill and power easily allowed him to dominate the fight, all the while Sasuke and Nariko watched, waiting for an opening.

Gripping the sword with two hands the clone swung a powerful blow, ready to end the fight in one move. Kiro did the same. The two swords met, staggering Kiro just managed to hold firm. The clone on the other hand saw to its surprise that its Kubikiri Hōchō _(Decapitating Carving Knife) _had a long cut travelling through the body of the sword until it met Kiro's blade, still cleaved into his weapon.

"_Impossible_", the clone thought, Kiro's sword wasn't even bent in the slightest. Not a single scratch marred the gleaming white blade, "_What is that sword?!_", the clone thought in agitation. Kiro, exhausted from the fight, didn't notice the phenomena,

"Now!", he yelled, seeing the clone falter, though for what reasons he didn't know. Sasuke and Nariko didn't need any more prompting. "Katon: Gōkakyū no Jutsu! _(Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique!)_", Sasuke declared, a large fireball roared into existence and hurtled towards the interlocked fighters.

Engulfing both Kiro and the clone Nariko prepared her own move, "Fūton: Daitoppa! _(Wind Release: Great Breakthrough!)_", Nariko said sending a gale of wind out at the fireball. Absorbing the wind the fireball hurtled towards Zabuza at incredible speeds. Nariko and Sasuke held their breaths

"Humph. Sacrificing one of your team mates to get a chance to strike at me? Clever", Zabuza commented, "However…", placing his sword down he swung himself around, neatly avoiding the fireball as it flew around him, "… not clever enough", he finished smugly. Nariko and Sasuke both suddenly smirked.

A swirl of potent chakra suddenly dispersed the fireball and revealed that Kiro was hiding in the heart of the flames, "What!", Zabuza cried out. Swinging one hand into the water Kiro found his guess correct; the entire lake had Zabuza's chakra funnelled into it and connected it to Kakashi's water prison.

Releasing a massive surge of chakra into the lake, Zabuza's control over the water fluctuated and broke. Feeling the chakra holding his water prison intact undulate out of his control. Zabuza turned to Kiro, a murderous glint in his eye. "YOU LITTLE BRAT!", he roared in anger, charging at Kiro with his sword.

Just then the water prison rippled and shattered. Faster then he had moved in years Kakashi rushed forward and intercepted Zabuza and blocked his giant blade with his own iron glove guards just as Zabuza swung his sword own. Although dripping wet from being imprisoned, Kakashi glared at Zabuza with incredible intensity. He was not going to hold back anymore.

"Kiro", Kakashi said in a low voice, "That was a good plan of yours. You guys have grown up". Kiro shrugged. It wasn't a complicated plan or anything, he had simply relied on his chakra's ability to protect himself from Sasuke's chakra induced flames while carrying himself through Nariko's wind and then use his chakra to break Zabuza's own chakra control over the lake. "Now it's my turn", Kakashi continued, "Go back and regroup with the others", Kiro nodded and swam away while Zabuza was occupied.

"Heh", Zabuza snorted, having calmed down from his murderous rage, "Looks like I got distracted and released the jutsu", he said. "No", Kakashi replied calmly, "You became overconfident and underestimated the power of my team. You were forced to release it". Zabuza glared and suddenly put more pressure into his sword. Gritting his teeth Kakashi still managed to prevent the sword from cutting into him.

"I'll warn you that I don't fall for the same jutsu twice", Kakashi advised, "You better hope that you had a contingency plan in place". A vein pulsed in Zabuza's temple, he suddenly leapt back and began forming hand signs. Kakashi leapt back as well, forming the exact same hand signs.

"Suiton: Suiryūdan no Jutsu! _(Water Release: Water Dragon Bullet Technique!)_", Zabuza and Kakashi simultaneously declared. Two massive serpentine dragons of water rose up from the lake, baring their fangs at each other. At some unspoken signal the two dragons lunged at each other, crashing and tearing into each other and dispersing back into water at their attack, throwing up waves that lapped all the way to Team 7 and Tazuna.

Everyone on the shore stared in awe at the battle, each nursing their own thoughts. "_So that's a true battle between two elite ninja_", Kiro thought, "_W-what was that? Jutsu?_", Tazuna wondered, a little afraid of the display of power being shown, "_Kakashi's back in the game_", Nariko thought, "_So many hand signs and yet he copied them perfectly_", Sasuke wondered, shocked that someone outside of the Uchiha clan could utilize the Sharingan so effectively.

Once the water had cleared completely it was revealed that Kakashi and Zabuza had also attacked at the same time their respective water dragon had. Right now they were both locked against one another, Kakashi holding off Zabuza's sword with a kunai and both of them struggling to overpower each other.

"_Something's strange_", Zabuza thought as he leapt away the same time Kakashi did. Landing at the same time they warily circled each other, both stopping at the same time as well. "_He's not just copying me, he's doing everything at the same time I am. It's as if he knows…_", "… what your going to do next?", Kakashi finished as if he was listening to his thoughts.

Although he didn't show it, Zabuza was shaken by this, "_Can he read my mind?!_", he thought in panic as he prepared another jutsu, to his dismay Kakashi was doing exactly what he was doing so closely it was hard to tell who was copying who anymore. Seeing the Sharingan eye staring at him, sudden rage rose in him. "_Damn it!_", Zabuza thought in agitation, "That freakish eye is pissing me off. Right?", Kakashi questioned mockingly.

Zabuza began to lose his composure, "All you're doing is copying me!", he spat, "You're just some circus monkey! I'll destroy you!", Zabuza and Kakashi said in chorus. Zabuza's eyes bulged out in horror. Baring his teeth he rapidly began to make hand signs, "DAMN YOU!", he roared, "I'LL MAKE IT SO THAT YOU CAN NEVER OPEN THAT MONKEY MOUTH AGAIN!".

Something behind Kakashi suddenly caught Zabuza's attention. Behind Kakashi a ghostly figure of Zabuza materialized, "_No_", he thought in panic, "_It couldn't be me. Could it?_". Desperately shaking his head he still saw the image, "_Is it some kind of Genjutsu? (Illusionary Technique?)_"

Kakashi suddenly finished making hand signs. A spiralling stream of water suddenly whipped up and circled around him, "Suiton: Daibakufu no Jutsu! _(Water Release: Great Waterfall Technique!)_", he declared just as the tomoe in his Sharingan began spinning around his pupil. The stream of water exploded outwards in a torrential spiral blast of high pressure water.

"_IMPOSSIBLE!_", Zabuza thought as he was engulfed and swept away by the massive torrent of water, "_I'm the one who's using the jutsu_", he thought as he was thrown back and forth in the water, powerless against the force of the currents, "_So why am I the one who can't keep up?!_". Everyone on shore immediately shielded themselves from the after-affect of the attack, "_What power_", they all thought.

Pinned against a tree trunk by the tide of the water, Zabuza could do little more then cough and splutter, trying and stop himself from being swept away again. Several kunai flew through the air. Zabuza cried out in pain as each kunai hit their mark on his arms, legs and body.

Defeated and broken, Zabuza stared up at Kakashi above him in the branches of the tree, "C-can you, s-see into the future?", he demanded weakly. "Yes", Kakashi answered back emotionlessly, "And do you know what I see?", he slowly raised a kunai knife, "Your corpse".

Before Zabuza could do anything in response his neck was suddenly pierced by two senbon needles. Without a sound he fell heavily onto the ground, not even a twitch was evident on his prone body. Everyone stared up in shock at who had thrown the senbon, a very young masked ninja stood on a branch several feet away.

"It seems you were right", the mysterious ninja said, "He died". No one below knew how to react. Kakashi dropped down and tiredly examined Zabuza's neck. No pulse. "_He really is dead_", Kakashi thought with a sigh. The mysterious ninja bowed, "Thank you for your assistance", the ninja said, "I've been looking for an opportunity to kill Zabuza for weeks now". Kakashi glanced up at the mysterious ninja and noticed the ceramic mask covering the ninja's face and the symbol on the forehead.

"From your outfit I would say that you're an Oi-nin _(Hunter-nin)_", Kakashi said calmly, "_He can't be much older then the others_", he thought in his mind, "_He's no ordinary ninja_". "Very impressive", the ninja said approvingly, "I am indeed an Oi-nin _(Hunter-nin)_,it's my job to find and dispose of Nukenin _(Missing-nin) _like Zabuza".

Performing a Shunshin _(Body Flicker)_, the mysterious ninja appeared next to Zabuza's corpse, picking it up the ninja looked over to Team7, "Your battle with Zabuza is now over. This body holds many secrets about my village however", the ninja said, "I'll have to dispose of it". Forming a hand sign, the mysterious ninja performed another Shunshin _(Body Flicker)_, "Farewell", the ninja said before disappearing.

Team 7 were left unusually quiet, even by their standards, at the fact that such a young ninja could have killed someone like Zabuza with such little effort. It was a sobering thought to realize how small and insignificant they were compared to other ninja. "Well there's no helping it", Kakashi said wearily, pulling his Hitai-ate _(Forehead Protector) _over his Sharingan eye. "In this world there are ninja that are younger then you guys, yet stronger then me", he said, sensing the mood his team were in.

Not waiting for a response Kakashi turned back to the road, "Alright then", he said, "Now that that's over, we can get back to escorting Tazuna back". He had just taken one step when he suddenly felt his body give out on him. Slowly he felt himself fall, darkness creeping into his vision. He just managed to hear the surprised sounds his team made as they ran up to him, "_Damn_", he thought in exasperation, "_I used the Sharingan too much_". That was his last thought before losing consciousness.

To Be Continued

Authors Notes: Well this chapter is finally complete. At around eight thousand words I'm rather pleased how everything turned out, sure there were times when I thought my writing got a bit weak but overall I think I did quite well. I know that it's very similar to what actually happened in canon but I tried to make things plausible enough to be believable. Incidentally I deliberately identified Haku with genderless references since I haven't quite decided whether to make him a girl or stick with him staying a boy.

Any recommendations? Tell me what you think, constructive criticism is welcome as always. Until the next chapter.


	13. Chapter 11: Training days The Departed

Well now then we're about midway through the Land of Waves arc. I know that so far, the story still hasn't deviated that much from the original Manga storyline but I'm trying to alter things to best suit the new characters in the story.

Anyways it will be around a few chapters after this one or the one after the next one that the storyline will start diverting, it won't exactly make a significant impact on how the story goes, but it's a rather significant change.

Oh and I didn't really get any feedback from the last chapter so I don't know what I could have done to make things better, answer anything in the story that confounded people or know how well I'm doing. So anything helpful would be… well helpful. To my new reviewer, the translation thing is there for convenience and I'm sorry if it inconveniences you but that's just how I write, besides there aren't too many of those in this chapter so you don't have to worry about it as of yet.

Notice: To bilingualkyuubi, the reason my OC was going to be executed was because of the father being a potential threat to the village not because of his mother dying, they were recently attacked by the Kyuubi so they're all just a little bit paranoid and prone to making irrational decisions, in a normal situation the outcome would most likely have been different. But as stated, it is still a little farfetched, but I was still inexperienced at writing at the time so all the same Chapter 2 Prologue: Aftermath has been revised and the execution has been retconned (i.e. Some event in the past changed to suit the storyline better), hopefully it's more plausible this time around. Please reread and review, everyone.

Anyways onto the Story

Disclaimer: I do not profit from this story and the rights to _Naruto _belongs to Masashi Kishimoto

**Naruto: Tale of Yin and Yang**

Chapter 11: Training days. The Departed Hero of Waves.

It was a peaceful and bright day in the village of the Land of Waves, the sound of waves and squalling seagulls formed a natural and serene surrounding around the village, at odds with the decrepit and otherwise poor looking community.

In a small house in the middle of the village, Kakashi groaned slightly as he lied, unmoving, on a mattress, a blanket draped over him, "_I really did use the Sharingan too much_", he thought. It had been a very long time since he remembered feeling this feeble.

When he had woken up, his team had filled him up on what he had missed, it was all rather anticlimactic actually. They had reached their destination without any further trouble and Tazuna had gone back to work completing the bridge that would save his country. Despite the lacklustre tasks that had to be, he was impressed at the professionalism his team had displayed; two of them had guarded Tazuna and his workers from any further attacks while the remaining person looked after him while he was unconscious, each of them taking turns at each task.

"_They've grown up very quickly_", Kakashi thought. Today they had left him alone in his room to let him rest up and regain his strength. With Zabuza defeated there were little worries about the mission… but still. Kakashi shifted uncomfortably, he just couldn't shake the feeling that he had missed something before. It didn't help that he couldn't remember all the events before with complete clarity before he blacked out. All he did remember was that an Oi-nin _(Hunter-nin) _came and delivered the killing blow to Zabuza before taking the corpse away.

"_But I just get the feeling I'm missing something_", Kakashi still thought, it was just outside his grasp but he still had no idea where the unease was coming from, "_Maybe I'm just getting a little paranoid from all those years of hard missions while I was in ANBU_", Kakashi mused.

Suddenly a women in her late twenties walked into his room, "Are you alright there?", she asked in concern, if he remembered correctly this was Tazuna's daughter Tsunami, "Not really", Kakashi answered, "I won't be able to move normally for about a week", he said rising a little.

"If that's the case then you shouldn't try to move", Tsunami chided. "Right", Kakashi mumbled slinking back down into the blankets. It was around that point when his team also walked into the room, seeing him awake they all sat down around him, nobody said anything for a while. "The Sharingan really seems powerful", Nariko said at last, "But I didn't know it would put such a strain on your body. You had us worried", "S-sorry", Kakashi apologized.

"Yeah well", Tazuna said, suddenly also walking into the room, "Since you still beat that super strong ninja from before we should be safe for a while", he said happily. "More importantly", Kiro said, "Is it possible that Gatō hired any more ninja around Zabuza's level?".

"It's unlikely", Kakashi said, "Mercenary ninja like Zabuza usually charge an arm and a leg for their services. Even if Gatō was willing to spend the money, there are only a few mercenary ninja as powerful as Zabuza out there". Kakashi turned his head to his students, "But no matter what don't let your guard relax until the mission is over", he added.

"Well either way that ninja in the mask took care of Zabuza so we don't have to worry about him anyway", Tazuna quipped, trying to lighten the mood. Kakashi frowned, "Oh come on", Tazuna exclaimed, "Zabuza's super dead! What are you sulking about?".

"It's not that", Kakashi said, suddenly everything seemed to come together. He looked back at his team, "Do any of you remember what weapon Zabuza was killed by?", he asked intently. His team thought about for a moment, "A senbon", Sasuke said at last, at that thought everyone suddenly felt tension seeping into their limbs.

"That's right", Kakashi said, gathering what they were thinking from their expressions. "Hey what are you guys talking about?", Tazuna asked, confused at the sudden attitude changes, Kakashi pushed himself up, "We've been had. Zabuza's still alive", he said with one breath.

Tazuna's reaction was predictable. Gaping in shock he fell backwards onto his bottom, Tsunami's reaction was more controlled though granted she hadn't had first hand experience with an experienced killer. "Yet you pronounced him dead", Nariko noted. Kakashi nodded wearily.

"My mind was already a little blurred from chakra exhaustion", Kakashi justified, "So I didn't have all my wits about me when I said that. Senbon are weapons with very low mortality rates unless they hit a vital organ or pressure point and are more often used for medical practices like acupuncture. Most likely, if my guess is correct, back then Zabuza was just put into a near-death state".

"Then who was that ninja", Kiro asked, "He was wearing the Mask of an Oi-nin _(Hunter nin)_", Kakashi responded, "They're a special squad in the Kiri _(Hidden Mist Village)_ ANBU. They're the guys that are specialised in hunting down rogue ninja's". "A ninja's body, dead or alive, can reveal all sorts of secrets about their village; Jutsu's, Hiden _(Secret)_ Clan Techniques and chakra abilities just to name a few". Feeling his strength start to leave him, Kakashi lied back down.

"In a worst case scenario", Kiro continued Kakashi's explanation, "A ninja corpse's abilities are exhumed from the body and are taken for use by other villages. As a result they have been christened as the "Undertaker Squad" by some". "Which is why it is important for the corpse to be disposed off as soon as possible", Kakashi said where Kiro had left off.

"An Oi-nin _(Hunter-nin) _are specially trained in disposing corpses and are required to destroy them on the spot while bringing the head back as evidence. Yet that ninja just took Zabuza away with him", Kakashi said, "That ninja wasn't there to kill Zabuza, he was trying to help him".

"Hey aren't you guys over thinking a little here?", Tazuna asked nervously, "I mean it could all just be an overactive imagination or something". Kakashi thought about this for a second, "You might be right there", he said at last, "But it's dangerous to become lax and assume the easier option, especially with all evidence pointing to the contrary".

Kakashi looked over to his team, "It seems we're going to have to change our plans a bit. Starting tomorrow we'll begin training each of you to prepare for Zabuza's counterattack".

"It won't make any difference", a dull voice suddenly said behind them. Everyone turned and saw, to their surprise, a young boy standing there. He was wearing a pale yellow shirt, green overalls and a bucket hat. The most striking thing about him was his eyes which appeared completely dull and lifeless.

"Yo Inari!", Tazuna suddenly called out happily, "Where have you been these past few days". "I'm back grandpa", Inari said running to and hugging Tazuna. Team 7 exchanged bemused looks. "Hey Inari", Tsunami said sternly, "Don't be so rude to our guests. They're the ninja that kept your grandpa safe when he returned home".

"That's right", Tazuna said, affectionately rubbing the top of his grandsons head, "They're super strong ninja Inari". Inari turned and looked over each of them, Kiro, Nariko and Sasuke stared back defiantly. Inari turned back to Tsunami, "Mom. They're going to die", he said bluntly, "No-one can go up against Gatō and live".

Feeling his students tempers rise Kakashi quickly intervened, "I wouldn't worry about that, we're not exactly easy to kill", he said at the same time Tsunami said, "Inari! Don't act so ungrateful to the people who saved your grandfathers life".

Ignoring his mother Inari turned back to the team, "How stupid can you guys get", he asked in the same toneless voice he greeted them with before, "Gatō is unbeatable, you guys aren't invincible heroes or something". Before anyone could retort he turned and began to walk away but not before telling them, "You guys better hurry up and go back to your happy lives if you don't want to die".

"Where are you going Inari", Tazuna asked mildly, "I'm going to go watch the ocean", he replied. As soon as Inari left the room Tsunami tried to make amends, "I'm sorry about my son's behaviour", she apologised, "Please don't take it personally". "That's right", Tazuna said, "He's always been a little pessimistic". "_A little?_", Kiro thought, looking to his team mates he could see that they were still annoyed at how their skills were just brushed off like that, "_I have a feeling this isn't going to be the first time that kid and us are going to but heads_", he thought with a sigh.

* * *

In a mist filled forest a lone, masked ninja was kneeling beside Zabuza's body. The ninja crouched down and took and rolling out a pouch with various types of equipment held inside. Taking out a pair of scissors, the ninja turned and carefully examined Zabuza's physical condition.

"_I need to cut the bandages and let him cough the blood up first_", the ninja thought, preparing to make an incision in the bands of cloth that was wrapped around Zabuza's face. Just as the blades almost reached the cloth Zabuza's hand suddenly came to life and grabbed the ninja's wrist.

Starting slightly in surprise the ninja watched as Zabuza opened his bloodshot eyes. "Enough", Zabuza rasped, pulling down the bandages, "I can do it on my own". "Oh. You're awake already?", the ninja asked, slight amusement discernable in the ninja's voice.

Ignoring his companion Zabuza reached to his neck and roughly yanked out one of the needles, a light spray of blood gushed from the wound "Tch. You could have hit any pressure point you wanted to, to induce a near-death state", he grumbled, "And yet you had to aim for the ones in the neck. You're completely merciless as always", he added, while pulling out the second needle.

"Please don't take out those senbon so roughly", the ninja chided, "In your weakened state, you really will kill yourself if you exert yourself anymore". Throwing the senbon onto the ground Zabuza just grunted in affirmation, "And just how long do you plan on wearing that fake mask?", he questioned.

The ninja chuckled before reaching up to the ceramic mask, "It's become a bit of habit now so I forget I'm wearing it at times", the ninja said lightly, "Besides it helped me fool those ninja and get away safely". Removing the mask a pretty sixteen year old girl's face was revealed, smiling gently despite her company and the grisly blood that stained the area around them.

"And anyways if I hadn't come in and saved you, you would have been most definitely killed", the girl said briskly while packing away her pouch. "And if you had to put me into a near-death state you didn't have to choose such a risky area like the neck", Zabuza retorted, "If you had punctured my trachea or something then there's a good chance I would have died".

The kunoichi shrugged, "Even now you still think that I might make such a mistake?", she asked, "I thought that you would have learnt to trust my abilities by now. Besides, the neck has less muscles then most areas on the body so it's easier for me to target it". Zabuza just grunted in response, still brooding over his recent loss.

"You probably won't be able to move for maybe around ten days", the kunoichi continued, "Those injuries need to heal and your body still needs to recover from being put into a sudden catatonic state like that". She turned an amused look at Zabuza, "Though knowing you, you'll probably recover in a week through sheer stubbornness".

At that Zabuza turned a sideways look at her, "Always so pure and clever aren't you Haku", he finally said, somewhat mockingly, "You think that you would have learnt to grow up a bit by now". Haku giggled slightly, "Well I am still just a child", she said light-heartedly.

Looking around, they saw that the mist had slowly cleared while they were talking. "The fog's lifted", Haku noted. Turning to Zabuza with a more serious face she asked him, "Are you going to be alright the next time?". Zabuza snorted at her concern, "Next time I'll defeat the Sharingan", Zabuza vowed, "Whatever it takes".

* * *

Walking upstairs into the hallways Kiro idlely wondered why he was the one there. Both his team mates had taken an instant dislike to Inari and would not have anything to do with him unless absolutely necessary, but the way he had acted hinted at some trauma in his past, people rarely became unsociable unless they had a fair reason. After all Kiro knew from personal experience.

Which was how he found himself quietly walking towards Inari's room, in all honesty a horrible past wouldn't normally be enough for him to try and see someone but Tazuna had asked him to try and get Inari to open up, of course he was apprehensive at first but the old man had persisted until he had reluctantly agreed. If Inari's first reaction was anything though, chances are he won't get anything out of him.

Just as Kiro was raising his hand to knock on the door his ears picked up some half muffled sniffling sounds coming from the room. Peeking through a tiny gap in the door he saw that Inari was kneeling by the window holding some sort of object and, from his body language and noises, he was crying.

"Father", Inari's muffled voice whispered, "Why father?". Despite hunching over, Kiro could clearly hear the stifled sobs that were coming from him. Veiling his eyes, he turned and walked back down the stairs, keeping his thoughts to himself. "_Looks like the pain runs deeper then I thought_", Kiro thought to himself.

* * *

The next day Team 7 met in the forests behind the village. Kakashi had, for once, came on time, more impressively was that he had to use crutches the entire time. "Alright then", Kakashi said, "We only have a weeks time to prepare you all for Zabuza's second attack".

"But before we begin", Kakashi said, "We need to briefly go other the fundamentals of chakra". They all sighed in annoyance, they've all gone through what chakra is during their days as academy students and found it annoying to have to review it again. Of course none of them bothered complaining; generally the best way to deal with Kakashi was just go with what he is saying.

"Kiro if you please", Kakashi said. Kiro grimaced towards his team mates before beginning, "Chakra is the source of energy used when performing all manners of jutsu. It is a mix between the physical energy from the body and the spiritual energy from the mind, everyone naturally produces it and ninja are simply people who learned to mold it for conscious use. Through the use of hand signs, or seals as some people call them, the chakra is manipulated and changed for various purposes".

Kakashi nodded approvingly, "Very good, obviously you've paid attention in class. But what we are interested in now is Chakra Control". "Why?", Sasuke questioned, "We can all already use jutsu perfectly fine". "Wrong", Kakashi said, "You guys are not using chakra properly".

"What do you mean by that?", Nariko questioned, always a little snappish when her abilities are questioned, "We can all perform our jutsu without fail". "Well that is true", Kakashi conceded, "But there is a difference between being able to use a jutsu and to control chakra effectively".

Looking at the now baffled expressions on his student's faces Kakashi began to explain, "As Kiro said chakra is a mix between physical and spiritual energies and can be moulded in a variety of ways, however you guys are not using chakra properly". Before anyone could retort Kakashi continued his explanation, "The most important thing about executing a jutsu is not how much chakra you release for it but how much control you can exert over your own chakra".

Kakashi could see his students were realizing what he was saying, "For example", he added, "If you were to perform a fire jutsu and you don't put enough chakra into the jutsu then the flames produced would be weak and useless, if you put too much chakra into it the flames would either go out of control or fluctuate wildly. You also waste excess chakra when performing jutsu if you don't have enough control over it".

"And by constantly wasting chakra", Kiro said thoughtfully, "Then we limit our overall abilities in battle". Kakashi nodded, "And that's why Chakra Control is so important for being a ninja", he concluded. "Alright then", Nariko said, "So what do we do to get better control over our chakra".

"Simple. Tree climbing", Kakashi deadpanned. They all gave him a flat stare, "Tree climbing", Nariko echoed in monotone. "Before anyone objects", Kakashi said, "Wait till I finish explaining", turning towards one of the trees he made a hand sign,

"This isn't normal tree climbing", Kakashi said, "You have to climb up the tree without using your arms or hands". His team exchanged sceptical looks, "Just watch", Kakashi called out.

Kakashi hobbled over to the tree and firmly placed his foot onto the trunk, immediately he put his other foot onto the trunk and miraculously began to walk up the tree, defying all the laws of gravity as if he was stuck to the tree like a magnet. They all stared in wordless surprise, although it wasn't exactly spectacular, it certainly wasn't an ordinary sight either.

"You understand now?", Kakashi asked while hanging upside-down on a branch, "Gather chakra towards the soles of your feet", he instructed, "And use it to attach yourself to and walk up the tree. This is just one of the many things possible with chakra".

"But how is learning to scale trees going to help us fight Zabuza?", Nariko asked, the original goal of the training was supposed to be still clear in her mind. "The purpose of this training exercise is so you can all learn greater Chakra Control", Kakashi explained patiently, "When you begin you'll find that tree climbing takes very small and precise measurements of chakra, sending chakra to a single small point is a difficult task for even talented ninja and it is said that the soles of the feet are the most difficult place of all to gather chakra".

"The second reason", Kakashi continued, "Is to increase your stamina when using chakra. Maintaining skilled Chakra Control at a constant rate is a difficult task at the best of times and most likely you'll need it during battle situations when you're constantly moving so it is even more imperative that you can control your chakra properly".

"But me standing here and talking all day isn't going to help", Kakashi added reaching into one of his pockets. Taking out three kunai knives he threw them so one landed in front of each of his students, "This is something you'll have to learn by experience", he said, "Use those kunai to mark how high you can go and try and surpass that mark and so forth".

Pulling himself up onto the branch Kakashi glanced down at his team, "One more thing. Most likely none of you are good enough to walk so run to get a momentum up the tree". They didn't need any further instructions, as one they picked up their kunai and focused chakra to the soles of their feet and dashed at their respective trees.

Immediately it became apparent that the exercise was far more difficult then they gave it credit for. Sasuke managed to run up several steps before the bark gave way before him, just having enough time to slash a mark through the bark he flipped through the air and landed on the ground, "_I didn't think that it would be this hard_", he thought in dismay.

Nariko had even less success, managing a few feet behind Sasuke. Likewise jumping away and cutting a mark into the bark she quickly made a comparison between hers and Sasuke's, "_Damn. I didn't think I'd be this behind_", she thought.

Kiro had the worst attempt of all. After only making it up a few steps the bark beneath him caved in and forced him to jump away. Glancing at where he was Kiro found the area he had climbed was so small he didn't even need to bother marking it. "_Looks like my chakra's not suited to this kind of training_", he thought, chagrined at his failure.

Looking between his student's varying successes it was easy for Kakashi to deduce how well each of their Chakra Control was. "_Looks like Sasuke's in the lead this time_", he thought, "_But Nariko isn't that far behind, which is very good considering she has more then double my own supply of chakra but…_", looking to Kiro, Kakashi also found himself a little baffled at the result.

"_Looks like that boys chakra isn't used to working such refined tasks_", Kakashi thought, carefully mulling over the problem, "_Though that isn't exactly a surprise given that he somehow manifests raw chakra for his attacks. I may have to give him a little more help then the others_".

Hiding behind a tree Inari watched them train with the air of a disinterested observer. But it didn't matter how much or how hard they trained, it would all be futile in the end. Turning and walking away a sudden image appeared in his mind bringing in long felt pain. Clenching his fists Inari willed himself not to cry, "_Father…_".

* * *

In a far away location Zabuza was using the time to lie in bed and rest, Haku sat silently beside him. The door opened and three people walked in, neither of them needed to check who it was.

"Sheesh, even you were defeated", Gatō complained, this time flanked by two bodyguards, "You were supposed to be the unbeatable "Demon of the Hidden Mist". Didn't you say that would take care of the problem personally? And what was that crap about no ninja could stand against you. I can't believe what kind of miserable failure of a demon you are. Lost all your bite in the last few years?".

Zabuza ignored Gatō's ridiculing complaints. Even in his current debilitated situation, he could, if he really wanted to, make Gatō eat his words and grovel at his feet, in spite of his pathetic excuses for guards, of course if he did he would need even more time to recover from his injuries and he wasn't in the mood to deal with insects anyway.

Haku wasn't so placid. Once the last word had left Gatō's mouth she had abruptly stood up so quickly and so forcefully that her chair skidded noisily against the ground. In response the two bodyguards stepped in front of Gatō and held onto their sword sheathes, ready for a battle.

"Just wait", Gatō said, gesturing to his bodyguards to relax, "There's no need for trouble". Walking towards Zabuza he smirked at the crippled state he was in. "Don't be so quiet", he said mockingly, "Why don't you say anything? Did getting beaten also make you deaf?". He reached out with one hand, ready to take advantage of Zabuza's vulnerable state, "This is for wrecking my favourite suit from last time", he said throwing a backhander at Zabuza's face.

Immediately he felt his wrist being held in an iron grip. "Don't touch Zabuza-san with those filthy hands", Haku said in a low voice, a dangerous look in her eye. To emphasis her statement she immediately began to crush his wrist. Howling in pain Gatō desperately tried to pull his arm away, "STOP IT! STOP IT!", he cried, "YOUR GOING TO BREAK MY ARM".

The two bodyguards drew their swords and prepared to rush Haku. Turning around Haku effortlessly appeared between them and forced their swords towards each others necks. "_I-It can't be_", one of the guards thought in horror, "_In a blink of an eye she…_", the other one thought.

"I wouldn't try anything", Haku coldly warned them, "You'll make me angry if you do". Gatō swallowed hard at the sight of how easily his two guards were disarmed. Once Haku released them they all kept back warily, Gatō angrily turned to Zabuza who hadn't even batted an eye at all the events, "If you two don't succeed this time", he yelled pointing a finger at them, "Consider yourselves fired". Gatō immediately walked towards the door, cradling his injured arm, "Lets go Zōri, Waraji", he spat. Keeping their eyes trained on Haku, the two bodyguards also left.

As soon as the door shut Haku sat back down beside Zabuza's bed. "You didn't need to do that Haku", Zabuza said calmly, feeling the cold touch of a kunai he kept in his bed for emergencies, "I know", she said back, "But it would be reckless to kill him now. If we create a commotion now… then they'll find and come after us again. The Oi-nin's _(Hunter-nin's)_".

Haku smiled slightly, "We have to obey Gatō whether we like it or not", she added. Zabuza remained silent for a moment before answering, "Yeah. You're right", he finally said, "We'll obey Gatō… for now".

* * *

"So what is it you wanted to talk to me about?", Kiro asked Kakashi as they stood alone in the forest. He and his team mates had spent the rest of the day trying to improve their tree climbing, none of them managed to succeed however and Sasuke and Nariko had since retired indoors. However Kakashi told Kiro to stay, for reasons he wasn't sure.

"You're having a lot of trouble with this exercise", Kakashi said, it wasn't a question. Kiro grunted irritably, it was true, of the three of them he had progressed the slowest. By the end of the day Nariko had surpassed Sasuke and made a significant lead on the two, Sasuke had progressed only slightly worse. He himself however had barely managed to progress beyond a few feet up the tree.

"What's your point?", Kiro snapped. Kakashi sighed and rubbed his temple, "My point is I'm going to have to help you", he said frankly, "We don't have the time for you to learn all on your own and your struggling a great deal more then you should". "So what do you suggest?", Kiro questioned.

Kakashi took his hand away from his forehead, "You can summon pure chakra correct?", he asked. Kiro nodded affirmative, "Do it", Kakashi commanded. Kiro gave Kakashi a perplexed look before holding his hand up and gathered a large swirling surge of chakra into his palm.

"_So it can be seen with the naked eye_", Kakashi wondered, "_Just what is this ability?_". Shaking away those thoughts he revealed his Sharingan and began to examine the chakra. With the Sharingan he could immediately see the chakra far more accurately then before and what he saw stunned him. Rather then the smooth and flowing waves of blue most people's chakra was, Kiro's chakra looked more like fierce, surging bolts of indigo energy. It defied all normal laws of chakra.

"_No matter how much chakra someone has the appearance is usually the same_", Kakashi thought in wonderment, "_It's normally impossible to increase the amount of power chakra itself has_". From what he knew chakra only produces so much energy and the only way to make it stronger was to increase a persons chakra capacity, each individual person chakra have slight variations depending on a variety of factors. But overall chakra is generally the same everywhere in any village in any country.

Yet Kiro's chakra a completely different phenomena. The power contained in it was astounding as far as he was concerned, it exceeded anything he had ever seen and it was amazing that he could even utilize it. "_At least that explains the great mystery on how Kiro could do what he could do_", Kakashi noted, it also explained why his chakra couldn't be used for any jutsu.

Covering his Sharingan again Kakashi focused on Kiro again, "Alright then", he said, "Let's see you draw away some of that chakra". Kiro looked confused so Kakashi clarified, "Decrease the amount of chakra your holding, as much as possible". Kiro nodded and concentrated at his palm.

Immediately the chakra contracted and shrunk, steadily at first but slowly stopped as the amount of chakra grew smaller and smaller. Sweat started to gather at Kiro's brow, he wasn't use to this exercise, usually he would try and gather as much chakra as possible without losing control but it seemed that doing the opposite was just as difficult.

Eventually it got to the point where Kiro was almost gasping for breath at the effort and Kakashi raised his hand to tell him to stop. Gratefully Kiro allowed the chakra to dissipate, letting his wearied hand drop down loosely by his side, holding onto small amounts of chakra without letting it dispel was surprisingly hard.

Kakashi nodded in satisfaction, "Alright then", he said, "Practice doing that for an hour or two". Kiro stared in confusion, "Right now you don't have enough control over the amount of chakra you can use", Kakashi said, "You'll need to be able to focus your chakra to a single small point if you want to master this exercise".

Turning Kakashi began to walk away, "Don't strain yourself too much", he called out. Kiro ignored him, already working on his new Chakra Control exercise. "_I might need to report this to the Sandaime_", Kakashi thought.

* * *

The next day, construction of the bridge began as usual. It was a particularly bright day so Tazuna wanted as much of the bridge done as possible and the construction workers had diligently followed his request commands and worked tirelessly through the morning, affixing girders and augmenting the body of the bridge. A very industrialized building process.

Biting back a yawn, Nariko stretched her arms on her seat on the railing. Guard duty was very boring most of the time, although it was important to keep their client safe they still had an estimated four days left before Zabuza returns which meant that everyone was safe for four days. "_So why am I even here_", Nariko grumbled in her mind, as far as she was concerned she was just wasting time doing nothing when she should have been training to get stronger. Kakashi would have none of it however and so she found herself stationed at the bridge for any nonexistent threats.

"Hey little lady", Tazuna called as he walked past carrying a steel I-beam, "You seemed bored by yourself. Where's that yellow eyed guy and the arrogant youngster". Nariko suppressed another yawn, "They're training tree climbing", she answered, "So what about you?', Tazuna asked.

"Kakashi said I made the best progress so far so it wouldn't hurt for me to take a break from training", Nariko answered back. Tazuna shrugged and placed the I-beam next to a large pile.

"Can I talk to you for a minute?", a man around fifty asked walking up to Tazuna. Straightening his back Tazuna faced him, "What is it Giichi?", he asked, wiping sweat from his brow. Giichi looked down, avoiding Tazuna's eyes, "Well after think about all this… the thing is…", Giichi suddenly looked up, "Can I quit building the bridge", he asked boldly.

Tazuna gaped at him, "W-What! You too? Why know all of a sudden?", he demanded. Giichi didn't falter at Tazuna's exclamation, "Tazuna, I've known you for a long time", he began, "But please don't take this personally. I want to help you finish this bridge but if I keep involving myself then Gatō will also come after me, too".

Tazuna's eyes narrowed. Avoiding Tazuna's eyes again Giichi looked down but continued speaking, "So I want to stop before we go too far. This bridge will remain forever unfinished if you die, so there's no point in continuing. Why don't we just stop building this bridge? With any luck Gatō might be lenient and spare us".

Nariko watched all this with detached interest. Of course Tazuna would be upset at this development, he had already lost four other men who also decided to quit for similar reasons, naturally Tazuna was indignant at everyone of them and his frustration grew with every resignation.

"The way you act tells me that you'll believe I'll die either way and the Land of Waves is doomed", Tazuna said in a hard voice, "But whether I die or not I cannot abandon the bridge". Giichi stared in surprise at the determination in Tazuna's voice.

"But…", Giichi began, "My decision", Tazuna cut in, "This bridge isn't just my bridge but the countries bridge. This bridge is the one hope we have to save our country. Once it is complete then free trade, distribution and transportation will flourish in this country of few resources. This bridge holds the collective dream of everyone in the Land of Waves, I will never abandon it".

"But our dreams will remain just dreams if we die", Giichi argued, but with no conviction in his voice. Tazuna just turned and walked away, "It's about lunch time so we should stop for now", he said. "Tazuna", Giichi implored, desperate to try and get his point across.

Tazuna paused, "Giichi. If you don't want to come back then you don't have too", he said before continuing to walk away. Nariko watched all this calmly having no intention to interfere. Soon everyone had left and Nariko had followed Tazuna to his lunch break.

Sitting next to Tazuna as he quickly wolfed down his lunch Nariko decided to ask something she had been wondering about for a while, "Tazuna". "Mmm", he answered, still absorbed in eating. "Why is it that it seems that no-one here seems to want to free their country from Gatō?", she asked, "The way they act… it's as if everyone is drained of human spirit".

"I understand", Tazuna said heavily, "It's a common method Gatō has to make sure the people he subjugates don't rise against him. Even he can't kill an entire population without bringing trouble on himself". Nariko raised an eyebrow at the dodged issue, "So what is this common method?", she questioned.

Tazuna thought about this for a moment, "Gatō breaks the will to fight back", he answered, "He has legions of hired thugs, not that they're exactly useful against ninja, to keep us in line, any resistance will be received with cruel retribution and made a public spectacle and keep people in fear of him and stop any uprising".

"So what did he do to your country?", Nariko asked. Tazuna didn't answer, Nariko asked again. "You know lunch break is over", he suddenly said, standing up, sure enough the whistle was blown and everyone slowly trekked back to work.

Nariko pressed her lips together to prevent herself from asking a third time. It was obvious that Tazuna didn't want to talk about it, seeing as how hard he tried to dodge the issue.

Once they all returned Nariko noticed that Giichi was indeed gone. Tazuna probably also noticed but pretended not to, working and ordering people as normal as if nothing was wrong or amiss. Nariko sighed and took her seat on the railing again. It wasn't until the late afternoon when everyone finally went home, many relieved that they had lived another day.

While Nariko was following Tazuna they quickly took a detour. At Nariko's curious look, Tazuna grinned, "We need to pick up some groceries", he explained, "We're out of things to eat". "_Again?_", Nariko thought, according to Kiro and Sasuke they seemed to have to buy food quite often, this was the first time during her guard duty that she had to help.

As they entered town Nariko looked around at the condition it was in. Many of the building were in disrepair and the people seemed to be in the same condition. Many citizens seemed sad, drained and, above all, malnourished in more ways then one. One bearded man was even walking around carrying a sign that read "I will do any job".

"THIEF!", a voice suddenly called out just as a young boy darted through the streets and disappeared into an alley, carrying what was, presumably, stolen food. Nariko sighed sadly at the sight, while she couldn't say she was happy how she lived back in Konoha _(Hidden Leaf Village) _at least the village itself was prosperous, she could see none of that here. Looking lower she could also see many homeless children sitting against buildings, begging for food. Some people spared them a glance but it was obvious they could barely afford to feed themselves and could not spare any money. Even now she could see some children plotting to raid various stores for food. Nariko sighed.

"Sad isn't it", Tazuna said, aware of her mood, "I can think of a lot more words then sad", she answered, not in the mood to talk. "This is it", Tazuna declared walking towards a dirty grocery store.

"Welcome", came the dull voice at their entry. Tazuna walked in and began to pick out various foods for their dinner. Nariko looked around the shelves and only saw a few meagrely scattered vegetables and fruits litter the empty stands, "_So that's why_", she realized, "_There's hardly anything here_".

Just then a bald man with a moustache walked in and noticed, with a glint in his eye, the hip pouch Nariko wore. Reaching out to the pouch he prepared to "relieve" her of her belongings. In response Nariko spun around and cleanly struck the man with a roundhouse kick, sending him falling onto the ground.

"You really surprised me back there", Tazuna noted cheerfully after making his purchases, "I guess I should have warned you that pickpockets are quite common here. The other two also found out the hard way and they acted a bit like you". Nariko didn't answer still preoccupied by her thoughts.

Suddenly she felt someone tug at her pants. Turning and looking down she was surprised to see a small, cute beggar girl staring up at her. "Just a little", she asked smiling happily while holding her hands out.

Looking at the little girl, dirtied and hungry, an overwhelming sense of pity suddenly welled up insider her. Without even thinking she reached into her pocket and took out a few hundred ryōs, "Take these", she said. The girl exclaimed in delight at the money and looked up at Nariko, "Thank you", she said happily, Nariko smiled mechanically and watched as the beggar girl ran off into the crowds.

"Ever since Gatō's taken over our country it's been like this", Tazuna said, having watched the whole scene, "The adults all became cowards and the children were forced to grow up in a harsh life". Nariko bit her lip and looked down at the ground, not knowing what to say, "And that's why", Tazuna continued, "We need the bridge to be completed. It will forever stand as a symbol of the countries courage, it will bring back the spirit of the country and restore the countries citizens".

Tazuna looked up at the sky now, "If only… If only the bridge is finished". he said, clenching his fist, "The village will go back to normal, everyone will go back to normal".

"Tazuna-san", Nariko said in a low voice. Tazuna looked at her, "Even if it all does happen, it still won't be enough", Tazuna stared in shock at her words, "What?". "The country may be restored", Nariko clarified, "But the spirits of the people… can only be restored by their own will not by someone else's. You can guide them and point the way, but they have to make the progress on their own".

* * *

It was already evening and Kiro and Sasuke were still tree climbing to their limits. Scaling up the tree Kiro suddenly felt the bark break, carving a slash into the wood he leapt back onto the ground. Looking up he saw that Sasuke was still moving up, "_I'm still behind_", he thought.

Suddenly Sasuke also lost control of his chakra. Carving a mark into his tree, he leapt down and quickly surveyed Kiro's accomplishment and felt his mouth harden. "_He's getting closer every time_", Sasuke thought, "_He's slowly clawing his way to the top_".

Landing on the ground they exchanged glares, both of them irritated at the long day of training. Forcing himself onto his feet Kiro looked between their trees, "_I'm still behind by two metres_", he thought. Breathing out Kiro closed his eyes and began to gather chakra into the soles of his feet again, "_Concentrate_", he thought, "_Stay calm and focused, don't let any distractions appear_".

"…Kiro", Sasuke's voice suddenly called out. Opening one eye Kiro saw Sasuke, for some reason, appeared rather flustered, "What is it?", Kiro asked. "On the first day… when Kakashi told you to stay", Sasuke forced out, while fidgeting, "Yes?", Kiro prompted. "What was Kakashi's advice".

"_Ah_", Kiro thought, now it makes sense. Although it was at the pace of a snails crawl he was slowly but surely gaining ground on Sasuke and that obviously unbalanced him.

Since that night Kiro always stayed behind for an extra hour to work on his ability to manifest his chakra in small amounts, occasionally Kakashi came by and gave tips on what he was doing, but overall it was surprisingly exhausting work and the strain of working his chakra on a daily basis frequently left in a state where he had to drag himself back to Tazuna's house.

Nevertheless the trainings results were shown through in his tree climbing exercises, soon his ability to manipulate his own chakra had improved greatly and Kakashi began suggesting more complex exercise for him. Thanks to all the training his abilities had flourished.

Of course what he and Kakashi had discussed could not help Sasuke in any way. "It won't help you so I won't tell you", Kiro replied. Immediately Sasuke gave Kiro an incensed glare, annoyed he sacrificed so much dignity for no reason. Kiro glared back, not in the mood to deal with Sasuke. "Hey you two its dinner time!", Tsunami yelled out, both Sasuke and Kiro looked in her direction before getting up, both of them nursing the same thought, "_This isn't over_".

* * *

Dinnertime that night was a tense affair. Both Kiro and Sasuke ate their meals quickly and silently, occasionally shooting glares at each other. Both Nariko and Kakashi just left them alone to sort out their own problems. "I never get tired of eating like this", Tazuna said, trying to break up the tension, "It's been a long time since we've had so many people eating at our super humble home".

Kiro and Sasuke ignored him and both finished there meals before the others. Nariko mentally sighed, "_What am I going to do with those two_", she thought, looking around she suddenly noticed that Inari had barely eaten a bite, in fact he had been eyeing a picture on the wall for quite some time. Curious now she looked at the picture herself, it was a completely normal family picture except that Inari was smiling in it and there was a piece missing, Nariko frowned in confusion.

It was when everyone was having tea that she decided to voice her thoughts. "Why are you hanging a torn picture on the wall?", she asked, she glanced at Inari, "And Inari was staring at it through the entire dinner. It looks like it was intentionally torn out". Immediately Tazuna, Tsunami and Inari tensed at the question. Kakashi raised an eyebrow at their reactions.

"It's my husband", Tsunami said without turning away from the dishes, from her tone it was obvious she wasn't going to say anything else, Tazuna however didn't seem to feel the same. "He was a man known as a hero in this village", he said sadly. Immediately Inari got up from his seat and stalked through the door.

"Father!", Tsunami admonished running after Inari, "You know better then to mention him around Inari". "_By their reactions I'd say it's a sore topic_", Kiro thought as he watched Tazuna stir his tea. "It seems that the problem with Inari is more personal", Kakashi said calmly, "What happened?".

Tazuna continued to stir his tea before answering, "Inari's father died when he was little more then a baby, but he had a stepfather. Although they weren't related in blood they were as close as a real father and son. Inari used to laugh a lot during those days".

Everyone was shocked to see that Tazuna was fighting back tears, "But Inari changed after that terrible incident that happened to his father", he forced out, "Ever since that day… the countries courage was forever stolen away from Inari and the people. Ever since that incident".

"What incident?", Kakashi questioned, "What happened to Inari?". Tazuna took of his glasses and wiped away the tears, "To tell you, we need to go back to how they first met three years ago", he said, "The man who was known as a hero…".

---Flashback: 3 years ago---

Inari strained against the two boys holding him back, "Give him back!", he yelled, "Give me back my Pochi". A small dog barked as it was held by another boy a few years older than Inari, "No!", he said, "His name is Shooting Star. And he is my dog now".

"He's not Shooting Star", Inari yelled, "He's my Pochi! Give him back!". Inari continued to struggle, "Shut up!", the bully yelled angrily, before looking at the dog. He suddenly smirked and threw the dog into the river, "Pochi!", Inari screamed.

Pochi began drowning as he tried to keep himself above the water. "That's what you get for putting up a fight about him", the bully said, "I don't care about that dog anymore". "Let him go", he suddenly said to the two other boys holding onto Inari's arms.

They obliged and soon Inari was kneeling on the pier, "Why did you do that?", Inari demanded, "Are you trying to kill him?". The bully just scoffed at Inari, "Well if he's your precious dog then why don't you just go in and save him", he challenged. Inari hesitated, "What's wrong? You don't care if "Pochi" dies?".

Inari fearfully looked at the water, Pochi was struggling harder and harder, it was obvious he would drown if he wasn't saved. "_I do care about him. He's my only friend_", Inari thought, "_But… but… I can't swim_". "Well what's the matter", the bully said laughingly, "If you're his owner then dive in there". He suddenly drew a foot back and kicked Inari into the river.

Now Inari began to struggle in the water, trying to stay afloat, "H-help me!", he cried out desperately. "Hey Akane", one of the boys suddenly said, "If he can't swim then shouldn't we…", "Leave him", Akane ordered, "He's just faking it". Neither of the two accomplices looked comfortable with the idea but neither of them dared to oppose their leader.

"_I don't want to die!_", Inari thought frantically, "_Someone help me!_". Suddenly a splashing noise caught his attention and he saw that Pochi began paddling towards the shore, "P-Pochi!", Inari cried out after him, "Pochi!".

"Shooting Star's getting away", Akane shouted, "After it!". The three boys quickly left the pier and ran after Pochi leaving Inari to drown. Feeling what strength he had left fail him Inari was finally enveloped in the water. "_I can't breathe_", he thought, "_Am I going too?_", Inari blacked out.

When he woke up he was lying on the beach, the smell of cooked fish wafted by. "Are you alright now kid?", a strangers voice asked. Turning it was revealed to be a fisherman, "I scolded those kids really well", he said before holding out a cooked fish, "Here, eat", he said cheerfully.

Ignoring the food Inari was more interested in who saved him, "W-were you the one who saved me mister?", he asked. The fisherman just smiled, "Eat first, we can talk afterwards".

While Inari was chomping on the roasted fish he quickly related everything that happened to the fisherman. "I see", he said thoughtfully, "Even your dog betrayed you". "In my country dogs are loyal creatures", he noted, "But since you betrayed the dogs trust first then you can't really blame him".

Inari stopped eating and looked down at the ground in shame, "I wanted to help Pochi", he pleaded, "But my body couldn't move because I was so scared". The fisherman just smiled reassuringly, "I just didn't have the courage to save him", Inari continued, feeling tears sting in his eyes.

"Don't worry about it", the fisherman said patting Inari on the head, "Any child your age would be afraid". The fisherman smiled at Inari again, "Just remember thought", he said, "Live your life so you won't regret it. Protect what is important to you with your own two arms, no matter how daunting or terrifying it is. Even if it costs you your life, protect what's important to you with all your strength". Inari couldn't help but stare up at him in awe.

"Well then", the fisherman said, "Let's get you back home… What's your name?", he suddenly asked. Inari started slightly before answering, "I-It's Inari". The fisherman grinned again, "Well Inari my name is Kaiza", he said, "Nice to meet you".

---End Flashback---

"Suffice to say", Tazuna said, "Although he was a foreigner, Inari looked up to Kaiza like the father he never had. Those two began to do everything together. He never knew his real father so he was happy to have a role-model in life. Eventually he married Tsunami and became a part of the family, I don't think Inari has ever been more happy since then".

"What happened then?", Nariko asked. Tazuna smiled slightly, "One night, heavy rainfall hit the town and the dam broke and half the town was almost flooded. The only way to stop it was to close the dam again but the current would sweep away anyone who tried to tie a rope to it. It seemed like that town was doomed".

"What then?", Nariko prompted again, "Kaiza volunteered to do it", Tazuna said, "He risked everything to save the village and he swam through the raging currents and managed to attach a rope to the dam, everyone pitched in and managed to close the dam".

Tazuna sighed happily at the memory, "Since that day Kaiza was called a hero of The Land of Waves, but more importantly he became a father Inari could be proud off. He was the best thing that ever happened to us".

Tazuna looked down again, "But then Gatō set his sights on The Land of Waves", he said, "Kaiza tried to stop him but he was only one man. He was captured and beaten, both his arms were broken by Gatō's goons and he was executed in front of everyone. Inari was hurt the worst and he was never the same again".

Tazuna sighed, sadly this time, "Killing Kaiza broke the spirits of everyone in this country", he said dully, "Now no-one would dare to oppose him". "Except for you", Kakashi finished heavily.

Kiro suddenly stood up and walked towards the door. "Where are you going?", Kakashi asked. "Out", he answered, shutting the door behind him. "He's training again isn't he", Sasuke said. "Don't let it get to you", Kakashi said soothingly, "Compared to you two he has a lot to catch up on and I think he needs some time to think about everything he's heard. Just leave him be".

* * *

Exhausted, Kiro was on his hands and knees from the amount of chakra he had used up. "_Damn_", he thought, "_Why is it always like this?_". Every time he trained to gain better control over his chakra he would always progress to a certain point before being stuck there and couldn't advance any further. Not matter what it was it was always the same and this time was no different.

"_It's like there's something missing in what I'm doing_", he thought furiously, "_Something that's stopping me from going further_". Rolling over he rubbed his arms to warm himself against the cold. It was already very late as far as he could tell but he wasn't in the mood to go back.

Standing up and staggering towards a tree, he sat down heavily against the base of the tree. "_Just a few minutes rest_", he thought tiredly as his eyes slowly closed, "_That's all I'll need_".

To Be Continued

Authors notes: I'm quite pleased with how this chapter turned out actually, at around nine thousand words it certainly took some time to write. I hope to get some opinions and advice on what I could do so please read and review.

Incidentally I know that the flashback strictly isn't Tazuna's but it fit's the storyline so you'll have to forgive that part. Next chapter will probably be around the same length as this one so don't expect it too soon.

Until Next time.


	14. Chapter 12: Restoring Faith

Phew, this chapter is now also finished but due to various time constraints this chapter took a lot longer to complete then I had originally planned so you'll have to forgive me about that. Although it seems to me that no one else is reading this story anymore. Ah well, there is still a long while to go before it's finished so I don't have to worry about that right now.

Any tips or advice would be nice and I would enjoy some opinions other then the same reviewers, not that I'm complaining about them I just want some variety, and it helps to better me as a writer.

Anyways onto the story.

Disclaimer: I do not profit from this story and the rights to _Naruto _belongs to Masashi Kishimoto

**Naruto: Tale of Yin and Yang**

Chapter 12: Restoring Faith

Looking out through the curtains Haku saw that is was a very bright day, especially so early in the morning. Looking behind she was that Zabuza was still resting in his bed. Reaching up and undoing the bun that her hair was in, Haku opened the window and breathed in the fresh air.

After dressing up in her civilian clothes, Haku found herself wandering outside picking herbs. "_It's was the peaceful moments like these that probably kept me soft_", she reflected, "_Even if Zabuza-san doesn't like it_". The sweet trill of birdsong sounded out and heralded the arrival of a small number or small birds appeared around her, eyeing her curiously. One was even daring enough to land on her shoulder.

Smiling she reached up and lightly stroked its head as it looked up at her. Suddenly the birds flew away, looking Haku noticed that they all had flown in a particular direction as thought leading her attention somewhere. Curious now she stood up and followed the direction the birds went until she stumbled upon a small clearing.

Looking around Haku saw the birds were now perched around a boy, perhaps one or two years younger then herself, who was leaning against a tree, judging from the gentle rise and fall of his chest he was asleep. He had mid length dark blue hair which was all brushed down and neatly framed his face but obscured his features because of how his head was tilted against his chest.

The boy suddenly moved and revealed an armband on his arm which carried the symbol of Konoha _(Hidden Leaf Village)_. Haku's eyes widened in recognition; it was the same boy that had faced Zabuza along with two others. Hardening her mouth into an expressionless line she slowly got up and stalked towards him.

Standing in front of him now Haku reached out with one hand. The birds suddenly screeched and flew off in panic.

* * *

"Kiro hasn't come back", Tazuna noted as he sat at the table with everyone eating breakfast. "Most likely he fell asleep while training last night", Nariko said calmly while sipping her tea. "Don't worry", she added at Tazuna's expression, "He won't die just by sleeping out a night".

"Are you sure?", Tsunami asked, "Whether he's a ninja or not he's still just a child". "Like Nariko said you don't have to worry", Kakashi said, "For his age and rank, he's already a very good shinobi", "I don't know about that", Sasuke said cynically, "He didn't seem to have good control over his chakra usage and he might have killed himself from over chakra usage".

Nariko and Kakashi both glanced at Sasuke with raised eyebrows. In response he just stood up and walked out with, "I'm going for a walk", as his explanation. "So anyways how far is the bridge going Tazuna?", Kakashi asked suddenly.

At the topic Tazuna's demeanour quickly became more positive, "Oh it's going super great", he said happily, "We've really managed to follow our schedule quite nicely. In spite of a couple of workers quitting on me". Kakashi nodded thoughtfully, "So how long do you think it'll be when you finish", he asked.

Tazuna thought about this for a second, "Not long", he said at last, "Maybe only a couple more days, after that the bridge will be open and the country will be free of Gatō". "I see. That's good", Kakashi said.

"Say", Tazuna suddenly asked to Kakashi, "How long will it be before you get better?". "I can walk without crutches now", Kakashi said with a shrug, "I'll probably be back to full strength after another day, give or take".

"But that means that Zabuza will also recover by then", Nariko said, "If your guess and estimation is correct and Zabuza is still alive". Kakashi nodded seriously, "Right and this time, that Oi-nin _(Hunter-nin) _might be with him"

* * *

With her basket left on the ground, Haku's attention was focused solely on the person in front of her. Her hand hovered menacingly over his neck, as if she was going to strangle the life out of him. Briefly she contemplated what Zabuza would do in her situation. Her hand trembled.

"Wake up", she said in a soothing voice, lightly shaking the boy by his shoulder, "You'll catch your death of cold if you sleep out her like this". The boy stirred slightly before waking up at her insistence. "Who are you?", he asked, his voice a little husky from sleep. Before she could answer he drowsily looked around.

"_So it's morning already_", Kiro thought, "_Looks like I overdid it last night_". Turning his attention now to the person who woke him he saw an attractive fifteen or sixteen year old girl crouching next to him, wearing a pink yukata with a white obi tied around her waist. There was also something vaguely familiar about her, he couldn't put his finger on it but he got the feeling she resembled someone he had met before.

"Do I know you?", he asked. The girl smiled warmly before answering, "No we haven't really met each other until now". Kiro nodded slightly, "You shouldn't sleep out here in the open", the girl added, "Especially around Wave Country, night-time tend to be very cold".

Kiro nodded again before standing up. Standing up as well the girl asked him a question, "By any chance… are you a ninja?". Kiro raised an eyebrow at the question, "Where did you get that idea", he asked back. "You armband has a symbol on it", the girl said pointing to it, "So I assumed that you might be a ninja".

"Well you're right on that count", Kiro admitted, "What are you doing out here at this time anyway?", he asked. The girl smiled again, "I'm just picking herbs", she answered. "Herbs?", Kiro questioned. "To help with sickness and injury", she explained. She suddenly bent and picked up a basket, "Would you like to help me?", she asked pleasantly.

After that, Kiro spent the next few minutes picking through the grass for herbs alongside the mysterious girl, he didn't feel like trying to train again straightaway and it gave him something to take his mind off it. "Isn't it a little early for herb picking?", Kiro asked conversationally, "Who are these for anyway?".

"Why are you out here so early then?", the girl countered. "Training", Kiro replied back, placing another plant into the basket. "Why are you training?", the girl asked. "Why does anyone train? To become stronger", he answered. The girl's head cocked to the side at his response, "That's a very generic answer", she remarked, "Training is a very generic activity", Kiro said in response.

Surprisingly the girl giggled at his answer, Kiro smiled slightly at her reaction. "So for what reason do you want to become stronger for?", she asked picking up another herb. Kiro stilled at the question, the girl frowned slightly at his reaction, "Are you alright?", she asked in concern. Kiro didn't hear her.

"_Why do I want to become stronger?_", he asked himself. Now that he thought about it, he honestly didn't know. He never had any reason to become stronger, he had no reason to progress beyond his current level of skill, he didn't even have any real reason to control his abilities at all.

Thinking back to the times he trained before Kiro also couldn't find any particular cause for training to become stronger. Most of the time he trained his abilities on a whim more then anything else. On some occasions he had trained out of curiosity of some newfound power he discovered but, overall he had no real reason to become stronger. All his reasons were simply superficial.

"_And maybe that's why I couldn't progress any further_", he thought in sudden realization, "_Maybe that's what I was missing when I was training. A drive, a purpose. Without it I didn't have any motivation nor reason to improve so I simply couldn't progress_". Unfortunately that information didn't help him much; he still didn't have any motivation for training.

"I don't know", Kiro admitted, "Honestly I don't know. Before you asked me that question I never even thought about that question". "Well surely you had a reason for developing your abilities at all?", the girl asked. Kiro pondered over this for a moment, "Yes", he said slowly, "I suppose I did have a reason before", the girl smiled reassuringly, "What is it?", she asked.

"Before training I couldn't even begin to control my chakra", Kiro began, "I was a threat to everyone around me, during that time I trained to harness my abilities so people could be same around me and I wouldn't harm anyone by accident". The girl smiled at his answer, "So you trained to protect people?", she asked. Kiro thought about her question, "I suppose I did", he finally said, "In a way".

After that they went along with picking herbs in silence for a while. "Do have someone that's precious to you?", the girl suddenly asked. Kiro gave the girl a strange look at the question, "What do you mean by that?".

Haku felt a shadow cross over her face as painful memories began to surface. Force to sit against dirty walls, the stinging cold of snow felt through flimsy garments, foraging through tossed away garbage every day for food, fighting wild dogs over scraps, one instance of a dogs pup protecting their parent, and finally the day when Zabuza came.

"I believe", Haku said to the boy, "That a person can become truly strong when they have someone precious to them, who they want to protect". The boy paused again and she could see that he was thinking about what she said.

Kiro considered what she had said. A textbook ninjas perspective would have scoffed at such a notion, of course he wasn't a textbook ninja. Rolling the idea through his mind he was surprised to realize it didn't just apply to ninja but to people in general, "_Even if it costs you your life, protect what's important to you with all your strength_", he thought recalling what Kaiza said according to Tazuna, "_As long as there is still breath in my body I won't let my comrades die_", what Kakashi said when fighting against Zabuza, "_But those who abandon their friends… are worse then scum_", Kakashi's words of wisdom after they passed his exam.

"Yes", Kiro said slowly, "Yes that's all true", he looked up at the girl, "Thanks", he said, "You've just made some things very clear to me". The girl smiled at his words, "When someone who is precious to you is in danger you would be surprised at the inner strength you could draw out", she said before picking up the basket and walking away, "Perhaps we'll meet again someday", she called over her shoulder. Watching her walk away Kiro thought the same thing, "_Yeah, maybe_".

As Haku walked away she thought about the unexpected encounter. "_He's… different from what I expected_", she thought, unfortunately that brief moment where they bonded together would only make everything harder if she was forced to kill him, and it was very probably she would.

She wasn't sure why she had stayed and talked with him rather then make her excuses and leave before she got to know him, or worse before he realized her identity. But she had felt a certain kinship with him, although not as profound as her own past it was obvious he hasn't had the most glorious childhood in the world.

Suddenly ahead of her she saw someone walking in the opposite direction she was, after getting closer she realized it was one of the other members of the team. Unlike the other one, this boy emanated a severe coldness that seemed to instinctively instil the desire to keep away from him, that was what she felt anyway. The emotionless black eyes also hinted at something that had occurred to him in his past.

Schooling her face into one of indifference Haku kept her stride at a normal pace. The boy didn't acknowledge or either give a hint that he was aware of here presence save for a slight movement to the left to give way. Haku casually walked by without a second glance.

As soon as Sasuke walked by he turned and gave the young woman a suspicious glare, it was fairly rare for anyone to be up at such at time and he felt their was just something _off _about that young woman. Quickly dismissing those thoughts, Sasuke continued trekking through the forest until he came across Kiro who appeared to be meditating.

"You missed breakfast", Sasuke said bluntly. Kiro opened one eye at him in response, "Tell them I'll come back after half an hour", he replied just as bluntly, "I'm busy right now". Sasuke raised an eyebrow, "Whatever you're working at, you'll be able to do it much easier after eating", he said matter-of-factly.

"Later", Kiro said again, closing his eye. He was adamant on his decision. Sasuke shrugged irritably but turned and began to walk back. That was how they usually talked, few words that conveyed everything that needed to be said and Sasuke could tell Kiro wasn't going to budge on his decision.

* * *

It was about an hour later when Kakashi and Nariko came back to look for Kiro. "Has Kiro picked up some of your bad habits?", Nariko asked, annoyed. Kakashi just shrugged sheepishly. After Sasuke had come back with a brief message that Kiro would be along in half an hour, Nariko and Sasuke contented themselves with putting the last touches to their tree climbing abilities. By now both of them were capable of performing the task almost without effort and, true to Kakashi's word they found that their ability to perform jutsu had increased, as an unexpected side effect of the long hours of training it was seemed that their physical abilities were also pushed past their original limits much to their delight.

"So where is he?", Nariko asked rhetorically looking around. "Looking for me?", Kiro's voice sounded out in the clearing, looking up Nariko and Kakashi were surprised to find Kiro easily hanging upside down from a tall branch. "You've mastered it", Nariko asked, somewhat incredulously. According to Sasuke he could only climb up a little more then halfway up a tree before falling.

"Looks like you've made progress", Kakashi noted, "Did you really get this far in an hour?". Kiro shrugged, an action that looked somewhat strange in his current position, "Forty-five minutes actually", he clarified, "I just had a bit of an epiphany about training before".

"Epiphany?", Nariko questioned. "It's nothing important", Kiro said swinging off from the branch back down to earth, "Just a little something that helped me get this Chakra Control exercise easier". "Well then", Kakashi interrupted, "We just came to bring you your breakfast". He held out a small bento _(Lunchbox)_.

Kiro gratefully sat down and began to eat. "I can see that you're almost completely recovered", he noted between bites. Sure enough Kakashi was now capable of walking perfectly fine without his crutches and his manner had gone back to the same relaxed manner it was before. "Well I don't know about completely yet", Kakashi said modestly, "I still wouldn't relish the idea of fighting Zabuza at full strength right now, but I could probably handle a few Chunin". Kiro shrugged and went back to his meal.

"Anyways", Kakashi said, "It's pretty good that all three of you guys managed to master this exercise so quickly. We only have about a day left before Zabuza also recovers and comes back to finish the job". Kiro paused eating, "So what do we do now?", he asked, "Do you have any other training plans?". Kakashi scratched his head in thought, "Train on your own for a while", he said at last, "We don't have the time to teach you guys anything else". "But don't work too hard", he added, "You'll most likely need all your strength tomorrow".

With that Kakashi turned and walked back to Tazuna's home. Nariko who had remained silent throughout their conversation suddenly spoke up. "Kiro", she said. Kiro didn't answer but paused in eating and looked at her. "Spar with me", she commanded dropping into a defensive stance.

Kiro just raised an eyebrow at her request. "Why me?", he asked reasonably, "Wouldn't Sasuke be a more fitting opponent". Nariko didn't react to his question and responded just as easily. "Whether or not Sasuke is more suitable as a sparring partner or not isn't the issue here", she said succinctly, "This is a good way to see how well you measure up compared to me as well as allowing both of us to grow stronger".

Kiro stood up and brushed off the crumbs of his breakfast, suddenly feeling his appetite desert him. "While your arguments are sound enough my abilities are simply not fit for spars against others", he said calmly, "I couldn't guarantee what could happen". Nariko snorted, "Don't underestimate me", she warned him, "We had spent the last week training our Chakra Control so this is an excellent opportunity to see how far we've progressed".

With that Nariko immediately rushed at Kiro before he could say anything and delivered a kick to his stomach. Flipping back and avoiding the attack Kiro retreated a few steps as Nariko continued her attack. From then on their spar generally consisted off Nariko on the offensive, throwing various blows and attacks while Kiro fought defensively, blocking or dodging her attacks.

Nariko's face tightened slightly with frustration as she felt Kiro block another one of her attacks. Although they were only engaging in a Taijutsu _(Body Techniques) _battle she was still shocked at how evenly matched they were. While Kiro was on the defence it seemed like he had simply chosen to do so and seemed to easily read her attacks and guard himself against them, nothing about him even suggested he was straining himself. On the contrary, he fought with a nonchalant air as if he was barely concentrating on the fight yet his movements all held a sharp focus to them that didn't seem to match his carefree fighting manner.

Nariko suddenly leapt back from her assault and formed several hand signs, "Fūton: Daitoppa! _(Wind Release: Great Breakthrough!)_", she declared as she exhaled a powerful blast of air at Kiro. To her surprise he simply raised a hand and she felt her attack dispel as it rammed into his palm.

Chagrined Nariko formed a different set of hand signs. "Fūton: Reppūshō! _(Wind Release: Violent Wind Palm!)_", she yelled clapping her hands together and sending a large gale towards Kiro. This time he didn't even bother to react and simply stood still as the attack rushed towards him, despite this she felt her attack dissolve away again until not even a light breeze was left once it made contact with him.

"_How is he doing that?_", Nariko thought furiously, "_What kind of power is this?_". Knowing that Ninjutsu _(Ninja Techniques) _wasn't going to work she switched back to Taijutsu _(Body Techniques) _and soon they were locked together in another fierce hand-to-hand battle.

Nariko found, to her infinite aggravation, that she was incapable of landing any blows on Kiro. Sure there were times when she came quite close and he only barely managed to dodge or block in time but overall she found that they were too evenly matched for her to gain an advantage. Even boosting her reflexes and speed with chakra did her no good, if anything all it did was prompt Kiro to do the same and she was surprised to find that he seemed to be able to block her attacks with ease after that, as if he got an even larger boost of strength from his chakra then her own.

Leaping back Nariko quickly assessed her options. "_My Jutsu's have no effect_", she thought, "_We're too equally matched in hand-to-hand combat, I didn't bring any weapons with me and I can't use Rokukeijō tenrai-fū __(Six forms of Heavenly-Wind)_ in a sparring match". She looked up at Kiro who was calmly regarding her with an air of disinterest.

"_When did he get so strong?_", Nariko thought, "_I don't remember him being this capable when we fought against Kakashi. Did he really improve this much in just one week?_". "Are we done?", Kiro asked, interrupting her thoughts. Nariko scowled at him, "Why won't you fight back?", she almost shouted, "Why do you act like you're superior to me?".

Kiro sighed in annoyance, "Is that what you think?", he asked, not expecting an answer, "Believe me I'm not underestimating you in anyway, nor am I holding back anything, I'm simply devoting all my energy to defence rather then attack and I simply have no reason to spar against you, it's more of a whim then anything else". Nariko glared at him. "But", Kiro continued, "If you really want me to fight back…". In a flash he leapt at Nariko and threw a punch at Nariko. Leaping backwards Nariko regarded Kiro warily. "… then so be it", he finished simply before leaping to attack again.

* * *

After arriving back to their compound Haku peeked into Zabuza's room and saw that he was awake and was now sitting on his bed. "Out gathering flowers again?", he questioned, "Why do you insist on such frivolous activities? What if you were seen?". Despite the gruff greeting Haku kept smiling, "It's very early in the morning Zabuza-san", she answered, "It's unlikely anyone would see me in a forest and I made sure that no-one would suspect anything even if they did", she explained, referring to her yukata.

Zabuza snorted but dropped the issue. He was used to it enough that he knew she wouldn't stop her habit of occasionally mingling with society outside their lifestyle. "You should go back and rest", Haku added, her turn to argue an issue. "You'll need all your strength tomorrow". Zabuza snorted again but did as she had told.

Placing her basket filled with herbs onto a table Haku sat down in a chair next to its customary place next to Zabuza's bed. Alone with her thoughts she briefly wondered whether Zabuza could really defeat Kakashi in a second battle. Although she knew perfectly well how powerful Zabuza was, Kakashi had defeated him last time without too much fuss.

Haku sighed sadly when she realized that most likely they would have to kill both Kakashi and his team if they were going to get paid. Although Zabuza would have no qualms over it she had always disliked the idea of killing, and it was harder now that she knew one of them.

"_No matter_", she thought, hardening her resolve, "_If I must commit such an act to keep my purpose alive then I will do whatever it takes_". And it did not bode well for the members of Team 7.

* * *

It was almost night time by the time Kiro and Nariko got back. Opening the door they stumbled in one after the other, exhausted by their long day of training. "Yo", Kakashi greeted at their arrival, "I see that you guys have had a busy day". They both ignored him and walked past him into the living room to see that Sasuke was already there and he also looked tired. Evidently he had also been using the day to train.

"Ok then", Kakashi said walking into the living room, "Now that you're all here we can begin". They all gave Kakashi confused looks buts said nothing. "Anyways tomorrow is the day that we all go and guard the bridge together", he said, "I want everyone to be on full alert, be paranoid, be suspicious, keep your senses open, do whatever you must to stay alive. Zabuza won't underestimate us again". It was one of the few moments that they've seen Kakashi completely serious and they knew better then to disregard him at those moments.

"However", Kakashi continued, "I am obligated to point out that because I will be dealing with Zabuza, the Oi-nin _(Hunter-nin)_ fraud will be left to you guys", they all nodded in confirmation, "Don't get careless", Kakashi added, "That Oi-nin _(Hunter-nin)_ is very dangerous and stay on your guard. You weren't supposed to face this level of battles while you were still Genin so I can't guarantee anything, but I want you guys to know that I'm confident in all of you". They all nodded again.

"So then", Kakashi said, back to his regular carefree, nonchalant self, "Who's hungry?".

A few minutes later they were all enjoying a well-deserved dinner, keeping thoughts of tomorrows confrontation firmly out of their minds. "Personally I'm going to miss having so many people here", Tazuna declared, raising his mug in a toast, "Although there's no sake here's to you guys. The ninjas that could have turned their backs on us but decided to help out a country in need".

Everyone politely drank their tea to his toast and soon the heavy atmosphere from before was gone. Although they didn't talk much it was obvious that everyone was enjoying themselves… or almost everyone. As usual Inari ate quietly and quickly, ignoring everything and everyone around him and left his cup alone when Tazuna made his toast.

As soon as their meal was finished and everyone was customarily had their cup of tea in front of them Tazuna broached a question. "I've been wondering for a while now", Tazuna said seriously, "Why did you guys continue to help me even after you knew I lied about the request details?".

"Because you did the right thing for your country ", Kakashi said simply, "Not doing the right thing even thought you know you should is a cowards act. Despite everything that you had to go against you did it regardless". Tazuna nodded gratefully. Inari cast Kakashi an inscrutable look before glancing down again.

"So anyways", Tazuna said casually, "Tomorrow is do or die time according to you ninjas?". Kakashi nodded from his seat, "Yep today's the day that everything comes to full circle. Zabuza comes back we'll have to fight him again". He glanced over to his team who sipping their tea with their usual silence.

"And these three have been training for the whole day", he said gesturing to his team, "They've improved a great deal since I first met them". Tazuna grinned and gulped down the rest of his drink. "The bridge is almost finished all thanks to you guys. So that means that after tomorrow Gatō's last chance to stop us is gone", he said happily before addressing them, "So what do you guys think about tomorrow", he asked .

Kiro, Nariko and Sasuke looked at each other before Nariko answered. "It's impossible to say anything for certain", she said simply, "Anything could happen but we've all been training hard for that day, the only thing to do now is see how everything turns out".

Seeing Nariko's calm confidence, how it seemed she could overcome any obstacle, it brought up memories of Kaiza for Inari and he suddenly lost his temper. "Don't you people get it!", he yelled in frustration, forcing the tears from the memories back. They all turned their heads to him, Tsunami hastily tried to calm him down. "No matter how hard you train it won't make a difference in the end!", he continued, ignoring his mother

"No matter how many brave words you say you can't defeat Gatō's men. Weak people will always lose to strong people in the end, that's how the world works, you can't change it!". Kiro, Sasuke and Kakashi ignored Inari's outburst, used to the pessimistic views of Inari, Nariko however wasn't so kind.

"Be quiet about that already", she said, not even bothering to look at Inari as she talked, "If you want to complain then do it somewhere else". "Shut up!", Inari screamed back, "It just drives me mad when I look at you! You don't know anything about this country, why do you insist on butting into things that don't concern you? I'm different from you! You're just someone who relaxes and have fun everyday and doesn't know what true pain is!".

At Inari's last outburst Nariko suddenly turned to him, an uncharacteristically angered expression on her face. She reached over and lifting him up by the shirt so she was looking him directly in the eye, "Do me a favour and stop whining about how unfair your life is", she whispered to his face in a cold, tight voice, "Stop pretending that you're the main character of some cheap tragedy novel who can't do anything but cry, if you hate your life then do something about it, don't wait for someone else to come, pity you and hold your hand. And don't ever, ever say those words to me again. You're not the only one whose had a hard life so don't act like you have to right to parade around like you're someone special". With that she literally threw him back into his chair and stormed off upstairs.

Kiro watched all this with an unreadable expression on his face, he had never seen Nariko so angry before… and he had never seen her so upset before either. In truth he was also aggravated by Inari's reckless claim that they didn't know what true pain was but it seemed to him that Nariko knew what true pains was more then anyone. He saw her fighting back what looked suspiciously like tears as she passed him.

* * *

Inari sat on the dock, his arms wrapped around his knees. As soon as Nariko had left he had scrambled outside and sat down on the wharf staring out into the water. He always sat there when he was sad and wanted an outlet for it. Staring at the water sloshing back and forth and the smell of the sea always exerted a certain calming effect on him.

In truth he was shocked at Nariko's words and was cowed by her sudden reaction to his words. Hiding his head in his hands he didn't hear the sound of the door opening until footsteps sounded out. "Do you mind?", a voice asked. Turning around he saw that it was the leader ninja Kakashi.

After he sat down next to Inari they just stared out unspeaking for a few minutes. "Nariko didn't say all that to hurt you", Kakashi said suddenly, "She's led what you could call a demanding life". Inari didn't respond so Kakashi continued, "We heard about your father from Tazuna", Inari shuddered slightly but still didn't answer.

"Nariko also lost her father when she was just a child", he added, "Actually she probably doesn't really know what parents actually are, and she had no friends, not a single one". At that Inari finally looked up Kakashi, "But at the very least", Kakashi said, "You still had your mother and grandfather. Nariko on the other hand didn't have a shoulder to cry on or someone to offer her a few comforting words, she was all alone for most of her life".

Kakashi looked up now, "However, I never saw her sulk, give up, complain or give any indication she was hurting inside. Despite everything she has endured she's kept her will strong, but as you can see, those years of isolation have had their effects on her psyche".

Inari's eyes widened in shock at everything he was told. "Although I can't prove it Nariko probably got tired of just crying about her situation. That's why I can say that Nariko knows the true meaning of pain, but also the true meaning of being strong… just like your father. Those words she told you before… she's probably telling herself the same thing over and over".

Kakashi stood up and dusted off his clothes, "Just think about what I've said", he advised before walking back inside. Inari looked back towards the water, but it was obvious he thought differently about Nariko now.

* * *

Nariko sniffed slightly as she leaned out a window, looking out into the night sky. Although she had the front of being strong and unshakable, matters that linked to her traumatic childhood never failed to make her eyes watery. Reaching up with her hand she furiously wiped away the tears that were resolutely leaking out of her eyes.

"You know it's not healthy to bottle up emotions like misery and anger all the time", a voice sounded out from behind her. Spinning around she saw that Kiro had followed her up the stairs and was standing against the wall a respectful distance away, "It's bound to have unpleasant side-effects", he added.

Nariko sighed and turned back to the window, "What do you want?", she asked. Kiro leaned against the wall and looked up at the ceiling, wondering about how he should word his answer. "It's about your argument with Inari", he said at last. Nariko snorted, "And I suppose you're going to tell me I was too tough on a little kid", she challenged, not turning around.

"No", Kiro answered, "Inari's developed a bit of a complex that needed to be cut off even if I don't approve of your methods", "Get to the point", Nariko interrupted. Kiro sighed and rubbed his eyes, "My point is that you're hurt and I thought you might need someone to talk to".

At that Nariko turned around, a slight trace of perplexity on her face, "Is that it?", she asked disbelievingly, "You're here just to keep me company? Not for some self-serving purpose?", "Yes I've already established that", Kiro answered, annoyed at her disbelief, "Do you have to act so surprised?".

Nariko snorted slightly in amusement before turning back to the window, "So what makes you think I'm hurt?", she asked after a minute. "I don't mean physical pain", Kiro explained, "I meant emotional pain… I saw you trying not to cry when you past me earlier". Nariko shot Kiro a look that told him to stop talking before looking back outside.

Kiro sighed and changed the topic, "If I may ask…", "If you just want a date then my answer is no and stays at no", Nariko interrupted without looking at him, Kiro raised an eyebrow, "And I honestly thought you had a higher opinion of me then that", he remarked. Nariko snorted in amusement again. "Sorry", she apologized, "It's just that… well". "You don't need to say anymore", Kiro interrupted, "I know".

Nariko turned and stared at Kiro, one eyebrow raised. "Among the academy shinobi you were a popular topic", he explained, both hands raised in a placating manner, "So I heard a few things whether I wanted to or not". Nariko sighed and leaned against the window, "It figures", she said, "The kunoichi would always ramble on about Sasuke".

Kiro also sigh, "Yes, well they are at that age", he said, "Adolescence is one of those times when people start to change and unexpected feelings surface". Nariko just scoffed at the notion, "Are soppy romances the only thing ninja nowadays think about?", she asked to the air. "I think that everyone knows your position on the subject", Kiro said dryly, "You've become almost infamous for it".

Nariko gave Kiro a threatening glare, "Kiro", she said warningly. Shrugging he nevertheless stopped talking. "Well what everyone thinks is probably true anyway", Nariko said looking out the window again, "Good to look at but with the personality of a block of ice". "You don't seem that cold to me", Kiro said, "It's more like you have trouble opening up to people, though considering what your life is like I'm not too surprised".

As soon as he finished Nariko turned and marched up to him, "What?", she asked in a menacingly low voice. Kiro didn't cower at her glare and fixed Nariko with a steady look, "It's not that hard to see", he said, "Everywhere you go people seem to avoid you or sneer at you and from your reaction it's a sensitive topic so I won't pry".

Nariko glowered at Kiro for a few minutes before sighing and stepping back, "Sorry", she apologized, "I'm not used to people being able to read me like that". Kiro shrugged, "So are you feeling better?", he asked. Nariko gave a start when she realized that she was no longer feeling teary, after just having a small, meaningless conversation the painful feelings just faded, they weren't gone but it felt like she cope with them better now.

"Yes", she said slowly, "I do". Kiro nodded, "I felt the same after someone did the same for me", he said remembering when Hinata tried to open him up to her. "People like us try and act like we don't need anyone else but in the end, living like that could destroy a person, no matter how strong they are or how much they deny the pain".

"I see", Nariko said after a while, "I'll go now. Tomorrow is that day so I need to be well rested". Finished talking Nariko walked off past Kiro towards her room. "For what it's worth", Kiro called out after her, "I personally believe that it's admirable you endured everything you have and turned out as you are". Nariko paused and gave Kiro a guarded look, but Kiro seemed sincere in what he said and held her look steadily. After about a minute Nariko suddenly smiled at him, it was only a slight change of expression but it was a serene and gentle smile that he had never seen on her face before and in that single moment he caught a glimpse of something warm and tender beneath her icy shell.

"Thank you", she said in a surprisingly soft tone before disappearing through her door. For the first time since he had known her he had to admit that Nariko Uzumaki was an intriguing person. "You're welcome", Kiro said to himself before walking towards his own room.

To Be Continued

Authors notes; Well at more then six thousand words I think it turned out well enough, the character development seems a little rushed to me and I had to improvise a bit so I would like some opinions on that. Originally I was planning on adding parts of the bridge segment onto this chapter but I decided not too so sorry that it's not as long as I said it would be last chapter. As usual constructive criticism is welcome, if there's anything you don't like please say so, so I can adjust my writing style. Even a passing comment may help.

Until next time.


	15. Chapter 13: Battle on the Bridge Zabuza

Well we're nearing the end of the Land of Waves arc, just a chapter more or two. Like I said a few chapters ago, there will be an event that will deviate greatly from what happened in canon timeline, however it won't be effecting the story in relation to the canon. Right now it seems I'm averaging at about six to ten thousand words a chapter which is pretty good all things considered.

To queries from Animatrix about why Nariko decided to spar with Kiro it was, like it said, to find out the difference in strength between them, and to why Kiro talked to Nariko before he can empathise somewhat with her plight, he might not know the whole story but he knows enough that he is sympathetic to people who experience life like him. You could also say that deep down he is a rather chivalrous person, likewise his talks with Hinata and Haku made him less wary of bonding with someone and he speaks with experience of a solitary life when he talks with Nariko. For anyone who is wondering how Kiro improved so greatly, if it wasn't explained enough in the last chapter then I'll say so here; before he didn't have any real reason or drive to improve, if you don't have any motivation you tend to only do so well at something even if you force yourself to improve.

To Animus of Masada, thanks for the help on punctuation. I'll try to keep what you've written in mind but please try and give me some leeway in those regards, it's almost impossible to write something long without mistakes and I never was what you would call an expert on grammar and punctuation. Nevertheless I'm also going to say that with the new speaker issue you brought up, I'm sorry but I'm going to stick with what I'm using right now, the method you're referring to is easier to read I suppose but uses up too much space in my opinion and I'm unfamiliar with the system so most likely I would just make a mess of it. Sorry if it causes some inconvenience.

**Notice:**

I have changed the name of Nariko's wind jutsu she learned in chapter six because the previous name was a little too gaudy. It is now known as Rokukeijō tenrai-fū _(Six forms of Heavenly-Wind)_.

Well now that that's done on with the story.

Disclaimer: I do not profit from this story and the rights to _Naruto _belongs to Masashi Kishimoto

**Naruto: Tale of Yin and Yang**

Chapter 13: Battle on the Bridge. Zabuza Returns.

Flexing his hands Zabuza grinned through his face coverings, "_My strength is back,_" he thought in satisfaction, it had been a long week but his power was fully restored as if he had never been injured, most likely Kakashi was also fully recovered, that didn't bother him in fact he wanted the pleasure of crushing the Sharingan at full power, "_This time I won't be the one escaping and nursing injuries,_" he thought with glee.

"I see most of your strength has returned," Haku noted as she walked into the room. "It's almost time," Zabuza just said in response, "In a few hours Sharingan Kakashi will fall". He turned to Haku, "I'll leave the three Genin to you." Haku nodded, "Right," she said.

* * *

It was early morning when everyone had woken up. Each of them had prepared themselves for the worst and were more alert then their previous moments during their mornings. Nariko however found that her morning wasn't going so well.

Holding her right arm still she grimaced at the ache she felt from it. Pulling her sleeve back she saw that a nasty bruise had formed on her arm. "_What's happening,_" she thought in confusion, "_My body's never been this way in the morning_". It was true, ever since she was young she had found that her physical condition was completely revitalized after a nights sleep, no matter how bad the injuries were they were all gone by the morning and she would be back in top condition.

"_Was it from training against Kiro yesterday?_" she thought thinking back to yesterday. They had stopped training when Kiro had struck a powerful blow against her right arm, although she managed to block it the force behind it is was likely he enforced the attack with chakra and injured her causing to stagger and half collapse from the pain. Kiro had immediately stopped and asked if she was alright. Of course she had refused his assistance and tried to keep sparring but he was adamant on stopping there.

Although she had acted annoyed at his concern she was inwardly grateful to stop as she didn't relish the idea of her arm being injured any further. On their way back her healing had worked its usual magic and her arm recovered enough that she wouldn't give anything away. Still she didn't tell anyone because she thought that her healing factor would have taken care of the problem by morning.

"_Guess I was wrong_", Nariko thought, wincing at the pain. Although not as bad as it was the day before it was painful enough that she wouldn't be able to fight to the best of her ability with it. "_Did fighting against Kiro mess my healing up yesterday?_" she wondered.

Thinking about Kiro the other event from last night also rushed into her mind, unbidden. "I personally believe that it's admirable you endured everything you have and turned out as you are". Thinking back to those last words he said Nariko smiled ever so slightly. Although she had been accused of being cold towards members of the opposite sex her age that was not completely true, she simply hated the way they perceived her, like some prize to be won and gloat over.

In general her opinion of her male classmates ranged from them being either irritating nuisances or just neutral people who she didn't talk too and didn't talk to her. For a boy her age to approach her and just hold an ordinary, casual conversation with her was an event that she had never expected. Not that it was terrible event in fact quite the opposite, now that she thought about it she didn't have any friends her age. Sure Iruka, Ayame, Teuchi and Konohamaru were nice but with them it felt either like she was a child relating stories to older siblings or parents or talking to a younger brother. Talking to Kiro like they were friends felt… nice.

Nariko quickly shook her head, banishing away her thoughts and feelings, "_Bah! I'm becoming soft,_" she thought disdainfully, "_I'm probably reading too much into it anyway._" Getting dressed she joined everyone downstairs for breakfast all the while keeping her pained arm as still as possible, hoping to keep it from her team mates.

She was almost successful until she accidentally knocked her ailing arm against the edge of the table. A slight hiss of pain escaped her. "Is something wrong Nariko?" Kakashi asked immediately without looking at her, still absorbed in his book. Cursing her carelessness, Nariko schooled her face into a look of stoic indifference, "Nothing," she lied smoothly.

Kiro raised an eyebrow. He leaned over and lightly prodded her right arm. Immediately a flare of pain shot through her and she stifled a gasp as she clutched the pained limb and glared at Kiro. "That doesn't sound like nothing," he remarked dryly. "Like I said, it's nothing," she repeated through clenched teeth, "If you have some sort of injury you should just say so," Kakashi interjected, his book put away and looking at her expectantly.

Nariko glanced between the two of them before speaking. "My right arms been aching since the morning," she said reluctantly, "Its nothing serious like I said before." Kakashi shut his eyes for a moment in thought, "Be that as it may," he said at last, "It's best that you remain here for the time being until you recover".

Kakashi raised a hand before Nariko could object, "My decision," he said calmly, "It would be dangerous for you to fight even if you were at full strength and it is best to be cautious in our situation. And now that I think about it, it would be best for someone to remain behind and keep an eye on things her. Should we fail in stopping Zabuza, it is up to you to report back to the village about our… unfortunate fates".

That effectively silenced all remaining conversation and the rest of their breakfast was eaten in silence. No-one needed to ask what he meant by "unfortunate fates"; the implications of his words were as clear as day.

* * *

The bridge was heavy with construction workers and various building materials and cranes. Everyone knew that the bridge was nearing completion and most of them had all feared that Gatō would retaliate against them before they were anywhere near completion, many workers had quit working at some point during the bridges construction, a fair percentage of their original workforce didn't even appear on the first day of construction. But now they were all relieved that it seemed that all their efforts were not in vain.

"Just what is taking so long!" Gatō's yelled out from a small radio headset in a wooden boat. "That bridge is almost finished! And I paid you guys a lot of good money to get this job done and so far you have accomplished nothing! You better not be turning chicken right no…" with a stamp, Zabuza smashed the radio into pieces without even bothering to answer.

"Are you ready Haku?" he asked, levering his Kubikiri Hōchō _(Decapitating Carving Knife) _into his arms. Beside him, wearing her customary Oi-nin _(Hunter-nin) _mask on her face, Haku answered, "Yes." Zabuza grunted at her answer before forming a hand sign.

"Lets give Kakashi and his brats a welcome they won't forget. Kirigakure no Jutsu! _(Hidden Mist Technique!)_"

* * *

"So anyways, just take things easy," Kakashi said calmly, Nariko glared at him but was resigned to her situation. Beside Kakashi, both Kiro and Sasuke were already ready to go and they were all standing just outside of the porch. "We should be back sometime in the afternoon", Kakashi added, "Just relax a bit around here".

"Hey what's taking so long!" Tazuna yelled out, already walking along the path to the bridge, "We're already late enough as it is!" As one, Kakashi, Kiro and Sasuke all turned and began to walk after their client. "Stay strong!" Kakashi called out to Nariko as they caught up to Tazuna.

Nariko watched them go until she could no longer see them. Sighing Nariko slowly walked back into the house. With nothing to do, she decided to just go back to her room. It was while she was walking through the hallway when she suddenly realized that despite everything she had accomplished in the last few years, there was still much for her to learn and plenty of room for her to advance. The fearful helplessness she had felt when confronted by Zabuza still ate at her every time she thought about it, in truth she was furious that she couldn't take the initiative and fight back but had instead succumbed to base terror and was left useless as a Kunoichi until Kiro managed to rouse both her and Sasuke from their defeated states.

"_Despite everything I've been through I'm still a novice ninja,_" Nariko thought. Her first clenched unconsciously at the thought, "_I still have a lot of room for improvement._" Lightly touching her right arm, she found that while her arm still hurt, the pain had declined sharply in the last few minutes. It seemed that her healing abilities were finally beginning to work on her injury, "_If my previous experiences are anything to go by, then I should be back to full strength in perhaps twenty or thirty minutes._"

With the knowledge that her healing was still at optimum and that she would soon return to full strength, Nariko found a new vigour coursing through her. "_I guess that I should train now,_" she thought, "_And perhaps I should improve my Rokukeijō tenrai-fū (Six forms of Heavenly-Wind). I only have one aspect of it currently and I haven't even mastered it yet._"

Lost in her thoughts and in her hurry to gather everything for her training Nariko almost bumped into Inari who was just exiting his own room. As soon as she saw who it was she immediately walked around him, in no mood to deal with Inari after last night.

Seeing Nariko stalk off so quickly Inari swallowed slightly at the clear sign she was still angry with him. He almost decided to walk away himself but then Kakashi's words echoed back to him, "_Those words she told you before… she's probably telling herself the same thing over and over_."

"Wait!" Inari cried out, scrambling after Nariko. Nariko ignored him for a few minutes but eventually paused her long strides, "What?" she asked in a neutral voice, not turning around. Panting slightly at the effort he needed to catch up to her, Inari swallowed several times before standing up, "I-I just wanted to say that I-I'm sorry about what I've said last night," he forced out, closing his eyes and waiting for her reaction.

Nariko waited silently for a few minutes before giving a curt nod. "I see," she said in the same neutral tone from before, "Is that all?" Inari looked up, taken aback that she was still acting so cold, "Is that all you have to say?" he asked, trying to keep the accusatory tone out of his voice.

"You must understand that simply saying sorry doesn't remedy everything" Nariko said calmly, "It's not in my nature to forget and forgive so quickly. Whether you apologise or not, you're opinions haven't changed. It's when you can understand why I reject what you believe that you can feel truly sorry," Finished with her explanation, Nariko walked away again. Inari slumped to the floor, surprised at her intensity. Eventually he managed to stand up and totter back to his room, what Nariko had said, fresh in his mind.

As Nariko walked on, she pondered over the sudden change over Inari, "_I doubt he could have found the initiative himself, even if he wanted to_" she thought, "_Something must have happened last night._" shrugging it off as another thing that she frankly didn't care about, Nariko managed to reach her room without any further interruptions.

Upon entering her room, Nariko quickly gathered some training equipment before discreetly making her way past Tsunami, still washing the dishes from breakfast, in the kitchen and outside to the forest. "_I have to get stronger,_" she thought fiercely, "_I will not be a burden to anyone._" With that thought it mind, she formed a hand sign, "Rokukeijō tenrai-fū! _(Six forms of Heavenly-Wind!)_"

* * *

Tazuna was whistling jauntily as he marched along the road, in clear good humour. Behind him and more reserved, walked Kakashi followed by Sasuke and finally Kiro. In contrast with their relatively upbeat and cheerful client, they were more reserved, their last confrontation with Zabuza, which almost ended in near disaster, still fresh in their minds.

"So how soon will it be before the bridge is finished," Kakashi asked. Tazuna thought a bit before answering, "Not sure exactly, maybe a couple of more days." Kakashi nodded at the answer. "Just so you know, the village will expect full payment and compensation once the prices are in your range," Kakashi said. Tazuna shrugged, "That's to be expected," he replied simply. They didn't talk anymore until they reached the bridge.

"So you guys will be guarding us all at once this time?" Tazuna asked as they began trekking to the end of the constructed bridge. "Yes," Kakashi replied simply. Tazuna snorted, "I still say that you're being a little paranoid. I mean you practically finished off Zabuza from las…" Tazuna abruptly stopped talking at the sight in front of him. Everyone else also stopped and peered over his shoulder and felt their eyes widen at the sight.

Every one of the workers were sprawled around on the bridge. "W-what happened!" Tazuna yelled. Running up to one of the workers Tazuna gently lifted him up. "What happened to you guys," he demanded, panic high in his voice. The injured worker, moaned slightly, "It… it was a monster… it attacked w-without warning. I-it wrapped itself in a cloak of… mist," he gasped before losing consciousness.

"_Mist!_" Kakashi thought in alarm and immediately scanned the surroundings, "_He's back!_" he thought grimly. Suddenly an unnaturally thick mist began pouring into the surroundings, cold, dense and unpleasantly familiar.

"Sasuke, Kiro!" Kakashi barked. They responded to his voice and drew kunai's and took defensive positions around Tazuna. "Keep your guards up," Kakashi ordered, "He's coming." before preparing himself for the confrontation, "_So he was alive after all,_" he thought, grimly scanning the mist.

Sasuke could feel his heart pumping loudly in his ears again and clutched his kunai tighter. Kiro, kept his senses open, making sure to breath evenly and slowly. Tazuna swallowed hard at the situation.

"Sorry to keep you waiting Kakashi," Zabuza's disembodied voice echoed out, "But I see that you're still bringing those brats with you." All of a sudden a large number of Zabuza materialized out of the mist, completely surrounding them. Kiro darted his eyes to each of them, "_One, Two, Three, Four, Five, Six and Seven,_" he thought grimly.

The Zabuza closest to Sasuke snorted, "Look at that arrogant one," he mocked, "Shaking in fear just like the last time. What a pathetic display." The taunting, instead of demoralising him, did the opposite. Smirking, Sasuke answered, "I'm trembling… from excitement."

Kakashi also smirked, "Go ahead Sasuke," he said. As the Zabuza's swung to attack Sasuke acted, in a blink of an eye he leapt from each one, dealing a fatal slash to each. Appearing back at his original position. The Mizu Bunshin's _(Water Clone's) _dissolved.

"_I can see them!_" Sasuke thought, "_I can react!_" Glancing at the puddles of water, he smirked, "_And I can fight back._"

"So he can defeat my Mizu Bunshin's _(Water Clone's)_,eh?" The mist cleared slightly and two figures stepped out in front of them. One was Zabuza, the other was the mysterious Oi-nin _(Hunter-nin)_. "Looks like they've grown stronger." He glanced at his companion. "Looks like a rival's appeared for you, Haku" he noted. "It appears so," Haku answered.

The two teams of ninja regarded each other, each weighing up the others strengths. "Looks like our prediction was right," Kakashi noted, "That ninja wasn't pursuing Zabuza after all."

Kakashi glanced at their numbers, "There's two of them and three of us," he noted, "I can handle Zabuza, so that phoney Oi-nin _(Hunter-nin)_ will be left to you two." Sasuke shook his head, "Sorry," he said, "But I'll fight him by myself." Kiro raised an eyebrow, "What?" he asked.

Sasuke took a few steps forward, "That ninja pulled that ridiculous act on us," he said, "And I hate being made a fool of." Kiro glanced at Kakashi. "Should we?" he asked. Kakashi sighed, "I suppose it's best we give Sasuke a shot on his own," he relented.

"That boy is very confident," Haku noted as Sasuke took a position in ahead of his team. Zabuza snorted, "More like foolhardy." "But still," Haku continued, "Even though your clones only have about a tenth of the strength of the original, it's rather impressive he could deal with them so swiftly.

"But we both know that you're much more powerful then a clone," Zabuza said calmly, "Go."

Haku nodded, "Yes," she answered before moving forward towards Sasuke. Taken aback at her startling speed, Sasuke moved into a defensive Taijutsu _(Body Techniques)_ stance and drew another kunai, he smirked.

* * *

Two men, armed with swords stepped onto the porch in front of Tazuna's house. "Inari, help me clean the kitchen please," Tsunami's voice rang out. They exchanged equally evil grins and drew their swords.

"Coming mom," Inari called out from the bathroom. It was when he was washing his hands he heard the loud crash from the kitchen, a few seconds later he heard his mom scream. Running out in panic Inari ran out and managed to get to the kitchen. Two men with swords were busy menacing his mom.

"Mother!" Inari screamed. Immediately Tsunami looked up, "Don't come in here," she screamed, "Hurry and run away!" The two men turned at Inari's entrance, "What do you want, brat?" the bigger, more brutish looking one demanded. Turning to his companion he grinned, "Should we take this one with us too, Zōri?" he asked, jerking a thumb at Inari, "Our boss said that we only needed one hostage," Zōri, "Tazuna's daughter is enough."

Surprisingly, the big man grinned and drew his sword, "In that case," he said, "It won't matter if I kill him right?" Inari drew back in fear, "Do whatever you want Waraji," Zōri answered. Waraji grinned further and stepped towards Inari.

"Wait!" Tsunami cried out. Zōri and Waraji turned towards her. "If you do anything to him. I'll bite my tongue and kill myself," she threatened. "Mom no!" Inari cried out, but no-one paid him any attention. "You said you needed a hostage, right?" Tsunami demanded. Zōri snorted, "You've got guts girl, I'll give you that," he turned to Waraji, "Leave the kid alone, we don't want our hostage dying on us."

Waraji grunted but sheathed his sword. "Thank your mom that you're still alive boy," Zōri sneered at Inari. Feeling his legs collapse Inari barely heard him, "_I'm sorry mom. I'm weak, I can't protect you_," he felt angry tears come to his eye, "_I'm afraid, I don't want to die._"

"_If you want to complain then do it somewhere else_," unbidden, Nariko's words echoed in his mind, "_Stop pretending that you're the main character of some cheap tragedy novel who can't do anything but cry, if you hate your life then do something about it._"

"_Although I can't prove it Nariko probably got tired of just crying about her situation. That's why I can say that Nariko knows the true meaning of pain, but also the true meaning of being strong… just like your father_," Kakashi's words followed.

"_Live your life so you won't regret it. Protect what is important to you with your own two arms, no matter how daunting or terrifying it is. Even if it costs you your life, protect what's important to you with all your strength_," the words of his father.

"_Can I become strong as well?_"

* * *

After being tied up, Tsunami was lead outside by Waraji and Zōri. "Hey Zōri that was boring," Waraji complained, "I didn't get to cut up anything," Zōri glared at him, "Stop whining," he snarled back, "You already cut up plenty of stuff on the way back."

Waraji grunted before glancing at Tsunami. "Hey Zōri," Waraji suddenly said, "Would it really matter if I cut the hostage up a little." He stroked the handle of his sword.

"STOP!" a voice yelled out from behind them. Glancing behind them they saw that Inari had chased after them. "Inari!" Tsunami shrieked. "Oh, it's just that brat from before," Waraji said.

Inari glared at the two men holding his mother captive, he wasn't sure how he had exactly come to be here at this moment but once his inner turmoil had subsided all he knew was that he had to save his mother no matter what happened. And so he had found himself confronting the two men, no particular plan in mind. He knew he just had to do something. "Get away from my mom!" he yelled before blindly charging at them.

"Sheesh, looks like that kid has a death wish," Waraji said placing his hand on his sword. "Looks like it can't be helped," Zōri said, "We'll just have to kill him." With that they both drew their swords and prepared to rush the charging Inari. "Wait," Tsunami cried out, "If you do that I'll kill myse…" Zōri backhanded her, sending her sprawling on the pier, "Shut up and stay still," he said.

As Inari continued charging at them they smirked and struck. Their swords cleanly cut through and severed their target. They turned to survey their handiwork… and found a log cut into pieces, "Kawarimi no Jutsu _(Body Replacement Technique),_" Zōri said in surprise. "Where's the hostage?" Waraji demanded looking around.

"You guys really do have one brain between the two of you, don't you?" a voice said behind them. Turning they saw a young blond girl several feet away from them with both Tsunami and Inari.

"That was a reckless thing to do," Nariko scolded, "Generally, you're suppose to think before doing something. If I got here any later…" Inari was still in shock at what happened, "N-Nariko," he stuttered. "Still," Nariko continued, "At least you distracted them long enough for me to save Tsunami."

Inari still looked like he couldn't believe how things turned out, "H-how did you know there were men after my mom?" he managed to ask. Nariko shrugged, "While I was out in the forest I though I heard something, when I investigated I found a cut up boar and slash marks on the bark of the trees. They were leading back here so I got worried and came back. Looks like I made it in time."

"Oh, it's just one of those incompetent ninja that the old man hired," Waraji said. "Let's kill her," Zōri said before they both charged at Nariko. "Look out!" Inari yelled. Turning around Nariko clapped her hands together, "Fūton: Reppūshō _(Wind Release: Violent Wind Palm)._"

A large gale blasted into the charging men, knocking them onto the ground. Staggering to their feet Nariko had already moved up to them, sending two blows to their heads, they fell back down, out cold. Inari watched in awe at the ease Nariko dealt with them. Nariko turned to see Inari gaping at her, "Do you have some rope?" she enquired.

After tying up and gagging the two mercenaries Nariko was preparing to go to the bridge. "_Whatever Kakashi says, if they all get beaten then chances are Zabuza will just come after me,_" Nariko thought grimly, "_And if he doesn't then Gatō will._"

Just as Nariko was about to leave she was interrupted by Inari. "Is there something you want now?" she asked with her hand on her hip. Inari swallowed, "Well," he began, "I-I j-just wanted t-to…" Nariko raised an eyebrow. "Thank you!" Inari gasped.

"Thank me?" Nariko repeated in genuine bewilderment, "What did I do?". Inari sniffed, "It was a-all because of you that I b-became s-strong," he stuttered, "I-if you hadn't said th-those things to me then I n-never would have…" Nariko reached down and lightly patted him on the head.

Inari stared up at Nariko in surprise to see that she was smiling slightly. "No," she said softly, "You were probably always strong deep inside ever since you met your father, after he died it was all buried under despair. I just helped you bring it out." Inari stared for a moment before he felt his eyes grow watery.

Hastily looking away, he rubbed furiously at his eyes, "Darn it," he said, "I promised I wouldn't cry anymore." Nariko sighed, "It's alright to cry," she said calmly, "Whether you're feeling sad or happy it's always okay to cry. Just know when to stop." Inari sniffled and wiped his eyes again.

"Alright then," Nariko said, her voice returning to its usual brisk tone, "I can leave everything here to you?" Inari gave a toothy smile, the first time he had smiled brightly in a long time, "Yup".

Nariko sprinted forward and leaped through the trees towards the bridge and Zabuza.

* * *

Blocking the senbon with one of his kunai Sasuke shifted slightly, distributing the force of the blow throughout his body like he was taught at the ninja academy and began to try and overpower Haku. Haku did the same.

"_Oh? He's actually able to match her speed?_" Zabuza mused, "_Pretty good for a brat._"

"Kiro," Kakashi commanded, "Keep close to Tazuna and don't move too far away from me. Let Sasuke handle this one." Kiro nodded and moved in front of Tazuna, keeping his eyes trained on the two grappling ninja, "_Let's see how far Sasuke's progressed in the last week,_" he thought.

Sasuke and Haku leapt back then lunged each other. Senbon clashed against kunai as they struggled against each other, each of them keeping just out of reach of each others weapons. "I don't want to kill you," Haku suddenly said as they fought to overpower each other, "But you won't back off unless I do, right?" Sasuke just smirked, "Are you an idiot?"

"Just as I thought," Haku replied, "But I'll warn you in advance. You won't be able to keep up with my next move. Especially since I'm already two steps ahead of you."

"Two steps?" Sasuke demanded, tightening his hold on his kunai.

Haku nodded, "The first one is that we surrounded by water," she listed, "The second is that I have one of your hands pinned down, meaning that your capacity to defend against my attacks is cut in half." With that Haku began to form several hand signs… with one hand.

Sasuke's eyes shot open at this sight, "_Hand signs with one hand! That's impossible!_" Kakashi was just as shocked, "_One-handed jutsu. I've never see that._" Zabuza watched impassively.

Finishing her hand signs Haku stomped on the ground, sending the water into the air and declared her jutsu, "Sensatsu Suishō! _(Thousand Flying Water Needles of Death!)_"

Immediately the water formed itself into a large number of senbon needles that surround both Haku and Sasuke from all sides. Unable to perform jutsu, Sasuke did the only thing he could, "_Remember the training,_" he thought in concentration, "_Mold up chakra and send it to the legs._"

Haku released Sasuke's arm and leapt back just as the water needles struck. Stumbling slightly on the wet ground, Haku Looked around and saw that Sasuke was gone, "_He dodged,_" she thought, scanning the surroundings, trying to see where he was.

Several shuriken flew down at her. Leaping back and avoiding each one Sasuke suddenly appeared behind her and grabbed her arm. "You're too slow," he said mockingly, "Now your capacity to defend against my attacks is cut in half," with that he threw his kunai at her. Haku managed to duck as the knife flew over her head, only for Sasuke to land a strong kick and sent her skidding across the ground.

Zabuza stared incredulously, "_Haku lost in speed!_" he thought in surprise. Sasuke smirked, "It seems that I'm the better fighter," he proclaimed. Kiro felt his eyes narrow, "_No, this isn't the same person who took out Zabuza with one move. She's holding back._"

"Kiro," Kakashi said. Kiro gave Kakashi a sidelong glance, "From your expression I think that you've realised it too. That ninja is a lot more powerful then Sasuke thinks. Step in as soon as necessary, it's better to avoid any unneeded casualties."

"Sasuke won't like that," Kiro responded, but still kept his guard up and readied himself to jump in whenever possible. Kakashi was right, it was better to exercise prudence in this matter then let Sasuke get injured simply because he wanted to fight on his own.

Zabuza had only chuckled slightly at Sasuke's assertion. "Haku," he said, "I hope you're done assessing your opponent's strength. If you keep fighting at that level, then you're going to be defeated," Haku stood up and dusted herself off, "Indeed," she said simply before facing Sasuke again.

"That was a very good warm up," she called out to him, "I'll warn you now that my speed will now be very different from before." Sasuke smirked again, "Whatever you're going to use, I can keep up," he proclaimed. "Very well then," Haku said and readied herself. Kiro stared suspiciously, "_Her chakra's changed,_" he thought, "_It's stronger then before._"

In a blur of movement, Haku easily moved instantly in front of Sasuke. He wasn't aware it happened until the last moment. Sasuke stared in shock, "_Wha…?_" He barely managed to register the danger before he leapt back and avoided her attack.

"_Shit! Is that her true speed! I could barely see it al all!_" were Sasuke's thoughts as he continued to leap away from her. "Such slow movements won't save you from me," Haku said, already directly behind Sasuke, with senbon in hand. Sasuke gritted his teeth in anger, "Don't underestimate me!" he snarled slashing with his kunai behind himself at her.

Haku easily darted in front of Sasuke before the arc of the kunai even reached her. Sasuke stared in horror, unable to react against her speed in time. "I told you," she said simply before plunging her senbon at Sasuke… only for it to meet and shatter against a white katana blade.

Sasuke and Haku both stared in astonishment. Kiro had appeared between them before either of them had realised and parried her attack with his sword. "_When did Kiro…?_" Sasuke thought. "_The boy from this morning,_" Haku thought, leaping back, "_He's at least as fast as I am!_"

"Are you alright?" Kiro asked Sasuke, keeping his eyes trained on Haku. "Yeah," Sasuke replied after a few moments, "_How did he do that,_" Sasuke thought furiously, "_I couldn't see or sense his movements at all. He wasn't nearly this quick until today, what kind of training did he go through._"

"_It seems that those two Genin's may be tougher then we thought_," Zabuza noted, "_But no matter how strong they are, Haku will crush them in the end_."

"So you're both going to fight me now?" Haku asked, her expression hidden beneath her mask. Kiro stepped back so he and Sasuke were side to side, "If Sasuke doesn't have any complaints," he answered. Sasuke gritted his teeth, despite how much he wanted to finish the battle himself, it seemed that there was no choice. "Alright," came the grudging reply.

Haku regarded them both carefully, "Then it seems," she began, "That I have no choice." With that she formed a strange hand sign. Both Kiro and Sasuke immediately assumed a basic defensive position. A strange chakra began emanating from Haku. Kiro felt his eyes widen, "_That's not the same chakra she was using before. It's completely different and it doesn't fell like any chakra I've sensed before. What is she up too?_" To Sasuke, all he could feel was a sudden draft of cold air emanating from Haku but that was enough for him to be wary.

Kiro could feel Haku's chakra saturating the area and he began to grow uneasy, "_Whatever she's using, it's probably going to try and finish us,_" both he and Sasuke watched as Haku prepared her jutsu.

"It's too bad," Haku suddenly said. A sound like crumbling glass sounded behind them. Turning they saw a large amount of frost building up and forming a large rectangular piece of ice, as soon as it was fully formed others began forming as well. Soon twelve mirror like rectangular pieces of ice completely surrounded them. Frost then began to build up above them forming yet more mirrored ice until they were completely inside a dome of twenty one symmetrical ice mirrors. "Hyōton: Makyō Hyōshō _(Ice Release: Demonic Ice Crystal Mirrors),_" Haku droned.

"_What is that technique?_" Kakashi thought is shock, "_I've never heard of Hyōton_ _(Ice Release) before._" Kiro glanced at the mirrors, "_That's definitely no ordinary ice,_" he thought, "_They're completely flooded with that weird chakra and I don't like the way this technique looks._"

Haku stepped up to one of the mirrors and, after a moment, literally stepped into it. The ice swallowed her form as easily as if it were water. Kiro and Sasuke stared in disbelief as an image of Haku appeared in the mirror, the other twenty mirrors soon followed, all carrying an image of Haku. "What's going on?" Sasuke demanded. Kiro was at a loss at how to answer.

"_Shit!_" Kakashi thought and quickly ran towards the dome of mirrors. Zabuza immediately intercepted him. "I'm your opponent, remember?" he asked, "Those two are dead anyway now that Haku has used that technique." Kakashi inwardly cursed. No matter how strong he was, he couldn't defend Tazuna and help his students at the same time, he had to keep Zabuza pinned down.

"Now," Haku's voice suddenly rang out from one of the mirrors, echoing eerily throughout the dome, "Let us begin." Immediately Kiro and Sasuke stood back to back, keeping as many of the mirrors in their vision as possible. "That won't help you against my true speed," Haku said as each image raised their senbon needles.

Without delay, a rain of unseeable techniques shot out at them, each cutting them as it passed. Unable to even react against the attacks, let alone defend, both Kiro and Sasuke felt as if they were being struck at every angle at once. Dropping their weapons, all they could do was try and shield their heads and faces from the onslaught, grit their teeth and endure the pain.

Outside the dome, everyone could hear their cries of pain at the vicious assault, yet knowing they couldn't help. "If you move without thinking then I'll kill the old man first," Zabuza threatened. Kakashi glared but could do nothing.

"_What is this!_" Kiro thought as he tried to shield himself from the attacks, "_I can't even see what I'm being hit by!_" forcing one eye open to a squint the could see that the images of Haku in the mirror were fading in and out as attacks continued to rain down on them, "_This is ridiculous! We can't even defend ourselves properly._" He glanced down at the floor where their weapons were scattered uselessly around them. "_If only something could stop this and give us some breathing space to think, even for a moment!_" Both he and Sasuke were already bloodied from the assault and Haku didn't look like she was going to stop anytime soon, it seemed that their enemy was going to kill them, literally with a thousand cuts.

Suddenly a kunai flew out of the mist and through one of the gaps between the mirrors. Haku's hand suddenly reached out and grabbed it before it could reach Kiro or Sasuke. Whatever intentions, Sasuke and Kiro both collapsed, gasping as their wounds throbbed with pain.

Haku glanced down at the kunai in her hands. It was completely ordinary except for a small piece of paper attached to it which had the kanji for explosion on it. An exploding tag! Immediately Haku threw it away and sank back into the mirror. She was a few seconds too late.

The scrap of paper detonated with resounding force. Dazed but shielded from the bulk of the blast by her mirror Haku fell out onto the bridge, her clothes smoking slightly from the attack.

Everyone stared at the direction the kunai came from. Panting slightly and had obviously just arrived stood Nariko Uzumaki.

To Be Continued

Authors Notes: I know that the long wait probably wasn't worth this chapter at around six thousand and a half words. But it took me some time to work everything out. All the same it maybe could have been written a bit differently but I didn't have any other ideas on what to do. Oh, I would appreciate some comments on what my new name for Nariko's forbidden technique. As I said above, the previous name just didn't stick.

So read and review, any enquires? Any advice? Constructive criticism is welcome as always. I hope that I can get the next chapter out faster.

Until next time.


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Naruto, Adventure, Friendship