Naruto Fan Fiction ❯ After the Dream ❯ In the House of Stone and Light ( Chapter 22 )

[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]

Agent's Spiel: Half of the chapter is made up of flashbacks written to parallel the present. It'll be clear as it goes on.

B normal story

B flashbacks

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.

In the House of Stone and Light

Pakkun quickly trotted through Konoha in search of a particular Jounin. He bravely ignored the excited squeals of “Look at the cute puppy,” from the countless beautiful women, and continued on his trek. Finally he caught what seemed to be Kakashi's newest trail and followed it into the mission room. “Oi, Kakashi,” Pakkun said to grab the silver haired Jounin's attention as he trotted up to him.

“What?” Kakashi questioned, ignoring the looks the other Jounin in the mission room were sending him.

“She sent word,” Pakkun stated, pointing his nose to the scrolls on his back.

“Hmm...,” Kakashi muttered, reaching out to take the scrolls from the small dog's back. He dismissed Pakkun and put away his book before opening the scroll addressed to him and walking out. He was halfway through the door when he froze in his tracks; those still in the mission room watched in confusion as his eyes traveled down the paper, but no one was close enough to know what he was reading. Kakashi finished reading through Rin's letter and had to fight the urge to shout for joy; instead he took off in search of Itachi leaving behind a room full of confused shinobi.

An hour later, he found Itachi at the training grounds trying desperately to ignore the onlookers as he meditated. Kakashi shooed away the annoying fangirls - he had had plenty of practice with Sasuke on his team - before approaching. When Kakashi was the only person nearby, Itachi cracked open an eye to look at him inquisitively. “What do you want?” he finally asked.

“Rin said that she couldn't bother with writing to each of us, so there are several things I am to inform you of. One: she found all three and convinced them to stay with her. Two: we are jackasses who passed her false information resulting in her spending far too much time looking for them. Three: She's taking them to meet with someone named Kato, and the two of them are going to try and break the seal,” Kakashi stated overwhelming Itachi for a minute. “She'll write to us again when they succeed or need help,” he added, once he assumed Itachi had digested everything.

“What did she tell them?” Itachi finally asked.

“Umm… all this says is that we should expect to answer questions when we see them next, so I'm assuming nothing,” Kakashi responded.

Itachi fought the urge to snort in amusement before glancing at the second scroll in Kakashi's hand. “What's that?” he asked.

“I don't know; it's addressed to Mitsutori,” Kakashi responded. Itachi nodded and went back to meditating. When Kakashi realized he was being ignored, he pulled out his book and began reading again. He could always tease Itachi for smiling at a later date.

XXXXXXXX

“So where are we?” Sakura asked.

“The town is called Kaiin; a friend of mine is meeting us here. Her name's Nami Kato,” Rin replied.

“You think the two of you can break Orochimaru's curse seal?” Sasuke said a bit doubtfully.

Rin grinned at him. “That's what we intend to try,” she said, as she turned up a path to one of the houses.

“So what are we supposed to do while you're working on that?” Naruto grumbled.

“You'll be babysitting Daiki,” a new voice answered. They looked up to see a woman walk around the side of the house and towards them.

Naruto and Sasuke froze for a moment as they stared at the woman. “Haku,” Naruto mumbled, glancing at his teammate.

“Did you say something?” the woman asked. Naruto gulped and slowly shook his head.

“Allow me to introduce you to Nami Kato,” Rin said.

“Who's Daiki?” Sakura asked.

“My son. He's inside sleeping at the moment, but while Rin and I work on this I'll need a little help keeping track of him,” Kato explained. Sakura responded happily and followed the two older women inside. Naruto and Sasuke exchanged one last glance before heading in as well.

“So exactly how do you think you're going to break the seal?” Sakura asked once they were seated comfortably inside.

“Have you heard of the Fuuja Houin?” Kato asked.

Sasuke nodded, but the other two remained bewildered. “My sensei used it, but it didn't work,” Sasuke replied.

“Actually, even if we just reapplied that, it would probably work now. The Fuuja Houin is deeply rooted in the person's will. Without vengeance driving you as much as it used to and your current conviction to stay away from Orochimaru, the seal would probably hold up,” Rin explained.

“However, I think something more powerful and more durable should be used. We'll probably end up manipulating that seal a bit to get what we want. It'll take a lot of work before we can apply it though,” Kato continued.

“So until that's done, we stay here,” Rin added.

XXXXXXXX

“I hate those two,” Pakkun muttered as he found himself wandering the streets of Konoha once more searching for Kakashi. “Whoever thought it was a good idea to give both of them a summoning contract to keep in touch was an idiot,” he added looking around. “I believe it was Sandaime-sama that recommended Kakashi share his summoning contract with Rin,” a voice said behind him. Pakkun swung around and found himself face to face with Uchiha Itachi. He walked up and sniffed around the Jounin once before nodding in acceptance. “I don't care if it was their sensei come back to life, I've made more trips between the two this past month than in the entire year before that,” Pakkun remarked.

“This is only your third trip,” Itachi countered, smirking down at the pug.

“Where's Kakashi?” Pakkun asked, ignoring Itachi's comeback.

“I believe he is in the mission room,” Itachi said. “What did Rin send word about?”

“I don't want to say it twice. You'll have to wait until I find Kakashi,” Pakkun retorted. Itachi rolled his eyes at the small dog, but indicated for Pakkun to follow him.

When they finally reached the mission room, Pakkun approached Kakashi and bit the Jounin's hand to gain his attention. “I think he's trying to tell you something,” Itachi murmured, looking at the two in amusement.

“Oi, Kakashi!” Anko yelled looking at the dog. “That thing's been around a lot lately; what's going on?” she asked.

“Oh, nothing,” Kakashi replied, taking the two scrolls from Pakkun before dismissing him. He read through the first one and his eye crinkled up in happiness before he handed it to Itachi. Kakashi glanced down at the second one before checking to make sure that Tsunade was still at the front table. He strolled up and handed the scroll to her before pulling out his book and walking towards the exit.

“Wait a minute! What is this?” Tsunade shouted just Kakashi had reached the door.

Itachi looked up from his own scroll and smirked as Kakashi turned around trying to figure out how to explain. “It's from Rin. Sandaime asked her to look into something a while back and she sent word on it,” he finally explained.

“And I'm just hearing about it now?” Tsunade asked in a dangerously low voice.

Anko and several others snickered as they waited for Kakashi to think of an excuse, but it was Itachi who actually spoke up. “She had nothing to report before today,” he said nonchalantly.

“So what was this assignment?” Tsunade asked.

“The scroll explains it all,” Kakashi said, waving and walking out of the room. Itachi followed a moment later trying not to smirk.

“It sounds like they've been doing well,” Itachi remarked once they were out of hearing distance.

“Yeah, hopefully Tsunade will send us on a mission soon and we can find out for ourselves,” Kakashi added.

Tsunade glared childishly at Kakashi's retreating figure long after he had disappeared from sight. The others in the room watched the Hokage in anticipation, each hoping to learn what was in the scroll. A muffled cough in the corner broke Tsunade out of her trance, and brought her attention to the young Genin as they fidgeted waiting for their daily assignment. She glared at the scroll once more before turning back to her work and assigning the team their mission; apparently, Tora had escaped again.

As the team left to find the fugitive cat, Jiraiya sidled in nursing a hangover. He glanced idly at the various shinobi eagerly watching Tsunade and shrugged. Tsunade continued to glare at her paperwork and Jiraiya noticed that her glare intensified every time she eyed the small scroll at her elbow. He walked over and snatched the scroll up before Tsunade could protest. “What do you think you're doing?” Tsunade growled out, reaching for the scroll.

“Reading,” Jiraiya responded, unfurling the scrolls contents; he lazily began to read aloud. “Tsunade” he began grinning. “It's from Rin,” he informed the listening shinobi; he figured they already knew this fact when it didn't get him a reaction. “Enclosed in this scroll is research completed over the past several years. All of this data concerns…” Jiraiya trailed off as he read ahead and his eyes slowly grew larger as he read on. He looked over at Anko as he handed the scroll to a twitching Hokage.

Anko shifted slightly under his stare and began hypothesizing about the scrolls contents. Everyone else watched as Tsunade sported a similar reaction to that of the Toad Sennin. “Somebody go tell Kakashi and Itachi to get their asses up to my office immediately,” Tsunade finally said when she finished the scroll. “Jiraiya, Anko come with me,” she added leaving the room.

XXXXXXXX

“How much longer do you think it'll be?” Sakura asked. They had been in Kaiin a month, and Rin and Kato had spent the majority of time bent over numerous scrolls. Occasionally they would pull Sasuke away from whatever he was doing and poke and prod at the seal on his neck. Naruto, Sakura, and Sasuke had spent the rest of their time with three year old Daiki and familiarizing themselves with the town.

“Hopefully we'll be done by the end of July,” Rin answered, as she helped serve dinner.

“Are they okay?” Kato asked. Naruto and Sasuke were both falling asleep at the table and Kato was watching them in concern.

“They had a little too much fun with Daiki today,” Sakura responded. “They spent all day giving him piggyback rides and playing tag.”

“What were you doing?” Rin asked in amusement.

“Avoiding the sun,” Sakura replied, “it was too hot out and since they were having so much fun, I decided to relax.”

“Who won the game of tag?” Rin asked.

“Me!” Daiki shouted happily.

“He's too fast,” Naruto mumbled, slowly taking a bite of rice. When he looked up, Rin and Kato were both struggling to hold in their laughter.

After dinner, Kato excused herself to put Daiki to bed, leaving Rin, Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura on their own.

As Rin cleaned the dishes she could feel the curious gazes aimed at her back. She finished slowly and took her time drying her hands before finally turning around to look at them. Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura were all watching her intently. “Just ask,” Rin finally said.

“What does Kakashi-sensei hide under his mask?” Naruto blurted out.

Rin looked at the three in shock for a moment before collapsing at the table in a fit of laughter. When she recovered several minutes later, she apologized and mumbled, “That was the last thing I expected.”

“Well it's just that you said you were his teammate, and we figured you must have seen him with out it at least once,” Sakura reasoned.

“Yeah it's not like he was born with it on,” Naruto added.

“Actually I'm not too sure about that,” Rin mumbled, catching them off guard. “By the time we became teammates when I was nine, Kakashi had already been a Chuunin for three years. He had been wearing that mask for at least that long,” Rin explained.

“You graduated when you were nine?” Sasuke asked in disbelief.

“It was much more common during the war for people to move on quicker. There are rules now that make it very difficult for someone to graduate before twelve,” Rin said.

“I know Sandaime passed several rules, but I've never understood why,” Sakura said.

“Too many children on the battlefield. He did it in memory of Yondaime,” Rin claimed.

“What do you mean?” Naruto asked, stiffening slightly. The Yondaime wasn't exactly his favorite subject.

Rin looked at him appraisingly before answering. “When Kakashi and I were twelve, we lost our teammate Obito. Our sensei decided that regardless of talent, rank, and duty twelve year olds weren't meant for the battlefield. He did everything he could to keep the younger shinobi away from the front lines. When he became Hokage he continued that work,” she said, watching for Naruto's reaction.

“Uchiha Obito?” Sasuke asked looking at her in surprise. “That's where he got the sharingan,” he added in understanding.

Rin nodded. “It wasn't pretty afterwards, trust me. The problems surrounding our case were what prompted him to take measures like that,” she added.

“What problems?” Sakura asked.

“Let's just say that we seemed too gain too much and lose too little,” Rin said, “Our sensei wasn't with us at the time of Obito's death. Because of this, not everyone believed our story and found it very suspicious that Obito `gave' his sharingan to Kakashi.”

“They blamed you,” Naruto said, looking at them in surprise.

“Well yeah. The Uchiha clan lost an up and coming genius, and an outsider gained the sharingan. Kakashi and I were both orphans and didn't have a lot of people standing up for us,” Rin added. “And now since I've taken the topic to very depressing areas, here,” she said, pulling a picture out of her pocket and handing it to them. “I was saving it for bribery and such, but you deserve it,” she chimed as the three gathered around the picture.

“That's us,” Naruto said, looking back and forth between himself, Rin, and Sasuke.

“You two are just about three in that. Kakashi and I are seventeen. Our friend Anko is fifteen, she's hiding in the back. Itachi, down in front by you two, was about eight. I pulled down Kakashi's mask right before Ashitaba-sama took the picture,” Rin explained.

“Who's Ashitaba-sama?” Sakura asked curiously. Naruto and Sasuke had gone back to staring at the picture in disbelief.

“Sasuke's mother,” Rin choked out.

“How… I don't get it,” Naruto finally asked, looking up at Rin in confusion. Sasuke couldn't tear his eyes away.

“I got pregnant not long after this was taken; I left not long after that. When you were about four, Kakashi and Anko started being sent away on extended missions. They sent you to the academy, and not long after that everything went wrong,” Rin said resignedly. “Those goggles you used to wear were a gift from Kakashi. Obito had sensitive eyes and wore goggles to protect them on missions. He gave them to you as a kind of unspoken symbol that at least one of us was always with you,” Rin added.

The three teens went back to studying the picture for several minutes. “I don't believe it,” Sasuke finally muttered.

“Yeah, there's nothing there,” Sakura added.

“Eh?” Rin stammered in confusion.

“There's nothing wrong. No fish lips…” Naruto trailed off in despair. Rin's eyes widened and she fought to contain her laughter.

“Or horse teeth…” Sakura added in confusion.

“There's nothing wrong,” Sasuke muttered.

“Why the hell does he wear it?” Sakura and Naruto shouted in frustration, just as Rin lost her fight and broke down in giggles.

XXXXXXXX

When Kakashi and Itachi strolled into Tsunade's office half an hour later, she was torn between pounding them through a wall and hugging them. She was prohibited from doing either when Kakashi spoke. “It's really too late to be of much use. However, it will fully eliminate the threat Orochimaru still holds over Anko. Also, if Orochimaru ever tries something like it again elsewhere it can be used as a bargaining tool,” he informed the group.

“What is `it'?” Anko asked looking between the four. She hoped Kakashi meant what she thought he meant.

“Rin's research was on the curse seal that Orochimaru has been using. Although she still can't find a way to remove it, she has found a way to block its effects totally. As you know from experience, the Fuuja Houin was useless when Orochimaru forced the seal to activate. The new seal, she refers to it as `Ketsumei no Bes', is much stronger than the Fuuja Houin. Although it cannot completely rid you of the seal, from what Rin says it should negate its effects completely,” Tsunade explained. “She'll be here within the next few days; if you're ready, she'll apply it,” she added.

After Anko had a few minutes to process what Tsunade had told her, she finally looked up and nodded in understanding. “Why don't you go think it over for a bit?” Tsunade suggested, “I need to speak with Kakashi and Itachi.” Anko fought the urge to grimace as she briefly envisioned Tsunade's `talk' with the two. In the end, she nodded and walked out. As she closed the door, she heard Tsunade yell, “Why the hell didn't you three tell me about this earlier?” It was a valid question she thought as she walked down the hall.

Two days later as she awaited Rin's arrival, Anko decided she needed to get drunk. She trekked restlessly to Waruyoi's Sake House and was relieved to find her friends inside already. She slumped into the seat next to Iruka, causing the others to look at her curiously. “You've made yourself scarce since you talked with Tsunade-sama,” Genma stated, causing Anko to look up at him and pout.

“Yeah so,” she muttered.

“Can you tell us anything?” Kurenai asked delicately.

Anko gazed at them for a few minutes before shrugging. “She never said I couldn't,” she reasoned, “Rin found a way to essentially get rid of the curse seal.”

Ebisu lost the shot of sake that he had just taken and Kurenai seemed to have some trouble holding her own in. The others looked at Anko in surprise. “How did she manage that?” Iruka finally asked.

“Rin's always known a lot about seals. If I had to guess, I'd say that she's probably about the second or third most expert on seals in Fire Country,” Anko answered.

“Since when?” Asuma asked.

Anko blinked at him once or twice before answering. “Since her sensei's death and Orochimaru's desertion. She's probably right behind Tsunade-sama and Jiraiya-sama,” she claimed.

“And here I was thinking she was nothing more than a medic,” Kurenai mumbled.

Anko snickered a bit, but her fun was spoiled when Genma brought the conversation back to the seal. “What do you mean `essentially' get rid of it?” he asked.

“I'm not really sure. Tsunade-sama said that it would negate its effects, but I don't really know anything about it,” Anko answered.

“Are they `testing' it on you?” Asuma asked.

“Yeah, Rin's supposed to arrive by August 5, which is in two days and then…,” Anko trailed off when the door to the bar opened.

Rin, Kakashi, Itachi, and Nami Mitsutori made there way to a small table at the back of the establishment. “Or she's here now,” Anko said, turning to the others.

“The woman with them is the one watching Rishito, right?” Iruka asked.

“Is Rishito her kid?” Asuma asked. Iruka nodded in response. “Then yeah,” Asuma added.

“Is Itachi even old enough to be in here?” Anko asked, squinting at the happy foursome in the corner. As if feeling her gaze upon him, Kakashi turned; his only visible eye quirked in question. Anko scowled and turned back to the others.

“Itachi turned nineteen in June,” Genma answered, once he had regained her attention.

“Are you going to go speak with them?” Ebisu asked delicately, once Anko had stopped glaring at Genma for being a know it all.

“No, Rin looks really tired,” Anko said, surprising the others with her observations. “She's more fun to pester when she's alert,” she added grinning; any thoughts of Anko going soft were wiped out of their minds.

The next day Anko lumbered towards the Hokage's office with a massive hangover. After speaking for five minutes, Tsunade took pity on her and relieved some of the symptoms to allow the Jounin to pay better attention. “As I was saying,” Tsunade continued addressing those she had assembled. “Rin, Kakashi, and Itachi will be the ones actually in the room with you. Jiraiya, myself, Hyuuga-san, and Nara-san will be in the observation room. We'll be able to enter in a moment if something goes wrong,” Tsunade said allowing Anko to realize for the first time that Hyuuga Hiashi and Nara Shikato were standing opposite Itachi, Rin, and Kakashi. She looked at the group warily and nodded in understanding. Tsunade returned the nod and looked at Rin.

Rin sighed and looked at the group before finally settling on Anko. “I'm going to briefly explain what we're going to do. We'll perform the procedure later this afternoon once everything is prepared. As I'm sure Tsunade informed you, the Ketsumei no Bes is very similar to the Fuuja Houin, as is its application. The main difference is that it doesn't simply rely on your own will so it becomes much more difficult to break. Once inside the room it will be sealed. The correct characters will be applied and then activated and applied. Got it?” Rin asked.

“Not really,” Anko replied, “But I get the feeling I'm not supposed to and that I don't need to.”

“Exactly,” Rin responded.

“Are we supposed to understand?” Shikato asked lazily.

“Nope,” Rin answered.

“Then how are we to know if something goes wrong?” Hiashi asked.

“We'll let you know,” Itachi stated.

After several minutes of uncomfortable silence, Tsunade finally sighed and figured that Rin wasn't going to explain anything else. She and Jiraiya already had all the information since the scroll she had received contained all of the research to be put on record. Tsunade figured that Itachi and Kakashi had been filled in already by Rin, and she honestly didn't care at the moment if the others understood as long as it actually worked. “Preparations will take the next hour or so. Anko, I believe they need you with them at that time,” Tsunade claimed. Rin nodded in confirmation. “When you're ready, we'll join you,” Tsunade finally said in dismissal.

Kakashi was the first to move and he led the others out of the room and down the hall. “We're using one of the interrogation rooms in the basement,” he explained, as he continued walking.

XXXXXXXX

“Happy Birthday!” Sakura and Naruto shouted as they jumped on a slumbering Uchiha. Sasuke growled and shoved his teammates off him, before looking at them through bleary eyes.

“Well that wasn't very nice,” Rin said from the doorway, “They simply came to wish you a happy birthday.”

Sasuke blinked the sleep out of his eyes, before muttering “Sorry.” Naruto and Sakura looked at him in surprise before they both started laughing at him.

“And for your birthday, we're finished,” Kato announced, walking into the room with Daiki. Sasuke, Naruto, and Sakura looked at Rin and Kato in shock before they turned to grin at each other. A moment later the three shouted victoriously. Sakura picked up Daiki and began dancing around the room with him. Naruto gave Sasuke a high five before turning to watch Sakura. Rin and Kato grinned at them before turning and sneaking away to prepare breakfast.

Later that afternoon, while Daiki was taking his nap, Rin and Kato began explaining the seal to the others. “We'd like to apply the seal in about a week,” Rin stated, “that means that for the next couple of days we need to borrow Naruto.”

“Eh?” Naruto mumbled.

“The seal takes three people to work out. While Sakura is a medic and has better chakra control, she doesn't have the reserves to perform it. That means that over the next couple of days, we're going to give you a crash course in seals and chakra control,” Rin explained.

The next day as Sakura, Sasuke, and Kato played with Daiki, Rin was working with Naruto. “Why me?” Naruto finally asked, looking over at her. “I know you said it was because Sakura doesn't have the reserves, but I don't believe that.”

Rin looked at him for a moment before pulling out a second scroll. She had been teaching Naruto about Orochimaru's seal and the previous seal used on it. She unrolled the scroll and turned to Naruto. “This is the Ketsumei no Bes. It's the seal we'll be using. The main difference between this and the seal Kakashi used is that it doesn't depend solely on Sasuke's will. It draws on the power of the five donors and the receiver to combat the seal,” she explained.

“You see this line here,” Rin said, pointing to the longest of five spokes running out from the center. Naruto nodded. “This line is drawn using the blood of the activator, the person actually activating the seal. When I said that it took three people to perform, I meant that three people were needed to complete it safely. Kato and I will each be performing a separate jutsu that will ensure its success. You will be acting as activator,” she finished.

“I still don't get why it's me,” Naruto whined.

“This line is the longest because it is the most important aside from these two circles,” Rin stated as she pointed out the areas on the drawing. “The symbols that make up the circles will be drawn in Sasuke's own blood. The activator is chosen in a very specific way. It has to be someone who fully believes in the receiver.”

“Sakura-chan believes in Sasuke just as much as I do,” Naruto countered.

“Sakura didn't face him when he lost control. My understanding is that she's only seen him in that form, but never fought him. You and Sasuke have always been rivals, you've gone through a lot of troubled times, but despite that when you found him again you forgave him. You still believed that even though he's lost control before he wouldn't do the same next time, and you knew what would happen if he did,” Rin explained.

After several moments, Naruto finally nodded in acceptance and moved as if to go back to working. Rin had turned away when Naruto spoke again. “Who else is acting as a `donor'?” he asked.

“Myself, Sakura, Kakashi and Itachi. I wrote to them the other day telling them to send a vial full of blood,” Rin explained.

“You wrote to Kakashi-sensei and Itachi-teme?” Naruto asked in surprise.

“Did you just say Itachi-teme?” Rin choked out.

“Yeah, he's a bigger bastard than Sasuke,” Naruto remarked.

Rin snickered a bit before answering his initial question. “I've written to them twice. Once the day we left Monogoshi and then again the night before Sasuke's birthday. When we finish I'll have to send another letter, and then go into Konoha myself,” she said.

“I thought you said you didn't go there anymore,” Naruto replied.

“I don't when I don't have to. Unfortunately, Sasuke isn't the only person from Konoha to have this seal. Mitarashi Anko was given the seal when she was twelve,” Rin said.

“Anko has the curse seal?” Naruto almost shouted.

“You still know Anko?” Rin asked.

“A couple of weeks before I left, I got in trouble and had to have Jounin watching me a lot. She was one of them,” Naruto explained. “I think she was dating Iruka-sensei,” he added after a moment.

“Umino Iruka?” Rin asked grinning; Naruto nodded. “I'll have to look into that while I'm in town,” she added.

“So who'll act as her activator?” Naruto asked.

“I will,” Rin replied, “I was there when she lost control the first time, so I'll be doing it.”

XXXXXXXX

Half an hour later, Anko was seated in the middle of a small ten by ten interrogation room. Luckily it was one of the cleaner ones, so there were very few tell tale bloodstains on the walls. She sat patiently as Rin, Kakashi, and Itachi silently worked around her. Anko desperately ached to speak; she wasn't used to being this silent. She also had a lot of questions to ask, like why she hadn't been informed of their work, why they were remaining so distant, and most importantly why the hell the ink they were using looked so much like blood. As Rin stood up to stretch her back, Anko decided she couldn't take the silence anymore. “Who's blood?” she asked.

Rin gazed at her for a moment, before turning her left hand over to reveal a clean slice on her palm. The pointer and middle fingers on her right hand both had blood on the tips as they had served as writing utensils. Anko assumed Kakashi and Itachi had done the same. “Don't the different blood types cause problems?” she asked.

Rin smiled slightly at the question. It would be pointless to pretend that Anko was clueless when it came to something as forbidden as using blood for more than summoning. “It'll do the opposite of that. As I said earlier, this seal doesn't merely rely on your will. It draws on the sacrifice of blood and combines not only your will but the will of the donors as well. It means that next time Orochimaru tries to take advantage of that hickey he gave you,” Rin paused and allowed Anko to growl at her, “He'll be fighting you, me, Kakashi, Itachi, Jiraiya and Tsunade. Each of them donated a bit earlier this morning,” she finished.

While Rin had explained the seal to Anko, Kakashi and Itachi had each finished their work and stood up. Rin walked over and healed both of their palms before doing the same to her own.

Anko knew that there were five spokes of symbols leading from her shoulder and going off in various directions. “Each spoke is made up of the blood from one of us,” Rin stated, walking towards her. “Hold out your hand,” she ordered as she stopped in front of Anko. Anko reluctantly held out her hand; she had already guessed that having her blood on the inside of her body wouldn't be enough. Rin expertly sliced the palm of Anko's hand and collected a bit of her blood in a vial before healing it.

Anko glanced down and couldn't find a trace of what had happened. “Hiashi-sama and Shikato-san don't know, do they?” she said.

“No, there is no need for them to know,” Itachi answered as Rin dipped her finger in the vial and began adding to the symbols on the floor. She used Anko's blood to draw two circles around her, connecting the five spokes already in place. Anko watched and realized that the design was almost identical to the Fuuja Houin.

“We're done. Itachi, would you go get Tsunade?” Rin asked, standing up again. Once he had walked out, Rin turned back to Anko. “Technically I'll be the only one applying the seal to you. Kakashi will be using a simple jutsu to maintain a low temperature in the room, just a precaution because I expect you to show feverish symptoms. Itachi will be performing another jutsu that will block anyone from sensing anything within the room; I expect the seal to activate one last time before going completely dormant,” she explained.

Anko's eyes widened in panic. “What do you mean?” she asked.

“Just what she said,” Kakashi answered.

“Orochimaru's seal most likely isn't going to go without a fight,” Rin elaborated a bit.

“Is that why the others are here?” Anko asked.

“No, as I said Itachi will be using a jutsu to block others from sensing anything in this room. It will fully seal us off from them. Tsunade is simply bringing them as a precaution and as witnesses,” Rin explained. Anko nodded, not in the least unperturbed, but she knew the conversation was over because she could see Tsunade and the others entering the observation room.

Fifteen minutes later, the group staggered out. Tsunade noticed a thoughtful look on Hiashi's face and wondered what he was up to. As he walked away, she shrugged and turned back to checking over Anko. From what Rin had said, the young Jounin was likely to be out for about twenty four hours recovering. Shikato and Jiraiya took one last glance at the group and left. Tsunade heard Rin mumble a good bye before she, Itachi, and Kakashi took off as well. Judging by their looks, at least Rin would be out that long as well. “Maybe longer,” Tsunade mumbled, as Rin stumbled slightly and paused to regain her senses.

XXXXXXXX

One week after Rin began training Naruto, Sasuke sat in the middle of the house's basement. The room was large, cold, and plain. Kato had informed them that since she was merely renting the house, she had had no need to put anything in it. Rin and Kato were busy writing lines of symbols on the floor as Sakura and Naruto watched from the sidelines. Earlier that morning, Rin had collected a vial of blood from each of the teens so that they wouldn't have to worry about it once they got started. Sasuke looked around and felt a sense of déjà vu hit him. The pattern was the same as the seal Kakashi-sensei had applied.

While he was lost in thought, Rin and Kato finished their work and sent Sakura out of the room. “We'll open the door the moment we're finished,” Rin promised the nervous girl.

Once the door was shut, Kato sat down about ten feet from Sasuke and began speaking under her breath. As she muttered, her hands flashed through three seals and the temperature in the room began dropping. Rin turned to Sasuke and checked to make sure that all the seals were still in tact, when she was sure that they were she stepped towards the wall. “I've already explained all of this to Naruto, so he knows what to do when it happens. The application of this seal is likely to spark Orochimaru's curse seal to activate. It should only be for a few minutes and it shouldn't be able to reach level two,” she explained.

Sasuke looked up at her in a panic. “You said he would feel it if my seal activated,” he nearly shouted.

“Don't worry. I'll be using a jutsu that will seal this room off. It should stop him from sensing it, at least enough that he won't be able to track who or where,” Rin replied. “If the curse seal does activate, you will be restrained until the Ketsumei no Bes takes effect,” she finished.

Sasuke calmed down a bit and nodded. Rin turned to the wall where several seal tags had been placed earlier. She performed several hand seals that neither boy could see, before slamming the palm of her right hand onto the tag in front of her. After a moment she turned around and nodded to Naruto.

Naruto glanced nervously at Sasuke before stepping up behind him and performing the proper seals. When he was done he set his hand firmly on Sasuke's shoulder and forced chakra into the seal just as Rin had taught him.

The shortest line of seals was the first to react. Sakura's donation, Naruto reminded himself as he moved his hand away from the seal and onto Sasuke's right shoulder. The line glowed before retreating up to Sasuke's left shoulder. When that was settled into place, two more lines glowed. Rin and Kakashi's contributions flowed into place, leaving small black patterns around the seal on Sasuke's neck just like the other line had. The second to longest went next. Naruto wondered if Sasuke knew that it was from his brother.

As the line settled into place Naruto braced himself. Rin had told him that if the seal were to act up it would happen now, before the final bits were in place. He glanced at the ground as the final spoke and the two circles glowed. As the final spoke began shrinking he glanced down and saw the seal on Sasuke's neck pulse. Naruto bit his lip praying that Sasuke could resist it just a little bit longer.

The final spoke settled into place and the two circles made from Sasuke's own blood began shrinking towards him. Sasuke's hands curled into tight fists at his side as the mark on his began burning. Despite the frigid temperature, sweat was dripping off his face. He ground his teeth together attempting hold off the seal a bit longer.

Naruto's grip on Sasuke's shoulder tightened as Orochimaru's seal flared. The new seal was almost in place, but it would take another minute or so to settle. Several tendrils of the curse seal were sneaking past the new barriers, but he could tell they wouldn't get very far. A moment later two circles appeared around the five spokes on Sasuke's shoulder and the curse seal retreated. He could feel Sasuke relaxing as everything settled into place.

The marks on Sasuke's neck slowly faded and Naruto released his shoulder. The moment that support was gone, Sasuke slumped over into unconsciousness. Rin sighed and released the barrier that she had put up around the room. She walked over and inspected the new seal before nodding to Kato. The other woman stopped chanting the room's temperature slowly returned to normal. Rin nodded to Naruto and he walked over to allow Sakura back in the room.

Sakura rushed in and helped Rin pick up Sasuke so she could carry him upstairs. Naruto and Kato quietly followed the others up the steps and towards the room Sasuke and Naruto had been using. Once Rin had settled Sasuke into bed, she turned to congratulate Naruto only to find him fast asleep. She grinned at the other two before ushering them out of the room. In the hall she whispered, “Sakura would you mind staying with them while we rest for an hour or two?” Sakura nodded and walked back in the room while Rin and Kato headed to their own rooms.

The next afternoon, Kato sat patiently with Sakura as they waited for Sasuke to wake up. Rin and Naruto were entertaining Daiki outside. “Why do you know who we are?” Sakura asked out of the blue.

Kato looked at her in surprise. “What do you mean?” she asked.

“At first when we were here we were all careful not to use our real names, but after barely a month Rin started using them whenever we weren't in town,” Sakura explained.

“Rin has been very close to my family for many years. She trusts us, as do Kakashi and Itachi. If I hadn't known who Sasuke was I might have accidentally figured something wrong during the research. Certain parts of this seal have to customized,” Kato stated.

“You don't react to us though,” Sakura said.

“React?” Kato questioned.

“You know who we are, what we did, and you still treat us just like we're normal kids,” Sakura said.

“If you mean I know that you're three talented orphans who left a village that was lying to you and using you, then yes I know who you are and what you did. Even with your backgrounds you are normal kids. I'm treating you just like I would the rest of my family,” Kato said.

Sakura stared at her in confusion for a moment before Sasuke began to stir. Kato shook her head in amusement as the girl tended to her friend. They'd figure it out eventually.

XXXXXXXX

The next evening, Tsunade walked out of the hospital in search for answers. Anko had woken up an hour before, refreshed and in perfect health. After giving her and the seal a quick check, Tsunade had released Anko. The young woman had happily taken off in what Tsunade thought looked suspiciously like the direction of Waruyoi's. She shrugged and continued on her way.

Tsunade set off for the home of Nami Mitsutori. It had been almost nine months since the woman appeared at the memorial service for Team 7, and Tsunade hadn't had the chance to speak with her. She gently knocked on the door and waited a moment before it was answered by a young boy. His eyes widened in recognition and Tsunade took a moment to study him. He was definitely his mother's son she decided; you couldn't see any of his father in him, which was probably the point. “Hokage-sama,” he finally said respectfully.

“Rishito-kun, isn't it?” she asked. He nodded and Tsunade smiled slightly in an attempt to put him at ease. “I was wondering if I could speak with Nami-san or your mother?” she asked, pretending she hadn't heard Rin the day before when she told Tsunade that she was staying with Kakashi.

“Mom isn't here, but I'll go get Mitsutori,” he said before scampering off.

“Hokage-sama?” Mitsutori said when she appeared several moments later.

Tsunade snapped back to attention and said, “Nami-san, I apologize for coming unannounced. I've been meaning to stop by and speak with you for some time, but my work hasn't allowed me the time.”

“Of course, please come in,” Mitsutori replied, stepping aside and ushering Tsunade in. “And please call me Mitsutori,” she added as she led the way to the houses small kitchen. “Can I get you anything?” Mitsutori asked as they sat down.

“No thank you, Mitsutori,” Tsunade replied. “First off, I hope your stay in Konoha has been pleasant,” she began. Mitsutori smiled and nodded. “Secondly, and tell me if this is rude, I saw you at the Memorial last December. I understand that you are close to Rin and Kakashi, but I was a bit confused that the Nami family sent someone,” Tsunade said.

Mitsutori smiled sadly. “Senma-sama wanted to come as well, but she contracted a fever the week before and wasn't able to travel,” Mitsutori said, shocking Tsunade. “The Nami family has a history with Konoha. We had close ties with a number of the older Clans and it was to pay our respect to them” she explained.

“I wasn't aware that the Nami family was particularly close to the Uchiha clan,” Tsunade replied.

“No, I meant the Uzumaki clan and to pay our respects for Kakashi's students as well,” Mitsutori rephrased.

Tsunade looked fairly guilty for a moment before looking up. “Naruto wasn't really a member of the Uzumaki clan,” she said. “I'm sorry that you felt he was.”

“We know who Naruto is,” Mitsutori said smiling kindly at the Hokage.

Tsunade looked at her for a moment in confusion before shrugging it off. “When I returned, I was told that your family had had very little to do with the village. It was mainly because of this that I was so surprised to see you there,” Tsunade stated.

“I'm not sure what the circumstances were, but I believe that Senma-sama and Sandaime-sama had an argument. Senma-sama chose to give the village some space, as she called it,” Mitsutori claimed.

“I am very sorry to hear that. Hopefully we can work to revive that rift,” Tsunade said.

“I believe my great aunt would like that as well,” Mitsutori replied. “Although I doubt that is all you came here to speak about.”

Tsunade grinned weakly. “Do you mind if I ask how long you have known Rin and Kakashi?” she asked.

“I met them when I was about fourteen. They came to Anraku with their sensei shortly after he was named Yondaime,” Mitsutori explained. “We became friends rather quickly.”

“I see. Thank you for speaking with me,” Tsunade finished standing up.

“You're welcome,” Mitsutori responded as she led Tsunade to the door. “Just in case you wanted to know, Rin is staying at Kakashi's. I visited earlier today, but Rin was still sleeping and the others didn't look very awake either.”

Tsunade nodded before walking away.

XXXXXXXX

“How long have I been asleep?” Rin asked groggily as she walked into Kakashi's living room.

“It's August 7th; you've been asleep for three days,” Itachi answered.

“Where is everyone?” Rin asked, looking around.

“Kakashi figured you would be waking up soon, so he went to get Mitsutori,” Itachi said. Rin nodded and slumped into the chair across from him. “Anko woke up two days ago; why were you out for so long?” Itachi asked curiously.

Rin glared over at him. “It's draining enough to act as the activator, but last time I had your job and we were in a larger room. I only got about two hours of sleep after Sasuke's seal, because we didn't want to leave Sakura alone for too long. After that, I traveled here and didn't get much sleep the night before performing doing Anko's,” Rin answered. She growled when she heard Kakashi chuckling behind her. “Shut up,” she muttered.

Mitsutori sat down next to her, and Rin could tell that she was barely managing to keep the smile off her face. “The last time I saw you this exhausted was right after you had Rishito,” she commented. Rin rolled her eyes and glanced back at Kakashi who was pointedly ignoring her gaze.

After talking for half an hour, the main topic had of course been Naruto, Sakura, and Sasuke; Kakashi glanced at the wall clock and turned to Itachi. “Would you mind going to meet Rishito?” he asked.

Itachi looked at him in confusion before nodding and standing up. “You could have simply asked me to leave so that you can discuss delicate business,” he added as he walked out the door. He distinctly heard Kakashi laughing behind him and wondered if he should remind Kakashi that Rishito hadn't had school today.

“So, what is this delicate business? Should I leave as well?” Mitsutori asked.

“Kakashi gave you the scroll in May, right?” Rin asked.

“Yes,” Mitsutori answered.

“You should have already been expecting something along that line; Senma said that she had spoken with you about it,” Rin stated.

“I was, but it was still a bit of shock that you found them so quickly,” Mitsutori remarked.

“We got lucky,” Kakashi stated.

“When I left, Kato was preparing to take them up to Kumoma. I have a house there that we'll probably use for the next year or so until we get everything settled for them,” Rin said.

“What did Senma-sama say?” Mitsutori asked.

“I haven't had a chance to send word to Anraku yet. Once I get back and get them a bit more settled, Kato offered to take word back for me. Honestly though, I don't want to send back word without explaining everything first,” Rin explained.

“You're giving them the chance to leave again,” Mitsutori responded a bit angrily.

“They won't take it,” Kakashi said trying to calm her. “If those three feel like everything has been planned without their input, they'll feel trapped. Sasuke and Naruto have lived like that their entire time here, leaving was the only thing they controlled. If we give them the information and the options, they'll make the right decisions,” he added.

“Are you sure?” Mitsutori asked.

“Have we been wrong before?” Rin quipped.

“That's another argument completely,” Mitsutori responded, “However, neither of you have ever lied to my family. If you think it's best, we'll take your route.” Rin and Kakashi smiled at each other, but Mitsutori brought them out of their triumphant reverie. “Why did you send Itachi out?” she asked in confusion.

“Ah…he doesn't know,” Rin answered reluctantly. “I mean he knows we're close with your family, and that we'll be accepting help from you in the future. He just doesn't know why,” she explained.

“Why haven't you told him yet?” Mitsutori asked.

“Naruto deserves to know first,” Kakashi answered.

Mitsutori nodded reluctantly a moment later. “So, are you ready to meet your cousin?” Rin asked smiling at her. She figured the large grin on Mitsutori's face meant yes.

Agent's Spiel: Fuuja Houin is the Evil Sealing Method. As stated here, it's the same one used by Kakashi on Sasuke. I don't have a clue if it was really used on Anko, but we're pretending that it was; the back story for this will be shown later.

I don't know Japanese, but what Rin's seal basically translates to is Blood Pledge of Bes.

Bes is an Egyptian god who guards against evil spirits, snakes, and misfortune. It worked perfectly, so let's pretend Egypt exists in the Naruto world and Rin knows about its gods. Ketsumei is supposed to mean blood pledge or oath signed in blood (supposed to meaning that I don't know how accurate the translation site I was using is).