Naruto Fan Fiction ❯ After the Dream ❯ Walk On Water II ( Chapter 35 )

Agent's Spiel: I'll repeat this at the bottom of the chapter but this is the last chapter that was written for this version of this story. The new version is up on fanfiction(.net) under the name Role of Seven. I use the same username there and I hope to see at least a few of you the new readers enjoying it too.

 

 

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.

 

Walk on Water

“What happened here?” Kano asked his eyes widening comically as the group finally arrived at the infirmary.

“What happened here?” Suzu repeated in disbelief. “What happened out there?” she added, pausing long enough in stitching up Sasuke's forehead to shriek.

“Could you not raise your voice so loud my head kinda hurts,” Sasuke retorted looking up at her rather pathetically.

“It's your own fault. You're the one who decided that it would be a good idea to pile-drive his opponent through the roof,” Suzu growled into his face.

“It wasn't like I had a choice,” Sasuke shot back. “And it isn't my fault the roof was weak enough to cave in.”

“Weak? The roof caved in because you set it on fire. Just like Kyokki set the dormitories on fire this afternoon.”

“That wasn't his fault,” Sasuke insisted.

“Why is nothing ever either of your faults?”

“Can we get back to someone telling me what happened here?” Kano interrupted.

“At least one escaped from us,” Sasuke added. “I'm not sure about the other two, they were going after Kyokki and I know saw at least one of their bodies but I don't remember seeing a second.”

“Where is Kyokki?”

“On the roof making sure the fire is out completely and I hope he gets burned,” Suzu answered angrily. “He broke three windows in here. It was a miracle Inari and Rishito were able to help me get the beds out of the way in time so that none of the patients were cut by glass.”

Kano's eyes widened as he looked up towards the gaping hole in the roof. “I am so fired after this,” he moaned.

“Nonsense,” Lady Shijimi responded walking in. “From the looks of it not a single staff member was seriously injured during the fights and my grandchildren are safe. Property damage can be repaired easily,” she assured him, walking over to the young woman who had just redressed Izumi and wrapped her in a dry blanket.

“Hana, now that you're inside, take over for me here and then take care of Takara. I need to have a very long word with Itachi,” Suzu stated bowing once to Lady Shijimi before dragging Itachi back out of the room. She popped in a moment later as Sakura approached Sasuke, “Just finish the stitches he's not allowed to have it healed the fast way as punishment.”

“Why are they making this sound like our fault?” Sakura whined picking up the needle. Sasuke watched her cautiously, eyeing the needle in her hand with distrust; he only relaxed when she finished.

“Can you get Kyokki so that I can find out how many dead bodies we need to clean up and how many we're going to have to go after?” Kano asked as Sasuke got up off the stool Suzu had forced him onto over ten minutes before.

“I'm not allowed on the roof. Suzu seems convinced I'll cause more damage,” Sasuke apologetically declined. “Is Moegi well enough to hop up there? I think that's where her teammates are right now too,” he offered.

“You up for that kid?” Kano asked turning around to look at Moegi. She looked slightly startled by his request and took a moment to process it before nodding silently and heading towards one of the windows that had been cracked open. She disappeared out of it taking the sturdier outer wall up to the roof. “She seems kinda flighty.”

“Um Hana? How many did you guys fight?” Sasuke asked staring at the window Moegi disappeared out of.

“There were four. Itachi handled one but we got to take care of the other three. And before you say anything I'll talk to her about handling her first kill after I make sure Takara isn't permanently injured and have something to tell Kyokki about whose ass he needs to kick,” Sakura answered, preparing to heal the cut on the back of Takara's head. “And Kano, wait to ask me anything until I'm done. I'll listen to what they say but let me concentrate on this.”

“Takara's hurt?” Naruto asked dropping in through the hole in the ceiling and rushing over towards his cousin. He was quickly followed by Itachi's students, two of whom were in slight awe of Naruto's descent.

“Just knocked her head in the gardens. She'll be fine,” Sakura assured him.

Naruto looked at her a bit suspiciously for a moment but decided not to pester her while she was focused so he turned to Kano instead. “What did you need to see me for?”

“Eiki said you went up against three men-“

“No it was four. We each took two,” Sasuke corrected.

“Okay how many bodies?”

“I got two. One on the roof and another that dropped through that window,” Naruto claimed pointing to the only window in the room that had been shattered outward.

“There's another body that Suzu had me push towards the back of the room until we could clean up. The last man got away because she claimed I was too injured to go after him.”

“Eiki you now have at least twenty stitches across your forehead and down the side of your face. I barely had the blood cleaned off you when they came in. That counts as too injured,” Suzu cut in walking back into the room with Itachi.

“Now, now, I know this has been a tiring day but let's not yell at everyone,” Lady Shijimi suggested, “And perhaps when Hana is finished you could find out what she did to her ankle.”

Suzu's head snapped towards Sakura, who ducked away from the older woman to focus on finishing Takara's head. “We've talked about your shoes before,” Suzu sighed gaining a glare from Sakura.

“It wasn't the shoes' fault,” she muttered back. “The smoke was making me a bit dizzy and the jump was ill planned and I landed on a crack in the cobblestone.”

Before Suzu could argue back, Kano stepped in and said, “Before you go about yelling at these three we need to decide what to do next. I've already ordered the palace to be locked down. All non-essential personnel are to remain in the mess hall and most areas of the palace have been completely shut down. Why did you actually show up?” he stopped abruptly turning to Itachi in confusion.

“They brought the antidote's recipe,” Suzu reminded him.

“Then why didn't Rin come with you? Why did she hire a team to send word along?”

Itachi glanced at Naruto, Sakura, and Sasuke before answering. “She was supposed to but she was held up in Konoha. We couldn't wait because we needed to get the scroll to Suzu and I need to borrow Eiki and Kyokki.”

“What for?” Madame Shijimi asked perking up in concern.

“Three Konoha ninja went missing while on a mission north of here. They were separated from the rest of their team and we haven't heard from them in almost a week now. The council blocked a rescue attempt while Tsunade was gone but we know Sound was involved and waiting could have meant leaving them to die.”

“You need them to go with you to find this team,” Kano clarified.

“That was our original intent. We have bigger problems now. I need to borrow them to go after the ninja who escaped first. If we're lucky we'll run into our ninja while we're doing that,” Itachi stated.

“If we sent to Konoha for help would they be able to send anyone?” Madame Shijimi asked.

“As long you didn't file an official mission request that would have to go past the council. They would probably accept but either find a way to delay it or send people who would be nuisances. If you want help, send someone who won't be recognized from your staff to Hyuuga Hiashi. If he can, he not only has the largest number of ninja directly under his control but he'll also be able to get ninja in and out of the village,” Itachi answered.

“Going over the heads of the Council. That's quite a stance to make without my husband's recommendation,” Lady Shijimi muttered finally coming to a conclusion about Itachi's other suggestion. “But it sounds like our best bet. Kano if you can spare someone, have them set out tonight. For now I'll leave you all to plan your next move.”

As the Daimyo's wife headed out the door of the medical ward with her grandchildren, Kano signaled for two of his guards to walk out with her. “Bai go rest up. I'll call for you in two hours. You're the messenger,” he added to a third stationed at the door. The woman nodded and disappeared out the door as well.

“Before I know what to tell Konoha I need to know what we're going to have here. Are you just taking Eiki and Kyokki? And are you going to do something about her ankle?” Kano asked turning from Itachi to Suzu.

Suzu frowned and turned to Sakura motioning for her to sit down. “I'll set it but she isn't going along because I'm not letting her heal it,” Suzu stated.

“Why exactly are you refusing to let either of them be healed?” Naruto asked in confusion.

“Because none of you would be hurt if you would use some common sense once in a while. Maybe having to wait these injuries out for a while will remind you to think twice next time,” Suzu told him smacking him over the head.

“Is there anything those three can do while we're talking?” Itachi interrupted pointing to his students.

“Yeah, if they're up to it they can give the clean up crew a hand at the dormitories,” Kano told them.

“The residential building where we were?” Itachi asked.

“No, the staff dorms. They're mainly used by the guards. That's what the first fire was earlier today,” Kano explained.

“The ones Kyokki set on fire.”

“I didn't set them on fire. There were incendiary tags and they went off at the same time that we arrived but we didn't set them off,” Kyokki insisted.

“He's telling the truth,” Kano added, sending Suzu a stern look to stop her from countering him.

“How much property damage was there?” Inari asked.

“The dorms are decimated. The fire started on the first floor and since the explosion occurred right afterwards they just evacuated and made sure it didn't spread, most of the guards were focused on the residential building and making sure there wasn't anyone stuck inside,” Kano started. “The gardens…they're gone. It's been dry here and the fire Hana started to help them escape incinerated the plants. It's not that big of a deal though. The Daimyo's residence has a hole in it and I don't want it being used until we've searched it, that's why we're keeping everyone in confined areas here,” he added.

“Are you taking your students with you?” Suzu asked moving them back to their original topic.

“No. Not against an enemy of this level. However, when Takara is recovered enough to travel they should go with her and Hana to Anraku; they have a message for Sho and I think Takara needed to return anyways,” Itachi told her.

“If we're going to have reinforcements from Konoha I can send at least one or two guards with you,” Kano offered.

“No. As soon as we've gotten rid of the two that got away, we're going after Kakashi, Anko, and Inuzuka Hana. Your guards' duty lies here,” Itachi stated.

“Kakashi-san? He's…look you can't just take these two and expect to take out a team that managed to hold onto Kakashi-san,” Kano countered.

“They're enough,” Itachi told him sternly. “Focus on your job here and leave Sound to us.”

“This is bullshit Uchiha. I know these two are good but Sound's aggressiveness increased faster than anyone expected. The chances that the three of you alone can help when someone at Kakashi and Anko's level were at the very least delayed is ludicrous.”

Itachi ignored Kano's statement and turned to his students. “Go see if anyone has a job for you to do. I'll find you in a few hours,” he told them. He waited until the three had disappeared before turning to Suzu, “He was left in charge without being told who they are?”

“Eh?”

Suzu ignored Kano's confusion and sighed. “We may be a bit more open as of late but we still respect the fact that we're keeping their identities a secret,” she countered.

Naruto and Sasuke exchanged a glance before turning back to meet Kano's stare. Sasuke reached up and removed one of his contacts before activating the sharingan and Naruto simply allowed the black to fade out of his eyes leaving them their normal blue. He also used his shirtsleeve to rub off some of the make up that he used to keep his whisker marks hidden; he figured Kano might freak out if his eyes turned red as well.

“Shit, you're the Genin that were killed,” he whispered.

“They're more than capable of helping me,” Itachi told him.

“You may be fine fighting against them, but what about actually retrieving Kakashi and the others. Will they be able to fight and then offer any healing skills?”

“We'll be fine,” Naruto spoke up assuring him.

“Fine, I won't argue anymore. Is there a specific person that I should be requesting or should I let Hyuuga-sama choose?” he asked not wanting to argue with the headstrong teens - it was disastrous enough when Reiko tried.

“If we go with the assumption that there is an insider then unless you have an interrogation specialist here you should request one from Konoha. Since the subject is a ninja you should probably make the request anyways,” Itachi told him.

“I know they can't send Shizune, but someone with a bit of medic training would be helpful. You'll need help with the guards and investigation of the shinobi activity plus someone who can escort Hana, Takara, and Itachi's students so at least two teams if they can spare them,” Suzu added.

“There's a prisoner?” Sasuke suddenly asked.

“One of the one's who ended up after the girls in the garden,” Kano told him.

“Is he unconscious?”

“For now. I'll have to reverse the Sharingan's effects before we leave otherwise they won't be able to get anything out of him,” Itachi told him.

“Before you do that, search for false teeth and then restrain his mouth. Orochimaru instructs his men to do anything to avoid interrogation and if he actually went up against you then he isn't a coward,” Sasuke stated shocking Kano.

“I'll get you a mouth prop to take down when you wake him up,” Suzu told Itachi.

“Alright. I'll leave you with them for now so you can plan what you're going to do,” Kano sighed. “Just tell me what you've decided on so that I know before you leave.”

“When will you send Bai to Konoha?” Sakura spoke up attempting to stand on her own.

Suzu pushed her back down onto the stool as Kano answered, “What time do the gates close?”

“Dusk while the Hokage is out of the village,” Itachi answered.

“She won't be able to make it tonight then. I'll wait and send her out so that she gets there when the gates open in the morning - I assume at dawn?”

Itachi nodded and turned back to Sakura and Sasuke. “What do we need to know about the two who escaped?”

“The one who got away from me was a genjutsu user. He's probably who helped set up the genjutsu in the nursery,” Sasuke told him as Kano nodded and walked out of the room.

“Don't you need to hear this?” Suzu yelled after him.

“I'll get you and Hana to repeat it to me. There's only like ten of us on active duty so I need to check in on Lady Shijimi and then get the bodies brought up here,” Kano shouted back letting the door swing shut behind him.

“Only ten?” Itachi asked turning back to Suzu.

“The Daimyo's guard isn't that large to begin with. Five guards, including Lian and Reiko, are with the Daimyo, his daughter and her husband. We've got about thirty laid up here,” Suzu told him. “And they need to sleep at some point so a few are off duty right now.”

“I thought Rin said that Lian sent for her,” Itachi told her.

“No but if she didn't know that he was with the Daimyo then that would be the obvious assumption,” Suzu explained.

“Can I get something for the pain?” she interrupted, finally asking Suzu and pouting dolefully.

“No. I need you conscious to help me with the antidote. And what about the man who got away from you?”

“Nothing much to say. Unless they have a medic, which isn't likely, then he'll still have a cut across his face from one of Takara's fans. It looked like his hand was bleeding as well but I couldn't see the injury. None of them were bad at least Chuunin, could've been Jounin if they were holding back. He was the one who used the water jutsu on us,” Sakura answered still pouting.

“Was that who knocked Takara out?” Naruto asked, glancing at his cousin's still form. Sakura nodded innocently as Suzu turned to Naruto suspiciously.

“You're not going out there for vengeance,” she stated gaining an affronted look from Naruto.

“Don't need vengeance,” Naruto finally answered.

“Hold to that and don't do anything stupid,” Suzu told him sternly.

Naruto frowned at her but her nodded in compliance. “So what happened to Kakashi-sensei and the others?” he asked changing the topic.

“They were on a mission - possibly near Settei - when their team was attacked and split up. Shizune, Genma, Iwashi, and Aoba made it back to Konoha but Kakashi, Anko, and Inuzuka Hana never turned up,” he told them.

“We know it was Sound that attacked them?” Sakura asked to clarify.

“Their uniforms were clearly marked.”

“Do we know how many we'll be up against?”

Itachi turned to his brother and frowned. “The team that attacked wasn't large but that doesn't mean that reinforcements haven't come along. They've been gone for several days now.”

“When do we leave?” Naruto asked eagerly.

“In an hour. Go get ready,” Itachi stated, turning back to Suzu as Naruto and Sasuke took off out of the room. “I assume you'll need Sakura here until Konoha sends someone to help you?”

“Yeah, I've only managed to glance at the antidote but it's complicated and has to be made in individual doses. If I work alone it could take four or five days before I've gotten to everyone,” Suzu admitted.

“Fine, but as soon as you can spare Sakura and Takara is awake and capable of traveling send them with my students to Anraku. They need to tell Mitsutori where Rin is, so the sooner they can leave the better,” Itachi stated.

“Wait so word wasn't sent to the Daimyo or anyone of what was going on here?” Suzu asked.

“From what it sounded like it was. And she sent word to Mitsutori to fetch the Hokage as well, but she couldn't send word after the Elders summoned her,” Itachi explained.

“You had to sneak out, right?” Sakura interrupted, looking up from the scroll she had begun studying.

“Not quite. We collected a mission request for a scroll delivery,” Itachi explained.

“Yeah, but I mean you had to leave without most of your equipment right? I mean it would have looked odd if you went out that heavily armed for such a simple mission. You don't even have your katana,” Sakura pointed out. “Instead of arguing with Suzu you probably should go after them and borrow some of their stuff. They both have plenty of extra equipment.”

“I'm not arguing with him,” Suzu countered.

“You're arguing with everyone,” Sakura deadpanned.

Suzu growled but Itachi simply turned away hiding a smirk. “Do you have the mouth prop you were going to give me? I'll go take care of the prisoner before meeting Naruto and Sasuke,” he added.

“Don't forget about your students. If they're confused tell them to come here tonight and I'll make sure they get something to eat and some sleep,” Suzu told him moving towards the office right inside the medical wing. She rooted around inside for several minutes before coming out and handing Itachi a small rubber mouth prop. You should probably gag him once that's in place to make sure he doesn't manage to dislodge it,” she offered, handing it to Itachi.

Itachi nodded once to Suzu before turning and leaving. Sakura stared at his retreating form as her eyes slowly narrowed into a glare as he disappeared without a word.

 

Agent's Spiel: Like I said above, this is it for After the Dream. I started it over three years ago and after dawdling with plot changes and plot holes and I decided to start over completely.

The rewrite is called Role of Seven, the original name for this story. My name on fanfiction(.net) is “Agent Spielplatz”. You can find Role of Seven and its companion No Good Deed which is an ongoing look into some of the back story. For those of you who just found AtD, I do hope you'll choose to follow the rewrite.