Naruto Fan Fiction / InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Stains of the Heart ❯ Chapter Eleven ( Chapter 11 )

Chapter Eleven

 

“Tsunade-baa-cha—YOU!” Naruto lifted his hand, pointing at the woman smiling at him from the seat she'd taken next to the Kazekage. His eyes widened at the happiness that actually seemed to leak from her skin, but then there was a flash in her eyes, and he felt himself tense, ready for anything she may throw at him. However, she did nothing, merely turning the other way so that she was once again facing Tsunade, but the growling of Kyuubi increased a small amount. At that moment, he almost wished the stupid fox would talk to him, but he'd been shut out every time he'd tried to ask a question.

 

Narrowing his eyes, he swept it over Tsunade's desk, taking notice that there was a bottle of sake sitting on top and the paperwork was gone. Obviously swept onto the floor from the look of it sitting there. However, his eyes quickly left the sight and found that his friend was also standing in the room, strangely close to the woman that he was supposed to be watching, and had failed. Normally that wouldn't have bothered him, if he hadn't seen the way Gaara had shown slight interest in her. “Sasuke-teme,” he growled.

 

“Dobe,” Sasuke greeted him, hearing the woman sitting at his right giggle.

 

Tsunade's eyes flickered toward her for a moment, and then she sighed, shifting back to Naruto. “Naruto, we need to talk,” she stated. She'd been rather shocked when the woman had come in, and instead of scowling and muttering to herself, was giggling at something that Sasuke had said after she'd sent him to retrieve her and the Kazekage. In fact, she'd nearly fallen out of her chair, though she could tell from the look in the woman's eyes that she was merely paying attention to the Uchiha for her own personal gain, whatever it may be.

 

Naruto nodded, keeping his eye on the woman.

 

“Naruto, it has come to my attention that you may not be the best suited for the mission I gave you,” Tsunade began. “You have nearly gotten yourself killed, and allowed her to escape your senses at the same time. Now, you have allowed her out of your sight while you were following her, and because of this she managed to leave the village for a short time. Tell me, Naruto, do you have any type of excuse for your lack of attention?”

 

Naruto sighed, bowing his head. “No.”

 

“Then I believe it is best for now that your current mission be placed into the hands of someone more capable of completing it,” Tsunade closed her eyes, escaping the sight Naruto was making for a moment. However, her hand reached out and she grabbed the neck of her sake bottle, dragging it closer to her. Then, she opened her eyes and looked at the woman sitting between Sasuke and the Kazekage. Her voice a little tired, she asked, “What do you think, Kagome-san?”

 

“I believe that is acceptable, Hokage-sama,” Kagome smirked, her eyes glittering.

 

Tsunade silently gritted her teeth together. She really hated the way that woman talked to her, since she always seemed to speak as if she was talking down to a child. She was not only the Hokage of Konohagakure, but also one of the three legendary Sannin, she deserved more respect than the girl gave her. Though she had to admit it probably seemed like quite a bit to anyone who didn't pay close attention to her tone of voice. “Very well,” she ground out, “from this moment on, Uchiha Sasuke will be the one to watch over your movements. Be warned, though, Kagome-san, if you leave this village again without notifying anyone, you will be—”

 

“I understand, Hokage-sama,” Kagome said, her tone darkening.

 

Tsunade glared at her. “Then you may leave. Naruto, I have another mission for you.”

 

“Right!” Naruto smiled.

 

Kagome stood, “Come, Uchiha-san.”

 

Sasuke stiffened a bit at her command. He knew that his fan girls weren't going to like his mission, probably making as much trouble for them as possible, even if it was only a mission. However, she had just given him an order as if she expected him to follow it, she was his superior, and she could talk down to him at any time she wished. He could only hope that she didn't turn out to be like one of his fan girls, since he wasn't sure exactly what crazy schemes they could come up with in order to win his favor.

 

After Gaara followed them, Tsunade turned her attention to Naruto. “I have a new mission for you, Naruto. Something came up this morning after you came to tell me of your mistake.”

 

Naruto frowned, “What is it, Tsunade-baa-chan?” He didn't like the serious tone that the Hokage was giving him, nor did he like the fact that Tsunade was staring deeply into her sake bottle. It was almost as if Tsunade could sense that something bad was going to happen, and Naruto didn't like that one bit.

 

OoO

 

Kagome's face lit up for a single second, as she spotted her possible friend. She'd never truly had a friend, she'd thought she had once, but she'd ended up betraying her because of her foolish father's words. She completely ignored the Uchiha walking slightly behind and to the left of her, as she raised her hand to wave. “Temari!” she said, moving forward at a slightly quicker pace.

 

The image of a kunai shooting through the air and sinking into the flesh of her opponent's neck suddenly streaked across her mind. Kagome's pace skipped a beat, but she managed to keep going, cursing the memories that continued to haunt her for the time being. Especially when a young girl's smiling face entered her minds eye, before turning horrified and turning to ash as it blew away in the wind. She knew that these images would not leave her until she slept, but she did not feel the need to do so just yet. She was strong enough; she could handle her memories for a while, especially since most of them had such beautiful red blood splashing across the surface. And, if she really needed to, she could think about her newest victims in order to get rid of the memories.

 

The other kunoichi turned, and blinked. However, Temari smiled a bit when she noticed that Kagome was waving at her, whereas before she had merely nodded her head. Either she'd missed something, or there was something different from before. Her fingers did linger on her holster, though, knowing that some of Kagome's weapons were in there. From what she'd heard, if the other kunoichi wanted to, she'd easily be able to snatch them off her body without her noticing. “Oh, Kagome!”

 

Her eyes gleamed brightly in the sun, as she came to a halt in front of the Sunagakure shinobi. However, her eyes shifted suspiciously to the other shinobi staring at her, four of them in all. “Who are your… friends?” Kagome asked, her posture straightening a little more.

 

Temari blinked, “From left to right, they're Shikamaru, Ino, TenTen, and Lee.”

 

Kagome nodded her head, before shifting her body to bow low. “I am Kagome,” she said. Her voice gained a small edge, warning them a bit in case she needed to. Then her eyes settled onto one of them, and she hissed, “You're the one who was with that idiot when he knocked me out.”

 

Shikamaru sighed, “What a drag.” However, he watched her closely afterward, noticing the way her eyes narrowed more. Naruto had hit her quite hard and so quickly that it was hard to imagine how she'd recognized him, when she should have only picked up on Naruto's chakra signature before he hit her, if at all. To instantly recognize his when he hadn't even showed his face until after she was knocked unconscious meant that she was very aware of her surroundings or was more alert than she'd seemed to be when it had happened. She was an unknown; especially since it was quite obvious she was a shinobi, which made her dangerous.

 

The sound of quickly moving footsteps entered her ears, right before a hand grabbed her arm. Kagome tensed a bit, growling at the Uchiha as he glared down at her. He was not as bothersome as the idiot Uzumaki Naruto, but that did not mean that he had the right to handle her roughly. “Uchiha-san,” she growled, “I suggest you release me.”

 

“Don't go running off like that again,” Sasuke snapped, tightening his hold for a second and then releasing her.

 

She snorted, “Do not expect for me to listen to your commands anytime in the near future.”

 

“You may want to,” Sasuke said, “unless you want Tsunade-sama to throw you into a cell.”

 

Her eyes narrowed, her happy mood quickly disappearing, “I would not remain there for long.” Her eyes noticed the quick movement of the blonde haired girl, and moved before she could hit her. Her breath came out in a hiss, her hand twitching to grab the blonde locks and give a nice yank as they slapped her in the face. However, as her face turned to one of anger, she noticed the Kazekage as he stepped up next to her, and calmed just a bit. She did not understand how he managed to do it, but she was glad for it, since she did not wish to be hunted at the moment.

 

Temari's eyes widened at the sight of her brother standing next to the girl she'd helped. She'd seen the way her face had changed, and her hand had gripped her fan in that instance. Though she'd helped her, she still knew very little about her, and she had been positive that she was going to attack Ino. However, it was strange that her brother had been the one to calm her, and Temari's eyebrow rose at the way the woman turned her head as if uninterested.

 

“Sasuke-kun,” Ino asked, “what are you doing with that strange woman?” She'd always wanted to be the one to capture his heart; she didn't want some new woman to take it from her. However, even then she knew that she shouldn't even try after Sakura had died. Still, she wanted to be the one to mend his heart, she was so sure it was broken now, and that woman wouldn't get in her way of that.

 

“Completing my mission,” Sasuke rolled his eyes.

 

“Your mission?” Ino asked, blinking rapidly.

 

“Are you hard of hearing?” Kagome asked, feeling her mood changing. “Or did you not understand that you must repeat what he said in the form of a question?”

 

Ino stiffened, turning toward her with a fire in her eyes. “What did you just say?”

 

“Hm,” Kagome smirked, “I'm starting to believe that you are hard of hearing if you didn't catch what I said.” She stopped talking; scowling when she noticed the way the male at her side was looking at her. She snorted again, her lip twitching slightly as she wondered why she had stopped. So, she continued, “Tell me, are all kunoichi in this village as hard of hearing as you are?” The other female stiffened, while the man named Lee began to protest at her words, calling them `un-youthful'. “I would think so, since none of them seem to notice anything except the men in front of their eyes.”

 

“How dare you,” Ino hissed.

 

Noticing the kunai now in Ino's hand, Kagome smirked a little wider. “I would believe that striking at me first would only get you into trouble. What type of shinobi are you anyway? Do you not know that you're not supposed to show your true feelings? Or do you merely hate me enough already that you wish to spill my blood?”

 

“Stupid girl. If you don't want to bring attention to yourself, why do you continue to provoke them? I am beginning to think you're stupider than I thought.”

 

Shut up.

 

Ino huffed, wanting to stomp her foot in anger. However, she turned her eyes to the silent male at her side, and hissed, “Sasuke-kun?”

 

“Are you that weak that you must hide behind others? Men especially?” Kagome laughed. “You're pathetic. It is a wonder how you obtained the position of a shinobi.” She turned away, smirking to herself as she began to walk away from them. Her eyes flashed as she did, once again locking away her memories as they tried to assault her, and feeling something bristle underneath her skin.

 

Sasuke sighed, beginning to follow her.

 

Shikamaru narrowed his eyes a bit, stuffing his hands into his pockets. “Her mood changed rather quickly,” he muttered to himself. Then, he sighed, “This is so troublesome.”

 

Temari frowned a bit in agreement.

 

Gaara allowed his eyes to flicker over them, and then turned to follow the woman. She'd shut herself inside of herself, it seemed, shoving her happiness to the side in order to allow her sharp tongue to take control. It did change rather quickly, something that made her a little more interesting, since he was not sure whether she was going to giggle or snap at him. And it was strange that she tried so hard to distance herself from others, since most wished for companionship of some kind.

 

OoO

 

“What did you find?” he hissed deeply, his eyes watching the other man closely. They narrowed when the other man stiffened just a bit, and ducked his head so that the tips of his bangs covered his eyes enough that they could not be seen.

 

“The Clan… has been…” the man stopped, dropping his eyes a little further.

 

His pause was not welcome, as he lifted his head more to glare at the man. “Well, spit it out, you fool!”

 

Tensing further, the man bowed his head a little more in response. “Forgive me, Orochimaru-sama. I merely regret to tell you that the entire Clan has been destroyed.”

 

“What!” Orochimaru replied, his snake-like eyes widening.

 

The man lifted his head just a bit, “From my source, I found that the village was attacked when everyone of its members was inside, leaving none alive. Their bodies had been mutilated so badly that no one within the village was able to identify any of them.” He gulped, “However, my source was able to tell me that it was more likely that someone who came from the Clan killed them.”

 

“How did they know this?” he asked.

 

“Every jutsu of the village has been recorded,” the man replied. “According to my source, and some of the village rumors, the only known jutsu inside of the village—unless they were attacked by some other village shinobi—capable of doing that type of damage was from that Clan,” he stopped again. “It was also mentioned by their kage when he was telling the village of their loss that though only a few bodies could be identified, one body was missing from the number of members the Clan had.”

 

“Interesting,” Orochimaru chuckled. “Was there anything more that you were able to find? I would rather like finding this rouge shinobi, especially after finding out so much about their secret family jutsus.”

 

The man finally gave a smirk, and lifted his head completely. His hand lifted, the picture in it seen easily in the candlelight. “My source had some interesting information on the head's daughter. Apparently she was often distant from the Clan,” he noticed the way Orochimaru's eyes soaked in the girl's image, “and she was powerful enough to create such chaos.”

 

Orochimaru laughed quite loudly, leaning forward in his chair. “This… this is the girl that the Clan's head sired?” he laughed out his question.

 

“Indeed she is, Orochimaru-sama…”