Okay, I just realized that this story has over 100 views--and why the hell shouldn't I post another chapter to celebrate? Mind, I'm kind of low on time, so, uh, I'm not going to say anything about the chapter, and I'm not sure I can edit it so that the italics are where they should be. In which case...bear with me!

Naruto world and characters (c) Masashi Kishimoto

Haruka, Misaki, Kazuki, unnamed-yet-I-think Sound ninjas 1-3 (c) me, Zopponde, stealing=deathwish

I don't think any trademarked characters will show up enough to be out-of-characters, but if they do and they are, deal with it. It's a Naruto fanFICTION. It doesn't actually happen.

Oh, and, uh, yeah, there's some mention of yuri, so...it's just a passing mention, but that's why it got that thing marked.
...how did that happen, anyway...?



Comprehension
Chapter 10

Haruka woke up under the shadow of someone leaning over her. She opened her eyes a little more to see the face of a young woman essentially glaring at her through her heavy, unnaturally colored makeup.

When she saw signs of Haruka’s consciousness, she huffed and called over her shoulder, “Kazuki, your girlfriend woke up.”

Haruka heard Kazuki deny, “She’s not my girlfriend!”

“Then why’d ya keep her alive?” another female voice, whose owner Haruka couldn’t see, taunted.

Kazuki sighed as the lady in Haruka’s face stepped aside to let him see her. “Because she’d make good bait for the others.”

Haruka frowned. Bait seemed the only thing she seemed good at being. Maybe that was why she didn’t like fish; she always had to endager something that she could empathize with.

Kazuki smiled at her. “And I would like to talk to her. There’s always a chance that Akatsuki has a weakness.”

Haruka sighed and breathed to him, “I’ve only been in Akatsuki for about two weeks. Less than that. And I’m not even a real member. Kisame-san never lets me forget that.”

“Do you want to talk to me again or not?” Kazuki hissed back.

Haruka smiled tiredly. “Fair enough.”

Kazuki stood up. “Now I’m going to take her somewhere else, so she doesn’t feel too pressured.”

The first woman that Haruka saw looked at Kazuki suspiciously. “And we want to relieve pressure now?”

Kazuki glared at her. “Would you start talking if all of your enemies were crowding around you?”

The woman sighed and nodded, but she still glared at Kazuki. “Alright, but I’ve got my eye on you.”

Kazuki smiled at her and helped Haruka stand up. “Can you walk on your own?”

Haruka thought she could, so she nodded, and, sure enough, she could walk without really doing anything more than holding Kazuki’s hand.

They walked away a little—okay, a lot. They walked on for about ten minutes, and rather fast. If Haruka had to guess, they went at least half a mile away.

Finally, Kazuki sat down on a rock—a rock without moss. He gestured for her to sit down as well, and she found a grassy spot to sit on before he took a breath and frowned.

“Haruka, what are you doing in Akatsuki?” he demanded seriously. “They’re all S-ranked criminals—if they know you’re in it, you’ll automatically be considered one as well, for betraying your village.”

Haruka sighed tiredly. “Kazuki-niisan, I know that I shouldn’t have, but really, it’s your fault.”

Kazuki’s eyebrows raised disbelievingly. “My fault? How is that?

Haruka looked up to meet his eyes coolly. “If you hadn’t left me, I wouldn’t have been sent to Leaf Village, and then I wouldn’t have met Masuyo, which means I wouldn’t have killed Masuyo, which means I wouldn’t have run away and fallen into the river and been saved by Itachi-niisama, and then I wouldn’t have…” Haruka smirked slightly. “Then I wouldn’t have become an honorary spy for Akatsuki.”

“You killed—” Kazuki seemed rather speechless. “Haruka, this all is serious—and it’s not my fault! This whole business—I left you behind because I didn’t want you to kill people!”

Haruka shrugged. “Then you should have just let me live alone in Sand Village. I would have stayed put there—really, I’d never even think of betraying Sand Village, even now.” She really meant these words.

Kazuki sighed. “Do you even know the goals of Akatsuki?”

Haruka shrugged. “I know, but the way I see it, I’d rather be on the side that’ll win.”

Kazuki sighed again. “Haruka…you’ve just backed yourself in. You’ll never be able to leave Akatsuki—only one person ever has before, and the only reason he’s still alive is because he knows how to use a new body if his is destroyed.”

Haruka shrugged again. “Why would I want to leave? I’m perfectly happy right here. That is, until I realized that you were here,” she added. “Now it’s all crazy, and I’m starting to think twice about it. Starting to.”

Kazuki leaned forward, put his elbows on his knees and rested his forehead in his hands. “Haruka…”

“Kazuki-niisan, I’m fine,” Haruka insisted.

Kazuki looked up a bit. “And you know, you call Itachi by that title—Itachi-niisama. Do you seriously think he’s that great? Don’t you know what he did to his last family?”

Haruka looked down a little. “Not much better than what I’ve done. The only difference is that he went a little further.”

Kazuki sighed. “Haruka, you’re being too friendly with these criminals. It’s not healthy—you’re probably lucky they didn’t just kill you the moment they saw you!”

Haruka knew that Kisame probably wanted to or wished he had, but saying that wouldn’t exactly help her argument. Instead, she sighed and said, “Look, they didn’t, and now they won’t. Thus, I’m probably now safer because now I have a whole bunch of rather capable people teamed up with me.” Actually, she had the weakest, in-on-a-fluke person for a partner, but that still wouldn’t help her argument, and right now, she supposedly had Itachi and Kisame looking after her, which was something she wouldn’t mention because right now, while she wasn’t sure whose side she was on, she wasn’t going to give up an Akatsuki yet.

Kazuki sighed. “Your partner doesn’t look that well off. She didn’t even seem to notice my teammates who followed her.”

Haruka suddenly wondered something. “Did you guys do anything to her?”

Kazuki shook his head. “No, but only because you screamed and ruined their opportunity. She’d probably be mince meat right now if you hadn’t been so noisy and ruined our chance to talk with beter circumstances. Why? Did you two have a relationship or something?” He eyed her in such a way that he seemed to suspect that his sort-of younger sister was having a lovelife that he didn’t know about.

Haruka glared at him. “Do I really look any less straight than you do? By the way, is blue lipstick the uniform in Sound Village?”

Kazuki rolled his eyes. “No, you don’t, but that doesn’t mean you are straight. I just want to know who my younger sister is interested in.”

Haruka rolled her eyes too. “Well, I guess it might look like that, but it’s not. She’s just my partner. Do you assume that Itachi-niisama and Kisame-san like each other that way just because they’re partnered?” She suddenly got a very vivid and rather strange picture in her mind and scrunched her face in displeasure at the sight of it. “No, no they’re not,” she answered. “They had better not. And besides, I think I have some reasonable proof that Itachi-niisama is straight.” After all, he had freaked out when he saw the pregnancy tests, like he thought it was a possibility. Haruka was still wondering if it would ever happen. And how the poor child would come out. Haruka hoped with all sincerity that the only reason Misaki ever got them was to bug Itachi.

Kazuki shrugged. “Those two weren’t the ones I was thinking of. I know for a fact that people will follow each other into the hardest places for the sake of someone they love, and that person doesn’t always have to be of another gender.”

Haruka looked at him suspiciously. “And you know this…how?”

Kazuki grinned. “Oh, those two girls who were about to attack your friend? They are very close together. Really, I think the only real reason that they joined Sound Village is because Orochimaru-sama supports gay marriage.”

“Interesting…and why would he do that?”

Kazuki shrugged. “I don’t know, it doesn’t concern me.”

“Anyway,” Haruka went on, “really, you don’t have to worry about me. I’ll be fine, just as long as you don’t ruin it for me.”

Kazuki sighed. “Haruka, I’m trying to help you. You don’t belong with Akatsuki.”

Haruka rolled her eyes. “Are you going to tell me I belong in Sound Village now? I don’t have any better reason to do that than I have to stay with Akatsuki.”

Kazuki took her shoulders. “Haruka, you have every reason to come with us instead! I’m there, your father is there, it’s generally safer, and we’re not trying to take over the world! Why did you join Akatsuki, anyway?”

Haruka glared at him. “Why do you think? Itachi-niisama saved my life, and then the next thing I know he’s talking about me joining his organization. And I can’t leave it now, I’ve made a few friends there! By the way,” she added, “the reason I left Leaf Village could also be blamed on your village in general.”

Kazuki raised one eyebrow. “Oh, really? How so?”

Haruka sighed. “The village didn’t seem to want me to be a Chuunin, because there was always an ANBU somewhere nearby on our last mission before the exam, and then someone got injured in such a way that the ANBU was definitely involved. The only exception was last time, and then, your dear Orochimaru went and had a little bout with someone over our heads. And who should get caught in the crossfire but my teammate? Thanks to your great lord, my teammate was forced to retire, and so my whole team was forced to retire, so Masuyo decided to marry me off to someone, and I snapped and killed her. So it might not all be your fault, but it is the fault of someone in the village.”

Kazuki relaxed and took his hands off of Haruka’s shoulders. “I’m sorry, I didn’t know he’d do that.”

Haruka shrugged. “I guess it was the kid he was fighting that did all the real damage, but really, whose fault is it that he was throwing fireballs all over the place?”

Kazuki sighed. “I’m sorry. I guess I can see why you don’t like Sound Village. But still, don’t tell me Akatsuki has done nothing to wrong you.”

Haruka thought about it for a moment before she shrugged. “Nothing worse than not having anything for me to do, and really, all that meant is that I got a few days to rest before all this happened.”

Kazuki started to sigh again before he stopped and sat up straight, as though listening for something. A moment later, he stood up, looking back in the direction they came from. Then he looked down at Haruka and said, “Excuse me,” before he ran off back where they came from.

At that point, Haruka realized that the air seemed to be ringing. It took her a moment to realize that Kazuki’s friends were probably signalling him, and that’s why he left.



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Author's rambles:
(Oh, yeah, and, if anyone's interested in Beta-reading? Please? I hate spell-check and grammar-check, I wouldn't mind someone checking everything before it's posted. For this story only, for now, I guess.)