Chapter 3 - "Captured" Arc- Chapter 3

The festival was a splendid thing. Each year, the village went all out. Paper lanterns lined the streets so that the fun could continue late into the night. There were stands of food all over the center of the village. Everything from Okonomiyaki to yakitori, to yakinuki and oden. There were sweets, too. Manju was everywhere, and even things like ice cream and chocolate.
There were games, of course, and prizes. Balloons, toy ANBU masks, and headbands; the goldfish scoop, a dart game, and many other things. Games of skill and chance were all over, each bearing a warning that ‘use of shinobi abilities’ was ‘strictly prohibited’.

People also dressed carefully, too. As shinobi, we got very used to our uniforms. So getting to dress in something else was something of a treat. The girls dressed beautifully in yukatas, with their hair done up. The boys dressed in their own, often more plain yukatas.

I wasn’t much of a festival person. I never felt like celebrating. But I usually attended as an unofficial security guard. When the sake flowed, people got stupid. Especially with our visitors from the Sand village. More than once I pried apart two drunk, warring shinobi.

This year was going to suck. I could look at the girls, but all I would feel was jealousy. Jealousy that I didn’t have that kind of life- you know, hanging out with friends, flirting with abandon, and all that.

But that wasn’t my style, and it sucked. So I just resigned myself to having a lousy time.

“Hey, Ryouko-sempai, come with us!” Sakura called, waving. She looked gorgeous with her short hair done up and held in place with bells. Her bangs had been fanned out across her forehead. This was especially cute as she peered up at me with those big green eyes through her bangs. Said eyes were further accented by the dark pink yukata with small yellow stripes, held in place with a light pink obi (belt/sash).

I had really dressed up for the occasion myself. I had put on a dark blue formal samurai top with a deep purple hakama. I also wore a black haori jacket across my shoulders, tied with a very nice cord inlaid with genuine gold. My hands weren’t in the sleeves, but resting on my wakazashi.

“No, you go ahead. I’ve got some work to do,” I called back. That was only partially a lie, and therefore okay. Yeah, I’ll just keep telling myself that. The important thing was that Naruto have ample opportunity to get Sakura to like him. It was kind of a consolation prize: Someone I liked would live out my dream for me, since I couldn’t have it myself.

“ ‘kay! See you later!” she called, running off with Naruto. I thought she tossed me a backwards glance, so I made sure to force a smile onto my face.
-

I immediately slunk toward the adult area, glaring at the guard when he asked me for identification. He didn’t press the subject further. I was old enough to drink, and no one was going to question me.

I slid open a shouji paper door that led to a drinking/gambling hall. Gambling wasn’t outlawed in the Leaf Village, but it was generally frowned upon. Thankfully, our leader enjoyed it, so it wouldn’t be banned.

“5000 ryo to enter,” called the tosei-nin to me as I entered. I kicked my sandals off in the pit near the door, picked out a cushion, and plopped down. I tossed the required amount on the table, accepted a cup of sake from a cute waitress, and took the chips given to me.

“So, you’re here to party, too?”

I looked next to me. As this was a festival in which no one had a job, formality was relaxed a bit. You could call your boss an asshole, and it would be forgiven. Besides, the boss currently talking to me was already deep into the bottle, and wouldn’t remember any mistakes I made tomorrow anyway.

“As to be expected from you, Lady Tsunade. I’m not here to party, I’m afraid. I’m just killing time until the kids call it a night.”

I tossed some chips into the pit we were using for a simple game of Han or Cho (odds or evens).

Tsunade clicked her chips together, counting them as she stacked them in her hand.
“Really? Would it kill you to have some fun yourself?”

ka-chik. She tossed her chips down.

“Why take the chance it will?” I replied, without a hint of snottiness in my voice. I was aware that everyone else, save for the tosei-nin, was now watching every move I made. Someone dared argue with the Hokage?! Perish the thought!

“Hm. A sharp-tongued child! That’s what you are!” she declared, seeming more amused than anything.

“Indeed,” I agreed. I looked at the dealer. He was supposed to ask me my bet any time now…

“Han or Cho?” he asked, belatedly. He had been caught up in my conversation with Tsunade.

“Cho,” I said instantly.

“Han,” Tsunade replied. “Care to make another wager, Ryouko-kun?”

“And that would be, M’lady?” I asked mildly, my eyes on the game.

“If I win, you agree to have some fun tonight. If you win, then I’ll give you something of Sarutobi-sensei’s. Agreed?”

I felt like I was kicking a puppy. “Sure. I’ll take the bet. In fact…All in on cho.”
I pushed my chips into a pile. Sure enough, Tsunade matched me. She was all in on Han.

The dealer rolled the dice. Pair of threes. Cho.

Tsunade grumbled, but muttered “A promise is a promise. Tomorrow morning, I’ll have something of Sarutobi-sensei’s for you. And you get to stay miserable.”

“That’s all I ask, M’lady,” I answered, taking my winnings and leaving. I heard her click her tongue at my sarcasm, but oh well.
--

Naruto and Sakura wandered around the festival, keeping pace with each other. Naruto was wracking his brain, trying to think of ways to impress Sakura. So far, he had ‘impressed her’ by:

Spilling bean jam on his yukata
Telling a dirty joke
Completely sucking at the goldfish scoop
Eating too much food
Belching loudly

Now, he saw the dart throwing game. On top of the prizes, he saw a giant teddy bear. Immediately, he decided to win it for her.

“Hey, Sakura, check this out! See that bear? It’s gonna be yours!”

Sakura looked excited at the prospect. But then Naruto’s face fell.

“Eh…heheheh! I’ll be right back! I’ve gotta go hit sempai up for a loan!”

Naruto ran off, his fried squid on a stick landing on the back of his yukata. Sakura’s eyes twitched dangerously, as she had just about had enough of Naruto for one night.

But still, his heart has been in the right place. He’s been trying to act like a gentleman. I guess I can let him off the hook.
--
--

As I stepped outside the gambling parlor, a girl in a beautiful yukata tripped into me.

“Sorry! My zouri (sandal) broke!” she exclaimed.

“Right. And I suppose you think you’ll find a replacement in my pocket?”

I had my hand firmly around her wrist. Her hand was in my jacket pocket.

“Ugh! I’ve never been caught before! How’d you know?!”

I didn’t answer. Instead, I took out my winnings and placed them into her palm.
“Don’t steal from anyone else tonight, okay? You can keep that.”

I walked away, not really caring about the money I had just given her. I didn’t have friends, so I made money. I could afford to give some away. But I hadn’t made it far before I heard frantic footsteps behind me.

“Hold on a second!”

It was the same girl. She and I were now under the light of a lantern, giving me a good look at her for the first time.

She had long black hair, not tied up traditionally- it flowed freely behind her, halfway down her back. Her yukata was beautiful, and obviously expensive. It was a sort of deep red color with light blue flowers printed on it. The obi was a mix of two kinds or gold, with the center being a lighter gold. She didn’t have the traditional snow-white skin either. It was still white, but with some kind of tan to it. She was clearly part foreign, now that I gotten a look at her. And the more I looked, the harder it was to tear my eyes away. The girl was a knockout!

“Sorry. I don’t need your money. I just enjoy the challenge,” she explained. Her eyes were dark brown, nearly black, and very deep. Pretty, too. They weren’t teared up, but they were wide enough to be.

“…Well, okay. But you can’t prove that’s my money. So you keep it.”

I tried to walk away again, but the girl seized my sleeve. I turned to face her, and found she was nearly my height. She was looking me in the eyes now, after having looked at the rest of me.

“…You aren’t like the other boys. Your eyes…they tell a different story.”

Ba-dump. Ba-dump. That was the sound of my heart as this girl talked to me. She leaned in closer and closer, as if she was going to kiss me. But she stopped once she got up close. Slowly, she raised a hand to my face, planting it on my cheek.

“…You’re cute up close. And your cheek is burning. You don’t have a fever, so it must be…ah! You’re girl-shy!”

I nodded slowly, secretly liking the feeling of her hand on my face. She was a kunoichi, so she could have been just messing with me, but I felt a strange sweetness about the girl.

In the distance, I heard voices shouting. There were looking for someone, apparently. I was obligated to help, but I really didn’t want to. I found I enjoyed having this girl talk to me.

“I’ve got to go…” she said suddenly, her voice full of regret. “It’s me they’re looking for. I’m something of a rogue ninja from the Sand.”

I looked at her seriously. How could this girl be a fugitive?!

“…Are you going to turn me in?” she asked, worry in her voice.

“…Tell me your name,” I requested.

“…Azami.”

I shrugged. “Well, Azami, you’re a rogue from the Sand, and as such, you’re not a concern of my village. Besides, this is a festival, and I’ve had a bit to drink. Maybe I’m talking with a really beautiful hallucination…”

Azami blushed at the compliment, once again looking at my face.
“…Thank you. You’re a sweet boy…You take care. I hope I meet lots more like you out there.”

She took my face in both her hands, pulled my head down, and kissed me on the cheek. Then she took off running, her long black hair flowing behind her, dancing a tantalizing dance that almost made me follow.

…Too bad I’ll never see her again. She was an interesting female. Now, I’d better just lay down and sleep off that ‘hallucination’.

I laid down on a bench, wadded my jacket up under my head, and pretended to be asleep. I heard a group of jonin and chunin run by, chasing after the girl I had just met.
--
--
--



Naruto had been watching the end of this scene through the bushes. He saw Azami kiss Ryouko, then saw Ryouko clearly turn the other way as the hunt for the girl came closer. Naruto had never seen this kind of behavior from Ryouko before, and he had to call him on it.

“HEY!” he shouted, storming out of the bushes, his eyes round and completely white. His finger was pointed accusingly at Ryouko. “WAKE THE HELL UP!”

Ryouko opened his eyes and ‘woke up’. “Hmm? Naruto-dono? What is it? How long did I sleep?”

“You didn’t sleep, you faker! You just let that girl escape! What the hell’s wrong with you?!”

Ryouko rolled his shoulder- it had gotten stiff from him sitting on the bench. He made sure to keep his face sleepy as he got up to talk to Naruto.
“I had a gut feeling about her. Nothing more, nothing less. Besides, she’s from the Sand,- nothing to do with us.”

“Like hell! You lying perv! She totally kissed you!”

Ryouko’s eyes widened. “Just how long were you watching, Naruto-dono? Long enough to see things that don’t concern you, obviously. Well, I’ve got a few more years in the field than you. Allow me to share my experience with you…”

Naruto was taken aback by this sudden aggression from Ryouko, as his voice had turned almost nasty at the end. He had always known Ryouko to be mild-tempered. But in this case, Naruto had clearly overstepped some boundary.

“In my experience, you get a gut feeling about people. And sometimes, you don’t know the full story about a person. You have to trust your gut in that case. My gut tells me that girl isn’t a bad person. So I’m trusting my gut.”

Naruto sputtered for a minute, but finally spat out “What about that kiss, huh?!”

Ryouko chuckled. “Naruto-dono, I have feelings like anyone else. A girl that beautiful kissing me as a thank you…well, it was nice. It didn’t mean anything other than ‘thanks’, so you have nothing to worry about. Too bad for me, huh?”

Naruto still didn’t like that, but he could understand. That girl was a total babe. It occurred to him that Ryouko had spent the better part of the night alone. A few seconds of him enjoying himself couldn’t be bad.

“Yeah…too bad. Better luck to you next time! Make your move quicker and go to a hotel!”
Back to grinning for Naruto, and back to a stoic face for Ryouko. He let that lapse for a moment- he and a girl, in a hotel after having just met? That definitely wasn’t his style.
--

I finished scolding Naruto for prying quickly. Any speech more than thirty seconds long was lost on this kid. He had the attention span of the higurashi outside my window at night.

By now, Sakura was returning to join us. She had heard the commotion from early as the jonin ran by her, so she decided to do the smart thing and seek out other people who might help. Of course, her timing was bad, but that didn’t matter.

Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed something strange. The bushes were rustling. It was too big to be an animal. I turned to investigate it, but then I saw something else. Naruto and Sakura hadn’t noticed, but behind them was a ninja. I couldn’t tell his village, but since he was dressed in all black, with kunai in his hands, and sneaking up behind Naruto and Sakura, I took him as an enemy. I drew my sword and ran toward him.
--

It seemed to happen in slow motion. Ryouko ran towards Naruto and Sakura. He grabbed them both by the fronts of their yukatas and pulled them forward. He pushed between them, pushed the kunai away with his free hand, and stabbed with his sword hand. The short blade was just big enough to go completely through this enemy and exit out the other side.
-

“Ugah…” the masked enemy groaned. I gave my sword a twist inside his stomach.

“Bad move, freak. It’s your lucky night, though. I’m letting you live.”

I bit my thumb, made handsigns with one hand (something that made Naruto think of Haku), and summoned my own ninja hound.

“Get the nearest ANBU agents, please, Holly. I have a prisoner for them.”
-

Sakura yelped suddenly- there was a hand at her neck!

“Don’t move!” the voice warned.

Sakura didn’t- but Ryouko did. He blasted the intruder with a brutal genjutsu. Once he released his grip on Sakura, Ryouko tore toward him and took a huge swing. The punch connected right on the man’s jaw. That was enough to wake the man up from the genjutsu, but not enough to KO him. Ryouko was clearly trying to keep a low profile at this festival, so he was using taijutsu instead of ninjutsu.

Sakura, meanwhile, had sunk to her knees. Naruto rushed over to comfort her. They both watched as their sempai fought.

The larger man aimed a punch at Ryouko. Ryouko blocked it with his forearm. But his arm was snatched. He grabbed on, too, but he was thrown backwards over the man’s head. He landed on his back in a defensive fall, immediately spinning once he had hit the ground. He managed to land a kick to the back of the enemy’s leg. Knocking him off balance, Ryouko grabbed on and spun around the man’s waist. As he spun, his hands grabbed on and threw the man to the ground. But the man grabbed Sakura away from Naruto and put up a barrier ninjutsu.

“Now she’s mine!” he declared.

Ryouko tossed a small stick at the barrier. When he saw that the barrier didn’t make things burst into flames, he focused his chakra, took a half-step back to cock his leg, and then kicked it- through the barrier, KO-ing Sakura’s would-be captor.

Now ANBU arrived and began to make arrests. Ryouko just pointed out where they the two men had wound up after the fight. Beyond confirming that he hadn’t gotten any info out of them, he didn’t say or do anything.
--

Sakura started towards me. She had done this before. I guess she considered me a source of safety or comfort. For a minute, I opened my arms wide in an embrace.

What am I doing? I can’t encourage this anymore! There’s no chance of us being anything more than friends…I need to…

I reached out and grabbed Naruto’s sleeve. The material tugged him toward me. I pushed him in front of me, and into Sakura’s open arms. I heard her sound of shock. But I couldn’t keep letting myself be hurt.

So I walked away. I turned and just walked into the night, my sandals making a clacking sound below me. The festival was over, and the only sounds that remained were the breathing of Naruto and Sakura, and my own sandals.
--
--

I waited for Tsunade in her office since bright and early. Before Ojousama and Naruto-dono had even woken up, I was gone.

The two had fallen asleep next to each other on the floor in their big house. I guess the size of it was intimidating. Couple that with the attacks on Sakura last night, and I could understand why they would be together. I was rooting for them.

So why did it hurt to see them happy?

Stifling that thought, I stared out the window at the morning sky. It was a mix of orange, blue, and purple, and reminded me of the lights and sights from the festival last night.
That, in turn, reminded me of that girl.

Azami, huh? Well, I’ll have to see what info I can dig up on her.
I lit up a chakra cigarette, keeping my lighter’s flame alive for a while, staring at it. It had a calming effect.

I had a few questions in my mind for Lady Tsunade first, though. So that girl would have to wait. Like I’d ever see her again.
-
The fitting of a key into the lock outside the door made me turn to see who was coming in. This early, it wouldn’t be Tsunade. I wondered if it was Shizune, but then I thought: What if it’s Sakura?

I hadn’t explained myself about my actions last night. Naruto probably told her about that girl who kissed me. Not that she has any reason to get jealous, but she might. More importantly, I’d never refused a hug from Sakura before. No doubt she’d want to know what my problem was. The worst part was that I couldn’t blame her. In all of this, both she and Naruto were innocent. I was acting like a prick. Orders or not, it was wrong to do that to my most loyal friends.

I owe her an explanation. Nothing more.

But to my relief, it was Shizune. She was opening the storeroom next door. The Hokage’s office was a public thing, so it was never locked, except for emergencies. She wouldn’t be surprised to see me anyway.

Shizune was easy to talk to, so maybe this was lucky. I could ask her a couple questions before Tsunade came.
--

Shizune made a sound of curiosity, seeing someone standing in front of Tsunade’s desk at this ridiculous hour. She immediately knew who it was. It made her smile to see him here, but it made her sigh to know that he wasn’t here on good terms.

“Ryouko? You’re here early. Is anything wrong?”

Ryouko gave her a look. “Plenty, Ma’am. But for now… I came to ask for a file. I’ve only got a first name and a village.” I said the last bit in an apologetic tone, knowing it was hard to look up shinobi. But something wouldn’t let me let this go.

Shizune went over to a drawer full of missing-nin scrolls. She invited him to continue.

“Azami; Sand Village.”

While Shizune looked, Tsunade stumbled in, still looking very sleepy. Nights as a Hokage were short. Not to mention that festival made things much shorter.
Although the site of Ryouko woke her up.
--

I tapped my used-up cigarette out on my boot, then took out another one of my chakra cigarettes, leaving it unlit in my mouth. I nodded to Tsunade by way of greeting, before saying aloud “Good morning, M’lady.”

She returned my nod, immediately sighing. She was clearly dreading whatever it was I had to say. Well, tough. She was gonna hear it. Except she wasn’t going to hear what she was expecting.

“I’m curious. If I could only protect one; either Naruto or Sakura- who, by your orders, should I protect?”

Tsunade clasped her hands under her chin, trying to blink herself awake before answering my question.

“Sakura first. She can heal just about any injury you or Naruto sustain. …”

She paused, unsure of how to continue. I made no attempt to- if she wanted more answers, she’d have to earn them. But instead, she brought up the festival last night.

“Did you wind up having fun?”

I raised an eyebrow. “For about…two minutes. I met an interesting girl, and got in a couple fights. Naruto-dono and Sakura-Ojousama came first, of course. Hence the reason ANBU had to bother with me last night.”

Tsunade gave me a small smile. “Well, you met a girl. How did that go?”

“Not as well as you’d hope. I caught her trying to pick my pocket. Then a group of angry jonin from the Sand came looking for her. She seemed genuinely fond of me. But I won’t see her again, sad to say.”

Tsunade’s enthusiasm left as quickly as it came. She now understood that my being cordial this morning was duty; not leftover feelings of fun from last night. In other words, I had been miserable, just as I’d predicted.

“…You’re still upset, aren’t you? About me making you serve those two? Naruto and Sakura?”

I shook my head. “No. I remembered it was a prophecy long ago, and that I’m only playing my part. I’m just…feeling lost, I guess. I can’t have Sakura; I know that. So being teased by the site of her, in a yukata, hanging on another guy’s arm…even if that guy IS Naruto…It’s a lot to handle in one night. But it’s not fair for me to blame you. And it’s definitely not fair to Naruto and Sakura for me to be cold to them.”

“Sakura came to me last night, you know…” Tsunade began, giving Ryouko a hard look. “She seemed very upset that you didn’t seem to want her to hug you. Care to explain?”

As to be expected from Tsunade, she pulled no punches when she thought her apprentice slighted.

“For once, I did something for me,” I said plainly. “I can’t keep getting hurt. If I can’t be closer to her than I am now, I need to make sure I don’t encourage her. It’s Naruto she’ll need to trust. Not me.”

“She can’t trust you both?”

“Of course she can! But it should be Naruto she goes to first. I’m only a teacher and a servant. My presence in their lives should be small, and only in the background.”

“What about your duties as their friend?”

My voice ran cold. “I can’t be their friend, teacher, and servant. Do friends call each other by strict titles? Do friends bow to each other constantly? Do friends teach each other as formally as I have to teach them? No. I won’t be a friend in name only.”

Tsunade and Shizune were both shocked at my cold voice. But I wasn’t done yet. I leaned forward, bracing my hands on Tsunade’s thick desk, so I could keep my voice down, and maybe even intimidate.

“I have to watch someone else live my dream. To be legendary. To have Sakura. I can’t have either one. My role is to be a supporting character to them. Friends or not…I just can’t do it. Not to them, and not to myself.”

“How can you just start treating them differently? Do they treat you differently? Just because of a title?!” Tsunade was trying to force me to rescind my statement. But instead, I put my sharp tongue and acid tone to use.

“Do people treat you differently just because of your titles? ‘Legend’? ‘Hokage’? At least those are respectable titles. I have neither one, and neither one will ever be in my grasp. Instead, I’ll be a footnote…a stepping stone…a…”

I realized I was rambling, and cut myself off. I was angry again, and while it was understandable, it wasn’t fair to Tsunade, and it wasn’t right. So I dropped it. I looked at her, apologized, and excused myself.

“Hold it!” Tsunade ordered. “You won our bet last night. I owe you something of Sarutobi-sensei’s.”

I perked up a bit. That bet had flown out of my head, despite the prize I was really hoping for.
“Oh? That’s right, we did make that bet, didn’t we. So, what did I win?”

Tsunade clasped her hands in front of her, then rested her head on them, letting out a long breath.
“You know, I DO try to think of your feelings through all this. And I did my best to pick something that would suit you. Your combat gear is fine, and your knowledge is good. So I picked something that you might just treasure as a reminder of him.”

Tsunade handed me the Third Hokage’s helmet- the one he had worn in his fatal battle against Orochimaru. It was mostly undamaged, but it clearly hadn’t been cared for since it last saw action.
I took the helmet quietly, saying ‘thank you’ in a low tone. I bowed and left, feeling tears welling up.
-

“Will he be okay, Lady Tsunade?” Shizune fretted, laying out the papers on Azami, should Ryouko come back.

“…I don’t know, Shizune. This time…I don’t know. It might be too much for him. He’s only human. Sometimes it’s easy to forget that.”

“Then take him off that assignment! My Lady, it isn’t worth it! What this is doing to him!”

“…I can’t do that,” Tsunade muttered. “I won’t, rather.”

“Why not?!” Shizune half-shouted. “This is hurting him!”

“I know. But can you imagine how he would react if I took him off this mission? Then he’s making a liar out of Sarutobi-sensei; it would mess with his honor; and after all that, he would feel lousy for deserting Naruto and Sakura. So it’s a no-win situation. (Sigh)…”

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