Chapter 26 - ArcIII: Seperation- Chapter 4

=Flashback

Azami crept along the outer stone wall, concealed by the shadows. A black jumpsuit adorned her figure, along with a short sword across her back. There were other weapons hidden on her as well.

Scaling the wall, she peered over the edge. The land, in a time of peace, had a minimum of guards. There were only two visibly patrolling, and they appeared to be armed with nothing more than bo’s.

Silently, Azami flipped herself over the wall. Having already picked out the guard’s positions and movements, she ran full-tilt, and was on them in seconds. One was already on the ground, hacking into pieces by her sword. The other hit his knees and begged for his life.

The noise attracted the prince’s attention. He opened his sliding door and stepped out. He saw Azami and nodded cordially, much to her surprise. Striding over, he picked up his guard, dusted him off, and sent him away. That done, he faced Azami.

“You’re here to kill me. I see you aren’t a cruel person by nature. You’re acting on orders…”
He walked closer, his hands up in surrender.
“That’s the difference between us, huh? You follow orders, and I issue them. But such a pretty female shouldn’t be just following orders blindly. She should be fine with giving them as well.

Suddenly, something flashed, cutting in front of Azami’s eyes. The prince had thrown some kind of flash paper, blinding Azami. He was on her in an instant, his hand already reaching for the straps that held her jumpsuit in place. His hands were getting near places that shouldn’t have been available to him.

“Do you LIKE taking orders? Then I ORDER you to stop struggling! You’ve a fine body for such a young girl. And since I always get what I want…”

Azami’s face morphed into a horrified mask as he held her down. Her vision just began to return.
=End Flashback=
-

Ryouko was beyond stunned. He was angry for her sake.

“Then he raped you?! That bastard!” he said in a hushed voice.

Azami shook her head. “No. He didn’t. Up until that point, I had never killed anyone. I was skilled enough to always leave them in pieces, but alive. But when he jumped me like that, I was so horrified that the only way to end it seemed to be killing him. So before he touched me anywhere private, I hacked his body into bits. First his head rolled, and that should have been enough. But I kept hacking and slashing until he was a bunch of cubes. The worst part, though, was the head. I learned that brain function continues for up to two minutes after a beheading, and I saw his eyes and mouth opening and closing. So I…”
Azami let her tears flow a little, despite there being a smile on her face.
“I chopped him up while he watched. I mutilated his body before his own eyes. I couldn’t believe I had done that.
Afterward, others told me my eyes seemed ‘cold’. I began to feel out of place. But no one helped me- no one knew how. And the Third Kazekage made it worse by asking me to kill his son, Gaara. My refusal earned me exile from the village. And I’ve never been back since…”

Ryouko let his breath out in a whoosh. “So bounty hunting was the only way for you to survive…”

“Yes. It doesn’t mean I LIKE it…but I can only exist as I exist.”

Azami stood up, pulling Ryouko to his feet as well. “…As only you can exist as you exist. If this is your reality- as someone who strives for strength, and a place of his own- then that is what you work for. Regardless of what anyone else does or says, you’ve been influenced by this chain of events. Just like I was. So now, you can choose- get stronger and think about your goals. Or, alternatively, you can lose both and settle for something else.”

“…” Silence from Ryouko.

“Wanna know what I think?” Azami asked, without her usual teasing tone.

Ryouko nodded mutely, head still down.

“I think that you won’t ever be satisfied until you’ve at least tried to make your goals work. They’re hard goals- maybe impossible- but they give you a mission. And having a mission is when you are happiest, if I understand you like I THINK I do.”

Ryouko turned his head toward her, looking at her for the first time.
“…You shared something very profound with me just now. Now, it’s my turn…And I ask you not to share this information.”

“Promise.”

“…I’m going to become the instructor for a boy with an eye condition. It’s called ‘Issekigan’. What it does is almost a complete mystery. But someone I trust told me I’m needed. And since I’ve left the Leaf…I don’t know. I never believed in fate.”

“Not ‘fate’. It’s a ‘sign’,” Azami murmured. “It’s not exactly Egyptian- I’m a quarter, by the way- but things like this are signposts to point you in the direction you need to go. I wouldn’t write it off as coincidence…”

Ryouko pulled his hat down over his eyes. “I’ll take your word for it, since you’re among the most wise people I know. You’ve given me a lot to think about.”

Azami reached out and hugged him. “And where do you go from here? Besides training this kid? Will you aim for revenge?”

“…I don’t know. But I need to get stronger. I’m hoping that maybe another wise person I know will have some answers. I’m going to visit her.”

Azami wrote out a contract, pressing her blood onto it, wrapping it up, then handed it to Ryouko.
“It’s a summoning scroll. If you need to get in contact with me, this will summon an animal that can track me. So…”

Azami braced his shoulders and kissed him- this time innocently on the cheek.
“…Take care, okay? You’re needed. And you’re…loved.”

Ryouko blushed, as did Azami. They stared at each other for a moment, before Azami turned away abruptly.
“I didn’t mean me. I meant those two. The girl said she’d kill me, even if you were the one who left. Since I don’t want the angry apprentice of a Hokage and a legend on me, you’d better not abandon them completely.”

She was gone just like that, with Ryouko just standing there. He smiled after a minute, wondering if she meant what she said literally.
--
Jiraiya had left Tsunade’s office a long while ago, but Tsunade was still seething at his stupidity. Despite his stoic frame, Ryouko was a sensitive person when it came to things like this. And Naruto and Sakura were, of course, upset that their friend and protector had been coerced into leaving the village. They felt betrayed, but not by Ryouko.

Tap tap tap.

A knock at the window came, it’s source a bird. Shizune opened the window, allowing the bird to sit on her shoulder.

“It’s a messenger bird from Sunagakure. …My Lady! They were attacked!”

“What?! By who? Not the Akatsuki again?!”

“No…it seems to be an internal thing…but they’re requesting help…specifically Naruto and Sakura.”

“Damn it…I can’t say no, after all they’ve done fore us. We can’t spare them; especially those two…but…Shizune, brief them and send them to Sunagakure. Have Shikamaru and Asuma go with them to round out the squad.”
--
--

Gaara planned to meet Naruto at the entrance to the Village, when they arrived in two days. Until then, he kept a watchful eye out over his village.

“Lord Kazekage, sir!”

A chunin appeared at Gaara’s side, holding a picture. Gaara took the picture, waiting for the man to elaborate.

“It’s her. Azami! A warrant for her arrest has been standing since your Father’s reign! Sir, she’s been spotted for the first time in years!”

Could it be she’s connected to the latest attacks on the village? Right now, that’s my only lead.
“Bring her in- alive.”
--
--

Naruto and Sakura reached Sunagakure’s gates just in time to see a violent struggle. Guards were being thrown around like rag dolls.

After nodding a silent consent, the two ran over to get involved.

“Hey! What’s going on here?!” Naruto shouted. Someone who was defeated actually paid attention and answered with:

“She’s a wanted criminal! We’re trying to arrest her! But she’s too strong!”

“We’ll see about that,” Sakura said, pulling her gloves into place. Naruto was right behind her. But they both paused upon seeing who it was who was struggling.

“Azami?!”

Then they charged even faster.

Someone else landed next to Azami, knocking the guards off her back with a mix of taijutsu and fire style moves. It wasn’t a style that was familiar to Naruto and Sakura, so they watched with a slight admiration as the stranger took out the last guard.
Admiration became curiosity as the stranger grabbed Azami and disappeared once he caught site of Naruto and Sakura.

Asuma and Shikamaru caught up a split second later, standing behind Naruto and Sakura.

“Damn! Missed her!” Naruto growled, staring at the spot where Azami had been just seconds earlier.

Asuma didn’t say anything. But he could feel the chakra as well as anyone else.

Ryouko’s been here…

“We’d better check in with the Kazekage,” Shikamaru intoned, shooting Asuma a questioning glance. “This seemed to be an urgent matter.”

Sakura shook herself out of her trance, finding her voice long enough to agree with Shikamaru. Her thoughts were elsewhere, though:
He couldn’t have been so desperate…could he? Even worse- could she have captured him? He was a wreck when he left. No way was he in fighting shape…
Could she have killed him?
No! I refuse to believe he’s dead. He wouldn’t die so easily! Not after tearing his own guts out to release more chakra! If THAT didn’t kill him…
--
--

Ryouko put Azami down next to him, landing in the middle of the desert.

“You shouldn’t go places where you’re wanted, you know,” Ryouko said matter-of-factly.

“I know that!” Azami snarled. “I needed supplies. They’ve never been so hostile before. I usually have a contact or two ready to meet me. But this time, the guards went ballistic as soon as I walked in, disguise and all!”

“Really? Why would they do that before knowing it was you?”

“Who knows? I haven’t done anything. You can attest to that- we’ve been together for most of the past day.”

“True enough,” he agreed. “Either way, I’ve got supplies enough to last you.”

“No, I couldn’t. What’ll you live on?”

“I’m no fugitive. I can go anywhere to re-supply. Besides, you shouldn’t look a gift horse in the mouth, right?” Ryouko asked, cheerfully handing Azami a summoning scroll. “I owed you one anyway. For listening to me. Thanks.”

Azami blushed, to her surprise. “N-No problem.”
She didn’t ask what he was doing here. This was nowhere near the temple he was aiming for.

Ryouko still didn’t remove his hat. From underneath it, Azami could see the burn over his eye. It seemed so wrong to see a young-looking face like his so marred. Especially since she knew what caused his injury.

“…I needed more time to clear my head. Before I go train anyone, I need to train myself a little.”

“…And you couldn’t just let me go, right?” Azami finished for him. “After I was nice to you, you saw another side of me, and decided to-”

“That’s not it.”

Azami looked at Ryouko curiously. He just shook his head.
“I already saw that other side of you. At the festival, when you tried to pick my pocket. You were too sincere about the ‘I’m a good girl’ act for it to be ‘just’ an act. And for all your posturing, you never seriously hurt me.”

“Then why-?”

“…I don’t know. I could be in love with you, for all I know,” Ryouko murmured, rubbing at his face. “I have no idea what I’m supposed to do. The other girl I’ve had my eyes on is taken. You caught my eye so quickly…I don’t know. Something drew me to you.”

“…I can help you,” she said finally, standing up. “I think I know how to make you stronger. But we can’t stay here to train. Let’s move. To this temple you’re heading to. I’ll train you on the way. That is…if you don’t mind learning from me…and owing me…”

Ryouko stood up, adjusting his hat even tighter on his head. “I’ve no problem with either one. We keep evening the score. Your help is accepted and appreciated.”

Azami gave her trademark smile. “Just one thing-did you say anything to them? When you saved me?”

“…No. They don’t need to see me at my worst. Not those two…”

TO BE CONTINUED IN ARC IV!

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