#my brother and i failed to watch 8 and 9 over break so rip us | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

devnicolee · 5 years ago

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Snowfall (9)

A/N: Well this took forever and had to be split into two chapters lol But it starts off right where Chapter 8 ends. Enjoy!

Word Count: 10,910

Warning: Angst, Violence

The only sound filling the room was the reverberations of the heavy door slamming closed, silence and shock gripping all the occupants. M’Baku blinked a few times, his mind trying to sort through all the feelings swirling around in his body: anger, frustration, hurt, confusion. He wondered how he missed all the signs of his plan going awry, all the red flags along the way that told him this experiment would eventually end and explode in his face. But he did ignore them, somehow, blinded by his pursuit of justice, adding more wreckage to the destruction already filling their lives. His large hands rounded into fists by his side before he threw himself into the nearest chair, letting out a deep and exasperated groan before his head fell into his hands.

"You can go ahead and say it. You all warned me she would find out," M’Baku fumed.

"Yes, well everyone did tell you so... multiple times," Shuri admonished from her seat across the table, ignoring the side eye she received from everyone else.

"Maybe you should go talk with her. Actually talk to her. I have never seen either of you speak to the other like that. It has been a difficult time for both of you and you need to talk… about everything," N’Danna offered, pained to know he contributed in anyway to the mountain of hurt weighing his sister down.

"She hasn’t wanted to. And after that?" he gestured toward the door. "She certainly is not going to want to discuss anything with me now," M’Baku sulked.

"Has she not wanted to or have you not been available?" N’Danna countered. He understood M’Baku’s fears of looking weak and feeling like a failure, for they were his own too. But he did not agree with this secret on day one and that had not changed. "We have spent every free, conscious moment searching for him. Even my wife has noticed my absence. Imagine how Zarah feels on top of the pain that she is not clearly not dealing with? And while we have been so obsessed with finding him, we have ignored the fact that she has not adequately confronted her own pain."

"Funny, I do not recall you expressing those sentiments throughout the last month when you were obsessing over finding him to end your father's criticisms of your military strategy! You were just as invested in this as I, just as distracted! I am not interested in listening to you assert some moral high ground over me, N’Danna!" M’Baku shot back, anger propelling him from his seat.

N’Danna scoffed, "Because you take criticism so well right M’Baku? You would not have listened if I tried!"

M’Baku took a menacing step toward his General and best friend before T’Challa inserted himself in the middle of them.

"Enough men! Enough. M’Baku messed up but I do not think he needs any of us to remind him of that. He is well aware. If you do not have something constructive to offer him then do not bother."

N’Danna took a step back, hands raised in surrender. M’Baku mimicked him and returned to his seat.

After allowing tempers to cool for a brief moment, Nakia got up and headed toward the door, motioning for Shuri to join her. "We will go check on her," she said over her shoulder before sparing the chief a sympathetic glance and exiting.

The men sat there as they waited for M’Baku to say something. After a few moments of awkward silence, M’Baku muttered quickly that he needed to return to his chambers before storming out, leaving his King and General alone.

M’Baku sulked alone back to his quarters, surprised to see that Jahari was not stationed outside, which let him know his wife was not there.

Probably for the best, he thought to himself. If they spoke now, there was sure to just be more yelling and anger. And he should have known that ordering her to her room like a child was not going to give him the results he desired. He understood her anger, now that his own frustrations had cooled. He deserved it, all of it and he was aware of that fact. He did not understand how actions with good intentions spiral out of control so quickly.

Were they good intentions though? His conscious asked him as he settled into bed, resisting the natural urge to call Zarah and figure out where she was.

He called back to that initial moment, in this bed, when faced with his bruised, broken and fragile wife that he chose to lie. He would like to say he did so out of concern for her mental health, concern for her healing process. But that would to be a lie. He did not tell her the truth in that moment because he did not want to admit he failed her again. And every moment after that, every lie told about where he was, what he was doing, why they were postponing the trials were in service of preserving the bit of his pride Davu had not siphoned off, not her soul.

Justice demanded Davu’s broken body at the bottom of a cliff, she deserved… the Jabari deserved to watch his body fall from that cliff. And the fact that he could not deliver such justice to the woman who deserved it the most ate him alive. His quest to achieve it was all-consuming and left little space to focus on anything else. But now he was quickly understanding the consequences of such tunnel vision, of his own hubris.

You let me believe this was over… that he was gone. And then to maintain this lie, you let me think that I was crazy and damaged. That I had done something to push you away.

Zarah deserved justice, yes. But she also deserved his love, his attention, his commitment to his vow that his love would never waver, would never be conditional. And in his search for personal validation, he failed to be the man she needed. He made her feel broken and unloved, things of which she was neither. N’Danna was right: he had pushed her away.

As much as her words stung, they ripped his head out of the sand he had been stuck in for the last month. He finally saw it, the damage left behind, the damage only compounded by his actions. But now, he did not see a way to fix it.

****

Tears clouded Zarah’s eyes as she tried to complete the work in front of her. It was futile, her mind still stuck in her argument a few minutes prior. She swallowed back her tears, the best she could. If she would not allow herself to cry over Davu, she certainly was not going to shed them over her lying husband. She was not even sure why she came down to the lab in the first place, likely just to spite her husband who ordered her to her room as if she was a petulant child.

The raging rapids of her anger had dwindled to a quiet stream, still present but quiet enough for her to see her own failings. She overstepped, said things she did not truly mean or, at least, knew were not fair. She did remember a moment or two of doubt in the compound, her cries for him that went unanswered and her disheveled mind could not understand why. It was not fair then and it certainly was not fair to throw it back in his face as she had. Save his existence as chief, a birthright he could not control, M’Baku could not shoulder any of the blame for what happened. He could not foresee a madman’s nonsensical plan to kidnap his wife, nor conjure up evidence where evidence did not exist. He searched for her for days nonstop. He did his best, all he ever did, and she recognized she was wrong for insinuating that he failed her.

But still, as she sat sulking and trying to override her urge to break down in tears, she was angry at him… at her brother… at everyone who thought she did not deserve the truth.

Strange as it sounded, the content of the lie itself commanded the least of her energy. Yes, it was terrifying to know the monster that haunted her was still free. However, she had not felt safe since she returned so did this new information actually change anything? It merely confirmed her anxiety and suspicions. She felt as unsafe now as she did before Adisa led her to the truth. Little changed.

It was the principle of it and her own anger at herself that filled her with dismay and frustration, the glaring truth that slapped her in the face. Cheating or not, she had pushed him away.

Before this ordeal, her husband would not have thought to lie to her. He was honest and forthcoming. However, now, he did not hesitate to lie, to hide the truth from her and go to great lengths to do so. Because he finally saw what her parents saw, what others saw: her weakness, glaring him in the face every time he looked at her.

He claimed to love all the things that made her who she was: her empathy, compassion and heart. She was no great warrior, she could not charge into battle beside him, but M’Baku made it abundantly clear that he did not desire that from her. But now it was clear that his love had limits. Emotional was fine until she woke him and half the Lodge night after night with her screams and sobs. Not being a warrior was fine until he realized she did nothing to save or protect herself, that she simply gave up on her people… on him. The woman she was before was fine until he realized that woman was incapable of healing and moving forward. The harsh and unforgiving winds from this storm knocked the rose-colored glasses clean off her husband’s face and stripped away her finery. And Zarah knew what he saw now, what was left behind, were all the things he would not want in a chieftess.

And there is no one to blame that on but yourself. You did not try to fight back, you did not escape. And when you got home, you wallowed in self-pity for days. What warriors do that?

Would he have ever needed to lie if she had been better, stronger? If she had fought back and saved herself instead of waiting for him to do so? If she had acted like a true chieftess and not some scared little girl? Likely not, she recognized. There were so many moments, so many opportunities, were she could have changed the course of this ship headed toward the jagged edges of destruction if she had tried harder... but she hadn't.

Had you been stronger, those men would not have been able to take you in the first place. Instead you relied on your guards instead of taking matters into your own hands. Had you actually used some of that training your father wasted his time teaching you, maybe he would not have had a chance to beat you or poison you. Had you not wallowed on the floor of a damn cave for two days, you could have found your own way out instead of waiting on your brother and husband to do all the work.

She could be angry at M'Baku for lying but she knew that while he may have caused the explosion, she made and provided the dynamite.

And she knew that this was merely a sign of the future to come now that he saw her for what she truly was.

"That is why we are here as husband and wife, as partners - to support and uplift each other always." Her mind called back to that day, a week after their marriage, when he assured her that this union would always be there to lean on in difficult moments. Hanuman threw a difficult moment at them, the most difficult he could conjure up, and M’Baku did not lean on her. When given the choice to share an uncomfortable truth with her or go at it alone, he chose to go at it alone because he did not believe she was strong enough or stable enough to handle it. What future could be built if that was how he saw her? What life could they have if he lost faith in her abilities?

He no longer trusts you, because you are powerless and fragile. That is all you have ever been. And he has no use for someone like that.

"Zarah…" she heard a young woman’s voice call. She hastily wiped the tears and their tracks from her face, blocked out her own thoughts of self-loathing and snatched her pencil back up to give the appearance that she was working before they came into view.

"What are you doing down here? I figured you would be finishing your meeting… my husband actually confides in you," she chuckled, trying and failing to minimize the bitterness in her voice.

"They aren’t talking about anything important… We thought you would like some company. I am sorry we kept that from you," Nakia offered.

"It was not your lie… it was his. His choice to start and his choice to maintain. Do not apologize."

"Still… it was wrong and we are sorry for our role in it. You deserve a say in all of it. You spent the most time with Davu, you know him better than any of us."

"It’s fine… I don’t know as much as I think. I still don’t remember most of it. M’Baku knew I was useless," she said.

"Do not say that. M’Baku certainly does not think you are useless. He says you have the brightest mind in all of Wakanda… and the only person who might disagree with him, selfishly, is this one," she laughed, gesturing toward Shuri.

Zarah returned her laugh with a small smile and chuckle, amusement that did not quite reach her eyes. A silence fell over the group of women as her eyes fell back to her desk. She tossed her pencil back down on the desk and stared around the lab. "You know I used to feel so at home here? It didn’t matter what anyone said or if they didn’t understand why it mattered, this was the one thing I knew I was good at," she whispered, gesturing at the blueprints. "When I wasn’t sure what to do as chieftess or as a wife, I would come down here and just work, experiment, draw up new plans, think of ways to improve this place and all my problems would just disappear for a moment. For a moment, I wasn’t unsure, I wasn’t weak. I was strong, confident, assured." The small ray of hope and light that glimmered in her eyes as she talked about the past, the uncomplicated and simple past, diminished as quickly as it sparked. "I have been trying to recreate that feeling since I got back. The first two weeks when I got back, I could barely understand the blueprints in front of me. I came down here to escape, to feel less broken again and I could not even do my job. I come down here day after day hoping to be all those things and day after day, I fall short. If I couldn’t find it anywhere else, at least, this and M’Baku felt like home. But now? I don’t know. I do not recognize him or this anymore. It is like Davu seeped into the very being of everything that once brought me peace and turned it all into something I can’t understand."

Shuri nodded, plopping down in the chair across from Zarah, while Nakia perched on the desk next to hers. She was glad the woman was opening up, venting. She knew what it was like to keep feelings buried inside. "That’s how I felt after baba died. The palace didn’t even feel like home knowing he wouldn’t return anymore. I found myself making excuse after excuse to work late and not return because I could not deal with the memories. But eventually, I came back and it felt like home again, still different but home."

"No matter how hard it is… Everyone finds their way back home eventually, I suppose," Zarah mused. "You are lucky you got it back. I don’t know if I ever will."

"Don’t say that Zarah. I do not want to claim to know or understand what you are going through or what you and M’Baku are going through. But it seems to me that you can work through it if you both just talk to each other, maybe talk with a healer. I understand your anger, he left you out and that was not right. But his intentions were not to hurt you, he was trying to protect you."

"Can a healer fix that he doesn’t trust me? Fix that he believes I am damaged? That’s how I have always been and he is finally realizing he cannot live with that. I don’t know if anyone can fix that."

Nakia and Shuri shared an unsure glance as they sat through another round of silence, neither knowing what to say or do to offer any comfort to the young woman in front of them.

Zarah chuckled, head falling back against her chair, "Davu must love this. He is free while I am still captive, trapped in a cell of the destruction he caused. My home and marriage on the verge of collapse thanks to him, for reasons I still do not know. And I will never know or get any form of justice for it because we will never find him."

"He cannot run forever. And you know why, he wanted to overthrow the Jabari," Shuri inserted.

"There has to be more to it than that. There are a thousand ways to overthrow a chief or king that do not include torturing and poisoning its queen. Whatever he wanted, whatever message he sought to send, it goes beyond that damn wooden chair upstairs. But I suppose I will just have to learn to live with that question mark, as I live with the fragments of memories. I’m sitting here straddling the edge of losing everything I hold dear in this life while he is out there somewhere biding his time to rebuild his. Hanuman certainly does deals a shit hand," she muttered, repeating her friend from earlier in the evening.

"Rebuild what though?" Shuri asked.

"Hmm?" Zarah asked, too unfocused to fully take in the girl’s question.

Shuri sat up straighter, "Rebuild what? He lost most of his followers, he can’t go home, he can't restart here in Jabariland."

"Those dwellers we caught will have to be released at some point. M'Baku can't execute them all. I mean he could but he will not. My husband is many things, a butcher is not one of them. And you all know this by now but that group is what they are today because of Davu. He built them up so as long as he is free and life pumps through his veins, he isn’t abandoning all of that so easily. He will build it up again. The question is whether he will start somewhere fresh or return home."

"You think he will head back to the compound?" Nakia asked. "Your brother said they only have a few men stationed at the known entrances now. He could circle back, come in an entrance we don’t know about."

"Why wouldn’t he? He knows he can’t outrun search parties forever. I am shocked he was able to outrun them this long. A life on the run is not a life. He could probably guess we would focus our efforts everywhere else so why not hide in plain sight? And he is a former Jabari. M’Baku cannot use tribe resources to search for him forever. Davu must know that eventually M’Baku will have to give up. He is probably just praying that he can evade him and wait him out."

"Maybe. But who knows who long that could be. And short of going there yourself, there is no way to prove it. What are you going to do about M’Baku now?"

Zarah sighed, running her hand through her twists. "I don’t know. But nothing is getting solved with the two of us tonight. I think I will retire for the evening. Thank you my queen, princess. I will see you at the council meeting in the morning, yes?"

"Of course. Good night." They saluted each other before Zarah retreated to her chambers for the evening.

****

Zarah stared, unmoving, out of her window at the lights twinkling like stars throughout Gorilla City below the palace. They were slowly dwindling as the tribe began to retire for the evening. The bright lights branching out like veins were slowly dying out to give way to the total darkness of nighttime in the mountains. She had been in bed since she left her lab, too exhausted to entertain her guests or even eat dinner. M’Baku was surprised when his wife came back to their quarters, eyes still red and puffy, and did not utter a word to him. She moved through their room like a ghost as she prepared for bed and climbed in.

He tried to prompt her, asked her to speak to him so he could apologize, asked if she would attend dinner but she pretended to be asleep, pretended not to hear him. There was not much to say in her mind. Her frustration and negativity coursed through her blood kept her alert and agitated. That frustration split between the man slumbering deeply beside her, the man responsible for all this ruination, and herself. The man who sought to destroy her and she still did not understand why. Her frustration built the longer she laid there, imagining him in that cave laughing at her, reveling in all the destruction he caused with the freedom and peace he stole from her.

Part of her thought about telling M’Baku of her idea that he was still in Jabariland, asking him to send men to search the caves again or at least station more men there. It nagged her, would not give her peace knowing that he could likely circle back there at some point and all their efforts were focused outside of Wakanda.

Whose idea was that anyway? She thought to herself. As if Davu would leave this country so easily? Leave and go where? Leave and do what? She may have hated him but at his core, deep down, Davu was still a Jabari, he would not abandon his home so easily.

"And short of going there yourself, there is no way to prove it." Shuri’s words oscillated through her head. Shuri had a point, she could not prove it. It was merely a hunch and one only based on her own musings, not actual facts.

Maybe you should, a small voice in the back of her head poked through the thick curtains of uncertainty and disarray.

Zarah shot up. Maybe she should. She was chieftess, she did not need to wait for permission to do anything. Despite how M’Baku treated her as of late, she had the same power and authority in these mountains as he. She was capable, she was strong. Besides, Davu did not start a war with M'Baku, he started one with her. Why should she rely on her husband or their forces to end it?

This is what everyone wants from you. This is what a warrior would do. This is how you can prove to everyone that you are a warrior, a true Jabari.

She could do this, she would do this. Part of her wanted to get up and go now but she knew if M’Baku woke to find her missing, it would start a lodge-wide panic. She laid back down, deciding it was best to bid her time and wait for an opening tomorrow while M’Baku was distracted with the visitors from Birnan Zana.

You will find a way, she assured herself before popping one of her sleeping pills into her mouth. And then you will end this.

****

"Are you still not speaking to me?" M’Baku asked as they entered their bedroom after a long day of meetings and entertaining the Wakandan Council.

"I have spoken to you all day, my lord. We have been together all day." She did not even look at him as she went into their closet to change out of her formal clothes and into more comfortable leggings and a sweater until dinner. She discreetly sent messages to Kasim, Nakia and Shuri to meet her in her labs as soon as they could while she walked. M’Baku trailed behind her, following her like a small child vying for her attention. His heart fell slightly as she started to pull one of his sweaters off the shelf before seemingly remembering she was angry at him and grabbing on her own.

"Sitting next to me in council meetings and pretending to be happy hardly counts as speaking to me. It is toleration for the sake of our guests, at best," he argued back, frustration starting to get the better of him. He messed up yes, but it did not warrant the silent treatment he was currently receiving.

Zarah sighed frustrated, leaning on the small island in the middle of their closet. "I really do not want to have this conversation right now. I would like to just like to use this afternoon to get some rest before I have to continue to entertain our guests. That is all I am good for now apparently… to play the role of a chieftess without any of the respect and authority it demands. So that is what I shall do. Now, please drop it."

"You know that is not true. You are not some prop on my arm, you never have been. I am sorry Zarah. I should not have kept that from you. But I will find him, I promise."

"The strength of your promises dwindles by the second. I do not want to hear them anymore. I mean... What do you want me to say M'Baku? You lied. You lied and it is clear you do not trust me anymore. I am not sure what conversation we can have about that, I am not sure how talking will fix that."

"That is not true! You know that is not true, he repeated. "I trust you with my life Zarah. And maybe that is the problem. We have not been talking and we should. Talk to me. Tell me how I can fix this, how I can help you."

"You DON’T trust me! I do not care what your words say because your actions say something completely different. And I don’t want your help! I don’t need your help! I am fine and the only problem I have right now is a husband who is dishonest and entitled for believing I am obligated to speak with him after he refused to do so with me. You did not want to speak with me and now I do not want to speak with you. I am going to the lab and I will be getting ready in a different room. I will see you at dinner."

Zarah pulled on a few more layers and her furs before exiting their room. As she walked toward her lab, she was thankful Kide did not try to follow her. She knew she did not have long before her husband sent another guard to find her and watch over her so she had to act fast.

****

"Zarah, why are you dressed like a fashionable spy in a bad American movie?" Shuri questioned jokingly when the four were gathered together, all slightly confused as to why she called this meeting of unlikely characters.

Zarah took a deep breath, "I need your help, all of your help. I am going to search the caves myself right now," she informed confidently. "I was hoping you may have some tech to spare so I am not going back there empty-handed."

From the reactions of those surrounding her, you would have thought Zarah’s head sprouted into three new ones. Kasim, in particular, wondered if he needed to call a healer because it was clear his chieftess had lost her mind. "My lady, you are the smartest person in this tribe but this might be the worst idea you've ever had," he said harshly and bluntly. "I may not be in charge of your security at this moment but you cannot possibly think I would let you go back to that compound."

"He is right. This is not a good idea. First, you do not even know if Davu is there. Second, if he is, you do not know how many men he escaped with. You could be walking into an ambush. And third, you do not know how you will react to seeing him again. He could trigger traumatic memories for you." Nakia listed. She understood the urge to take matters into your own hands, the former spy lived her life that way. But even she recognized there had to be limitations.

Zarah waved her hand, brushing off their concerns as if they were minor inconveniences, not gaping holes in her plan. "I will be fine. There is nothing he can do to hurt me that he has not done before. And yes, I do not have confirmation he is there. It is a hunch, a gamble but every place you all have searched for the last month has been. How is this any different?"

"Umm, those search teams were skilled Jabari warriors with weapons, trained to take risks and rush into potentially dangerous situations. And you are the chieftess of the Jabari, whose body just healed like yesterday? That is literally the difference," Shuri stated, not understanding how Zarah did not understand the pure lunacy of her plan. "You are chieftess, leader of this tribe. You cannot just amble into danger for the hell of it."

"You put this throne and tribe at risk by doing so," Kasim interjected.

Anger flared as she tried to defend her choices. If she wanted to be talked out of it or down to like she was not capable, she would have just called M’Baku. "And this is what chieftesses, leaders, do! They lead, they do not sit idly by and let others do all the work for them. How can I ask our soldiers to go into the fire for me if I am not willing to race through fire for them? This is my hunch, my idea. So I will follow it until the end. This tribe, this role, demands that I defend them at all costs."

"This role also demands you protect yourself, you make smart decis-"

"I am going! I am Lady of the Jabari and with all due respect, I do not need permission from any of you," she said angrily. "I am only telling the three of you because you were the only people whose allegiances don’t lie with M’Baku’s over mine and I thought you would help me. Was that a mistake? Can I trust you or not?"

"You can… of course you can," Shuri resigned, the group collectively nodding in agreement.

"If this is your command, I will obey but I am going with you. I can’t let you go there alone. That is non negotiable," Kasim told her, pulling his furs back on. This plan lacked the logic he usually preferred but it was her life. She was right, she did not need his permission to do anything. His job was to ensure she was safe while she did it.

"Us too!" Nakia called. "Do you have some extra furs though?"

Zarah immediately shook her head, quickly losing control of this situation and her plan. "What? No! Absolutely not. No one is coming with me. I just wanted some tech Davu would not be able to fight against. Shuri, you are 17. Nakia, you are the queen of Wakanda. This isn’t a hike through the mountains; T’Challa would murder me if I let either of you come. You saw what these men are capable of. And Kasim, you do not give me non negotiables!"

"Precisely why you shouldn’t be going there either. Why do you need to do this? What do you need to prove?" Nakia demanded.

Zarah braced herself over her desk, clutching the sides. "It is not about prov-" she stopped, the words failing her. "It is not about proving anything. Davu attacked me. It is about me recognizing that this isn’t M’Baku or N’Danna’s fight. It is my fight to win or lose, and I will not lose again. I will find him, I will confront him and I will end this."

"How do you expect to get out of here?"

"I grew up around this palace, running behind my big brother and M’Baku. You do not think I picked up on a few things along the way? Like what entrances and exits to this place and the Lands in general are not properly manned? We have hours before M’Baku or T’Challa come looking for any of us for dinner tonight. That is more than enough time to fly the Royal Talon close to the compound and get in. By the time they catch up, I will have my answers either way."

"Fine but if you go, we are coming too. Or I will call Lord M’Baku," Kasim threatened. A staring match ensued between the young chieftess and her favorite guard. She was not used to Kasim pushing back on her this hard. But she nodded, ultimately conceding because going with them was better than not going at all.

"Fine, but let us hurry. I do not want to waste any time."

****

The Royal Talon glided quietly and swiftly toward the compound. Zarah watched out of the window as snow fell peacefully around the ship as they zoomed toward potential danger. Every inch closer to their destination made her heart falter. Her confidence in this plan beginning to diminish fast but she came this far, there was no room to turn back or waver.

"So what happens when you find him?" Shuri asked. She had an idea but wanted to hear it from the chieftess herself. Zarah was no assassin but she also, previously, was not a woman to make rash decisions and here they were.

Zarah did not say anything, she did not know what happened once she found him. She knew the only correct answer in front of the Queen and Princess was that she would arrest him. But she could not deny the small piece of her heart that wanted to see him suffer, that wanted to watch the life leave his body as he was supposedly content with doing to her.

"I will arrest him," she said, voice hitching slightly which let the Princess know that she was not being totally honest. But she did not signal that she picked up on the hesitation. She simply nodded and continued guiding the Talon.

"From the other Dwellers’ accounts, we believe he escaped with about 10 men. We are outnumbered if we have to fight our way out but these weapons," he gestured toward the vibranium blasters Shuri gave them, "should give us an advantage even without the numbers.

Zarah nodded, before looking at her guard. "You do not have to do this. I know it is your job but I will never ask you or any of you to put your life at risk for me. If you want to stay on the Talon, I understand. This is my idea, I am the only one who should be in danger for it."

"This is my duty. I vowed to follow the throne until the very end through everything. We can station the Queen and Princess toward the front of the caves so they can escape if needed. We are all in this with you," he informed. Shuri and Nakia gave reassuring nods before lowering the Talon on the small cliff at the entrance of the compound.

She sighed with relief when she saw no Jabari guards standing out front, she had forgotten about them.

"Kide told me they patrol the whole mountain here. They are likely walking around now. Let us hurry."

She started to walk in when her kimoyo beads started to ring out loudly. The bead illuminating a light blue was the one that directly connected to M’Baku so she knew immediately who it was and why he was calling.

She started to question her decision to answer during the second it took M’Baku to materialize at her wrist. She would tell him the truth. Some of us still value the truth. She thought they would have more time to get in but he must have went looking for her earlier.

"Zarah! Where are you? Are you ok?" He immediately fired off questions, sounding frazzled and upset.

"I am fine."

There was a pause. "Ok, good. But where are you? Jahari went looking for you in the labs and you are not there. We have searched the entire Lodge."

"I am at Davu’s compound. I believe he is here and I want to check for myself," she rushed out, deciding not to prolong the inevitable.

"What? Zarah… That is absurd. I know you are upset with me but you can’t just run off after a madman. You need to come home right now. How did you get there?"

She shook her head. "The Royal Talon. And no M’Baku. You cannot command me to return like a soldier. I have to do this. You wanted to do everything alone… and now I am. I have to go back there and nothing you say will change my mind. I love you."

"Zarah, wai-" he called before she ended the call. She knew he would find T’Challa and demand he take the Panthers’ ship that brought the council members to the Lands to find her. So she knew her window of opportunity was dwindling. She took off, venturing down into the caves with Kasim on her heels, and Shuri and Nakia at the entrance as lookout.

This time felt different, this time was voluntary and on her own terms, which gave her a sense of power as she navigated the compound. She stayed alert, knobkerrie out and a blaster in her other hand ready for an attack, realizing now that she could have vastly underestimated how many he escaped with. Too late to turn back now though. But no one appeared as she moved quietly through the tunnels, turn after turn until she reached a closed door with a carving of Hanuman on it. She wasn’t sure how she knew this was it. She was just trusting her gut and Hanuman’s guidance, and her gut led her here. She took a deep breath… this was it. She could end this, finally have answers... finally be free. She pushed the door open and was almost shocked to come face to face with Davu.

"How did you know?" he asked from behind his desk, his head resting in his hands as he sat, almost like he had been waiting for this moment. She nodded at Kasim, signaling for him to closing the door.

"You seem to be a strategic man Davu," Zarah said, voice shaking slightly as she leaned against the wall across from him, moving her knobkerrie back and forth in her hands. "Why not come back here? It is the last place anyone on this manhunt would think to look since we arrested everyone else. Besides, this is it… this… these men, these makeshift rooms and tunnels… this is all you have. You can leave temporarily but everyone comes home eventually, even if it is to their own detriment. I am a bit surprised I was right though."

"You are smarter than I gave you credit for. Certainly smarter than that husband of yours," Zarah cut her eyes at the insult. "A life on the run can only last for so long. A servant told me I could return and Hanuman did not offer me a rebuttal or other path so, this was it. My last option. So, let me guess, there is a considerable amount of warriors and that chief out there ready to arrest me and take me to await my execution?"

"No… just me and Kasim. The considerable amount of warriors are on their way. I would say we have 20 minutes before they knock down this door." Zarah sat down in the chair across from him, eerily calm for facing the man who tortured her for days."So while we wait, I have a question."

"You still think you are in a position to make demands. You clearly didn’t learn anything from our time together."

"It is not a demand, it is a question. You can choose not to answer and I will have Kasim kill you. Death is coming for you as sure as the sun will rise over the eastern mountains in the morning. How quickly your soul falls off the cliffs to meet Hanuman is up to you."

As Zarah spoke, she examined her assailant. She could see how life underground affected his health. His clothes hung off his thin body, his skin was dry and taunt over his bones from the vitamin D deficiency. In this light, Zarah wondered why she was ever afraid of him. She certainly could overpower him in hand-to-hand combat. Maybe it was because she didn’t really remember enough about him to be afraid, didn’t remember all the pain he inflicted. And for the first time, the power dynamics were certainly in her favor. It was nice to hold all the cards, all the power after someone lauded theirs over you.

Davu leaned back in his chair and Zarah could finally see it, the facade of superiority cracking. "Smart indeed. What is your question?"

"I don't remember much from our time together, what you did to me. All I know is what others have told me. But there are things they can't tell me... things only you know. So I want to know why? Why me?"

Davu slumped back in his seat and stared past Zarah thoughtfully. They sat in silence as she waited for him to address her question.

"I am not sure that is worth risking your life over. But why not? If I am to die, someone should hear it before that I suppose. It was simple. I wanted the mantle of chief… I am the one chosen by Hanuman to lead the Jabari, to bring them back into his favor. I know this, I have seen it in my dreams every night for years. That throne is my destiny and it was time for me to take it."

Zarah shook her head, "First, you were not chosen by Hanuman because if you were, you would have won the ritual combat. It is ordained by him. Second, that is not the answer to my question. That is why you chose to overthrow the Jabari. You beat me, you tortured me, you poisoned me. If the throne was all you wanted, you could have marched your followers over these mountains and fought M’Baku… Instead you chose to hurt me. Hanuman didn’t tell you to do that. Destiny didn’t tell you to do that. So why?" She demanded through clenched teeth. She wanted to reign in her emotions, be stoic and cold but seeing him again was fracturing the dam holding back a month's worth of pent up emotions.

"Yes, I could have marched my men down the mountain and attacked Jabariland but I didn’t take over this group of faithful servants and raise them up from obscurity to offer them like pigs for their slaughter. You all would have crushed us immediately. I know it, you know it, everyone knows it. Physical strength and military prowess are not your chief’s weaknesses. But then I learned of you, the woman who had the right hand of the King, the woman shaping the Jabari in her image, the woman leading their leader astray, the woman destined to be chieftess. You weren’t yet but they were sure you were on your way. You were the reason he rejoined Wakanda."

"I encouraged him to. We are better together than apart."

"In your opinion. Your chief handed me a gift on a silver platter when he rejoined Wakanda at your request: the gift of division. With that, I could finally get what I needed, people within the Jabari who could tell me all I needed to know about him, who then told me about you. I was most interested in you... the girl that led the Jabari’s infrastructure, that captivated hearts and minds, the Chief’s greatest weakness, they said."

"I am far from Lord M’Baku’s weakness."

"Oh you don’t know the power you have. They told me what he said when he proposed… what was it again? 'The future of the Jabari rises and sets with Lady Zarah’" he recited. "Or something like that. It is poetic really. Why attack a group of soldiers when one person will do?"

"So you kill me and what? M’Baku is so distraught that he just hands you the throne? You aren’t as smart as you think. M’Baku would never make that trade."

"Love topples empires every day. What is Chief in the face of saving your wife? The love of your life? Most would give up everything. And the intention was never to kill you… You represent everything that is wrong with the Jabari, everything I was trying to change. If I could mold you, if I could convert you? Well, I could do so to anyone. Once I traded you for the throne, I was going to kill him and keep you for myself. Oh I had plans for you, plans to build a bright future in the light of Hanuman with you by my side. But not as you were - headstrong, outspoken, too smart for your own good - no… you had to be taught your place. You had to be broken. You would have been more amenable to the idea once I was done with you. You may not remember but you were so close when our time together ended. A few more minutes and I would have gotten you there. Believe me, there were moments when I feared you were a loss cause and in those moments, I can admit I got carried away, particularly with the poison. It would have just been easier to kill you and be done with it. But your survival was part of the deal and no one trusts a man who goes back on a deal. I was given the key to the kingdom, you get to remain chieftess, your brother keeps his head," Davu listed, clearly annoyed at all the concessions he had to make to set his plan in motion. "And then I would have had it all… the Jabari, the mantle and the backing of the council. And we would have ushered in a new world for the Jabari. A new legacy."

"Deal? What deal?"

He laughed. "You could probably guess. Come on Zarah… You think everyone loves your chief just because you do? You think everyone wants to see him holding the mantle just because you do?"

"No, I just know no one would betray the Jabari, betray their chief and I like this. You are lying."

Davu laughed. "What use is lying to a man marked for death? What better recourse than to tell the truth when your days on this Earth have been reduced to minutes? I swear to Hanuman I am telling the truth. You should just lucky the people with power cared about you or I would have killed you. As I planned to do with all the loyalists."

Zarah shared a look over her shoulder with Kasim, a look that shared more than expression - it shared confirmation. Confirmation that the zealot before her was indeed telling the truth, someone betrayed her. She squinted her eyes at him, letting the guard know that there would be a conversation in the near future of how he knew this but she did not.

"Who?" The question was barely audible. The disappointment and hurt caused by the blow of betrayal forced her poker face to slip.

The confidence and strength she had when she walked into his office dwindling. She did not want the answer, feared she could not handle the answer. But she knew weeds in a garden must be pruned, or else they threaten the livelihood of all.

She could see the hope that glimmered in her opponents' eyes, knowing that this secret gave him power and that he could dangle this nugget of important information out to her like a mouse before a cat and she would desperately grasp for it, because she had to.

"He claimed to love you. I do not have children so I cannot claim to understand the complexity of a father's love but I suppose they all show it in different ways. He hoped this would, in addition to saving the Jabari by installing a chief that deserves it, harden you but I suppose we both failed in our ambitions. Though I suppose he still won in the end... his daughter still chieftess and his son still general. And thanks to the impossible dilemma he created for you, he knows you are not strong enough to execute your own blood so life will still pump through his veins."

Zarah's eyes clenched shut as his revelation crashed over her like relentless waves during a storm at sea. She felt the tears forming, felt her blood boiling. She did not want to believe him, the shock wanting her to believe her father was incapable of betraying her and their people in this way. But she knew in her heart he was telling the truth.

You are not a disappointed daughter here. You are a chieftess. You can deal with his betrayal when this is over.

Zarah forced herself to resume her calm facade and pull her emotions back to their cage. That was what he wanted, to see her break down, see her powerless. But she was not. Her father wanted this to harden her, well hardened she was.

"I hope all of this was worth it for you... risking your life for this."

This new revelation changed nothing. She came to get answers and she got some, more than she wanted. She was disappointed though, those answers did not lift her spirits, reignite the spark of life she was hoping they would. Instead, she felt just as cold, just as empty, maybe even more so if that was possible than before she entered this abandoned cave. Before she had the sweet bliss, the merciful blessing of ignorance even though it did not feel that way back then. Before she had a father. Now, she lost both and the world on the other side was more terrifying than she imagined. But he could never know that. He could never know that this was useless. Power, strength, control - those were what she needed now.

"Knowing that you will go to your death knowing this plan failed miserably makes it all worth it to me. And I will make sure my father and any Jabari who helped you are the last faces you see before you all go to meet Hanuman together," she said coolly.

"Oh… I don’t see it that way."

She scoffed and leaned back into her chair, still exuding confidence. "It must be tough to admit you failed and got it wrong. But that is the issue with fanatics isn’t it? You believe everything you do is guided and ordained by Hanuman so you cannot make a mistake, cannot be wrong. And you do not even realize that you are not really following any God at all, you are simply following your own hubris to destruction. So how do you see it? Because you sound rather pompous for a man whose moments on Earth are dwindling by the second."

He stood up from his chair and strode around his office with the air of a champion. Zarah stood as well and gripped her borrowed weapons, ready to strike at any moment.

"You are an engineer, so you tell me. What happens to building with cracks in their foundation? Buildings erected on unstable ground?"

Zarah hesitated, unsure of the purpose of this random pop quiz. "They will collapse eventually because the base isn’t strong enough to uphold the structure."

"Exactly, everything that was built will collapse. Even the smallest crack can give way to an unstable structure. You can find something to mask the cracks, fill them but the structure will never be as strong as it was. It will always be vulnerable."

"Great, you have a child’s understanding of engineering. What is your point?" Zarah asked through gritted teeth.

"I will never get to be chief, you are right about that. But I did crack the foundation. You and M’Baku are slowly breaking. I know of the problems plaguing your marriage. In only a month, you two have managed to destroy the trust in your relationship all on your own. That will fester, the fractures will grow larger and larger until the entire structure, that bright future you two were building, collapses. I may have lost but I exposed your vulnerability, the holes in your leadership. And sooner than you think, another will take my place and finish my work. There is more of me in these mountains than you know. My soul may leave this Earth, but you can’t take my legacy."

Zarah’s knuckles started to turn red at the death grip she had on her weapon. Anger growing stronger and wilder at his belief, the audible confirmation that he broke them... that he broke her. "The Jabari are more than just its leaders. It is a people, tradition, a way of life. You cannot destroy that by destroying me. M’Baku and I are strong. We will destroy another just as we destroyed you."

"Oh you are strong? Hm… tell me, where was that strength when he was spending every waking moment searching for me and lying to everyone about it? Where was that strength when you were having panic attacks throughout the Lodge, waking everyone up with nightmares? Where was that strength as the two of you ignored each other for a month? You are a mere shell of the woman my soldiers brought here a month ago. You aren’t sleeping, you have lost weight, you aren't doing your job, how long before all the emotions you are trying to hide overpower you? Before the memory of me eats away at you until there is nothing left? And your husband? The great and fearless M’Baku? He will destroy himself under the weight of his own bruised ego and failure, trying to prove he is still a man, a leader despite failing to protect his family."

The world seemed to turn red and before she knew it, Zarah found herself in front of Davu, one arm grasping the front of his robes to keep him in place and the other raised with her knobkerrie to strike him, the Panthers’ weapon clanked to the floor forgotten. She did not need their help to end this, this weapon would be enough. It shook violently in her hand along with her whole body as she tried to remain calm. Davu was like a catalyst, activating and amplifying all her own insecurities, all her own thoughts of self loathing. She did not want to listen, did not want to give his words life for she knew they were right and it killed her.

"No. You are wrong. You haven't broken me. You won't."

"You already are," he whispered. "I have taken root in the Jabari like a parasite and it won’t be long before I devour everything you hold dear. He told me you were weak, that you would crumble under my weight. Whether you shattered all at once like I originally planned or break slowly piece by piece, the endgame remains the same. And from this, my people will rise from the rubble and rebuild the Jabari in Hanuman's image."

He didn’t even flinch as she swung her arm back and brought the weapon down on his head, trying to silence the physical mouthpiece to her insecurities, the person breathing life into her darkest thoughts.

Her rage was defeating and blinding as the knobkerrie connected with every inch of his body with all the strength she could muster, over and over again. Neither his cries nor yells of pain reached her ears.

"Zarah! ZARAH!" She suddenly felt two hands grip around her arms and pull her backwards away from his writhing, bloodied body. Her chest heaved up and down as she tried to calm down from the adrenaline rushing through her. She looked without seeing as two soldiers walked in front of her and lifted his body off the floor and onto a medical transportation bed.

"He is still breathing," she heard faintly through the intense ringing in her ears.

"Good. Take him away."

Her eyes followed the bed as he was carried away, her line of vision interrupted by a large body. Her eyes trailed up his torso to his eye, ablaze with a rage she had never seen directed at her before.

"M’Baku, I -" Her mouth clamped shut as M’Baku raised his hand to silence her.

"Are you hurt?" he asked quietly. Zarah quickly shook her head.

"Good. Go to the Talon. We will discuss this later," he said shortly stepping aside for her to pass him. She stood and stared at him for a moment. She almost questioned whether she could get her limbs to move, whether they would be able to make the journey to the ship outside. Even standing there, her ears rang, her whole body felt like it was buzzing around her and her extremities felt heavy, like they were anchors holding her in one spot.

"Let us go, my lady." Kasim placed a hand on her mid back in hopes of propelling her forward and out of the cave. Her legs moved on command, slower than her usual step but moving. She could hear M'Baku and her brother shared a few words before N'Danna ran to follow after Davu and M'Baku trailed close behind them to the ship.

"Zarah! Are you alright?" Shuri asked rushing to meet the young chieftess as she walked up the ramp to the cabin of the ship. She immediately started checking her for injuries, noticing the blood streaked on her face and clothes.

"It is Davu's, not mine. I am fine," she assured the princess before falling into a nearby seat. Her eyes averted the form of her husband who stood on the other side of the ship. Despite his distance, she could feel his aura as if he was right on top of her: red with rage. After her brother joined them on the ship, it lifted off the ground to make the journey back to the Lodge.

"So Davu is in custody then? It is over?"

"Yes. He will be tried an-"

"No." Zarah said lowly from her seat. "It is far from over. M-m-my f-f-father… h-he…" Zarah voice fell as she tried to verbalize the one truly important information Davu offered her, the only information she could actually act upon.

"He revealed that Elder Amari helped Davu orchestrate all this and has been informing him on your search for him since he escaped."

N’Danna laughed. "That is absurd and impossible. One, our father is a dedicated general to this tribe and two, he has not been involved in the search." He could not hear it, he would not entertain it.

"No, he hasn’t but I have heard you give him details of the investigation. And yes, it is true. All evidence pointed to you or him. We found cash in Mosi’s locker, more than any guard should have. There are only a few families in the tribe who could have given him such a large amount, Davu’s entire plan - the fire, the guards - hinged on information only a handful of men in this tribe could have known. You both disagreed with rejoining Wakanda, your father vehemently so. I would also guess and say he is the one that encouraged you to convince M'Baku to focus the search in Niganda and our neighboring nations, yes?," Kide demanded, voice and anger rising at confirmation that his former general betrayed their people like this.

"Y-yes he did! But only because he wanted us to catch Davu and it was good advice - everyone agreed! This is all circumstantial! Based on the words of a would-be usurper! Sister, please tell you do not believe this," N’Danna begged, not understanding how her sister was ready to call their father a traitor so easily.

"Davu has no reason to lie. He is marked for death either way, lying would not help him escape that inevitability. I believe him. Father did this."

N’Danna thew his hands up exasperated. "And you, M’Baku? You have been looking for a reason to hate our father since forever. I suppose you believe this nonsense as well?"

M’Baku shook his head. "Do not make your father out to be some innocent victim when he is not. While it is convincing, I will not execute an elder off the words of a criminal. I believe we should interrogate Mosi and see if he also confirms this."

"No!" Zarah called out. Her hand wiped the tears from her eyes before she pulled herself to full height and swallowed her emotions. The dam was splintering but it would hold for a bit longer, it had too. "Have him, Davu and the Jabari Council brought to Dead Man’s Peak immediately. Before the sun hits the western mountains. King T’Challa, can we use the Talon to fly there after I change?"

"We should at least hear from Mosi first, Za-"

"No! I will hear from no one else, I will speak to no one else but Elder Amari. He will admit what he has done or he will offer adequate defense of the charges and evidence before him. That is it."

The color drained out of N’Danna’s face, understanding her intentions immediately. "Zarah, please! You cannot j-just execute him, our father, without a fair trial."

"I can do as I please as chieftess of this tribe! You may be my brother but you do not give me orders, General N’Danna," her eyes cut with rage as she spoke. "I suggest you remember that. I will execute any man who thinks he can uproot this tribe. The sun will not set on another day in this tribe with a traitor in our midst. That is my decision and that decision is final."

N’Danna stared at M’Baku incredulously. But M’Baku offered no rebuttal, no response. He did not know what happened in that cave this time around but a different Zarah emerged from the underground, one whose eyes were void of life, were cold. He knew better than to strip this choice from her. It was not his place.

She walked to the window of Talon and stared out of it for a moment. She turned back and faced the two guards in the corner, "You will see to it? As soon as we land. No delays."

"Yes my lady. No delays," Kide responded.

She nodded before turning to the window, turning her back on her audience and the past. The path forward was the only thing she could focus on. Here she was again, racing toward pain and the unknown. This felt different though. Before she did not know what she would encounter at the end of her journey. Now she knew exactly what laid at the end of the path she was on now, a path that seemed to drain the life out of her as she went. The unknown was what would come after, what paths would be born from actually reaching this destination. Only Hanuman knew that but she hoped he dealt her a better hand than before.

***

Tag List: @destinio1 @muse-of-mbaku @missmohnique @jellybean531 @dawva @afrolatinpami

#Black Writers #black panther fanfiction #black panther imagines #black panther fics #m'baku x reader #m'baku imagine #m'baku x oc

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evil-overlord-scriptology · 4 years ago

Text

But I Don’t Want to be a Sensei! Pt 2 (ARCHIVED)

Chapters 8, 9, & 10

Chapter 8: Don’t Mess with Yanagi

“Damnit Yanagi, have you seen my goggles?” Obito asked frantically as he shunshined all over the house looking for those stupid things. I rolled my eyes and ignored him as I guzzled down my morning tea. I didn't need ruckus this early in the morning, especially not when I was going to have to deal with Naruto later on in the day. It was always the same. Obito was always able to find his goggles on any normal day, but the rare days that his team got called for missions was when he lost the things.

I spoke, “Why does it matter? Rin knows you and Kakashi are going to be late. That's why she set the meeting at Godforsaken four in the morning.” If there was anyone who knew how to manipulate the Copy-nin and the Uchiha Prankster, it was Rin.

“Stop making snarky comments and help me, woman!” Was all my brother responded with.

Sighing I looked directly at the object he was looking for. Obito's battle goggles were laying on the kitchen table, where he always tossed them after his police squad finished for the day. I contemplated in telling Obito, but then that would take away the fun it would be to watch him tear apart the house looking for his goggles.

“Why do you even wear them anymore? It's not like you still have that eye problem.” I called. Obito had been born with some kind of defect that made his eyesight weak. When we were younger, his eyes would constantly dry out, forcing my brother to carry around an eyedropper and wear goggles to protect his sensitive eyes. When Obito finally activated his sharingan, the eye problem disappeared but he didn't stop wearing those stupid goggles.

Obito made some remark about his goggles being part of him or whatever. It's not like I ever understood what he was talking about half the time anyway. I knocked back the rest of my tea and turned around to set the cup by the full sink. My eye twitched at the sight. Reason Number 27 why Obito and I didn't get along: I was a clean freak and he wasn't.

“You forgot to do the dishes again!” I yelled as I made my way towards the door.

Obito poked his head out of my room, “That's not important right now, Yanagi. I need to find those goggles!”

I glared at him as I sat down to put on my sandals, “Well they're definitely not in my room. Have you even looked in the kitchen yet?” I heard Obito grumbling about something, but I chose to ignore it. Whatever he was saying would only piss me off anyway.

There was a spike of chakra that told me Obito was shunshining into the kitchen, followed by his exclaims of delight. I stood and retrieved my weapons pouch from the small table by the door where I had set it last night, trying to ignore the cheering coming from the kitchen. I was tempted to tell Obito to find a room, but that would only start another yelling match. It was too early in the morning for fighting.

“Bye! Have fun on your mission!” I called as I ran out the door and into the foggy predawn morning. For some odd reason I felt as if I were a genin again, eagerly running to meet my team and show off the cool new jutsu my brother had taught me the night before.

Not that I wanted to be around Team 7, of course.

Training ground six, where I trained my genin, was one of the lesser used training grounds that the Uchiha clan owned. Obito and I were normally the only ones who actually used it since it was the closest to our house, so making Team 7 meet there wouldn't be a hassle to anyone. I didn't need more of a headache than what I got by just standing in those brats' presence. Anyway, I liked training ground six. When it wasn't being used, the area was very quiet and peaceful. If one ignored the burn marks and notches in the woods from stray weapons, one could say it was very beautiful.

Settling myself in the crook of my favorite tree, I pulled out my book and opened it to the well-worn bookmark and began reading. I only had an hour of this peace before a certain knucklehead blonde came and ruined it with his loud mouth.

It wasn't long after I arrived that my first genin did. I had maybe read ten pages when I felt the presence of a puny amount of chakra. Well... puny to me. For a genin, that amount of chakra was quite a bit; but considering that I had two clan kids on the team it wasn't surprising they'd be more advance.

“Come out, come out.” I called softly, like the antagonist in children tales. Like I expected Hinata shuffled into my view, her cheeks dark with a blush and twiddling her fingers in anxiety. I easily leapt from the tree and landed in front of her, “You know we still have an hour until the team meets right?” I questioned.

Hinata just fidgeted nervously, “I-I...” She started then stopped, her throat working as she tried to spit out words and failed.

I raised an eyebrow, “I'm not going to bite.” I pointed out, feeling that I probably should. This poor kid was obviously terrified of me. I wondered what I did to make her so nervous, I hadn't been that bad... hadn't I? I waited for a little longer, but when it was obvious she wasn't going to make a peep, I rolled my eyes, “Well, it's a good thing you are here early, now we have an hour to get rid of that shyness. Sit.” I put a hand on her slight shoulder and pressed down, making the girl sit on the dewy grass.

“Here.” I said and shoved a book into her hands. Hinata looked down at the cover and immediately blanched, so she recognized it. I laughed, “Best way to get over shyness, read that book.” I said.

Hinata swayed, looking faint. I rolled my eyes again and snatched my brother's copy of Icha Icha from her hands, “Alright, maybe not.” I said and tossed the book over my shoulder, not caring where it landed. I had planned to rip the pages it out and make wallpaper for Obito's room, but I didn't want to touch the book longer than necessary. Sitting down in front of the shy Hyuuga heiress I tried a different route, “Did you know when I was in the police force I had a teammate who talked less than you?”

Pearl colored eyes glanced up at me nervously, as if I were some type of monster luring her into a false sense of security. I decided to ignore her look and continued talking like she wasn't there, “Yep, his name is Uchiha Ibo. He's extremely shy, more so than you. He uses hand signs to communicate.” Hinata seemed surprised that, for whatever reason. I guess it was surprising to hear that someone was worse than she was.

I clapped my hands loudly, making Hinata jump, “Right then. You're a kunoichi, so you're going to have to get over that shyness one day. Best start early before you're stuck in a jam because you put this off. Any questions before we begin?”

“D-did y-y-you h-ha-have p-p-prob-problems?” Hinata asked shakily.

“Are you kidding? Obito-nii would have beaten any shyness out of me before I was five.” I deadpanned. It was probably true. I'd never know since I grew up assertive and stubborn, being an Uchiha branded that personality into me at an early age. I honestly didn't know how Ibo had managed to keep on to his timid nature for so long. The clan saw timidity as a weakness, so to find a twenty year old man who rarely spoke and blushed almost constantly was a rare find. “Now, first lesson of the day...”

vvv

“S-sensei?” Hinata asked later that day, while we, or rather they, were cleaning out the dumpsters behind one of the Akimichi restaurants.

I ignored her and continued to read my book.

“S-sensei...?” Oh great, she was even more hesitate now. I kept my eyes firmly glued to my book, taking note that Sasuke and Naruto were pausing in their work to watch Hinata. I had told Hinata that I wouldn't speak to her unless she addressed me without stuttering. Until she said 'sensei' without stuttering I wasn't going to look up from my book.

“S-s-sensei?” Nope. Ignore.

“Hey! Hinata-chan is talking to you!” Argh, I should have known Naruto would butt in. It would be uncharacteristic of him not to. He wouldn't be Naruto without messing up something. Still I wasn't going to say a word until I got what I wanted. These kids would soon learn that no one could break my silence treatments.

“Sss...ensei?” That was better, but not perfect. I licked my thumb and flipped a page of my book. I flicked my eyes briefly towards Hinata, enough to show that I was listening but not enough to acknowledge she was actually speaking. Hinata would know what I meant. The girl took a deep shaking breath and said, slowly, “Sensei?”

I finally turned my full attention on her, “Yes, Hinata?”

“C-can,” My eyes narrowed and she blushed red before starting over, “Can I... ask you a q...estion?” The Hyuuga heiress managed. I rolled my eyes at her almost mistake and waved my hand for her to continue, “W...hy do we... h-ave to... to do mi...ssions? Won't y-ou t...each us some-something?” I frowned at the stuttering towards the end.

I stood from my seat on a pile of wood pushed up against the back fence, “Tired of D-rank missions already?” I asked amused.

Sasuke and Hinata said nothing, but their expressions said 'yes'. Naruto was more vocal about his opinion, “Yeah! These don't teach us anything! I want to get out there and fight some bad guys!” He said pumping his fist to show his eagerness.

Sighing, I pressed my fingers to my forehead and shook my head sadly. Woe to those who has to deal with Naruto. “Slow down, brat, you'll get killed that way.”

“But if you teach us, then we won't get killed!” Naruto snapped back.

“No matter how much I teach you, that kind of recklessness can get you killed.”

“Won't! I'm going to be the Hokage!” Naruto yelled childishly. And just was did that have to do with getting killed on a mission? I could tell him that there were thousands of people who wanted to become Hokage and they all died before their first B-rank mission because they had the same reckless behavior Naruto did. But I didn't since I wasn't that cruel.

I gave up on the argument, since it was futile to argue with stupidity, “Keep telling yourself that, kid. I'm going to enjoy laughing at your failure at tree walking.”

“Hey! I won't fail at... wait, are you going to teach us something?!” Man, if anyone needed to have something announce, they should just hire the Kyuubi brat. I swear the people in Kumogakure could hear him.

“That's what I said, didn't I?” I questioned dryly with a raised eyebrow.

Naruto leapt into the air with joy, whooping and cheering that he was going to learn an awesome new jutsu while Hinata and Sasuke looked mildly excited. I guess doing chores all day was really getting to them.

“Alright, finish up this mission then I'll teach you tree walking.” I should have known disaster would strike then. What would Team 7 be if a mission went without incident?

vvv

“Tree walking is one of the hardest but most common chakra controlling exercise. It's also the first step to water walking, which is an essential tool in many fights.” I started, glaring at Naruto when he opened his mouth to interrupt me. The boy immediately quelled under my harsh gaze and didn't speak. I waited a moment to be sure that he didn't go ahead and interrupt before I continued, “To walk up a tree, you must use the right amount of chakra to stick your foot to the tree; too much and the tree explodes underneath you, too little and you slip and fall. Observe.” I turned and walked up the tree I was leaning on with ease. Though tree walking wasn't as commonly used in combat as water walking, it was still useful–mostly as a way of traveling through trees. Especially in Konoha. I turned to face my team with I was a good two meters up the tree trunk, “Any questions?”

“Yeah, what the heck does this have to do with learning kickass jutsus?!” Of course it was Naruto.

I leapt off the tree and landed in front of the three genin again, “Simple. In battle, ninja fight with jutsus. Jutsus require chakra to perform. Having good chakra control enables the user to perform jutsus to their maximum efficiency without wasting any chakra. Thus it also gives the user more chakra to use in a battle. Understand?” All three shook their head 'no'. I sighed, well damn it. Why did I get stuck with the stupid kids?

“Look think of it this way, say a person can use about twenty different jutsus with medium damage in a battle without learning to control their chakra. If that person does learn chakra control, they can boost the number of jutsus they perform from twenty to say... thirty as well as boosting the power of their jutsus. Learning chakra control also is essential to learning medical ninjutsu and Konoha has a rule that there must be a medic nin on each team. One of you will be learning medical ninjutsu as well.” I stared right at Hinata when I said that. The kunoichi was usually the one who learned medical ninjutsu since women have better control than most men.

Naruto, being the dramatic brat that he was, groaned exaggeratedly and fell back on his back, “But why?” He persisted.

My eyebrow started twitching in irritation. Up until now I had been almost civil to the brats, they were highly amusing after all, but my patience was starting to wear thin... not that I had that much to begin with anyway. In a sharp voice I started counting off the benefits to tree walking, “Increases chakra control, gives you better balance, can be used in battle, is the first stepping stone in walking on water...”

There was a slight breeze that suddenly shot past me. Being a jounin I immediately flinched to the right, automatically thinking that I was being attacked. I spun around, hand already going for my kunai pouch in preparation for whatever came at me. Instead all I got was the sight of Naruto's blazing orange back racing towards the tree I had walked up.

He got three steps before falling flat on his back. I didn't even feel a spike of chakra coming from the untrained genin. By the time someone reached my level of experience, even lower actually, there was hardly a sign that they were focusing chakra to their feet. A genin however, especially a dead last like Naruto, needed time to focus their chakra.

“You didn't even use chakra, did you?” I questioned dryly, already knowing the answer.

Naruto went from rubbing the back of his head and grimacing in pain to shouting at me, “That was just a practice run!”

This kid was just like Denryoku...

“Sure it was, brat. Now why don't you try for real this time. Focus your chakra first, then run for the tree. You'll get better results.” I said before glancing at Sasuke and Hinata. They hadn't moved from where they were. As a Hyuuga and an Uchiha they should have already been introduced to exercises similar to tree walking, especially Hinata whose clan fighting style relied on strong chakra control. “Alright you two, practice even if you already know it.” I said and the two kids strode after Naruto.

I sat down where I stood and pulled out my book. Now that the brats were occupied with training, I could finish it.

vvv 3rd POV~ Sasuke vvv

“Hey...” Naruto said in a creepy mysterious voice. Both Hinata and Sasuke stopped practicing their tree walking to look at the blonde. Of all three of them, Naruto was the most bruised since he had no prior training. Sasuke fared a little better, his clan focused more on ninjutsu than building stamina; while Hinata remained unscathed.

Naruto looked to the right then left in a shifty manner, “What do you think Frizzy-sensei reads? She's always reading that book.” He whispered, jerking his thumb over his shoulder towards their oblivious sensei.

Sasuke had to admit that he was curious. He hardly knew anything about either of his cousins, other than that they were related to him through Kaa-chan and that both were extremely ill tempered. For some reason, Obito and Yanagi didn't get along with Otou-san; but why exactly, Sasuke didn't know.

“Shisui says that Obito-itoko reads perverted books.” Sasuke said, mostly to himself. The navy haired Uchiha glanced at his sensei/cousin, could she...?

“Eh? Who's Obito?” Naruto asked, his eyes squinting in confusion.

Surprisingly it was Hinata who answered, “O-O-Obito i-i-i-is S-sen-sensei's b-b-b-b-b-bro-broth-brother.” She managed to wring out, blushing red. Sasuke was tempted to tell her not to try and talk to Naruto. Hinata risked fainting every time she even looked at her crush. How Naruto hadn't noticed their teammates affection yet was beyond Sasuke.

“Oh... then who's Shisui?”

Sasuke rolled his eyes, “Shisui is my Aniki's best friend. He is close to Obito-itoko. Shisui says that Obito and Kakashi-san read Icha Icha all the time. It's their favorite book series.”

Hinata was turning even more red. Sasuke glanced at his female teammate curiously. Normally she only blushed when she was thinking about Naruto, or speaking to him, or looking at him, or hearing his voice... basically anytime Naruto was within ten feet of her. So why was she blushing now when all Sasuke did was mention a book series?

Shrugging it off as strange girl behavior, Sasuke continued, “Do you think that sensei might read the same thing?”

Naruto started snickering, “I knew there was something weird about her!” He said between snorts. Then he suddenly lit up with an idea. Sasuke had learned already that that usually didn't bode well for the team's health or sanity. “Hey, what if we...” More shifty looks, “found out if she does read those smutty books?”

Sasuke had a mild panic attack. Trying to go against Yanagi would be like trying to prank Obito: suicidal. Sasuke had already learned his lessons about messing with his cousins and he didn't wish to repeat either of them.

Bamf!

Hinata fainted, of course. Luckily Sasuke managed to catch her before she hit her head on the ground. He glared at Naruto, “Do you have a death wish?” It wasn't that he feared Yanagi; but he had noticed that everyone in the clan, save very few people, usually took steps to avoid her when Yanagi was pissed. Caution was always a good trait to have when you're a shinobi.

“Of course not! Frizzy-sensei can't be that bad.” Naruto defended hotly. Then he immediately went back into his 'scheming mode' “Now... here is what I was thinking we should do.”

Why Sasuke even listened, he'd never know. But the young Uchiha had to admit that his blonde teammate did have a talent for pranking. Though... it was no where near as good as Obito's talent.

vvv Normal POV vvv

“Sensei?” I glanced up at Naruto and raised an eyebrow. The kid's expression was uncharacteristically serious. I automatically suspected something.

“There's no way you're finished with the exercise.” I said, my voice carefully void of all suspicion. I had learned from growing up with Obito that you never let the prankster know that you know they're up to something. Besides, with Naruto's one track mind, I might be able to distract him.

No dice.

Naturally, being an Uchiha and a powerful jounin, I refuse to admit to anyone what happened next. One minute the Kyuubi brat was standing in front of me, almost frowning, and the next he was tearing across the training grounds with my book in his hands. It took me a second for it to click that some damn newly made genin just stole something right out from under my nose.

Someone was going to die.

“UZUMAKI NARUTO!!!” I roared as I shot to my feet. I was delicate for both my height and age–I barely looked like a proper jounin let alone a chunnin–but I had a pair of lungs courtesy of having a fire chakra nature. All shinobi with Katon ninjutsu had to have a healthy set of lungs, especially to pull of the Uchiha style Grand Fireball technique.

Plus growing up with Nii-san helped too.

I had nearly caught the damned brat when he tossed the book across the clearing to Sasuke. If I wasn't so pissed I'd be impressed by his arm strength. My cousin caught the book easily and leapt up into the trees, taking off to a destination unknown. I shunshined twice to narrow the gap between us and reached out to grab the brat by his Uchiha collar. I'd never understand why most of my kinsmen liked those stupid high collar shirts.

Sasuke stopped abruptly and dropped the book, letting it fall towards the ground, before evading my grip. Great. Now I had to change trajectory and free fall to grab my book.

I was going to murder whoever thought this was a good idea.

Three Narutos passed in below me, one nabbing the book out of the air while the other two stalled me for a brief moment, allowing the first Naruto to gain distance. What made matters even worse, they started jeering at me. I glared and grabbed the Naruto to my right and swung him into his partner. They both disappeared in a puff of smoke. That took me by surprise. I hadn't known that Naruto could create shadow clones.

Maybe he wasn't such a dead last after all...

But he was still dead.

Shunshining closer to the culprit who had my book I yelled out, “Stop right there or else!”

Naruto grinned at me over his shoulder, “What will you do? You can't even catch me!” He teased. I stopped on the branch I had just landed on and watched with a flat expression as the still mocking Naruto slammed into a tree.

I take it back. He was a dead last for sure, he just had a very unexpected high ranked jutsu in his arsenal. And probably the only one too.

“You gonna hand the book over now? Or do I have to get serious?” I asked boredly, my arms crossed over my chest, when Naruto finally caught his bearings.

The kid squinted at me, “What is this book, anyway?” He asked curiously. I was surprised he didn't think to open it and look for himself; but he was dumb enough that I doubted he knew how to even open a book.

“Hand it over and we'll forget this stupidity on your part.” I said, holding out my hand for my book, “You won't ever bring it up and I won't make your life hell, alright?”

He tried to open the book.

I snatched it from him before he could read the characters on the page. For extra precaution I stuffed the thin volume down my flak vest, not trusting my genin to try and sneak into my weapons pouch where I normally kept it. Without a word I turned away from Naruto, who was blinking dumbly at his suddenly empty hands.

I was so signing them up for the 'Retrieve Tora' mission tomorrow. I deserved some damn entertainment after this stupid stunt!

Chapter 9: Cats, Aunts, and B-ranks, Oh My!

“Good job team! Real nice action out there today.” I said cheerfully as Team 7 walked back to the Missions Assignment Office after a hard day's work of one D-rank mission. Though, considering it was the infamous 'Retrieve Tora' mission, I guess I couldn't blame them for taking all day. Honestly, some teams took weeks to capture Tora.

I heard Sasuke mumble behind me, “Why do I get the feeling Sensei enjoyed this?” I ignored his comment, since it was true. I loved watching Naruto getting beaten by a cat, again; I had a feeling the blonde was starting to really hate cats. Especially after he nearly deafened the rest of Team 7 with his declaration of loathing cats for all eternity.

...Shouldn't have stolen my book yesterday.

Naruto answered Sasuke's rhetorical question in a much louder voice that I couldn't ignore, “Because Frizzy-sensei is in league with the devil! Look at her, Sensei is holding that demon cat!” It was true, Tora was purring happily in my arms, not at all like the creature who just kicked Naruto's skinny ass into next week.

And if Naruto called me 'Frizzy-sensei' again, I was going to kick him into the next century.

“Oh Tora, my precious baby! You must have been so scared!” The Daimyo's wife cooed when we returned Tora to his owner. “Mommy was so worried about his fuzzy little face! Oooooo I'll never let you out of my sight again~!”

Naruto laughed, “Ha! That kitty deserves to be squashed.”

My eye twitched and I contemplated on swatting the blonde upside the head, but decided against it with both the Hokage and Iruka in the room. They were too overly protective over Naruto that I couldn't get away with hitting the idiot. Especially Iruka, he had a trick that he could use to get revenge. The guy knew about my silent treatment towards Shisui; if I hit Naruto I didn't doubt that Iruka would sic Shisui on me in retaliation.

While the Daimyo's wife, Lady Shizimi, continued to smother her cat with affection, the Hokage began reading off more missions. Babysitting, shopping, gardening... the normal boring D-rank stuff.

“Noooooo!” Naruto whined, putting his forearms up to make an 'X'. I glared at him for interrupting the Hokage. “I wanna go on a real mission! Something challenging and exciting, not this kids' stuff!” I frowned a little, thinking what I could do to make Naruto's life more interesting, since he obviously thought everything he was doing was 'kid stuff'. And by interesting, I meant more entertaining for me. Maybe if I made his life hell enough now, he wouldn't beg for a higher ranked mission.

I glanced at the two silent clan kids. Sasuke was ready to go on C-rank missions, I'd admit that. But Hinata was nowhere near ready. While the girl was more advance in training than the boys, her personality was a major fall back. Hinata wouldn't last well outside the village, she'd probably faint when a rabbit hopped across her path! Still C-rank missions were simple. There was supposed to be little or no enemies on C-ranks, in fact C-ranks were generally just D-ranked missions that went outside the village. Maybe Hinata wouldn't do so bad on it...

I punched Naruto in the head when he started yelling at Iruka about D-ranks not being real missions, causing the brat to facefault. “Cork it, kid.” I said flatly. Ha! Now Iruka wouldn't get mad at me for hitting Naruto since I was only controlling the rowdy brat's behavior. While I watched the blonde whine and moan, though I didn't hit him nearly as hard as he was making it out to be, the Hokage began another monotone speech.

Ugh. Kill me now.

Immediately Naruto turned his back on the Hokage and began talking about the ramen he had over the past week. Out of sheer boredom, I listen to him. Hinata was the only one really listening to him though, Sasuke and I were doing it so we didn't have to hear the Hokage drone on and on.

“Silence!” Hiruzen snapped, though not very loud. He didn't seem like the person to actually yell–at least to people who didn't really know him. Hinata jumped like she had gotten caught drinking heavy sake or something; the rest of us just turned our attention casually back on Hiruzen.

I glanced at the Hokage, “...Sorry.” I said in a 'not-so-sorry' tone. If the Hokage wanted people to listen, then he should really learn to put inflection in his voice.

Naruto, still sitting for some stupid reason, turned back around, “You're always lecturing me like you're my grandfather or something,” Well... he kind of was. Naruto did call the Hokage 'jiji' sometimes, “but I'm not the little brat who used to pull pranks all the time!” Oh really? Than was do you call yesterday? “I'm a ninja now and I want a real mission!” After the somewhat speech, Naruto crossed his arms with a childish pout and turned around again. Whatever credibility he had just made, it was thrown out the window by his actions.

I sighed and wondered why the karma demons hated me to much.

The Hokage laughed. I mentally cringed, that laugh meant that I wasn't going to like what came next. “Naruto wants us to know that he's a former brat, and he wants a mission... so be it.” Cue surprised looks from all three genin and a groan from me, “Since you're so determined I'm going to give you a C-ranked mission. You'll be bodyguards on a journey.”

Damn it. I hated when I was right.

Naruto cheered and leapt up, “YES! Who? Who are we guarding? A princess?! Or some big league councilor?”

The Hokage still have that evil smirk on his face as he said, “I'll bring him in now. Send our visitor in.” He called a little louder.

The door behind us opened and we all turned to see a wizened old man, though he was younger than the Hokage, come stumbling in with a sake bottle hanging loosely in his grip. “Wha tha? A bunch of snot nosed kids?!” I raised an eyebrow, it wasn't even noon and already he was drunk. I liked sake as much as the next person, but I drew the line at being drunk during the day. The client took a swig of his sake and pointed to the team, “And you, the short one with the idiot face, you expect me to believe you're a ninja?”

I glanced at my team and smirked. Naruto was the shortest, even Hinata was a full inch taller than him. The kid predictably cracked up and glanced at his two teammates, not understanding that he was the one our client was talking about. I had to hold Naruto back when it finally dawned on him that Mr. Drunk was talking about him.

“You can't kill the client if he's annoying, Naruto... that's my job.” I said patiently as I griped the struggling genin by his appalling orange jacket. I could feel the Hokage and Iruka's equally disapproving looks drilling into my back. I ignored them.

The drunk introduced himself as Tazuna, a bridge builder from the Land of Waves. He gave a nasty little speech about protecting him even if it cost us our lives. I glared at him for that. I believed in sacrificing yourself for the life of a friend just like anyone else; but it was an automatic 'screw you' if someone who wasn't my superior, namely the Hokage, was telling me to give my life for them.

I wondered if the Hokage would dock my pay if I hogtied the man and dragged him to the Land of Waves by his hair.

Nah, better not; it'd set a bad example for the kiddies.

Snapping my fingers, I brought all attention to me, “Alright, we leave at three this afternoon. Go pack for a month long mission, and be at the gate by three or you can stay in Konoha. Sasuke, you're escorting the Grandpa Drunk around. Keep an eye on him. Now all of you shoo.” Sasuke was probably the only one who could handle being around Tazuna without trying to kill him or fainting. I completely ignored Tazuna's indignant shouts and Naruto's laugh as the four of them filed out of the room.

Hiruzen gave me a brief rundown of the mission: Team 7 would escort Tazuna to the Land of Waves, protecting him from any bandits we might come across, then act as a bodyguards as he and his men finished the bridge that would 'change the world' or whatever. When the Hokage finished his briefing, I gave a small bow and left.

The Daimyo's wife was still in the hall when I closed the door behind me. Tora had long since stopped struggling and coiled up in his owner's arms, purring like he hadn't been trying to escape. I smirked and gave a small bow, “Always a pleasure, my lady.” I said, meaning it.

The woman gave me a smirk that equaled my own, “Oh dearie, you know I love teasing genin. Both me and my precious Tora.” Lady Shizimi enjoyed screwing with impressionable minds almost as much as I did. It was one of the reasons why she and I got along so well. After all, there weren't many women out there who would purposefully train cats–all named Tora of course–to give newly made genin hell. It was almost a rite of passage for genin to take on the infamous 'Retrieve Tora' mission. Even Obito said that Minato mentioned doing the mission when he was a genin; though if I remember correctly it had been another Daimyo's wife, not Lady Shizimi, who had 'lost' Tora.

vvv

The house was empty when I got there. Obito didn't say how long his mission with Rin and Kakashi would be, but when the best jounin squad was called out on a mission, they could be gone for months. Seriously, what kind of mission required the best medic Konohagakure had, an ANBU captain, and an infiltration expert? Whatever it was, it had better be preventing another damn war.

I went to my room and pulled out my ready made mission pack I kept under the bed. Being a jounin and one of the top most powerful Uchiha, I was used to having missions at the drop of a hat so I always kept a mission pack ready just in case I was called out. Slinging my pack over one shoulder and grabbing my haiti-ate that I wore only when outside Konoha, I went to the kitchen to scribble a quick note for Obito in case he got back before I did.

Gone on C-rank with genin brats.

I won't interact with any men.

Don't look for my candy stash, it's hidden.

Hit Shisui for me.

And yourself.

And Kakashi.

Tell everyone I hate them.

~Yanagi

I took a kunai that needed to be sharpened and impaled the note to the kitchen table so Obito would see it. He hated it when I did that. Nii-san was weird about cuts in the table for some reason. Something about the table being the only thing we had of our parents left.

Whatever. Our parents died before I turned three, so I didn't care.

I still had two hours before we left. I was a stickler for being early and all, but even two hours was too much for me. Besides, it was lunchtime, I could eat something before we headed out; but with Kakashi gone with Obito I had no one to eat with. I wasn't keen on eating by myself, too many men tried to flirt with me when I was by myself. I might not like Obito being an overprotective troll of a brother, but I hated flirty men who didn't get the hint that I wasn't interested even more.

Still... I did have one option.

“Sensei?” Sasuke questioned when he opened the door. By the look of his face, I think I successfully stumped the kid. It wasn't a secret that Fugaku detested me and my brother and visa-versa; as a result Obito and I avoided from the Uchiha Main House like the plague.

I gave my student/cousin a blank look, “Is your dad home?” I asked boredly. Sasuke shook his head 'no' and I grinned, “Perfect. Then I'm staying for lunch.” Mikoto had giving Nii-san and I an open invitation to come over for meals at anytime. But we usually declined because Fugaku was there. While I loved my aunt, I didn't want anything to do with her husband.

Before Sasuke could answer I ducked around him and took off my sandals. As I pulled my gloves off, I looked at the still somewhat dumbfounded Sasuke out of the corner of my eye, “Where's Grandpa Drunk?” Please tell me he was tied up like a dog. Please tell me he was tied up like a dog. Please tell me he was tied up like a dog-

“HEY! You've gotta awfully lot of guts calling me names!”

Damn it.

I glared at Tazuna who was in the hallway glaring right back at me. Behind him Itachi stood giving me a sort of disapproving blank look. I honestly didn't know how my cousin could do that. Glares normally didn't bother me, but Itachi had a way of getting under my skin with his staring, even when he was still a brat just learning to walk. I eventually found a way to bypass Itachi's stares, by accusing someone of bothering Sasuke they got the brunt of Itachi's looks and I got to sneak away with my dignity.

“Like you have guts calling my students idiots?” I asked Tazuna in a false sweet tone. Okay so he only called Naruto an idiot, but it was worth stretching the truth to see Itachi full out glare at Tazuna while the drunk broke out in a sweat. Ruffling Sasuke's hair as I walked past him–didn't want the preteen to feel left out–I headed for the kitchen, calling out for my aunt.

To say that Mikoto-oba left the stove to hug me when I stepped into her domain was saying something. That woman wouldn't leave the kitchen if the Kyuubi attacked again... maybe. I really didn't want to test the theory though. “Yanagi! Sasuke told me you're his sensei, I hope you're not going easy on him.” Mikoto-oba said when she finally let me go.

I grinned evilly, “Of course not.” I joked, “But don't worry, I'm not singling him out for torture. All three of them get the same evil treatment.” I continued lightly. Mikoto laughed. That was the reason while I liked my aunt. Unlike the rest of our family, hell the entire clan really, Mikoto had a sense of humor. She didn't get offended over a joke... unlike two certain cousins who were glaring at me.

Little brats.

I shot Itachi and Sasuke a disdainful look before smirking and turning back to my aunt. There was one topic that made the two extremely uncomfortable. Well, at least Itachi; I didn't have much interaction with Sasuke until I became his jounin sensei. “So... any good prospect for the boys?” Itachi seemed to be choking on air behind me, but I ignored him.

Wasn't my fault that Mikoto's hobby was matchmaking.

My question launched a full hour of listening to Mikoto spouting about all the different prospects of potential girlfriends and their advantages and disadvantages. Tazuna and I got a kick out of it while the Uchiha brothers were pretty much trying to murder me with glares. I'd chalk it up as dinner and a show.

“So, what about you Yanagi? Do you have a man yet?” Mikoto asked once she finished her rant that took up the majority of lunch. The downfall of asking my aunt about her hobby, she started playing matchmaker on me.

My amused expression fell flat, “No.”

“What?! Yanagi, you're in the prime of your life! You should live a little before you become old like me.”

“You're not old, Mikoto-oba!”

“Don't change the subject! Why aren't you dating?” Mikoto demanded, glaring at me darkly. I blanched. If there was one person who truly scared me, it was my aunt. I doggedly ignored Sasuke's quiet snickering across the table from me.

“Talk to Obito-nii. He's still an overprotective prick.”

“Don't call your brother a prick.”

“Yes mother.”

“And I'll talk to Obito.”

“I never said I wanted to date anyone!”

By Mikoto's expression, one would think I had just said that Itachi and Sasuke were committing incest. Slowly her horrified expression turned into fury. I was in trouble now. I stood up and grabbed Tazuna and Sasuke by the backs of their shirt collars, “Gotta go. Mission. Bye!” I said quickly then bodily dragged my two meat shields from the house.

vvv

“Yeeaaaaah! Alright!” Naruto screeched the moment he stepped outside the village gates. The rest of us just stared at him.

Hinata, surprisingly, was the one to ask what everyone was thinking albeit more politely, “W-what is it, N-Naruto-k-k-kun?” Well at least she wasn't taking a minute just to stutter out a word anymore.

The blonde Kyuubi brat began looking around exaggeratedly, jumping around the well worn road that lead to Konoha's gates, “This is the first time I've ever been outside the village! I'm a traveler now, believe it!” The kid exclaimed then began laughing like a loon.

There wasn't a word good enough to describe his stupidity.

Tazuna look at me, “Hey, am I supposed to trust my life to this runt? He's a joke!” I noticed that Naruto stiffened up as he overheard the drunk.

I gave the man a Kakashi-style eye smile, “Oh don't worry about that. I'm a jounin so I'll be able to protect you should the need arise. What you do need to worry about is if idiocy is contagious; I hear Grandpa Drunks catch it very easily.” I said cheerfully.

“HEY!” Two equally offended people shouted. Three guesses on who. Sasuke was giving me a look that said 'no matter what you say, I'm not related to you' while Hinata looked horrified for some odd reason. I only giggled at their faces.

Walking forward I grabbed Naruto's backpack straps, “Come on. I don't want to be late.” I said mildly as I began dragging Naruto behind me. He was too busy shouting at Tazuna about being Hokage to pay attention anyway. Besides, he'd probably attack the client if I let him go.

…

“...and then I had beef ramen again for lunch. I really like the beef, but my favorite is pork ramen! Though miso ramen is another good one! I also like naruto better than menma in my ramen because I'm named Naruto! Plus menma tastes nasty, it's like I'm eating grass instead of yummy naruto! Last week Iruka took me to Ichiraku ramen again, that place is so great! I like it better than the instant noodles I used to eat when I was in the Academy. When I become Hokage, I'm going to eat Ichiraku ramen all day long and-”

“That's unhealthy.” I broke in. From the relieved sighs, I was guessing that everyone else, even Hinata, were glad for a break in the three hour long ramen speech.

Naruto looked up at me confused, “Huh?”

I gave him a flat look out of the corner of my eye, “Eating nothing but ramen is unhealthy. You should add vegetables and fruits to your diet. I'd say stop eating ramen altogether, but that's not going to happen.” I added the last part under my breath so Naruto couldn't hear me. If he did the brat would no doubt go into a long rant about the pros of ramen.

Naruto stuck his tongue out and made a face, “Ewww! Vegetables are gross.” He said childishly.

“Only if you don't cook them right.” I snapped right back.

“No they wouldn't! They'd still be gross.”

I leaned down so that my face was inches from the squinty eyed kid, “Oh really? Listen here, Obito Mini-me, my brother doesn't like vegetables either but he likes the way I fix them.”

“I'M NOT HIS MINI-ME!!”

“Actually... you kinda are.” Sasuke suddenly piped up. Naruto and I turned to my cousin to see him looking Naruto up and down. By the contemplating look on his face, I'd say that Sasuke was making many connections between the Kyuubi brat and my annoying Nii-san.

Naruto turned red with anger and slammed his foot into the ground, “Listen here, teme, I am not that creep's Mini-me! We are nothing alike!” I sighed as Sasuke vs Naruto Round 254 started. And yes, I was keeping count.

Hinata and Tazuna exchanged confused looked, not known Obito on a more personal level like the three of us did. I grabbed the two arguing boys heads and turned them forward, making the two keep walking. I was not going to stop for every time Naruto decided to pick a fight with Tazuna, Sasuke or me. He can learn to walk and talk like the rest of us.

“T-Tazuna-san?” Hinata asked several minutes later after Naruto and Sasuke went to sulk in their separate 'corners'.

Grandpa Drunk swallowed his gulp of sake and turned to the shy Hyuuga, “Yeah?” Hinata asked something about the Land of Waves, but I wasn't paying attention. My eyes were on that sake bottle of Tazuna's. I was going to be an alcoholic if I had to continue to deal with Naruto's idiocy, that much I was certain of. Might as well start now... if I could get a hold of that bottle that is...

“S-ensei?” Hinata questioned, pulling me out of my alcohol musings. I looked at my nervous student and raised an eyebrow. “A-are there any nin...ja in the L-and of W-waves?” She managed to say without stuttering too much. Well it was better than when she graduated at least.

Wait, I had to do a lesson didn't I? Weren't they supposed to learn this in school?! “No, not in the Land of Waves; though in some other countries there are hidden villages. Having a hidden village means having shinobi. But there's not a hidden village anywhere in the Land of Waves. There are five great nations that have a hidden villages: the Lands of Fire, Earth, Wind, Water, and Lightning. There are smaller countries that have hidden villages, but they don't have a Kage. The Kages are the leaders of the hidden villages in the Five Great Nations. Konoha has the Hokage. There's also the Tsuchikage, Kazekage, Mizukage and Raikage. Those five are the rulers of thousands of ninja in their own country. Got it?” Quickest rundown on hidden villages and shinobi ever.

“So-so Lord H-hokage is r-r-eally important?” Hinata asked when I finished my spiel. I look at her, then at the two boys. From their expressions, I could tell that none of them were thinking really highly of the Hokage at the moment. But who could blame them, for all they knew the Hokage was just a grandfather figure. Not the war general the adults in Konoha knew.

Still I wasn't going to let them get away with it, it was a golden opportunity to scold the lot of them, “You're doubting the Hokage aren't you?” I asked sternly, my hands going to my hips. All three kids looked away sheepishly. I rolled my eyes, they were just making it obvious. I put my hand on Hinata's head, “Still. Don't worry about any foreign ninja. This is a C-rank, there's hardly ever and confrontations on a C-rank mission.” That seemed to take a load off the three.

Was it just me or was Tazuna stiffening up?

vvv

It was relatively quiet now. Naruto wasn't rambling on about ramen and Hinata wasn't pestering Tazuna with stuttered questions. The only sounds were the happy songs of birds in the trees and the footsteps of five people. I was tempted to take my book out and start reading, or possibly get into Tazuna's sake stash, but something was telling me not to. Twelve years as a kunoichi taught you to listen to your instincts. Man, if it was me just being paranoid again I was going to strangle myself.

My three genin walked right past a puddle and didn't even look down; Tazuna didn't notice it either. As they should have. Puddles were meant to be inconspicuous and overlooked.

Damn it. I hate puddles.

“Hold up!” I called. My four companions turned around in enough time to see me bending over as if to readjust my left sandal strap. Out of view, my Sharingan activated and gave a quick spin before darkening back into obsidian.

Try getting out of an Area of Effect genjutsu now, suckers.

While everyone was under the genjutsu I shunshined into the treeline and watched as the chunnin level Kiri nins, if their headbands were anything to go by, leapt out of that damn puddle and used their chains to cut 'me' to ribbons. Literally.

Ugh. I hate Bloody Mist nins.

Both nuke-nins went after Naruto, who was too busy screaming my name to pay attention to the Kiri nins. He froze in fear, predictably since Naruto was only a genin with no previous battle training, as the two nuke-nins came for him. Their chains were still dripping in 'my' blood. My cheek twitched a little, maybe the genjutsu I had cast was a little too gruesome for genin. I tensed, ready to intervene and screw the plan, when Sasuke jumped out of no where and pinned the nuke-nins' chains to a nearby tree.

Guess clan training/torture does come in handy sometimes.

Using taijutsu, Sasuke managed to kick the Kiri nuke-nins back and thus breaking their chains in the process. The two attackers recovered quickly, as expected from chunnin level shinobi, and went for Naruto again. I frowned, wondering what their motive was. Were the two really after the Kyuubi, or were they just clearing out the competition before they went after the real target? Regardless of their true target, it would have been strategical to finish Sasuke off since he was the higher threat.

One of the shinobi broke off and went for Tazuna and Hinata. The Hyuuga whimpered plaintively and stood in front of Tazuna, the kunai in her hands shaking so badly I doubted she would be able to even hit the enemy if he was two inches in front of her. She didn't move as the enemy reached out with his clawed gauntlet for... Tazuna behind her.

So Tazuna was the real target.

Sasuke leapt in front of Hinata, arms wide, intending to take the blow that wasn't even going for the Hyuuga heiress. Then I saw the glove move slightly down so it would stab straight through Sasuke and possibly through Hinata as well. Killing two birds with one stone, as it were. Shit shit shit shit! If they did hit Hinata and Sasuke it would ruin the genjutsu!

I shunshined out of my hiding place and grabbed the nuke-nin going for the brats and bodily swung him into his partner. They both went rolling head over tail before crashing head first into the tree that Sasuke had previously pinned their chains to. I shunshined after them, grabbed the chains and tied the annoying piss-ants up using their own weapons. If they happened to get cut with their poisons chains, too bad so sad.

Dusting my hands off to get rid of their filth I turned back to the group, all of whom were staring at me like they had seen a ghost.

Oh wait...

I put up two fingers and exclaimed, “Kai!” The world we were standing in dissolved away, 'my' nasty and very gruesome remains disappearing along with Naruto's scratch from the shinobi that attacked him. The nuke-nin twitched, “Y-You mean it was just a genjutsu?!” The one of the right with the darker clothing asked.

“Well yeah... what did you expect when fighting an Uchiha?” I said as if it were obvious. Which it should have been. I looked back at my team, “Nice work Sasuke, very smooth.” I complimented. After taking on two chunnin level nuke-nins and actually giving them trouble for a few seconds, my cousin deserved some praise from me. The others... not so much. Though Hinata did stand her ground instead of fleeing. “I'm proud of you too Hinata. That was very brave.” The two kids looked at me surprised.

Naruto on the other hand... he looked genuinely horrified as he thought back on the fight. I wasn't going to say anything. My silence would be enough of a reprimand. After all, Naruto had just thought he faced a life and death situation, anyone could freeze up like he did.

Then Sasuke decided to egg him on like the little prick he was, “Hey, you're not scared are you... scaredy cat?” The look on my little cousin's face was so evil, I didn't know if I should be impressed or swat him upside the head for teasing Naruto. Maybe both.

I settled on both, “Don't torment Naruto, Duckass.” I snapped while I was mentally cheering him on. Not that I'd ever tell him that, the kid didn't need that already big ego of his inflated anymore. “By the way, Tazuna...” The drunk stiffened and turned to me, his stance automatically defensive. Well, any doubt I had was just laid to rest, “We're going to have a nice long talk.” The man gulped.

Good.

I pointed to the two slouched over nuke-nins, “Those are chunnin level shinobi from Kirigakure, according to the Bingo Book they go by the Demon Brothers. They specialize in relentless attacks, often to the point of being suicidal.” Why they weren't trying to escape now was strange though. Surely I hadn't freaked them out enough they they actually gave up. Wimps.

The nuke-nin to the right spoke again, “How did you know about our ambush?”

I held up three fingers, “Three reasons. One, I'm a jounin. You had better damn well know I'm better than that, it's an insult. Two, I'm a sensory type, I could feel your chakra in the puddle; which leads me to my third point,” My expression turned flat. “A puddle, on a clear day when it hasn't rained in weeks. Seriously, how did you two become chunnin?!”

Tazuna gave me a glare, “Then why did you leave it for the genin to do the fighting?”

“They were never in any danger.” I said calmly. Everyone else shifted, obviously thinking the same thing. I rolled my eyes, “I'm an Uchiha. Genjutsu is the clan's specialty. If I can't cast a simple Area of Effect genjutsu, then I'm a lousy clan member.” There was no way I was going to explain the intricacies of my genjutsu in front of the enemy. Everyone else can ponder all they want and come up with their own damn conclusions.

I continued before someone else could ask another question, “These wimps were no problem. I could easily kill them, but then I wouldn't know who they were after... would I, Tazuna?”

“What are you blathering about?!” Boy talk about defensive.

“It's obvious that these men were after you, Grandpa Drunk, don't bother denying it.” I said flatly. The man didn't say anything else, he only blushed a little. “A C-rank escort mission is a standard escort mission. There aren't supposed to be any ninja hunting clients during C-rank missions, just bandits and ruffians looking for easy pickings. Having enemy ninja on your tail is a B-rank or higher.” Tazuna looked more and more guilty for getting these kids in his mess with each word I spoke.

Hinata spoke up, “N-Naruto-k-k-kun is b-bad-badly h-h-h-h-hurt. W-we-we sh-should get him m-me-medical treat-tre-t-treatment f-fast.” She stuttered out from her spot. I turned to Hinata and opened my mouth to tell her that Naruto didn't need any help when the idiot suddenly stabbed his hand.

“What are you doing?!” I shouted, spinning around to stare at my stupid student. Out of the corner of my eye I saw Hinata faint and Tazuna catch her. Don't tell me she fainted at the sight of blood too!

Naruto shook in pain and closed one eye, his expression serious for once. “Why am I so different? I work very hard to get here! I pushed myself until it hurt and trained alone for hours to get stronger and achieve my dream! I won't let someone else rescue me again, I won't back down. I will never run away and I will not lose to Sasuke. On this wound I make this pledge... believe it. Tazuna-san, I will complete this mission and protect you with this kunai. A real ninja never gives up, and neither will I! Now let's go!”

Tazuna and Sasuke seemed awed about Naruto's speech, I just stared at him deadpanned, “Naruto... that was, uh, really ...cool... and the speech was great but... um, there's no wound. And if you lose anymore blood, you're going to die.”

Naruto slowly looked down at his now injured hand and saw only the wound he had inflicted on himself. He was turning steadily paler, whether from blood loss or from the fact that he just had a unknown emo moment, I couldn't tell.

“Bu- I did get hurt! That guy hit me and he had poison claws and-”

“That was under genjutsu. He was actually striking that tree.” I said and pointed. Everyone, including the Demon Brothers, looked where I was pointing and saw three scratch marks on the tree, “Everyone thought it was you, but it wasn't. The wound disappeared when I released the genjutsu.” Naruto started sweating bullets as he looked at his still bleeding hand. I smiled, “Now would be the time to stop the bleeding... seriously. You have like a minute to live.”

Cue the freak out.

I rolled my eyes, “Let me see your hand.” While Naruto still did his freakout dance I took his hand and turned it over to see the wound. Lifting up my free hand I started the Mystical Palm Technique to heal it, creating green chakra around my fingers, until I noticed that the would was closing right before my eyes. I stiffened slightly then narrowed my eyes.

So the Kyuubi was healing him.

“Um...” Naruto started. I looked up to see him staring at me intently, shivering in fear, “You have a really serious look on your face... I'm not going to die am I?”

Hmmmm... troll him or reassure him? Choices... choices...

Troll him.

“Naruto, I'm sorry to tell you this but...” I trailed off and sadly shook my head. Tazuna gasped behind me. Naruto turned a sickly green color, then went whiter than a sheet. I stood up abruptly with my face impassive, “But you're going to live to annoy me longer. Congrats.” It took a second for Naruto to comprehend that he wasn't dying. Then I felt a soggy something slamming into me. “Ugh! What-?” I looked down to see Naruto burying his face in my side.

He turned his face up and gave me a teary, snot filled, smile, “Thank you, thank you, thank you sensei!”

“GET OFF ME, YOU DISGUSTING BRAT!” I yelled and tried to pull the kid off me. I was a clean freak, I didn't like snot nosed sobbing kids! I especially didn't like them hugging me. Naruto clung tighter as he continued to yell 'thank you'. I continued to yell for him to let go of me.

Chapter 10: Peaches

I sighed and snapped my book closed, giving up on trying to read. This fog was so damn thick I couldn't even read! I don't know why I let Naruto talk me into not turning around and going back to Konoha after the fight with the Kiri chunnin. I just knew there was going to be another big problem before this stupid mission ended. It wouldn't be a Team 7 mission if we didn't run into some kind of trouble.

“WOAH! It's huge!” Naruto suddenly shouted. I glanced up to see what the idiot was talking about now while the boatman scolded the blonde about his loudmouth. Like that would make a difference. Still, I was mildly impressed by the bridge Naruto had screamed about. Too bad we wouldn't see it finished, since I was dragging my team back to Konoha the minute Tazuna's foot hit the shore.

Still there was one thing bothering me...

“Yo, Grandpa Drunk...” I started. The man didn't react like he usually did, which gave me an insight to how serious this was. “Tell me why there are men after you.” I was still aborting the mission when we dropped Tazuna on shore, but due to morbid curiosity I wanted to know why this guy had gone from a seemingly harmless drunk to someone rogue ninja were after. I could smell a good story behind all this.

Might as well entertain myself with story time since I couldn't read.

I had to bite my lip to keep from laughing when Tazuna said, “I have no choice but to tell you–no I want you to know the truth.” Man was this guy dramatic, “Like you said, this isn't a true C-rank mission, the one who seeks my life is a very short man but cast a very long and deadly shadow.” I wondered mildly if Tazuna was trying to keep us interested enough to stay, or if he was just a naturally gifted story teller.

“ 'Cast a long and deadly shadow'? Hmmm... Who is it?” I asked, deciding to play along.

Tazuna gave me a solemn look, “...You know him... as Gatou. He's one of the wealthiest men in the world and-”

“I know of him.” I said flatly, not wanting Tazuna to continue his blathering. Granted I didn't know the midget was a black market dealer who worked in dirty under-the-table tactics, but still.

Naruto was doing his squinty face again, “Huh? Who? Who? What? What?” Seriously, the kid sounded like he was five years younger than his actual age. How I got saddled with him, I would never understand. The Hokage must have some beef with me that I didn't know about.

Grandpa Drunk went on to explain the dirty deeds of this Gatou, all without losing that dramatic flair he had going. Seriously, if this guy hadn't already devoted his life to bridge building he should have gone into professional story telling. The genin were hooked; even the boatman was listening raptly, all while rowing the boat of course. Tazuna went on to explain how the bridge would break Gatou's control over the Land of Waves, and thus putting Tazuna's life in danger. Blah blah blah, boring boring boring. I got enough drama from Obito, I didn't need it from Grandpa Drunk as well. Though, I had to admit, Tazuna was better at telling the story than Nii-san.

“So why did you request a C-rank, when you knew this was a B-rank mission?” I asked, keeping the conversation on track before Tazuna could go down the road of ramblings.

The old man looked down, silent for a moment, then spoke, “Because the Land of Waves is poor, not even our Daimyo have little money. I couldn't afford something higher than a C-rank.” I gave a flat stare. It was something as simple as money? With all the drama already saturating the story, I thought it would be more spectacular than that. “This bridge will bring prosperity to my home, but if you just drop me off there won't be a bridge. They'll assassinate me.”

My three little genin looked guilty, though Sasuke hid it better than Naruto or Hinata. I just continued to stare at him unimpressed by his blatant guilt-tripping. After growing up with Obito and Shisui I was immune to all guilt-trips of any kind.

Tazuna moved on to flat out blackmail. He gave us a fake smile and said in a light tone, “But don't feel bad about that! Of course my sweet little grandson will be upset. He'll cry 'Granddad! I want my granddad!'” The change in voice was amusing as Tazuna mimicked his 'grandson's voice. Hinata and Naruto looked extremely guilty now, like they had accidentally kicked a puppy. But Tazuna wasn't finished yet, “Oh and my daughter will condemn the ninja of Konohagakure, denouncing and blaming you for abandoning me and living her life in sorrow.” The old coot added quickly as if it wasn't a big deal. The man's beady eyes darted to my still unaffected stare and continued, “Ah oh well, it's not your fault, forget it!”

I stared at him stoically.

Tazuna sweatdropped, thinking his little scheme failed.

Finally I sighed reluctantly, “Fine, we'll keep guarding you.” If I had said no Naruto and possibly even Hinata would annoy me until they convinced me otherwise. It was best just to give in for now and let the drunk have this round. Tazuna lit up and I glared at him, causing him to whiten under his tan instantly.

Beside me Sasuke smothered a snicker. He knew from experience that it was foolish to blackmail the Blackmail Queen.

vvv

I groaned when I saw Sasuke and Naruto having some kind of speed walking race. Why couldn't they acted like a normal rivalry? Why must it all be passive-aggressive and loud?! Naruto ran ahead and did a funny little 'look left and right' thing. I was about to ask what the hell was he doing when he suddenly threw a kunai, “Over there!” He exclaimed.

Everyone–read: Sasuke and I–immediately leapt into defensive stance around Tazuna and waited for the attack.

Nothing happened.

Causally Naruto stood back up, “Hm, just a mouse.”

Tazuna went off on the little brat, but Naruto ignored him by exclaiming that people were hiding around in the bushes all around us. I was about to hit him for being stupid when I felt a surge of chakra behind me.

Naruto seemed to follow my instincts and aimed another kunai knife at the spot I felt the chakra surge. Tazuna smacked Naruto upside the head and the brat and drunk had yet another yelling match while I went to investigate. Just below the kunai that Naruto had thrown a white rabbit was having a heart attack.

A white snow rabbit.

Curse my cursed damn luck. The karma demons must really loath me.

I stepped away from Naruto's sobbing apologies to casually inspect the clearing, searching for chakra signatures. I wasn't a very good sensory nin, most of it was just pure natural skill since I had spent most of my training on my sharingan and ninjutsu, so I wouldn't be able to sense anyone who was suppressing their chakra at a jounin level.

Considering that I couldn't sense anyone meant that my suspicions were right and our next attacker was a jounin skilled opponent. The right side of my mouth twitched up and I almost sang out 'come out come out wherever you are~' but I didn't.

Especially since our opponent was already attacking.

“DUCK!” I roared and immediately all members of the group hit the dust, barely avoiding the big ass sword flying through the air. I was on my feet the second that stupid sword was past me and staring up passively at the jounin now standing on his sword hilt.

Cow print arm and leg warmers. Grey striped pants. No shirt. Big ass sword. Damn it.

Time to troll.

First I ruined his sense of mysteriousness, “So... you're Momochi Zabuza, eh?” Silence from the cowboy. Guess I'd have to kick the trolling up a notch, “Feeling... peachy today?” I got a small minuscule twitch from the man and I grinned. That minuscule twitch from him meant he was extremely annoyed. One more time and I'd push him over the edge. “I have a very serious question. I need you to answer honestly.” I paused for a moment, “Is peaches your favorite food? I hate them.” Now I got a glare and a sliver of killer intent.

Naruto began running for Zabuza like an idiot. Luckily I was able to stop him. I might be able to tease Zabuza, but that didn't make him any less dangerous. Naruto would just be killed needlessly if I let him attack.

“Don't. This guy is out of your league.” I said seriously.

The blonde didn't seem to like that, “But I can take him!” He said confidently. If only he knew how wrong he was.

I gave the kid a very stern look that made him back down. Ever since I became Team 7's sensei, I had been very surly and often glared at the trio of brats. But I knew they got the feeling I was kidding most of the time, that I was only fooling with them. Now I wasn't. I was truly being serious. “Stay. Back. Naruto. When I say this guy is too powerful, I mean it.” I turned my stare to Sasuke and Hinata, “All three of you stay out of this. Protect Tazuna, that's an order.” I said and shoved Naruto backwards, out of danger.

Looking back up at the still silent Zabuza, I changed moods and called out cheerfully, “Hey, Peach-boy, any chance you'll let us go?”

Silence.

“Is that a yes?”

Silence.

“Are you mute or something?”

Silence.

“...Do you like pineapples?”

Silence.

Man, this guy was worse than I was when Shisui was around. I dropped the act and fell into a defensive stance, “Fine, Peachy, if you're not going to talk then you can at least attack. I've got things to do than try and drag answers outta you. That's T&I's job, not mine.”

Silence.

I rolled my eyes and in the process of doing so activated my sharingan. That seemed to get his attention. Zabuza perked up and asked in a raspy 'I'm-obviously-a-heavy-smoker' voice, “So you're an Uchiha. By your unusual behavior... you're Yanagi, are you not?”

I tsked demurely and flipped my ponytail over my shoulder, “Why I'm just flattered to death. You know my name, and here I thought I was overshadowed by the stupidity of my brother.”

“The Stupidly Brave Kunoichi of Konoha.” Zabuza rasped, naming one of my various catch names I had gotten.

Laughing I waved a hand, “Lame, isn't it? I don't know who came up with it; still it is a better nickname than some.” A certain nickname from an annoying Uchiha who I wasn't on speaking terms with came to mind and I frowned. Quickly I erased the frown and replaced it with a cheerful grin, “But I have to say, you're nickname is better... Demon of the Mist.”

Zabuza seemed to be getting tired of our little mind game, “Hand over the old man.” He said.

I scoffed, “Seriously? I admit I dislike the man as much as you do, but asking for me to hand him over is just lame and lazy. And your intimidation tactics aren't working, Peach-boy. It's kinda hard to be intimidated by someone with the last name of 'peach soil'.”

A thick mist suddenly began to build up. Guess I pushed the peachy cowboy too far. I smiled. Goody, now the fun began. “In the Kirigakure Bingo Book, it's listed that you had a runaway mouth, Uchiha.” Zabuza commented.

“I have a runaway mouth. I'm not dead yet, dumbass.” I corrected hotly. How dare Peachy insinuate that I was going to die!

Zabuza gave a creepy chuckle, but it didn't hold a candle to Obito in his pranking moods, “Soon.” He promised. I rolled my eyes again. As far as trash talk went, this guy was not a pro. It was almost embarrassing how predictable his insults were. Peach-boy continued before I could insult him back and show how a true master of disrespect did it, “In our Bingo Book it's said that your fire ninjutsus are some of the most powerful in the world. Too bad it won't do you any good.”

Well shit.

Being from Kirigakure, Zabuza would naturally have a water nature. I was lucky enough to have two chakra natures–fire and wind–but that wasn't going to do jack against freaking water. Water nature beat fire, and wind was practically useless against it anyway. That left genjutsu and taijutsu to fight with. However Zabuza's sword would put a hindrance on my taijutsu and just be plain annoying anyway. I was also pretty sure that Zabuza knew in advance that I was an Uchiha and would take lengths to protect himself against genjutsu.

Double shit.

“Now...” Zabuza started. Immediately my three genin leapt into a defensive formation in front of Tazuna. I shifted my weight onto my left foot, ready to spring forward at a moments notice. I might be at a major disadvantage going against this S-ranked criminal, but I was damn well going to give him a hard time and make the bastard earn his prize... if I even let him have it.

Peach-boy suddenly leapt away and onto the water. The genin and Tazuna seemed surprised that he was able to accomplish such a feat. I was more worried about the huge amount of chakra Peachy was building up. Whatever Peaches was doing, it wasn't going to be good. I thought back on all my spars with Kakashi when he used water based jutsus. None of them required this amount of chakra, so what was Peachy doing?

“Suiton: Hidden Mist Jutsu!” Zabuza called out and the mist suddenly thickened with chakra, creating nothing but a white wall all around us. I could barely even see the kids behind me, let alone wherever that prick disappeared to.

The tension was high in the air. I stayed coiled, ready to strike out defensively if so much as a leave rustled the wrong way. I was a jounin of Konoha and the only one able to stand a chance against Zabuza. There was no way in hell that I was letting the Demon of the Mist past me and lay a scratch my genin team.

“S-sen-sensei...?” Hinata stuttered nervously. I knew the poor girl was shaking badly. Damn it, I knew she wasn't ready for real missions yet. Though, granted this wasn't supposed to be a real genin mission.

“Don't worry. He'll come after me. You just keep guarding Tazuna.” I said, my red eyes darting from place to place. But even with the highly advanced sight of the sharingan, I still could hardly see past the thick chakra infused fog.

“Who is this guy?” Naruto asked, for once sounding nervous and serious. I guess the kid finally realized that this was real and he could very much die out here without ever getting close to his dream. Strangely, I wished that he was still that naïve kid from three minutes ago.

“Momochi Zabuza, a nuke-nin from Kirigakure and former captain of the Hidden Mist Assassination Unit.” That's all they needed to know. I didn't want to scare the kids. They were nervous enough as it was.

Zabuza seemed determined to tell then anyway, “Uchiha, you're forgetting something...” That raspy voice sounded eerie coming out of the mist, like some vengeful wraith looking for a soul to devour. Peaches didn't even have to explain his silent killing technique for the kids to be frightened, but he did it anyway. I glared off into the mist, no one could frighten my brats except me.

The fog thickened to the point that I couldn't even see Team 7 anymore. Shit shit shit! Zabuza spoke again, this time his creepy voice seeming to come from all around. I let loose my killer intent, my chakra swirling around me and dissipating the fog a little. I could practically feel Sasuke freezing up in fear, the killer intent coming off Zabuza and I were hitting my younger cousin. This wasn't going well, Sasuke was the best support I had out of the three. Though I hated it, I was probably going to have to call on the genin's help to take down Peach-boy. If he was unable to move because of fear...

“Sasuke!” I said, my voice cutting but reassuring at the same time. My cousin tensed, seeming to come out of his fear induced stupor, “Calm down. You've got nothing to fear,” I glanced over my shoulder at Team 7 and smiled soothingly, “I'll protect you even if I die for it. That's a promise!” Nii-san used to say those three words when we were younger, and Obito always kept his word.

So I would do it too.

Of course Zabuza had to spoil our little bonding moment with his creepy intoning, “I wouldn't be so sure... it's over.” Suddenly his voice wasn't everywhere at once like it had been. It was in one specific place.

Right in the middle of my genin team.

OH HELL NO!

With a reaction speed that could only be achieved through training with a sharingan, I leapt for the Peach bastard as my four companions leapt away from him. My kunai knife plunged deep into the man's gut. Zabuza grunted and leaned against my shoulder, his warm breath brushing against my dark brown curls that coiled around my ear. For a brief moment, a silence fell over the world, as if acknowledging that a life was ending.

But both Zabuza and I knew it wasn't.

Naruto suddenly screeched, “Sensei, behind you!”

I spun around, the Zabuza water clone bursting to spray cool water all over my back, while the other Zabuza swung his Kubikiribōchō and cleaved me in half. Blood flew from my mouth as I stared in surprise at my killer. Zabuza seemed to smirk under his bandages.

Then he frowned.

I dissolved into butterflies.

Zabuza spun around, spitting like an angry cat; though his voice retained that raspy calmness when he said, “Nice work, Uchiha. I didn't even notice the genjutsu.”

From my hiding place among the trees I leapt down behind Peachy and placed my kunai knife along his throat, “Don't move.” I growled threateningly. This guy threatened my genin, he had made it to the bottom of my 'shit-list' in record breaking time.

Peaches started a boring monologue of how I was able to distract him while I reassured my team and cast the genjutsu while he was distracted. I was tempted to kill him just to shut the idiot up. Seriously, what was the point of explaining everything as if there was an invisible audience watching this fight? It was boring and drawn out and sometimes just plain stalling.

Oh.

Yet another Zabuza appeared behind me, Kubikiribōchō once again back and ready to cleave me in half. This time, I didn't have a genjutsu ready. Naruto yelled something about being a water clone while I ducked underneath Peach-boy's big ass sword. Zabuza followed his sword's swing and stabbed it into the ground before using it as a leverage to kick me into the air.

I twisted in enough time to meet Zabuza as he jumped after me, but his axe kick propeller me into the water. The one place I did not want to be. Just like I expected, the little prick appeared behind me with an air of smug victory. I tried to spring away from the water before he could catch me, but it was too late, “Water Prison Jutsu!”

My world took on a watery blue tint and I immediately felt cold and clammy. The water that imprisoned me felt thick and viscous like honey, I couldn't move an inch. I snarled angrily at the man holding the prison, my red eyes promising a very violent death if I ever got out. I wish I wish Zabuza would just glance my way, long enough for me to cast a very painful and horrific genjutsu, but he didn't. Peach-boy seemed to know what would happen if he met my gaze; seems I'd have to think up a more physical torture to dish out then.

Congratulations, Peaches, you just managed to piss off one of the most hot headed Uchiha known in existence.

vvv 3rd POV~ Sasuke vvv

Sasuke felt Yanagi-sensei's killer intent spike drastically, but strangely this time he wasn't afraid. Perhaps her promise that she would protect the team with her life had gotten to him more than he knew. Sasuke frowned, in the few weeks of being under Yanagi's tutelage he knew that she was a very powerful but... he never expected her to be taken out so easily.

“Water Clone Jutsu!” The man called Zabuza shouted. Dimly in the mist, Sasuke could see another Zabuza burst from the water and stand between Team 7 and the real Zabuza. Sasuke tensed, they would have to go through the clone first to get to Yanagi-sensei. If that brief fight with the clones was anything to go by, these water clones weren't at all weak.

The water clone suddenly appeared in front of Naruto, causing the blonde to fall back and in the process lose his headband. If this wasn't such a serious moment, Sasuke would scold him for being clumsy. Given the fact that even Yanagi-sensei wasn't doing so just went to prove how serious this fight was.

At a loss, the Uchiha genin watched as his teammate landed far away from him, too far to help. Sasuke didn't want to leave the protection of Tazuna to Hinata alone. The Hyuuga was already scared out of her wits, Sasuke doubted she would be of much use.

Yanagi suddenly shouted, her voice muffled and wavering by the water that held her prisoner, “Leave you idiots! Peaches is only able to fight you with his water clone, now's your chance to run. The clone can't follow you forever, so run you imbeciles! Get out of here, complete the mission, do you hear me!?”

Sasuke glared at his cousin, running was no longer an option. The second Yanagi got caught was the moment that Sasuke knew that Zabuza would stop at nothing to kill Tazuna. It was better to stand and fight rather than run away and prolong their life for a short time. That was the act of a coward. And Sasuke was not a coward!

With a sudden surge of confidence, Sasuke shot forward, determined to rescue his cousin and sensei. Throwing shuriken after shuriken at the water clone, Sasuke leapt into the air and, just as he reached the clone with his attack, was thrown away like nothing more than a rag doll. Naruto called out the younger Uchiha's name, fear and concern lacing the blonde's voice. As Sasuke struggled to stand back up, Naruto suddenly charged for the clone.

Of course the blonde goofball was thrown aside easily, coming to a stop at the feet of Hinata. The shy Hyuuga heiress quickly went to her knees to ask in her wobbly voice if Naruto was okay; but Sasuke eyed what the blonde had retrieved with interest. It seemed that the whole attack was just to get his headband back. Sasuke frowned, what was so important about that headband? Surely what the clone had taunted about not being a true ninja hadn't gotten to the blonde. It was just trash talk, like what Yanagi-sensei had been doing when Zabuza first showed up.

Naruto stood up, the scowl on his face dark and serious. Sasuke was slightly impressed by the blonde's change in attitude, “Hey, you no-brows freak,” Sasuke couldn't help but smile a little at the attempt to imitate Yanagi-sensei's insulting nicknames, “put this in that book of yours... the person who is going to be Hokage of Konohagakure...” Naruto reached up to tie his haiti-ate around his forehead and glared up at the impassive water clone, “he never backs down. And his name is Uzumaki Naruto!” Unlike Naruto's previous claims to become Hokage, Sasuke had to admit that this one was serious. For once, Sasuke actually believed that Naruto could become Hokage.

The serious aura surrounding Naruto turned into something akin to cocky and confident, “Alright, Sasuke, can you hear me?”

The navy haired Uchiha gave his teammate a flat look. He was standing two feet away from the blonde, of course he could hear Naruto! “Yeah, I can hear you.” Sasuke said, his tone a touch exasperated.

“Alright! I've got a plan.”

So he finally had a plan, huh? As opposed to flailing around like an idiot? Sasuke scoffed, “So you're finally thinking about teamwork? What's the plan then?” Naruto gave Sasuke a foxy grin.

Unknown to either of them, Hinata watched from her spot in front of Tazuna. If ever she doubted her awe for Naruto, it had been replenished. The Hyuuga felt as safe being protected by her two teammates as she had when Yanagi-sensei stood in front of them, promising to protect the team with her life. Whatever the two boys were planning, Hinata had no doubt that it would succeed!

vvv Normal POV vvv

Poof!

Everyone, other than Sasuke and Naruto, was surprised to see the second Fuuma shuriken transform into Naruto. I watched with anticipation and awe as the kunai Naruto and thrown back at Zabuza made it's way, in what seemed like slow motion, towards the Peachy bastard. If I could move, I would be shivering in excitement. There was no possible way to dodge that kunai, not without releasing me from my prison.

Although, it probably would have been better for Zabuza to let the kunai hit him.

It would have hurt less.

Zabuza turned on Naruto, the Fuuma shuriken he was holding spinning dangerously as he cocked his arm back to throw it at my student. Seemed Peaches forgot about me; I should be hurt, but the anger of been imprisoned–on top of my students being threatened–was overriding any hurt. “I'll destroy you!” Zabuza growled, his raspy voice finally showing anger.

I. Don't. Think. So.

Still dripping water, I raised my fist and caught on of the blades on the hand guards of my gloves. I didn't even grimace when the thin metal cut into my skin unable to take the pressure of the shuriken's sharp blade. Naruto, not having any water walking training like Zabuza and I, fell into the water unharmed. I just hoped he had enough sense to get the hell out of dodge, because I wasn't going to wait. I wanted to tear Zabuza a new one right now. Zabuza met my gaze only to find a full on Uchiha Death Glare.

It made me dance happily on the inside to see him pale a little.

“Naruto. That was an excellent plan, I'm proud of you.” I complimented, feeling the need to. After all, without that brat's help, I would still be giving glares in a water prison instead of outside like I was now. Naruto laughed like it was no big deal when we all knew it was. My eyes flickered to him, “Now get your ass back to shore. I've got a rotten peach to incinerate.” Naruto gave a mock salute and began swimming to shore.

Hmm... maybe as I reward I'd teach the team water walking. They had gotten tree walking down... somewhat.

Zabuza and I struggled briefly for the Fuuma shuriken. Being female and weaker than Zabuza, I was losing and the sharp blade came closer to my neck. Narrowing my eyes I bent backwards, my right leg flying up to kick the shuriken into the sky, then back flipping away from Peach-boy. I crouched on the surface of the water, watching Zabuza warily. I knew he would use water ninjutsu, thinking that I would have little to no defense against it.

My hand drifted towards my kunai pouch as I thought over my choices. I could block the attacks with well placed wind ninjutsu, but that risked diverting an attack to the genin, or I could copy Peach-boy's hand signs and fight ninjutsu for ninjutsu. The only problem with that option was I wouldn't have much chakra to use. Using a chakra nature that wasn't mine would use up too much chakra–especially if the jutsus were powerful like I knew they were going to be–and they would be substantially weaker. Unless...

Nii-san always said if you can't win with power, win with annoyance.

I smiled. Zabuza, suspecting something, leapt away and I mimicked him, going in the opposite direction. I copied Zabuza's stance and started weaving the hand signs he was making at an almost inhuman speed. But my sharingan eyes could pick them up.

Zabuza's first mistake: weaving signs in front of an Uchiha.

We finished at the exact same second and both called out, my voice mimicking his to the best of my ability, “Suiton: Water Dragon Jutsu!” Two dragons composed of water rose at the same time, moving in the exact same way. Perfect mirrors of each other. There was no way to tell whose was whose other than chakra. Zabuza's dragon crashed into mine and the weaker one flailed a little before twisting around and biting into it's opponent’s 'flesh'. Water rose from the banks and flooded the clearing, nearly drowning my poor genin.

Eh, they probably needed a bath anyway.

Especially Naruto.

While our water dragons were busy battling it out, Zabuza and I shot forward to meet underneath the ninjutsus. Kubikiribōchō clashed harshly with one of my fans I used in wind ninjutsu; I grimaced when I heard the crack of some of the fan's ribs breaking under the pressure of Kubikiribōchō's sharp edge. Maybe I should have grabbed a kunai instead...

I could tell that Peachy was thinking back on the battle, obviously confused by how my water dragon formed at the exact came time that his did. After all, the sharingan copying the jutsu, so I should have been a nanosecond behind at the least.

Zabuza's second mistake: showing doubt to the sharingan wielder.

I felt Zabuza's muscles tense and guessed his next move. Leaping back at the same time, I landed three feet from where we were struggling to get an upper hand on physical strength. My red eyes picked up a subtle twitch in Peach-boy's right leg and I matched his pace as we began running in circles, staying the same distance away from each other. I kept my mimicking up, copying the exact way his head was tilted or the way his fingers curled. He stopped. I stopped. He lifted his arm. I lifted my arm. His eyes widened. So did mine.

Zabuza's third mistake: forgetting that eyes are the windows to the soul.

“...going to do next?” I finished his thought as I dropped my arm in perfect sync with Peachy. I think I broke his brain, if that expression of pure surprise was anything to go by.

Shouldn't have trapped me in a bubble of water, now should you Peachy?

He made a hand sign as I did, “It makes you furious doesn't it?” I asked, reading the subtle twitches of his eyes.

Zabuza was starting to look crazed. “You're just copying me, like a monkey!”

“You can't beat me with cheap tricks! I'll crush you!” We said at the exact same time, in the exact same tone. I even managed to make my voice a little raspier than normal, just to match Peaches. It took Zabuza a second to realize that I had said exactly what he said at the same time, shooting down whatever claim of me copying him.

Zabuza made some lame comment about my monkey mouth as he started to weave signs. I did the same. Unknown to him, my mouth twitched up slightly, ending my perfect mimicry of the Kiri nuke-nin. My tomoes began spinning slowly, so slow that it went unnoticed to Peaches even though he was meeting my gaze fully. Zabuza faltered for a brief moment, seeing the ghostly genjutsu of him behind me as I finished the hand sign he had already been making.

“Suiton: Giant Vortex Jutsu!” I said in a loud commanding voice. Zabuza stared in utter shock as the jutsu that he had thought I was copying from him came roaring towards him. He didn't know that the genjutsu had stalled him for a nanosecond, long enough for me to read how his hands twitched and predict the last hand sign without his help. Peachy thought I had done the impossible, when I had just done was was expected of an Uchiha.

Zabuza's final mistake: he thought he could beat an Uchiha.

While I watched my vortex do it's job, I checked on my genin. Hinata was standing in front of Tazuna dutifully, her kunai knife no longer shaking with fear, while Sasuke helped Naruto out of the raging waters. They were lucky that the vortex didn't pull them in too. Then, out of the corner of my eye, my sharingan picked up another chakra source. One that hadn't been visible to me before. Outwardly I didn't show any signs of knowing, whoever this newcomer was they obviously weren't our allies. They would have leapt in by now. The question was: were they Zabuza's ally?

The vortex died down and I leapt into the tree that it smashed Peaches into. I flung kunai at Zabuza to pin him there and keep the bastard from causing any more trouble. I wasn't going to underestimate this guy any longer, he would be dead before the minute was up. I withdrew another kunai knife from my pouch, “Now your finished.” I said and cocked back my arm to throw the kunai, aiming for the spot between his eyes.

Zabuza gave me a bewildered look, the first true emotion I had seen on his face all day, “How did you-? Can you see into the future?” He demanded in an almost scared voice.

Was it really that mind blowing to go against a sharingan? Sane people usually ran when they saw the Uchiha red eyes, but no one I fought with had forced me to use the Uchiha kekke genkai for so long. Normally it was just a quick genjutsu like the one I used early in the battle.

Maybe I should ask Shisui-...never mind.

“Yes. And I see death in your future.” I said.

A tiny buzzing sound alerted me of something out of place. My sharingan eyes darted towards the source, but Zabuza's cry of pain snapped my attention back to him. My eyes widened when I saw him crashing to the ground, senbon needles sticking out of his neck.

A womanly laugh drew my attention further up the tree that I was in. Long dark hair was brushed over a white mask with a swirling red pattern that curled around the nose and left cheek. The Kiri embalm was stamped into the mask's forehead: a hunter-nin. “You're right... it was his last battle.” The Kiri hunter-nin said.

I leapt down from the tree and made a show of pressing two fingers to Zabuza's neck and felt no pulse. That didn't fool me. I could see a small amount of chakra still shimmering in Zabuza's core with my sharingan. A near death state then. There were three possibilities why Zabuza was alive: the hunter-nin was incompetent and couldn't even make a clean kill. Unlikely since she was a hunter-nin going after a A-ranked criminal. Two, she had a sadistic streak and wanted Zabuza's kill for herself, knowing Kirigakure it was possible. Or three, she was in league with Zabuza and 'killed' him before I could truly end his pathetic life.

“He's dead.” I said from my squatting position and looked up at the hunter-nin for an explanation.

She immediately bowed, “Thank you.” She said softly, “I've been tracking Zabuza for a long time.” My eyes narrowed at her voice. It wasn't... feminine enough to be a woman. A boy then? If the hunter-nin was male, then he was very young, probably as young as Team 7.

“You're a hunter-nin from Kirigakure, correct?” I asked.

The boy dipped his head in acknowledgment, “I am.”

“What is this?!” Naruto suddenly shouted. Both of us turned from each other to look at the frustrated blonde. He was pointing at the hunter-nin accusingly, “Who do you think you are!” The masked boy said nothing, irritating Naruto even more, “Did you hear me?!” The brat enunciated each word.

“Stop it Naruto. He's not our enemy.” I said. My sharingan picked up the slightest twinge from the hunter-nin's left pinky finger. A sign of guilt. I didn't look at the Kiri nin. If I let him know that I knew, he would attack. I couldn't take down a wimpy hunter-nin in this state. The two Suiton ninjutsus really bit into my chakra reserves. Soon I would have to be forced to deactivate my sharingan or risk chakra exhaustion. Honestly, I don't know how I was still standing at this point.

Naruto spun on me, “That's not the point! He just took out Zabuza, just like that! I thought you said Zabuza was powerful, and that guy killed Zabuza with one move! It makes us look like idiots! How can I accept that?!” I had to admit, from Naruto's point of view it was a little too much to take. But then again, he didn't have a younger cousin like Itachi. I grew up knowing that Itachi would always be more powerful than me so I accepted the truth and moved on.

I stood up, careful to show that it wasn't a struggle to do so, and walked towards my student. I stopped in front of him with a passive look, “You don't have to accept it, but it's still true. There are many kids out there that are younger than you but stronger than me.” Kakashi had pounded that into me at an early age too, when he was still a prick who didn't believe in teamwork.

Naruto looked away mulishly.

The hunter-nin, having gotten tired of my scolding Naruto, teleported from the tree to beside Zabuza. Easily the kid lifted Zabuza over his shoulder, ramming home what I had just told Naruto, “You're struggle is over for now. I must deal with the remains. Please excuse me and farewell.” The boy held up on hand, palm flat, as the wind began swirling around him again, and teleported both Zabuza and himself out of my sensory range.

I sighed as Naruto yelled about the hunter-nin's disappearance. Naruto ran to the spot that the two disappeared from. “He's gone, Naruto.” I told him in a tired voice. Didn't this kid ever learn?

“What are we doing here then?! I can't believe it! All that hard work and for nothing!” Naruto shouted as he began punching the ground, as if it were Zabuza's face he was pounding in. Behind us, Hinata stuttered out the blonde's name in concern.

I grabbed Naruto's wrist before he could swing again “Let it go, Naruto. Being frustrated will not help things. Nothing will ever be just easy, so save it for the next enemy.” That's what I did. That's what the Uchiha clan was taught. Save it for the next enemy and pulverize him with the anger from your past defeat. I turned to the rest of our group, my hand still wrapped around Naruto's thin wrist, “Alright let's move on. We'll rest at Tazuna's house.” If the old man complained then I would kindly remind him that Team 7 shouldn't have even helped him. Rules stated that we would be wise to abandon the mission instead of continuing.

Pulling Naruto to a stand, I turned to lead the group towards town. Just a few more hours and I could fall onto a nice futon and sleep until this whole damn thing blew over. I took one step, one measly little step, and my body froze. I felt my sharingan deactivate on it's own and had the strange sensation of falling.

I didn't even feel the pain when I hit the ground.

#Script's Archives #sensei fanfic #naruto fanfiction #fanfiction

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justimajin · 6 years ago

Text

Catching a Case of the Doctor Blues ⌠Part 9⌡

⇢ Pairing: Taehyung x Reader

⇢ Genre: Fluff, Comedy, Angst

↳ (3.6k) Doctor/Surgeon AU, Enemies to Lovers AU

⇢ Summary: When asked about Dr. Kim, a string of beautifully aligned words are ready spew from your lips. You could possibly go on and on about how his wonderful stubbornness wasn’t similar to talking to a brick wall, or how his observation skills were especially great in preparing your blood vessels for a drastic rupture or even how one gracious stare of his nearly had you on the verge of ripping your essential documents in half. But it seems that, perhaps, there was a lot more to Dr. Kim then what meets the eye…

⇢ Warnings: graphical descriptions of surgery

⇢ Moodboard Prologue Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5 Part 6 Part 7 Part 8

⇢ Next Update: Tuesday, May 21

It’s a simple, quiet evening in the corners of the hospital; nurses are attending to patients, doctors are doing their regular check-ups and interns are keenly observing right by their side.

The comfortable atmosphere sits peacefully in the center of your office, your gaze dancing over a flood of papers as you take a swipe of your pen and swirl it around as an everlasting stamp. The man situated afar from you in the same room is also doing the same task, occasionally bending down to place to slurp on some cooked ramen he so conveniently decided to make.

“How did you even…?” You are unsure about how to phrase the question when your gaze falls on the cooked noodles, especially when he glances up at you with cheeks filled with ramen.

He brings up the bowl closer to you but you shake your head, “Yeah, no thanks.”

“We’ve been working for hours, I got hungry!” Jin replies after swallowing down the large volume of noodles. You roll your eyes, a light smile on your lips when he stretches his legs out.

“Can we take a break?” He whines, “I’m exhausted.”

With a loud sigh, you agree, “Sure. My legs are starting to give out too.”

Both of you get up with longer drawn out stretches, attempting to get some circulation flowing into your veins once again. Stepping outside, the hospital echoes with the faint silence when the dark sky is illuminated through the many windows.

“It’s a little spooky.” Jin comments, closing the door after you and you nod. Working late hours at the hospital wasn’t a very rare event, but the sudden hush for patient sleep was nerve-wracking to be in.

“We can walk around a bit and then come back.” You glance at your watch, calculating that it would take approximately one more hour to finish the paper work with two individuals working at the same time, then the two of you could be pleasantly on your way back home.

Walking around the hallways, the steps you take are silent, with only whispers being exchanged, “Is anyone still here?” Jin asks.

“Should be. Although, I think Jimin went home early today and Jungkook went with him.”

“Those two are awfully close.” Jin chuckles, raising a hand to subtly cover his mouth from the abrupt sound.

“They’re almost like brothers at this point.”

“Brothers? Shouldn’t it be father and son?” A soft laugh escapes you at that.

“I think you and Jungkook are more like father and son.”

Jin looks at you appalled, “Me? Raising that kid? As if!” You hurriedly shush him down when his voice increases in volume and he quickly pipes down.

“Oh come on, Jungkook probably looks up to you.”

“Why wouldn’t he? I’m a fantastic role model.”

Sarcasm drips into your voice. “With an inflated ego? Yep.”

“When you have a face like this, how can you not idealize it?” He dramatically gestures to himself and you try to contain your own laughter from the huge exhibition.

However, before you’re able to retort back with an equally ridiculous comment, heavy pounding against the floor infiltrates your ears.

“There you are!” Namjoon’s wide eyes land straight on you, “I need you to come with me.”

He looks frazzled, eyes scanning around and white coat barely staying on his shoulders. You silently nod as Namjoon begins abruptly walking with this only being your simple cue to follow. It dawns on you that leaving would probably leave Jin to do all the work on his own, but he sends you a reassuring gaze when Namjoon increases his strides, almost as if he was running to his destination.

“Namjoon, what is it?” You ask, jogging lightly to keep up with him.

“An emergency.” He states, “You’re probably acquainted with Jung Hoseok?” He swiftly glances at you and your eyes widen.

“I am.” Beginning to pick up on your own pace greatly to walk on pare with him, tension pools in the pit of your stomach from the sole mention of his name.

Namjoon eventually leads you into the side corridors of the operating room, which was currently a room used for creating and analyzing X-rays. There are fine prints of some hanging on the walls once you enter, but your breath hitches when your eyes run over the large volume of results.

“Diagnosis of pneumonia. Except it’s a lot worse than you would think.”

You nod, baffled when you see the obstruct clouds of white engulfed inside Hoseok’s lungs – an image that was typical for anyone that contracted a mild case of pneumonia. It doesn’t seem to show anything out of the plain ordinary and simply glancing over it makes you still agree it that it only appeared to be a case of pneumonia.

“He has pneumonia, I don’t see-“ Suddenly your eyes flicker over to the image situated on the right side of the X-ray. A CT Scan.

A scan that was always in depth with its findings.

You cautiously walk forward to the image and sharply narrow your orbs, before you finally catch on.

“Pneumothorax.” You whisper, eyes scanning thoroughly all over the abnormal shape the lung was contorted in and uneasiness flooding through every fiber of you when it was such a clear indication of critical suffocation.

Namjoon hums, “Precisely. A collapsed lung,” He pauses, walking to stand beside you, “that’s almost to the stage of shutting down. Potentially for good.”

You turn to him petrified and Namjoon already notices the troubled glint in your eyes, “We need to operate on him by tonight. Dr. Kim stayed back for work and has agreed to assist with the operation, so I need both of you to get prepared.”

You nod, turning to leave but you suddenly halt in your steps.

“Can I have five minutes?”

You rapidly pace through the empty hallway when the tension flashes inside your mind, only one thought being stuck to it. It leaves your nerves in complete shambles and the clock ticks down in slow, frightening intervals.

The office door sparks into your view and you lunged for the knob, attempting to twist but the door doesn’t budge. A frown sets on your lips, but when you inch closer to plant your ear on the door, the softest of sobs speaks immediately to you.

You remove your ear and opt out to gently knock on the door. Instantly a heavy thud resonates on the other side, followed by more rummaging that takes a couple of seconds.

The door flings open and you’re welcomed to a Min Yoongi with pink filled eyes lined with cracks of red.

“D-Did you want something?” He croaks out, sniffling as he speaks.

“Are you okay?” The only thought had run through your mind when Namjoon had explained the situation to you was him. Maybe he had assumed that it wasn’t apparent to anyone else, but you could easily make out the warm exchanges him and Hoseok had – from the way Hoseok spoke so fondly about him and the way Yoongi would subtly linger around his side longer than he was required.

But the news itself was petrifying, leaving you unsure how he was dealing with the knowledge that Hoseok’s life had been dangling right in front of him and that the results of tonight’s operation would ultimately determine his undecided fate.

He sniffles again, this time reaching to dab his eyes with his white sleeve when they unconsciously re-surface drops of water, “I-I don’t know, I knew something was wrong and I just hate that we only found out now.”

He takes a sharp breath, attempting but failing to compose himself, “And by tomorrow…”

“We’ll try Yoongi,” He looks up to meet your fixed gaze, “We’ll save him.”

Taking a long drawn out breath, he nods, “I’m trusting you on this.”

“I’ll try my best.” You whisper, before he starts to usher you away.

“You need to get going. They’ll start preparations soon.” You take a quick glance at the clock and you firmly nod before hurriedly rushing away.

High amounts of concern cloud your mind immensely and the words Yoongi had left with you causes you to slow down, gripping down onto every single syllable.

“Y/N.”

You stop midway, about to head towards the operation room to turning around in Yoongi’s direction. The same heart-wrenching grief remains in Yoongi’s eyes, however the final words he leaves you with makes you feel like his entire world was resting on your shoulders.

“Please make sure he can breathe again.”

You deeply exhale, heading out with now heavy blue covered scrubs adorned instead of the light white coat. Walking towards the sterilization room, Yoongi’s words repeat in your mind when you recall the amount of times you had passed by Hoseok; suffering and struggling.

It was horrible, to even imagine that someone as wonderful and cheerful as Hoseok was dealing with being slowly suffocated as he spent his days here, to the point where his lungs were prepared to give it all up.

But it’s even more horrible when you have to come down to the conclusion that the only sole people who can stop Hoseok’s suffering were you, Namjoon and-

“Dr. L/N?” He questions, standing behind you when his voice again pulls you out of your thoughts and you want to inwardly groan.

“What?” You respond. Having a mind already consumed with impending pressurizing thoughts doesn’t quite leave you with any free space to handle Dr. Kim at the moment.

“Is…” He trails off, but you raise an eyebrow at him when he pauses. Dr. Kim would always speak to you sternly and directly, having his thoughts collected before trying to talk to you. “Is Dr. Min alright?”

If you were confused before, you’re completely blown away now. You were expecting a lot of things – jabs at your association with Hoseok, questioning if you were sufficient enough for the surgery, nit picking at any instance to rile up a distasteful reaction out of you.

Dr. Kim actually questioning about Yoongi’s wellbeing was far from the list, actually not existing on it at all.

“U-Uh…” You’re at a loss of words, not knowing how to retort, “He’s not doing so well…”

You’re not too sure if you should elaborate more to him, but Dr. Kim’s silently nods, “I see…”

Walking forward, you begin to sterilize your hands in the midst of blinking your eyes a couple of times. The whole interaction throws you off, being so well used to Dr. Kim’s rather annoying pieces of conversation that an automatic repulsive answer was always prepared for you. You didn’t think much about it, Dr. Kim set your nerves on fire and lets the rage pool inside, but these crucial reactions weren’t occurring.

Oddly enough, the change of conversation briefly diminishes the worrisome thoughts brewing inside your mind for the soon conflicting operation.

Walking into the operating room isn’t the same now; heavy steps are pounding against the tiled floor, fidgeting hands are kept on bay and your heart is accelerating at a tenfold speed. The same team of individuals surround you as before – nurses in blue ready to assist and the two necessary members situated in front of you.

The atmosphere is coated with the same twisted doubt just like the last surgery you had performed and it causes you to let out a shaky breath. For a brief moment, you try to dismiss all those past lingering thoughts, attempting to get your mind to narrow back in at the task at hand.

However, the white sheets are pulled upward and the moment your eyes land on Hoseok’s delicate features, that entire mentality is thrown out the window.

He’s incredibly pale, looking considerably worse than when you had last seen him. It irks you so much, churning your insides when you recall his sunny disposition and hopeful aura, now being reduced to a frail patient whose life rested in your hands.

With a deep sigh, Namjoon begins the procedure by carefully navigating around the space of Hoseok’s face so he can insert in a tube leading into the lungs. The process thankfully will be less difficult than the previous pancreatomy you had to go through and didn’t require the grueling steps of attempting to remove an entire cancerous organ.

The first step was simple – the lungs needed to be drained of the fluid that accumulated in them in order to relieve the persistent symptoms of pneumonia. Additionally, it gives you the perfect opportunity to repair the remainder issue of his collapsed lung, a part of the surgery that was going to be exceeding hard to maneuver around without draining the built-up liquid.

Once Namjoon finishes attaching the scope to his nose and mouth, a nurse enters the room with a blank monitor and Dr. Kim moves forward to assist her with setting up the machine. It instantly clicks on and displays a clear image of the chaos ensuring inside Hoseok lungs.

Namjoon cautiously moves the scope around, examining the precise location for the largest volume of the liquid. In the midst of this, you keep a sharp eye on the second monitor across from him which showcases Hoseok’s vital signs, fully being aware that it would disastrous for complications during the examination process.

The image drifts back and forth several times before a proper picture of the inside of lungs being displayed and revealing the location of drainage. Namjoon nods as confirmation before both you and Dr. Kim moves swiftly to insert the tubes that will remove the unwanted liquid into the small spot Namjoon had inserted the scope in.

The liquid initially pipes slowly, small bubbles forming inside the tube, but it soon picks up and an abundant amount flows through. Namjoon’s eyes remain glued to the screen, ensuring that the correct fluid was being picked up and that no further complications were occurring because of your actions.

You glance over at the vitals monitor, a sigh of relief escaping through when Hoseok is considerably remaining stable through the drainage.

Namjoon motions you to stop, assessing that the correct amount had been taken out in which the two of you move to remove the tubes while Namjoon keeps the scope inside. After the tubes had been taken out, Namjoon hums in content when the pipes on the monitor have substantially opened up and the hollow tube is not longer filled with a cloudy white mixture.

However, this was the simple part.

You had just performed the basic procedure doctors would do if a patient had a severe case of pneumonia and instantly needed a method of relief if antibiotics were proving to be ineffective. It wasn’t a terrifying operation per say because of how often it would need to be used.

The additional complication Hoseok had however, was the game changer.

His collapsed lung. Essentially a painful pressure of air lodged inside his chest cavity that was causing his lungs to shrink into an abnormal, curvaceous shape. It was the source of all his pain and a small, brief wrong move could cut off his air supply instantly, rendering him no oxygen.

The shiny prick of a needle is displayed through Namjoon’s outstretched hands and its sole appearance tugs your lips downward. Due to the very precise foundation of the surgery, it was utterly necessary to drill into your skull of how careful you had to be doing this.

Taking a gulp, you take the needle from him and look down at the boy currently lying on the stretcher in front of you. You take the syringe component and attach it onto the needle, requiring a pump to decrease the amount of air pressure built inside his lungs.

You cautiously insert the needle into his skin and let it penetrate through into his chest cavity. Slowly inching forward, you flinch when a large amount of air pushes against the needle and immediately flows into the syringe. It arises from the air being trapped inside his lungs for so long and you ensure that the amount isn’t too overwhelming to the point where you puncture into his airflow.

Draining the air comes smoothly and your eyes are fixated onto the spot that you had penetrated through to make sure that no tears are made in the flesh because of the needle.

But this is when his vitals start to respond to you.

You don’t move your gaze when the beep sounds through the room, the small siren alerting you of the treacherous field you were starting to trespass into.

“Blood pressure is decreasing.” Namjoon states, keeping an eye on the monitor as you perform your part.

You nod, blood pressure decreasing was not surprising because you were directly interfering with his air flow which was important for supplying the blood stream with oxyg-

“Heart rate is also decreasing.” Dr. Kim mutters in a tone lined with warning and it causes your thought process to stagger just like the lines on the monitor.

Heart rate…?

Your eyes quickly flicker around, examining his torso when the dark blue veins begin to peep out of his lightly tinted skin.

Low oxygen was interfering with the blood stream. Pressure had decreased, which was normal because of you interfering, but heart rate decreased and his veins were changing color.

He wasn’t getting enough oxygen. You were starting to cut off his air supply.

Panic floods through you when you focus begins to dwindle on the needle placed inside of him and how you were so close to removing all of the air from his lungs. You had to continue on to finish the operation, but he wasn’t being able to breathe at the momen-

A hand reaches out to slide against yours, slowly tugging the needle outwards and you receive an alarming look on your features from the gesture.

Dr. Kim holds the needle with you and his gaze is completely trained onto it, before his eyes briefly flicker onto your own.

“We have to continue with cutting off his air supply but reduce the amount being taken out. We can’t stop the procedure but we can lower the chances of suffocating him.” He gently states, his voice morphing in such a way where he sounded like he was trying to reassure.

You let it pass, nodding when you focus back onto Hoseok who needed all of your attention. Namjoon seems to be in agreement with Dr. Kim when he watches the monitor that continues to violently stray low with the impending decision.

The sirens keep blaring out and you can’t get a proper control on how you keep flinching when every single one rings, knowing that what you were doing was going to be unlikely to work. It becomes even worse when the tremor in your hands appears once again and despite your best efforts, your hands continue to tremble.

A soft amount of pressure is applied to your hands and you widen them, eyes darting around to wonder if the needle was still situated in the same position. It was; however, Dr. Kim’s blue latex hand covers yours completely and you come to the discovery that in the midst of trying to help you, he was actually holding your hand.

Abruptly, you flicker your eyes up at him and are taken aback when you realize his gaze was on you, observing any sort of reaction emitting out as you were internally battling with the situation.

You quickly lower your gaze, having a million questions racing in your mind but attempting to forget them in order to focus. It doesn’t help when you have to acknowledge that any times your hands give out, a slight tremble, a subtle shake, he applies more pressure onto them.

You try to ignore the comforting, warm vibe they emit.

Suddenly, the monitor beeps and both of you glance at it simultaneously.

The air pressure in Hoseok’s lungs had decreased substantially, returning to the normal level.

The huge amount of relief graciously flows in you when you let out a low exhale, returning the smile Namjoon gives when he comes over to assist you in removing the needle and patching up the spot that had been penetrated.

The rest of the operation involves ensuring that everything had been sterilized and that Hoseok’s vitals were still in the safe zone. Once those two tasks had been check-marked, Namjoon utters the words that have a large tired smile lining your lips when the whole entire operation room brims with the satisfaction.

“Surgery successful.”

You close your eyes when the room fills with cheers, many of the nurses patting you on the back when Namjoon shoots you a dimpled smile as well. When you reach out to thank all of them for the considerate amount of help they had done for you, a faint whisper resonates near your ear.

“Nicely done Dr. L/N.” The deep sound of the owner’s voice disappears when Dr. Kim walks in front of you to leave, sending you a small satisfied glance as he walks by.

Although complimented, you tilt your head at the display. A genuine praise, not paired with a smirk, not added with a small triumphing pose in front of you as a way to claim his victory.

Your eyes instantly land onto your hands, your mind flickering when even you don’t notice the slight pink tinting on your own cheeks from the memory.

#taehyung fanfic #taehyung fluff #taehyung doctor au #taehyung e2l au #bts taehyung fanfic #taehyung angst #kim taehyung fanfic #kim taehyung #bts v fanfic #bts v fluff #bts v angst #bts taehyung doctor au #bts taehyung enemies to lovers au #taehyung childhood friends au #bts fanfic #bts fluff #bts angst #bts imagines #bts scenarios

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commanders-sole-braincell · 5 years ago

Text

The soldiers call them names under their breaths, stares at the shriveled limbs with something close to disgust. They don’t see the way The Commander smiles at them all, like everything they’ve gone through worth it for the cruel words the pact sends their way- because at least the pact is alive to say it. They don’t see the way The Commander’s eyes start to sparkle again, and the way they begin to fill out, losing the unnatural pallor that comes with having avoided death a second, third, fourth, time.

It’s their loss.

They wake up at night with a scream lodged in their throat and a ringing in their ears, but they swallow the cries back and bury their face in their pillow. It smells like dried flowers, and motor oil, tree bark and dragonfire and illusions. Mordemoth’s whispers have no place here, not in the face of everything they’ve set out to protect. They aren’t alone, anymore- perhaps they were never alone, even before.

The egg cracks under their fingertips, and a familiar emotion welling up in them, a connection they thought they had given up when they had looked into Trahearne’s eyes and allowed themself to be selfish.

Aurene’s scales are warm under their fingers, and they taste love, and longing, and devotion, crystalline sparks that come to life on their tongue. This is what reconciliation tastes like. They think, and they could get used to this: This is what victory tastes like, and it’s never tasted so sweet before.

Canach stares at the two recruits with something a bit like rage. He’s no firstborn, no Marshall and no Commander- he’s no leader, and some days he doesn’t even know if he’s a good person, when his first instinct more often than not is to flee rather than protect.

It doesn’t stop him from telling them exactly how much he would bet on The Commander- and he isn’t talking about gold, when he says that.

(If you can come back from the dead, I want to double my wager on you. He had said, once upon a time. It feels like an eternity past.)

Trahearne sits with his head in his hands and he feels cold, iced water collecting in his chest and threatening to leak through his skin. The healers have left, and the pact has gone. It’s only him and Caladbolgh, now, alone in a room with nothing but a bed and a figure that looks two sizes too small.

(Because The Commander had always been larger than life, a beacon in the dark. The Commander had loved and cared for them all, a steadfast affection that he couldn’t shame himself for leaning into, back when Orr had seemed an impossible dream where it laid protected under a dragon’s wings.)

Their words stays with him, and he- he remembers, somewhat. He remembers pain, and anguish, and being on the other side of a blade. He remembers too, a necromancer with a cruel laugh, and blood all over his hands. He wonders which life he died in. He wonders if it was both.

He squeezes The Commander’s limp hand, feels their pulse beat in the crook of his wrist. “When you wake up,” he starts, and stops.

They circle the border of the camp, staring at sleeping faces. Eir is there, and so is Braham, and there Canach is- Scruffy leaning against a tree, Kasmeer and Marjory curled next to each other.

They count the stars in the sky and the scars on their body, recites dates and names and faces under their breath. Every once in a while they put a hand on their chest, waits for their heart to beat and feels an irrational jolt of surprise whenever it does. They’re alive, now. They don’t know how long it will last.

A rustle, then warmth. They aren’t alone after all. “No one’s dead.” Rytlock says gruffly. He wraps one paw around their arm, and his grip is surprisingly gentle- he holds them like he’s afraid they will shatter under too much force. Maybe they would, shatter that is- but he doesn’t give them a chance to find out.

I would have enjoyed the company in the desert skies, Vlast had once admitted to them, like it was a secret. A shameful hope he would never see come to pass. As if it was a crime to be happy, their words dripping with unspoken wishes and regret The Commander could sometimes feel dogging their own steps.

They once thought that there was nothing they could do.

“Aurene,” they begin, and they’re laughing; they’re crying in a way that isn’t meant to be sad. They’ve made a lot of mistakes but this is one time they don’t mind being proven wrong. “Meet your big brother.”

The Pact soldiers fall, one after another, and they’re screaming- this cannot be happening. They stumble through the wreckage and can’t stop staring at their failures, at everything they’ve failed to protect.

They can fix this though, and already there’s a dagger in their hands, the edge cutting into the vulnerable skin of their neck. They can fix this. They can.

(They’ll go back, they know it. They’ve done so again and again and again.)

A hand, stopping them. “You can’t save everyone Commander.” Marjory says, and she won’t let go, why won’t she let go. “You don’t have to keep doing this.”

They do though, they have to, even if they don’t expect her to understand. They rip the hilt out of Jory’s fingers and drive the blade into their chest.

They can’t stop staring at the scattered pieces that used to be Scruffy, Taimi a warm weight on their back. “I can fix this-“ They begin, but there’s a sharp pressure as five fingers dig into a point between their shoulder blades.

“No,” Taimi says fiercely through her tears. “Just because- Even if I lost Scruffy, that doesn’t mean I want to lose you too.”

But you won’t lose me, they think. Their fingers itch for their weapon. That’s the point.

They stay their hand though, for now- they need both of them to carry Taimi, after all.

10.

“What if this never ends?” They ask, and it’s too much to even consider; they can’t breathe. “What if- In a few years I die naturally, and I wake up standing in front of the Pact Fleet again?”

(They don’t want to do it again, don’t want to do it again and again and again- what if they lose themselves in their power? What if they go insane, and what if they turn bad- just for the joy of seeing something different happen in the loops.)

There’s a shattering noise as Kasmeer drops her glass, shards scattered across the floor. It sounds exactly like an illusion breaking.

11.

“Meet my Commander,” Joko says, and they rise from their coffin to horrified eyes, wide and wet and afraid. The Dragons Watch is there, and-

Trahearne, except he isn’t holding Caladbolgh. (Of course he isn’t, they made sure of that; the sword is probably in pieces at the base of the Pale Tree) He isn’t holding any weapon, actually, except for his old staff, but there’s a familiar sight strapped onto his back.

Oh, they think, that’s mine.

(Joko drags them back kicking and screaming, Joko chains them here without their consent, but- he doesn’t get all of them, he can’t get their everything when they aren’t whole in the first place. Back then, surrounded by a victory that they knew would soon grow bitter, they had forced their shaking hands to move, to press their signature weapon into Trahearne’s hands. It’s only fair, they thought, with what they were going to ask of him, that they leave a piece of their heart behind.)

Sorry Marshall, they say, and not say, because Joko has one hand caressing the bottom of their jaw and keeping it there- but there’s more than one way to speak to a necromancer. They smile apologetically, their borrowed heartbeat thudding in their chest, and hopes Trahearne can hear the words whispering through their soul. Looks like you’ll have to kill me twice.

12.

It’s a heavy burden you bear, Vlast rumbles. His eyes are terribly sad. You musn’t forget what you had been fighting for. You mustn’t lose yourself.

They swallow, and they look behind them. To the Dragon’s Watch, in the distance, and if they aim their eyes on the horizon, they can almost pretend they can see home- when everything used to be so simple, when all they cared about was doing the right thing.

It’s harder now, but- they meet Vlast’s eyes and think of Taimi making more and more convoluted wheelchairs to aid in their recovery, of Canach’s quiet protectiveness, of the way Kasmeer held their hands in hers and asked almost shyly Can I pray for you? Of Caithe slipping them food across the table with worried eyes, and waking up to a blanket draped over them with no knowledge of how it got there.

“I know.” they admit, softly. It’s hard, saying that. Admitting that they might have a problem in the first place. But it’s a step forward, and they find it easier not to lie as they watch Marshall step forward and nervously put a hand on Vlast’s snout.

13.

I will know what you’re hiding in that mind of yours, Mordremoth taunts them, and they aren’t screaming, but bitter acid bubbles up from their throat. Everything is green and dusty brown and slow rot. I will look through your memories, every single one, and none of your allies will be able to save you then.

The Commander won’t let that happen. The decision is easy to make, and the Dragon too slow to realize, too busy reveling in their supposed victory. They tip their head back and they think they understand now, why their mentor did what they did.

A sharp movement to the left, and a vine cuts too close: Everything is red.

(Their life for Trahearne’s, and Eir’s, and so many others: Worth it, they think as they fall under, the dragon’s angry roaring the last thing they hear.)

14.

They wake up.

“Commander?” Someone asks, but they can’t breathe through the smell of blood and rust.

(This wasn’t supposed to happen.)

15.

Why me? They think, watching their friends but not-yet-friends walk by.

Why does it have to be me?

16.

“He would have been so proud of you.” The Pale Tree says, as they let the shattered pieces of what used to be Caladbolgh slip through their numb fingers like tears. “You were his closest companion.”

The words are a bitter comfort, but it’s the only comfort they have.

17.

“Commander,” Eir says, laughing. She’s bigger than they remember as she sweeps them into a hug, tight enough to be crushing. Everything is red, but the red of her hair. “So good to see you again!”

Braham takes them aside, later, when all the celebrations are done. “Thank you.” He says sincerely. They can’t help but notice that he doesn’t say sorry.

18.

The temple is large, and candles lit on every surface, just as they remember. There is a distinct lack of refugees around however, and it makes something loosen in their throat.

Priest Hakim is there, and his eyes are warm. “Welcome, Outlander.” He says, but he says it like a secret, like a prayer answered. There’s laughter and smiles in the air. “Welcome to the Temple of Kormir.”

(He takes them aside later, and bows. Every night, he tells them, candles flickering behind him as he clasps his hands together, Every night, we send prayers to Kormir for your safety in battle and your safe returns. You’ve done so much for us- our blessings are the least we can give.)

They are sent home with a pack full of medical supplies and food and water, because the oasis is flourishing and they have more than enough to go around.

19.

“Do you think,” They asked, pausing from where they’ve picked up their weapon for a friendly spar. “That friendships can last more than one lifetime?”

It’s a beautiful day. Everyone is here, and safe, and happy- It’s perfect. Sometimes, they look at this and feel like they want to cry.

(The itching feeling is there still, some days- an earthquake in Caledon, a raid in a human village, an explosion over at shiverpeaks, and they feel it: the urge to go back, fix everything except better this time.)

(Rytlock had stopped them, last time. Rytlock, with Sohothin strapped to his belt- Sohothin, who they’ve never seen aflame since they’ve flinched what felt like 6 loops back.)

Trahearne looks up from where he’s reading, leaning against Vlast’s massive flank. Aurene is on his back, her elder brother snorting amusedly at her antics. Canach is gloating over the gold he’s won from a wager, Rytlock muttering something that sounds a lot like dumb luck. Kas and Jory sit together, whispering secrets under their breaths. Braham and Rox seem to be arm wrestling, with one side clearly having the upper hand. Logan is cheering Rox on, alongside Caithe: Meanwhile, Eir and Zojja cheer for the opposing side.

“Well,” Trahearne pauses to think it over. He doesn’t take very long, and he’s smiling when he looks at them again. “I don’t see why not.”

20.

“Nice to meet you, Friend.” He tells them, holding his hand out to shake. His smile is familiar, and warm.

I know you, they think, and they wonder: I’ve met you before.

-----------------

HOLY COTTON BALLS ANON

Your writing has made me speechless once again!!

I love the fact you can see DW and DE stepping into try and protect the Commander, to stop them from hurting themselves (and that bit with Joko OMG!!!) And just the way everyone reacts and they still won’t stop, they can’t stop there’s people to save and 19! OMG 19! MY LITTLE HEART LOVES 19!! The softness and the recovering!!! Anon you’ve hit every possible mark you absolute genius!

#Awakened Anon #Time Warp AU #Time Loop AU #suicide tw #self harm tw #Awakened!Commander #Marry me Awakened Anon #we could rule the world #submission

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lunebinnie · 6 years ago

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(1/11)Oh my gosh yesss I'm glad that you like long messages too because I talk way too much 😂 (And yeah about my friend and just hanging out w/ her more that's exactly what I was thinking 😂) It's actually kind of funny bc just yesterday I was hanging out at her house and her younger brother needed to go to Walmart and I was like 'I've been meaning to go to Walmart, I'll take you' and ofc since I have a bluetooth radio adapter the whole drive I had my Spotify going with some quality k-bops, lol

2)And as we were driving I noticed him kind of jamming and I was like 'Oh my god Mickey do you actually like this???' And he was Like 'yeah, these are some good bops 👍' I was shooketh. I had to go home before I had the chance to show him any music videos but he says he's open to watching some with me next time I see him. One way or another I'm going to turn someone in my social circle into a kpop fan you mark my words ☝ and then maybe we can team up and try to work on his sister some more 😂

3)I only started first getting into kpop last June so I'm still very new, but it's definitely super frustrating how so many ppl act like it's an inherently bad or cringey genre of music just bc it's kpop! The stigma is ridiculous! I also started out with BTS (lol) and since they're pretty popular in the US at least I was able to be like 'See, this isn't just a niche thing, lots of people know abt and like this group' but of course my dad still says 'Just cause it's popular doesn't make it good'

4)And I'm like? You're a band teacher, you of all people should understand that music doesn't have to be in your native language (or even have lyrics) in order for you to enjoy it, but go off I guess... It's the same with one of my college friends. They make fun of me for liking kpop but this is coming from some who still treats March 22nd (the day My Chemical Romance broke up) as a day of mourning. Like, no tea no shade no pink lemonade, MCR was a good band nothing wrong with liking them.

5)But like if you're 22 and you still haven't grown out of your emo phase do you really have room to pick on other people for their music taste? 🤷 Anyway that's the person who follows my main that I didn't want to know I had a kpop sb. I think I made it around July. Tbh it was pretty dead for most of 2018. But like I said I've started using it way more since I recently revealed that it exists, lol. Especially since that good good Astro cb 👏💗😩 But honestly Astro is such a blessing

6)Idk how I lived so long w/o them. When I first got into kpop I was planning on just sticking to BTS since the reaction to me being into kpop was so volatile. I was like 'I'm only into one group, ppl already are negative about me liking kpop so I'm just gonna stick to this and not become a full on multifandom fan' and then in Nov I accidentally let myself fall in love with Monsta X and that plan was foiled. And realizing I wasn't gonna be able to stick to just one anymore opened the floodgates

7)And I was like okay in that case, let's just start getting into *all groups* Lol. My story of getting into Astro was actually bc of my best friend's roommate (can you tell I have like one friend and my whole social circle kinda revolves around her? Lol) so this roommate when she heard me being sad about having no kpop friends was like 'oh hey, I'm kinda into kpop' and it turns out she didn't like very many groups and was one of the ppl who blah blah BTS is overrated, which ya know isn't ideal8)But I was just really desperate to have someone to talk about kpop with. And Astro was her favorite so I was like, okay I'll get into them so that I have something to talk about with her! So I started watching some videos and I fell in love with them pretty much instantly! And I was real excited bc #1 now I can talk about kpop with someone! And #2 this group is actually amazing? Bonus! ... And then they got in a big fight about their living conditions and the roommate ended up moving out RIP

9)So that didn't work out, lol (Your story about finding them during that internship sounds amazing though! Haha) But yeah, so this is my first cb too! And although I love them w/ my whole heart and would have loved to have them in my life even sooner what an amazing cb to be your first! The concept was wonderful, the album was excellent, the visuals were to *die* for. They worked so hard and I'm so proud of them and I'm so happy we got to see their work come to fruition and get them a win 🤧🤧

10)The dance practices though? You're so right omg 💗 Me and my Rocky bias *fully* understand 😂 All of them are such good dancers?? I never fail to be impressed. Of course you know who I always end up watching tho 👀 lol (̶i̶f̶ ̶I̶ ̶w̶a̶s̶ ̶h̶a̶l̶f̶ ̶a̶s̶ ̶p̶r̶e̶t̶t̶y̶ ̶a̶s̶ ̶R̶o̶c̶k̶y̶'̶s̶ ̶f̶o̶o̶t̶w̶o̶r̶k̶ ̶I̶ ̶w̶o̶u̶l̶d̶ ̶b̶e̶ ̶a̶l̶m̶o̶s̶t̶ ̶a̶s̶ ̶p̶r̶e̶t̶t̶y̶ ̶a̶s̶ ̶h̶i̶s̶ ̶e̶y̶e̶s̶.̶.̶.̶)̶ ̶ I also love how at the end they always pause all dramatic for a minute and then start screaming 😂

11)It's like? Amazing talent *and* dorky personalities? What more could you ask for? Lol. In regard to your last question though Unfortunately I also won't be able to see them 😔 I live in the smack middle of the US and since they're only going to coasts all of the venues are way too far away to get to. Esp since it's the school year and I can't skip class to drive cross country for a concert much as I'd like to (Holy lord I talked over twice as much?? Why am I like this?) Talk again soon! -ASA

Okay SO I’m very sorry I haven’t had the time to answer everything until now bc I’ve been busy studying for midterms and also I was a lil trashy today since my uni closed bc of freezing rain so I slept in but I’m glad that FINALLY everything got sent like damn tumblr you really don’t want us making friends huh.

Yessssss I love the feeling of seeing someone else also get into the same interests! I’ve been pretty lucky in the sense that I grew up around mostly other asian americans, so kpop was never something that was considered super “weird,” like some people were into it and some weren’t but even if you weren’t you still would’ve been familiar with the more popular groups from when you were younger. Even now, I have a bunch of friends also into kpop (one of them is even my roommate) so tbh I was definitely the one in my friend group late to the party aha. Even my university hosts kpop nights at our bar and I’m pretty sure we have a kpop dance team as well? So tbh if I met someone new there’s probably like a 50% chance they’re into kpop or at least listen casually.

Tbh I used to be a little bit judgy too but moreso because of the obscene amount of money I’ve seen some of my friends spend (no joke one of my friends has spent probably like $500+ on Loona stuff in the past month and a half and another friend bought like 5 copies of the same album for herself like damn idk how do you have that much money).

I also really don’t like it when people bash other people’s music tastes, since I feel like it’s something so personal? Idk but for a long time I used to be really self conscious about sharing my music with other people and even now I feel like that sometimes. For me after getting into BTS I kind of expected to get really into other groups since I was in Korea anyway and I was already listening to a lot of other artists casually. For me it started with NU’EST (fell for them immediately at the same concert that I saw Astro at) and then after was Astro, and then I just started slowly getting into other groups after that (even though I haven’t totally been able to get into Got7′s music they’re SO funny and I just kinda fell for their personalities you know).

I honestly think that they did such a wonderful job with this comeback too! I like seeing their concept evolve and mature but they’re not straying too far from their original cute concept so I feel like it’s a nice middle ground that’s very unique to them, you feel? Also I feel like the visuals especially and the execution of the whole plant concept was just done so well?? Even my friend who’s not in kpop was like “k idk who they are but that was the prettiest music video I’ve ever seen”. What are your favourite eras and songs? For me I’d have to say either the Spring Up or Baby era BUT right now my favourite song is probably Again/Should’ve Held On though tbh my mood and my tastes change like every few weeks loool.

I have no idea why I tend to be most attracted to the dances rather than vocals or rap (maybe has to do with the fact that it’s something I’ve always wished I could do but have always been bad at lmao). But Astro’s stood out to me for the exact same reason! I just thought it was so funny seeing them all break character at the end because you really get to see how hard their choreos are and you get a glimpse of their personalities like damn, how can you not stan these dummies?

That’s really unfortunate that you won’t get to see them either :/ They’re also coming to the closest city to me but it’s on a Tuesday, but I *hypothetically* looked up flight prices and tried to see if I could get away with just missing a day of classes if I flew back in the middle of the night since I have some friends who did the same thing and drove down to Buffalo but I seem to have underestimated the size of New York State LMAO. But apparently my university’s too far from the airport so it’s “not realistic” (and also I’m hella broke from travelling to Taiwan and Japan while I was in Korea but that’s a minor issue ig). I hope we do both get a chance to see them live though! Who knows, after the success of this comeback I’m expecting a lot more cbs and world tours out of them ;)

#asa #Anonymous

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angelkurenai · 7 years ago

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Picture Perfect - Dean Winchester x Reader x Sam Winchester - Chapter 11

Title: Picture Perfect

Pairing: Sam Winchester x Reader, Dean Winchester x Reader

Word Count: Around 5.5k

Warnings: Angst, Blood

Prompt: I got it! Can you do a fic where Sam dies while (Y/N) is pregnant with his child and so Dean helps her raise the child and they live the apple pie life and right when Dean wants to propose to (Y/N), Sam returns to life & ANGST. Please and thank you

Special thank you to @gaveherhearttotheliontattoo for being an awesome beta!

Read: Part 1 l Part 2 l Part 3 l Part 4 l Part 5 l Part 6 l Part 7 l Part 8 l Part 9 l Part 10

“What?” you breathed out, your eyes glued to it.

“We will get you to agree, one way or another. But we will always make sure you...” she paused as you looked at her with wide eyes.

“And your unborn child stay alive.”

“Wha-” you blinked, shaking your head “No, no no. What- what the fuck is this?” you growled, feeling tears well up in your eyes once more and this time it was more intense, just like the feeling in your chest.

“Heart monitors, of course.” she said casually “To make sure your hearts just keep beating and that your pulses don't rise dangerously so. I mean, it will all depend on you. How willing are you to risk your child's life, (Y/n), for these hunters you call family?” she asked, clicking her pen and you clenched your jaw at her.

“What- I- I don't- I'm not- I can't- I-” you shut your eyes, breathing heavily and as expected your heart started beating faster as it was heard by one of the monitors. The contastly repeating sounds along with the awful smell of this place, and probably the condition you were in, made you feel even more dizzy than you were at first.

“What?” she chuckled, raising an eyebrow “Don't tell me you didn't know about it. Oh wow, apologies for breaking the easter egg a little too fast for you.” she said so casually you wished so bad you could do something to shut her up.

“I'm not pregnant.” you clenched your jaw, glaring at her “I can't be. This is all your doing, you're making me believe this machine is actually a heart monitor for the baby to- to make me give in more easily. It's not- I'm not- I'm not pregnant.” you whispered, shaking your head and almost cursing at yourself for letting a tear slip your eye.

Truth was you wanted it. You wanted this more than anything, just a couple days ago you were trying with Dean for a child how could you actually stop feeling the need to have his kids? Maybe your mind told you it was wrong to want it when Sam appeared on your doorstep very much alive but that did by no means mean that your heart didn't long for it. You had actually dreamed about it, not that you would admit it to anyone, or yourself, that you really wanted this but... in this situation you didn't know how sure you were anymore. The situation was not ideal anymore, that much was obvious, and considering the danger you were in you started to fear the worst.

“I'm not.” you breathed in and out heavily, eyes closed shut as you basically tried to convince yourself.

“You can tell that to yourself as many times as you want, (Y/n). But we both know it's the truth.” she said with a shrug “If it wasn't for the kid we wouldn't have been so gentle, trust me. If anything, I would have already started trying to get you to cooperate in every possible way. As you see we were prepared for worse, but we won't resort to that for its sake. As long as you don't make us do so, (Y/n).” she glanced at some weird-looking tools to the side.

“But I-” your words got caught in your throat as you looked down at the other heart monitor, without realizing it more tears slipped from your eyes. You smiled, despite all of your feelings at seeing how lively it actually was. Strong, fast and healthy. Or at least as far as you could tell, remembering from your previous pregnancy. The beat and rhythm was similar to hers when you were about four months into your pregnancy and the doctor back then had told you she was very healthy. It was great times... almost.

“Now, let's start shall we?” she asked obnoxiously so, not caring for a second that you were all-but-freaking out at the new piece of information. They could keep insisting they were on your side but you weren't going to believe them, whoever they were.

You clenched your jaw as your eyes slipped from the device to the ground and rest of the place around you and you hardened your look. You took in a deep breath and clenched your fists. You looked up at her and straightened your back. Your heart was beating hard inside your chest but you were determined, and despite how much shocked you were you knew what you should do. If anything, you were going to fight for this kid.

“Screw you”

~*~

“Yeah uh Cas, thanks for looking into that.” Dean mumbled and after a short reply from the blue-eyed angel he hung up.

“What did he say?” Sam asked as he continued with putting together the guns.

“He'll try to find Crowley, since he has not been answering us.” Dean said in a gruff voice, taking hold of the weapons and stuffing them in the duffel bag “See if he can track the demon down.”

“So what?” Sam asked, handing Dean his gun “Did you two like stop talking?”

“No, not entirely. But the bastard is probably not in the mood to appear considering he failed to do the one thing he had to.” Dean growled, putting his gun in his jeans “We made a deal for me to not go after him as long as he always made sure his demons stayed away from (Y/n) and Mary, and of course provided protection when we needed it.”

“And this demon?”

“I'm guessing not one of his own because he wouldn't miss a chance to get back to me when I first went after him. Either way-” he started shuffling through the fake IDs “We have a job to do until Cas has news.”

“And what's that? Because I tried hacking any cameras but no luck. The only car passing a red light was like a week ago.” Sam threw his arms in the air.

“That's if you're looking at the right ones, but I'm guessing you're not.” he mumbled, grabbing the computer that was laying on the coffee table “There is not just one way to get out of town, Sammy. Especially if you've just kidnapped someone.”

“Meaning?” Sam raised an eyebrow as he watched his brother type in a name and some codes.

“Well, I've been living in this town for quite some time now. Been best buds with the sheriff, I uh fixed his car one time, and he let me into some secrets... without him knowing.” Dean mumbled and Sam only nodded his head with a half smile.

“Right, of course you did. You stole the papers from his office, didn't you?”

“Sue me.” Dean muttered, scrolling down and past several videos as the date did not match that which they were looking for.

“So he's talked to me-” Dean continued “And he's told me a few secrets himself, about all the ways people can get in and out of here, not just from the main streets. The dude's a little too dramatic though so he's placed cameras there too, which is good for us now. I've cracked every database I could when we first moved in, you can never be too sure. And it sure as hell payed off.” he stopped as soon as he spotted a video, not missing a beat to click on it.

Dean watched with a clenched jaw as the black car sped off on the road while Sam had a frown on and narrowed his eyes. The video didn't last longer than a one minute but Dean replayed it over and over again, hoping to catch something. He paused at a moment, leaning closer to the screen to see on the mirror of the passenger's seat the very same person he wanted to rip into shreds. The image was a terrible quality and quite small but enough for him.

“That's him?” Sam asked and Dean nodded his head with a growl.

“Yeah” he mumbled as he turned the computer to his brother.

Sam leaned in, his attention on something else “The back number plate, we could write the combination down and look into it.” he mumbled.

“I'm right into it.” Dean jumped up, searching for a piece of paper to write it down.

“You know-” Sam pursed his lips “Maybe, we should check the real-estate offices. See if anybody bought or rented a place nearby.” he mumbled and Dean raised an eyebrow at him.

“Come again?”

“Look, the car seems expensive as hell, maybe the demon is not working on his own and maybe they've actually bought a place or something.” Sam shrugged.

“If you think it's possible.” Dean clenched his jaw as he dialed a number “I'll call the sheriff for the car.”

“And I'll look into it about the house.”

~*~

“Right” she chuckled, shaking her head “Maybe we should really get to know each other better, hm? Let me start, name's Toni. Toni Bevell.” she gave you the same smile that just made you all the more want to punch her “I'm in the British Men of Letters.”

“What?” your eyebrows shot up as you stared at her with wide eyes.

“I hope you have heard of us, but even if you haven't, don't worry you will have plenty of time when we recruit you.” she said it so easily it almost made you want to scoff.

“You are really confident, aren't you?” you growled “How the hell do you know I am just going to give in that easily?”

“Because I am a mother myself.” she shrugged, tilting her head to the side “And I know that just like me, so would you do everything for your children.”

“You won't dare touch my daughter.” you snapped at her, tugging at your handcuffs as you wanted to launch at her.

“Oh (Y/n), no don't worry about that.” she shook her head “I told you, we don't harm innocent children. Besides, it's not as if we can have hold on her that easily with Sam and Dean Winchester around her 24/7. As for your other child though-” she smirked as you glared daggers at her “We could but whether we will or not all depends on you.”

“What the hell do you want from me?” you hissed and she smiled.

“To have a girls talk. Or more specifically to hear you talk, and don't worry I am not going to get into the hunting part now. Let me get to know you better, although I already know much more than you think I do.” she said with arrogance and you rolled your eyes at her.

“Screw you.” you mumbled, looking away from her, and of course the heart monitors. You weren't all that interested in yours but mostly the other one, that of the child you carried at the moment. The information still ran through your mind, the words swimming and swirling around almost making you dizzy again.

You were pregnant with Dean's child, held captive by some douches – it was obvious she wasn't working alone – and to top it all: the father of your other child, uncle of the one you carried and ex boyfriend, had come back to life just a few days ago. Just peachy.

“Alright then, let me get it all started again.” she sighed “Name's (Y/n). (Y/n) (Y/l/n). Hunter for most of your life and currently a waitress at the local restaurant. You have a daughter called Mary whose father up until recently was dead, the all too famous Sam Winchester. You got out of the life after his death, a little after you saved the world shocker-” she made a face and you scoffed at her, still not looking “-With, surprise surprise his own brother, the one and only Dean Winchester.” the cheerfulness in her voice made you glance at her just to glare.

“You got a house, a pretty one might I say. He got a normal job and helped you raise your daughter. You never told anyone in your neighborhood that the child wasn't his, especially when she called him father and they bore such a resemblance. And he of course didn't bother to protest, either. Nobody ever knew he was actually her uncle and that was pretty convenient, right (Y/n)? With Sammy out of the picture... you could finally act up on your real feelings, and that oh it was a relief, wasn't it?” she asked with a smirk as you clenched your jaw and narrowed you eyes.

“Shut up.” you hissed “You don't know a thing about me.”

“Don't I?” she asked with a smirk, looking down for a minute “I mean look at the heart monitor, your heart rate has picked up just at the mere mention of it. Who do you think is the liar now?”

“Even if I don't have a single fucking reason to answer to you-” your eyes involuntarily fell on the other heart monitor, your own heart skipping a beat as you thought about it “It's none of your business if I wanted to be with Dean or not.”

“Oh by all means, of course it's not. I just said, I am trying to get to know you better here (Y/n), that's all. I'm just a little curious, seeing as he managed to knock you up-” she glanced at your belly with a smirk “After so many years, I mean, you must have felt really guilty to betray Sam like this.”

“I did not betray him.” you clenched your jaw, trying desperately not to let her words get to you but deep down you knew she was saying the truth.

“Sure, because he was dead. And that sounded like a reason good enough for what you did, right (Y/n)? But we both know it was all to make yourself feel better, to make yourself think that what you did with the older Winchester was alright because Sammy would want you to be happy. But tell me, (Y/n), did you ever manage to fight it? Did you ever manage to get rid of this guilt? Did you ever manage to really forget all about Sam when you were in Dean's arms? Did you ever not think about him, and how he'd feel, when Dean kissed you? When he held you? When he made-”

“Enough!” you shouted, barely holding back the tears “Enough alright?!” you screamed, your heart tightening inside your chest. Maybe she claimed that she just wanted to know you but it was all about cracking you up. Besides, even if in the past you'd much rather have taken the physical torturing, cutting and slicing and everything, not really saying much then either you now prefered this up to some point – because it actually hurt more if you were honest – just for the sake of your child.

Your child. Yours and Dean's child. You still couldn't shake the thought off your mind, that or the shock.

“What the hell do you want to get from me with this huh?” your voice was laced with tears “And why does it even fucking matter? Sam was dead! He died, and I had to let go of him. I had to move on because if I didn't I would go crazy. I had a child to take care of and- and Dean was always there! I couldn't- I tried to fight it, I tried to fight it like hell but I couldn't!” you ended up shutting your eyes as a way to keep yourself from crying.

“Of course you couldn't.” her voice was so calm it just angered you all the more “Just like you could never get over Sam, right (Y/n)?” she asked with a smirk “You never truly forgot him, even if you know your heart really aches for Dean now, Sam is always there. At the back of your mind, at the back of your heart and soul, always just trying to find a way back in and now he's alive! Tell me, how did it feel to open the door and see him standing there? Just when you thought you were going to get your happily ever after he came back, and everybody's talking about it. Because oh you might be out, (Y/n), but all hunters are talking about it and they are sure for one thing: You are all coming back to the life, and they would do anything for you too.”

“So that's what it all is about.” you scoffed “So much for getting to know me, right?” you glared at her, even if your vision was blury.

“No” she said so simply, grinning at you “It's all about getting to know you... and Dean, and how willing you are to come back. Because truthfully, Sam seems all for it. Considering he came back to find his girlfriend having moved on with his own brother, and ouch for that, I don't think he can even dream about the apple-pie life with you anymore.”

You pursed your lips as you looked at her “What the hell is that supposed to mean now?”

“You know-” she chuckled “Just between us women-” she seemed to totally be ignoring your question “Who's better in bed?” You only groaned, rolling your eyes at her. But you didn't respond and she really didn't wait for an answer.

“But we both know the point is you now have a child with each one of them so let me ask you the real golden question: Who is it going to be, (Y/n)?”

~*~

“What the hell do you mean he's dead?” Dean whisper-shouted in the phone as Sam mumbled a small thank you to the sheriff, and a nod and forced smile from Dean, and both of them started making their way to the Impala as Dean kept talking on the phone with their angel friend.

“No, Cas I understand what dead means but if- if he's dead then (Y/n) would be free and she'd- she'd have called.” he let out a frustrated sigh. Sam kept glancing at him while reading the papers he had just received.

A small pause followed as Dean heard what Castiel was telling him. Sam tried to catch some sort of reaction but the only thing he got was a frown and clenched jaw which honestly had not left his face ever since he found out you were taken.

“Fine, fine. Well, Sam and I are gonna look into the house and car part, I think we already got a lead. You keep working with Crowley to find more about these douchebags and once we can locate them I'll text you.” he said, fetching his car's keys as they both walked towards the Impala.

He pursed his lips, humming at something Castiel said and in the end mumbled an “Alright, see you soon I hope. Oh and tell Crowley that the moment I see him I'll stab him in the face for not doing his job properly.” he said with a growl and didn't wait for a reply, ending the call and stuffing his phone in his pocket.

“What did he say?” Sam asked as they took their places in the car.

“First, where are we going?” he asked, turning on the car.

“Well, although there is not much here there is this agency. They had a video of a car, surprise just like the one we are looking for, take a stop there and I'm sure they are not selling any gas.” Sam mumbled, showing him pictures along with the address.

“They sure as hell ain't.” Dean scoffed as he drove out of the parking lot.

Sam let out a heavy sigh, leaning back on the seats “Do you think... do you think this our chance? At finding her?” he asked reluctantly, his worry still getting the best of him.

“It has to be.” Dean clenched his jaw.

Maybe they wouldn't utter it. Maybe none of them dared to say it out loud but they both knew how the other felt because at this point they had come to feel the exact same thing: fear. They had both always felt the need to hide their feelings, Dean more than Sam actually, but when it came to your well-being it felt as if the two men that were willing to face the devil any given moment couldn't deal with this, the woman they loved being taken. They could both slice vampires, and werewolves and demons anytime but realizing something could happen to you felt like someone had put the fear of gods in them.

Maybe, in the small pause that followed as Dean clenched his fists on the steering wheel and Sam pursed his lips, closing his eyes shut, they both realized that they were actually scared beyond belief. They wouldn't say it, no they didn't want to let the other know, or worse admit it to themselves by saying it out loud, but for the first time they felt like it was actually their first hunt. They had to save only one person, but it was someone so important to both of them so nothing could help them shake off this feeling of uneasiness and fear.

Sam let out a shaky sigh, finally opening his eyes and sniffling slightly “You know, they called from her work. Said they needed her today to fill up for someone else and I- I couldn't come up with something. For like the first time in my life.” he breathed out “But you know the hardest?”

“What?” Dean asked in a gruff voice.

Sam let out a humorless laugh “I struggled to explain who I was. I just- I couldn't. I didn't know what to tell them.” he shrugged, a little numbly and Dean didn't say a thing, only clenched his jaw.

Sam shook his head “Anyway- What did Cas say?” he asked, trying to swallow the lump in his throat.

“Well, you won't believe that.” Dean said in a hoarse voice and Sam turned his head to look at him with a frown.

“Surprise me, I'm pretty much ready for everything at this point.” Sam said, rubbing his head.

“The guy's dead.” Dean mumbled, pressing on the pedal harder.

“Wait- you were talking about the demon before?” realization dawned on the younger Winchester.

“And that's not all of it.” Dean spoke up again “Seems like he has not been working alone all this time, and it really wasn't a revenge game. They just seemed to want us to know who to look for, that's all.”

“Who- who has he been working with then?” Sam blinked.

“Cas doesn't really know. He and Crowley will look into it, but it seems like these dudes are really into the game. They made sure nobody noticed a fucking thing and when the job was done, guess what? They are the ones that offed him.” Dean let out a sigh and Sam's eyebrows shot up.

“What?”

“Yep, they got to work together but seems like they were just using him. No surprise. It's the way they killed him that surprised Cas and Crowley, though. Those dudes either are professional assassins or creepy collectors with weird-ass habits. They had used all kinds of tools in a way that would make them top hunters, but not in our way.” Dean's eyes stayed focused on the road as he spoke, making sure to hurry.

“Not in the good way, I see.” Sam sighed “What are we even dealing with here?”

~*~

“Screw you.” you growled at her, turning your head to the side and avoid looking at her.

“I mean-” of course she ignored it “-If you realize it you now have a child with each one of them, although you practically kicked the older one out.” she said with a shrug and your eyebrows shot up.

“How the hell do you know that?” you narrowed your eyes, finally looking at her.

“We always like to keep up with things.” she shrugged casually “I just wanted to ask, I know that you didn't mean it when you asked him to stay away from Mary but... how hurt were you exactly to ask something like this of him?” she leaned forward, watching your reaction carefully.

You felt the familiar pang in your chest as you remembered the events that took place not so long ago. For a moment you clenched your fists and shut your eyes, recalling in just a few seconds all of the things that had happened afterwards. Things you both regretted and not.

“None of your business.” you hissed, opening your eyes to look at her.

“Of course, I was just curious you know.” she leaned back in her chair “Seeing how perfect of a family you two had, it's amazing how all it took to make it all crash was just Sam's return.”

“Although it's none of your business. It's not just a return. Sam's the father of my daughter, I loved him for so long I couldn't just forget about him even when he was dead. That or how I felt for him.” you huffed, daring to take a glimpse of the heart monitor.

“Yes, but you did fall for his brother, didn't you?” she grinned and you narrowed your eyes “Tell me how that exactly felt, (Y/n)?”

“What's the point of all of this?” you sighed “What the hell do you really want?”

“I would like names and locations of every hunteralong with the passcodes to each and every Men of Letters database held in the bunker.” she gave you a shrug “But I'll get that, in due time. Now where were we? Oh right, (Y/n) (Y/l/n), in love with both Winchester brothers, loved deeply by both of them and soon mother of two. Hunter, one of the most respected in the job, and currently living the dream. Apple-pie life and all, although honestly it seems more like a nightmare. Did I sum it up well enough?”

“I think you forgot the part where you all-but-beat a pregnant woman and dragged her to a basement, ready to now torture the hell out of her for information.” you said firmly and she just laughed at you, shaking her head.

“Nonsense. We made sure the kid was alright all the time.”

“Oh wow, I should be thankful then right?” you said sarcastically “Just go to hell.”

“Like the one you've been living in for most of your life, huh?” she asked simply.

“Spare me.” you rolled your eyes “If my love life is so interesting too you, you're in no luck today sorry.”

“I have to say, it really is something interesting.” he chuckled “And I would really like to get your boyfriend's opinion on that but- Are you not gonna tell me you and Dean are no longer together? Or do you still dread to say it out loud. I mean he chose his brother after all. He left you for Sam's happiness, not caring for a single moment about what you would feel or what you really wanted- who you really wanted. He didn't even ask you, he sacrificed himself, he sacrificed you and he sacrificed your family... your happiness and your love. I don't doubt you still hold a grudge on him, now.”

“That doesn't matter to you.” you grumbled, understanding fully well what she was trying to do. She wasn't just casually making a talk with you, of course that you didn't believe from the first moment. But now you understood that she was actually trying to break you down emotionally so that you could tell her anything she wanted without having to risk an innocent human life. You knew if you were a monster she wouldn't hesitate for a second to use force and the worst of torturing methods on you.

“Of course, no. But I'm sure it does to you, and oh so much to Dean. He's really been going downhill lately. You probably don't know it but he spends even more time in bars, drinking his pain away lately. If it was anybody else I know they would probably be in the hospital from all this drinking but- not him. And of course he takes it out on every piece of furniture he could back in his motel.” she said “Or at least the first motel he stayed in.”

“Is this going somewhere?” you scoffed “I'm sorry if I'm too busy to give a fucking care when my child's heartbeat echoes in my ears!”

“Your child, of course.” she chuckled “So you believe me now, don't you? Trust me on this (Y/n), I have no reason to lie to you about this. Honestly, it is only making things harder for us with all the trying to find other ways to get information out of you.” she shrugged “Tell me though how does this feel, (Y/n)?” she leaned forward with a smirk.

“How does it feel to learn that your dream has come true in the middle of your worst nightmare which of course is that both brothers are in love with you? If I am correct, you had actually been trying for a child with Dean, haven't you? I remember you talking about it with that friend from the restaurant. Ah I always forget her name.” she sighed, shaking her head.

“What?” you blinked, eyes widening.

“Doesn't matter. Come on, tell me now: How does this feel, (Y/n)?” she looked down for a moment “Considering how your heart is speeding up I am guessing the emotions are... mixed? I mean, you've always wished for this, haven't you? Deep down you wanted to have a family with Dean, to have his kids, to spend your life with him. I just-” she let a small sighed, laughing softly “-I just was wondering about something, something I have yet to understand... for how long have you wanted this, (Y/n)?”

“What do you mean?” you breathed out.

“I mean for how long have you really wanted Dean.” she stated “Really wanted, (Y/n). Really were in love with him. Really felt things for Dean Winchester. Not when you realized it, not when you lived together and not when you started trying for a family. Those moments I do know about. I mean when it all really began, because I am sure of one thing, that I don't doubt you know deep down as well-” she paused, as you practically held your breath. The heart monitor next to you almost going crazy in the deafening silence that she let rest between the two of you.

“It was so long before Sam's death.”

~*~

“Answer me!” Dean roared, pushing the poor guy's chair back as he growled at him.

“Dean, please.” Sam sighed, trying to pull his brother back but the older Winchester just shrugged him off.

“I made a very simple question. Who owned that car?” Dean growled, his face dangerously close.

“I- I told you we don't know, sir.” he said, fear lacing his features.

“Cut the crap!” he shouted “It pulled in front of your parking lot only three days ago. The person that was driving it got in and out of here in just two hours, and I don't think they really had a thing for watching pictures of the dog-houses you sell.” he hissed “Now tell me!”

“Dean” this time it was Castiel's warning voice.

“We- we cannot provide this information, sir. I- I apologize.” he swallowed thickly and Dean only let a growl, giving him a sarcastic smile.

“You can't- you can't- you-” he chuckled before helet the chair down properly “He can't. Right.” he nodded his head before turning back to him and punching him right in the face “I don't think I made myself clear here: Those bastards have a woman with them. They kidnapped her and right now you are helping them get away with it and who knows what else they may have already done to her. So either you speak or I get the answers out of you myself.”

“Dean, no hey.” Castiel placed a hand on his back, but managed to pull him away by using more force than his brother “Let Sam handle this.” he gave him a stern look and Dean's shoulders fell for a moment, although his jaw remained clenched.

“Look here-” Sam stepped in, lips pursed “We are not the bad guys here, if anything we are only trying to save someone very important to us. If you don't help us, I'm sorry to tell you but my brother and me will be the last thing you'll have to worry about.” the calmness in both his voice and face was enough to scare the hell out of Chuck himself, much less this poor guy.

“I- I don't know much, I swear.” his voice shook.

“But you do know something.” Sam stated, his chest puffed out as he looked down at him “What?” he nearly growled as the guy didn't make a move.

“I saw them speak with Mr Collins- he's the one responsible for selling the older houses, old-looking, rusty or even abandoned places for repair and everything. They signed some papers, I think-”

“Bring them here.” Sam cut him off sharply, his tone almost matching that of Dean's just a few minutes ago “Now!” he roared, and at times like this – when it came to the woman they both loved – the resemblance between the brothers was all-but-evident.

~Two hours Later~

Grunting.

Pain.

Struggling

More pain.

Huffing.

Fighting.

Blood.

It all happened so fast for you to understand. There was one thing you were sure about, though: they had found you. In the room it was only Sam and Dean but you knew that Castiel had to be somewhere close. Maybe not inside because of the symbols you saw on the walls but at least it comforted you in a way. The brunette whose name you never learnt had left you and Toni and actually never returned, but as you learned, while Dean threatened her for taking you, she was long dead.

The first you actually saw was Dean and saddly she was the one that had a hold of him. The moment your eyes met his you actually found yourself unable to hold your tears back anymore. As soon as he took in the state you were in you could see his eyes fill with ten times the guilt they held before. He was blaming himself for this, you knew he was. And he was so sorry for it, he was sorry for letting you out of his sight and he was sorry for all of this happening to you. You didn't have much time to talk about it though, not that you could with her there, trying to tie him down. But she had no luck when Sam slammed the door open and charged in. Dean was quick to act and soon the fight started.

But everything was going on so fast you couldn't understand. You were caught in your own struggle of braking free, which would have been totally impossible if it wasn't for Sam in a haste managing to free at least one of your hands and then running off because Dean needed his help. It felt almost impossible to comprehend how she alone could fight off two of the most skilled hunters you'd met inyour life but it seemed like these British hunters really knew a thing or two. She had all kinds of tools lying around out and she could do a number on them pretty easily.

In between all the groaning, huffing and grunting as well as the still beeping monitors – the one attached to your heart going crazy – the objects falling and others breaking and your heavy breathing it all felt to happen in a blur. She slammed Sam on one side, your eyes widening when you heard the loud groan that left his lips, and before you could even think about it she used a spell on Dean to... choke him? You almost felt your heart stop, without even thinking – much less understanding it – you launch forward on top of her and pulled her away, elbowing her right in the face. You finally heard Dean gasp for air and cough as he started to breath but at what happened next you felt your own breath leave your lungs.

You didn't even see it coming but in the moment and as you had an arm around her neck, trying to make her at least pass out it felt like her instincts kicked in and she grabbed the first thing she could find, a silver knife, to push you off by at least cutting you slightly.

If only you knew it was going to land in your stomach, stabbing you.

~~~

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