Crow's feathers - Naruto fanfiction

Chapter 15 Truth

Three figures made their way through the mountains that surrounded Wind Country. Carefully they made sure they stayed undetected. Fighting was not part of the plan and would be avoided if possible.
When the village of Suna came within view, one of the figures came to a halt.
Taryn stared out across the desert at the village entrance in the hillside. Three years since she had last seen those gates. It still looked the same.
She hadn’t even noticed that Itachi and Kisame were already up ahead until she felt a hand on her shoulder. She jumped and looked up.
Itachi looked at her with an emotionless expression. He turned his head towards Suna and then looked back at her. “Come,” he said, “we have a long way to go until the meeting place.” He turned around and hurried back to Kisame who was waiting for them half a mile away. He gave Taryn an amused smile when she passed him, but she ignored it and strode further down the mountain path.
Itachi was right.
There was no use in dwelling in the past. There was only going forward.

 

***

 

Taryn stood in the mountains surrounding Suna. She had stood here before, unable to head any further. But this time she could. She could finally return home. Still, she postponed it a moment longer and took in the beauty of the desert. How much she had missed the sight of it.
The journey from Konoha had taken three days. Tsunade had offered her an escort, but she had declined. She preferred being alone.
In her bag was a decree from Konoha with conditions for a new alliance. She was to give it to the council of Suna.
Taryn frowned. What would she find when she entered those gates? The funeral was probably already over. Had they chosen a new Kazekage yet? She knew she would only get the answers when she entered the village, but it was harder than she could have thought.
Strange how leaving the village had been so much easier.
Taryn took a deep breath and started off towards the gates.

***

“What do you mean she’s gone?!” Naruto shouted at his teacher. He and Sakura both had come to see him to ask after Taryn. Now that they knew how much Sasuke hated her, they wanted to know the truth and since their teammate would never give them the answers, they had decided to get them from Kakashi.
Kakashi looked at them calmly. “I mean she’s gone. She went back to Suna.”
“Suna!” Naruto shouted.
“But Kakashi-sensei,” Sakura said, “she is banished from Suna.”
“She was,” he answered her, “but the Kazekage died and the council withdrew her banishment.” “Just like that?” Sakura gasped.
“Yes,” Kakashi answered, “just like that. Did you need something from her?” Even though he knew fully well why they were here.
They seemed hesitant to answer him and exchanged glances. It was Naruto that answered the question. “What Sasuke said,” he started, “he said she was working with that Itachi guy. Is that…? I mean… she was there at the inn when they came looking for me… but… she saved Sasuke’s life and…”
Kakashi sighed.
“Sensei,” Sakura said, “is Taryn working for that Itachi guy?”
“No,” Kakashi said, “but I think she’s in contact with him.”
“Whaaat?! His students gasped.
“You should know,” Kakashi continued, “that Itachi and Taryn have a long history together. They have formed a strong bond. They understand eachother, always have. Both of them were their family’s prodigy. Both of them became Chuunin and afterwards Jounin at a very young age. They faced eachother in the arena at the Chuunin Exams and tied in the final match. I wasn’t in Konoha at that time, but I heard the story. The battle lasted over an hour and neither wanted to give up. They knew eachother from the Academy in Konoha though they were in different years and when Taryn fled to Konoha they became very close.”
“They were in love,” Sakura said softly.
“No,” Kakashi said, “not then. That was later.”
“So Sasuke was right,” Naruto said, “she helped Itachi when he killed the Uchiha clan.”
“No,” Kakashi said, “she had already left Konoha by then, but it was around the same time ,so I understand why he may believe so.”
“But you said she’s in contact with him.”
“I think she might be, but it is as Naruto said, she saved Sasuke’s life. I do not think she will try to kill him. She came here because of him, to stop Orochimaru. But she was too late.”
“She has the same mark as Sasuke,” Sakura remembered.
Kakashi nodded. “Yes, he got to her too.”
He didn’t want the conversation to go this direction, so he changed the subject. “All you need to know is that the Hokage trusted her enough to let her into this village without a guard. And she was never officially declared a missing nin, even though she left Konoha and ran with criminals for a while.”
“No one in the village seems to trust her much,” Sakura said.
“That’s not so strange now, is it,” Kakashi told her, “she was banished from Suna and most villagers feel that she betrayed Konoha too by running away after being offered refugee.” “Kakashi-sensei…” Naruto said hesitantly, “why was Taryn banished from Suna?” He had been dying to know for a while now.
“Why do you want to know?” Kakashi asked, “just out of curiosity?”
“No,” Naruto said, “I want to understand.”
Kakashi stared at him for a long time. “How about you?” he looked at Sakura, “is this some plan to get closer to Sasuke?”
Sakura blushed. It had stared out that way, but not anymore. Taryn had saved Sasuke after all. “No sensei,” she said softly.
Kakashi nodded. “Alright. I will tell you.” He sighed. “I should tell you that not many people know the truth. The Hokage knew. And my guess is that lord Hyuuga was also informed when he was asked to take her in. A handful of others may know, but that ‘s it.”
His students nodded.
“You have seen Gaara, haven’t you,” Kakashi said, “you know he’s a Jinchuuriki. His father, the Kazekage infused him with the One Tail to create the ultimate weapon.”
Naruto nodded. He already knew that.
“The problem with such a weapon is that it can get hard to control. In this case that is exactly what happened. You have seen what it has lead to in the arena. Gaara was considered a danger to the village and is father sought to kill him.”
“Yes,” Naruto said, “he told me that.”
“He would kill his own child?” Sakura asked in horror.
Kakashi ignored their comments and continued. “Since the sand protected Gaara of its own accord, none of the Kazekage’s assassins succeeded. They all lost their own lives instead. The Kazekage couldn’t afford to lose any more shinobi, but then he found one he knew would succeed..”
“Who?” Naruto asked.
“Taryn,” Sakura understood.
Kakashi nodded. “Yes. Taryn. Ever since Gaara was born, she had taken care of him. While everyone else was afraid of him, she was not. She loved him more than anything and he trusted her completely. The sand never harmed her.”
Naruto grew an angry expression. He suddenly realized why Taryn had so much pain in her eyes whenever she looked at Gaara. “He would ask her to kill her own brother?! His own daughter?! His own son?!”
“Yes. He did that,” Kakashi said.
“But that’s cruel!” It had been cruel enough to fuse a child with a tailed beast, but this…
“That may be so,” Kakashi said, “but he was still her superior. Not her father, but the Kazekage and she ignored direct orders.”
“Are you sticking up for him?!” Naruto shouted.
Kakashi looked at him calmly. “I’m not saying I approve, but I’m saying it as it is. You want to become Hokage one day, don’t you? That is more than just appointing missions. It is making difficult decisions.”
“You’re saying he’s right?!”
Kakashi ran a hand through his hair. This was harder then he had thought. “Taryn still claims it was a loyalty test. He never liked it how close she was with Gaara. Her loyalty should be with her village and the Kazekage. But it wasn’t. She wouldn’t kill Gaara and she was banished for it.” His eyes saddened for a moment. “For one thing, the Kazekage has always been a strict man. He expects obedience from everyone. The two of them never got along.”
Naruto and Sakura were both silent for a moment. “Taryn… chose to be banished?” Sakura asked softly.
“Because she loves her brother,” Kakashi said.

“Love is more important than honor. Honor is worthless without love.”