Kakashi slowly came to as he lay on the matress, comfortably covered with blankets, Tsunami, Tazuna's daughter, walked over to him with a slight scold to her voice. "Well, waking up are you? Are you alright?"
"No, but I will be in about a week or so."
"The sharingan is an increadible power! But doesn't the starin it puts on your body make you wonder if it's worth it?" Sakura asked. He just turnned his head to look at Minari who was mixing medicine for him. She smiled, truely happy to see her Father awake and for the most part well. But Kakashi could see the fear still lingering in her eyes, the exceptional amount of worry. He reached up and rested his hand on the top of her head.
"It's okay, Minari, I'll be fine. Stop worrying." She pursed her lips, making them a tight line. Once again it seemed she had gone silent, unwanting to talk to the people around her. Or at least not say anything to make them not trust her again... SHe had done something she shouldn't have. But it was for a good cause. If Minari hadn't let it happen then...
Tazuna's voice broke her thoughts. "This time, you took down your strongest foe yet. So we can probebly relax for awhile."
"I can't get my mind off that masked kid..." Sakura mused next to Minari.
"That mask is worn by the most elite and secret ninja from the village hidden in the mist. Shinobi hunters all wear them. Their unit is codenamed the undertaker squad because they dispose of corpses so thoroughly, it's almost as though they never existed... Even after death, a shinobi's corpse may yeild up it's secrets, exposing the secrets of the skills it had mastered, as well as retaining the aura of the chakaras it was steeped in in the ninja's native land. Even the ingrediants of any drugs or potions that body consumed become and open book. In the same way, when I die, if an enemy where to take possession of my remains, the corpse would reveal all of the anatomical idiosyncracies unique to possessors of the sharingan. In the worst case, the enemy might gain enough information to be able to duplicate and master that power. Ninja corpses tell to many tales. Basically, shinobi hunters specialize in tracking down and eliminating rouge ninja and obliterating their remains in order to protect the secrets of their home village from the rest of the world. Silently and without a trace. That's how ninja leave the world." Sakura shivered from the older mans words.
"So, Zabuza's corpse will be dismembered and destroyed? That's so creepy!!!" Minari and the two boys could easily agree with her. It was indeed very creepy. But unfortunatly it was a fact that they all had to live with.
Minari sat the bowl of medicine she was working on so it could air for awhile. It was a lot stronger two or so hours later. So, as her dear Father decided to get more rest, she moved on to treat Sasuke's wound. He would never show it, but he was hurt a little worse than originally thought. Naruto and Sakura sat around talking to Tazuna as she motioned for him to turn around and remove his shirt.
"Why should I?" He asked sceptically. But after looking into her blank face for afew seconds, he huffed and did as she asked. Sasuke winced when she touched the area Zabuza had slammed him down on. Deffinatly hurt worse than originally thought. Minari had learned some in medic jutsu's and treating wounds. There was no wound but very deep brusing. So she focused her chakara and placed her hand on the area that seemed most tender. Sasuke was surprised when she patted his shoulder and got up.
Once again she proved herself better than him. Sasuke couldn't help but feel just a little angry. But he noticed that... he didn't feel as angry as he used to. Minari wished she was better at medic jutsu's so she could help Kakashi. But the best she could do was make medicine for him at the moment. She felt so usless!
Sitting next to Kakashi, Minari looked upon him in worry. Naruto and Sakura noticed and really felt for her. She must really love him. Minari felt so bad. She had just up and left this man for the longest time without even thinking about how he would feel with her gone! Not only that but she.... it's not that she choose not to talk, but more she was in the habit of staying quiet so she wouldn't be hit or yelled at. Of course Minari knew very well that Kakashi would never lay a hand on her, but there was that unconcious fear from experiance. She reached down and twisted the bangle around her wrist, finding comfort in the small silver object.
Sasuke relaxed, watching Minari take up the medicine bowl again. As she worked she whistled a tune, keeping the atmosphere cheerful for a change. But she had to stop when ever Naruto and Sakura inched their way over and slowly reached out to pull at Kakashi's mask. They moved it... maybe a centemeter before Kakashi's eyes snapped open and he sat up. The two idiots scrambled away as Minari put her hand on his shoulder, questioning him with her eyes.
He didn't get it, something just felt wrong. Had Kakashi forgotten something? "Hey, what's wrong Kakashi-sensei?" Naruto asked, noticing the confused face he wore.
"Of course. Shinobi hunters who manage corpse disposals are supposed to destroy the bodies of those they kill at once, right on the spot." Kakashi mused.
"So?" Sakura said.
"Don't you get it? How did the kid in the mask dispose of Zabuza's corpse?"
"Huh? How should I know?! He took the body with him."
"Yes, he did... even though all he needed to take home as proof he made the kill was the head. And there is a mystery surrounding the weapons that the hunter used to dispatch his prey..." That statement had Sasuke thinking back. What had he used? Senbon...
"No way..." Saskue said, realization finally setting in.
"Yes. Way."
"What the hell nonsense are you all mumbling on about?" Tazuna asked.
"... It's very likely that Zabuza... is still alive." Naruto, Sakura and Tazuna all had the same look of pure shock and fear. Sasuke still sat there, unbelieveing that he could still be alive after that! He looked over at Minari who was just looking down at the floor saddly, the bowl still in her hands. What was that he saw on her face? Was that... guilt?
"What the heck are you talking about?!?!" Naruto yelled.
"But Kakashi-sensei, you checked to be sure Zabuza was dead didn't you?!" Sakura asked.
"I made sure of it. Buuuut... a death-like trance could have created a very convincing illusion of the real thing. The senbon needles that shinobi hunter used can be deadly if they hit a vital spot. If not the mortality rate is surprisingly low. And, remember they were originally desined as medical treatment tools. Shinobi hunters and all members of any villages corpse disposla squad must possess an intimate and thorough knowledge of human physiology. It would be simple for one of them to place a person into a near-death state. First of all, the masked boy went to the trouble of lugging off Zabuza's heavy carcass. Secondly, the acupuncture needles he used as weapons, while potentially deadly, can also be used to inflict non-mortal injury. These two points suggest that the kid's objective was to give the illusion of killing Zabuza... while he rescused him."
Minari closed her eyes, trying not to think about it. But Sasuke realized something else very important and stood with clentched fists and red clouding the edge of his vision. He walked the short distance around the other ninja and roughly lifted Minari by the front of her sweater, tossing her across the room and into a wall. The minute she made contact, a very pained sound found it's way out of her.
Naruto held him back. "What the hell Sasuke?!"
"You knew!" He yelled at her. "You knew what he was doing didn't you! But you still let him get away!" Minari didn't move. She didn't say a word, nor did she look up. Sasuke struggled in Naruto grip, wanting to just murder Minari for this. She betrayed them! And after he had trusted her! After they all had trusted her! "That man was trying to kill us but in the end you just couldn't stand to let your precious teacher die so you let him get away! Admit it!"
"Sasuke, that's enough!" Kakashi said. But he was far from done.
"Why don't you just go back to him if you're so bent on protecting him?! Because it's very obvious you don't want to protect us!"
"Minari, why aren't trying to deffend yourself?! Tell him he's wrong" Naruto yelled.
But the small kunoichi just stayed still, leaned against the wall and looking down at her black clad feet. Minari twister he bangle again before finally looking up at them. "There is nothin to deffend..." Naruto felt his heart drop, Sakura lost her breath, and Sasuke's anger just turned to rage. "Sasuke's right. I knew what the masked boy was doing, but I let him take Zabuza away." It was quiet for a minute before she finally went on. "It's not that I was trying to protect Zabuza, okay? My only concern was... was the boy... He is someone who is very precious to me and I won't allow him to get hurt because of god damn Zabuza!"
Naruto slowly let go of Sasuke, but never took his wide eyed stare off of Minari. She didn't move, she didn't speak again, there was absolute silence. Kakashi finally motioned her over, having her sit next to him, and hugging her tightly. It was a surprising gesture, and one that pushed Minari over the edge, making her cry for the first time in a very long time. She didn't sob though. She just let small tears roll down her face and onto her Fathers flak vest. "I know, I know. It's okay." He comforted her until she finally looked up at him and smiled.
"Thank you." Naruto sat next to Minari and smiled, giving her a hug as well. Sakura soon followed sute, filling the young ninja with such happiness. Sasuke though... he couldn't bring himself to even look at the obsidian eyed girl.
"Sasuke, preperation is a ninja's most important skill. But you very well can't prepare if you won't even look your teammate in the eye." Kakashi said.
"I don't know how any of you can."
"Wait, you said preperation is a ninja's most important skill, but right now you can't even move. What are you going to do?" Sakura asked.
The older man just laughed though. "I'm going to increase your training schedule!"
"What?! Training?! But Kakashi-sensei, what will a little extra training now matter with what we're up against?!! Our opponent is a ninja so powerful that even with your sharingan mirror-eye power he almost defeated you!"
"And when I was beleaguered Sakura... think about who it was that rescued me."
"Minari?" Everyone asked.
"Well... yes... but who rescued both her and I when she was hurt? You three are all maturing, progressing rapidly, your powers growing exponentually. Especially yours Naruto!! You've grown the most!" Naruto's grin spread across his face and Sakura looked over at him. Well he does seem more grown up, she thought. "But that being said, the skills I teach you now will be an interim thing only, to tide us over until I recover enough to take over."
"But Kakashi-sensei!" Sakura interupted. "Even if Zabuza is alive, how can can we just train without knowing when he may return and strike again?"
"An excellent question. But once a person has been placed into a near-death trance, it is quiet some time before their body returns to it's previous state of health and readiness."
"So we'll train while we're waiting! Could be fun!" Naruto was deffinatly excited now! But a voice floated into the room that succeeded in crushing that excitment.
"It won't be fun for YOU." There in the doorway stood a young boy, around eight or nine, with dark hair and eyes and a striped fishermans hat. His face lightly resembled that of Tsunami's. Sakura was confused, Sasuke was shocked, Minari didn't care, and Naruto... well...
"Who the heck are you?!" He screamed.
Tazuna though was very happy to see the small boy. "Inari!! Where have you been?!!"
"Welcome home Grandpa!" he ran to hug his grandfather, having been worried for his safety.
"Inari, greet our guests properly. They're the esteemed ninja who brought your Grandfather home safely." but Inari just lightly looked over to the four genin and one Jounin.
"But mama, they're all going to die."
"LISTEN YOU LITTLE TWERP!!!" Minari had hold of naruto's jacket so he could kill the kid.
"No one can beat Gato and his men.
"YOU BRAT!" Now Sakura helpped in keeping the blonde idiot back.
"Pull yourself together naruto, he's just a little boy!" With a very big mouth, Minari thought.
Naruto stopped fighting them, and instead choose a different route to fix this kids view. "Hey! Pay attention little guy! I'm a superhero who'll someday become the most extreme ninja. My name will be Hokage, the fire shadow! Gato? 'Gateau'? This guy's name is chocolate! You can't seriously expect me to be afraid of that!"
Inari didn't care. What was a hero anymore? After all the one person he saw as the greatest hero to ever live.... and Gato had... No. No longer could he really believe tha there was a hero anywhere. "Hero? You're dumb! There's no such thing!!!"
"WH-WHAT?!!" Naruto yelled as both Minari and Sakura held him back.
"I said quit it!!"
"If you don't wanna die, go home now!" Inari turned and began to leave the room. Sasuke sat idely by, watching and not really giving a damn.
Tazuna looked slightly disterbed by the young boys outburst. "Where are you going Inari?"
As he was walking out the door he said over his shoulder. "I'm goping to watch the ocean from my room." It was quiet then, no one making a sound, even Naruto having gone still and allowing the girls to relax. Tazuna turned to them with an apologetic look.
"Please forgive him." But Naruto wasn't having that. After a few minutes he finally left the room and went after the kid, anger, pure rage pumping through his veins at what the little snot had said. He could deffinatly see how he and the old man were realated... He was contemplating how exactly he was going to beat the brat when... he heard crying. It was coming from Inari's room. And after hearing that... he just couldn't do it. Naruto could hurt the kid... because he was already in pain.
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Outside, kakashi stood with crutches supporting him, Minari next to him, and the younger genin in front of him. Now was the time he would teach them how to really understand everything they needed too, just by playing two childhood games. "So, it's decided. The new training regimine begin today!" He said happily.
"Yeah!!!!" Once again, Naruto was just a little to excited for this.
"But first lets discusse the basis of your ninja powers, the body energies known as chakara."
"Uh... Right...." Okay, he had heard this somewhere before. "So, um... chakara. What are those again?" Minari facepalmed and shook her head in a hopeless manner.
"And you call yourself a ninja?! Did you sleep through every class you ever took?!" Sakura yelled, succeeding in blowing out Sasuke's eardrum. God, he actually thought he'd be better off standing next to Minari!
"Why don'y you just say I got in some really high quality nap time?" ............Right...........
Anyway, Kakashi looked over at Minari who held up her hand and tilted it to Sakura. She was deffinatly the best one for this right now. Walking text book..... "Alright then. Sakura?"
"Right! Pay attention Naruto! It's a pain, but I'll try to keep it simple! Try to find some storage space for this in that shiney smooth brain of yours." She went on with the shortened Naruto version of the chakara's lesson, talking about the chakara's of the body and the chakara's of the mind and spirit. Only mixed together do they really work. Naruto and the other students listened as she talked about the art techniques that are born of the combination of the two energies and the hand signes used to bring them forth.
But... Naruto really didn't care. "Yeah, yeah, whatever! I don't do so well with long explanations, but if you could just show me, my body can learn it!"
"Naruto's right." Sasuke said. "We all already employ the ninja art's and techniques."
"Not exactly. None of you yet have full mastery of your chakara. Now listen, as Sakura said, manipulation of the chakara refers to summoning physical and mental energies and combining them within your own body. Depending on which technique you wish to employ, the amount of energy you'd need to absorb would vary, as would the make up of the elements you'd need to combine. Right now, none of you three are using your chakara's effectivly! No matter how great the amount of chakara you summon and manupulate, if you can't maintain your balance, whatever the technique, not only will the effectiveness of your maneuver be cut in half, but you could blunder so badly the jutsu may not be released at all. And because you end up squandering your energies, you not only lack the stamina for a protracted fight, but you also develop significant vulnerabilities."
Minari looked over to her Father, having thought that this particular lesson wouldn't have had to happen until much later. She didn't want this lesson taught yet. "So... Uh... What do we do?" Naruto asked.
This lesson hurt to much to even think about. "You learn to controle your body through the hardest training. Go out on a limb and learn from experiance!" Why this lesson Father?! Minari yelled in her head. This very lesson was the same lesson...
"How do we do that?" Sakura asked. ...The same one taught the day before-
"How? We climb tree's and play catch." -Her friends died...