Adult-FanFiction.org : Naruto

Torima's Vessel	By : jenniferboka Category: Naruto > Het - Male/Female Views: 1194 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, nor any of the characters from it. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Chapter List
- 1
- 2
Torima's Vessel

Italics are thoughts. “Quotes” or ‘quotes’ indicate speech.

Prologue:

He could still see her hanging there in midair, hands fisted around the kunai driven deep into Kira’s vine-like, yet lance-like, arm that was driven through her sternum. “Aaahhhh! You bitch!” Kira had screamed, her banshee eyes glowing in madness. “I’ll kill you!” His sensei hadn’t even flinched as the next barrage of Kira’s punches effectively turned her into something resembling swiss cheese.

He could still see her slowly raising her head to look down at their enraged and tear-stained group on the cliff, SMILING. Her gaze had swept lovingly over all 12 faces and finally landed on him. He remembered hearing the shouts of his comrades-turned-family for her to ‘let them help her fight’; fists and jutsus futilely trying to break the strong Thick Bubble Barrier Jutsu she’d erected around the clearing, effectively keeping them out. The single flower tucked beneath each of their headbands glowing pale blue as she no doubt tried to stop the futility with her broadcasting capabilities. To keep you safe, she’d broadcasted, before the hostility had begun. I don’t need any distractions.

Somehow, he had thought to himself, as he watched her struggling to remain composed, she must have known it would come to this.

Her hands had then made the signs that had sealed her fate. He had watched in increasing awe and horror as Kira’s furious pummeling caused her blood to fall like rain, her eyes trained steadily on him as she had gone through the motions.

But still he had watched, committing her last movements to memory.

Tora… Ryu… Saru… O-ushi… Uma… Inu… Tori.

All had gone still as a clap of thunder was heard, the cheerful white clouds above turning a hateful, stormy black. “What is this? Going to drown me in a little rain?! YOU’RE PATHETIC, SANDABADO!” Kira had laughed, even as her head turned skyward.

Only then did Sano-sensei’s gaze break from his to stare hopefully up at the waiting storm. Her arms spread wide, welcoming the falling torrent as its soothing wash flowed, her eyes emitting an eerie pale blue light. Her mouth fell open and soon a piercing, unearthly screech had filled the void of silence, and from his sensei’s mouth flew a lone falcon enshrouded in the same pale blue light, disappearing into the clouds. “Do it, Torima,” she had whispered after it.

Make Kira pay for what she did to her, he had silently agreed. With that, continuous booms were heard from the clouds above. The ground had shook with the intensity as everyone on the cliff scrambled for cover. Everyone except him, crouching down to keep his balance: Sano-sensei’s one-time loyal student.

“WHAT IS THIS?!” Kira had cried, her eyes turning fearful for once.

“You’ll never haunt another soul ever again! IT’S OVER, KIRA!” he’d heard his sensei roar over the power of the storm. “No! NO! You can’t do this! I won’t let you!” Kira had tried wrenching her arm from Sano-sensei’s body, the metal kunai capably keeping the appendage lodged within her body.

“IT’S OVER! HEART CALLING THUNDER JUTSU!” Sandabado had screamed just as a lightning bolt engulfed her body, traveling through the well-placed kunai and into Kira’s writhing body. Bolts had continued slashing the air, so much so that the Bubble Barrier Jutsu shattered like a glass bowl on the floor. He had had to shield his eyes to keep from being blinded.

Then….it was over. The rain stopped. The thunder quieted. The lightning ceased. The flowers beneath their headbands stopped glowing. It was over.

He had sensed the chakra of his silent comrades looming nearer from their hiding spots, as they looked on the devastation that was once their home. The clearing was gone; nothing but cracked earth blistered with boulders remained. Trees had been split in two. The smell of smoke and burnt flesh draped the wind like a death shroud. Kira, in all her fearsome glory, had departed this realm the only way she knew how… on her pilfered body’s feet. Glued to the ground from which she’d gained her strength and abilities. Scorched in place, a permanent look of fright on the pilfered corpse’s face.

The younger Grass Village shinobi had come to ‘settle a score with Sandabado Koumori.’ Little had the newcomer known the power of the Nijuujinkaku that was Akirarabe or ''Kira' as they had called the treacherous demon that had mentally tortured their sensei for years. Once Kira had locked eyes with him, the poor guy hadn’t stood a chance.

A mournful gasp from Shina, Sano-sensei’s newest protégé, had brought his head around from the Grass Ninja’s corpse to the vulnerable group on top of the cliff. Some were on the verge of breaking down, like Shina, but most were standing mutely - some in clusters, others alone - trying to take it all in. “No, Koumori-sensei!” Shina finally wailed, collapsing to her knees in a fitful mess of emotions. All followed her gaze. What his mismatched eyes had seen made his heart sink and fists clench in the effort not to cry out himself. From his years training here, one thing had stuck in his mind: the motto of the elite shinobi Sano-sensei had taught him.

“To live, to die, to fight, to protect,” he had cited from memory, several others who knew it joining in, eyes trained upon the limp form. “Upon the master’s whim, he serves until his useful life is spent. He hides his face to never let the enemy see his thoughts. Never to show emotion unless his motives he regret. He trusts no one, not even himself, for even he is human. Such is the life of a shinobi.” For there, still impaled on the end of the vine spear was Sandabado Koumori, his one-time elite skills sensei, for all intents and purposes, dead.

Tsukashi. ‘My Kashi’, her favorite nickname for him; a name he’d never hear again he had thought, as he hung his head in mourning.

Tsukashi!

His head had snapped up in surprise. She can’t be… Her right arm twitched painfully… can she?

“She’s alive?” he’d whispered in disbelief. All her chakra’s gone. How can she still be alive?

The next moments had gone by in slow motion.

The vine spear breaking.

Sano-sensei’s limp body falling through the air.

Her left arm reaching out to grab something, anything.

Tsukashi!

He hadn’t thought; he’d just reacted.

In a flash of hand signs and a puff of smoke, he found himself bracing nearly twice his weight as he hit the ground, cradling his sensei’s smoldering body… if you could call it that. Her right arm and feet had been blown apart. The holes from Kira’s assault had been singed over, staunching the bleeding somewhat. Her lower chest had caved in where the vine spear had skewered her. Most of her organs had been compromised. Her face had been almost featureless from the many broken bones and the scarring. Every inch of her was scalded; down to the bone in some places.

Gingerly, he put a finger to the pulse point below her obviously-broken jaw. Her pulse was weak, but it was there. He put his ear above her nose, her mouth having been sealed shut by the heat of her jutsu. She was breathing - albeit it had been shallow and shaky - but she was breathing.

“Sensei?” He had cupped the side of her face gently, turning it toward him. “Sano-sensei, can you hear me?” His mind had opened wide, hoping for an answer.

Yes, Tsukashi, I can hear you… but just barely. I didn’t think the world could hurt this much.

“You do a good impression of an toasted marshmallow, Sensei. Too bad there’s no chocolate and graham crackers to sweeten you up,” he joked, hiding the disquiet from his voice. Her broadcast had echoed in his head; something she had learned to fix years ago when HE had first become an ANBU special operative. If she had trouble fixing it now…

You would say that now that I don’t have the strength to make you regret those words.

“SHE’S ALIVE!” he had yelled over his shoulder to the group still assembled apprehensively on the cliff’s edge. “But how?”

They didn’t call me “The Iron Maiden of Konohagakure” for nothing, he had heard the laughing tone echoing inside his skull, even if he hadn’t understood what she meant.

The others were down the hill in a matter of seconds; Ko, the ever-faithful Iwagakure medic-nin, pushing to the front. He had come immediately to a halt at Sano-sensei’s unoccupied side, advising the rowdy bunch behind him to ‘give him some space to work, for God’s sake’ and had begun palpating his sensei’s lower abdomen. “Sano-san, where does it hurt?”

Ko Danai, I didn’t think you were capable of asking stupid questions. Apparently, I was wrong. It hurts everywhere I can feel......and I can’t see. Can you do something about my sight? she had mentally questioned, isolating the broadcast to just Ko and himself.

“Well, I see this incident hasn’t affected your taste for jibes any, Sano-san,” Ko had said, glancing at him with an imperceptible shake of his head. The silent message that had passed between the two of them had been all too clear: he might not be able to save her.

“Kakashi, do you have a sharp kunai handy?” He had nodded in the affirmative. “Third scroll pocket,” hunching his right shoulder towards the unshakable medic-nin. Said kunai had then been extracted and positioned with the command to ‘hold her steady.’ Two well-placed slices later…“Okay. Try opening them now, Sano-san,” Ko instructed. With a pained grunt, she had managed it…with one problem. “Your pupils are clouded over,” the medic-nin had stated with an air of finality. “Looks like you’re officially blind, Sano-san.”

So the damn bird took the other one as payment for his help again. Great, I’m useless now.

“I wouldn’t say that,” Ko had answered, cracking his knuckles. Soon after, green chakra had surrounded his hands, which he had promptly laid atop her lower abdomen, intending to fix the worst-damaged areas first, before he lost her. Before they all lost her.

You’ll lose me one way or another, Ko.

“But Sano-san, I…”

Save it for someone who’ll benefit from it, Ko-sama. …I’m not worth the effort. We both know I’m in dire shape and that …today is probably my last. At least my greatest wish will be fulfilled.

“And what would that be, Sano-san?” Ko had asked.

…To die surrounded by those who care about me, not in battle.

“A rare luxury for shinobi, indeed,” the stoic medic-nin had agreed, recalling the green chakra back inside his person. His hands had remained where he first placed them.

“Ko-san? Will she make it?” whispered a stern voice over the medic-nin’s left shoulder. Both he and Ko had turned to see who had asked. It had been Byakko, Sano-sensei’s second-in-command. Byakko had always been an accountable, respectable leader in Sandabado’s occasional absence. “Is Koumori-sensei really blind? What do you mean ‘a rare luxury, indeed?’” Shina probed unsteadily. Ryoji, Sora, Wabichi, and Shina all had held each others hands, huddled together for support.

Don’t lie to them, Ko-sama. Please.

“Don’t worry, Shina. She’ll be alright,” the medic-nin had half-lied, turning to give them all a deceptive smile. “She’ll be feeling a lot better by tomorrow.” With that statement of false confidence, some of the others had moved off to do their necessary tasks. Kakashi had watched as Sano-sensei’s left hand stiffly raised to clasp Ko-san’s. Surprised, the medic-nin had jerked his head around to his long-time friend’s faint smile and blind eyes.

Thank you, Ko-sama. I’ll never forget you or your kindnesses. When I’m gone, make sure they all know how glad they made me as their sensei. I’ve got a feeling, old friend, that you’ll be mending more than broken bones in the coming weeks. Her head had shifted towards the invisible crowd. Where is Akai? I need to talk to him.

“Neither will I, old friend. Neither will I,” he had gently whispered, patting their overlapping hands gently. “Has anyone seen Akai lately? Oide Akai!” the medic-nin had called, finally getting up to search the surrounding woods for the old, long-fanged wolf-dog.

Tsukashi, I need to talk to Kine, too. I made her a promise, and I intend to keep it. She’s your student; she’ll listen to you.

“Sakura,” he had called out. Seeing the pink-haired teenager pop her head around the other side of the ‘Four Fabulous Femme Fatales’ who’d decided to stay along with Wonigiru (the taijutsu specialist), Banyuu (the ninjutsu specialist), and Byakko, he had seen that she too had tears in her eyes. “Sano-sensei says she needs to speak with you.”

Slowly, hesitantly, the younger girl made her way towards them. But stopped about ten feet short of them, covering her mouth to stifle a sob. “I can’t, Kakashi-sensei. Just the sight of her… Sensei, it’s scary.” Apprehension had filled the teen’s voice.

“Sakura, she isn’t capable of broadcasting that far,” he had admonished in a tone that barred any argument. “You need to come closer.” That had apparently done it, as she finally made the last few feet. The girl had sat down and started shaking.

He couldn’t have blamed her if he’d tried. A sight such as that had been was hard to take, even for someone as experienced in death as him.

There’s her chakra. I’ll take over from here, Tsukashi.

The same hand that had held Ko’s with reverence had then reached and grabbed hold of Sakura’s on her lap. Kine-chan, do you remember the promise I made you when you first arrived here in Kosenjou?

“Yes, I remember,” his young student had affirmed with a look of bewilderment. The look on her face had been so funny, it had brought a happy smile and accompanying eye-crease from the normally somber Jounin. And what’s better, the shaking had been shocked right out of her. Not that Sakura had noticed. “You promised you’d teach me a new jutsu, if I couldn’t master one I wanted to learn while here. But sensei, you don’t have to keep that promise…”

Kine-chan, through my whole life, I’ve made sure to ALWAYS keep my promises. That was my nindo, my ninja way, and it still is. My being this way isn’t a good enough reason to break that promise. …Besides, I think I’ve come up with the perfect one to teach you. You being a wind type, the Shinzui Fukinkou Ken no Jutsu will be my legacy to you. Please, Kine … let me teach you it.

“The what no Jutsu?”

It means ‘Severing Soul Jutsu.’ It’ll be easier to explain if I just show you. Put your hand over my eyes.

She had looked askance of him, uncertainty reflected in her young jade eyes. With a resolution he was quickly losing, he had answered the question her eyes asked. “No one’s forcing you to do this, Sakura. This is a decision you must make yourself. It’s nothing but a simple request from a senior shinobi. Even though I’m your sensei, Sakura, I can’t tell you what you should do.”

“You’ll support me … no matter what my decision …right, Kakashi-sensei?” The uncertainty from her eyes had spilled over into her voice.

A big sigh had escaped him as he closed his eyes. If Sandabado-sensei wanted to teach Sakura a one-hit-kill technique of that caliber, who was he to tell her ‘no?’ It wasn’t his call. But could he really support her decision if she decided to go through with it? Reopening his eyes, he had gazed down at what remained of his sensei’s body, finally landing where his sensei’s hand had lain atop his student’s. He had seen Sano-sensei perform the Severing Soul Jutsu only once, years ago when he had trained to become ANBU under her tutelage. He knew the potential consequences it had on the performer’s spirit, regardless if it was successful or not. Could he help Sakura deal with those consequences like he had Sano-sensei years ago? Then again, Sakura didn’t have to deal with a demon rummaging around in her thoughts like Sano-sensei had.

Another sigh, and his free hand had moved to cover the pair’s hands. Gaining Sakura’s gaze, he had nodded once his affirmation. A small smile was all he received of his student as she had then moved their hands up to cover Sano-sensei’s eyes.

Alright, Kine, I need you to relax and open your mind. Let it act like you’re trying to sense a distant chakra signature. …I probably won’t have the strength of will to show you again if your mind balks from me. …So just relax.

Tsukashi, he heard what he assumed was just for him. If anyone makes a move after her, or worse, casts her out…well, I don’t need to tell you what I’ll do to them. He couldn’t have agreed with those sentiments more, as he had shrewdly watched the close-knit group still waiting to see her out of the corner of his eye.

Are you ready, Kine?

A big breath in and out. “Yes, Sandabado-sensei, I’m ready.”

No sooner had those words left Sakura’s mouth, a flood of pictures entered his mind. He’d had to close his eyes to make sure he wasn’t hallucinating. Apparently, Sano-sensei hadn’t realized that the broadcast had still been connected to him, as well; or maybe she hadn’t cared if he’d watched.

You need to memorize these hand signs to get it right. I’ll try to slow the progression down as best I can, she broadcasted as though from far away, as the jutsu movie did indeed seem to pause after each hand sign, trying to ensure enough time for memorization; Sakura saying the name of each as it had been shown. Then, the pictures had sped up again as they watched what must have been a younger Sandabado Koumori going through the same motions, her hands covered in delicate layer of blue chakra.

This jutsu is a potential one-hit-kill jutsu. It’s used to effectively separate an opponent’s physical and spiritual energies from one another and requires an enormous amount of chakra control and incredible willpower. Even more so, if your opponent is still moving. The amount of chakra needed is based on your opponent’s strength of will. More for the more determined he is, less when he’s tired out. How you attack once you’ve gained the right amount of chakra is up to you. All that needs done is all the chakra you collect must be forced through your opponent’s chakra center. The sensei who taught me this jutsu formed it into kunai. I did it differently…

The younger Sandabado Koumori had then taken up a defensive stance, the blue chakra on her hands flaring larger. With right hand fisted and left hand in a flat spade position next to it, the two hands were quickly brought into contact - arcing up and left - and just as quickly pulled apart, drawing the right hand down in a diagonal in front of her body. What remained in the reflection’s fisted right hand as she ran at an invisible opponent resembled a slightly-curved blade made from pure chakra. A yell of Shinzui Fukinkou Ken no Jutsu had been heard as the final blow was made.

Separating the physical and spiritual energies in an opponent’s body will leave his chakra system wrecked, giving you time to either bring him down by other means or get to safety. Master this jutsu and you can literally sever a soul from a living opponent, instantly killing him, hence the name ‘Severing Soul Jutsu’. I have every confidence that you can master this jutsu on the first go. Do you understand the gravity of everything I’ve just said, Kine?

“Yes, Sensei, I understand,” Sakura had proclaimed. “But how do you locate your opponent’s chakra center?”

“An opponent’s chakra center tends to be a point on the body that they guard the most when fighting, whether they’re conscious of it or not,” Kakashi had responded, using his sensei as a model. “Most times, it will be located somewhere on the upper chest or neck. But not every person has it located in these regions. If they’re conscious of their chakra center, they might be able to reposition it at will, making it more difficult to isolate for the attack. Until you know what subtleties to look for, that will probably be the hardest part of the jutsu to master.”

A sound similar to ‘gack’ had then issued from heat-sealed lips and blind eyes had gone wide. Sano-sensei’s body had begun to tense up, writhing against him in noticeable pain. If a person was capable of screaming without making a sound, Sano-sensei had proved more than capable.

“What’s going on?!” was the echoed question from those who’d decided to stay, as all still present had gathered around Sano-sensei’s fallen form.

“Chakra withdrawal,” he’d answered simply, shifting her thrashing body to a more upright position. “Her body’s trying to recall some of the chakra it used before to try and repair itself. I didn’t know Sensei’s body had adapted to using this technique.”

“But that’s good, isn’t it? Her body will repair itself, and then she’ll be as good as new, right?” Sakura uttered, hope in her voice.

“It’s not that simple, Sakura,” interrupted a hashed voice from behind the throng surrounding them. It had been Ko with Akai at his side. “There’s not nearly enough dispelled chakra for her body to make use of in the vicinity. And even if there was enough, in her already depleted state, it would take time for her body to remember what to do with it. Time she doesn’t have.” The old long-fanged wolf-dog had then pushed himself through to sit himself on Sano-sensei’s left side, head positioned to where Sano-sensei’s hand had steadily settled on top. “Akai should be able to help her fight the pain a little longer.” Sure enough, the pained thrashing had gradually stopped and the remaining hand began stroking the velvety head.

I’m alright for now. Tsukashi, Kine?

“Sakura, she wasn’t through.”

“Right” as her hand had then been situated on his sensei’s knee.

I’ll be your first opponent for this jutsu, Kine. And don’t even think of arguing with me on this. I want you to give me ALL YOU’VE GOT! Don’t hesitate! Just aim for my collar. Tsukashi, I need to be standing for this…

Right… “Yo, Wonigiru, Banyuu, help me stand Sensei up, will you?!” he had shouted to the two ‘Ying-Yang’ Takigakure brothers, although you wouldn’t have guessed they were related. They were as different as night and day in almost all things. But, the one thing they did agree on was their loyalty to Sandabado-sensei.

The brothers had delicately extracted Sano-sensei from his grip; the taller Banyuu slinging her left arm over his shoulders, while Wonigiru kneeled, supporting her hips with his left arm.

Tsukashi…I’m so very proud of you. Take good care of Kine for me.

“You know I will, Sensei,” he had said with a smile he knew she couldn’t see, but was sure she could hear. Her head had flopped to one side, as his hand shot out to right it for her. A fond smile had lit her face, a little shine returning to her dull eyes. Find my journals and bury them with me beneath our favorite tree, had been Sanodabado-sensei’s last request of him before he had moved off to stand to Wonigiru’s right with Akai.

“She’s ready anytime you are, Kine-chan,” Banyuu had exclaimed.

“You know what to do,” Wonigiru had continued.

“Right,” Sakura had shouted back, her hands moving into prayer pose to concentrate and gather her chakra: a little quirk of hers. Not soon after, her hands were glowing a brilliant blue and she had begun to quickly move through the seals. “Inu, Uma, Tori, Usagi, O-ushi, O-hitsugi, Ryu!” she had screamed, using her arms in a perfect imitation of the younger Sandabado Koumori. She had charged, fisted chakra sword level with his sensei’s collar - her proclaimed chakra center. “Shinzui Fukinkou Ken no Jutsu!”

The strike had been true and powerful. So powerful in fact that Sano-sensei had been wrested free of the Ying-Yang Brothers’ grasp and had flown back ten yards into the nearest tree, her body falling to the ground with a sickening thump. Upon her face, the loving smile had still been in place. Her spirit had been freed. She’d died instantly when the attack had peaked.

The brothers had hung their heads in resolution. Apparently Sano-sensei had made it clear to them that this is what she’d wanted. Sakura managed to master the Shinzui Fukinkou Ken no Jutsu in one go…just like Sensei thought, he’d thought in awe of his sensei’s ability to really read a person.

“Kakashi-sensei” had come a strained squeak from behind him. “I don’t ever wanna use that jutsu again.” He’d turned to see Sakura collapsed to her knees on the cracked ground, haunted eyes staring at her hands, a torrent of tears streaming down her face, alone. He’d kneeled at his student’s side, pushed the offending hands out of her sight, and placed a hand on her shoulder. All the comfort he could give her. To know that he was still here, that he wouldn’t leave her. As long as she needed him. “Sakura, you made Sandabado-sensei a very happy, much fulfilled lady. You’ve freed her. Don’t regret what you’ve done.” But the tears had continued to fall.

He couldn’t blame her…

He really couldn’t blame her.

O------------------------------------------------------O

Now, a full two days later, Kakashi sat beneath his dear Sandabado-sensei’s favorite tree in all of Kosenjou: a weeping willow next to the river. It suits her, he thought with a wan smile, delicately running a hand along the first retrieved journal’s worn leather cover on his lap. Even when she’d laughed, she’d always had a sparkle of sadness behind those eyes. Glancing over his shoulder, he could see the freshly-made mound of dirt covered in flowers where they’d buried her yesterday.

When she was being buried, everyone had gathered around the gravesite and shared a memory of her they had, as Ko laid her sheet-wrapped body into her final resting place. Most of the stories had been about when they’d first met Sano-sensei, something she had taught them, or when she’d first begun broadcasting to them and the hysteria that had followed, thinking they had been going out of their minds. Then, with last goodbyes and well-wishes ringing, she’d finally been hidden from the world. He had stood over her grave for a long time afterwards, just thinking. When he’d finished, he’d realized that all of them knew very little about who Sandabado Koumori really was. So he’d kept the journals, all three of them. He just didn’t have the heart to bury them with her. But he was sure she’d understand the next time he saw her…hopefully. She knew he could never resist a good book.

Scanning all of Kosenjou he could see with his roving Sharingan eye, he sighed. He forgot; the only ones left in the whole area were Ko, Ryoji, Sakura and himself. The others had packed and left for their respective villages already, obviously feeling no connection to this place now that Sano-sensei was gone. Few had even taken a second glance back as they left. The area would be left to Akai, Akui, Yale and the rest of Akai’s pack. This place really is Chuuritsumen, he thought, the neutral plane.

Turning back, he cracked open the journal to the first page.

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

Ano Celeste Kurabashi

ANBU Code Name: Sandabado Koumori

Training and Roster Tracker

Started Winter 3 years After Great War (AGW)

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

“Ano Celeste Kurabashi, ANBU Code Name: Sandabado Koumori,” he read aloud, breaking the code from memory. “So Sensei was from the Konoha Kurabashi family. That certainly explains a lot.” The shinobi from the Kurabashi Family from what he could remember had once been famous for their ability to call lightning right out of the sky and redirect it at enemies at will, and their family guardian Torima, the lightning falcon. “But I thought the last Kurabashi member had been killed during the Great War. Hmmm, interesting.” Turning the page, he read on.

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

December 19^th, 3 AGW (age 20)

Byakko is helping Banyuu with his precision for the Water Dragon Missile Jutsu. Probably will take another week before he can hit him.Wonigiru has just completed the second phase of the training for the Iron Man Technique. We’ll start tomorrow on the third phase of the training.

I’ve heard through the grape-vine that Sandaime-sama has retired to the easy life and granted Minato Namikaze the title of Yondaime Hokage. I wish I could go back, but…who am I kidding? It’s only been three years since then. I’ll be run out of town before I even get there. Better just to forget it.

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

The next 30 or so pages were all the same. This one completed training for this and started something new. This one still needs to work on his technique for that. Someone came after her, intending to kill her, but were defeated and treated by Ko before being released. Someone they had released came back wanting to know why she’d let them go, instead of killing them. Someone left, feeling they’d learned enough from her. A page with large writing caught his eye next, so he read.

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

June 25^th, 17 AGW (age 34)

Was out with Raije and Mitsu today getting groceries again. I know Raije hates me riding him for chores, but what can I do? Overheard that the Nine-Tails is back and ravaging the countryside near Konohagakure. Starting to wonder if the current Leaf shinobi are strong enough to deal with it. Well…Damn the consequences! I’m not gonna sit here while the Nine-Tails could be wreaking havoc this very minute! Tomorrow, I’m gonna tell Shuri, Jon-ro, and Mizuke what’s going on. I’m sure they’ll agree that we all need to help our old comrades out, and come with me. Who knows when when we’ll be back? Doesn’t matter. I’ll be fighting for the village I still care for! Even if they don’t care for me. Torima, grant us the strength that we all get back in one piece.

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

Turning the page, the next two months’ entries looked to be written by someone else entirely. All of them written in the same format of who accomplished what. All of them ending with the words “Sandabado’s still not back yet.” But then her writing started again.

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

September 4^th, 17 AGW

The Kyuubi has been stopped, but not without casualities. I wish I knew where Shuri, Jon-ro, and Mizuke are. Hopefully, they’ll get back sometime soon. The Yondaime was buried on the 2^nd, and Sandaime-san’s decided to take his place for the time being. He asked me to stay in Konohagakure. He must have been crazy with grief. He knows there’s very little he can do to allow me back in the village. Authority cannot erase the past, no matter how hard you try. One thing I’ll never forget though is the face of the ever-courageous Minato Namikaze, the Yellow Flash of Konohagakure and the Great Yondaime Hokage. I feel honored to have fought beside him. Torima, let Konohagakure’s grief be eased knowing he cared so much.

I’ve learned that Byakko accepted a new member in my absence. Looks like they’ve given her the name “Kiyuri” for the meantime. Said they found her, about a month ago, with no clothes on and a knife through her back near the river. Poor thing was probably raped and left for dead by bandits. Either way, he told her she can stay if she wants, and I don’t see anything wrong with it. She can leave when she likes.

September 12^th, 17 AGW

Seems Seggi has a new admirer. Must be his cooking. Though, I’ll admit he’s gotten better in more ways than one. Heard he’s been trying to create a combination move behind my back. He says it’s something for if he gets attacked while unarmed, but I don’t believe it for a minute.

I’ve been watching Kiyuri lately. She seems a little too interested watching me train with him. I’m starting to get the feeling that she’s a shinobi from somewhere. The ‘where’ though is what I can’t put my finger on. Eventually, I’m gonna figure it out. Til then, Ko and I are keeping an eye on her.

September 20^th, 17 AGW

I finally confronted Kiyuri at the river tonight, and my suspicions were confirmed. She’s a shinobi from Kemurigakure, a little-known village in Fire Country. From what I can remember, the shinobi of Kemurigakure are reknowned for their diversionary tactics and bomb making abilities. I asked point-blank if she was hired by someone who’s after me. She denied it, and for once, I believe her. For some reason, this Haze kunoichi strikes me as one who wouldn’t kill if her life depended on it. Probably why she was watching Seggi when he was trying to master his Poisonous Carrot Jutsu. Makes you wonder what kind of shinobi she really is. I’ve decided to begin teaching her, too, and figure it out for myself.

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

“Kiyuri. Boy, does that name bring back memories,” he mused aloud. Memories he didn’t want to drudge up right now, so soon after Sano-sensei’s death.

“Kakashi-sensei,” Sakura uttered from the other side of the willow’s curtain of vines. “I’m all packed.” He could hear it in her voice: she wanted to get back badly. Again, he couldn’t blame her. Over the past two days, her mood had gone from dismal one minute, to cheery the next, and back again.

Reluctantly, he closed Sano-sensei’s journal placing it in his hip pouch next to the other two and his usual Icha-Icha series book. He’d have to wait until later to read the rest. Right now, they had to get back to Konoha and report to Godaime Tsunade-san on what had happened. Getting up from his rooted seat, he grabbed up his backpack from where he’d left it against the trunk of the tree, right next to his sensei’s gravesite. Slinging it over his shoulder, he noticed something new on the trunk. In the bark of the tree was a lighter-colored Hidden Leaf Village symbol.

Strange, he thought, examining it closely. That’s never been there before. The bark’s not been cut into. There’s no chakra in it or around it. It looks like the tree just grew it like that. Huh…strange tree. Feel like I’ve seen this before, though.

“Kakashi-sensei?” Sakura spoke, peeking her head through the leafy curtain, effectively interrupting his musings. “Oh, sorry,” he said, rubbing the back of his head sheepishly. “Just saying ‘good-bye’ for the last time. Go on, I’ll catch up.” Satisfied, the pink-haired head disappeared and the sound of her footsteps faded into the distance.

Placing a hand on the tree and bowing his head in respect, he sighed, “Thanks, Sensei…for everything. And don’t worry about me, I’ll be just fine. Sakura might be another story, though.”

Leaving the sanctuary of the willow’s branches, he took off at a gallop across the field, back toward home. His eyes swept left and right, wanting to remember every detail of this place. The place he called home as an ANBU-in-training. The river. The rocks. The birch tree with the Grass Village symbol. Right, that’s where.

The tree where Sensei’d taught a few to use chakra to fly. The white oak with the Waterfall Village symbol. The black ash with the Rock Village Symbol. The red maple with the Rain Village symbol. Huh… lots of strange trees here.

With a howl of farewell from Akai and his pack, he left Kosenjou without looking back.

Tada! My first fanfic is started. Reviews please; and please try not to be harsh if criticizing. Sorry the prologue was so long, but I think my main OC was introduced pretty well, and I kept the character natures pretty well-on. I promise I’ll try to make the coming chapters not as long. Now for the answers to the questions you’re no doubt asking yourself after reading the prologue.

*Yes, I created some original jutsus, and more are sure to come. Boy, are they a pain to think up!

*I created the elite motto off the top of my head. Sounds like they’d say it though, right?

*The parts of the story not involved in the journal are timelined around when Sasuke leaves the village to seek Orochimaru. (You know Kakashi and Sakura can’t just be sitting around on their butts, right?) The journal entries will give some indication of where in the timeline you are when you read them (don’t shoot me if my timeline’s faulty, I did the best I could with what I know as an otaku).

*I figured teaching Sakura a devastating attack like the Severing Soul Jutsu probably would have driven her more to learn healing techniques, if this story had ever really happened.

*Kosenjou is what I’ve decided to call the track of land between the Hidden Rock, Hidden Leaf, Hidden Grass, and Hidden Waterfall Villages. It means “ancient battlefield” in Japanese, and in my story no one really goes there without good reason. You’ll figure out why Ano’s so comfortable around ninja from different villages, how she got the code name Sandabado Koumori, where Akirarabe came from, and when and how Kakashi got her as a sensei in the coming chapters.
- 1
- 2
You need to be logged in to leave a review for this story.
Report Story

Torima's Vessel