Wasabi Cake

Background color
Font
Font size
Line height

Read the A/N at the end to clear up any confusion.


"Flee!" Shisui screamed desperately, his voice piercing throughout the chill of the night as he struggled against the ropes that bound him fruitlessly. He was so stupid, giving out her location to the enemy like this, but her plan to rescue him was even more foolish. How could Izuna be so idiotic so as to try and rescue him in front of a whole crowd of enemy Shinobi waiting for his death? Why would she be that moronic? He couldn't use his chakra, he couldn't move, he was immobilized. He was as good as dead, but she wasn't. His hysterical voice cut throughout the darkness once more, getting louder by the second. "Run! Run so we'd both be free! Go back and get reinforcements! Run!"

She had a chance to give the coordinates of the prisoners to Konohagakure, yet she was wasting it.

He was a liar. He was never going to be free; he would be dead by the time she gave Konoha Shinobi the location, but at least she would stay alive, and the other hostages could be saved and freed. He was a liar, but being lied to was better than dead.

It wasn't supposed to end like this. They were supposed to stay live. Live unlike he had.

Only Izuna would stay alive now, and only she would be free.

But even that was too much.

---

Two weeks earlier, Izuna reached forward with the upper-half of her body towards the wood of the tree. She scratched it with her claws before bending her knees deeply and applying force to the wood, throwing herself into the air and spinning in a backflip. The girl landed a foot away from the trunk, sweat dripping down her chin to which she wiped off with the back of her palm.

She had been at this for six hours. Six. Supposedly, the exercise should have increased her chakra control, but she could barely take eight steps before tumbling down to the ground. It was progress from not being able to take three steps, but it was still horrendous on her part. Her grasp on medical ninjutsu aided her, and she was sure that if she hadn't had experience with it, she would have still been stuck at four steps.

All because of her claws.

But really, did she expect to have a 'gift' without a curse?

Izuna stilled as the boy with the happuri-styled forehead protector framing his face beckoned for her to come forward. She trudged sluggishly towards his figure leaning on a tree, coming to a stop in front of the child with a soundless sigh. She was tired.

"Here," Kinoe twirled a kunai in his hand as he placed it in her grasp and clasped her palm tightly, a knowing glint twinkling in his eyes. She was going to object, but he wasn't about to let her. He had been watching her slow efforts and her progress. He couldn't blame her though, he had been in the same position as her once; an experiment. "Your claws usually disturb the chakra flow in your body, and more often than not, you don't channel enough to your feet. Try again, but mark the tree with the kunai. And use your Sharingan to help you reach a good balance."

Using her Sharingan would take away Chakra that she needed to be channeling into the soles of her feet. It would definitely be harder, but quicker.

---

Kinoe leaned against the back of the tree Izuna was practicing on, having seen no progress even after an hour. He sighed loudly as he brushed his finger through his long hair. If one part of his mission--training her--was obviously a failure, he wasn't about to let the other part be.

"Uchiha, why do you want to be a Shinobi?" Kinoe stated loudly and clearly, crossing his arms across his chest as he waited for her to get down from the branch she was sitting on and answer him. He didn't account for the confused look that crossed her face, though. Kinoe gestured for her to sit down on the ground as he plopped down himself. "Why did you decide to become one?"

Izuna didn't know whether or not he knew about Danzo threatening her into it, but he obviously meant to ask her about why she continued to be one when she had nothing and nobody left to lose to the man. Yet, that was exactly the reason.

"Are you in it for the fame? Money? To be powerful? Prove someone wrong?" Kinoe fired question after question at her, waiting for any answer that wasn't a blank stare. His face eased into a passive-aggressive expression, tilting his head at her slightly.

'I have nothing to lose.' The reply came with a shrug, and he knew her pitiful answer wasn't a fake lie. An invisible tugging at his lips tilted them upwards into a ghost smirk, one that not even the Sharingan could pick up.

She had nothing to lose. Nothing.

"But others do." Kinoe perked up, realizing that the girl was a blank canvas ready to be drawn on. He could easily get her to accept the ideals and notions of ROOT willingly; the naïve were the easiest to be manipulated. "Others have everything to lose, you don't. Are you going to let them get forced to give everything up? Isn't that why you became a Kunoichi? So that nobody would have to end up like you?"

That was his second mission.

He knew he was getting too personal and chatty, even altering her chain of thoughts, but it was all necessary in his eyes. Even if the whole scenario went against his morals, it was all for the mission. The mission, and only the mission.

Izuna replied after a long wait, her emotions flickering between anger, confusion and numbness. He could tell that easily enough; she wore her heart on her sleeve.

'I don't want anyone to be like me.' She finally concluded firmly, determination in her eyes as she discovered her goal. 'I don't know if that's why I stayed in the ranks, but I don't want for that to happen to anyone.'

All for the mission.

"And what if there's sacrifices? What will you do?" Everything was coming very nicely so far, in Kinoe's opinion.

'Sacrifices?'

He only gave her a nod in reply, not bothering to elaborate. He knew that that would change her opinion.

'If it's worth it, I guess.' Izuna frowned in confusion at the elder boy, pursing her lips slightly in a small pout. She didn't even understand the purpose of the conversation, but he seemed pleased with her answers thus far.

"What if the sacrifice is for the greater good? If it comes at the cost of your emotions or comrades' lives, will you give them up for the benefit of everyone else? So that others may live?"

Izuna was about to answer, but she got tongue-tied, her eyes widened at a memory.

"Those who abandon their comrades are worse than scum!"

She didn't need her emotions, but she needed her friends.

And yet, if it came down to it, would she really stick by her teammates when hundreds of lives could be on the line?

Who would she save then?

Izuna clenched her teeth and fists in anger, knowing the truth that there was no math.

Kinoe let a small smile show through his cold demeanor at her reaction, knowing which side she was on, knowing fully well that he was getting into her head.

Mission: Success.

"Remember, Izuna." This was his parting words on the subject, knowing fully well that he won. Danzo would continue the rest. The girl's head snapped up to meet his as he stood up from his seat on the ground. "The higher ups may not always tell you everything, but everything they do is for the greater good."

Conflict brewed in the girl's eyes at his words, but he also knew that the fight in her would diminish soon once she reached the conclusion that every meeting that went downhill with the Hokage or the elders was for the greater good.

The greater good.

He just knew it.

"Go back to training." Kinoe ended the conversation, making his way to his leader in order to report his partial success.

Neither of them noticed the grey-haired ANBU with glasses watching them from the shadows.

---

Izuna huffed for the umpteenth time in indignation and anger as she collapsed to the ground. She didn't have enough energy in her to attempt a more graceful fall. Her body shut down on her.

And her eyeglasses. They sucked. Dirt and smudge would literally appear out of nowhere on them. The worst part about it? She wouldn't even notice until her eyesight became too obstructed to properly see, and only then would she discover those magical blemishes that were the reason for her headache. Wasn't the exercise enough?

She really had to talk to Minato about getting contact lenses instead.

Izuna laid down on the ground for a while, staring at the afternoon sky and clouds. It looked to be about three, what with how blazing and scorching the sun was on her skin. Izuna sighed internally as she made to get up to continue her stupid exercise, but before she could steel her resolve, a head appeared on top of her figure, blocking out the blinding sunrays.

A boy who looked to be around her age stared blankly at her. Izuna was pretty sure he was another of Danzo's Shinobi. What was with the elder and choosing emotionless young boys with long hair? She found herself getting pretty annoyed and snarling at the boy aggressively in warning.

"Izuna Uchiha?..." He muttered with narrowed eyes, looking intently into Izuna's eyes, completely unnerved by the small glare she sent him. Did Kinoe send him? Izuna didn't have time to contemplate that thought before the boy roughly grasped her hand in his and pulled her forcefully to her feet. She stumbled slightly, quickly regaining her footing with a small snort. "You know how you send medical chakra to your hands?"

Izuna nodded once she realized he was waiting for her reply. Back to training, she guessed.

"Try doing the same thing but to your feet, using just normal chakra."

The girl quickly concluded that Danzo obviously sent him to teach her because Kinoe was a big loser and a failure. She hated that boy, but the one in front of her seemed a lot more approachable, and he actually told her something that the other ROOT member hadn't.

The Uchiha turned towards the tree before backtracking and looking towards the boy once more in doubt. 'What do I call you?'

He smiled tightly in reply.

"Kabuto."
---

With considerably less effort and struggle, Izuna managed to cover the tree about halfway. She had to take a break soon after, though, due to her lack of chakra which was spent throughout the rest of the day. But fifteen steps while running low on chakra in her state was a miracle. Kabuto was actually a pretty smart teacher once she followed his instructions without fooling around to annoy him.

She didn't find any reason to, however; he didn't give her one. He was cold and straight to the point like Kinoe, but he spent time getting to know her.

Sure, his advice wasn't particularly all that great because channeling chakra on her body and outside of it were too different things, but it still worked. Kind of.

"Izuna-chan," Kabuto started, his face as blank as a canvas. Izuna's face exploded into a deep shade of red, her heart beating at an abnormal rate as the boy got closer into her face. She didn't know why she was feeling that way, but she didn't like it. She loathed the feeling. She vaguely remembered Obito mentioning a similar occurrence happening to him whenever he was around Rin. Izuna didn't understand why he liked being around the Nohara so much if he had to go through such a stupid phase. "Aren't you ever angry? Don't you ever feel like a fire is burning inside of you?"

Izuna's face turned numb, expressionless, yet puzzled and intrigued despite the exhaustion she felt from her training. Fire? What even brought on this conversation? She recoiled slightly and awkwardly, not having anticipated the boy to plunge into philosophy.

"Listen, there's always a few ways a person could feel. Excited or tired, happy or sad, calm or angry, but it all still falls into two categories; good and bad." Kabuto explained with blank eyes, his voice leveled as he listed some common emotions. "Everything else is a variation, right? Angry is a variation of bad, and so is tired."

But what did that have to with fire?

"I feel like a tired fire..." He mumbled quietly, avoiding her gaze and opting instead to look at the ground and dirt beneath his feet. "It's like I've been burning lowly for so long, and I'm sick of it. Like I want to burn brightly and vibrantly like an inferno, but I can't."

'So fire is emotions?'

"Maybe. But, if that's the case, then what's the difference between a happy, vibrant fire and a blazing, angry fire? Doesn't fire just want to burn everything in its wake? What's the difference? Wouldn't that mean that good and bad don't exist? That emotions are only illusions?" Kabuto's voice became desperate and hurried, angry even. "What would differentiate feeling happy from being angry? If it comes down to it, there's no difference. Fire would still burn you no matter the temperature."

Fire would still burn you no matter the temperature.

Fire would still burn you no matter the temperature.

"But how do you know you're angry? If your fire is dwindled forever, how would you know when it rages on if it isn't allowed to?" Kabuto continued on. "Your fire is chained down inside you, so how would you know? How would you know whether or not you're even angry?"

Fire.

'So water would still drown me no matter the depth?' Izuna turned the question on the Yakushi.

"No, a little water would just make you choke, or get you saturated if you're dehydrated."

'Then wouldn't fire get you warm if you're cold?'

"And what if I'm not cold? What if I'm not thirsty? What happens then?" He shot back at her, his shoulders tensing slightly once he considered her point of view, one that he never saw before.

'Then, fire would hurt and so will water.'

"Too much or too little of anything is dangerous, huh?" Kabuto mused at the cold smile on Izuna's face. "But we're not perfect. Humans aren't perfect, no one is. How do you expect us to find the perfect balance?"

It was silent for a while before Izuna piqued up. 'I don't. I just expect us to pull though.'

She got a scoff in reply.

"And you have faith we will, why? If anything, you of all people should know not." Her family didn't pull through; she almost didn't herself. It was by pure luck that she was still alive and breathing, so why?

'Because we burdened ourselves with it, we're the problem. If we can't solve our own problems, then who will when everyone else is busy solving theirs?'

Izuna tried desperately not to think of either Obito or Rin at the boy's words. She wouldn't allow herself to crumble like that. Obito pushed Kakashi away, he dealt with the consequences. Rin jumped intentionally in front of Kakashi's jutsu, she dealt with the consequences. No one helped them, and no one ever will. They knew what they were signing up for, and they still didn't hesitate.

Blaming the dead was easier than blaming the living.

"Yet, isn't that exactly what a Shinobi means; to fight wars that are not your own?" Izuna furrowed her eyebrows.

'That's why they all end up dead, because no one can take such a huge burden.' Just like Obito and Rin.

"And what about the Hokage? Doesn't he shoulder everything?"

'No. He controls everyone and leaves them to deal with a problem that is not their own.'

"So who is at fault? The Hokage? The enemy, who are doing exactly the same thing? The Shinboi?"

Izuna smiled sadly. Obito wanted to be Hokage before his death. Once upon a time, maybe he would have been. He would've made a great Hokage, if there ever was such a thing in the world.

If there was ever such a thing as goodness in this world.

'Everyone is at fault for at least one bad thing in their lives.'

"And who is at fault for this?" Kabuto asked with a knowing glint in his eyes. She hated that glint, she loathed it. She always missed out on something.

She didn't have the answer. She didn't know. She never would.

'I don't know.'

Izuna listened contently to the sounds of the bird chirping, faintly recognizing the growling in her stomach as hunger.

A prolonged silence fell upon the duo.

Why was Kabuto even asking her this?

Izuna stared blankly ahead at the ground beneath her feet.

If it came down to it, would she have killed Obito or Rin to save everyone?

Would she have found it in herself to end their lives?

Would she have been able to deal with her actions?

There was no math, but even still, there was no math.

"What's your ninja way?" Kabuto suddenly asked, breaking the silence that enveloped them. This was his reason from inducing such a conversation. He would never put himself on the spot without a reason. This was his mission.

'My ninja way?'

She got a nod in reply.

He might have been a victim, but he wasn't about to let her be like him.

'I don't know.' Everything was too confusing today, Izuna chuckled mentally. 'I guess, to make sure my fire and water don't hurt anyone.'

It was all a game of brainwashing the girl.

"Except you." A melancholic smile slipped onto his face, seeing through her.

This was his mission; to make sure the Uchiha was smart enough to not let Danzo manipulate her.

Izuna's face contorted into an amused grin, her eyelids dropping low as her exhaustion finally showed through.

'Except me.'

No one's lives were worth Obito's or Rin's, no matter who they were. She would have protected them till her dying breath had they been alive. But they were dead.

Kinoe was wrong, and so was Izuna.

Mission: Success.

---

Izuna screamed loudly in her mind in frustration, having been pacing around the village for about an hour now. Why would she have guessed that Rin's friend would be any different than the girl herself? Of course they all had to disappear when she needed them the most.

She trudged depressingly for the fourth time around the market area near the Uchiha compound, her eyes attentive to her surroundings. Maybe they all used some sort of jutsu that let others find them only an hour after they began their search?

It didn't really help that Izuna's arms were numb from carrying around a package for so long. She was about to turn back around when she slammed headfirst into someone. Her hands instinctively coiled around the box in her hands as she took a step back and looked up at whoever she hit.

It was a civilian male. Izuna's annoyance grew as she realized she couldn't communicate with him in a way that mattered. She bent her back forward slightly in an apologetic bow, knowing that she had no other way to get her message across as she ignored his laughter and his "be careful!".

Once she raised her body, her gaze locked onto onyx eyes from across the street. It was him. She brightened up considerably once she recognized the flak jacket he wore as one belonging to a Chunin. She noticed his taken aback persona when she started walking his way, but she didn't care. The person she was looking for was also a Chunin, and chances were they knew each other.

Izuna came to a halt in front of him at the sudden realization that dawned on her.

She

You are reading the story above: TeenFic.Net