chapter 89

[Tayuya]

She frowned as she looked over her notes. Balance Breaker, the Genjutsu she'd worked up to increase her teammates' capabilities, was problematic. It worked well enough, but after some time working on it, no one in the team was used to it yet and the progress was so slow that she was half tempted to see if a good smack would help them along.

It was a shame Eiji didn't approve of that plan, really.

Tayuya guessed that part of the problem was that she hadn't been able to place herself under the Genjutsu, which would have given her a better insight. That had led to her approaching their leader for some help. She had basically taken classes from him already, what was some more help, right? He'd looked happy with that, so that was good.

Thus, she had placed the Genjutsu on him and he'd given her his thoughts on the matter, in writing even, which allowed her to go over the information even when he was otherwise occupied. Like right that moment, when he'd taken his dog for a walk, apparently. He'd given them some bullshit training excuse, but Tayuya was almost sure they were doing anything but. Not that she'd say that to Eiji's face.

She was a lot of things, but stupid wasn't one of them.

Anyway, apparently the problem wasn't so much with what the Genjutsu did to people, but an unintentional side-effect. Apparently, the way she'd tailored it, it felt pretty damn weird for the targets. That was the short of it, at least from what she gathered of Eiji's words. Now, how was she to tweak that out of the technique?

That was the fucking question, wasn't it?

Her team leader had offered to help her iron out that detail, but she'd refused. This was a technique that she'd made herself, after all. Granted, Eiji had taught her a lot and almost coached her through the whole process, but she'd been the one to work it out in the end. She wanted this to be hers and she would make it so, damn it.

'To think there would come a day I would care about making my shitty teammates feel better,' She thought, amused. It wasn't quite as it sounded, but it was ultimately true, and she found the idea quite humorous. She also found herself, as it was becoming usual, comparing the two people that had guided her through her ninja career.

In a fraction of the time that Orochimaru had, Eiji had completely overthrown him as the best to follow. Not only were the punishments much lighter, but it was also much more productive. Also, he encouraged them to work together. Normally, Tayuya would have laughed at that, but she sure appreciated it when she was the one that was being helped.

So, she guessed she could help out everyone else a bit too. Wouldn't want everyone to decide to leave her out, that's for sure. Everyone was progressing by leaps and bounds, even if some showed it more than others. Wind bitch and the fatass had barely changed anything in their skillset. Hell, even the four-eyes hadn't worked on anything too new. However, they were definitely much better than when they had started.

Tayuya felt no small measure of pride in the fact that she was the only one to add something new to their repertoire. Well, she and the dog, but adding that made it sound so much less impressive, so she wouldn't if she didn't have to. Yuki didn't even count anyway, she was with Eiji all the time and he'd been the one to help her add that.

She conveniently ignored the fact that he'd helped her too.

'Now, how do I fucking do this?' She grumbled to herself, focusing back on her notes.

[}-o-{]

[Jirobo]

'Now, how do I fucking do this?' He thought with a growl.

It was one of the now regular spars between teammates. This time, it was an all out fight versus Yugito, the Two-Tails Jinchuriki. He'd have called Eiji mad, if he weren't so afraid of telling him that to his face, or even behind his back. Jirobo had avoided the boy's ire so far and he wanted to keep it that way, if at all possible.

The new teammate sure made them feel inadequate. How were they supposed to measure up to someone that had a literal Chakra Beast inside them? Tayuya and him couldn't even use their Cursed Marks unless they got good enough for Eiji's standards on his mind training.

At least there were no limits to what they could do in these fights. None but taking away his chakra absorbing technique, that is. That was a shame, but he didn't want to find out what happened if he used it to absorb that chakra. So, that was a limitation that he was all too glad to have, that's for sure.

It didn't make fights any easier though. No matter what plan Temari or Tayuya came up with, no matter how fast or precise Kabuto was, no matter how much lava Kurotsuchi threw at her, no matter how strong his hits or jutsu were, Yugito just kept going. It felt like trying to stop a river by throwing a pebble in the middle of it. Useless, pointless, laughable.

"Faster Kabuto," Eiji called from the sidelines, his red eyes staring intently at them as they fought, looking for weaknesses to work out, things to improve, holes in their strategy, everything. It was a little unnerving, Jirobo would admit. "Move, Tayuya, if you just stand there, then you are the first to go and that's the worst thing that could happen. Thank God that Yugito didn't think of going after you, right?" The boy added, almost mockingly.

Evidently, both women heard him loud and clear, because at once both acted. Thus, Tayuya jumped away at the same time that a clawed hand was brought down exactly where she'd been standing. Before the Kumo nin could try again, Jirobo interrupted her with a rock to the face courtesy of one of his Earth Release techniques. If they lost Tayuya's Genjutsu they might as well just give up. It was the only thing giving them the slightest of chances in this spar.

"Time your wind right, Temari. Unless it's on purpose, if you hit both the enemy and your allies, then it's useless," The boy called out then. Although, Jirobo had to wonder if it hadn't been on purpose. Eiji was likely to be thinking the same thing. After all, the Sand kunoichi had hit both Yugito and Tayuya, someone that she just… didn't get along with, to put it mildly.

Jirobo ignored them though, in favor of colliding with the Jinchuriki and getting her on a hold. It was a bad idea, he knew, after all-

'Yeah, that,' He thought, grimacing and hissing as blue flames coated the woman, burning him to make him let her go. He didn't though. After all, the whole point was to buy his team some time.

"Well, are you going to just stand there, Kabuto?" Eiji called then, and sure enough, the silver haired ninja appeared where the two of them were wrestling each other. Interestingly, he didn't go for Yugito. Instead, the medic/spy placed his hands on Jirobo's back. Instantly, he felt the effects of the fire subsiding.

It was an unexpected approach, but a good one. Now they only needed to-

"Good, so you can do something, huh, Princess?" Their leader said, sounding like he was commenting on the weather instead of mocking the granddaughter of the Tsuchikage.

Their team leader was fearless, he decided. Justifiably so if anyone asked Jirobo. He'd seen enough of the guy to know that you had to really mean business to even try to get on his bad side. Maybe it was different for Kages, but so far Jirobo hadn't seen proof of that.

Back to the fight though, Kurotsuchi's attack had hit Jinchuriki's legs. Close enough for Jirobo to be worried about friendly fire. However, he could see what the girl was trying. Thus he twisted his own body out of the way and sure enough, more lava fell on the woman's limbs, wrapping around them and fixing them to the floor once it started cooling. There was a slight breeze that helped that along and he was quite sure that was Temari's doing.

Both Kabuto and Jirobo got away then, just in time to see more lava rain on Yugito as she struggled against the material that bound her to the ground. She didn't get out soon enough though. Then, when she was firmly in place, the breeze turned into a hurricane. Tayuya was obviously boosting Temari because she even broke the obsidian sending the woman flying against a rock formation nearby.

The Sand Kunoichi didn't let up for a while though. Probably until her muscles couldn't go on anymore. Instantly, Kabuto was by her side helping her deal with the worst of the aftereffects of Tayuya's technique. Still, all of them were smiling, smirking in the redhead's case. This was the first time they beat the Jinchuriki, they were in their right to be proud, Jirobo thought.

"That was great work," Eiji said, improving their mood further. Jirobo didn't know if anyone else had noticed, but all of them looked up to the boy. It was weird and a little embarrassing sometimes, but Eiji Satou was a monster and Jirobo would happily follow him if he could turn him into one too. "Remember what I told you and work on what you need. Now, Yugito, let's step it up a notch, yeah?"

'Wait, what?' Jirobo's mind ground to a halt at those last words.

"Oh, you gotta be fucking kidding me," Tayuya growled as they all saw Yugito's form casually stepping towards them from the rock formation as the dust that had previously covered the place was blown away. For once, Jirobo didn't mind the redhead's language one bit. They had given it their all and she was just… holding back the whole time? How was that fair?

Was red chakra forming around her?

"Fuck," Tayuya added.

Jirobo could only agree.

[}-o-{]

[Kurotsuchi]

She hated Eiji Satou's existence.

She also greatly appreciated that he'd agreed to train her though.

When she'd asked, she thought it would be a nice way to learn more, to get stronger. She'd expected it to be different, but at the same time she'd kind of figured it would be similar to how training under a Jounin was.

Boy had she been wrong.

It was nothing like that at all. Eiji didn't do anything by half. Technique and physical training was a hell of its own, but the spars? That's where it was revealed how truly bizarre the training was. And how hard it was too.

Still, Kurotsuchi would never give a single word of true complaint. No way. She'd advanced more in the weeks she'd been training with Eiji than she'd had in months with the specialized classes that her grandfather had arranged for her. So no, there was no way she would jeopardize her situation.

She also found a new respect for Jinchurikis along the way. Facing Yugito on a daily basis had shown her just how absurdly strong they were. It'd also made her think about how most people treated them. The fear everyone displayed made a whole lot more sense, but also, funnily enough, less. After all, why would one deliberately make someone with all that power at their disposal feel bad.

Kurotsuchi guessed the key part was 'deliberately'. Most of them didn't think about how they were alienating the extremely powerful individuals, she assumed. If one of them flew off the handle, it would be a disaster, she knew. She'd even started trying to talk everyone she interacted with into realizing what she had.

It was a slow process though, mainly because she spent most of her time training with Eiji's squad, who already knew what she did. Regardless, she was doing her best on both fronts. If she was to be Tsuchikage in the future, she couldn't have one of her best assets even considering leaving or, worse, attacking. The proud look her grandfather had given her when she told him as much had been enough to solidify her resolution.

It was a shame that Han was so… antisocial. The man spent most of his time meditating and, when he wasn't, looking at them training barely saying a word. The Iwa Jinchuriki repeatedly said that they were 'interesting' though, which she took as a good thing. At least he enjoyed doing that, she supposed.

She was broken from her thoughts when someone sat in front of her.

"Ok, Princess," Eiji said as a way of greeting. Kurotsuchi's eye twitched, but it was the only show of how much she hated that nickname. "I think I've gotten a good idea of what you can do, but I want you to make a list, just to see if there's something that you still haven't shown me."

She thought about that for a moment. There were a technique or two, but those were very situational. Still, she looked down at the scrolls she'd laid around her to study while they were taking a break from training. She searched in between them to look for a notebook she used to note down things so that she could get started on that list.

"Anything else?" Kurotsuchi had meant for that to sound sarcastic, but she didn't quite succeed on that.

"Hm, if you see Temari and Tayuya group up during breaks, it might be a good idea to join them," He told her and she turned to look at him. 'Those two?' She thought incredulously. 'Doing something together?' It had taken her all of two minutes to know that both girls hated each other's guts. There was no way-

Sure enough, when she turned, both were sitting down, glaring daggers at one another but still talking. It was like seeing hell freeze over for Kurotsuchi, really. The only time she'd seen them work together without looking like they were a breath away from stabbing the other was during spars, and that wasn't even all the time.

"They do that to discuss strategy. You could improve on that front a bit too, Princess," Eiji told her, making her eye twitch again. He wasn't even trying to be mocking or condescending. He was just honest, and that made things even worse, really. "They learn from one another. Adding another head to that should make things even better for everyone involved."

'Ok, that makes it slightly better,' Kurotsuchi thought before sighing.

"I'll get that list done and go over," She replied, wanting to sigh.

"Great. You know where to find me if you need me."

[}-o-{]

[Kabuto Yakushi]

"You are who you are," He remembered Eiji saying.

It was all that he had in his mind, really. Every moment that he had to himself, when they meditated, when they finished for the day, when they traveled from the Training Grounds to wherever an explosion happened or to wherever they found a puppet person. That answer, simple and seemingly meaningless and useless…

"What we do and what we feel, is what we are," Eiji's voice continued.

"What we do and what we feel," Kabuto repeated to himself.

If he was honest, he didn't know how to take the answer he'd been given by the young ninja. Every time, he'd understood where his previous leaders had been coming from. Every single time, with Danzo, with Orochimaru, with anyone that had been asked that question.

Danzo had thought that a person was defined by what they could do for their village. Orochimaru had thought one was the power they held. And so on they went.

Kabuto had learned, quite early on in his career, really, that power was everything. It always came back to power. Some wanted power to fight, jutsu, techniques, strength, speed. Some others wanted power over people, through politics or through reputation or any other means. Money was seeked so earnestly because it gave one power to get whatever they wanted, be it objects, people or whatever else.

Thus, why people seemed to think that the power they had translated into who they were. Or, at least, that's what Kabuto had found throughout his life.

"What we do and what we feel," Kabuto all but chanted, like a mantra.

What did that say about himself?

According to Danzo, Kabuto was someone. He'd been a great spy and medic. Willing to do much for his cause and always following orders. To Orochimaru he'd been much the same, and he'd also been talented in whatever he'd set his mind on. Both of them had led Kabuto to being one of, if not the best spy in the world.

However, according to Eiji's views. Who was Kabuto Yakushi?

What had he done? He'd spied, he'd lied, he'd faked. That meant he wasn't who he pretended to be, but that didn't give him an answer to who he was.

What did he feel? If anything, that was an even harder question. He… Didn't know. He'd spent so long pretending to be someone he wasn't that he didn't even know what was an act and what was reality. He didn't know…

"Who am I?" He asked out loud looking up to the sky as if it would give him the answers he seeked. He almost jumped where he sat when he heard a loud bark right next to him. When Kabuto turned to the side, he was greeted by the black and white dog that was Yuki.

She was looking straight at him, for whatever reason.

Then she barked again, and if Kabuto were Eiji, he'd say that she looked curious about him. He wasn't though and she didn't, because dogs weren't that expressive… Or maybe everything he knew was wrong, because she was doing a great job at convincing him otherwise.

It was kind of scary, actually.

"What's the matter? Does Eiji need me?" Kabuto asked as he mentally shook any thoughts about how much emotion the dog could convey. He almost started standing up to see what the demon that was Eiji Satou wanted from him. It wouldn't do to be too slow or something. The wolf in sheep's clothing had been 'nice' so far, but that was because everyone was doing as told and Kabuto would be the last to try and see what happened if someone didn't.

The dog barked again though, this time shaking her head from side to side.

"What then?" Kabuto questioned this time, relaxing back where he was sitting. The only answer he got was the canine sitting next to him and just… staring. He almost wanted to ask something again, but what would be the point? Was he going to spend several minutes trying to maneuver through a conversation of yes and no questions? If Eiji didn't want something from him, then that was it and the dog was unimportant.

Kabuto blinked then, his mind conjuring images of Eiji and her. How the boy seemed to relax only when they were playing or when he was meditating. At any other moment, he was the demon that Kabuto knew him to be. During those moments though, he looked almost human, which was the most scary part.

"I'm Eiji Satou. I like my friends. And I hate anything that endangers them. My dream for the future is to be the next God of Shinobi. In the meantime, I like drawing, free running, cooking and spending time with my friends."

He made it sound so simple…

"Who said that our identities have to be complicated?"

'Who indeed,' Kabuto thought then. After all, few ever pondered what he did. Most people seemed to have no struggles knowing who they were. 'Am I overthinking it?'

He just might be…

"We are what we do and what we feel," He mumbled, making Yuki tilt her head in a way that he'd almost describe as adorable. Before he processed the thought, Kabuto found his hand in between her ears, awkwardly scratching her fur.

He blinked, wondering why he'd done that and the only answer he got was 'felt like it?'. It wasn't even a statement. It was a question, unsure and shy, awkward even.

"Maybe it's just that simple," He mumbled, as he continued petting Yuki. "Right?" He asked, as if the dog had the answers he seeked. Regardless, she barked and they both pretended that Kabuto understood her.

"In the end, the only thing that matters is what we want," Eiji had said.

'What I want,' Kabuto repeated in his mind. 'I should find out what that is first, I guess,' He added, unsure, even in his own mind. 'It's a start…'

[}-o-{]

[Temari]

She'd been unsure of how much she could do in the mission that Satou had asked her to join. After all, what could she do that the monster that was their leader couldn't. He'd had a clear job for her, however, and she was more than a little proud that he considered her to be a capable strategist.

Temari was also unsure about what she felt regarding her position in the squad though. Second-in-command was an important one, after all. A very important one. Where did Satou get the confidence of giving her that rank when she'd been part of the Invasion until the very day it happened? His 'friendship' with Gaara, if it could be called that, couldn't have been enough. He knew next to nothing about her either.

And yet, he gave her that position anyway.

She always felt the strangest mix between nervousness and pride whenever they had to divide the group to check on an incident. When he or she had to leave to see what their targets had done to poke at Iwa's defenses on their Jinchuuriki. Whenever she was given free reign during a training session.

'Why?' She thought, as she often did in such situations. They had been informed of an explosion, and Eiji had left this time. He'd taken Tayuya and Yuki with him. Temari had hardly had to work together with the redhead and, to be frank, that suited her just fine. They were unlikely to work together unless they were in a truly serious situation, which might cause mistakes that they couldn't afford.

"Aren't they taking a little longer than usual?" Kabuto asked and Temari frowned.

He was right, after all. It wasn't by much, but this was certainly the time a team had been away the most. The only reassurance they had was that Yuki was likely to be sent away to get support if anything happened. There was no way Eiji wouldn't be able to get her at least a moment to get away.

He was a monster, after all, and no matter how much he told them that Akatsuki was likely to be worse than him, they would never buy it entirely. Even if they were stronger than Eiji himself, they couldn't be completely out of his league. Not to the point that he wouldn't be able to do anything, at least.

That's what they hoped at least, because if they were wrong…

All of them tensed up, a shiver running down their spines as a familiar but very unwelcome feeling washed over them. Like cold water being dumped on them, Eiji's killing intent all but froze the blood inside their veins. They looked at each other, wondering what was happening. He'd never reacted quite like that during any of the other incidents.

Even Yugito, new and much stronger than the rest of the team members, looked uneasy as they waited. They didn't have to do that for long though, because soon, the trio of boy, girl and dog appeared in the clearing before them. Temari was almost surprised when Eiji didn't immediately start barking out orders.

Instead, he just… stood there, seemingly seething at something that they had no way of knowing. Tayuya certainly didn't offer them any clue, limiting herself to just staring at their leader like one would a burning exploding tag. Yuki, bless her canine heart, was rubbing herself against the wrathful monster as if she had nothing to worry about.

"We are at the end of the rope here," Their leader said in the end, voice controlled and cold. Temari realized then that she'd have preferred screaming and burning anger. "Iwa won't be allowing us to stay for long. We'll have to go after Akatsuki ourselves or be sent away."

Temari frowned, already trying to come up with plans to do exactly that. Trying was the key word there, because she could hardly think at all with her heart frozen and quivering in fear. Eiji wasn't done talking, anyway.

"The damn bastards wanted this," He growled, his red eyes flashing momentarily, turning completely the darkest blue, mimicking the night sky. "They were waiting for Iwa to lose their patience with us and send us away."

Temari's eyes widened. That… made sense. At the start, Akatsuki's little shows of power could have just been checks on the defenses. Attempts at gathering information. They had long since passed the time they could have used for that.

"So, what are we going to do?" Yugito asked, and Temari was reluctantly impressed. No one else would have talked to Eiji at that moment. Not even her, and she was supposed to be the one that was trusted the most.

Everyone, Jinchuriki included, took a step back when dark blue chakra started flaring around Eiji. She'd swear she had never seen something quite like that before. Not in that shade, at least. She'd seen light blue and she'd seen red from Gaara. This though…

'What even is that?' She asked herself.

"I'm sick and tired of this," Eiji hissed, his hands clenched into fists. Then he took a deep breath in. The chakra receded and the killing intent lifted from over them. He closed his eyes and when he opened again, they were back to their usual red.

Temari didn't find him any less frightening after he calmed down though. If anything, she felt even more scared. A quick look at the rest of the team told her that she wasn't the only one.

"We are finishing this mission."