Where the life leads Chapter 4: Ramen and Kunais, a naruto fanfic

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

Chapter Four

With the five fake Rukas…

"You little brats over do that again," said one of the five females, looking at the chuunins in her arms. "I will do something to you worse than death."

"What?" said one of them, smugly glaring at her as blood dripped out of his parted lips. "Torture?"

"Yes, perhaps," said one of the Rukas, smirking slightly. "But-"She was interrupted by herself.

"But we can bring you back to life and just kill you again," she finished and another spoke.

"And no one would ever know, except you, because you'd be too afraid to say a word."

All the chuunins, except one gulped. "Alright, ma'am," they replied, looking away from the five women.

Suddenly, they appeared in front of Tsunade's office. Ruka knocked harshly. The door slammed itself open as Naruto stood angrily in front of the five Rukas. They ran over him as they stomped into the room.

Ibiki stood beside the fifth with shurikens clutched secretively in his hands. His face as unfriendly as usual.

"Tsunade-dono!" the five shouted, bowing oddly while holding the chuunins. The Rukas threw the brats onto the floor in front of them. Tsunade sighed. Naruto slowly got up, rubbing his head and groaning as loudly as possible.

"What the hell's going on?" he grumbled, looking at the behinds of all the people in front of him.

"Sakura, Sakura, Sakura, Sakura, Sakura and those?" He moved forward, gaining back his composure. He pointed at the chuunins, taking a seat behind the oversized desk, which still partly belonged to Tsunade. He narrowed his eyes at them, and sighed.

"Say your ranks please and save me time from going though all the files and making you all go back to ninja training school."

They all answered immediately, "CHUUNIN."

Naruto stuck a finger in his ear and twisted it. "Uh-huh, thank you." He rolled his chair back to a large file cabinet.

Now taking this chance to speak, Ibiki walked forward to the one of with the darkest brown hair. "Sirocco!" yelled Ibiki, walking forward with clouds of hate and displeasing aura covering the room.

"They should have you all demoted to genin!" shouted the five Rukas in union.

"No," said Tsunade darkly. "Only two will be demoted, because of their repeated acts of trouble. Morino Sirocco and Leo Pepe-" Why do they have such odd names? Tsunade thought. "-will be demoted to genins. And the rest will be doing extremely boring and hard, D-rank missions for a whole two months. No leniency!" She turned her back and grabbed the files from Naruto's hands, marking something on the two files. The Rukas bowed and stabbed each other with kunais to poof and disappear. Naruto dropped the files he was holding as soon as they poofed. What an odd sight…

Sirocco had what seemed to be: a permanent frown on his face.

Ibiki roared in anger and grabbed Sirocco's ear. "Sirocco!" He pulled him out of the room, after bowing to the Hokages.

"Go now," said Naruto to the other chuunins and the one genin. Tsunade looked down at her desk at the newly formed pile of papers. Where did those come from? Her mind screamed at her. She looked up at Naruto as he disappeared.

"NARUTO! THIS IS YOUR PILE OF PAPER WORK!" she screamed, shaking the Hokage Tower.

"'scuse me, the sixth," said Sakura's clone that had appeared out of the ceiling.

"He left," mentioned the fifth, rubbing her head.

"Right…" Sakura's eyes drifted to the outside hallway, where he was hiding on the ceiling. "Anyway, if Naruto were here I'd like him to meet me at the ramen shop later so we can have dinner, be sure to bring a guest. Good day, the fifth." Sakura's clone poofed away.

Naruto yelped as he fell off the ceiling. "Ooh, Naruto…" came Tsunade's creepy voice.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHH!"

The red chair in soon-to-be Naruto's office was flung out the window.

("Oww!" cried the chair, as it started to bleed and cry.)

Tsunade sighed, smirking at the bleeding Naruto on the floor. She picked up the phone, "We need another chair, please bring it to the sixth's office. Thanks."

Back to the past… (Where ever I left off…)

Itachi and Ruka's lips crashed together, the whole room was left in a deep gasp. Ruka pulled away half smirking, Itachi's face was slightly pink. She performed one-handed seals, and shouted, "Water barrier techniques!" He widened his eyes and jerked her face the other way as water spurt from her lips. The ninjas that had gathered, and the other people just in the way, became soaked with the water while their backs slammed against a wall on the other side. She spat the last of the water into Itachi's face and jumped off. She slipped her half mask on and studied the destruction she had caused.

The kitchen looked clean; there was no more ash or soot.

"The kitchen's clean now, no reason not to cook in it," she said, smirking with amusement. "Does anyone want something good to eat?" They shook their heads, wanting to nod, excluding the main Akatsuki whom did nothing at all. (Even though a small amount of drool coming from Deidara's mouth.) Kisame rolled his eyes as he sickly admired his surroundings.

"Looks like I missed the fun," he joked, trying to ease the slowly growing tension in the room. Itachi glared at him and left the room. Kisame, Deidara and Hidan left shortly after. The other ninjas disappeared seeing no reason to stay if there was not going to be a fight.

"You can cook later, miss sake drinker," said Kakuzu, motioning for her to follow him through the doorway of the kitchen. "Let's go get you your cloak that you left behind." She slowly followed after him.

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

He pushed open a door and let her walk in under his arm.

Suddenly, Ruka was outside. How did she get outside? Her sense told her that it wasn't possible. She had gone inward of the very big building, not outward of it. Her face was emotionless, but, maybe in some way it revealed her confusion.

"This is the indoor training ground; a couple of miles away are the entrance to the castle. This is placed here so that if someone, not an ally, would be destroyed before he or she enters the castle door," said Kakuzu, walking ahead of her. She felt her own katana quiver in jealousy. She suddenly missed her sake.

"I need sake, Kakuzu-kun," she whined, folding her arms over her chest. Kakuzu lifted an Akatsuki cloak in his arms, taking off her old black one. He placed the Akatsuki cloak on her shoulders, zipping it up. 'A cloak shouldn't zip,' she thought.

"Now you can drink for free," he said, patting her on the shoulder. "Deidara and a few others will be going with you… Deidara… has decided to take up drinking, because of you."

"Well," she started as Deidara and two others appeared. "That's not good-" Deidara sneezed, the two strangers stared wide-eyed at him. 'Deidara-sama never sneezes,' they thought in unison. "He should probably start to stop."

"I agree," said Kakuzu, nodding, and not looking at Deidara, nor the other two; ignoring their existence. Ruka and Kakuzu were only looking at each other, as if they were the only ones there. Deidara sneezed again.

"It's such a bad taste to like," she said, tilting her head to the side in relaxation. She let her eyes drift from Kakuzu to Deidara and the two strangers to a blade of grass moving in the wind. "It made me squirm when I started to drink it…" She seemed to drift mentally and stared up at the far away sky.

'So long ago…'

"Well, let's go, yeah," Deidara said, disappearing towards where the entrance was supposed to be. The two strangers motioned for Ruka to go before them. After a sigh, she jumped onto the first huge tree branch. She would have fallen had it not been for the chakra control in her feet.

"Do you know the way?" she called to Deidara from behind. She could not see through stone walls; they had to be thinner.

"Yeah, yeah," he yelled back casually, nodding. He smirked, silently to himself. He was going to get his revenge.

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

"Baka," whispered one of the two men. "Baka onna." The two hid in the shadows watching her have a staring contest with Deidara. He would win of course, with his eyes looking open when they were really closed. Cheating with the help of his clay. She twisted in her seat slightly, but kept on staring at him. He twitched, jolting to put his hands in front of his face. She raised an eyebrow at this, what was he doing? Being stupid and playing around? Thinking that she was going to cheat by poking his eyes out? She paused for a moment. That wasn't such a bad idea. (She did tend to be a sore loser at times anyway.) She slammed her sake glass on the table, nearly blinking, and jumped across it. He was starting to fight back when she punched him in the face. What's with those eyes? Why were they so hard? The word CHEATER flashed rapidly through her head.

"YAROU!" she shouted, unlike her coolness she presented to anyone else. The bar shook violently, and then she disappeared with a puff of white smoke.

Deidara's real eyes twitched as the left over clay on his face dissolved. "Was I just dreaming now?" he breathed out to himself, his voice slowly rising. "Or did she just call me a BASTARD?"

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

She steadily moved through the fogs of the unknown place she was in. She wished that she did know where she was. She narrowed her one-open eye. Why was there so much fog everywhere! She swatted at it with her kunai in frustration. It thickened; suddenly her kunai was taken out from her hand. She jerked her head up to meet those white eyes. Both of her eyes jolted open in surprise, and then went to the normal emotionless calm look she had gone used to.

"Come with me," he said soothingly, guiding his arm around her waist and pulling her closer, so that their Akatsuki cloaks melted into one.

"Where are we heading?" she whispered, his mouth above her shoulder, and his breath against her neck. "Hm? Kakuzu-kun?"

"We're going to get more sake, Ruka-chan." And then there was darkness around them. Her eyes searched for light, her senses failing her. She felt warm lips press against her neck and then the body of Kakuzu left her completely. Soon he was so far away she could not even hear his breathing.

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

(Present…)

The real Ruka looked out over the village of sleeping Konoha. Sachi sat resting against her thin thigh. They were sitting on the Hokage's heads, but not Naruto's because it was too spiky. She looked down at her son and smirked.

"This is where I used to live Sachi," she whispered sweetly to him. "Back when I was weak." She looked away from the little boy, whose eyes lingered on her aging face.

"What happened to those mean men, mama?" asked Sachi innocently.

"They've been taken care of," she said softly, kissing him on the head. "What do you want for dinner?" His stomach growled on cue, and he looked up with a cute smile on his face.

"Food of course!" She smiled at him, but quickly turned cold and slipped her half mask on. She grabbed him at the same moment and held a kunai in front of her. Sachi winced and grabbed his mother tighter.

"Madame Ruka," said a voice; Shino. "That is you name, isn't it?" Sachi peered from behind her leg.

"Yes," she said crisply, lowering her kunai. Shino leaned forward and handed her a scroll from his pouch.

"Your new students, Miss Sakura." He disappeared as soon as she took it. She could still see him, right in one of the trees below, jumping from the Hokage's faces.

Sachi made a noise. Sakura zoomed her focus back on him. "What is it, Mama Ruka?" He pointed at the scroll in her hand. She would need to break him from calling her that, she noted to herself as she slipped it into her shirt. 'It should stay safe and warm there…' She suddenly brought a big smile onto face and lifted him into the air, spinning around wildly.

"Come along Sachi, my child! Let's go to the local ramen shop!" The little boy squealed in joy.

"Thank you, Mama Ruka." She narrowed her eyes, but felt compassion and love towards him. But, she would need him to stop calling her that. She held him to her chest and jumped down from the Hokage's heads.

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

"Naruto!" said Hinata, leaning across his chest to grab his hand from his chopsticks

"Ay! Hinata!" he warned, trying to save his chopsticks from her evil wrath. "I know what you are up to!" She looked up at him, a fake shocked expression on her face. She fully sat on Naruto's lap. She took both of his hands and wrapped them around her waist. She took her own and hung them around Naruto's neck. She cleverly swiveled the chair around so that her back was to the outside and his to the shop as she kissed him. 'I win… again…'

She continued to distract him and poured his whole ramen bowl into her own. Then she slid right back onto her chair. She ate as quickly as possible before he could recover.

"HINATA!" yelled Naruto, making a grab for her bowl. She reached to snap it up before he did, but failed.

"Now-now Naruto!" cooed Sakura with her half mask up still. It's not nice-" in her arms was Sachi holding Hinata's bowl of ramen. "-to steal from women." Naruto frowned. "After all," continued Sakura. "It seems this one needs as much as she can."

Hinata and Naruto blushed. Sakura leaned forward, and Sachi handed the bowl back to Hinata.

"Two bowls of noodles with vegetables please," Sakura called to the man behind the counter. He nodded slowly and she threw him the money in a sack.

"Thank you, little boy," said Hinata, reaching her hand to shake his. He pulled away and hid his face against Sakura's chest.

"It's okay," whispered Sakura to him, rubbing a soft finger against his cheek. "Go introduce yourself to the Hokage's wife!" A tear slid down Sachi's face and Ruka held back the urge to slap him; tell him to be strong for her and his own well being. She had disciplined him harder than his own father. She only wanted what was best for her child and that was for him to survive.

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

(Past once more…)

She had been alone for an hour or two. It was possible – if she wanted – for her to sit still for as long as a week, but she did not want to sit still. She wanted those lips again. All she could think about was Kakuzu. What had he done to her? She hadn't felt this way since she was in "love" with that Sasuke. There was Shino of course, but she loved him for another reason. Sasuke was just mysterious, had a blood-stained life, those eyes… delicious lust-filled eyes…

Kakuzu's were white, but whatever! His lips, she thought. Felt so good.

She kneeled on the floor, her head tilted to the side in thought. It tilted more and more until her whole body had collapsed to the side. The floor was a cold black tile. She sat awkwardly with her legs crossed and arms leaning on one side of her body.

"C'mon," she thought out loud to herself. She felt her katana quiver in frustration. She jumped up and looked around. Pitch black, everything was nothing. Not a single light. Sometimes it seemed impossible to her, but right now: it was a fact. She was part of the nothing. She was nothing here.

She concentrated on the noise. Nothing, nothing, echoed back at her. Even her moves were silent and she was the loudest silent there was here. She broke out into a cold sweat. She needed sake; she couldn't concentrate. Sake! yelled her body. She was such an alcoholic! Sake was the only thing that managed to keep her head on straight. She needed it for her eye – her new eye.

Then she heard it.

A low whizzing sound, but it got louder. One hundred kunais! She thought. Her shugengan turned burgundy red with anger and irritation, and destroyed almost all of the things that were heading towards her head. She rolled herself into a ball to shield her head from whatever it was. The floor began to fall in, and she with it.

A hand reached out and she stabbed it with a kunai.

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

Ruka fell back down onto the chair she was on as she entered the bar again.

"Ooh! Look who came crawling back!" cooed Deidara, sliding closer to her with his chair. "Ready for a rematch?" He smirked, putting his chin on his hands. "I swear it be fair this time…" She frowned at him, grabbing the nearest bottle if sake. She chugged it contently.

That jutsu she had been trapped in was very clever and proved a point to her. Other than that there were going to be more of those, she could not leave the Akatsuki. She was a member now; to do their bidding – their master's. She gasped for air after finishing it.

"More sake!" she shouted at Deidara coldly. "Sake, Deidara," she whispered to him in a dangerous low tone. He nervously ushered over the bar tender and bribed him. Ruka was gleefully given large amounts of sake.

"Drink all you can," whispered Deidara, leaning to her closely. "Because the Akatsuki don't give sake to weaklings." She looked up at him, offering a questioning look.

"Then why do they give it to you?" she asked innocently, and then continued chugging more.

A huge blood vein popped from his head. "WHAT?" he screamed, standing up from his seat angrily. "That is it!" He put his arm in front of him. In order for me to gain my honor back… "I challenge you to an arm wrestling match!"

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

(Next day…)

"I can't believe you drunk yourself and the bar," said Deidara curtly, crossing his arms and not looking back at the at the crumbled building behind him.

"I can't believe you drowned everyone in sand," said Ruka. "Including the building…"

"It's clay…" He paused. "So this never happened?"

"What building that has no more sake…"

Deidara chuckled and she smirked. "Shall we head back?" Deidara asked, Ruka looked at the building behind her once more and, after a while, nodded. Her body fazed out as he quickly darted from branch to branch jumping closer to the castle. She followed after slowly, eyeing her surroundings. She hummed as whizzed through the air after him. It was a classical song she had heard from a foreigner when she was younger. She had been forbidden to even think about it, especially when he was finally (publicly) executed. 'I can't recall what he did anymore.'

Deidara darted a glance at her. "Watch out for that tree –" She hit her head on the very tree branch. 'OWW!' she thought, holding her head. 'Blasted eye, not watching out for me!'

"Ruka…" said Kakuzu, she sat down on a nearby branch. She looked up at him. She half smirked.

"I hope you didn't see that," she said softly. He cocked an eyebrow.

"Nope," said Deidara, walking her way. "He didn't see anything, but –" He pointed down below the branch, where a large herd of Akatsuki cloaks stood. They were laughing under those straw hats of theirs. Ruka growled softly, opening her left eye a crack. It casually turned from white to blue to red. The cylinders turned and one by one the group members below lost a finger. Deidara and anyone else did not know what she had done. Her actions happened in one second. No, two seconds.

It was so clever. She was so clever, she thought to herself. But when she looked up at Kakuzu with her left eye shut. She knew he had seen it all.

7 pages of glory people! Bwhahahah! Well, finally, here's chapter four. I just had not had the time to type anything since my parents took away the computer in April and then t the end of July they finally gave it back. (Bastards). So… when August is over the computers will be gone once more. Rolls eyes how annoying, eh? Anyway, I've started to hand write chapter five and (looks at the pages) there are about five and a half hand written pages. (This will probably be like three when typed…) But hell! Chapter five isn't finished being written yet! (Or is it… checks again no, not yet.)

In Chapie fivie… there will be further explanations, but knowing myself it shouldn't reveal the whole plot that I haven't really finished planning yet. (Lol.) And no, there's still no sex in chapter five (at the moment…) to my knowledge. Maybe I should…

(CONTINUE ALREADY) No, Sakura and Itachi aren't getting down together just yet. But…well… you know, its coming. :D

Byes... Review or die… (Woo and someone tell me how many typos I've made, excluding this little part.)

ILY guys. [I love you guys. :)