TONFA
The Original Naruto Fanfic Archive

Main Categories

Het Romance [1092]
Any Naruto fanfiction with the main plot orientating around different sex couples.
Alternate Universe & Crossovers [651]
Where cast of the Naruto Universe are inserted into an alternate universe.
Essays & Tutorials [17]
An area to submit intelligent essays debating topics about the Naruto Universe and writing tutorial submissions.
 
General Fiction [1739]
Any Naruto fanfiction focused without romantic orientation, on a canon character in the current Naruto Universe.
OC-centric [865]
Any Naruto fanfic that has the major inclusion of a fan-made character.
Non-Naruto Fiction [291]
Self-evident
 
Shonen-ai/Yaoi Romance [1575]
Any Naruto fanfiction with the main plot orientating around male same sex couples.
MadFic [194]
Any fic with no real plot and humor based. Doesn't require correct spelling, paragraphing or punctuation but it's a very good idea.
 
Shojo-ai/Yuri Romance [106]
Any Naruto fanfiction with the main plot orientating around female same sex couples.
Fan Ninja Bingo Book [125]
An area to store fanfic information, such as bios, maps, political histories. No stories.
 
 

Site Info

Members: 11985
Series: 261
Stories: 5884
Chapters: 25418
Word count: 47689150
Authors: 2162
Reviews: 40828
Reviewers: 1750
Newest Member: Redxkenny
Challenges: 255
Challengers: 193
 


Strong Enough by Rowanashke

[Reviews - 1]   Printer Chapter or Story
Table of Contents

- Text Size +
Chapter notes: I don't own Naruto or make any money off of this.
The sound of burning, of Taichi’s scream of pain…

“Get out of here, all of you, get out….”

“Noooooo! Kurou-Sensei! Help me!”

..........


Hatake Kakashi frowned behind his mask. Glad once again for its concealing protection, he casually leaned against the counter and eyed the sweating villager behind it, trying to figure out what felt so strange. There was something…not right about this town. Something was going on. His nerves were chiming gently in the back of his head. There was obviously something worth looking into going on here…

But do I have the time to figure it out? Kakashi waited as the nervous man hesitantly slid the key to a room across the desk. He was sweating too much; he was too nervous. Kakashi could practically smell his fear. Picking up the key, Kakashi turned to walk soundlessly up the stairs.

I’m on a mission, he reminded himself sternly. Think only of the mission; don’t let other things get in the way. But the nagging feeling wouldn’t go away. Something off kilter…

..............

The man behind the counter watched as the leaf village ninja walked up the stairs. Only when he’d disappeared completely did he let his breath out in a relived sigh. Then, quickly, he left the counter and headed out onto the dusty street, his eyes darting back and forth. Too soon; was it a coincidence that had brought the ninja to the village? Or did the leaf village begin to suspect something, to send a man like Hatake Kakashi, the notorious copy-ninja…

He slid into the tavern and located his target through the dingy smoke of too many cigarettes. Wiping his brow nervously, he approached the man lounging carelessly in the booth, his fingers moving restlessly over that strange blue ball he carried with him everywhere. A very dangerous man, for all that he wasn’t much to look at.

He looked like a schoolboy; hardly older than a child. But there was a deadly purpose in his young face, and a cold, dark spirit that was somehow decades older than its body. But he was also brilliant, and willing to include the villagers in his schemes to get rich. Not that they had much choice; he’d made that clear on his first visit to the village. His “demonstration” had made it clear to the villagers what would happen if they resisted. First fear had kept them in line. Then the profits had started flowing, and the demon-boy spread them around generously. Now most of the villagers served him from greed.

The counter man gulped and stopped a respectful distance from the boy-man, again nervously wiping his sweating brow and waited for him to acknowledge his prescence.

The boy’s eyes flickered from the ball to the man, slicing the counter man with their ice coldness. After a moment, the boy blinked once and then sighed. “What is it?”

“S..sir, I came from the hotel…there’s a leaf village ninja here. Rented a room for the night. He’s…He’s Hatake Kakashi .”

The boy raised one eyebrow thoughtfully. “Hah. Kakashi the copy-ninja. Hmmm…I wonder…” he stroked the ball for a moment, his blue eyes thoughtful. “I wonder if they suspect anything.”

The counterman shivered in fear, nervously clutching his hands together. “Sir?”

The boy flashed once, contempt burning in his eyes, before closing them and leaning wearily back against the chair. “No matter. Tell me what he does, while he is here. If he gets too nosey, tell me immediately.”

The counter man bowed and backed out of the tavern gratefully, glad to have gotten out so lightly.

..................

Kakashi leaned against the wall. So, the little villager running off to report? Kakashi wished he dared follow, but he was weary from the road and it was too bright to find a good place to hide. He sighed, rubbing his aching arm ruefully. He’d so hoped to have a night off, to rest and recover, but it looked like he wasn’t going to get any real rest tonight.

He pushed off the wall and headed back to his room, proud that he only had to lean on the wall a little. That last fight had really taken it out of him. Maybe he was loosing his edge? Then again, one ninja versus four was a pretty stiff fight, even for him. He sighed again and pushed his door open.

There was someone here! Instinctively, Kakashi ducked, his eyes scanning the sunlit room. Where?

He located the intruder and launched himself at the shape, sliding a kunai into his hand. The intruder hadn’t moved, nor made any indication of an attack, but Kakashi hadn’t survived as long as he had by being sloppy or careless.

He slammed into the intruder, brining them both down to the floor. As he did so, he slid the kunai around the intruder’s throat and pinned him down, immobilizing his hands.

Then he hauled the intruder out into the middle of the floor. With his teeth, he pulled the intruder’s concealing scarf away to reveal…

…a child. A girl child, trembling with wide-eyed fear. Kakashi took a deep breath and reorganized his mind, and then eased off the girl a little.

“Why are you here?” he demanded.

“I..I…” the girl shuddered, and then burst out “They might still be alive! You have to save them!”

“Save them?” Kakashi rose, releasing the girl and sliding his kunai back into it’s sheathe. “Save who?”

“The other ninja, who came two days ago. They wore the same headband you do…I thought…aren’t you looking for them?”

“What?” Kakashi reached down and hauled the girl to her feet. “Slow down. I’m just passing through. What other ninja? What happened to them?”

The girl, still trembling, wiped her eyes with the back of her hand and took a shaky breath. “They came through two days ago. Looking for something. They got too nosey, I think they found something. He said he’d take care of it…oh, I liked her..”

The girl was getting incoherent. Kakashi didn’t have time to soothe her. This sounded bad. But it was no good scaring the kid. Bottling his impatience, he sat the girl down on a chair and knelt in front of her, taking her shaking hands in his own.

“Tell me, from the beginning.”

The girl took a last deep breath and then launched into her tale. “Two days ago, a ninja and three younger ninjas came to town. They said they were heading home, back to the leaf village. But the older ninja learned something…something about him…and they left in a hurry. The grownups were upset, but he said he could handle them. He left and came back this morning, covered in b…blood and looking h..h..happy, and the grownups were all relieved and scared too, cause he’s so scary…”

The girl looked ready to dissolve into tears. Kakashi shook her shoulders gently. “Who’s this he you keep talking about?”

“He’s…he said to call him Talnata. He’s a very bad man. He…he k.k..killed some villagers when he first got here, and now the grownups all work for him. He’s scary…”

Kakashi patted her shoulder absently, his mind racing. Heading for home…if they’d learned something disturbing about this Talnata, would they have been running directly for the leaf village? ”What did the older ninja look like?” he asked quietly.

The girl, distracted for a moment from her fear, screwed up her face thoughtfully. “Uhm. He dressed like you…he had dark brown hair and he was really tall…he had a nice smile…uhm. Oh, yeah, he wore this funny green and purple rag on his arm.”

Kakashi blinked, feeling stunned. Kurou, it had to be. The “rag” was a so-called good luck charm he’d gotten from a girl the night before he’d aced his Chuunin Exam. He refused to remove it from his arm after that. What in the world would have shaken Kurou up enough that he would have gone fleeing back to the leaf village? And who…or what?…could have taken him and three genin out?

“I have to go look for them. You need to leave. If anyone finds out you were here…” Kakashi hesitated, torn painfully between the urge to find Kurou and his students and the knowledge that the girl had put herself into terrible danger warning him. But the girl shook her had and dashed the last tears from her eyes.

“I’ll be ok. No one ever notices me, creeping around like a little mouse.” The girl patted his knee solemnly. “The owner’s my father, and I work here, so I have lots of reasons to be slipping around the hotel. Don’t worry; go save them.”

Kakashi impulsively hugged the little girl, then stood and patted her head. “I’m going. Thank you.”

He turned and vaulted lightly out of the window, heading towards the dark forest. This may be a little difficult, he thought wryly. I hope it doesn’t take very long.

.............

It wasn’t so difficult after all. The battle site was clearly visible when you got near it. The trees and ground were scarred with the energy that had been expended during the fight.

Kurou’s body was lying where it had evidently fallen, crumpled in a heap over the dead body of one of his students. Another student lay crumpled pitifully at the foot of a huge tree. The scar in the tree told Kakashi that the boy had hit it very hard-probably enough to crush his ribcage and lungs.

It took Kakashi a moment to find the third student. She lay, half-in and half-out of a massive hole in the ground. Staring mournfully down at her, Kakashi shook his head.

“Dammit.” he said, and started to turn away.
But the body in the hole moved; a feeble twitch. Kakashi sprang to her side, carefully turning her body face up.

She’d been struck with a slashing weapon that had hit her face and swept down, catching on her collarbone and veering in a jagged line down her chest and stomach. The would bled freely and looked ugly; Kakashi immediately tore his sleeves off and began bandaging her, trying to do it as gently as possible. The girl blinked, staring at him mindlessly. She’s in shock, he realized.

I have to get her someplace safe. Not that village-where? After a moment, he realized that the closest safe place was probably the leaf village.

A sound from the forest made him freeze, his eyes flickering over the dappled shadows of the trees. Had he been followed? Impossible.

He snarled and picked the girl up. She didn’t weigh anything; he glanced down at her and frowned deeply at her pallor. She’d lost too much blood. He didn’t know if she’d make it alive. No help for it.

Spinning on his heel, he raced towards the village.
You must login (register) to review.