A Lethal Observer - ALW Saga Book 2

Chapter 10

Hanako inhaled the smell of the sweet sauce of the dango in front of her. Ibiki was kind to invite her to eat while he only asked for some green tea. At the first bite of the sweet, Hanako felt her insides churn in delight.

"This is so good!" She dragged the words to emphasize their meaning.

Ibiki scoffed. "Well, about the stone, have you found anything?"

Hanako put down the dango and looked up at her teacher. "Not really, I just find intriguing that it had a third eye on its forehead. I can't stop looking at it." Ibiki didn't make a move, he just observed her with keen eyes. "I also seem to hear whispering when my surroundings are silent."

Ibiki raised an eyebrow. "Whispers? What does it say?"

Hanako looked at the table. "I'm not sure, I can't understand a word."

"So, like senseless babbling?"  

Hanako nodded. "Well, I did make out one word. I think it's a name." Ibiki leaned closer. "Have you ever heard anything like 'Otsutsuki' before?"

Ibiki frowned. "No, but I'll look into it." Hanako took another bite from her dango. "That's not why I brought you here, though. I think I should tell you about what we gathered from the bandits we interrogated."

Hanako put down the bamboo stick and looked up at her teacher, who was also the Interrogation and Torture specialist. "What is it?"

"According to the leader of the bandits, this stone has been passed down within the Lord's family for generations. It belonged to the emperor of the Land of Ancestors." Hanako frowned.

"The Land of Ancestors? Never heard of it."

"Geographically, it existed within the limits of the Land of Fire, but not anymore. The stone was one of the few things they managed to recover."

Hanako scoffed. "What a nice thing to find from a lost land. I guess it really is a relic."

Ibiki stood, looking down at her with stern eyes. "Work hard."

* * *

Team Ro was all gathered in the fourth training ground when Kakashi and his other two subordinates arrived. The team consisted of two senior Anbu, two younger Anbu, the captain and his vice.

Kakashi Hatake was the captain of Team Ro and held Tenzou as his vice. Itachi didn't know who the other two Anbu were, but if they were anything like Nerumi it was going to be hard for him.

I'm not here to make friends.

Itachi kept reminding himself that joining the Anbu was a mission for him. A mission to gather information for his father, but also a personal mission to become powerful and be acknowledged by the elders.

It's just another step for my dream.

"Hey kid," one of the senior Anbu spoke to Itachi. "Are you really fit to be part of our team? We are not going to wait around for you if you can't keep up with us."

"I don't need you to wait for me," Itachi said. "I can keep up just fine."

The senior scoffed. "Sure."

"Hey Itachi," Nerumi wrapped his arm around Itachi's shoulders. "Did you know? Captain Kakashi is actually one of the most fearsome Anbu out there."

Itachi looked at Kakashi discussing something with Tenzou. They had moved apart from the group right after they arrived. "They say that if you get in his way, he'll kill you."

All of them chuckled. "Make sure not to be a burden, okay?" Itachi curled his hands into fists.

"I know."

* * *

That night, walking back to the Uchiha Compound, Hanako's mind wouldn't stop drifting towards Ibiki's words.

It used to belong to the emperor of the Land of Ancestors.

With a sigh, Hanako put her hands into her pockets. "I hate that stupid stone..."

"What stone?" Hanako heard a raspy voice behind her, but when she turned she found no one.

"Weird..." She frowned and continued walking.

"It's been a while, Nee-chan."

This time, the voice came from within a tree trunk beside the path she was walking in. Hanako stopped walking and looked towards it, where she felt a faint trace of chakra. The moment she neared it, a white humanoid just popped out of it with a creepy smile.

Hanako screamed and fell backwards into her butt. "Why are you afraid of me?" Shiro asked with a faint trace of disappointment in his voice.

"You scared me," Hanako glared back at him, poising herself back into her feet.

"Sorry, I didn't realize you would be so nervous." Shiro mocked, coming out of tree.

"It's the middle of the night," Hanako narrowed her eyes. "What could you possibly want from me?"

"Not me," Shiro smiled. "Madara-sama needs something from you."

Hanako's heart seemed to have skipped a beat. She gulped. "What?"

"He wants to tell you personally, so I need you to come with me." The look in Zetsu's eyes kept Hanako on edge. Nonetheless, she agreed.

* * *

It had been six months since Hanako last spoke to Madara in person, but the cave he was hiding in hadn't changed a bit in that time. Hanako followed Zetsu along the dark corridors. The smell of it, the looks of it, even the feels she got, all of it reminded her of her nightmares. Hanako could feel herself trembling at the thought of her dream becoming real. She held her breath and stopped walking for a moment, hoping to calm herself down.

"Are you okay, Nee-chan?" Hanako looked at Shiro. For once, he was giving her a concerned look. She held in a scoff. He couldn't possibly care for her, or for anything that happened or bothered her. He wasn't even human, there was no way he knew anything about emotions.

"I'm fine," she replied and took a deep breath. "I just feel... a little disoriented. That's all."

Shiro chuckled. "It's because you haven't been here in six months," he said. "We change the passages every once in a while. For safety." He winked and continued his way ahead. Hanako followed him, even more cautiously than before.

"Oh, you've come." When Hanako heard his voice, a rush of memories coursed through her. Her lip trembled, and something stung in the back of her throat as her eyes filled with tears. She wanted to cry so badly, and she didn't know why. She suddenly wanted to take back all of it. Her promise to help him, her trainings with him, even meeting him.

She just wanted to pretend none of it happened. Which is, what she had been doing for the last six months until Zetsu showed up again.

"Is something the matter, Hanako?" When she heard her name, Hanako looked up and met his eye. He was looking at her seriously, trying to look into her.

"Nothing's wrong..." she said in a low voice, not being able to look away from him. She noticed that Madara smirked, and she could feel her soul being ripped from her body.

"You know you cannot lie to me." He stood up, bringing with him all the cables that were stuck into his back. "You're not planning to betray me. Are you, Hanako?"

Hanako looked from over her shoulder at Zetsu, who was casually playing with a knife Madara had set up in a wall. It was part of his weapon collection. When he felt her eyes on him, he smiled up at her.

Hanako shook her head, and looked back at the elder. He was still looking at her carefully.

"Of course not."

-----

AN: Just a small announcement here. There won't be any more updates for at least two weeks due to exams, sorry for that. But I'll be back on May 7th!