The Yukiko and the Yamaki [P][Navi/Ayama]

The rain fell heavily that day, pattering hard on the ground and soaking the dirty grass into a thick mud. Gray clouds coated the atmosphere, letting only the faintest light reflect off the gloom of the sky. The weather was cold and unforgiving, soaking the trees and rubble thoroughly as the distant thunder crackled in the background.

Navi vowed to himself he would never return to this place, but today he had broken that promise.

His silhouette hung alone in the center of the courtyard, surrounded by burnt wood and cracked rubble. Despite the violent downpour, Navi felt a strange sense of tranquility here. This place was unique: a birth site, and a final resting place. A clan had been forged on this ground, and then slaughtered on the very same spot. Three boys had emerged from the wreckage that day, clinging to their pathetic lives in desperate hope that they would some day be able to forget the terrors they witnessed.

Now only a single boy remained.

It was notable that there was one other of Yamaki descent, but he was a distant offspring, a misplaced inheritor of the bloodline. Those who had lived in this place had been raised to love their clan with every ounce of their being, and as Navi looked around, he knew there was nobody left to love.
The boy was alone, and as the sky cried for him, he cried with it.

Ayama’s day had been relatively serene, she’d woken up late, spent time sparring with Hisoka and then had gone to the training grounds for her katas. She had been moving fluidly through them, pleased with her own speed and flexibility when sudden pain, extreme sadness rushed through her, pulsing from her bond. It felt like the sharing of emotions with Hisoka except muted, dulled. She had gasped at the sudden sensation and dropped her swords with a clatter. The sadness turned into fury just as quickly and suddenly she knew where this was coming from.

Navi.

But Navi was out of the village, what could have happened to cause such extreme emotions. She had picked up her swords and gone home, the serenity of her day disturbed. For the rest of the day she had paced back and forth, nervous twitchy and waiting for Navi to return home. Except he hadn’t, even when she briefly felt him enter the village he hadn’t returned to their shared house. His sadness was so powerful her nervousness grew and finally she fled the house, ignoring coat or cloak, and dashed into the rain to look for him.

It took about half an hour, as she wandered in the vague direction of his feelings. Hisoka had a better sense of the pendant but refused to give more than small hints. Finally she found him, in the one part of town she avoided on principle. The place smelled of death, even after all these years. Its mere presence caused the hair on her spine to prickle. It had taken some asking around before an old man told her what the run the estate was. The old home of the now gone Yamaki clan. Now she padded silently through burnt streets, between the wreckage of a once great clan until she found him.

“Navi?” her voice was soft questioning and worried. She remained back though, her instincts as a ninja and Hisoka telling her she had a much better chance at survival if she had more distance between them. Navi was unstable, his emotions wild, much like he had been on the day he had almost killed her with his great blaze ball. For a moment she remained still, acutely feeling the distance between them. The instant she changed her mind and made to move forward Hisoka became very there in her mind.

“Don’t do this Ayama, he’s dangerous, now more than ever,” she didn’t even hesitate. She gagged Hisoka and caged him in the back of her mind, making it so he couldn’t even sense what was going on outside of her body. She blocked him from her mind and then quickly closed the distance between her and Navi. She knelt by his side, her hand resting on wet pavement between them. An invitation, she wasn’t sure if he wanted the physical contact.

“Navi, whats wrong?” she could hear the worry in her tone, it weighed down each syllable. She ignored the rain, ignored her irate partner and ignored her own sopping clothes. Right now she was focused on Navi, because right now he needed her. She had made a promise to herself that she wouldn’t abandon him, that she would make him smile. If there was ever a time that self made oath was to be put into action, it was now.

She knelt by his side, her hand resting on wet pavement between them. An invitation, she wasn’t sure if he wanted the physical contact.

Navi didn't move in the slightest or acknowledge her presence. The rain pelted his slightly torn and battered clothes, drenching his body thoroughly. With his head bent over his hair would shield his bloodshot eyes from Ayama's view. Hollow feelings drowned Navi's thoughts, leaving the empty shell of his body to remain like a statue in the downpour.

“Navi, whats wrong?”

The words hit Navi's ears, and for a moment his head would tilt up, revealing a tiny portion of his empty face. His voice cracked dryly in his raspy throat, struggling to slowly make out a response.

"What's wrong..."

Then he whispered his answer softly.

"Look around you."

With a weak hand gesture he pointed at his surroundings, preparing himself to speak again in a soulless voice.

"Look what they did to us. They burned us from history, turned our greatness into a pile of ash. There were only two of us left, and now I've burnt him too."

"I'm no better then they are..."

Navi struggled to say those last few words, and once they escaped his lips his hollow demeanor changed to that of self-hatred. He reached into an inner pouch on his Jounin Flak-Jacket, rummaging for a moment before thoughtlessly revealing a secret he had sworn to never tell. With his right hand he pulled out a porcelain mask, then twisted it around so that the front of the mask was facing him.

The mask of legendary Black Ops Captain Ferret. The man behind this mask had made an oath to protect the leaf, performing countless infamous deeds to keep the village safe. This man was no longer Navi.

With the look of self-loathing in his eyes, Navi drew his arm back, throwing the mask away and causing it to land with a splash, sinking slightly into the mud.

“Him?” she wondered, eyes wide at the toneless voice. He had never been very expressive, it was something she’d never minded. But this, hollow voice, this complete neutrality, went beyond that. It wasn’t just an emotionless façade, a mask worn by many shinobi to protect their movements from detection and add to their mysterious aura. This was no feeling, blank emotion right to the core. Her eyes grew sadder, she could only imagine the pain it took to cause such hollowness.

She opened her mouth the speak, to refute his last sentence when he reached into his vest. He withdrew a scroll and summoned from it a mask. Turning it over to reveal an animal she had grown to know in her time in the leaf. A ferret mask, the mask of the anbu captain.

Whatever words she’d intended to say died right then and there. The breath she’d gathered for her words released in quiet gasp. She could only watch, stunned as he chucked it, allowing the symbol of his service to splash into a puddle and remain there, the rain spattering mud onto the gleaming white surface.

It would be an understatement to say she was shocked, she was utterly stunned, completely frozen as she tried to sort through her feelings about this. Part of her, the emotional part of her, was angry and hurt. He’d lied to her! She’d revealed to him some of her darkest secrets, placed in him her utmost trust and he had lied to her! But another side of her, the part of her that was forever changed by her job had a less violently reaction.

Mostly because she had begun to suspect.

When she’d first joined the village all of the those months ago Navi had revealed to her just how great his power was. He was a well respected sanin of the leaf and that alone had answered many of her questions about the ease with which he had brought her into the leaf. She had been content, secure in the knowledge that he trusted her as much as she trusted him. But time had passed, and despite all his skill and effort, small things reached Ayama. She couldn’t blame him, it was hard to keep such a big secret from a girl sharing your home, especially one with senses as keen as Ayama. Small things, like his routine, the sterile scent on his clothes, and small facets of his personality. They didn’t match up quite right and her suspicions grew. But she had not questioned, she figured that it couldn’t be that big of a deal or he would tell her.

She had been wrong.

But for some reason that didn’t both her as much as it probably should. She wasn’t as perturbed by the sheer magnitude of his secret as she should be. If anything, she was simply glad it had been revealed. Her eyes shifted to his face, studying his expression taking in the open hate there. But it wasn’t directed at anything in particular and she guessed it was directed at himself. She took a deep breath and rose, walking across the short distance between herself and the mask before bending to pick it up. She turned it so that the cold ferret face glared at her with empty eyes before rubbing the mud off on the edge of her soaking shirt. She then returned to Navi, kneeling in front of him, the white mask resting in her lap. She stared at it for a moment before returning her gaze to him. She leaned forward, placing her hand on his cheek. It wasn’t commanding, its was a simple touch, mostly for her own good, it was asking him to look at her but not demanding it.

“Navi, you are NOT like them, you will never be,” her voice was tender, but the ferocity that made her a powerful ninja was still present, underlying her words and strengthening them, “their terrible crimes were committed out of greed. They did this,” her free hand gestured to their destroyed surroundings, “out of the fear that they would lose their power. You fight for your village, for your kage. You fight to protect Konoha. How is that anything like them?”

She then returned to Navi, kneeling in front of him, the white mask resting in her lap. She stared at it for a moment before returning her gaze to him. She leaned forward, placing her hand on his cheek. It wasn’t commanding, its was a simple touch, mostly for her own good, it was asking him to look at her but not demanding it.

As her hand rested on his face Navi would sigh gently, his muscles giving the slightest indication of relaxation from their previously relaxed state. Although unwillingly, Navi would grant her request, and bring his gaze up slowly to meet hers. His eyes were still bloodshot, and his face remained dull and relatively unfaltered from its cold state. Only Ayama had the ability in instill any sort of hope in him at all, and even getting him to glance upwards had been a huge feat.

“Navi, you are NOT like them, you will never be,” her voice was tender, but the ferocity that made her a powerful ninja was still present, underlying her words and strengthening them, “their terrible crimes were committed out of greed. They did this,” her free hand gestured to their destroyed surroundings, “out of the fear that they would lose their power. You fight for your village, for your kage. You fight to protect Konoha. How is that anything like them?”

Navi hung his head down again, breaking the temporary gaze they had momentarily shared. She didn't realize what had happened, and his voice continued to echo the self-hatred within him.

"I'm like them, because I killed a member of the Yamaki just like they did."

Speaking these words so plainly hurt Navi even more, and this time his demeanor would reflect disgust instead of cold emptyness. The level of self-loathing within him caused a thin layer of crimson chakra to form around his body, an intense cloak that would most likely inflict minor burns on her hand. The rain would patter down on his body, causing steam to rise up as the water evaporated on contact with the chakra surrounding him.

"I turned him into ash, just like I almost did to you. Don't you understand? I hurt the ones I love more then protect them."

The cloak of chakra around him would begin to tear away at his clothes, removing tiny pieces of his jacket and small bits of fabric from his sleeves. After a few moments some of the cloth on sleeve began to fray, revealing a prominent ANBU tattoo on his arm. His mind would scramble to grasp rational thought, even while the rest of his body teetered on the edge of going berserk.

I'm sorry Ayama, I am so sorry, but Hisoka was right... I am too dangerous.

She wasn’t even alarmed at his statement. She knew it must have been bad, the man he had killed must have been close to him in some way for the death to affect him like this. She wanted to growl in frustration, she wished he could see through her eyes, she wished he could understand how she felt. Even if he had killed the Yamaki it didn’t put him on the same dastardly level as the Hyuuga. She doubted he had done it willingly, loyalty to his remaining clan was something he prized greatly, just below loyalty to his village. She knew him, and she knew he would not have killed the nameless Yamaki without cause.

Then she snatched her hand back with a hiss, opening her palm to stare at the burns. Her head snapped up to stare, open mouthed and wide eyed as malevolent chakra began to curl around him. This… this was demon chakra. Was this another secret he had been keeping?

No, no THIS was definitely something she would have noticed.

"I turned him into ash, just like I almost did to you. Don't you understand? I hurt the ones I love more then protect them."

Her eyes widened at these words, and she remembered back to that time, that moment at the border when her world had changed. It had been bittersweet, she had retained the wariness of Navi, reminded of how dangerous he could be. How volatile he could be when his emotions came undone like they were now. But he was wrong, he made mistakes, things happened, accidents. But that didn’t matter, at least not to her.

She reached forward with her hands again, allowing her palms to hover barely an inch away from the cruel chakra surrounding him. Then with a steadying breath she plunged her hands into the cloak and grasped his clenched hands, gripping them firmly. She gritted her jaw and forced the pain from her mind. But she held on, clutching him tightly, grounding him even as the chakra bit into her hands.

“Navi, whatever you might think, whatever anyone might say. You do protect people, you save lives, you make people happy, make me happy. You are an irreplaceable part of this village, not just because of your power but because of your actions. You are a hero to this village and you are the man I love,” she squeezed his hands, ignoring the spike of pain and proud of herself for keeping it out of her voice, she never wavered and her eyes, if Navi looked, would burn with fierce passion, “I’m sorry Navi, I don’t understand, I don’t understand how you could think that this changes anything. If you think you are a danger to me then I will just have to get stronger and stronger, until you are no longer a danger. If that it is what it takes, that is what I will do.”

She gritted her jaw and forced the pain from her mind. But she held on, clutching him tightly, grounding him even as the chakra bit into her hands.

His eyes locked with hers, and he watched as Ayama forced herself to suffer by just touching him. Navi's cloak would dissipate and fade away, allowing the rain to cool off the inevitable burns on her hand. A hybrid expression of horror and befuddlement rested on his face, his mind yelling questions that has mouth wouldn't ask.

Why won't you run away? Why are you doing this?

“Navi, whatever you might think, whatever anyone might say. You do protect people, you save lives, you make people happy, make me happy. You are an irreplaceable part of this village, not just because of your power but because of your actions. You are a hero to this village and you are the man I love,” she squeezed his hands, ignoring the spike of pain and proud of herself for keeping it out of her voice, she never wavered and her eyes, if Navi looked, would burn with fierce passion, “I’m sorry Navi, I don’t understand, I don’t understand how you could think that this changes anything.

The expression on Navi's face wouldn't change as he watched her with wide eyes. Despite the inevitably painful burns, Ayama spoke clearly and with a passion ignorant to that of her personal suffering.

If you think you are a danger to me then I will just have to get stronger and stronger, until you are no longer a danger. If that it is what it takes, that is what I will do.

Navi was stupefied at Ayama's words and for a moment he would be unable to process a single thought in response to her adamant words. His features softened slightly and the intensity of earlier began to fade. For a few moments silence hung in the air between them.

Then he pulled her in and embraced her, unable to express his thankfulness or emotions in words. Holding Ayama tightly in his arms, Navi let the words come from his mouth thoughtlessly.

"I may have lost everything else, but I won't lose you."

Everything was in the open now, and there were no secrets or distrust between them. Navi accepted who she was, and he felt Ayama accepted him. It was the start of a different chapter to their lives as ninja. If she let him, Navi would lean forward slightly to kiss her, marking an action that would define a new chapter in the relationship between them.

Ayama’s smiled and relief flooded her as the broken and unbalanced expression leaked from Navi’s eyes. He leaned forward and embraced her and she fiercely returned the hug. She had been so worried, so afraid she would lose him. As the amount of time she had spent in the leaf grew, so did her confidence in their relationship. Despite the near constant whispers of her Nekoga, despite her mistrust, despite everything she felt her love grow.

"I may have lost everything else, but I won't lose you."

She grinned ridiculously, fighting back a surge of emotion that threatened to overwhelm her at his words. She would stay by his side, she would fight to remain there. She would fight with all of her strength to make sure he never lost her and she never lost him. She accepted his kiss, smile against his lips.

But as she drew back from it a sobering thought crossed her mind. There was an openness between them, a building of trust. She would have chuckled at the fact that less than a year ago there had been barely a foundation of trust between them, but a single thought tainted her happiness at his recovery.

“Navi,” she whispered, looking into his bloodshot eyes, her worry back in her voice, “Navi, what did they do to you? Why did they make you a jinchuriki?”

It was clear from her tone she neither blamed him nor thought he had any part in the turning of himself into a jinchuriki. She knew Navi, and she knew if his hokage gave him an order, he would follow to the T. She didn’t doubt for an instant that if the hokgae bid him to house a demon, even when he was clearly unstable Navi would. Her hands twitched slightly, the pain she was currently blocking leaking through her mental barricades. Her hands were cherry red, and blistering in places. They hurt like a nothing else and the pain sharpened her focus on this subject. She had a right to know why her boyfriend had been elevated to a whole new level of dangerous when unstable. Especially since she knew that she would always do this in the future. He wouldn’t lose her, not even to his own actions, she would make sure of that.

“Navi,” she whispered, looking into his bloodshot eyes, her worry back in her voice, “Navi, what did they do to you? Why did they make you a jinchuriki?”

The smile on his face would fade, and small rays of light would dimly poke through the clouds. A pang of sorrow appeared on Navi's face, knowing Ayama would ask but hoping he could avoid the question as long as possible. With a deep breath he would gather his thoughts and beginning speaking. He owed Ayama and explanation, and there would no longer be secrets between the two of them.

"I requested that I bear the same burden that he did," Navi said, purposely keeping himself from saying the name. "I'll try to suppress it, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to burn you."

A few moments later Navi would glow with the crimson chakra again, a burning sensation taking over his body. A throbbing headache would bring him to his knees as he cried out in pain. The Nanabi was trying to fight back, causing overwhelming feelings of hatred and malic to return in his body. The Bijuu must have overheard him talking about containing it, and decided to strike out in anger. While Navi couldn't tell if Ayama could hear it or not, the demon's voice would echo loudly in his ears.

"You can't control me boy, I'll break out of here and burn you both to ash."

Navi shakily closed his hands together, overcoming the immense pain to form a hand sign. Immediately, the Raven Style chakra aura would surround Navi, causing a brilliant clash of blue and red energy. Sparks of chakra began to spurt out from his body again, a combined internal and external battle raging intensely. With gritted teeth, Navi would press his hands together harder, his angelic blood clashing with that of his inner demon.

"I requested that I bear the same burden that he did," Navi said, purposely keeping himself from saying the name. "I'll try to suppress it, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to burn you."

“No, its fine, it will heal quickly enough,” she mumbled softly, but her expression had fallen. She couldn’t find it in her heart to reprimand him for taking on such a burden. It was easy enough to determine the he Navi was talking about. In repentance for killing one of his few remaining clanmates he had taken on the deceased man’s burden. Her hands automatically reached for him, partially to reassure herself as she processed this. Then suddenly that hateful chakra returned. She couldn’t restrain her cry of pain as it came in contact with her already sensitive hands. Her small shriek mingled with his own cry and her hands snapped back reflexively.

She stared in utter horror as the beast within him rebelled. She could tell it was the bijuu, she could feel its rebellion through that thin extra link to her bond. The one from the pendant. Her horror grew as he summoned his kekkei genkai, using it to battle back the demon’s vicious chakra.

This was horrible this was not good! This was another damn threat to his welling being that she found herself unable to defend him from. Instinct led her to his side once again and she realized she could feel his turmoil mixing with her own. He was battling the foreign entity and she could vaguely sense it though the pendant. She could help him! But through her pendant and she would need help.

“Hisoka” she mentally cried, busting down her own barriers and reaching for the nekoga.

“well, well well look who decides to talk to me. Did he dump you?” Her cats cold drawl was not what she needed right now and she hissed in frustration, she did not need Hisoka to be like this right now.

“Hisoka he’s a jinchuuriki and the demon is fighting him, we have to help him!” her mental voice was worried and panicky her words were broken and disjointed with her own fear and she mostly conveyed her idea to him through images and raw emotions. The nekoga was easily able to decipher her meaning and for a long while he was silent. She reached towards his mind in an attempt to understand his thought process but encountered a barrier. A stern one too, one that allowed no passage. She was shocked at its existence before Hisoka’s reply distracted her.

“No, I will not aid you in this. I have made my feelings about your relationship abundantly clear. I will in no way aid it’s growth,” he then retreated behind his wall and she was left mute with shock. Her partner had abandoned her, and that stung, it hurt her greatly. She was supposed to be able to trust and rely on Hisoka! But she gritted her teeth and shook it off. Fine then, she would do this herself.



“Navi, im going to try and enter your mind and help you,“ she whispered, reaching forward and once again blocking the pain to her hands and touched the pendant, contact was not required but it would help her greatly. Especially considering she didn’t have the aid of her supposed, partner. She closed her eyes and focused, not just on the pendant but on the mind beyond. She focused on Navi, directing herself through the pendant to his turbulent mind. It was a tenuous connection at best, nothing like to powerful bond between her and Hisoka. But she was trying, using all her strength to join with Navi’s mind in the effort to push out the bijou’s darkened mentality.

But she was fighting a loosing battle, the bond was not strong enough to channel such power, and did not hold the stability her bond with Hisoka had. She was loosing, she was weak, she couldn’t help Navi.

Then she felt Hisoka’s presence surge forward. His mind raced alongside hers and he channeled his own mental strength with her and Navi’s. He pushed at the Bijuu and Ayama intensified her efforts. Working with her Nekoga she fought to help Navi push to bijuu from his mind.