The Broken Doll (Sequel to The Marionette)

Faking Insanity

Third Person POV:

*With Itachi and Ryuu*

Itachi stands by the rock which Ryuu is sitting on, her back facing away from the members of team Kakashi and a plus one, as they enter the Uchiha's field of vision. The white haired girl doesn't even turn or look up from cracking each finger individually, as the group lands in front of Itachi and behind her. A collective gasp being emitted from both Naruto and Sakura at the sight of their elusive ex comrade.

It had to be her, after all white hair wasn't a normality in teens.

She was a traitor, that they knew but actually seeing her in the black cloak with red clouds was really putting things into perspective for them.

Naruto knew from her abrupt departure that the siblings had forcefully broken any bond they had with their village. It was in that moment Naruto realised just how dangerous Ryuu could be and just how much trouble she was causing by being an enemy of Konoha.

Ryuu was no longer the girl whom Sasuke fawned over, nor was she the girl who would defend Konoha with her life. She was the enemy, one who had always outranked them and one that would surely kill them if they were to slip up.

They had only seen twice before, at the Chuunin exams and their fleeing of the Leaf, of how both she and Midori fought. Vividly remembering the sadistic flicker of delight in their eyes as they slaughtered the ninja around them.

And this time, they were her enemies.

Granny Chiyo immediately notices how pale Kakashi grew, leaving her to believe that this was indeed his daughter. Besides, she could practically feel the tension radiating off the Leaf Shinobi. "So that's the one, the child who wiped out his entire clan and the girl who's both your daughter and traitor of the Leaf, correct?" She asks, her tone wise and informed.

At the sound of granny's voice Ryuu twirls around to face them. The group's eyes are drawn to the fairly recent crescent shaped scar extending from the corner of her left eye to the edge of her chin. They notice how her icy orbs were thickly rimmed a dark black, one which they recognise as the same rings Gaara had.

'But that couldn't be right,' they tell themselves. She never had any noticeable sleeping problems, well.....not that she would've confided in them if she did.

Sakura noticed how on top of her apparent lack of sleep, Ryuu's eyes and cheeks were sunken in an unhealthy way, all signs of neglect, whether that be self inflicted or not was up for debate. That though alone irritated the pinkette, because why would Ryuu neglect her own health?

Looking back on this moment, it would never make sense to Sakura until all was revealed. And whether or not Ryuu would be alive or not at that later point in time is still unclear.

Lady Chiyo, also being an expert in the medical field, notices the detrimental condition of the girl, the girl who should be happy after she finally defected from the village she supposedly hated. But instead it appeared that her health had declined, taking a nose dive and barely being able to keep herself from plummeting to a point of no return.

"You're Lady Chiyo, right?" Ryuu states, even though it's structured as a question they knew it was far from it. The ferocious glimmer in her eyes telling them that she already knew the answer. They don't utter a word as she continues, "I had wondered where I had heard that old croaky voice before. But then I remembered I met you briefly when I was last in Suna. Given that it was when I was a small child, I still vividly remember why I was so angered by the mere sound of your voice...."