Crescendo
Chapter one – It can't be
I'm writing this as an assignment for my sister. It's not really an additional story. Read at your own risk.
I'm going to update the White Handkerchief next.
He tripped.
Ouch.
He got up and continued to run.
They were catching up.
The convenience store was just around the corner, and his footfalls became more frequent as he increased his speed. Almost there. He clutched the shattered glasses in his hand tighter.
They were undoubtedly losing sight of him by now. Good.
He stopped briefly to wait for the electric doors to open and then threw himself in as soon as he knew he'd make it.
"Yeah, I made it!" Naruto threw his fist into the air and grinned triumphantly, proud of his achievement. It was the first time he'd ever managed to outrun his classmates after school. He could almost have walked the last bit, but he wanted to set a high record, so he could try to beat it every time he'd run from them in order to not get bored of it. How long had it been now? Six months? Six months of intense training and Naruto had gone from fat geek to muscular geek. He still wore his glasses, which were now broken. That's 10,452 yen for repairing. He held them up to his face and scrutinized them. Make that 19,140. The blonde boy sighed and pulled out a pair of tangled white earphones. As he pulled out the knots, he glanced over at the window and saw the guys come running. They were completely out of breath by the time they reached the convenience store, and even then couldn't see him. Naruto chuckled, stepped over to the window and waved happily with his eyes closed. His head hurt terribly from his vision being so blurred.
He hadn't seen them coming, he had made a rough estimation, and in order to be completely certain that he wasn't waving at no one, added an extra ten seconds to his guess. Surely enough, the uniform-clad bullies were watching him taunt them from inside the store and scowled angrily.
"Fucking four-eyes." One of them mumbled.
"How did he get so fast?!" the other shouted, clearly mad about not being able to keep up with him.
"We even broke his glasses." Naruto had memorized the path from school to Family Mart. He had been running the same path six hundred seventy-three times in his life, and out of all of those, this was the first time he made it inside.
He heard the doors open, and opened his eyes slightly just to make sure that the color of the customer's clothes weren't red.
They were black.
In fact, the person was dressed in a completely black suit, black sunglasses and had black shoes. He looked like some kind of Yakuza. Not that it mattered to Naruto, and he made that clear by scoffing and walking over to the counter with a melon bread in his hand.
"You made it!" The store clerk exclaimed. "I was getting ready to pull out my gun, but you actually outran them! You can have that Melon Bread for free." Naruto laughed awkwardly, and quickly opened the bread with trembling hands. Being able to escape from them was the greatest feeling he'd felt in years. "Thanks… Miss."
Walking over to the door, he took a deep breath and leaned his head back.
Round two: The gym.
He moved exactly an inch forward, allowed the doors to open and sprinted out at the speed of light while stuffing the cream-filled bread into his mouth with the biggest grin on his face anyone had ever seen.
"Try to catch me this time!" The bullies, clearly caught off-guard, were late to run after him, and were once again left behind in a matter of seconds.
Naruto was a second-year high school student at the age of Seventeen. Other than his mother and father, no one liked him. He was short, wore big, misty glasses and had held the record for top grades throughout his school years. He had an IQ of 177 and suffered of eidetic memory. This, of course, meant that he could look at something once and remember it forever. He proved this to his class by being shown a helicopter-view picture of Hong Kong and painting it down the very detail. He drew the people inside and enlarged their faces to the point where police could use it for identification and painted the exact amount of windows that each building had.
He was different. Weird. Unusual.
He was out of the standard deviation, and everyone hated him for it. I hate them, too. He thought, pushing his thumb down on a song in his iPod playlist 'Escape music' called "Crazy Botch" by ONE OK ROCK and picked up his speed.
After three years of being beaten up by his classmates, he'd decided to start going to the gym and lose some weight, and as much as he wanted to hit them back, he could never do it. Despite that, he always went to shooting practice. Don't ask why.
His only real issue was communicating. Talking to people was too difficult for him, and he could only really socialize open-heartedly when it was with himself. Whenever a cute girl would try to strike up a conversation, he'd just answer very shortly and find a way to escape. It wasn't that he didn't want to, it was just that he was afraid of hurting the person's feelings. In reality, he didn't want to make anyone sad, which is also why he couldn't bring himself from hurting the bullies.
But running was far from an issue, and watching them pant for their dear lives as they struggled to keep up was seriously cracking him up.
Once again stopping to wait for the electrical doors to open, Naruto turned around to see if there was any trace of the guys. Seeing that they were nowhere to be seen, he smiled and began walking in.
"Home sweet home." But his eyes hurt from not wearing his glasses, and he frowned knowing that he still wasn't good enough. Someday, he would have his revenge. His eye was still bruised from the punch, and his scars would never go away. They would stay with him for the rest of his life, reminding him of his days in school when he got beat up by his classmates.
"One day." He murmured, entering the gym.
The bullet hit bullseye and Naruto smirked. I'm actually noticing my improvement. After only having practiced for one month, he was already perfect at shooting. It was easy for him.
"Hey, you're pretty good at that!" A girl's voice! Naruto's eye twitched and his second shot missed completely.
"U-uh…" He turned off his music and blushed. "Thanks, I guess…" Gotta refocus! He pulled the trigger and missed again. "You're kinda distracting, you know…" The girl raised an eyebrow, offended.
"I was just complimenting you, but I guess you were just lucky." She turned back to her own practice and continued shooting below average good. Sorry…
He closed his eyes and aimed, remembering as well as he possibly could where the exact center was and pulled the trigger.
Bullseye.
"Did you just do that with your eyes closed?!" Another girl spoke to him, and he shook.
"I-I think so…" he said, unsure of his own answer.
"That's amazing! Guys who are great shooters are so cool!" Naruto knew where she was going and quickly picked up his stuff.
"yeah, uhh, see ya." He whispered before fleeing to the cafeteria. Why does everything require interacting?
"One chicken wrap and a chocolate milkshake." He stressed his order, and the clerk somehow heard him.
"That'll be 3000 yen." Naruto handed the money over and hurried over to a table. The attention he got was mixed. Guys would wonder if he was afraid of people or secretly gay, and the girls were strangely quite attracted to his evasiveness. They called him mysterious. But Naruto wasn't interested, he didn't want a girlfriend, because he would have to talk to her and… stuff.
Okay, he wanted a girlfriend. But no one was appealing to him.
Just then, black covered his vision and he blinked a few times, thinking that his eyes had given up on him. He really was convinced that he was having vision issues until someone's voice spoke up.
"Uzumaki Naruto." A cold chill ran down his spine. "May we sit?" He shook his head. "You're the man from the convenience, uh, store. Do you, like, want something with me?" He thought he saw the man smile, but it could've been him seeing things.
"We'd like to have a talk." The man replied, sitting down anyway. His partner, also dressed in completely black, also sat. "Will you follow us?"
"No. I need, uh, to eat my food..." He heard the rustling of paper and something circular being placed on the table.
"We can talk in the car."
"I'm not… Interested." Kidnappers who ask for permission to kidnap me? Are they police? I can't see their faces.
"Oh, we think you'll be very interested once you hear what we have to say." Naruto shook his head once more.
"No."
Man number two leaned forward and whispered only for Naruto to hear. "Look. Either you come with us, or we drag you out of here. Your choice."
His eyes widened. Yakuza?!
(*Note: Yakuza is an infamous gang in Japan)
"Fine." He said, trying to stay calm while standing up and picking up his stuff, including the food.
The men follow suit and began walking out of the building, looking back every now and then to make sure that he was following them. No tattoos. I don't think they're Yakuza.
"We've heard rumors about you. We've been watching you, Mr. Uzumaki, and you impress us." Man number two says as he opens the door to a black vehicle. I get it, your favorite color is black.
"So we have a little proposal." Naruto entered the car, his hands trembling uncontrollably. At least it's not a white van. In a few seconds, they were on the road.
"Here." Man number two handed him an oval-shaped box and Naruto hesitantly took it. "Glasses." He said, before even opening it.
"We saw them crush them. You'll need to see when we arrive at our destination." Naruto opened the box.
"You really have been watching me." How could I not have noticed? The glasses were identical to the broken ones, except for that they were the updated version he'd always wanted.
"Ever since you were an overweight middle school student."
"Well?" Naruto prompted, curious to find out what they wanted.
"We belong to the UFDI." Secret agents.
"Undercover Federal Department of Investigation. You're secret agents…"
"That's right, and we have taken an interest in you, Mr. Uzumaki. You're a genius and social outcast. Your capability to learn is unbelievably impressive, and you have eidetic memory." Naruto was in shock. The UFDI wanted him to be an undercover agent?!
He let out a dry, awkward laugh. "That has… to be a lie." The men's faces remained still as they watched the road ahead. Evidently, an answer for that wasn't necessary. This… Can't be…
"We'll give you the details once we arrive. Until then, enjoy the view." He decided not to argue, and averted his eyes to the window, where he gazed at the setting sun. Naruto spent the rest of the car ride trying to comprehend what was going on. Was he going to become a Japanese James Bond? With pretty women constantly with him? Would he kill murderers or mafia leaders? What about money? Would he get paid? But what would he spend his money on?
What about his parents?
"He's got guts, I'll give him that" Man number one said as he slapped Naruto's cheek to wake him up.
"Hmm…" Naruto blinked rapidly, trying to grow accustomed to the light in the car. He settled with keeping his eyes shut and stepped out of the car. One glance was all it took and he could walk with his eyes closed. But he didn't want to look stupid walking into the UFDI's main building.
Speaking of the building, it was enormous, with a capital 'e'. Naruto's neck began to hurt at his eyes went from the bottom to the top. How discreet.
"Come with us." The two men were quick to go inside, probably afraid of seeming suspicious. Not that they weren't already weird enough dressed in complete black and basically looking like twins. He shrugged and followed the two twins inside. He wasn't too far behind, since they had spent a long time pressing in codes and using their fingerprints for identification.
"Welcome." A black-haired woman greeted them at the… reception desk? Does everyone have black hair here?
"We need access to floor 21." The woman nodded and handed them a card. "Have a safe journey." She spoke almost robotically. "Feel free to bring desert from the buffet table with you up."
In an instant, Naruto was picking food. They had everything from sweet potato, to strawberry shortcake, to crème brûlée. When he was finally done, a waiter brought a small red wooden cart for him to place it on. After thanking the man in with his professional awkwardness, he quickly scurried after the twins.
The elevator ride went very fast, and even though it involved some dumb fingerprint identification as well, the men were extremely quick to complete it all.
Ding.
They were once again walking, and Naruto dragged his cart full of desserts after them.
Eventually, they stopped by a set of double-doors and gestured for him to enter. This is so messed up… But even so, he entered.
The room was different from all others in the sense that it was pitch black. Now I understand the colors of this place.
"Have a seat, Uzumaki Naruto." This is just... He pulled the cart up next to the chair and plopped down on it.
"Aren't you, uh, going to turn around?" Naruto asked, wondering why the person he was talking to had his back turned to him. Is he really ugly, or what?
"I understand you've been told why you're here." His voice was solemn, like a priest during a funeral.
"You want me… to work for you?" He replied, finishing his first dessert.
"Indeed. With your intelligence and specific set of skills, I assume that you are aware of what this means."
"Well, I'm in." And for a second, the expression of the man behind the chair faltered, but he soon smirked.
"In the drawer before you, you will find all the details along with your first mission. You will be killed by a sudden explosion on an empty street at 6:30 a.m. on your way to school. You are not allowed to see your parents or anyone for that matter. Uzumaki Naruto will die, do you understand?" Naruto opened his mouth to speak, but the words were caught in his throat.
Die. He'll be killing people. Putting an end to their lives. I can't even hit the people I hate the most.
"I don't know if I could bring myself to kill someone."
"It's not just 'someone', these people have done terrible things."
"But nothing to me!"
"This is not a prank, young boy. The world needs you to rescue it from danger. You will be saving lives!" He snapped out of his small trance and bit his lip. I will die tomorrow, and the only ones who will care are my parents.
"Yes or no?" Sorry mom, dad.
"I understand."
"Good. In your right drawer you will find an envelope with a credit card inside." Naruto followed the man's instructions and opened the drawer. The envelope was a neon yellow that glowed in the darkness. Pulling out the card, he could see that it wasn't his name imprinted on it.
"Takahashi Daisuke?" He asked in disbelief.
"Like I said, you will die tomorrow. This will be your fake identity." I don't like my name.
A light at the far end of the room turned on, and what appeared to be an old-fashion radio was lit up. Some creepy music started playing, making the room seem even more haunted.
"Do you like it? It's called "Beyond the Sea" by Django-"
"Not really." He answered while taking a bite of the strawberry shortcake, and the man behind the chair scowled.
"The money on that card is unlimited. You can buy whatever you want, whenever you want. You should be aware of your own limits, however." Maybe I'll buy my own island.
"We request that you only book first class as well as the suites in order for you to achieve the best kind of comfort. Also, such conditions will allow you to meet less people."
"Right." Naruto's eyes glittered as he eyed the golden card.
"The first thing we want you to do is meet your partner. We have decided on the best kind of agent based on your personality and performance." A partner?! No!
" I don't get along with people…"
"You'll get along with Agent-002" Naruto cocked an eyebrow, and a sudden question caused him to ask.
"What is my Agent number?" He was almost finished with his last dessert.
"Agent- 900"
"Does that mean that he's the second Agent?"
"She." The man corrected. "And yes, she is, as well as one of our absolute best. You'll be safe with her-"He paused. "-Any other questions?"
"Where do I go now?"
"We will provide you with new clothes. While waiting, I suggest that you book a hotel room for one night. You'll be leaving tomorrow."
"Whereto?"
"Check the mission details, Mr. Uzumaki." Naruto sighed and stood up. "Well then." And in a few seconds, the door opened and closed.
"He really ate all those desserts."
"I'd like to check in." Naruto placed his brand new leather suitcase on the floor as he reached into his brand new suit pocket for his brand new wallet and brand new credit card. He could help but wave the golden card around as he placed it down before the concierge and casting him a bright grin.
"Welcome to Park Hyatt Tokyo, Mr. Takahashi." He said, briefly examining the card before running it through the reader. "A suite including breakfast?" He confirmed, and Naruto nodded. That cool card better word.
After a moment of silence, the concierge smiled happily and handed the card back to him. "I just need you to sign these papers. Bellhop, please bring this man's luggage to his suite."
It worked! I'm staying in a suite at Tokyo's best hotel! This is absolutely unbelievable! He was about to sign his usual way, but quickly realized that it wouldn't be possible. Oh yeah, my name's not Naruto anymore. That's why I have a wig on. He wrote the name more carefully than he should, but the concierge did not seem to notice as he prepared his key.
"Here you go, sir. Enjoy your stay."
"I will." Naruto stood up and hurried to the elevator, not noticing all the girls that looked at him as he passed them.
So I'll be killing people… I guess this is the least they can do to keep me happy. I wonder if I'll ever be happy. What if I fall in love with someone?
He looked out of the elevator's window behind him and at Tokyo's night skyline. But damn, look at where I am, and all in one day.
His decision was so rushed. What if he would regret it?
The elevator stopped and the doors opened. He was just about to step out when he noticed that he was only on the 30th floor. A young foreign boy stepped in and pushed the 38th button.
What about kids? Will I ever quit my job? Can I?
He leaned against the wall and sighed. He really hadn't thought this through.
Ding.
The kid ran out after the doors had opened and Naruto watched him scurry off. As soon as the doors closed again, his mind began to wander again.
I suddenly feel isolated from humanity in general. But what do I have to lose? Happiness? Nonsense! Running away from those damn bullies was…not the least bit fun…
"But the skyline is pretty." He whispered to himself, admiring it.
Ding.
He pulled out his new iPod – because the one he already had wasn't allowed – and went through some songs while stepping out.
"Iwata Karen – Hana wa Saku… Isn't she from AKB48? Why would I listen to AKB48?" He pushed his thumb down on a ONE OK ROCK song and continue to walk. It wasn't too difficult to locate his room, as there weren't too many suites on the floor.
"Room 168…" He unlocked the door and stepped in. What a sight.
It was spacious, with an enormous double bed and a floor-to-ceiling window that boasted Tokyo's skyline from the opposite side. The carpet floor covered the entire room, except for the bathroom which had a checkerboard-pattern stone floor. He was relieved to see that there wasn't much black after being in that building full of it.
"Wow…" Never would he have dreamed of staying in such an extravagant, mind-blowing hotel, much less with the possibility of doing it again.
"I have nothing to lose, do I?" He began loosening his tie. A shower and then sleep – that was the plan.
Placing his foot down inside of Starbucks at 6 a.m. , Naruto lowered his sunglasses and glanced around the room briefly before striding in. His strong aura caused several heads to turn, both belonging to girls and guys who were in some way attracted to the man who'd just entered.
He wore dark jeans that folded by his ankles just above his pointed brown leather shoes. His torso sported a white shirt and beige-brown striped tie with a dark-green wool vest over it along with an open grey jacket. Whole in whole, he looked like he'd just finished a modeling job.
Gotta sound cool, too.
"Hey, I'll have a…uh... Grande, skinny caramel Latte and one of those sandwiches." He said, pointing.
After paying, he swung some hair out of his face and took a seat at a rather insignificant area with his drink In order to appear like any other guy, he pulled out an apple laptop out of his leather bag and started it. I feel so many eyes on me. Where is my partner?
He took a bite and started searching the web for his next destination. I'm going to Cuba? I've never been outside of Japan, and I don't speak Spanish…
The thought sparked an idea in his head and he looked up online Spanish lessons.
A song – Here Comes the Hotstepper (Evian version) played throughout Starbucks, and after an hour, he was getting tired of the hipster music.
Naruto reached lazily into the air, stretching his back. Just then, he heard a light gasp and felt an extreme heat all over his chest down to his upper thighs.
"Ah!" Some loser girl had spilled on him.
"What the hell have you done?!" He yelled, pissed that she ruined his clothes.
"I-I am so sorry! I… I sli-slipped…!" She tried to protest, but Naruto's mind was reeling and he quickly grabbed her water and poured it on himself. That's better…
"You slipped?!" The girl had long, purple-ish hair and bright lavender eyes. She wore completely ordinary clothes, but no makeup to cover her pale face. What a complete idiot.
"I-I'll pay for you, I'm so s-so-" Something else seemed to shock her and she stopped talking.
"What?!" She winked at him. She winked at him! Naruto was so furious, he just picked up all of his stuff and stomped out of the shop. My partner obviously isn't coming, anyway, and I'm soaked.
"I should call…" he pulled out his phone and dialed his boss' number.
"Speak."
"She never came, and some loser spilled coffee all over me, so I need to buy new clothes before the plane leaves."
"Really? Because she just called and told me that she met you." What? He looked back and saw the same girl who he'd just walked away from come running towards him.
No.
It can't be.
Naruto hung up, and dropped his hand to his side while watching her getting closer and closer to him.
She's my partner?!
She sure is.
