Tears to Shed
Prologue
The birds were chirping quietly as Inada Umeko walked to her garden. She was friends with the birds, they looked out for her and told her news that she would otherwise miss.
Umeko lived by herself in the middle of the forest not far away from her birthplace of Konoha. She of course hadn't been there since she was a small child but she still felt a strong loyalty to the place were she had spent the first few years of her life.
That particular morning had been no different than usual. Umeko never really had anything to do these days. She liked her unchanging lifestyle and welcomed the peaceful days.
By afternoon the birds were restless. Something was different, something had changed in the forest, and Umeko could tell. She quickly grabbed the bag she had hidden under a floor board in her house and swiftly made her way through the forest in search of the disturbance.
She heard yelling in the distance and she went towards it. The forest was a dangerous place for people who didn't know what they were doing. She sometimes had people, usually drunks or criminals, come through her forest. She would lead them out, or if they seemed threatening she took care of them quietly.
But these people were different. She gracefully landed on a nearby tree and watched as a young blonde boy yelled in the direction of a raven haired boy.
" . . . it was my turn! Don't always think that you should go first!" cried the blonde.
"Don't yell at Sasuke-kun!" said a pink haired girl, hitting the blonde boy in the head. "Naruto, your not always the one to go first! Wait your turn!" she yelled at him.
The scene struck Umeko as comical as she watched the pink haired girl hit the blonde boy, the blonde boy plead with the pink haired girl, and the raven haired boy give a quiet "Hn", looking bored.
She then noticed an older man, with silver hair, leaning against a nearby tree, absorbed in a book. He was oblivious to there argument. But he surprised Umeko by looking up from his book and making eye contact with her for a mere second.
Umeko hadn't bothered to disguise herself. There never had been need too in the past. She hadn't expected ninja's, least of all Konoha ninja's by the looks of it.
"You all should stop fighting. You're making a bad first impression." the silver haired man told the three fighting.
They gave him confused glances but the raven haired boy caught on first. Followed by the pink haired girl. Luckily Umeko took a hint and quickly hid herself in another spot, carefully disguising herself so as not to be found. She didn't like to be with other people. Especially ninja's.
She watched the puzzled looks on the faces of the three kids, while they looked around for her.
"You don't need to worry. Nobody wants to hurt you. You can come out." said the pink haired girl.
Umeko wasn't worried about being hurt. By the looks of them, if they did want to hurt her, they would argue the first fifteen minutes on who would come at her first. No, they should be more worried about themselves. The forest was not kind to visitors and had many secrets, some of which not even Umeko knew.
They soon gave up on looking for her, but the did not leave the forest. She watched the group as they trained. Going back and forth with fighting one another, perfecting their skills, which she had to admit were fairly good. But they would not be good enough if something happened. Only she would be able to take on the forest. Things could jump out and kill you before you even took your next breath.
It happened rather quickly. The group, not even the silver haired man, had expected it. Something shot up out of the ground, so fast you couldn't even tell what it was. It headed for the raven haired kid first, but Umeko was faster. She shot out her kunai. She had been waiting. She had felt it underground, and had waited for it to emerge.
The animal was taken down very quickly, but not killed. Instead it sense her presence and went after her. Umeko shot up quickly out of her hiding spot. Finally showing herself to the group. She didn't have a choice. The clearing they had chosen was large and open. She would be able to easily finish the beast off quickly.
It came at her before any of them blinked, and then it was over. Umeko had sliced it in two with her kunai. She wiped the blood off her hand with a cloth and turned to face the group. It had all happened so quickly, none of them had expected it, she could tell by the looks on their faces.
The blonde boy had a look of dismay, the girl looked confused, the raven haired boy was emotionless but had a slight look of annoyance on his face, and the silver haired man looked slightly impressed.
Umeko wasn't good with people, in fact she tried to avoid any contact at all with them. She gave them a small, awkward smile.
"Please be careful. The forest is extremely dangerous, it would be wise if you left." She looked up at the sky, it was almost dusk, the most beautiful and most deadly time of the day. A person could be easily fooled during the dusk.
"In fact, it would be best if you left now. If you hurry you can get out before nightfall." She then looked at the group again.
"Sorry, but we're staying here tonight. We have to train, and this forest is the best." said the blonde kid.
'Cocky.' Thought Umeko. 'He doesn't know what he's getting himself into.'
The pink haired girl finally found her voice, "Thank you for saving us, my name is Sakura." She gave a little wave and smiled at Umeko. "This is Naruto," she pointed to the blonde boy. "This is Sasuke-kun," pointing to the raven haired boy. "And this is Kakashi-sensei !" she pointed to the silver haired man. Each nodding when having there name called.
Umeko weakly smiled. They obviously didn't see the urgency in their situation. She couldn't leave them alone, they would be dead within minutes. Even the most trained ninja had difficulties getting through the forest. Especially at night. 'But that's the way he wanted it.' Umeko though bitterly.
She had no choice. They were obviously set on staying the night in the forest, at least they would be safer and comfier at her home.
"If you insist on staying, you can stay at my house for tonight. Sleeping outside would not be wise." She told them.
Naruto looked surprised, "You live here in the forest!" "Yes, it's just a little ways away from here." she answered him. "Wow! Kakashi-sensei, can we stay?!" he asked excitedly.
The man looked warily but replied, "I suppose it wouldn't hurt."
"YES! Let's go!" said the excited boy.
She nodded and jumped to the tree she had stood on hours before. "Don't fall behind, please." She told them.
Umeko was in the lead, followed by Naruto, Sasuke, Sakura, and Kakashi. Umeko went slower than usual, cautiously glancing around often to make sure nothing was coming their way.
"Hey . . . Wait what's your name?" asked Naruto.
Umeko glanced back at him quickly, "Umeko. My name is Umeko." she told them.
"That's such a pretty name!" said Sakura. "That's so cool, my name means cherry blossom and yours mean plum blossom! What a coincidence!" she exclaimed. Umeko wasn't that impressed but gave her a small smile all the same.
"So, Umeko-chan, what kind of food do you have at your house? Do you have any ramen?" asked Naruto.
What an odd question to ask, had she not clearly expressed that his life was in danger in this forest? How could he so easily trust her?
"Hmm . . . I don't think I do. I grow my own food. It's mostly vegetables." she answered him.
Kakashi chuckled, Sakura giggled, and Sasuke snorted at her response. Apparently Naruto wasn't a big fan of vegetables. Aware of her mistake, she told him, "But I'm not sure, I might have something.", trying to cheer the boy up, who was obviously disappointed by her answer.
Umeko's house was small, but reflected her personality well. It was quaint and quiet. The wood was well worn and looked homely and kind. Welcoming anyone who dropped by (not that anybody ever did.)
The inside was just as simple, a small kitchen with only the essentials, a small bed with a red quilt as a bedspread, and a large bookcase that took up most of the room. It contained tons of books of various subjects. Umeko had taught herself everything that she knew, well, almost.
She fed the group and made places for them to sleep comfortably.
Although Umeko was fond of her routine, she felt it was nice to have this change of pace. With these people she felt at home, and for once, since long ago, she finally felt happy, truly happy.
But she didn't know yet that it would be the beginning of the end, the end of everything that she had come to know and love.
Phew! Done with the prologue! Please tell me what you think. This is my first story so please keep those flames low on the burner. Of course constructive criticism is welcomed. I hope to have the story really rolling soon, so stay tuned! Thanks for reading!
