Hey guys! I thought I would be out for a bit as I tried to cook up some new ideas, but I was in the shower (where I get some of my best ideas, don't ask me why) and I came up with this!!! This is not connected to my last two fanfics, so no worries. So I hope you enjoy!!! If you like it or have suggestions, please review! That is always appreciated XD Let's begin!!!!!
The silence that surrounded me was sickening. The room stunk of burning wax and old parchment. I was kneeling on a mat of weaved straw, a low table with a scroll and ink well sitting in front of me. My body shook with the intensity of my most recent message. I tried to lift the brush to dip it in the ink but I had seemed to temporarily lose my major motor skills. Soft cries were muffled by my hands as I tried so hard to hold it back. I was never supposed to cry, it was not acceptable, no matter what the message contained. Most of the time though, it was not the message itself but the side effects of it. I stiffened as I heard a pair of feet behind me shuffle. Beads clacked together as a guard left my room for a quick break. Why they had me guarded, I did not understand. I was so weak there was no chance of me running away.
I slipped a small kunai knife from my sleeve. I rolled my sleeve back to reveal my forearm. It was mangled by countless small lines. I took the kunai, bit my lip, and cut another line on my arm. The blood trickled down in a small glistening stream. I staunched the bleeding with my tongue. The pain of the cut stopped my shaking, and I was able to write down the message.
Surprisingly, the Elders called on me for a visit. The guard, whom I simply called Sen, told me to pick the most recent scrolls from my collection and to bring them with me. A small woman came out, gave me a new dress, and left. The dress was simple. It was just white with long, wide sleeves and a simple long skirt that just brushed the tops of my feet. I walked barefoot the Chamber of the Elders.
This place smelled even worse. It was the smell of old and rotting flesh that always made my stomach roll. The Elders were the oldest people of my village, the Village Hidden in the Ruins. They had never ventured beyond the village's boundaries and had never even gone to train to be a ninja, though I had not either. It was rumored that they were the original founders of the village but no one admitted to believing this. But I could see it in the guards that watched the Elders, they believed these two vultures were the founders of my village. I pulled back into myself when Sen pushed me forward in front of them.
There is no proper way to describe someone as ancient as the Elders. They were just so old they seemed disfigured. Their wrinkles had wrinkles and their liver spots had liver spots. They were just old. Supposedly, the two were twins, brother and sister, but because they were so old you could not tell their gender. All you knew was the one on the left was Tiyo and the one on the right was Riyo, always.
I stood in front of them. They stared at me with their ancient, beady black eyes. I waited for one of them to speak.
"Ruina, we hear that one of your messages is promising," said Tiyo.
I nodded with a shaky head. I was so shy and scared. There was just no way not to be afraid of them, but being shy was just who I was.
"What did you see?" Riyo asked.
I gulped down my fear, but it just crawled back up my throat. "Um, well, it-it was about another village near-nearby. An-and sev-several chil-children are, um, sick. They are go-going to die soon. We ha-have the me-medi-medicine to save them, Elders." I said in my soft voice.
The two looked at each other for a moment. I wondered how they had necks under all those wrinkles. Then they turned back to me. The scrolls I held in my arms began to quake in sync with me. I could feel one slipping from my sweaty palms. Don't slip, don't slip, don't slip!
The scroll ignored my begging and fell to the floor with a bouncing noise that sounded like it was laughing at my embarrassment. "I'm sorry, Elders, I ju-just--I mean, it sli-slip-slipped," I yammered.
"Silence, Ruina! Do not speak to us without being spoken to!" they yelled at me in unison. I nodded my head in response and picked up the scroll. I was shaking even harder than before.
"You will go to this village. May you tell us which village this is?" Tiyo asked
"The Village Hid-hidden in the, um, Clouds," I stuttered.
"Yes, you shall travel to this village with the medicine that you need to help. You will first stop at the Village Hidden in the Leaves where your escorts will be. Then you shall travel with them to this village and heal the sick, understood?" Riyo said.
"Yes, but Elders, why must I be sent out?"
The two laughed. "You are meaningless, you stupid thing. You are nothing but a shell that gives us what we want. You get visions from the past, present, and future and you help us make allies, start wars, stop epidemics, and end wars. Yet, you are nothing to anyone here. If you died, you could easily be replaced by another child that is not wanted by their parents. All we have to do is perform the Million Eyes jutsu on a child and turn them into an unimportant detail just like you. You were born unwanted, and you will die unwanted. Do you not know why we hide you away? You are seen as a monster, a sick creature that is driven mad by what you are. Is that true? Are you meaningless? Or do you believe you are important?" Tiyo and Riyo screamed at me in unison.
I knew I should not answer, but I knew what I was to everyone. I had not needed their reminder. It did not sting me to hear the truth. I knew I was nothing, and for the rest of my life, I would always be nothing. I was pushed in the back by Sen, a signal for me to leave. I left the room hearing the laughter of the retched Elders.
I was immediately sent back to my room. Sen gave me a small bag with enough room for three scrolls, a single well of ink, and a few brushes. A few small baggies and jars were set on my table. They were the ingredients for the cure of what was ailing the people of the Village Hidden in the Clouds. I saw how to make it, so I needed no instruction. I was not meant to bring anything else. I would be barefoot and I would wear the simple white dress. As the Elders had said, I am nothing and I will be treated as nothing. It was satisfying to have such a consistent life.
The journey to the Hidden Leaf was easy. It was just a short hike through the forest. I spent little time reflecting on thoughts. What was there to think about? I took out my kunai to give myself another slash when another wave of nerves took over. When I reached the village, the sun had just hidden behind the mountains with faces carved on them. Those faces must be of the Leaf's past leaders and of the present leader.
I was told to meet at a ramen shop called Ichiraku. I stood outside of the place for a few minutes until a tall girl about my age with pink hair stood next to me. She looked over at me, then turned away, then looked at me again. I heard somewhere that this action was called a double-take. I had never actually seen one before.
"Are you okay?" she asked.
I looked down. I was embarrassed by this random person's concern for me. "Ye-yes, why would I not be?"
I looked up for a moment to see her shake her head. "No, you need some food and fresh clothes. Come with me." The girl grabbed my hand and dragged me down the congested dirt street.
A few minutes later, I was wearing an outfit made of my old dress. The girl, who had told me her name was Sakura, had stripped it off of me the moment I was in her room. She tossed a robe and me, took out some scissors, and got to work.
"I hope this works," she said.
I slipped on some black leggings that she wanted me to keep. I tugged the dress turned I don't know over my head. The sleeves were the same length but the dress had been cut to about the length of a tunic with short slits up both sides. A simple sash was tied around my waist. Sakura had into the collar of the shirt slightly, giving me a bit of, what was it called? Oh, yes, a bit of cleavage. Then, she turned me to the mirror.
At first, I jumped back in surprise. "Who is that?!" I exclaimed.
"You've never seen your reflection?" Sakura's mirror self asked me. I shook my head.
The girl in the mirror shook her head too. That had to be me, no doubt about it. My hair was white, pure white. I guess someone would say my hair was the color of snow, but I would not know because I had never ever seen snow in my life, not even in messages. My skin was pale which caused the white of my dress to be shockingly brighter than me. The skin under my eyes looked like I had bruises. What did that mean? My eyes were, what was that color?
"Sakura, wha-what color are m-my eyes?" I asked.
She rested her hands on my shoulder and stared hard at my reflection. "You don't know what green looks like? Well, your eyes are extremely green. You are actually very pretty," Sakura explained to me.
"Pretty?"
She gawked at me in disbelief. "How often to go outside?"
"Um, I, um, ca-can't re-mem-remember the last time I was out-outside." I hated my stutter.
Sakura was just about to say something else when she looked at the clock. "Oh crap! I was supposed to meet Kakashi sensei at Ichiraku's an hour ago!!! I'm sorry, but I have to go. You can come with me, but I won't be able to stay long."
I followed Sakura down the street. I was pleased that this time she wasn't dragging me like a child drags a blanket around.
When we made it to the shop, she left my side to greet a tall blond guy wearing a black and orange outfit. The man standing next to him had a shock of gray hair that stood on head, held up by his headband that hung low over his left eye. He had out a book that seemed to say Make-Out Paradise on it. From what I had seen in past messages about the Hidden Leaf Village, this man was wearing tradition Jonin garb.
I stood in the background in an uncomfortable stillness that seemed to always surround me. I was about to turn and leave, maybe find my escorts when the man spoke to me. "And you must be Ruina. Where are you off to?"
My face burned. "I don-don't know, s-sir," I answered.
"Call me Kakashi. Sakura, have you met this girl?"
"Yes, Kakashi sensei. But, I had no idea she was who we were escorting."
I glanced over at the blond boy who was holding his stomach. He was staring with a longing expression at Ichiraku's. He must be hungry.
"Naruto," Kakashi called. That must have been the blond boy's name, because he turned. "This is not time for food, we need to get Ruina to the Village Hidden in the Clouds quickly."
"Call me Ruin, pl-please," I said.
Naruto turned, suddenly noticing my existence, and leaned forward to examine me. I flinched away, afraid he might hit me. His eyes went wide with concern at me flinching away. "What's wrong with you?"
Sakura came from behind and slammed her fist into his head. He went crashing through the ground, moaning and groaning in pain. "YOU IDIOT!!!! DO YOU HAVE ANY RESPECT FOR ANYTHING?!?!"
My face was on fire and I was beginning to shake again. I was so nervous, so overcome with emotions that I did not understand. I was starting to be overwhelmed by the flood of the new that I could not hold much back for too long.
I was hyperventilating. I needed a distraction. There were too many people. I couldn't do anything with them all surrounding me. I was surrounded. I was being flooded. Choked. I was suffocating.
That was when I passed out.
Cliffhanger, sorta, right? Well, I hope you liked it cuz I think this will be good!!! Review if you have suggestions or compliments or just wanna send me a virtual cookie n_n that is always appreciated!!! Next chapter will be up soon!!!!