Fishes and Bicycles
Chapter One: Morning and Evening
June's waking midsummer sun shone bright morning rays betwixt the dense oak forest encircling Konoha. The stern-faced Hokages, each of whom had been perpetually engraved across the mountain precipice, were first to be illuminated. Then, as the night's shadows shrank back into the cracks and crevices, did the light throw its white glare upon the village's decorative buildings and dusty roads. Elsewhere, in the distance, the birds began chirping joyfully for the day's arrival.
Stepping outside his eighteenth floor apartment, Shingou hastily wrapped the last bandage on his right arm and leapt upon the railing of his balcony, which itself was a useless addition to his home, offering only the view of another apartment complex across the street. Fortunately, his building was several stories higher than the other.
With balance and poise unnatural to any ordinary human, he casually walked up the outside wall. This extraordinary event was made possible by the ability to manipulate his chakra beneath his feet. Within a ninja village, such a feat was trivial. It required effort equivalent to walking down the street, and skill akin to riding a bike. Truly, chakra had the potential to accomplish much more astonishing things.
Upon reaching the level expanse of the roof, Shingou directed his attention to the main gates at the edge of the village several hundred meters away. It had been left open all day and night, a typical sight during peace times. This allowed shinobi to come and go with little delay, at all hours. A selected group of "capable" guards rotated the post, a scant reassurance of safety and security. Shingou had never been particularly fond of the arrangement. He found The Third, as well as his successor, The Fourth, far too trusting; to place the defense of Konoha in the hands of mere second-rate Chuunin was incredibly naïve. Alas, he had not come to the rooftop to muse on politics.
A group of springing black dots emerged from the forest beyond the village wall, pausing before the guardhouse, and then disappearing into the village. They were the surveillance squad sent out the previous day to gather information on the mission he would be completing that night.
His watch showed half past eight. They were running late. He scowled, having no respect for those unable to be on time. Such irresponsibility irked him.
Shin returned to his apartment. It was small, but spacious enough due to a lack of furniture. On the far end of the room, resting against the left wall, sat his bed. Scattered about the nearby table were numerous scrolls, parchments, and books—a ruse of a scene, as he had not touched the material for a week or more. Adjacent the door was his lock-box, a chest containing his more valuable items and tools. It was still open from earlier, a few kunai scattered on the floor around its base. He kicked it closed and brushed the weapons against the wall, moving over to the mirror on the door.
The reflection depicted a child, only twelve or so, with dark brown hair cut short around his soft, boyish face. His eyes, matching color to his hair, were large and deep, emitting a strange conflicting sense of childlike innocence and age-old wisdom, each battling for dominance within. His garb was nothing more than a pair of brown shorts and a gray T-shirt. In brief, he looked pathetically average without any striking qualities, just as he had intended.
Shingou exited into the hall, making for the staircase that led to the lobby several floors below. Mushi, a cafe across the street, had an amazing new apple flavored tea that would be perfect with his breakfast.
"Kinatsu-hime!" a voice cried, reverberating through long corridors and open rooms. The sound of pounding feet bounced spastically across the basement level, followed by a brief pause, and then again, "Kinatsu-hime!"
In one room several feet away from the first, came forth a slight groan, a mumble, and then silence. The noise of footsteps headed for the source, quickly coming to a closet with the door slightly ajar. Inside, scarcely audible, was a slow, rhythmic breathing.
A hand wrenched the door open, flooding the tiny compartment with light. At first, there appeared to be nothing inside save a few mops and brooms. Suddenly, however, one such mop moved, sliding from the wall to the open hallway, uttering a dull thud upon hitting the floor.
"Kinatsu-hime, are you in there?" the voice questioned, his shadowy figure rising in front of the doorway.
"Ara… Wa…" replied the closet, momentarily shaking to life as a group of wrapped up sheets turned to face the intruder. A head of bright red hair and sleepy two sleepy green eyes popped out of the mess abruptly, resting on a half revealed elbow.
Standing upon the closet threshold was a young man, breathing heavily, hair a mess, distraught and frantic. Kinatsu squinted; he looked vaguely familiar.
"I'm sorry for waking you Kinatsu-hime, but it's seven in the evening! You have a mission briefing in half an hour! Your mother asked me to find you, and I searched and searched! I really did! Maybe you can still make it!" The man said, speaking far too quickly for a half-asleep person to understand.
Kinatsu made two rather pronounced blinks which conveyed neither understanding nor misunderstanding. She did appear to have gotten the general message though.
"Kinatsu-hime?" The man repeated, his voice quivering with worry.
"I'll be late-aru…" The girl said, her tone so flippant it was impossible to tell whether she meant the words as a statement or a question.
"Please hurry miss!" He urged, offering his hand to help her out. She stared at it blankly and he began to sweat with nervousness. Sure they were both shinobi, but wasn't it only polite to offer a hand? He suddenly questioned the action and considering withdrawing, but it was too late. She saved him the embarrassment by finally reaching up to receive his help, knocking over several more cleaning supplies as he pulled her into the hallway. Why she chose to sleep in such places was beyond him.
"Thank you, Niho-kun." She murmured, wiping the sleep from her eyes and yawning.
Niho suddenly felt his heart skip a beat. Standing before him was the Sao clan princess, speaking to him with such informal words! For a moment he felt they could have been close friends, or even something more. What would it be like to see her waking like this every morning, lying next to him in bed, hair slightly messy, and face still half-asleep?
She was, no doubt, beautiful. Her childlike innocence was accentuated by her petite figure and buoyant personality, yet she was still very much a woman. Her hourglass figure was surrounded by long red hair that fell to her waist and gave off a glossy shine. And her eyes were always full of life, dancing with curiosity and mischief. Because they were green she had exoticness unusual in the predominately blue-eyed Sao clan. From her mother she had inherited an envious bust, more noticeable in her loose evening robe than during her daytime outfits. Niho felt incredibly lucky to be standing there. It was a crime she was still only sixteen.
His own dirty thoughts made him turn red with shame. Fortunately she didn't appear to have noticed, and was already trudging off down the hall. He knew he had no chance with her. He was only a fairly average looking Chuunin with a mediocre mission completion record; not to mention he was a pushover shinobi. To think he could be with the prodigy—the most powerful Sao in the clan—was ludicrous.
He glanced over to her. She was picking up her pace down the hall, escalating from a jog, to a run, to a sprint on all fours. By the time she disappeared out the far hall door she was galloping like a horse.
Niho sighed. Unfortunately this reminded him that the princess was a loony, and didn't have much interest in men. She had been a loner since the Chuunin exams, spending most of her evening by herself in the library. Of course, she did have friends. Everyone in the village knew her. She was known for showing up out of nowhere and joining conversations with people she had never before spoken to. Or on a mission, to be found laughing with the enemy she was supposed to be killing. Yet, she never seemed to hang out with any one person, not even her teammates from her Genin years. It was impossible to tell why. What went on in her head was a mystery, a locked box full of secrets, and no person held the key.