AN: Random Naruto fanfic while I take a break from my others. I'm still working on them; I'm just brainstorming my ideas before I put them down. Plus, I've been wanting to write about Orochimaru for years.
Chapter 1
"What'll it be?"
The girl jumped, surprised by a blonde cocktail waitress that had appeared at her table out of nowhere. She looked down at her with bored, tired eyes, obviously wishing she preferred to be elsewhere.
"Oh, I'm fine. Thank you," the girl told her. The waitress rolled her eyes and stalked off.
Sure, she wanted a drink. She just didn't want a drink from this particular establishment. Bars weren't a frequent or common part of her daily life, nor was she much of a drinker. Occasionally she would go out with a few of her friends, but it was to bars quite different than this one.
The room was dark; the only light sources were small lanterns hanging about the bar and along the tables. It wasn't terribly loud. In fact, it was almost quite. It put the girl on edge. She felt like everyone could hear each breathe she took. People, mainly men, scanned the room over their drinks as they sat hunched over in their seats. It wasn't a friendly atmosphere.
She sighed and anxiously looked towards the door. If he didn't arrive soon, she was leaving. The message she received had had a sense of urgency to it. It was the only reason she decided to show up in this stuffy bar. She needed this job.
The message she received was from an ad she had posted around town offering house calls as a nurse. The hospitals had all the help they needed, so she was forced to compete with them. It wasn't bad, actually. There were many who couldn't make it all the way to the hospital for various reasons. And then there were those who were just lazy and wanted a young woman checking in on them.
She was offered to temporarily move into the housing of a lord to cater to him and an associate after they suffered injuries from a serious accident. It was quite a recent accident, and adequate help could not be found willing to help. A lord would pay well. She couldn't pass it up.
That and the location for their meeting was all the information the mysterious man had left for her, so she was set even more on edge when a stranger slid into the booth opposite her. He looked young, maybe in his late twenties, and not too much older than herself. He wore a simple black vest over a mesh shirt and pants that matched his equally dark hair. It was cut short, but still managed to get in the way of his eyes.
He waved at the bar that was over her shoulder. He didn't bother to even look at her until he had a sip of his drink that a waitress quickly brought over. He was obviously a regular here. With his eyes barely above the rim of the glass, he looked her up and down. "You weren't what I was expecting," he told her.
An eyebrow arched over one of her silver eyes. "I assure you I'm qualified. If you need proof-" the girl started as she reached for her bag.
"No, it's fine," he told her. "We don't have time for that. I just need to know if you are up for this or not. My Lord is in a great deal of discomfort having no medical treatment. His injured associate is medically trained, but he is in even worse shape. We cannot get any help to come to us."
"Oh," she exclaimed, "I didn't realize it was that serious. Why weren't they taken to the hospital?"
"My Lord has his own medical facilities, and we reside deep inside the forest."
His reply was quick an urgent. She could see the anxiety that spread across his face.
"I suppose I can help you. Your Lord is in quite a predicament, and I do need the work. How soon do you need me?"
"Well, now" he answered with a shrug. "None of the rest of us has any medical experience, and my Lord is quite impatient on a good day. We can let you gather your belongings tomorrow, but we need to leave now if we want to arrive before it gets too far into the night."
The girl pushed a lock of her midnight blue hair behind her ear. "Alright," she said with uncertainty.
"Good," he said as he put his now empty glass down, "let's go."