First letter – Finding Myself
Red. Red. Red! Everything was painted in crimson red. Red walls, red sky, red eyes... red liquid spread across the small room. Blood. It was blood. Blood on the walls, blood in the air, blood drenched tears running down pale skin. A young girl's pale skin. Her long raven black hair was lifelessly clinging to her blood stained frame. Her clothes, not forgotten by the metallic liquid, were also painted in the hateful colour. She only wore a once ice blue sleeveless jacket over a once night blue top and black hot pants. Blue orbs were tainted by the colour of `love` as well. They were, devoid of any feeling, staring at the wall in front of them.
'Vengeance is sweet and something to be served cold. PS: I HATE YOU :)'
The letters were still fresh on the plain white background, written with blood... the blood of those lying inanimately and mercilessly ripped apart on the cold floor. Nothing seemed to be in the right place anymore. Every single body part was cut off and thrown somewhere in the room - an arm on the kitchen table. A leg in the corner next to a vase. Eyes swimming inside a glass of water…
The sight was gruesome, but none of it seemed to catch the young girl's attention. Although her gaze was fixed on the words in front of her, she wasn't looking at anything. Her mind was blank, not being able to comprehend what had happened.
Tentatively she walked over to one of the corpses and kneeled down. Almost shyly she reached out to the face and closed the empty sockets where probably already glassy eyes used to be in. It was a small Asian woman. Even smaller than the young girl herself.
Then she stood up and did the same to the other dead body in the room. It was a rather strong built man. He wasn't Asian though. His hair was blond instead of black.
The air was thick and full of the stench from the corpses.
Suppressing the strong urge to break down, the girl had moved around the room and had collected every single body part, after carrying the woman over to the man. Her face seemed to have turned even whiter than it already was. Her body was shaking badly and her legs were wobbly. The shock state she was in and the adrenalin rush were slowly dissolving as realization kicked in. It was coming to her like a wet towel on the face. Her eyes widened, looking down at her bloody hands. What had she done? What the hell had happened?!
Breathes came short and the world began to spin. She was hyperventilating. Tears were pricking in her eyes again. Black dots started to appear in her vision and eventually she grabbed a knife that was temptingly lying on the floor.
'I... I am so sorry... I would have never thought it would get this far... It's all my fault. It was an unforgiveable act... Maybe-... maybe I can save those who are left. No I know it. They should have never even come close to such a thing as I am. I really do attract misfortune... The beloved daughter of the devil himself. A cursed child...'
Steadily the knife found its way to the girl's heart, her cold and slender fingers gripping it tightly, longing for any kind of comfort. Soon everything will be over. Soon. She couldn't stand it anymore. A lump started to form in her throat. She felt hot and cold at the same time. This wasn't right! No one should have died besides her!
Guilt was eating her already fragile mind. If she could just go back in time. Retrace! There were so many things she regretted. Things she wanted to take back. Things she wanted to change... But it was too late now...
The sun was shining brightly on the horizon, just radiating happiness. However, the rays it was giving off were cold. Even colder than ice. The streets were deserted. You could see the scenery wavering in the cold heat. Nothing about the scene outside could make one feel warm on the inside, rather it gave one goosebumps. A perfect massacre on a perfect day.
…
Clatter.
Thump.
The blood dyed knife hit the ground as well as the black haired girl. Everything was silent. No bird was chirping, no car was screeching, not even the water in the river nearby dared to make any noise. The world seemed to have frozen. Everything was so cold. The girl felt cold. Shivers were running down her spine. Goosebumps were gracing her sheet white skin and red tears running down her tainted cheeks.
„Bye... bye..."
Her voice was weak and quiet as she gave the world her final words. Her eyes slowly began to gloss over when death whisked her away.
Darkness. Everywhere she looked was darkness, an endless pitch black void. And the only thing that was with her was an indescribable pain in her chest, a really painful one. Unfortunately, that was all she felt. No matter how much she willed her body to move, it wouldn't. She didn't think she was breathing as well. Everything she could do was hover in the black nothingness and feel the pain she had caused to herself, not only physically.
'I deserve this... I know I do, but… No! No more. I cannot take any more of this… It hurts so much... I wished that there was something different that waited for me after death… Silly me. I should stop believing my own lies.'
Minutes turned into hours. Hours turned into days and days into weeks. Soon the girl lost count. Every so often pieces of her past were played in front of her eyes, showing her the fatal mistakes she had been making; showing her how she had lead herself into the situation she was in. It completely consumed her mind. She was broken… broken beyond repair. Now everything that was left was a soul, shattered into many little pieces. Was this her punishment? Was this her punishment for the sins she had committed? She didn't know and didn't care anymore. She didn't even care what would happen to her then.
More and more time passed without something changing. The pieces of her past just went by her eyes without getting any reaction out of her. They had turned into empty black holes. She wasn't the same young girl anymore. She hadn't been for a while now.
Then suddenly the impossible happened. The scenes of her past stopped playing and the pain in her chest she had already forgotten a long time ago, disappeared. Dazzling white light filled her vision.
Still, none of it seemed to spark her attention. Her eyes were dull with hopelessness. Minutes of silence passed. The area got even brighter if possible and then everything was gone. The girl slipped into oblivion once again after a long time.
It was a warm summer's day. The sunrays were kissing the fluffy green leafs of the trees located in a rather big forest. Everything had such a heart-warming feeling to it. It was full of life. Birds were happily chirping and flying around. Fish were swimming around in a pond, together with toads... It seemed so flawless.
Somewhere in the woods a small village was bustling with life. It was a farmer's village near a river. The men of the families went out to the fields and the women took care of the animals. Cows, sheep, hen and pigs. Some stray cats were taking advantage of the hospitality the people living there too. Usually they were laid back and cheerful in their everyday-life, but today was different. Today they would find something that would change it.
„Mama! Look, look!" A little boy, barely five, called for his mother. His hair was messy and silver. He wore some kind of old clothing, too big for him. Though, his eyes sparkled with excitement.
Tugging at his mother's worn out clothes, he pulled her over to the riverbank. His mother, confused at first, chided him, but soon realized the cause of his actions. A young girl with unhealthy pale skin was lying beside the river. Her clothes were wet. Wet with something that obviously wasn't the water she was lying beside. Her whole body was drenched in blood.
Covering her mouth with a hand, the actually young woman rushed to the girl's side. What a gruesome thing to do with a child! How dare someone to lay a finger on such an innocent looking girl. Then again, the woman had heard rumours of Ninja that were trained at a pretty young age.
Nonetheless, the woman paid no heed and wasted no time to wash off that sinful liquid.
„Shin. Go ahead and tell your father that we'll get a visitor." She commanded her son. Shin sprung up and ran as fast as his little feet could carry him. Then his mother followed, with the black haired girl lying limp in her arms.
The smell of cheese and milk filled the air and children were noisily playing around. That was what the black haired girl woke up to.
Tentatively opening her eyes, she adjust herself to the many bright colours that greeted her. So much time had passed since she last saw anything besides black and the dull colours of her fading memories. She could move her eyelids, she could see the surface of the ceiling, she could smell cheese being melted and hear the stomping of children on the wooden floor. Things she hadn't been doing for so long now. It were things usually forgotten in the routine of the daily life. You only notice you've lost something important after it is gone.
While trying to think, her dull eyes were still fixed on the ceiling. Not a muscle in her body was moving. She didn't even dare to blink or breathe, but strangely enough she didn't run out of oxygen. It all seemed too surreal to her. Nothing made any sense at all. Had she finally gone nuts? But then again, that was okay. At least it was different than the endless pitch black void she had resided in. If this was a dream, than it was a good one, because she had all of her senses back. Still, if it wasn't, what had she done to deserve a second chance? She was nothing special in her world. Just a random girl that passed her time with reading and gaming - sometimes sketching and writing too. Well, she was a bit on the philosophical side and perhaps a little bit insane, but still, nothing that made her stand out particularly.
„Okaa-san! Karasu-san ga okite iru!" A young boy called. It was Shin. He strolled over to the girl's bed and watched her stare blankly ahead. Miss Raven was the name he had given her after looking at her hair.
'Karasu-san's head slowly moved to look at the one beside the bed she was lying in and was met by excited eyes. Soon a second pair appeared and then two legs... Two legs...? Her gaze shifted up to see a young woman carry a bowl of what smelled like milk. All three of them looked kind of the same. Probably a little family. So she was taken in by someone...
No sound left the girls mouth. She somehow didn't feel like talking. Not that she ever felt like it. Back in her world she used to be introverted and quiet. Not really shy... maybe a bit.
After continuing to circle her thoughts she came to the conclusion she was either in a very untouched spot on the earth or not in her world at all.
Eventually focusing on the little family again, she noticed that they were trying to speak with her. They must have been for a while now. Carefully eyeing them, she tried to make out where they could be from, for that she didn't understand them at all. Every time they opened their mouth, gibberish was spoken. It seemed so familiar, but she couldn't put a finger on it.
After a few more failed attempts to start a conversation, the boy's face fell. His mother ruffled his hair and had told him something, before he left with his sister. Only the woman was left. She made a motion with her hand that even the dumbest person would have understood. She waved one of her hands up, while the other one held onto the bowl of warm milk.
Almost lazily getting up, the girl looked at the woman, her expression devoid of any emotion. The bowl was pushed into her hands and again the woman made a sign. She wanted the girl to drink and so she did, but nothing changed. She still felt hollow, if she even felt anything at all. With the empty bowl now in her hands she continued to blankly stare at the woman, who sighed and shook her head. She then took the empty bowl and left, not after wishing the girl a good night... Wait. A good night? So she did know this language to an extinct. What did the woman say?... Oya-... Oyasumi! That was definitely Japanese. Of all the languages it could have been, Japanese...
Night did really come soon and the little family went to rest. However, the raven haired girl didn't feel sleepy at all. She pushed herself up and let her legs carry her outside, soundlessly.
The big silver moon, reflected by the water in the flowing river, gave off a fluorescing light, soothing but at the same time it sent chills down one's spine. Fireflies were dancing in the calm breeze and lighting the area round them with their backsides. The clattering of crickets, tu-whit tu-whoos of owls, the chirping of nightingales and the sound of grass and leafs hitting each other filled the air with breath taking music. It was such a beautiful and untouched place.
Carefully, the girl made her way to the river, her feet as light as a feather. The fireflies quickly left as she approached, making it look like warm green glowing threads were swirling around her body.
When she finally reached the river bank, she sat down. For a while she didn't move an inch and the fireflies' curiosity got the better out of them. They came back and settled down in the grass around her. Every part of her body was covered in either the warm green light of the curious fireflies or the illuminating light of the big silver moon, complimenting her pale skin. She looked like a porcelain doll, forgotten by its owner.
Bending forward, she looked at her reflection, but all she could see was an unfamiliar face. No, she could remember this face. This face was long forgotten, had been pushed to the farthest corner of her mind. It was a shameful face... it was her ow-.. No it wasn't. She didn't feel like it belonged to her. It had been the face of the one she had watched making mistakes during the time she resided in the dark void. It belonged to the girl named... Bluebelle Orquidea. She herself wasn't this 'Bluebelle'... not anymore. Bluebelle had died, committing suicide. She was... she was nothing...no one.
As on cue, her reflection blurred, leaving a trail of colour. The gentle pitter-patter of rain hitting water and earth filled the air with a new sound. First slowly and quiet, then it got heavier and heavier. Nonetheless, the girl didn't budge. She remained beside the river, quietly watching the shattered reflection in front of her.
'Who am I?'
Not a single tear rolled down her tender cheeks. If Bluebelle had died committing suicide, then who was she? Just who the hell was she?
Only the music of Mother Nature answered. It was just as unknowing as she was. No one knew - no one could have given her an answer besides her herself...
The night passed in a blur. Dawn had just broken, but the little village was already bustling with life. The girl hadn't moved one bit since last night and her eyes were still open. She hadn't even slept and was drenched to the bones.
Suddenly the voice of Shin echoed through the air. He was running up to the girl, his feet leaving footprints in the muddy ground behind him.
„Karasu-san!" he yelled, although he was already standing beside her. The girl turned to face him. His eyes were full of worry and confusion.
„Nanishiteruno?!" He swiftly pulled at her sleeve, wanting her to stand up and so she did. She eyed him blankly and eventually cocked her head as he continued to sprout nonsense.
„Nani?" Shin furrowed his brows. The girl shook her head. Maybe she could at least try to live for a bit. She pointed at the boy with her finger and then again, cocked her head in confusion. Then she pointed at herself. „Tsuki."
„Tsuki?" Shin tentatively tested the word. Quickly he realized that it was her name. Repeatedly pointing at himself he shouted out his own one. „Shin. Shin!"
'Tsuki' empathetically stared at the boy, not really knowing what to do. She wasn't a social butterfly like those people she adored. However… she used to pretend to be one, though it didn't help one bit, so why should she try to be one here? She didn't see the use in it…
The happy expression on the boy's face didn't falter, he just took Tsuki's hand and pulled her along, not that she protested. That would have been an unnecessary waste of energy.
"Okaa-san! Kono onna no onamae wa Tsuki!" Shin yelled right after they burst through the door, leaving it wide open. He was a bundle of energy, a little sunshine. Such a cliché, this personality. Still, the girl had always wanted to meet a person like that. Seeing them in an Anime or Manga or reading about them made her jealous of the people around those persons. What she had needed was a sun like that – a sun to help her shine, just like a moon does. But it was way too late now, to be accurate a hundred years too late…
Meanwhile mother and son were talking animatedly, after the boy had let go of Tsuki's hand. She was now standing at the entrance all dressed up and nowhere to go. And she didn't intend to move an inch. It was just like her will to live wasn't present at all. Who would have thought? – note the sarcasm. She was just a marionette, a puppet that was free to use in any way.
After standing there for a while, it wasn't much compared to her stay in that dark place, Shin noticed that Tsuki wasn't with him. He didn't expect her to be still where he had left her, looking like a lost kitten. Smiling like there was no tomorrow, he went to drag her along again and she didn't stop him from doing so. He had probably asked his mother, if he could play with her.
They went to the room where the black haired girl had been lying in before and sat down, more like he sat her down and did so himself. He didn't really care that she was drenched to the bones. Tsuki just played along with everything he wanted her to do, her mind blank. He made her write, thinking he could get something out of her, but she only copied what he had written before and then he tried to make her talk, without success. It must have been really frustrating him, for that he pulled his hair rather violently. There was nothing he could do to make her talk or get even the slightest reaction. Eventually he stood up and left, only to come back with a bunch of random things. Books, kitchen utensils, paper and brush, water and food. What was he going to do with all of that?
Again he tried to make her write, but this time he made her copy a few things from the book instead of his writing. Although it was written in kanji, Tsuki copied it precisely without any problem. It even looked better than his own handwriting.
A sound of realization left the boy throat and made it clear that he found something out. Excited he scurried over to her and gave her a book with paintings. He wanted her to copy those and so she did an exact replica in no time. Shin gasped and hurried away, leaving Tsuki to wonder about what he was intending to do again. Never would she have guessed, that what she did at that moment would change her life in such a drastic way. She didn't think that her life could get any worse, but there was one thing she didn't reckoned with: Murphy's Law. Everything was spiralling downwards from thereon, though she didn't notice it at first. Only years later, after that incident, she wished to never had shown her skill.
It had been a normal day. 14 years have passed, since Tsuki had miraculously appeared at the river bank and she hadn't changed one bit. She was still the lifeless marionette and looking just like she had looked on the first day – minus the blood. She had learned the Japanese language over the years, but her accent was still present and she did make some mistakes. Oh, and don't think she didn't notice which world she had ended up in. It was hard not to notice. Even non-otakus would know that they landed in the Narutoverse after noticing they had chakra and could use it! – With some difficulties, but it wasn't impossible.
Shin had grown up to a typical happy-go-lucky boy, always lighting everything up where he went. He wasn't weak per se, but not strong enough to fight them. His mother stopped working a few years ago and his father was nominated to be the little villages head.
Kaede, Shin's little sister, came after her mother. She was some kind of nurse and took care of the ill or wounded, with such a gentle personality.
There wasn't much to tell about them. They led a boring life that would turn into a short boring life soon.
Everything had been perfect. However, that was only the calm before the storm. Tsuki was sitting outside next to the river just like she always did. It was a warm summer's day and the soft rays of the sun were splashing the area in such wonderful colours. It was then that it happened. A loud scream echoed through the forest and then everything was silent. What was happening? Although she wanted to know, her body remained seated against the tree behind her, her gaze upon the flowing river. She knew that something was going to happen today. It was a gut feeling, but still… Where should she go after being left alone?… again. She had tried to not getting attached to the humans living here, with no avail. Not that she noticed it herself, but this was the start of something she couldn't possibly avoid forever.
Suddenly hurried footsteps rushed towards her place and a familiar voice desperately rang through the air.
"Run Tsuki! They're after you! Don't let yourself get caught and don't talk!" It had been an order. She always did what was told to her, so she ran, not even looking back once. It was clear as the day, that she couldn't do a single thing to help them. She was way too weak, too weak to go against ninja… Why would they go after her? Well, she did learn how to perform a particular Jutsu…
The girl ran without batting an eyelid. She should feel guilty, shouldn't she? But there was nothing the sort of in her mind, only indifference that occupied her whole being.
The ninja that were after her didn't give up that easily. Even after what felt like an hour of running they were still around. She could hear them talking to each other, as she hid inside a hollow tree. Shin told her to run and not to get caught. She wasn't planning on failing his order.
Soundlessly, she tiptoed out of the tree and swiftly began to run again. Nothing has gone wrong up until now, but she could feel exhaustion slowly creeping up, the symptoms that is. Her body didn't really listen anymore and it got harder and harder to keep her eyes open. Her lungs felt like they were going to rip apart any moment now and her muscles ached in pain. Her breath came out it short, ragged puffs. No! She couldn't get caught! Not no-…
"Doton-….!"
It had been the last thing she heard, before she fell unconsciousness, a ruthless and cold hand against her neck.
'Sorry… I failed… once again.'
The next years had been the most gruesome ones in Tsuki's life and she had a rather long one compared to the other humans.
After she had gotten caught by the ninja, who were from Iwagakure – she found that out after some time - they brought her to a cruel, cruel place. It was dark and cold, Shinobi were everywhere and no one was talking. The expressions on their faces turned into pure fury as they caught a glimpse of her. She didn't understand why. Perhaps it was because she was tied and led to a particular intimidating building. It was made of solid rock. The interrogation building. She should have felt fear or anything like that, but she didn't.
As soon as they entered, she was thrown onto the hard floor in front of another man. It did hurt like hell, but she wasn't going to give them the pleasure of hearing her voice.
"So this is the girl?" He eyed her with an icy glare. "Pathetic. She's just a wimpy little brat." She felt a foot crashing against her stomach, kicking her into the wall. The air was knocked out of her lungs and blood oozed out of the newly formed wound, painting one of her eyes crimson red. "Get that expression out of your face trash!" Once again she was thrown in front of that monster of a man by the two Shinobi that had caught her. She didn't even flinch. Only her gaze shifted up again, staring at the black haired man, devoid of any feelings. She knew that it would only anger him.
He gritted his teeth and stepped on her chest, pushing her against the cold floor. "You are going to answer every question I ask. Am I understood little bitch?!"
No! She didn't understand. Why did they treat her like that? She hadn't done a thing and now they were kicking and yelling at her. She thought humans in this world weren't like those in hers… Well, she couldn't have been more wrong.
"How did you manage to learn a jutsu like that in a village of civilians?!" The man's demanding voice rang in her ears. Still, she did not answer.
Wham!
Another foot in her ribcage.
"Let's try this again. Where did you learn those jutsus?" Not a single word crossed her lips. She wasn't going to talk. However, the tan man didn't like the silence that greeted him at all and decided to put more strength into his leg. A sickening crack echoed through the room and an agonizing scream soon followed. Quickly the girls bit her lip, not believing that she actually slipped up.
"Hmpf. Maybe a bit of torture will help you come to your senses." He turned to his subordinates. "Take her out of my eyes." Then she was dragged away again. Blood staining the floor they were walking on. 'Sigh… I never thought I'd die this way… I didn't even get to meet any of the main characters… Well, goodbye world…'
The following years, as already stated before, were filled with torture, interrogation and punishment. Tsuki had developed into Iwagakure's unsolvable nut case. Even after 3 years, she hadn't uttered a single word. Well, it was kind of hard to break a soul that had already been broken. She had accepted the fact that she was going to die eventually and years of torture were a mere wink of the eye to her. Her torturer were rather the ones to be scared off by her, for that nothing about her had changed since the day she arrived. She refused to talk even though they did the worst to her that they could do without using lethal methods. Soon they called her witch, monster even, and watched her with spiteful eyes. At least she could say that she knew how Naruto must have felt, when the villagers looked at him like that. Though, she didn't feel the need to be accepted…
The 4th year came around and only the fact that there were less Shinobi than before had changed. She didn't expect for anything to happen, but it did. Her only female torturer decided to break her out. She was a mother of two children herself and couldn't take watching an innocent girl being tortured anymore, at least it was what she claimed. Instead of taking Tsuki to the usual room she led her out of the building. It was a miracle that no one noticed that. Maybe the most obvious place really was the best hideout.
Air, fresh air. It had been so long since she saw the outside world.
It was night time and no one walked on the streets. Up ahead the forest could be seen. It wasn't far away, still it felt like an eternity getting there. Thinking back, the 14 years she had already been in this world passed like they were not even there. Nothing noteworthy happened and she herself didn't pay any attention herself. It had always been the same routine day after day.
"You have to start living dear." The woman spoke up as soon as they arrived at the outskirts of the woods. The girl just watched her with half lidded eyes. "Cheer up and smile more. It will only do you good. I can't watch you being like this anymore. I know it must have been hard on you… Please, do it for me dea-."
Suddenly the rustling of leaves could be heard. Tsuki tensed. "Run! I will buy you some time!" The woman hissed as she disappeared into the forest.
'Thank you…'
Something inside her cracked. She swallowed hard, but quickly turned away nevertheless. With that the black haired girl bolted away as fast as her feet could carry her. Her life seemed to be a circle of repeating events. People dying because of her - she running away – people taking her in – they die again and so on… No matter what she did, she couldn't break the cycle. She acted like a happy-go-lucky person like those she liked so much, she obeyed every single order, she stayed indifferent and now? Should she act like a caring big sister? Well, there wasn't much left to do besides going crazy and/ or evil.
Swallowing, she stopped to catch her breath. How long had she been running? The forest was dark and ninja probably scouted the area. Nevertheless, everything was better than being in the fangs of Iwagakure. In the time she was held as prisoner Tsuki had found out that a war was coming up soon, she just hoped that it wouldn't be after a few more years. She still had to find a safe place that protected her…
After a few minutes, she started to run again, her dark black hair flying in the wind. The only place she could think of, that would perhaps accept her would be Konohagakure. However, she had no idea where it could be… She didn't want to mess with the story anyways. She should just die again…
She didn't know how much distance she had put between her and the village of stone, but she felt that she was far, far away. Her vision had been left in a blurry haze and her lungs felt like they were going to burst. In her last life her weak point had been stamina. She couldn't go on forever. Black dots started to appear and slowly consumed her entire vision. 'Not again…'
"Sensei she's waking up."
"Really?! Can I talk to her sensei?!"
"You should let sensei handle it."
"Calm down you three."
The first three voices went still as the forth one spoke. They seemed so familiar…
Tentatively, Tsuki opened her eyes, blinking a few times. The first thing she saw was a bunch of silver hair, then a black haired boy. Their gazes met: Her's cold and apathetic his concerned and first, but it soon turned to disapproval, maybe even spiteful in a way.
"Finally awake I see. How are you feeling?" The blonde's voice was calm, though she could make out that he was on his guard. Her gaze once again laid upon the man's face. Of course. He didn't know if she was an enemy or not. To answer his question, she felt like shit. Sigh. Well, she should start with the female torturer's request, shouldn't she? But no matter how hard she tried to smile, her expression remained stoic. It was unsettling how her body refused to obey. Had she really turned into a marionette? Or was it just she didn't really want to smile.
"What's with you? Sensei asked you a question!" Someone yelled from somewhere behind the blond man all of a sudden. Tsuki glanced at that direction. The boy with black hair and outstanding orange goggles frowned down at her. That was then that she noticed something important. This blond man was Minato! And he… he was Obito! How could she not have noticed that before?! She had to stay clam! Scratch that. She couldn't even feel anything besides indifference, so how was she going to be anything but clam? Collecting her thoughts again she came to the conclusion that she should probably just play along like she always did. There was nothing she could do to change the future without making it worse anyways.
Suddenly Minato seemed tense and then nodded at his team. She knew that there were Kakashi and Rin as well. They all got into fighting stances.
"How many are there?" The only girl of the team asked, staying close to Tsuki. She was a medic-nin, right? How old were they now? How long until Obito… died? What should she do now? How should she act? Should she help them?
Shaking her head, not literally of course, she focused her attention on the scene that was playing in front of her. Iwa-nins. So the woman had been taken care of? Yeah, she knew that that sounded kind of cruel.
"Hey! You bitch! Don't play so innocent! You killed her! You, you little monster! Come here and take responsibility!" One of the Iwa-nin approached the group. Her… He must have been talking about the female torturer. That woman that saved her...
Rin tightened her grip around her kunai, waiting for the ninja to attack, but before he could reach his destination he dropped like a sack of potatoes. Kakashi had stabbed him right through his heart.
Blood… that heavy red liquid was splattered across the place. Everywhere. Red, crimson, blood!
Tsuki took in a shaky breath, being reminded of her… past. She could just see the people in front of her, ripped apart and scattered across the area. The faces of the unfamiliar humans morphed into the ones she once held so dearly in her heart. Panic stricken she pushed herself further against the tree she had been placed against. All she could see was a blur of black, silver, yellow and blue-orange. From time to time she caught the name of a Jutsu being said and a few bursts of fire. The movements were so fast, she couldn't keep track of them. Ninja were scary. Especially the soon-to-be Yondaime. The Iwa-nin had no chance at all.
Not paying attention to what was happening there, she didn't notice Rin easily being pushed aside by one of the men. He came closer and closer until he was standing right in front of her, kunai ready to strike down. All she did was stare ahead with an empty expression. She knew she had it coming. Her death had already been overdue for some time now.
The blade was only a mere inches away from her throat. Everything was going in slow-motion.
"DIE MONSTER!"
Instead of another blade cutting through her body again, Tsuki heard a strangled scream, before something heavy dropped on her outstretched legs. Refusing to believe what just happened, she tilted her head down to the person lying on her lap. Her eyes slightly widened at the sight.
"OBITO!"
Rin had pulled herself together and was frantically making her way over to her injured teammate, worry written all over her face. Swiftly, she turned over the boy and rolled him off of Tsuki's lower body. Without losing any time, she pressed down on the stab wound with what presumably was her healing Jutsu.
Tsuki saw that there were tears pricking at the boy's eyes.
"You reckless idiot! Why did you jump in front of a kunai?!" The brunette yelled at the poor boy, who just sheepishly smiled back. "Sorry Rin-chan."
Tsuki watched them with a once again blank expression. Why had Obito saved her? Didn't he dislike her? She was sure he did, because of the unexpected outburst before. Obito never yelled at someone besides
Kakashi. He was just that kind of boy – too nice for his own good.
"I never knew you were that dumb. Saving the obvious enemy? That's must be the most idiotic thing you have ever done." Kakashi strode into the clearing, without a single scratch gracing his almost completely covered skin.
Obito turned his head in anger, forming a fist. "Hey! I'm not dumb Bakakashi!"
"That just proved that you are indeed dumb." Approaching the almost forgotten girl, the silver haired boy towered in front of her blood covered body. Obito's blood, he noted. Before the said boy could retort, Kakashi interrupted him. "Why were they after you?" His voice was sharp and intimidating, his whole posture showing how tense he was, as if he was about to strike the defenceless girl any moment now and his stare was piercing. She felt like he was looking through her façade right at her very core.
No one dared to speak. Minutes passed, still, Tsuki did not utter a single word, solely her lifeless eyes stared right back at him. At some point of time Minato stepped in and pulled the stiff boy away.
"We should move on. I can sense more ninja approaching. Kakashi? Rin? Take Obito to the hospital. I'll handle this." The three of them stiffened at the mentioning of their names. Resisting the urge to complain they disappeared. They knew their sensei was up to something. And they didn't want Obito to cause a scene. Tsuki could hear the disappearing bickering of the two males.
"I'm not going to push you to tell me anything, but it would be appreciated." Tsuki blinked. She had completely forgotten the way normal people use to talk to each other. No order, no demanding, no torture… just words. She was sure that the Yondaime had noticed her slight change in demeanour, because a little smile tugged on his lips.
"You can call me Minato. What is your name?" He started off with the easiest question. Should she give him an answer? If she did, would it affect his future? Or was she just being overdramatic?
Minato was carrying her on his back, not caring that most of the evidences were pointing against her. She was an enemy to them, or should probably declared one after what had happened a few minutes ago. Being carried felt nice though. She didn't want him to let go, but that was just wishful thinking. He had to let go sometime. For now she was going to enjoy the comfortable warmth. Soon her mind drifted off.
"We are heading to Konoha. It's my home village. Where are you from?" He was persistent. Even after half an hour of silence on her side, he patiently waited for her to answer. He told her about random things that came to his mind: His current rank as a Jōnin; the fact that his hair colour wasn't really common in Konoha; that Kakashi was his first student and the three she had seen before, were his first team; that Kakashi was already a Chuunin, while the other two were still Genin; about the characters of his team; that Rin was a medic-nin and Obito an Uchiha. All statements that were useless to enemy ninja, but nevertheless good enough to talk about.
They were still jumping through the trees, but there was a big gate up ahead now. So this was Konoha? Hmm. No good. Tsuki's gut feeling told her that something big was going to happen. However, she didn't want to deal with that right now. Being carried was so comfy. She hadn't been carried since she was four and that was a long time ago.
Not really caring anymore, she let her eyelids drop just before they arrived at the gate.
The day had started out like any other one. He woke up on time – he helped one of the elders with their shopping bags – he arrived late for his team meeting. Nothing new. However, that was going to change pretty soon…
"You're late idiot. Can't you make it on time just once?!" Like he always did, Kakashi scolded him for not arriving at ealier. He stood there, arms crossed and an annoyed expression plastered across his face.
"I had to help this one woman carry her groceries! It's not like you would understand. You're a heartless jerk!" Clenching his fist he growled at his teammate. How could a person be such an inconsiderate ass?! He hated everything about him! His weird hair; his cold eyes; that icy glare; his body language even that annoying mask hiding half of his probably ugly face! He couldn't understand how girls clung to him like – he didn't know – he was covered in glue? Urgh, he was such a stick in the mud! And Rin! She always defended that Bakakashi!
"You're a disgrace to the Uchiha family." He stated, not even batting an eyelash and turned away.
"Kakashi!" It was Rin who jumped in again. This was the good side. Rin was the only one who would step in for him as well, also the first one to have ever done that. She was beautiful, intelligent and gentle! She was the perfect girl and he in love with her. He, the dead last that was known for his lateness and sunny personality. Considering he was an Uchiha, he was the black sheep of the family and he knew that. His family was full of people like Bakakashi. Follow the rule this. Follow the rule that. Bla bla. All this talk was making him feel sick. As if he would let leave someone in the lurch when they needed help! Only inconsiderate assholes would do that… He wasn't one! He was going to be Hokage! Someone great!
They had been staring at each other the whole time. Each one deep in thoughts.
"That's enough. Today we are going to our first C-ranked mission, remember?" Their sensei butted in, before giving them a short summery of what they had to do.
"This will be so cool! Our first C-ranked mission!" Obito skipped ahead, barely suppressing the urge to jump in joy. The Hokage had finally deemed them worthy on taking on C-ranked missions! His Sensei as well of course, but this was just so awesome! After having done so many boring D-ranks, he had thought that they would never get to do something exciting, though it was just scouting the area around Konoha he couldn't hold in the glee he was feeling. Kakashi on the other hand held a bored expression like he always did. It was nothing new to him, after all he had already been a Chuunin for years, not that the silver haired boy complained. A C-ranked mission was still better than those D-rank ones.
After hours of nothing but trees and trees and more trees Obito decided that a C-ranked mission could even top the most boring D-rank one. There wasn't even a person to speak with besides his teammates! And trees of course. He had no problem with Rin, but the other member only made his blood boil in anger. If it hadn't been for his Sensei, he would have already jumped at that arrogant jerk's throat. However, before he finally lost his patience they found a girl passed out against a tree. She looked horrible. She wasn't even wearing proper clothes! Her… dress? Was tattered and ripped at several places, while blood stained other parts of it. Bruises covered her unhealthy thin frame and her rather long raven black hair was a mess. What kind of cruel person would do this to an obviously defenceless girl?!
He was the first one to approach her. He jumped down from the tree he was standing on and carefully walked ahead. She looked so frail and sad, it almost hurt.
He was about to touch her, when his sensei pulled him back. "Wha-!"
"You should be careful. She could be an enemy only luring us." Although he said those words, his face told the complete opposite. He was also clearly stricken by that gruesome sight. "But sensei! She doesn't even look like she could move at all!" Obito defended.
After letting out a long sigh, Minato looked at the unconsciousness girl. "Kakashi, look out for those two. Rin, ready your first aid kit and Obito… give Kakashi backup. I'll look for anything suspicious around here." With that he was gone in a yellow flash.
Rin did as she was told and rummaged through her bag. Kakashi casually leaned against a tree and Obito muttered something unintelligible under his breath. Why did he have to back up the jerk? Why couldn't he be at lead once? Yeah, he knew Kakashi was an oh so great prodigy, but that didn't mean he always had to be put in the front. Urgh.
Minato was back, just standing there as if he was never gone, his expression serious. So he had found enemy ninja here. "Listen, there are currently 18 foreign ninja present in this area; five Iwa-nin, seven Suna-nin and six Kumo-nin. I don't know who of them or if any are going to attack, but you should be careful." He explained and then turned to the girl, trying to look relaxed. She seemed to be waking up any moment now.
Just as predicted the girl opened her eyes, only to reveal dull dark blue, almost black eyes.
"Sensei she's waking up." Kakashi stated the obvious, staring down at her. He didn't let it on, but he was quite unsettled about that unseeing look she had. To Minato it was almost the same as the boy's himself. Though, it lacked any will or the sort of.
"Really?! Can I talk to her sensei?!" Obito yelled out from somewhere behind. His voice seeped of excitement and worry, being the complete opposite of his male teammate. He didn't care that the rules said that emotions weren't wanted on missions. However, as soon as those cold eyes locked with his, he shut up. He knew that stare! It was the same as Bakakashi's! Why did she have to be like him! He hoped that she would be just as nice as Rin… He felt anger bubble up inside of him. He hated that stare! She should stop looking at him like that! One inconsiderate jerk was more than enough…
"You should let sensei handle it." Rin suggested, noticing his change of mood. She was such an angle.
"Calm down you three." Minato eventually said, walking up to the source of the uneasiness in the air. "Finally awake I see. How are you feeling?" The only thing that greeted the blond was an emotionless stare as the girls gaze shifted back to him. He was sure that she had been tortured for years and now that she wasn't of any use anymore her capturers threw her out as bait for enemy ninja that they wanted to ambush. He had to stay on guard. The shinobi world was cruel… There had to be a reason, why they held her captive though.
The pale girl still didn't answer. She just watched him with those dead eyes of her.
"What's with you? Sensei asked you a question!" It was unusual for Obito to snap like that. After all, he was always nice to everyone… except Kakashi. Oh! Her look must have reminded him of the silver haired boy! He would get over it as soon. Probably.
Five ninja were coming closer to their current location. So it were the Iwa-nin that tortured the poor girl? Minato knew that Iwagakure was planning something, but this was going too far! They shouldn't involve innocent citizens.
Nodding to his students he disappeared himself, leaving them to handle the weaker ninja. He could sense that two of them had been two Jōnin. He knew that his students could handle themselves with the other three.
"How many are there?" Rin asked, wanting to confirm the origin of their enemies. She would know which village they belonged to by the number. Kakashi rose his hand, showing her just before one of them approached. It was a black haired man, rage clearly written on his face. "Hey! You bitch! Don't play so innocent! You killed her! You- you little monster! Come here and take responsibility!"
Obito froze. This girl had killed someone?! He knew it. She was no good! Someone as heartless couldn't possibly have any feelings. No, he had to stop thinking like that… He wasn't one to judge people by their appearance. She was probably just a poor girl, who had been unlucky to be captured by such disgusting human beings. Wait, if they wanted to get rid of her, did that mean she wasn't a bait?! She must have been able to escape them!
The next thing Obito knew, was that the man who had been accusing the pale girl was lying in his own puddle of blood and Kakashi standing there, kunai dipped in the red liquid.
Swallowing the lump that made itself felt in his throat, he rushed forward. "Kanton: Goukakyuu no Jutsu!" A very familiar fireball filled his vision. It was his trademark technique.
Hoping, that he hit the other Iwa-nin, he came to halt. Where was he? Obito knew that the other man had been standing there just a second ago!
"Silly boy." Abruptly, he turned around, only to meet a very dangerously glinting kunai. 'No good!' Not wanting to be hit, he reached for his own one in his pouch and jumped back into a defensive stance. However, instead of attacking him, the man charged at Rin. No, not Rin, but the other girl!
Without giving it a second thought, or one at all, he hurtled over to them. Rin had already been knocked over and the raven stood in front of the girl, who was seemingly oblivious to her situation. 'No, I won't be the dead last this time!'
"DIE MONSTER!" In unison Obito and the man moved. 'C'mon, let be on time just this once!'
A strangled scream echoed through the forest. It was his'. Before he realized it, he had been stabbed right through the rips, most likely having his lung graced. It hurt like hell! He had to bite down on the inside on his cheeks to prevent himself from crying, though it didn't stop his eyes from tearing up.
With a quiet thud, he plummeted to the… not ground? He had fallen onto something soft and… cold, nevertheless comfortable! What was that? However, ere he was able to find out, he had been turned over and pushed away from it. Worried brown orbs were grimly staring at him. "You reckless idiot! Why did you jump in front of a kunai?!" The brunette yelled at him. Rin was always such a mother hen. Smoothly and swiftly, she pushed down on his wound rather harshly, making him wince. "Sorry Rin-chan." He gave her a sheepish apologising smile.
"I never knew you were that dumb. Saving the obvious enemy? That's must be the most idiotic thing you have ever done." Kakashi strode into the clearing, without a single scratch gracing his almost completely covered skin. Obito turned his head in anger, forming a fist. "Hey! I'm not dumb Bakakashi!" But why save the obvious enemy? The Iwa-nin were trying to kill her for god's sake!
"That just proved that you are indeed dumb." What?! That arrogant asshole! Here he went and helped the object of their mission and now he was looking down at him?! If he could move he'd give him a piece of his mind! When he was Hokage, he would definitely make him do all his filthy job!
Just as Obito was going to protest, Kakashi interrupted him, towering in front of the puppet like girl. "Why were they after you?" His voice was sharp and intimidating, his whole posture showing how tense he was, as if he was about to strike the defenceless girl any moment now and his stare was piercing. How could he be this cold towards the girl?! She had done nothing to deserve this side of him! Obito desperately wanted to speak up, but the look that his sensei was giving him made him keep his mouth shut.
No one dared to speak. Minutes passed, still, the girl didn't give any sign of answering Bakakashi's question solely her lifeless eyes stared right back at the silver haired boy. At some point of time their sensei stepped in and pulled away the stiff boy.
"We should move on. I can sense more ninja approaching. Kakashi? Rin? Take Obito to the hospital. I'll handle this." So he had been degraded to the dead last once again. He knew that there was nothing much he could do. He couldn't even breathe properly with his lung having been injured like that. That didn't mean he wasn't going to protest though. However, before he could even think of a way to retort, he had been picked up like a sack of rice and swiftly carried away.
"Hey! Put me down Bakakashi!" As Obito noticed who had been the one carrying him of he struggled. As if he was going to let himself be humiliated like this! "I sai-" "Could you just shut up for once or are you also too dumb for that?!" Gritting his teeth, he balled his fists and almost hit that jerk with everything he could muster. "Don't even think of it Obito!" Rin jumped over to them and warningly looked at the wounded boy. "But Rin-chan! He-"
"Kakashi is right. Minato-sensei is quite likely just questioning the girl. If you keep on fighting with Kakashi, you'll interrupt him." Gloomily the Uchiha turned away to face the passing trees as they went by. He'd already taken a hit by his crush. 'Damn that idiot Kakashi! If he wasn't here then Rin wouldn't… No, I'll earn her love fair and square! I'll prove them that I am not a disgrace of a Shinobi!'
"Just watch! I'm going to get that girl to talk! And then I'm going to be Hokage!" His usual grin appeared on his face as he turned to look ahead. 'Yeah just watch me!'
"Dream on stupid." Kakashi stated, annoyance underlining his tone. Rin just sighed at her teammate's behaviour. What a day.
That's everything for now. I'll upload the next chapter soon ;3
C'ya
Bluebelle n.n