Searching for Destiny
Chapter 1: The Beginning
DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT own Naruto... I wish... Enjoy! -Kita
Haruka and Kyoko walked slowly down the road, their clothes were tattered and the packs on their backs seemed almost too heavy to carry. Kyoko sighed and glanced wearily at Haruka. "You okay?" She asked her voice hoarse.
Haruka smiled weakly. "I've been better." She said laughing slightly and coughing up a bit of blood. "No kidding." Kyoko said. "We're lucky to be alive"
"Let's just hope we stay that way." Haruka said, having more and more difficulty walking.
"We will." Kyoko said, looking at the road stretching out in front of them. "We have to. I'm sure there's a town, or something, a bit farther"
Haruka nodded a sad smile on her face. The sun beat down on them, sweat dripping into their many cuts causing even more pain. Kyoko stumbled and fell to her knees, trying to muster the strength to stand.
"Kyoko..." Haruka said, her voice coming out soft and hoarse. "Stand up, we have to keep going"
"Haruka, we've been going for days, I can't do it anymore." Kyoko said wearily.
"We need to get to a doctor. Kyoko if we stop now our wounds will probably kill us." Haruka said, trying to gently pull Kyoko to her feet. "You go ahead Haruka, I'm sure there's a town close, I can feel it. Go and get help"
"If it's so close then get up and we'll go together." "I can't. I don't have enough strength. Go Haruka." Kyoko said as she tried to push Haruka away.
"At least let me help you get out of the road." Haruka said, her eyes pleading with her friend.
"Just go Haruka, please hurry. I can crawl to the roadside. I'll be close when you get back." Kyoko said with an encouraging smile.
Haruka bit her lip and looked down the road as if trying to see a town on the horizon. "I'll go as fast as I can. I'll make sure you get help." Kyoko nodded and tried to push Haruka again. "Go"
Haruka nodded and stood, starting down the road, glancing back at Kyoko until she disappeared from view. She walked and walked the pain in her legs and the pain burning through the cuts on her body. The sun began to sink below the horizon and flashed in her eyes, blinding her. She fell to her knees, an anguished cry escaping her lips.
I can't give up, Kyoko needs my help, I need to survive. She thought, struggling to her feet. She stumbled along, no longer paying attention to where she was going. She made it a few feet before falling again, the sand on the road grinding into her cuts. Tears streamed down her dusty face, mingling with sweat and dried blood. MOVE! She commanded herself. You are stronger than this. You must get up, you must go on! Her arms gave out and she fell, face first into the dirt. She struggled to get up, her arms shaking too hard to support her and she fell again. "Damn it! Damn it! Damn it!" She cried, frustrated by her weakness. Her anger gave her strength and she crawled forward, refusing to give up.
A foot appeared in her vision and she looked up, craning her neck to see an ANBU operative standing in front of her. "Down the road, a few miles back is another girl. Please help her." Haruka gasped, her vision blurring. She saw another ANBU rushing down the road in the direction she came before blackness stole over her vision and she passed out.
Kyoko woke in a hospital bed, her body aching. She looked around the room warily, afraid to see where she was. In a bed next to her Haruka was lying, asleep. Kyoko sat up stiffly, putting her bare feet on the chilly linoleum floor. She stood shakily, walking over to Haruka's bed. Her friend was in deep sleep, an angry red cut across her cheek stood out starkly against her pale skin. Kyoko put her caramel hand into Haruka's pale hand, squeezing it gently. "You did it Haruka. You saved us." She said, her voice hoarse.
She spun as the door opened, immediately regretting the quick movement. A woman with long layered black hair stood in the door way. She wore an odd red outfit half covered by bandages.
"Who are you?" Kyoko asked, having to clear her throat once before she could speak. "I'm Yuhi Kurenai." She said, she had a nice voice, soft and gentle. "Who are you"
"Muraki Kyoko." She said, glaring mistrustfully at Kurenai.
"It's a pleasure to meet you Muraki Kyoko. Some of our ANBU found you near death on a road leading to our Village. What happened?" Kurenai asked, sitting on a chair near the door.
"Why do you want to know? How do I know I can trust you?" Kyoko asked, folding her arms defensively.
"I want to know because you were really beat up and we want to know who did that. And you can trust me because if we meant you harm we would have just left you on the road." Kurenai said, smiling gently. "I don't trust you." Kyoko said, sitting on the edge of Haruka's bed.
Kurenai sighed and nodded. "All right, I'll leave you alone then. But if you want to talk just let one of the nurses know." Kurenai stood and left the room, shutting the door quietly.
Kyoko sighed and shook her head grimacing at the feel of all her tight muscles. She walked over to the window, looking out over the streets of Konoha a few stories below. "So where is this place? They have ANBU, so it must be a ninja village. What was her headband?" Kyoko closed her eyes trying to remember. She sighed and went back to her bed. She flopped down, hand over her eyes; "My head feels like it's splitting apart!" She groaned. "Then go back to sleep." Haruka's voice was softer than usual, it sounded like it almost hurt her to talk.
"Haruka!" Kyoko said, smiling as she sat up to look at her friend. "How are you feeling Kyoko?" Haruka asked, sitting up stiffly.
"Stiff and sore, you"
"About the same." Haruka said, gingerly touching the cut on her cheek. "Where are we"
"A shinobi village." Kyoko answered. "A kunoichi came in here earlier, I've forgotten the symbol on her headband but I know I haven't seen it before though"
Haruka frowned, closing her eyes. "Then it isn't a band from Kiri, Suna or Iwa." "No." Kyoko said. "The kunoichi that was in here asked what happened to us. Do you think we can trust them"
"I don't know, I couldn't tell you until I saw the headband." Haruka said.
Kyoko smiled. "You always have been more diplomatically savvy then me. Will you be able to tell what Village this is just by seeing the headband"
"I should." Haruka said. "I know most of the symbols of the Shinobi Villages. Unless this is a new Village"
"It's not. Look out the window, it looks highly developed, like it's been here a while; though a few of the buildings look like they've been recently destroyed or something"
Haruka frowned and tried to stand, her legs giving out and forcing her to sit back on the bed. "Are you all right?" Kyoko asked, going over to sit next to Haruka. "My legs are still weak." Haruka said, smiling with embarrassment. "And there's a cut on the back of one of my knees, it stings like no other when I try to straighten my leg"
"You better not move it for a while then. That's not a wound you want to take a long time healing." Kyoko said with concern.
Haruka nodded. "You're right." She said with a smile.
The two looked up as the door opened again and a tan man with his hair in a pony-tail and a scar running across his nose came into the room. "Hello girls. I'm Umino Iruka, how are you feeling?" He asked, sitting in the same chair Kurenai had. Haruka and Kyoko exchanged glances before Haruka smiled at Iruka. "It's a pleasure to meet you Umino Iruka, I am Sakamoto Haruka and this is Muraki Kyoko. We appreciate the generosity and aid Konohagakure no Sato has given us." She said her voice pleasant and polite, if not a bit hoarse.
Kyoko's eyes widened as she heard Konohagakure. So this is the Village Hidden in the Leaves... How interesting that we should end up here. She thought as she looked between Haruka and Iruka.
"Kurenai came in earlier; she said she spoke with you Kyoko." Iruka said, looking at Kyoko with kind eyes.
"I was wondering if you would like to tell us what happened now that you're both awake." Iruka said, a pleasant smile on his face. Haruka and Kyoko exchanged another wary glance before Haruka began to speak again. "We were traveling the roads near your Village when we were attacked. We managed to escape and hide from them. When we felt that we were safe we continued down the road, hoping to come to a place where we could get medical care. Unfortunately we were not strong enough to reach your village"
Iruka nodded and smiled gently at the girls. "You came very close. You were on the outskirts of the village when an ANBU squad found you"
Haruka smiled. "We are lucky they did. I doubt we could have lasted much longer." An odd look flashed through her eyes and she looked down hiding her face from Iruka, a frown on her face.
Iruka stood up. "Thank you for telling me what happened. I'll go tell the Hokage and we'll look into who attacked you"
"Please, don't trouble yourself." Haruka said, looking up quickly with a smile. "It was only a group of bandits. I'm sure they're far from here by now. I would hate for your Village to waste time on such a thing"
Iruka smiled and nodded before leaving the room.
"If they go searching for those that attacked us they will find nothing but bodies." Kyoko whispered to Haruka. She was clearly worried about what would become of them.
"Yes, but that does not necessarily mean that we were the ones to kill them. They easily could have been attacked after they left us." Haruka said, staring at the window. "Haruka, they cannot know that we are ninja. They cannot know our past." Kyoko said, gripping Haruka's arm.
"They won't. If they discover that we can fight we can say our fathers taught us how. The ability to fight does not necessarily make one a ninja. We'll simply have to limit ourselves to taijutsu while we are here if we ever have to fight." Haruka said smiling comfortingly. "Everything will work out fine. As soon as we're well enough we'll leave and continue on our travels"
Kyoko nodded, laughing nervously. "Oh course, you're right. I don't know why I'm getting so worried"
"You were born in Iwagakure Kyoko; your home village is an enemy of Konoha. It is understandable that you still fear some of them." Haruka said, smiling at her friend.
The two girls spent the next week in the hospital, their wounds healing well under the tender care of the Konoha doctors. They weren't visited by any ninja again and they couldn't decide if the absence was comforting or worrying. It was a week and two days since they arrived in Konoha and the girls felt that they were finally ready to depart. They had gathered what few things they had and snuck out of the hospital at night, racing silently along roof tops. They constantly surveyed their surroundings, wary of even the slightest movement in the darkness.
Tune in next time to see what happens! Reviews are REALLY appreciated!!!!