On a rainy day, of the fifth hour, of the eleventh month, Michiko's eyes widened as she saw a small child painted with red blood. Her hands dripped with sticky and warm blood, her cheeks had small splatters of paint and her dress was dyed into a flaming red, originally white. In one hand, the tip of her shabby umbrella dripped with blood while the other had ice crystals on it. The girl looked like a demon to Michiko's comrades, but to her, she could only see the one tear drop that leaked from her blank eyes before it froze up and shattered when it reached upon the ground. The child was also freezing up, her body beginning to form ice crystals and cold air was emitted from her.
The child looked up at Michiko before hiccuping: "I'm scared. I don't want to die." Then the ice tears began to fall out unstoppably as her body began to turn purple and slowly be encased in ice.
"It's a sad but not an unusual lifestyle for a child to suffer so. But fortunately we should be able to collect samples from the child-" A man approached Michiko from behind but immediately, the woman kneed her comrade hard in the stomach. This caused him to reel back and clutch his stomach. He looked up at her with confusion, disbelief, and anger. "What was that for, you wh-"
"I'm not giving up on a child and allowing you to view her only as an object." Michiko took out her earrings and began to chant while making hand signals. They were shaped as crosses and gave a silver shine. She then grabbed the girl's now iced hand and forced her to clutch the earring.
"Seal!" Michiko winced as pain from the extreme coldness of the girl's hand bit into her hands but she held on firmly. She watched the blood from her open wound on her palm drip into the earrings, and then the ice covering the girl get drawn into the earrings until a spiral pattern appeared. Then Michiko sighed in relief as the girl slowly became a normal temperature and had colours return to her cheeks. The ice child fainted and rested in Michiko's arms.
Cautiously, her teammates approached her as they asked: "What are we going to do with her now?" Michiko was glad that they were sensitive enough not to ask what she had done to the child. Michiko smiled softly, for the first time anyone had seen her done so in years as she leaned forward and kissed the girl's forehead. Her ice coloured hair touched the girl's now peachy cheek. "I'll raise her like my own child."
"But she…" The others trailed off as Michiko shook her head. "She's safe," Michiko placed one of the earrings into the girl's left ear and then placed the other in her own ear. Soon enough, both earrings flashed before a black pattern spiralled outwards and had the appearance of a lotus flower. Michiko glanced down at the girl's hand which remained purple and ice cold. She narrowed her eyes as she finished off her sentence: "At least for now."
»»—- ✼ —-««
"I pick a peck of pickled peppers but Peter Piper p-" A girl with a black side braid was cut off when her strawberry blonde friend threw a tomato at her directions. She sucked in her breath and ducked, her neatly done hair barely survived. Her deep green eyes twinkled with mischief as she arrogantly raised her hand and flipped her braid. "You missed, dickhead. But-" She then pointed her red umbrella at the boy who scoffed and raised his arms behind his head. "What was that for, you lil shit? And Fuukuri! Don't just let him throw the tomatoes at me!"
Another girl next to them, with half black and half white hair curled her lips upwards and tilted her head. "Oh dear! I was looking forward to seeing you in a humiliating state." She cooed, her grey blue eyes locked with Aria's before blowing her a kiss and looking down at her book in all seriousness. Aria shivered slightly at how unsettling Fuukuri's voice was and her signature greeting. Her attacker then caught her attention by criticizing her.
"Ugh, you and your vocabulary are both crude, not to mention that your small dictionary of words is limited only to that language. No wonder you even used the wrong tongue twisters-" The blonde rolled his eyes before Aria hissed and thrusting her umbrella forward like a spear, and then swinging it around. Raiji merely smirked as he jumped on top of the bench, behind Fuukuri and then leaping forward, pulling out his kunai. Fuukuri grabbed his ankle and caused him to fall face flat. The whole group was prepared to pulverize each other until a familiar voice signalled them to stop.
"Aria. Raiji. Stop." Shikamaru yawned as he approached them from behind. Ino and Choji was right behind them but they were delayed in their arrival as the chubbier boy had distracted himself with snacks. He leaned over the bench and rested his arms on it.
"Shikamaru!" The three collectively cried in surprise. Clicking his tongue and rubbing his head in annoyance at their loud voice, he examined all three of them,the village's quirkiest team. Aria Akimoto, a girl with a pretty face, and a not so flattering personality. Constantly holding an umbrella because of health problems and always wearing a pair of gloves, Aria's skin was like touching ice. Even in the summer. She's often caught doing witty remarks or mischievous pranks but she attempts to cause less problems for her parent. If only she lost her vulgar, aggressive, and violent behaviour would she have had admirers.
Raiji Tenju was the snarkiest and most talented in handiwork. When it came to household chores, crafts, and fixing things, he was the boy to look for. Appearance wise, Raiji has a constantly arrogant face with narrowed eyes, making him look slightly harsh and unapproachable. In the earlier times, he had hated girls and noted quite loudly to one of their ex classmates, that he rather kiss a boy than hug her. However, ever since his team bonded, he's gotten more tolerant and in fact, hangs out with girls more often.
And lastly there was Fuukuri Yuta, a girl with an appearance far more different than what her personality was. Fuukuri had the soft features of a shy lady and perfect silky hair that framed her face. However, she had the hidden guilty pleasures of watching others go through pain, and undergoing pain. She had brought up mysterious subjects such as S and M that Shikamaru refused to think more about. He fully understood what it meant and he had even seen Fuukuri read books such as "B*ndage 101", "How to Delight Someone from Pain", and much more. She noticed him glancing at her book and showed him with a grin. "The Nature of Chakra" never gave Shikamaru such an amount of relief before.
"What? Haven't seen us in so long and you're starting to analyze?" Aria commented as she twirled her umbrella in her hand. Shikamaru glanced at her pretty worn down umbrella before replying: "Nothing. Just thought that you should fix your umbrella soon." Aria blinked before glancing up at her umbrella with a frown. "Oh shoot...I was wondering why my skin felt more irritated recently. The sun is actually killing me." The pale girl frowned and a small look of worry crossed her face. Shikamaru leaned over as Raiji snatched the umbrella from her, examining it. He tilted it back and forth, then opened it. He handed it back to her and commented: "It's still in a condition that provides good shade from the sun, don't worry." Another odd fact about Aria was that:
She's allergic to the sun. Extremely allergic and sensitive.
"Haha you're pathetic, Aria!" A higher pitched voice called out and the two teams looked up to see Naruto's team approaching them. Before Aria could say anything, Raiji commented "Says you." Team Seven was covered with scratches, bruises and dirt, making them look like they just stepped out of a dumpster.
"What have you been up to?" Aria gave them a questioning grin before Sakura sighed with a tired look. "Cat." Blinking several times, Aria and the rest burst out laughing, some in sympathy and others in mockery. She then grinned and walked over to the cat in Sasuke's arms, cooing at the black kitten. The cat at first, shrank back and hissed at the stranger, scratching Sasuke's face once and then continued to squirm before Aria's gloved hand stroke him gently. The cat soon settled down and began to pur whereas it was Sasuke's turn to become grumpy. "You just had to make the cat go all crazy again." The girl merely laughed it off and patted his head like a child before focusing her attention on the cat. Ino immediately made fun of Sakura, who immediately spat back and began their daily squabble.
"Not everyone is a Cat Whisperer like you, Aria!" Naruto huffed as he stamped his feet in anger. The boy was frustrated from performing small "errands" and wanted to leave the village , become a true shinobi. "Go ahead and die as an old cat lady, single and alone!" In response, the small Akimoto girl scoffed and stuck her middle finger up at the boy. "Pfft I rather be a cat lady than a man crazy woman like Mi-" She felt a hand grab her head tightly and the fingers were digging into her skull. A woman with silvery blue hair tied in a ponytail pried the girl's head back and smiled maliciously. "Who were you referring to, A-R-I-A?"
"Sensei!" Raiji and Fuukuri blinked in surprise to see their teacher approach them from nowhere. The woman looked up and grinned brightly at her students and their friends. "Yo! How is everyone? I hope Aria was not infecting you with her trash talk and cancerous behaviour." The group laughed at the friendly woman's comment while Aria huffed in frustration. "What are you here for, Mi-san?"
The woman lets go of her adoptive child and rested her elbow on her head. "Well, we are going on a-" She stopped as her gaze was focused on someone beyond the group, her face turning into a light shade of pink. All heads turned collectively and they sighed. Michiko couldn't be any more obvious but then again, the newcomer is also a dense idiot at times. If you were curious, here's a hint: babysitter of Team Seven.
"Oh! Michiko, you're here too!" Kakashi greeted with his closed eye smile. Aria glanced back at her guardian and noticed that Michiko had plastered a bright smile and emitted a very sparkly aura, erasing hints of any nervousness or shyness she had. Michiko Akimoto, known in the village as a man slayer because she happened to have a new boyfriend every week. Now, Aria is aware of who her guardian's new target was and to be completely honest, she did not dislike him. She arched her eyebrows in amusement before asking Naruto's mentor: "Hey Kakashi-sensei. Are you single-" Immediately, a mouth was clamped over her mouth and Michiko pulled the girl away from the group, motioning Raiji and Fuukuri to also come over. Raiji and Fuukuri exchanged glances and sighed, bowing before leaving. Meanwhile, Aria was glowering intensely at Sasuke who looked at her with a look of slight hopelessness, and then looked away in exasperation. The dark haired girl couldn't be any more obvious.
"It was nice seeing you, everyone. But I'm afraid we have to stop by the office because we have a mission outside of this town. Excuse us!" Michiko then dragged Aria away. Everyone else stared blankly at the group before Sasuke asked: "Sensei, how do you feel about Michiko-sensei?" The air was stifling tense and everyone stared at Sasuke now, in disbelief that the quiet and emotionally detached boy had bothered to ask such a question. Kakashi blinked before humming in deep thought. "I like her more than most females from my age group? I mean, we're really close because we hung out a lot. Why?" Everyone shrugged and whistled, some began to walk away. Sasuke let out his usual grunt before looking at where Aria's team had went. Aria had often asked Sasuke for help with training and such to the point where he understood what her bloodshot glares and muffled noises meant. Especially if they were directed him. Now that obnoxious girl owes him a freezie.
Meanwhile…
"Ugh, you're hands are nasty and moist. What are you even doing? I thought you were talented in bringing in those men-" Aria wrinkled her nose and Michiko flipped her middle finger at her behind her back. The team and their teacher were standing in front of the Hokage and a group of people who were in charge of organizing the missions.
"Shut up Aria. We have a mission." Michiko stood up in a good posture as she waited for the Hokage to speak. She glanced back at Aria, daring her to say another word before facing front. The old man gave the pair of Akimotos a look as he stood up and placed his arms behind his back. "I'm about to give you a joint mission." He paused as he nodded at the two ninjas who stood by the doors. They both reached out for the rusted brass handle and like the grand opening of a movie theater, They opened it and in came Team 7. Eyes widened as the children looked at each other with surprise.
"Joint mission?" Michiko echoed, not really looking at the Hokage but at Kakashi. "Well, not exactly. One team will by the bodyguard and the other team will be staying longer to help assist with building a bridge." The door once again, was opened to reveal an old man wearing a straw hat. He glanced at both teams before scoffing.
"A bunch of brats ain't gonna do much." He crossed his arms with a bit of an attitude. As he did so, Naruto immediately began to argue with the old man while Aria and the others sighed in exasperation.
"Do you accept?" Smoke rings came floated in the air before vanishing as the Hokage exhaled. Michiko and Kakashi straightens up and replied: "Yes." Fuukuri blinked and then pulled Raiji closer towards her as she whispered: "Isn't this going to be a fun and painful trip?" Raiji couldn't bear to allow himself to turn back and face the group of buffoons. He already felt both mentally and physically exhausted."I don't know, you tell me."