Disclaimer: all original characters from Naruto have spawned from the creative brain of Masashi Kishimoto :)
Summary:
The war has come to an end and peace returned to the world. Or not? Now strange occurrences have happened. People have gone missing, shinobi killed without reason. First the small nations, now the big. Who is behind these evil deeds and why? As Kazekage, Gaara needs to step up to defend his people. During a covert mission he finds a girl who could be their first crucial link to finding the enemy. What role does the blind Ayumi further play? And amidst their trials, is there room for their growing affections...?
"What we have once enjoyed we can never lose. All that we love deeply becomes a part of us." - Helen Keller
Chapter 1: One Summer Day at the Inn
"Can you bring this to table six, puppet?" The middle-aged man asked his niece. He had smile lines around his eyes and a round belly. The brown headed girl nodded and the tray with platters got pressed into her hands. The smell of yellow curry with coconut rice and beef noodle soup rose into her nostrils.
"Table six, five orders right?"
"Yes, that's right. Two soups, one curry and two portions of dango" the man replied.
"Alright," she said and turned to walk off, each foot carefully placed after another. The man watched her disappear through the door opening to the restaurant before turning back to his stove.
Ayumi worked at the "River's Fortune", their family inn on the outskirts of Tanigakure, the main capital of the Land of Rivers. The inn's location lay on route to Suna and was next to the main road to Takumi Village, otherwise known as Village of Artisans, where many ninja tools were crafted. Nowadays their clientele had diminished. Nonetheless the inn remained a popular refuge for ninja's hitting Tanigakure. This day was not unlike any other.
Ayumi walked passed the bar on her right and the two-seat tables on her left. At the other end of the restaurant was number six: a round low table with different colored cushions as seats suitable for up to seven guests. She felt the structure of the bamboo mat under her bare feet. Different smells drifted from all directions…food… sweat… sake… lotus perfume… A mix of scents familiar to her after all these years. She could hear the chatter of young voices ahead.
"Sakura-chan, are you sure you won't let me treat you to anything? The waitress is coming, we can order now, dattebayo."
"No thanks Naruto, I'm not so hungry."
"You sure?"
"Yes, besides you don't have to treat me. This isn't a date."
Ayumi couldn't help but smile a little at his sulky sobs after he got turned down.
"Ah, I can smell the curry!" someone said enthusiastically.
Ayumi lowered herself to her knees, the platters jangling against each other.
"Dango?" she asked, keeping her eyes lowered.
"Those would be for me," a voice drawled. The fingers of her free hand brushed past the rims of the plates until she found one with dango and placed it carefully in front of her guest.
"Another portion of dango?"
"Me, thank you," someone older and masculine. She smiled and followed the same procedure.
"That curry smells great! Is it spicy?"
"You asked for extra spices right, sir?" Ayumi replied.
"Yes! What a large serving! If I won't be able to finish this I will have to do three-hundred push-ups!"
"Isn't that a little exaggerate, Lee," commented the older of their group.
"Yeah, Lee. You'll get acid reflux if you work out right after eating, if you don't already get it from all those spices."
"Don't worry Sakura-chan, nothing a Leaf shinobi can't handle." He gave her a bright smile and thumbs up.
So they were from the Leaf? Her ears perked up. One thing she liked about working in the restaurant were the interesting facts she could overhear from ninja that visited them. How exciting the life of a shinobi. Sometimes she wished she were able to go out for an adventure, although she was sure to miss the inn and her family not after long. Someone's stomach growled.
"Not hungry right, Sakura?" the guy she handed the platter first chuckled, "perhaps you're on a diet? I've read girls are always concerned about getting fat."
"Sai, don't say that so blatantly," Sakura retorted.
Ayumi was surprised how carefree these ninja conversed with one another, usually the shinobi guests kept quiet, with an air of secrecy about them. These seemed a lot more approachable. The thought struck her that life as a ninja could even be fun. After she handed everyone their plate she stood up with the tray held in front of her and gave them a short bow.
"Dig in! Hope you enjoy. Just let me know if you need anything!"
"We'll do, thank you!"
Ayumi flashed them a smile and turned around towards the kitchen. Sai and Sakura watched the girl's back as she walked away. The barwoman brought her to a halt, giving her two bottles of beer for some other guests. They seemed to be family, the waitress resembled her a lot.
"Wasn't it strange she wouldn't look us in the eyes?" Sakura said with hushed voice while leaning forward. Sai nodded thinking the same, wondering if he had come across another wondrous aspect of female behaviour.
"This inn is popular amongst shinobi," Kakashi replied, "which means all kinds of dangerous nin come her for refreshments or beds. Ninja are prone to violence if they are spied on, but it's unavoidable to overhear secrets at times. Perhaps the staff has made a habit of preserving their guest's anonymity by avoiding looking at them. It could also be to avoid getting into conflicts with hot-headed ninja who take offense quickly."
"That could explain," Sai said, watching the girl talk to the barwoman.
"Uhm… what if she's blind?" Hinata suggested with a small voice.
"What makes you think that?" Sakura asked.
"Well," she started, twirling her finger around a strand of hair nervously for making such a bold suggestion, "her eyes were looking straight in front of her most of the time, but it was as if she didn't focus."
"And she touched the rims of the plates before she handed them over, almost like she didn't see the food…" Sai continued.
"Are you all nuts? How could a blind person work in an inn so self-assured," Naruto exclaimed, "look! She's heading towards those two baboons there without hitting anything!" They watched her take a corner and step around someone heading for the toilets.
"I agree with Naruto," Lee added.
"What does it matter. Maybe Kakashi's right, maybe Hinata, or maybe she's just strange like Sakura seems to suggest. It seems plausible, most girls have something strange," Sai said and ate a dango from the skewer. Sakura shook her head and Hinata cocked up her eyebrows wondering if that applied to her too, remembering Naruto once said to her he thought her strange. She tried to eat her ramen without spilling anything to avoid attracting attention. She looked up shyly at Naruto, feeling self-conscious, and saw him noisily stuffing his mouth and slurping up the noodle strings without shame. A giggle escaped her lips and she instantly felt more comfortable.
"Naruto, you animal!" Sakura snapped at the blond-headed boy and they all laughed at her reaction, Naruto scratching the back of his neck nervously.
"Kakashi-sensei, you're not eating your dango?" Naruto asked to diverse attention. Instantly they all tensed up. The mystery of Kakashi's hidden facial features had not been solved even after years of knowing him. It had become custom to pay attention to Kakashi once he was going to eat.
"We're not in a rush right," he replied lazy eyed, seemingly oblivious to their anxious looks.
Meanwhile Ayumi stopped next to table two. She felt the stares of the men in front of her as she set the two glasses on the polished wooden surface and poured them their drinks. They didn't say anything but she felt something in her stomach like she was observed. It had happened once that a guest crossed a certain line. It ended up in a nasty row that created an extra opening to the backyard. So, to avoid trouble she would endure.
"You work here every day, girly?" one of them said, his voice more coarse than she had expected.
"Every day," she replied him cheerfully, trying to mask her nervousness, "it's a family run inn after all, we have no other personnel besides our own relatives."
"How's business now the war's over?" he said mockingly, as though he already knew that now the big nation's had made peace the amount of shinobi travellers to Tanigakure had diminished to only a few. Because of their reputation as a ninja-inn the other folk still avoided their establishment.
"We're fine, thank you," she mumbled. She was done pouring the second drink and about to turn away when his friend who had remained silent dragged his arm across the table, topping the glass off the edge. Her ears twitched. She ducked in a gasp, swooping the glass in mid-air. Half of the liquid spilled on the bamboo mat and on the shoe of her guest. Ayumi's face turned into a flustered grimace. She bowed deeply whilst holding the glass.
"I'm- I'm terribly sorry!" Ayumi stuttered. The men remained silent.
"The drinks are on the house!"
They exchanged looks before turning to watch Ayumi, her hair falling in front of her face from how deeply she was bowing.
"Just get me a towel for my shoe and him another drink," the man huffed more amused than angry.
Her inner-self sighed in relief. Spilled beer on his shoe. Thankfully nothing worse came from it. Her face felt hot. She hurried back to the bar and bumped into the corner of an empty table, hurting her thigh. She ignored the pain and snickers behind her back.
"It's fine honey," her mom said reassuringly, having watched the incident, "these things happen in the catering industry. You know that."
"Thanks mom, I know," she muttered under her breath as she placed the glass in the sink. Then she ducked down under the counter for a towel on one of the shelves. Her hand traced the wooden construct until she felt something soft against her fingertips. Her mother, Mizawa, prepared another beer in the meantime.
"Watch your step."
Ayumi nodded signalling she heard her mother's warning and hurried back to table two. She crouched down and the man slid his wet shoe towards her. She rubbed the towel over the leather feeling a knot of embarrassment in her stomach as they looked down on her.
'Why did this have to happen? Why did he push the glass?'
"Ayumi!" her mother called.
'Aww shit! I forgot the beer!' She got back up and rushed to the bar where she got a worried glance from Mizawa as she threw the towel in a corner under the counter.
"Where's that beer?" Ayumi whispered breathless and Mizawa handed it to her.
"I guess we won't get a tip from them now," she commented and sighed.
"Who cares about a tip? I'm worried I'll get my head chopped off by those ninja."
"Ninja?" Mizawa mumbled surprised. She leaned over the counter to get a better look on her guests.
"They don't look much like ninja. At least they don't wear forehead protectors or have flashy weapons with them."
Ayumi didn't answer and bit her lip. Mizawa watched her daughter's face and smiled softly. Always worrying over her conduct, trying to satisfy everyone around her.
"Just relax, okay? Maybe they'll think you're cute and tip you after all."
"Mom!" Ayumi hissed with her voice lowered. She straightened her back and walked over to the two men.
"Excuse me for having to wait, sir. Here is your beer, on the house, as promised." She placed the glass on the table with a thud. Suddenly a strong hand grabbed her wrist.
Ayumi gasped and snapped her head towards the man. He looked at her perplexed face and watched her eyes closely. The irises were a milky blue and she stared straight through him.
"You're blind, girl," he stated flatly, sounding raw.
"Y-yes," Ayumi whispered and tried to pull her arm out of his grasp.
"Quite skilful how you rescued that glass from falling earlier. How did you do it?" That seemed threatening.
"It's nothing special. I'm accustomed listening to my senses and this is my home," she squeaked. She started to get afraid. Her eyebrows curled into a frown and her under lip trembled. She gave her arm another jerk to release his grip but he just tightened his hold.
"That is special."
The coldness of his voice made a shiver run down her spine.
"Hey!" Mizawa called out from behind the counter shooting an angry look at the men. He finally released her wrist and Ayumi stumbled back into the tables behind her. The Leaf ninja in the corner took notice of the sudden change in atmosphere.
"Are those jerks picking on her?" Naruto growled ready to jump up from his seat.
"Calm down," Kakashi ushered, "those men aren't shinobi and there's no real trouble yet. Remember we are still on a mission."
"Right," Naruto replied reluctantly. He stared a few seconds longer before turning back. Something was different.
"Hey! You ate two skewers of dango at once!" Naruto called out surprised.
"So much for not rushing, Kakashi-sensei," Sakura added. Kakashi just laughed it off.
Ayumi held onto the table behind her in shock until she felt anger bubbling up from within her.
"Assholes," she hissed under her breath and walked away briskly, instantly regretting it, afraid she had started trouble.
To her relief the men ordered nothing more and left quickly after finishing their beers. When she walked to their empty table to clean the surface she noticed they had left a tip. She counted the papers. Quite a hefty tip too! Perhaps they felt sorry for scaring her?
"I guess they did fancy you. At least they had the decency to pay up after causing us trouble," Mizawa complained. Ayumi was already happy they were gone.
The days were long around midsummer. At sundown she went up the stairs to the second floor where the family lived. The first floor was reserved for guests staying overnight and they had five rooms for rent. Only one was occupied by a single old man who had only shown himself for diner.
"Ah, Ayumi, have you finished your chores?"
"Yes mom," she replied entering her room.
"It's been a long day. Why don't you take Aki to the bathhouse?"
Her eyes widened at the mention. She loved going to Tanigakure's hot springs! They had a tub in the backyard, but they always took turns in it and thus there was no time to lay back and relax. At the hot springs no one had to fan the fire under the tub to keep the water warm or wait until their turn. She could soak in the hot water until her skin looked like a raisin.
"Hear that, Aki?" she called out down the hall.
"Hot springs! Hot springs! Hot springs!" her eight-year old brother cheered as he came running out of his room, spreading his arms like wings. He jumped up to his eleven years older sister and they gave each other a high-five. They both grinned stupidly.
"Hush you two, you'll disturb the guest," Mizawa scolded them hardly sounding angry. "Take some clean undergarments with you and don't stay in the water too long, or you'll get a fever."
"Yes mom," Ayumi droned rolling her eyes with a smirk. Mizawa repeated the same warning every time they went to the hot springs. She could hear her brother dancing in the darkness of her bedroom while he quickly gathered their stuff.
"Good kiddo," she praised, ruffling his hair with her hand as she passed. He quickly flattened his messed up hair and continued putting their stuff in a bag without losing concentration. She had more siblings: an older brother of twenty-one and a younger sister of fourteen. But there had always been a special relationship between her and Aki, the youngest. Soon they were out in the open air, the last rays of the sinking sun warming their faces. Ayumi tried to imagine what the path running down towards the city centre looked like, but it had been a long time ago since she was last able to see. When she was four-years she had become infected with an eye disease. The local doctor did not know what to do and advised her parents to go to an internist in Land of Fire or Wind, but there was no money, and thus they prayed the disease would not develop. Ayumi however had gotten scar tissue on her retina and damaged her optic nerves, causing the milky shine to her eyes and her permanent blindness. She had come accustomed to the darkness and her blindness did not hinder her anymore. Her sandaled feet memorized the road after having walked there so often, she didn't need an extra pair of eyes to lead her. She knew her house and the area's she frequented like the back of her hand. Even the forest up to the brook behind the inn was familiar terrain. Ayumi grabbed her brother's smaller hand as they went for the hot springs. He didn't mind it, he enjoyed these trips with his sister to the bathhouse. He looked up to his sister who had always taken care of him despite her condition. Because Ayumi's chores were lighter she had more time on her hands to play with him.
They lathered in soap and scrubbed their limbs until they were red and sore at the bathhouse. Then they lowered themselves in the hot water that left their skin glowing. All the grub and grime was removed leaving them thoroughly refreshed. Not many people were in the hot springs to their merry, giving them plenty of room to play games. They pretended Aki was a fish trying to swim for his life from Ayumi, the bad shark. When she finally got him she attacked him with tickles, making Aki kick and smash the water around him in wild laughter. After that they lay back and rested for a few minutes before they went out to dry themselves. They left the hot springs feeling content. All the thoughts about her work day were pushed out of Ayumi's mind.
"Let's count the steps it takes to get home!" Aki suggested.
"There might be over a thousand," Ayumi responded.
"A gazillion trillion thousand!" Aki exclaimed grinning. Ayumi giggled.
"Think you can keep up to count that far?"
"Hmm, I'll try," the boy said earnestly and started counting. Somewhere along four-hundred-fifty Aki fell silent.
"Huh? That's strange… There are people coming out of the bushes beside the road…"
Ayumi cocked up an eyebrow thinking it odd indeed. She heard no sound but felt her brother's hand squeezing hers.
"What's wrong? Aki…" she asked a little worried. She wished she could see through his eyes.
"They are weird, Ayumi. They keep watching us," he said with a small voice as he slowed his pace. Now she could hear the soft footsteps nearing.
"Who are you?" she called out to the unknown people in front of her. Ayumi tried to sound unafraid, but she knew it was dark by now and that besides them and these strangers the road was abandoned. She turned her ear in their direction and stopped walking, pushing Aki behind her.
"Girlyy…" a rough voice teased, startling her. It was quite close, she guessed five yards.
"What do you want? We have no money."
"Ohh, but it isn't money we want," the man responded.
"Ayumi…" her brother mumbled while tugging her clothes.
"Let us pass. It's just me with my brother. We have nothing to offer you."
"But you do, you do."
Her heart was banging in her chest, the loud thud-thud-thud resonating in her head. She had to swallow before she could speak.
"…W-what?" her voice cracked.
"Or perhaps, it's your lack off, you might say, which has caught our interest in you."
She remained silent for a moment until his answer sunk in.
"My l-lack of sight?"
"Smart girly," a different man said. So there were at least two of them. She took a step back, pushing Aki along with her, away from these people. Shuffling noises from the right and the left in front of them.
"Aki, run back to town," she said softly. Ayumi felt her brother shake his head nay. She understood the child was so terrified that he didn't want to part with her, but her instincts told her it was not him these men wanted. She prodded at him with her elbows and pushed him with her hands, but he would not budge.
"Okay Aki, let's run together," Ayumi said with more determination.
"Now!" she screamed, and kept screaming as she clutched Aki's hand and ran back to town, hoping someone would recognize their peril from the horror in her voice. The shocks from running coursed through her body with each step. The loud thumping of their footsteps almost in sync with her beating heart. But their pursuers were hot on their tracks and the chase didn't last long. Hands yanked her arms and pulled her hair. She almost fell backwards. Ayumi screeched and was pulled into someone's embrace. A hand was placed over her mouth which effectively kept her from making any other noise. Ayumi heard Aki had a similar fate from the loud yell followed by muffled sobbing.
'Aki.'
Her heart ached at the idea they might harm her young brother. She wrestled with her captor.
"If you won't scream, I'll let you speak," the man said close to her ear. She felt his hot breath on her cheek. That voice was familiar. It was the same bastard from earlier in the restaurant she realized furiously. She slowly nod her head.
"Promise?"
She nodded her head vigorously. He kept true to his word and released his hand from her mouth. She gasped for air.
"Leave my brother out of this, it's me you want right? He's got nothing to do with this."
"Well, you're partly correct. If you would've left your house alone this evening he would have nothing to do with this. But now… he's an eye-witness."
Fear engulfed her at the hearing of these words. She could imagine Aki's fear was even greater. Would they hurt him? She and Aki were only two or three yards separated but it felt like an incredible distance. She wanted nothing more than to hold him. To shield him with her own body from these dangers.
"Please let him out of this," she pleaded teary-eyed.
The man nodded to his companion and Ayumi heard someone else move forward from the left. The hand was removed from Aki's mouth and he was pushed forward towards this third person.
"Yumi!" he exclaimed distressed, calling her by her nickname. Then she heard the loud sickening smack of someone's fist against the side of her eight year old brother's face and another blow was quickly dealt to his stomach. He wheezed and gurgled. She heard the thump of his body falling to the ground and Aki didn't say anything anymore. She flinched at the sounds and squeezed her eyes tight. Even though she was unable to see what happened, Ayumi could feel it in the air, imagine it.
"Aki… Aki…" she wept, tears now freely running down her face.
"Why did you do it. Why'd you- he's just a child, you damn bastard!"
Ayumi gritted her teeth and tried to wrestle herself out of the man's iron grip with new-found strength, fuelled by a hatred that welled up fiercely. A hard blow almost dislocated her jaw. The metallic taste of blood entered her mouth rapidly. She spat to the ground.
"What you going to do now, you cowards? Rape me? Kill me?" Ayumi hissed trembling. But at the thought of her young brother, who had no care in the world, who hadn't experienced anything of its cruelty, she lowered her voice.
"Just… leave Aki… alone…" she managed, struggling to keep control over her voice.
"We will, the boy has lost consciousness anyway. He'll be fine. It's you, you should be worried about," the man chuckled into her ear.
"What will you do?"
Ayumi dreaded the answer.
"Nothing you are imagining. You're coming with us. You'll see, soon enough…"
And they all laughed viciously at her.
A piece of tape was roughly placed across her mouth and hands and feet were tied together. She was passed on to her next kidnapper, a tall man with a broad muscular chest who swung her over his shoulder. They jumped into the bush swiftly and she wondered if they were shinobi despite her mother's observation. Ayumi was carried into the trees, where they leaped from branch to branch. Further and further away from Aki, who was laying with an open wound to his head on the road. Ayumi couldn't help but cry and didn't care for the mucus running down her nose as she did so. She felt she could choke while she was unable to breathe normally through her mouth. Where were they heading for? Why did it happen? Why her? When will she be home again? She wanted the answers. But when the answers would be given, she would wish the agonizing trip through the thicket of the Land of Rivers would never have ended.
~ Oh hello there, reader!
It seems you've read more than 4.400 words. It's only a beginning but...How was it?
As many of us on FFN are authors you probably know the curiosity over knowing your readers' opinions! Reviews are really appreciated ^.^
P.S. I'm not a native English-speaker! Sorry if there were a few mistakes. Feel free to PM me about anything that bothered :)
