First Impressions
Chapter 1: Introductions
Koomahana
Ubume-A mother ghost who died in childbirth, or died leaving young children behind. This yūrei returns to care for her children, often bringing them sweets
Disclaimer: Naruto is not mine; you want the real stuff get off this site
Thoughts
Paragraphs are memories
…
…
He honestly never stopped to question anyone who was in his son's classes, not even when he saw his once classmates escorting their own children to the academy. He just assumed that the kids were just like their parents, more cocky or proud then others, some overly confident and some horrendously shy; he just never questioned them... perhaps that was his mistake. He should've looked deeper into every student attending the Shinobi academy, especially those in the same class with his son. As it was, he was a little late to the show and was currently staring at his son in complete bewilderment as the younger boy threw his kunai and Shuriken at the training post a little more excessive than normal. Shikamaru ignored his father as the older Jonin stepped out onto the porch noisily, purposefully trying to distract his son from his current task of accuracy training.
"He's been like that since he came home," Yoshino whispered as she wrapped her arms around his waist from behind. "Something at school happened... I think you need to have a talk with him."
"What happened?' Shikaku asked, turning slightly to regard his wife calmly, moving one arm to wrap around her shoulders and pulling her closer.
"I'm not sure," Yoshino answered smiling as she pulled back slightly and pushed him closer to the edge of their porch, "He wouldn't tell me anything." With a sigh, Shikaku nodded and calmly left the porch to approach his son and only child. Shikaku opened his mouth and his son let lose a kunai that went so deep into the post that Shikaku could barely see the circular end.
"Not bad," Shikaku commented, watching his son straighten from his stance and march toward the post with both hands fisted at his side, "What's going on son? It's not like you to voluntarily train..."
"It's nothing," Shikamaru replied coldly, his voice sounding odd as he yanked his kunai out of the post.
Shikaku stared at his son for a moment, his eyes narrowed thoughtfully. "Son... face me" At first Shikamaru refused to do so, choosing instead to continue picking his kunai out of the post, once they were all picked out and returned to his pouch, Shikamaru was out of excuses and Shikaku was still waiting patiently. Shikaku counted to thirty exactly before Shikamaru sighed, his forehead bumping against the ruined post he had been throwing knifes into since he came home. Slowly Shikamaru turned and regarded his father as calmly as he could, trying not to twitch at the bland but somewhat surprised look on Shikaku's face.
"What happened?" Shikaku asked slowly, as if he wasn't quite done processing what was staring back at him
"I got in a fight," Shikamaru grumbled, looking away from his father
"Thank you captain obvious," Shikaku drawled, rolling his eyes at his son, "I couldn't notice that on my own." it was true, his had a cut on his right cheek, his right eye was perfectly black and sullen, even his lip was sullen twice it's normal size and split; in all honestly Shikaku was impressed that his wife hadn't interrogated their son better she usually dose. "So?" Shikaku asked, leaning back slightly and crossing his arms as he stared down at his stubborn son, "What happened? I want the details, now."
"You sound like mom," Shikamaru grumbled, pouting up at his father as he returned to his previous place
"I don't care," Shikaku drawled lazily, "now answer my questions."
"Chōji and I found some kids laughing loudly in the Park," Shikamaru sighed, slumping in defeat. "They were circled around something so we both walked over to see what was going on; Ino wasn't that far behind us either."
"Did she get hurt?" Shikaku asked with a raised eyebrow, Shikamaru looked at him like he was an idiot. Of course not, Shikamaru and Chōji would never allow that to happen, not to Ino, their surrogate sister.
"We found out that the kids were circled around a girl," Shikamaru continued with a heavy sigh, "I noticed it first, hearing the girl shout back at the group. It was ten verses one, she was outnumbered… she didn't have a chance…"
"...You got in a fight over a girl that's not Ino?" Shikaku asked with a raised an eyebrow, "that's... almost impressive." If not for the fact that he knew there was more to the story, Shikamaru didn't jump into fights for just anyone.
"…Ino knows her," Shikamaru grumbled, turning in his place to throw another kunai at the post
"What's her name?" Shikaku asked when Shikamaru didn't continue his explanation, again his son waited to answer the question, waiting until he had five perfectly spaced kunai in the post before he bothered to answer the question.
"…Sakura," Shikamaru answered softly
"And?" Shikaku asked, looking down at his son with a raised eyebrow, "What would make those kids bully her?"
Shikamaru threw another two kunai before he answered, "Her hair is pink, her eyes are green and supposedly her forehead is too large to be human."
"…They were focused on her forehead weren't they?" Shikaku asked, remembering a certain red head from childhood, remembering just how cruel some kids could be. Shikamaru paused mid launch of his kunai, looked up at him calculatedly before he bowed his head with a heavy sigh.
"She doesn't look inhuman at all," Shikamaru sighed, "She's just a kid… barely even six…"
"She's younger then you?" Shikaku asked, sounding half amused half surprised
"Honestly I don't know," Shikamaru sighed, throwing another kunai, "but Ino was pretty pissed that they were hurting her, she nearly started using chakra against them."
"Really?" Shikaku asked in surprise, he had hear do Ino Yamanaka being protective of those closest to her but he never heard her attempting use chakra against someone who angered her; the girl preferred to use words and mind games like her father. "Interesting…" Shikaku murmured, turning his eyes to look at the cloudless blue sky over head. If he recalled right, there was a boy in his graduating class with pink hair. Everyone assumed he was killed during the Kiyobi attack eight years ago but his body was never found and there were rumors of him marrying and having a kid…
Could this 'Sakura' be Kizashi's daughter? Shikaku thought, wondering about the possibility for the first time since he heard the news of his once classmate's death. "Hay Shikamaru," his son looked up at him curiously, "how often dose Ino-chan meet with this Sakura-girl?"
"I don't know," Shikamaru shrugged, throwing another knife, "enough to know that Sakura-san lives alone in the forest." Shikaku stilled at the information, his dark eyes sharpening on his son
"Where?" Shikaku asked softly, Shikamaru paused and looked up at his father again, confusion on his face. "Where dose this girl live?"
"Alone in the eastern forest by the old ruins," Shikamaru repeated in confusion, "Ino tried to chase after Sakura but the girl is surprisingly face for her age."
The old ruins? Shikaku thought, turning to face the direction from his current placement in his clan compound
"Dad?" Shikaku glanced down at his son quickly, his mind already going through twenty different scenarios, "you look really serious… what's wrong?"
"Do you know just what side of the old ruins Ino was heading towards?" Shikaku asked
"No," Shikamaru answered, "once we got to the stream she started acting like she got lost…"
I'll head there first, Shikaku thought, turning away from his son and glancing meaningfully at his wife. "Get your homework done… then help your mother."
"Ah but—" Shikaku was gone before Shikamaru could say another word, "Ah~ man"
"You heard him young man, get over here!"
…
…
It was high noon by the time he saw the first sign of someone in the old forest, it was barely a few hours old and too small to be Ino's much less any of the other children he knew. It was human though and that alone gave Shikaku enough hope to keep searching the woods just east of his home, praying that his assumptions were wrong. The Hottori clan ruins were dangerous for children to be near much less living in, they were the first to be hit by the Kiyobi's beast-ball and they were the first to perish in the attack. Not all of the Kiyobi's chakra-miasma had been removed from Konoha but it seemed stubbornly attracted to the Hattori clan compound. Slowly pulling the rest of whatever remaining miasma into the compound and just as slowly suffocating anything that dared to trespass into its newly clamed territory.
There weren't any Hottori clan members left, Mebuki Hottori in his academy class had been the only one he knew of but he hadn't seen her since the third war when she whipped out an infiltration team by herself. The Hottori clan were well known for their obsession with history and knowledge, but what made them so revered and feared by their enemies is their insane ability to adapt to any anything threatening their life. Their bloodline itself was called 'Hyōka tekiō', meaning 'advanced evolution' as in they can 'evolve' to any situation that is required of them. If someone tried to drown a Hattori they'd grow gills somewhere near their face so they could still breathe without it being obvious to the person trying to kill them. If someone tried to burn a Hattori to death, the one in question would suddenly adapt a body as hard as diamonds and sometimes it looked as if their body was suddenly covered in pure diamond sheets that didn't appear to hinder the user at all. The older a Hattori was, the more 'adaptions' they had under their belt and the more dangerous they were. The once refereed and highly respected clan was welcomed with open arms to Konoha and treated as respectfully as any Senju or Uchiha.
However, the night the Kiyobi attacked the village, it was the Hattori clan that was targeted first and it was the Hattori clan that seemed to suffer the most from the demon's chakra-miasma. By the end of the year, the last known Hattori—a young girl named Hanazu—had died from the miasma, proving to the medics that their clan was exceptionally weak to such demonic chakra. They assumed that there weren't any more Hattori clan members left, especially since it was reported that all the known Konoha-affiliated Hattori clan members were in the village during the attack.
Could it be? Shikaku thought as he scanned the silent forest carefully, honing every sense he had gained from the war to search out that one possibly human presence hiding somewhere nearby. Could that child really be…
…
"Shikaku-kun, why are you asking me if Kizashi-kun had a child?" Hiruzen asked, looking up from the documents littering his desk, surprise and confusion twisting his face. "Whatever is on your mind?"
"Shikamaru came home pretty beat up," Shikaku started slowly, knowing he'd have to start from the beginning to avoid any confusion later. "He said the girl he tried to protect was a pink haired, green eyed little girl named Sakura." Hiruzen perked at the description his eyes widening slightly at the given name. It was no secret that Kizashi would name his first born daughter 'Sakura', it was his favorite name and he seemed almost obsessive with it as a child.
"You're thinking that this child might be Kizashi's?" Hiruzen asked, leaning against his desk thoughtfully, "it most certainly is a possibility…"
"Lord Hokage do you know who he was married too?" Shukaku asked, "I heard during the war that he got married but I never found out who or if it was true."
"Hmm, I'm not surprised you don't know," Hiruzen said thoughtfully, "Kizashi-kun decided to marry Mebuki-chan—"
"Mebuki Hattori?" Shukaku asked quickly, earning a mildly irritated look from his superior
"Yes, Mebuki Hattori," Hiruzen agreed, tilting his head to the side, "you seem awfully worried now Shikaku-kun, did you figure something out?"
"Shikamaru said that after the fight Ino tried to chase after Sakura," Shikaku answered, "he said Ino went to the old eastern forest by the Hattori ruins."
"Those lands are forbidden for anyone to enter," Hiruzen reminded Shikaku, straightening in his seat, "If anyone gets too close the Kiyobi's remaining miasma will harm them. The effects could be even worse for a child—"
"I know lord Hokage," Shikaku interrupted, "that's why I'm asking for permission to enter the Hattori badlands."
…
I have to hurry! Shikaku thought, glancing up at the quickly darkening sky. If he didn't hurry, the little kid he's been trying to find could end up seriously hurt from the miasma still gathering in the Hattori compound. He ran for a few more hours, skittering around the edges of the compound ruins, careful not to touch the orange-ish mist still filtering into the Hattori compound. No one knew why the miasma filtered into the compound but they figured that since it's not doing any harm, innless you're dumb enough to trespass, it was best to leave it to be absorbed by Mother Nature again. It was nearing sunset when he finally reached a large clearing that was seventy percent hill, at the top of the hill sat a large willow tree. It was nearing the end of spring and the weeping willow was showing off its bright bubblegum pink flowers, when the willow twisted just right in the breeze he could see the dark figure of someone very small.
…
…
She was resting peacefully beneath her family willow tree, she knew it was her family willow tree because Ubume—as her friend has named the woman—still wondered the Ruins of her once homeland. She may not understand why she was left to the Ubume's care but she understood that the ghostly woman had begun taking care of her since she was still a baby. Her powers of a ghost are truly amazing if she could accomplish such a task without human aid. She smiled as she stared down at the little flower in her hand, twirling it between her fingers, watching the pretty elegant looking pink flower spin hypnotizing.
Sakura, she thought, smiling down at the little pink flower.
…
"You don't have a name?" the older blond asked, gently pressing the wet pale cloth to her scratched knee, "Can I give you one?" she hummed slightly, her brow twitching at the burn of water on her bloody and dirt covered knee, watching the strange blonde girl carefully. "Hmm, okay then…" the girl pulled back for a moment, her blue eyes wide as she watched the pink flowers flutter down around them from the familiar tree on the hill hidden just out of sight.
"Cheery blossoms? But it's not in season," She carefully held out her hand, catching a fallen blossom easily, staring at it with a fond smile. "Oh I know!" she sudden bubbling with excitement, her face a glow and her smile wide, "how about Sakura? Do you like that name?"
"S~a…skwa?" she repeated slowly, her head tilting to the side carefully
"No," the blonde giggled, "Sakura, say it with me Sa~"
"Sa~"
"Ku~"
"Ku~"
"Ra!"
"Ra…"
"Alright, together now," her smile was blinding as she re-dipped the cloth in the river and placed again on her torn knee. "Saku~"
"Sa-ku"
"ra,"
"ra~"
She giggled again, eyes dancing as she looked up into her face, "Sakura!"
"Sa-ku-ra"
"That's great! You learn fast!" She giggled, pulling back one hand to press against her chest, "my name is Ino, Can you say that?"
"I~no,"
"Very good!"
…
She lowered her hand raised her eyes to watch the sun set in pretty shades of golds and pinks. Vaguely remembering the blonde's actions when they first met and the days following when the girl was able to visit her. Suddenly the wind shifted and new scent was pushed up her nose, making her eyes widen as she snapped around and lowered herself into a crouch, growling at the shadow who dared to join her beneath her family willow tree. At the edge of the willow, barely beneath its whispering limbs, stood a tall and dark figure with a strange looking face, almost as if he was wearing something over his face. His face was rimmed in something thick and dark, his one black eye spanned from side to side, covering half of his face. His nose was long and irregular, two large nostrils hard Green stretched from beneath his eye to just below his mouth; the ends tipped in many small black holes. He made a horrible noise that sounded similar to suffocating cat.
He didn't look like the others who visited her, the tall men shrouded in black with masks of snarling white animals rimmed in thick colored lines, making their masks appear even more terrifying then the animals themselves. Those men were bad, they always threw things at her, always trying to catch her or hurt her; she didn't what they wanted but if this man was with them then she was going to fight like she always did. A low, dangerous growl slowly tumbled out of her chest, rolling up throat and spilling past her lips like the hiss of many small cats that surrounded her in this strange forest no one visited.
"Easy now," the man said softly, raising his hands and lowering to the ground, crouching within the circle of the willow tree, "I mean you no harm."
Yeah right! She snarled again, slowly, carefully, edging away from him; alarmed that he could speak with the lack of lips much less a mouth. The man sighed heavily in his place, his hands still raised peacefully, his knees still pressed firmly into the ground; a kind of palatable sadness surrounded him like the mists of the ruins.
It gave her pause
"…You remind me of a boy I once knew," the man said softly, his voice barely managing to filter through the air to reach her
"You look so much like your father,"
"He had pink hair too," she couldn't help but to raise an Eye brow at that, what was so different about pink hair. She's had it all her life and honestly she's never seen anyone else who didn't have it… then again the only 'people' she's met are the shadow men with the animal faces and Ino. "Although… I suppose you have your mother's eyes" she couldn't help but tilt her head slightly, her eyes sharp like daggers as she watched him slowly raise his hands and reached for his face. She heard the loud, sharp snaps of clasps and watched horrified as he slowly pealed his face away, revealing a softer and kinder one beneath it.
She couldn't stop herself, she couldn't help it
She screamed
…
…
Shikaku leaned back from the eardrum shattering, completely terrified scream the pink haired little girl gave him in response to the reveal of his real face. It took him a moment to refocus on the girl, who now sat on her bottom pointing at him in the same manner his wife would point at a spider. All trembling and shaking like a leaf in the wind, completely terrified of a tiny creature that couldn't possibly harm her… well not really harm her.
"Is there something wrong?" Shikaku asked, stared down at the girl as she continued to tremble and point at him in complete horror. Blinked a couple of times before he looked down at the gas-mask in his hands, looked back up at the still terrified little girl and then back down at the mask. Once realization dawned him, Shikaku couldn't stifle his amused snort or the amused sounding half-stifled chuckles that quickly followed.
"My apologies," Shikaku said, trying very hard not to laugh at the girl who stopped her trembling but still regarded him wirily, "I didn't mean to frighten you." She was still distrustful of him, slowly pulling herself into a crouch, as if she had yet to decide to fight or flee.
"This is called a gas-mask," Shikaku said calmly placing the between them and pulling himself back, watching half amused as the girl carefully pulled herself forward and began to examine the black and green mask. "We use it to protect ourselves from dang—"
"RAA~!" Shikaku stared dumbly at the little girl, the gas-mask looked awkward and strange sitting tilted to one side on her head, her disheveled pink locks poking out from between the gaps like scrawny branches.
It was Shikaku's turn to do something he couldn't help
He started laughing
…
…
He glared out at the high beautifully blooming willow tree, his teammates crouched lowly, ready to leap forward but wiry of being caught by a clan head. Their mission was simple, as it always was each week, the simple capture of a single child residing in the Hattori Bad Lands. It was simple, painfully so, yet not one in their ranks were able to accomplish the task without the brat running into the safety of the orange mist that was actually the Kiyobi's toxic chakra miasma. They didn't know why or how she managed to survive after constant contact with the poisonous orange mist but the girl did and it was seriously grating on their nerves. Their own master was beginning to doubt their skills in capturing a single pink haired child—that could not do.
With gritted teeth and trembling fists, he backed away from the edge of the large clearing with a hill and willow atop it.
"Fall back," he ordered coldly, his black eyes blazing furiously at the two shadows barely hidden beneath the willow tree's eaves. "We'll have to wait another day…"
"Mission failure?" one of the younger members asked, dark head tilted to the side as if he was disappointed with the command
"Mission is a failure," he agreed, jumping away from the light of the field, "We cannot get caught!"
His teammates followed him carefully, but not without a frustrated look back at the girl who always seemed to find some form of safety from them
…
…
Ubume-A mother ghost who died in child birth, or died leaving young children behind. This yūrei returns to care for her children, often bringing them sweets
what do you think of my first SakuXShika Fic?
Thoughts are helpful
Opinions are wonderful
Helpful criticismis lovely! Just don't cripple me okay?
Please no cursing!
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