The only move is forward
Probationary Arc
ENTER: Nitis
A young, blonde headed boy stared out in front of him, his body bare. His cerulean eyes filled with wonder at the overwhelming size of the door that stood before him. When the door started to creak open, the sound of terror flooded out in the form of screams that he had never heard. It poured out like water in the form of darkness. "Wh-what is this?!" He said as he backed up a little.
He turned to run in the other direction, the direction of a white void, but was yanked back by a black, rusty chain that was connected to his neck like a collar. "W-wait! This wasn't here before… No… NO!"
He was slowly being dragged towards the door. The mere thought of it made his entire being shiver with fear. "What is that?" He whispered.
"It's hell…"A deep and loud voice boomed from overhead.
"Hell? But… what did I ever do to go there?" The boy asked in a fearful yell.The voice chucked.
"You yourself did nothing, but the demon within has, and his destination is through the Gates of Hell. You were just unfortunate to be dragged down with him."
The boy was so close to the gate now that he could feel his entire body burning, freezing, being electrocuted, and being crushed all at once… and he hadn't even passed through the gates yet. "I… I don't want to!" He cried out, tears falling from his eyes. "Pl- ease…" His eyes stared in horror as he looked at his new destination… his new home. "No…" He choked out softly as the flames of hell started to consume him.
Thunder rolled across the forest as lightning spilt the dark sky. The trees were blanketed by the dark midnight air as wild winds ripped through their branches.
As another bolt of lightning raced across the sky, a body was lit up. There was not one article of clothing on his wet body except for a dirty headband that he held in his hand. His long, tangled hair, which was covered with mud, was plastered to his face. His lifeless blue eyes lit up in the dark as he panted and struggled to get up.
After he finally managed to drag himself up off the muddy ground, he spotted a dark gray material flapping in the wind. It looked like some sort of tarp that was snagged on a branch. The boy stumbled towards the tarp and ripped it from its spot. Slowly, he tossed it over his wet form and covered his body, so that nothing was showing that shouldn't have been.
The boy shivered as he walked blindly through the trees and shrubs. He tried pulling the tarp around his body to get warmer, but it wasn't working. He was given another second of light to see where he was going. An opening… There was a small clearing just feet in front of him. As he started towards the clearing, his foot became entangled in something and he crashed down onto the ground. His head smacked against a small boulder and his dark world became even darker.
"Well guys, this was another successful mission. When we get back we can all go out to eat…… My treat." A tall man, in his late thirties or early forties, said to a group of teenagers behind him.
"Yeah!" The three teenagers yelled, throwing their hands up into the air. The man ran a hand through his messy brown hair. It was held up by an orange headband with a triangle on it. Around each of the flat sides was a single line coming outward. His green eyes were content with his surroundings. He wore a gray coat with a thin, wavy maroon line separating the small amount of light brown, and then a maroon collar. On his right shoulder was a red spiral. He wore brown baggy pants and black boots.
Directly behind him was a girl around thirteen, her long mauve hair was held up in a ponytail. Her two sections of bangs were parted just enough to show her green blue eyes. The bangs were grown down to her cheeks. She wore a set of small, silver looped earrings, and then a pair of red studs above those. She wore a bright golden yellow long-sleeved shirt that closed in the front. The edges were trimmed with red, and there was a unique design around the button holding her shirt together. Around her neck was an orange headband with the same symbol as her Sensei's. She had on black kakis and orange sandals.
To her left was a boy of about fourteen. He had messy olive green hair and stunning purple eyes. His orange headband was too, around his neck, only he wore his upside down. He wore a white hooded jacket, with a dark teal hood, and a violet line going across his chest, and one on both of his shoulders running down to the cuffs. The zipper was black and surrounded by a small section of light blue. He was wears baggy white pants with a violet line running down the sides of each pant leg. His boots are the same dark teal color of his hood.
And to the right of her was another boy who was about fourteen. He looked quite strange. Not because of his bright red hair, that was put into a high ponytail, with his short bangs barely hanging above his eyes. It wasn't that his orange headband was too, around his neck, turned slightly to the side. Not even his light blue, long-sleeved shirt, or the small light blue t-shirt vest that was pretty short and not strapped together. It was his eyes. They were yellow, and they creeped most people out. His pants were dark blue and he wore black sandals.
As they walked down the muddy trail towards a clearing, the girl chatted with her green haired teammate. "Lucas! Where should we make Sensei take us? I think we should hit the nice restaurants this time."
"I really don't know Ferra. Hey Hiro! Where should…we… Where'd he go?" The green haired boy said as he looked around his female partner.
Their sensei, who had been walking with his arms behind his head, tilted his head to see what was going on. "Hmm?" He let his arms fall to his sides as he looked around for his student. "Hiroshi?"
"Hey Hiro! Where'd you go?!" Ferra yelled, amplifying her voice by placing her hands around her mouth. She dropped her hands. "I don't get it… Hiro was right next to me just a few moments ago!" She wined. She watched as her sensei looked into the trees.
"I think I found him…but…" He started to push his way through the weeds and branches. Lucas and Ferra soon followed him until they came upon Hiro digging into his pack. Next to him, lying unconscious, was a boy.
"Hiroshi?" The man asked.
"I just saw him, and he was just lying here. He's still alive, but… The tarp is the only thing he's got on." This stopped Ferra from almost pulling the tarp off. She giggled and put her hand behind her head as she straitened back up. She looked over at her sensei, who was checking the boy's face over. "He doesn't want to wake up for some reason."
"He looks cute, like Tadashi." Ferra said as she got right in the unconscious boy's face. "Maybe he's under a spell! And to break the spell he has to be kissed by someone!" She smiled. "Get down there, Keru Sensei." She giggled, but only before she was hit in the head by the man. His face was very serious as he spoke.
"I don't find that the least bit funny young lady. If your going to be a smartass about it, then you do it." He smirked. He knew that she was just kidding about it all. Even the spell. His mouth dropped when she kissed the boy on the forehead. "I was… just kidding, Ferra." He sighed.
"Look, he's waking up." Lucas and Hiro said as they pointed to the boy. The brunette opened his eyes and looked into the deep blue eyes of the boy on the ground.
"Well I'll be damned. Maybe he was under a spell…" He muttered. "Are you ok boy?" The boy just looked around and sat up. Luckily the tarp still cover his lower body. Around his neck was a necklace with a blue crystal on it. It was the only thing he was wearing. "Yeah… yeah…you really need some cloths, don't you." He looked at his team.
"I would let him borrow mine, but uh…" Ferra said, pulling out a tight purple top and dark red shorts, the cloths that she usually would sleep in.
"I don't bring spare cloths." Lucas said. Ferra gave him a scandalized look.
"Not even underwear!" She asked.
He placed his arms behind his head and looked away. "Nope." Ferra then started to yell at him, screaming about bad hygiene, and about how disgusting that was. He had to cover his head so that he wasn't subjected to a concussion. "Dude, I'm not a girl. I don't have to change my cloths three times a day!"
"Maybe you should! You know you can get sick from not being clean!" The mauve haired girl said.
"Actually… being too clean can make you sick as well." Hiro said, appearing next to his friends. This startled the two fighting ninjas. "Luckily, I always bring spare cloths with me when we leave the village." The boy, who was now clothed appropriately, walked out from behind a set of trees wearing Hiro's faded, and ripped, burnt orange sweat pants. He was also wearing a baggy white shirt. He started to fall, but Keru caught him.
"I guess that bump on your head is more than just something to stare at, huh. Looks like you've gone and hurt your ankle as well." He bent down. "I'll carry you to our village and get you some help, ok?" The boy just stood there for a minute before he climbed onto the man's back. "Alright guys, lets keep going."
"Right!"
As the group walked on, Ferra continued to try and get the boy to talk. "So what's your name?" She waited for a minute before poking him in the side. He turned his head and looked at her. "Did you hear me? I just wanna know your name…" He looked at her like she was a strange creature trying to do a trick. His mouth was slightly open, gaping at her. She crossed her arms and looked in the other direction. "You try to be nice and this is what happens!"
Lucas laughed at her and this bought him a ticket for a kick in the shin. "Ow! What's your problem! Don't take your woman problems out on me!"
"Boy! You haven't seen me with woman problems yet! You try to get him to say something then…" She stomped off farther ahead, muttering something.
"I wouldn't want to talk to a banshee, either." He muttered. Keru glanced at him, signaling that he could hear him.
"I would try and choose your words more carefully if I were you, Luc. And besides, The boy seems to be pretty tired, and I'm betting he has some sort of concussion… Look, he's already back to sleep."
"But where did he come from? What's he doing walking around without any cloths on?" Hiro asked. As the team of four discussed the topic of the boy, they almost didn't realize that they had walked right into their country, the land of Void.
The land was fairly bare, the grass was dying, sporting its new color of yellow and brown. The trees had lost all of their leaves, and now the area looked like they were walking into a scary movie. The sun had started to set when they came upon their village gates. "We're home, guys-"
"Yeah! We're back to our village hidden in the Abyss!" Ferra exclaimed. They walked through the gates, but were stopped by two Chunin who were watching the gate.
"Keru… Who is that on your back." The red haired man demanded.
"Don't worry about it. He's being taken to the hospital to be checked over." Keru said lazily.
"What if he's a spy-"
"Are you kidding Koteka… what spy is this cute?!" Ferra demanded. She started to yell at her cousin. Finally he let the group go, rubbing the sore spot on his head. "So Sensei… When are we going out to eat? Will Tadashi and Ashton be there?!" She asked.
He chuckled. "No Ferra… It'll just be us. I have to see Kalari about the mission and I have to get this guy to the hospital incase he is seriously injured. Then we can go out to eat." He smiled and continued to walk towards the hospital. "But you guys go home and get cleaned up… I'll come get you later."
"Yeah Lucas! Go take a few showers and put some clean underwear on!" Ferra's voice echoed throughout the area, causing people to stare at the boy who's face was red.
Keru was patiently waiting for the boy's results before he left. It hadn't taken too long before the nurse walked out. "Well Keru, It looks like it was just a bump, nothing serious. He can go home with you, if you want. Just make sure he doesn't hit his head again. His ankle will be fine, just a small sprain. Don't let him stand on it very much today and it'll be fine by tomorrow. But… He won't speak at all."
"Oh really." His voice was very flat.
"Yes. Well, have a good day." She smiled and walked away.
"She's so weird…" He muttered as he walked to the room he had dropped the boy off in. He was just sitting there, kicking his legs on the edge of the bed. "Are you ready to go? I have to check in with my boss, and then hopefully she'll find you a place to stay." The boy nodded and slid off of the bed.
"Hey kid, I'm sorry if Ferra and Lucas scared you… they tend to scare most of the people we meet at first." He looked next to see that the boy just continued to stare out strait in front of him. "Um… ok. Can you talk, or were you just trying to ignore Ferra?" The boy didn't respond. "Hmm… Well, maybe Kalari can help you." He sighed as they walked on.
They walked into a fairly large building with people coming and going. They passed many doors, and even climbed a few stairs before Keru knocked on a door. "Come in." He turned the door knob and pushed the wooden door open, revealing a fairly large room.
A woman glanced over a sheet of paper revealing her dark blue eyes. The rest of the woman's face was hidden behind the piece of paper that she was scanning over. Her long, wavy midnight blue hair was all that could be seen along with her eyes. "Keru! You finished a day early! Good job. And it's nice to see you too, Tadashi." She went back to reading her paper.
Keru looked down at the boy. His hair was caked with dirt and dried mud. It did look brown, if you overlooked the matted look it took on. He still didn't know what color the child's hair was. "Um… Kalari? This isn't Tadashi." The woman, Kalari, looked up quickly. She got up, walked over to him, and started to circle him. "Hiroshi found him unconscious. I took him to the hospital, but he just has a bump on his head and a minor sprain. The only thing is-"
"He won't talk?" She finished.
"What? How did you know?!" He exclaimed.
"Look into his eyes. They have no life to them. Like he's been dead for a long time and is just waking up. I bet he doesn't have any of his memories. I'm sure he'll talk in time. You know… Keru. He's acting the same way you did, when Kanda found you." She pointed out to her brother-in-law.
"Hmm… So, what are we going to do. We can't just cast him out into the streets."
"You're right, like usual. Well, I can't take him, because I'm always here. And I'm sure Ashton wouldn't look after him because of that attitude of his. Plus he's always on missions, like Tadashi…" She looked out her window overlooking the village, her index finger resting on her chin. "But… you have a spare room in that lovely house of yours, and Kanda stays home for the most part-"
"Kalari. I don't think that she would like me bringing a strange boy home."
"Why not?! She had no problem bringing you home when she found your half dead carcass of a body." He didn't have much to say after that. "Besides, she has had practice getting non-talkative people to speak, and even getting their memories to come back a little. Maybe she can help him."
He crossed his arms and looked off to the side, his lips in their fish form. "I should have known you'd do this to me. I bet Tadashi and Kanda don't even take to him."
"Why not? He looks so much like Tadashi, and yourself… now that I look at his face closer. I can see why I mistook him for my lovable nephew."
"Yeah yeah… What ever." He grumbled as he turned the boy around and walked out of the head ninja's office.
As they walked down the street, Keru started to explain things about his house and his family. "Kanda is my wife, and that other woman's sister. She was a high ranking ninja until she had our son. She retired after that."
"My son, Tadashi, he's probably a year or two older that yourself. He's a Chunin, that's a ninja level. Like I'm a Jonin, an elite ninja. The kids I was with today, Ferra, Lucas, and Hiroshi… Well… They're all Genin. The lowest level. That's because they haven't been ninjas for a very long time. Ahh… Here we are." He stopped in front of a nice sized house. "This is your home until Kalari can find something to do with you… like find your home and that kind of stuff."
He glanced down at the boy, who hadn't changed at all. "Well… Kanda will take care of you. She'll put you into some of Tadashi's old cloths and make sure you get cleaned up. Alright?" The boy, surprisingly, nodded slightly. 'Maybe Kalari was right… All he needs is a little time.' He thought.
The two walked into the house and Keru called out "Kanda! Come here for a second." A female's voice replied with an 'ok.'
A boy, probably around the age of fifteen, walked past a doorway. But he soon returned… walking backwards and looking in at his father and the boy. He had wild, spiky brown hair and dark blue eyes. Running horizontally along each side of his face was a scar, like a scratch mark… or like a single set of whiskers.
"Hey dad… I thought mom said no pets in the house?" He smirked as Keru narrowed his eyes at his son. The boy walked into the room where his father and the 'pet' were standing.
"Pets? I thought I told you, Keru…" A woman walked through another doorway. She was very beautiful, with her navy blue hair flowing down her back. Her dark blue eyes widened in shock as she took in the boy's appearance. "What… Keru?"
"Your sister said we had to take care of him… Until something can be done about him. He won't talk… and he's only responded three times since Hiroshi found him…"
"He's so cute!" She said as he mumbled out the rest of his sentence. "You poor child. Come on… Dashi dear, could you get me some of your cloths from last year… He's pretty thin, so he could probably fit into some of your Genin clothing."
The older boy, Tadashi, scoffed as he walked off to do what his mother asked. "Oh, and Keru dear, Ferra was over here a short while ago saying that they knew where they wanted to go eat. And she asked me if I could hurry you up." She said as she walked the boy towards the shower. "After Keru leaves, I'll make you and Tadashi something good to eat, and then we'll give you a name until you can remember your real name." He blinked and nodded slightly. "Good." She smiled.
"Here you go mom. I just grabbed something for him to sleep in tonight. I put a few outfits into the spare room for him." He said as he tossed her a pair of green boxers, a pair of black, baggy shorts, and a white, baggy t-shirt. It was probably one of his recent shirts.
"Your such a good boy for your mom. I'll make you boys some dinner once I get him cleaned up."
"Alright." He said and he disappeared down a hall.
"Ok dear…" She turned on the water for him and adjusted it until it was a comfortable temperature. She folded the cloths and put them on the counter by the sink. "This is for your hair." She pointed to a bottle with clear, slow moving liquid inside it. "… And this is for your body." She showed him a sponge and a bar of soap. "Do you think you can handle it, or should I send Tadashi in here to help you?" He shook his head slightly. "Hmm… ok then. Put those cloths on when your done and I'll brush your hair out." She shut the door and left him to clean himself.
She walked into her and Keru's room and opened her closet. There were a few books on the floor, and she pulled out a thick book with the title, NAMES. She then walked to the kitchen, placed the book onto the table, and started to make dinner.
It would take some time for the food to cook all the way, so Tadashi sat at the table reading a scroll… and Kanda sat at the table flipping through the name book. "You know… If you had been a girl, Tadashi, I think I might have named you Sakura. It's such a pretty name." She looked up to see the boy just standing in the doorway, staring at her. His mouth was hanging open slightly.
"Oh… Hello dear. Now who would have guessed that under all that dirt was beautiful blonde hair?" He was holding a brush out to her.
"I don't know mom… Sakura sounds… well… I guess if I looked like a flower or something, with pink or red hair- … What?" The boy was staring at him now. "I think he recognizes that name… Sakura?" He looked to Kanda.
"Sa...ku…ra?" He said, his voice a raspy whisper.
"So he can talk." Tadashi said, going back to reading his scroll.
"Hmm. I guess it was a name that was important to him. Well dear, let me brush that mess you call hair." She got off of her chair and sat onto the floor. She patted the area in front of her, and he sat down on that spot. She lightly brushed out the knots until his hair, which was down past his eyes, until she could smoothly run the brush through. "Your hair is a little long… come with me and I'll cut it for you."
Tadashi looked over his scroll to see his mother walk out of the room with the boy his father had brought home. He didn't like to look him in the eyes, because it made him feel a little unnerved... Like he was staring into a lifeless body. Except when he said that girl's name. His eyes had lit up a little bit, filling them with a little life.
He shook his head and returned to reading his scroll. It was a jutsu he wanted to learn. It was a strange one, and he had just happened across it earlier that day. It was a clone jutsu… but the clones were supposed to come out solid, not just illusions. The shop keeper had said that he didn't know where it came from, but sold it to him anyways.
He rolled it up as his mother walked back in, the boy following behind her. His blonde hair was much shorter, about the same length as his own. As the boy looked at him, he felt a shiver go up his spine.
"You can sit here next to me, and we'll pick out a nice name for you. Ok?" The boy nodded. "Ok! Tadashi… Pick a letter."
Her son looked at his mother. "What?" It soon clicked in his head. "Umm… S."
"Really? I see him with a name starting with an N."
"Whatever… Why did you ask me, then?" His mother giggled and shrugged.
"Ok… S… S… Right. Sarad? No? Hmm… Sasson? How about Sasuke?" The boy tilted his head. "So he recognizes that name, too?"
"I don't think we should call him something he recognizes."
"I agree… Then lets skip back to N. Neka? No… I don't like that. It means goose. Nicolas? No….Oh! How about Nitis? It means friend."
"Sure." Tadashi was quite board with this game. "Mom… I'm getting hungry. I'm sure Nitis is pretty hungry, too. Right, Nitis?" The boy nodded, seeming to understand that his name was now Nitis.
"Ok ok…" She stood up and went to go finish the food.
After dinner a loud commotion could be heard at the front of the house. Kanda was busy cleaning the dishes, so Tadashi was the one to go check it out. He looked at the newly named Nitis and asked if he wanted to come with him. Nitis nodded slightly and stood up.
When the two reached the front door, Tadashi opened the door to find Lucas and Hiroshi wrestling on the ground. Ferra was screaming for Hiro to knock out Lucas. Tadashi looked at his father to see that the man wanted no part in this. He sighed and grabbed the boys by their collars and pulled them apart. "You couldn't do this yourself?" He directed this question at his dad.
"I thought that they'd just get it out of their system. They're just doing that because Lucas tripped Hiroshi." The boys were now glaring at each other. He looked over to Nitis. "I wouldn't have guessed that you hade blonde hair…"
"We're gonna call him Nitis, until he remembers his name anyways." Keru looked at Nitis, who had walked up next to Tadashi, and then back to his son. The top of Nitis's head didn't even reach Tadashi's chin.
"You know, Tadashi… If your mother had blonde hair… Nitis could easily be passed off as your younger brother. He looks just like you-"
"So his name is Nitis?" Ferra said as she walked up to the boy that they had found earlier that day… "You know what…" Everyone looked at the girl. "I think he's even cuter than Tadashi! He's so adorable!" She said as she gave him a hug. "Can I spend the night Sensei?!" She asked. Her eyes were huge, and she stuck out her lower lip.
"What!? Get outta here." He grabbed Tadashi and Nitis, pulled them into the house, and shut the door. "Whew. I didn't want to have to deal with that all night." He said as he wiped his headband…thinking he would have wiped his forehead.
The sound of a camera clicking, and a bright flash awoke him from his thoughts of what might have happened if Ferra had managed to get into his house. "What the hell…"
Kanda giggled and walked away… Holding a picture. "Mom… Why…why would you take such a stupid picture?!" He whined as he took his father's arm off from around his neck and followed his mother into the family room.
Nitis could feel Keru remove his other arm from around his own neck, and watched as he followed his son. He stood there for a moment, listening to Kanda speak. "You boys just looked so adorable, I couldn't help it."
He thought as he moved his feet towards the voices in front of him.Who is Sakura…
And Sasuke…
…
Who am I?
