Along a path not often traveled by people a tall man walked with a disapproving face. His bandana hid much of his hair from view. He wore a sleeveless worn out dark brown jacket over a sleeveless white shirt, allowing him to show off his toned arms. Rust colored pants hid his legs and additional leather was wrapped around his knees held in places by belts for additional protection.
"This is just not my day," I groaned.
I quickly shielded my face as the wind kicked up some dirt and leaves. I glared at nothing in particular, but still glared none the less.
I pulled out a map and studied it carefully and then flipped it upside down to study it that way. "Well, I'm lost. There is no way this is Tea Country. Maybe I was supposed to go west in Wind Country."
Thinking briefly on my next course of action I settled for winging it. I rolled the map up quickly and stashed it away in a pouch next to my sword.
Once again the wind blew and I shielded my eyes. A few defiant tuffs of spiky golden blonde hair moved at the winds whim while the rest stayed hidden underneath a blue bandana. Blue eyes searched the area and spotted a single wooden cabin next to a lakeshore.
I made my way to the cabin and knocked on the front door before waiting patiently
Always thinking ahead I had already planned how the conversation would go.
'Hello, stranger, I seem to be a little lost. Do you think you could give me directions to Tea Country?'
'What are you some kind of idiot? You are no where near Tea Country. It's in the complete opposite direction. In good conscious I probably shouldn't have told you that, because people as stupid as you shouldn't be traveling alone.'
The person I asked for directions in my mind was promptly bound and gagged before their home was raided for any valuables.
Shaking my head from the daydream I looked forward as the door opened. I was surprised to be greeted with a girl that looked a bit younger than me. Honestly I was expecting a cranky fisherman or something like that. She had not-so-common purple hair that was roughly shoulder length and tied up on either side of her face so as to frame it. She looked at me wearily and with a sense of trepidation. Most unusual of all were the bandages around parts of her face, neck, and arms.
Without missing a beat, "Hi…ya," alright so a little surprised. "I seem to be lost; I'm trying to get to Tea Country. Do you think you can give me directions?"
The girl didn't even give me a glance, "It's in the complete opposite direction. You're in Sea Country so head west, far west."
She closed the door before I could get a word in and I was left there, mouth stupidly agape like a fish out of water.
'Okay, so I didn't have to tie her up and gag her for being a bitch, but that was still pretty cold. I know, lets try this again,' I thought cheerily.
Once again I knocked, and once again the weary girl answered. This time she only opened the door a crack though, so I could only see an eye and part of her face.
"Sorry to bother you again, but which way is west?" I asked innocently.
I could feel her studying me unsure if I was lying about not knowing or not. It looked like she finally came to a conclusion, because she opened the door the rest of the way and pointed in a direction.
"Head down that path and when it splits take the right path. Follow it till you reach a merchant village; that will be as far west as you can go before leaving Sea Country."
She made to close the door once again, but my foot blocked its path before it was even halfway.
"Thank you for directions, but I'm not quite done."
She looked up and met my gaze. It was actually impressive because I like to think of myself as a somewhat powerful and very accomplished individual.
She tensed a little as the next few words left her mouth. "What else do you want?"
I could see I was giving her the wrong idea. I had that affect on civilians, criminals, ninjas…the list goes on.
"As thanks for the help. Let me offer you my services, I'll take care of whatever injured you free of charge."
She noticeably relaxed and almost sighed.
"Thanks, but no thanks. These aren't that big a deal, and I can take care of myself."
She tried closing the door again, but I wouldn't budge. This was starting to get interesting.
A girl living alone in a cabin by the sea, covered in bandages, and adamant about getting rid of me. The whole scenario just reeked of something fishy, and there was no way I was going to pass up something this entertaining.
"I don't doubt that you can take care of yourself, but whoever or whatever did that to you just needs a little convincing to back off."
"It's not any of your business," she replied as she tried to force the door closed again.
"C'mon, what am I supposed to do? I see a pretty girl is hurt and I'm just supposed to turn the other cheek?" I was actually pushing back against the door now. Whoever this girl is she's deceptively strong.
She looked at me questioningly, so I gave her my best smile to ease her.
"Yes." She replied quickly before pushing the door with even more force.
'Damn, I thought that would work for sure.'
"Why are you trying so hard to kick me out? What do you have to lose if I decide to help you?"
All the opposing force disappeared in an instant and I was thrown forward a little, but I caught myself before it became something embarrassing.
I was in the girl's cabin now, and it was surprisingly barren. There was a bed in one corner, a fire pit in the center of the room, and a table with a candle on it and two chairs on either side of it.
"You know what, you're right. What do I have to lose?" she closed the door I had entered from and looked at me with empty eyes.
'Okay, I'm scared now. I think I should leave because scary isn't good for my complexion. You ever seen a sexy bastard scared? It really takes away from your image.'
"Uhhh, maybe I was a bit too pushy. If you want I can come back later when I'm less likely to embarrass myself."
She looked like she wanted to roll her eyes, but she didn't as she walked by me and sat in a chair. She looked from me to the chair opposite of her and then back at me.
Taking a hint I sat across from her and waited to see what she would say.
"I'm sure your wondering why a 'pretty girl' like me is living alone in a cabin away from people, right?" she asked in a mocking tone.
"Yeah," I replied as I nodded my head.
"Well a big bad mad scientist kidnapped me and performed some experiments on me." She clutched her arm as she went on, "The bandages hide the more permanent results of his experiments. He promised to fix me up if I served him, so here I am."
Now I was pretty damn curious what it looked like under those bandages, but common sense made me put off inquiring about that. She was obviously sensitive about it so I wasn't going to pry.
"So you want me to force this scientist to fix you up?"
"No!" she said a bit heatedly. "I'm far past that. He's been promising me a cure for years. I don't know why I stay around, but I knew he wasn't going to cure me for some time now. I want you to kill him, only then will I feel some sense of freedom."
"Oh, that's easy." I replied with a smile. "By the way, what's your name?"
(2 days later)
It took me a while to scout the area she mentioned, sneak in, and then find the bastard but I got him. I was casually walking on the lake surface toward the cabin with a small cloth sack in one hand just big enough to carry a severed head.
This was one of the few times that I felt especially good about doing the world of favor.
See, normally I would steal from the rich and temples then give the money to me or I would raid tombs and graves and give the treasure to me. It wasn't often I had to kill someone, but one look over his research and the specimen tanks and I knew the world was better off without him.
The bastard had experimented on himself too, because the short fight we had had been freaky. Luckily the man was a scientist through and through. Despite becoming a fish monster he wasn't able to put up much of a fight.
Unfortunately his death was the only good that came out of this. He truly must have been evil to his core, because there was nothing of value worth taking except some standard ninja supplies lying around.
As I arrived at the shore I walked until I found Isaribi's cabin. I approached it and before I even knocked the door opened revealing Isaribi with an expectant face.
"Mission accomplished," I said with a mock salute as I handed her the bag.
She ignored my antics and looked in the bag.
"Thank you." She said softly.
"It was my pleasure. I understand why you wanted him gone now, so I'm glad I was able to help."
She gave a grateful nod and walked past me with the bag in tow. I saw the I-am-about-to-vent-look on her face so I stepped back a little to watch.
After walking a few feet away from the cabin she slung the bag over her shoulder before swinging it down to the ground with all her strength. The resounding 'thumps', 'squishes', and 'cracks' made me cringe a little.
I could easily read all the frustration on her face as she kept smashing the mass of what use to be a head against the ground. The yells filled with rage, hate, and frustration made the sight all the surreal. Over and over again with a few punches and kicks here and there. As the bag began to leak blood or brain fluid she heaved it into the lake with all her might. It landed in the water some distance away and floated back up for a few brief seconds before sinking to its depths where it would become fish food.
'Well, I'm glad I'm not on her bad side.'
By now Isaribi was breathing hard and sweat covered her body. She also looked a little red in the face from all the yelling, but it was easy to tell with a single look at her that she was much better off now.
"Hey, how are you feeling? Better I hope, because when I first met you, you looked tired of just about everything." I said.
She walked toward me as she caught her breath and gave me a small smile.
"Much better, I haven't felt this good in a long time."
"Great, then my work here is done."
"What? You're leaving just like that?" she asked surprised.
"Well, yeah. I've saved the damsel in distress, so now I'm off to go liberate the rich of their riches."
I began walking away and didn't get far before a hand grabbed my shoulder.
"You know I don't really know who you are, but I'm still a damsel in distress."
I turned around curious about where she was going with this.
"What do you mean you're still a damsel in distress, I killed the shit out the mad scientist fish thing." I replied.
"Yeah, but the curse still hasn't been lifted," she said matter-of-factly.
I actually snickered a little. "I'm sorry, but I don't think a kiss will lift the curse. But if you want…"
"Easy there Romeo, I want you to help me find someone to cure me."
"I already helped you though. Aren't you asking a little much from me?"
"Are you just going to turn the other cheek when a pretty girl is in trouble then?" she asked smugly.
'Damn it.'
"Fine, I'll help you out, but I'm not sticking around with you. I'm going to drop you off, because where were going I have an outstanding record." I said a little annoyed.
Isaribi seemed to light up a little as I caved in.
"Do you have anything you want to bring?" I asked.
"Nope, just the clothes on my back, where are we going anyways?" she asked.
"Were going to Konoha to see Tsunade Senju, she happens to be the most accomplished medic in the world. If anybody can heal you up it's her." I replied.
"Really, Tsunade? I've heard of her, but I never thought I would get a chance to meet her."
I could see the look of awe in her eyes, which was still a far cry from hero worship. It was a good thing otherwise she would keep asking about her.
"I've gotta admit since meeting you my life has been looking better now than it has in the past several years. By the way, you never told me your name." she stated.
"I know."
A/N: New story I'm experimenting with. Won't update this one as often as my other story, you have been warned.