Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. Naruto is owned by Masashi Kishimoto.
Summery: Team 7 is given an assassination mission. They are to infiltrate the Land of the River and interrogate its feudal lord. But how is Akatsuki involved in all of this? Not your ordinary fanfiction. Read and Review!
Warnings: This is rated T for violence, cursing, and torture. And possible character death.
Author's Notes: This is my first fan fiction. Any constructive criticism is welcome and will be laminated and then trashed.
Now, on to the story.
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Red Clouds In Morning
Chapter One: The Silver Ladle.
Arashi Saburo awoke with a painfully loud ringing in his ears. His body was laying down on top of wet grass. His face was in a puddle of his own bodily fluids. A fire was burning about a meter from his body. Arashi heard shouting and bells in the distance. There was a glint reflecting off a sword. The sword was being held by a dark figure decked in full samurai armor looming above Arashi. The swordsman was kicking his sandals into Arashi's back with increasing force. Arashi's vision slowly began to darken back into sweet unconsciousness.
"Come on, wake up Arashi-teme! I know you're awake, I saw your eyes open for a second! It's my turn to sleep by the deliciously warm fire and your turn to stand guard in the icy cold! This is the last shift for tonight and I need my beauty sleep!", shouted the towering soldier.
Arashi felt like dying. No, check that thought. Arashi felt like killing his shift partner. He glared at his partner with the fury of a thousand burnt out suns.
Slowly, Arashi's mind began to let go of the welcome dream and focus on reality. And reality was, he was a guard paid to work and guard the eastern gate of the feudal lord's appealing castle.
Arashi pulled his sheathed katana from his belt. He stabbed the sheath into the earth and used it as leverage to pull himself onto shaky, tired legs. Now standing, Arashi tried to wipe the fatigue from his eyes, but it only came back. Arashi wiped his mouth and dirt and drool smeared across his cheek. Arashi's taste buds yawned and awakened, only to alert Arashi of the taste of mud in his mouth. Arashi stretched his aching back, and decided to kick his partner awake when it was time to leave.
Such a fine dream too, thought the sleepy samurai as his mind stumbled to attention. As things got clearer, Arashi could make sense of the shouting. It was people waking up their shift partners and a few were beating their sleeping comrades. Finally, all the people in the night shift were awake.
Arashi looked over to the large white castle that he was charged to protect. It was the home to the Land of the River's feudal lord, Shimizu Hiroshi. Lord Shimizu was a kind and generous man. Under Lord Shimizu's reign, the Land of the River was flourishing and prospering. Crime in the Land of the River was nearly nonexistent, this was probably due to high punishments and a firm and fair justice system. Poverty and education was a very little problem under Shimizu-sama's strict rule. Everyone loved the current feudal lord and it looked like a promising future was in store for the Land of the River.
But if the current daimyo had one weakness, it would be paranoia. There were at least twice as many samurai and shinobi protecting the great castle as there had during previous rules. People made light of this by calling Shimizu-sama's castle the Impenetrable Castle of the River. Lord Shimizu made sure that the Land of the River's military strength was at top condition. Anyone and everyone able to go to war were given mandatory training to make sure that this land was safe.
The pay to guard the castle was excellent, but the working times were awful. There were only two main shifts, the daytime and the nighttime. And there were four people guarding each of the four gates. Two of the guards would stand watch while the other two slept. Then, every hour, they would switch and the previously standing guards would get some sleep while their shift partner stood at the gate. This would repeat from until sunrise when a fresh batch of guards took over until sunset.
The castle was a marvel to look at. The outside wall was made with the finest white stone and cedar wood. The roofs were covered with shingles that glittered in the sun. The courtyard had beautiful foreign trees and flowers. There was a rather large river that flowed from the west underneath the castle. The castle made use of this and turned the river into a moving pool for the daimyo and his family to enjoy. The river then opened up into a beautiful natural lake. When the sun rose in the east, the lake would reflect and form a glorious sight. This was a view the daimyo would wake up to every morning. It was the perfect way to begin each morning.
Arashi turned from the castle and dragged his feet behind him as he lumbered over to his post. He happened to glance to his right and saw another samurai moving in the same general direction. The cold quickly began to chill his bones and a chattering began in Arashi's mouth. There looked like there was a thin mist hugging the ground as Arashi moved away from the beckoning fire. It was mornings like this that Arashi would entertain himself with the idea of quitting and crawling in bed with his loving and warm wife. But Arashi could do that later, this was the last shift of the day. Arashi would stand watch until a caravan comes and then he could go home and return to his family. Lord Shimizu pays very well for hard working soldiers to keep stand and protect him.
Arashi glanced to his right, at the sleeping form of the guard next to him. Hard working soldiers indeed, thought Arashi. It appears as though some of us cannot keep our eyes open. But Arashi couldn't blame him, it was taking all of Arashi's willpower just to stay standing up. It couldn't hurt to sit down for a while.
Arashi settled down into a sitting position. Lack of sleep began to steal his sight and darkness began to eat at the edges of Arashi's vision. Suddenly, Arashi was very thirsty. Arashi forced himself to his feet and began to walk toward a nearby well. As Arashi walked by his shift partner, already sleeping, he resisted the urge to kick him. But that would be saved for later.
As Arashi neared the well, he spotted a silver ladle hanging off a hood nailed to the well. Arashi grabbed it and stretched his arm down into the well. Arashi dipped the ladle in the water and began to pull himself up to-THUNK!
Arashi leapt in surprise and nearly dropped the ladle. Quickly, Arashi rose, only to bang his head on the underside of the well's roof and cursed out a word that his wife would beat him for. Rubbing his aching head painfully, Arashi unsheathed his sword and looked up on top of the well. Nothing was there.
Arashi looked left and right, trying to find whatever made that thunk. There wasn't anything around as far as Arashi could see. But the hairs on the back of his neck were standing upright. He felt like someone or something was staring at him. Arashi squinted at the dark trees, but saw nothing. Arashi's mind started to weave thoughts that perhaps Arashi didn't hear anything. All he needed to do was go home and cuddle up to his loving and warm wife. Arashi pushed those thoughts to the back of his mind and began to pace around the well. But his searches resulted in the same thing as his mind was telling him.
Perhaps Arashi should return to his post, but a dry throat and a parched tongue begged a differ. Arashi resheathed his katana, but kept a thumb under the tsuba so he could draw his katana faster than you could say, "basugasubakuhatsu". He slowly, cautiously, grabbed the silver ladle. Arashi lifted the ladle out of the well. He could see the fire behind him in the reflection of the ladle's cup. As Arashi tipped the ladle to pour liquid into his parched lips, he saw a shadowy figure crouching behind him, holding a glinting knife in his left hand.
Arashi dropped the ladle and spun around, drawing his katana and swinging it at the dark figure in an upward diagonal swipe with the intent to disembowel. The dark figure positioned his knife to intercept the katana. The sound of metal clanging and the sound of the ladle breaking the water surface occurred simultaneously. In this position, Arashi could get a look at his assailant.
Arashi's attacker was a scrawny, nearly scarecrow scrawny, middle-aged man with shock white hair that lifted up in a gravity-defying angle. The lower half of his face was hidden behind a black mask that reached down past his collar. To further conceal his facial features, he wore a hitai-ite over his left eye and ear. Only his right eye and right ear was exposed. He wore a dark green vest with an assortment of organized pockets and pouches. Under this, he had a black sleeved shirt with a red spiral emblazed on the shoulders. His pants were just as dark as his shirt. The pants were loose and didn't constrict any movement in the legs, nor did they make a noise when the man moved. The man wore fingerless gloves, as well as metal plates on the back of the hands for protection. Arashi's attacker held a hooked kunai in both hands, which he was using to hold back Arashi's sword. The hooked kunai was designed specifically to slit throats for a silent kill.
Arashi was sure that his attacker was an elite ninja. Arashi knew that ninja could wield spiritual energy called chakra to perform impossible feats such as breathing fire or walking on water or vanishing into thin air. Arashi knew the basic fundamentals of chakra control. Like how to flow his chakra to his arms and legs to strengthen them and make him faster and stronger. Arashi began to force his weight forward as well as his chakra to his arms. The intertwined weapons began to move toward the ninja. The ninja's right eye burned angrily. Then, the jonin ninja began to force Arashi back. It would look impossible to a casual onlooker, a scrawny man pushing back a large samurai. Arashi's back was pressed to the lid of the well behind him. Arashi tried to use that as leverage to push back the assailant, but to no avail.
Arashi quickly came to the conclusion that he wasn't a match for this shinobi. Opening his mouth, Arashi was just about to shout for help when a second figure materialized on top of the well with a thunk. The second figure quickly plunged a kunai knife straight down into Arashi's skull. The white haired shinobi caught Arashi's corpse as he collapsed dead. The white haired ninja picked up the corpse and brought it toward the well. As Arashi's corpse was carried on by, the second ninja wiped his bloody kunai on the back of Arashi's shirt. The first ninja unceremoniously dumped Arashi's body into the open mouth of the well. A second later, a soft splash could be heard. Satisfied that the situation was under control, the second ninja turned toward the castle and jumped the entire distance from the well to the first floor roof. The white haired ninja briefly glanced at the castle before waving his hand at the forest. Then he turned and launched himself at the castle as well. A third figure leapt from the forest and landed on the well without a sound. Then it too bound at the castle. Yet a fourth figure burst forth from the forest and landed on top of the well with a loud THUNK! Then it ricocheted off the well and after its comrades, who were already climbing up the castle's white stone walls.
The Impenetrable Castle of the River had just been penetrated. And all anyone would notice before it was too late would be a missing silver ladle.
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End Chapter One: The Silver Ladle.
How was that for a first chapter of my first fan fiction! Please read and review! I will make another chapter as soon as possible!
P.S. A reward for the first one that can translate the Japanese tongue twister I put in here!