AN: Hey there! First of all thank you so much for choosing to read this story. I hope you will like it. It was really a great challenge for me as it is a story of many firsts. It's my first:
-longest chapter ever written
-use of present tense
-use of first person point of view
-fighting scene (and it really, really sucks I'm so sorry)
It's very special since I'm featuring an ORIGINAL CHARACTER as the main protagonist. I hope you will like her.
Disclaimer: Haruno Seiya, Uzumaki Kenji and Nara Koshirou are my creations. The rest belongs to Masashi Kishimoto.
Enjoy!
The greatest magnifying glass in the world
are a man's own eyes when they look upon his own person
No, I am not going to murder him.
I'm just going to crack his bones and pound them to dust, tear his flesh and burn them. I'm going to cut his member and throw it to the dogs. I'm going to let him know that no one messes up with Haruno Seiya.
No, I am not kidding as well.
"Could you repeat that?"
"Geez, Haruno you're not only flat-chested, you're dumb as well."
Just then, a nose badly broke and it's definitely not mine.
"Geez, Uzumaki you're not only an airhead, you're gay as well, fighting with a woman like me."
The said jerk spit up blood.
"If a hag with absolutely no curves or humps except for an enormous calf is called a woman, I wonder what a plywood would be."
I swing my arm to pop the airhead once again but a hand stops me midway. My eyes shot to lavender, pupil-less eyes like those of the airhead but the difference is that it belongs to a long, dark-haired jounin whom I suppose to call 'sensei'.
"Enough of this foolishness." His voice was cold, icy but it just means that his blood is boiling.
"Uzumaki Kenji, you know better than to speak invective words to your teammate. And Seiya is right; the enemy wouldn't have gotten away if it weren't for your recklessness."
I smirk. Ha! Whipped by his own uncle. Take that you jerk.
"As for you.." Neji-sensei turns to me and I can't help raise a brow.
"Learn to control that temper of yours"
As soon as he let go of my hand, I cross it over my NOT FLAT chest and throw one last dirty look at the stupid blonde. I walk away triumphantly knowing that I won this round.
Super Seiya-71 Klutz Kenji-70
That's right. No one messes with ME.
After I nailed the blond idiot, Neji-sensei told us to get some shut-eye and continue traveling to Tea Country at early dawn. Actually, we would've taken the scroll by now, finish the mission and head back to Konoha but noooo, the airhead just had to screw up. Really, what a cocky idiot! All he does is blabber about how he would be the next Hokage and the leader of the Hyuuga clan, which, by the way, will probably happen since he's the son of the Rokudaime and the Main House Head. Buuut, he totally sucks, I mean, I could kick his ass over and over anytime. The best rookie title should have been mine. No, I'm not bitter; I'm just telling the truth.
I took first watch and I perch myself up on a tree while Neji-sensei, Koshirou-kun and the airhead settle in their sleeping bags around the fire. This was our first C class mission outside Konoha and I was really excited about it. I'm finally going to show my team that I am a formidable kunoichi. My 1st objective, which is to beat Kenji is achieved, now my 2nd and 3rd objectives have yet to be realized. Tomorrow, I'm going to retrieve that scroll, kick some bad guy's ass and maybe then Koshirou-kun will finally see that I am not one of those weak sissies in the academy. I am a strong kunoichi in contrary to what others say. I absolutely hate being looked down and judged. Haruno Seiya is not one to be underestimated.
After an hour or so of snickering at the airhead who I swear would drown in his own drool, I notice a shiny object dangling in the far end of an adjacent branch. I got curious so I crawl towards it. I realize it's a silver ring and I wonder who would've lost it. My curiosity got the best of me and I reach out for it.
I stretch my hand, closer...closer...CRACK!
Before I knew it, the branch broke and I am falling...falling...BAM!
If you think I got broken ribs or a fractured skull, you are much to kind. For I, Haruno Seiya, the greatest kunoichi there is fell into an airhead who grew a blond hair. My lips, my delicious virgin lips landed in a pool of drool. My eyes widen, my breath hitched, my body froze at the realization that I KISSED MY MORTAL ENEMY NO. 1! My first kiss was stolen by the airhead. My lips touched a mouth infested with millions and millions of germs. I'm going to get ORAL THRUSH! SOMEBODY GIVE ME LISTERINE!
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IRIS
Chapter 01: Reflection
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"There are 24 of them scattered inside the perimeter equally distributed in all directions."
I wince. The jerk has to make the most high-pitch sounds over the transmitter considering he's male.
"Hn. Get to your positions. Execute plan A on my command."
I brace myself. Adrenaline pulsating through my body.
"Go."
Kage bunshin no justu
In a blink of an eye, over a dozen copies of Kenji appears, catching the enemies off guard. With his byakugan still on, he and Neji-sensei attack the enemies with their clan's signature juken; effectively striking the opponents with fast and fluid movements without giving them time to make a counterattack. Predictably, the main culprit stands defenseless in the middle of the fight. We all know he's a traitor who tricked the damyo just to obtain the forbidden scroll. Hiring two dozen men to make a clean break just means he's a good for nothing coward. I scoff. I hate traitors. With his last man down, Kozu shivers. I guess he's smart enough to know that sure death awaits him.
"So they go as far as to hiring Leaf shinobi. How pathetic!"
He throws a smoke bomb at the Hyuuga duo in a desperate but useless attempt to make an escape. He snickers, motions to run but finds his feet immobile.
"What in the world..."
"You're not going anywhere"
His eyes widen to a size of a saucer when he sees the other guy in our team – Nara Koshirou.
"You, pineapple head. What the hell did you do to me?"
"I'm not stupid enough to divulge my clan's technique to you but you would be happy to know that you are now under my control."
From my position, I can see Kozu's eyebrow twitch. He looks constipated.
"Why you pesky brat..."
And that's my cue.
Cherry blossom thrust
I smirk at the look of utter surprise on his face as I dramatically emerge from the clouds, ugh from the tree actually but hey, if you're a dead man about to be killed, you would think I really did. Anyway, I gather chakra to my right fist and with one strong punch I knock the living daylights out of him. I do not need to check his pulse to know if he's dead. That technique, which I learned from my mom, is able to destroy vital organs like the heart, lungs and liver and it's my personal favorite. I turn his body over and rummage his cloak for the scroll. After retrieving it, I smirk in satisfaction.
"Mission accomplished."
Ah, the sweet taste of success.
I dash from the bathroom and quickly undrape the towel on my body. In a record-breaking time of one minute, I was able to put on my undies and regular ninja outfit which consists of a red sleeveless top that ends right around my waist showing my flat abdomen, my black spandex shorts, matching black boots, pink elbow protectors, medic pack and hitai-ite which I wear as a belt. Not bothering to comb my waist-length hair, I tie it into a high ponytail, my dark bangs framing my face. I need not look on the mirror. First, I'm running late and second, I don't have one. Other twelve year old girls my age would not leave the house without making sure their hair is glossy and their outfit is matched but you see I'm not any other girl.
"Mom, I'm going out training."
I manage to scoop the fried egg and gulp the whole glass of milk on the kitchen table in a matter of thirty seconds. (hey that's another record) Mom really gets pissed when I don't eat breakfast. She's pretty stern about nutrition and health. Oh, the joys of having your mom as the medical director of Konoha hospital. She is really scary when angry so I snatch a loaf of bread for good measure.
"Don't forget to eat your breakfast and say hi to Neji-san for me."
I could make out that she's in the study room from the sound of her voice.
"Yeah," I shout back.
"Be sure to come home early for the festival tonight."
"Bye mom."
Then I make the mad dash through the village towards the red bridge where my team is suppose to meet. A few meters away, I could see Koshirou-kun leaning lazily against the metal railings, his left hand cradling his head, his eyes half-lid and his mouth forming a yawn. He wore his usual green jacket with his clan's insignia at both upper arms as well as his dark brown sweat pants, hitai-ite on the left thigh. He look just like his father save from the blond hair and blue eyes which he got from his mom. Just then, a ray of sun peers into the clouds and shines on him like a spotlight and with that, he looks more stunning from the first time I saw him. It was, some would say, love at first sight. I mean what kind of girl would not be head over heels on a silent, ingenious, laid-back hottie like him?
As I approach him, my heart beats tenfold, my palms become sweaty and my knees feels like it's going to melt; and it isn't from the running.
Come on Seiya, act cool you don't want to be one of those annoying fangirls who swoon at him. I admit I do ogle but only when he doesn't notice and I definitely do not swoon.
"Hey Koshirou-kun" thank God, I did not stutter, that would be unforgivable.
"Hey", he drawls out lazily, not moving a muscle. I stand beside him but facing the opposite direction. I pretend to look at the water below but I am actually forming the words to say.
Come on Seiya, you aced Language 300 and yet you draw blank form this guy. Ugh!
"So... you're going to the festival tonight?"
Haruno Seiya you are a genius. You just ask a guy out on a girl's festival. Great! Where did my brain ran off to?
"…I mean with Mika that is"
Jumping off the bridge would be the best thing to do at this very moment. Koshirou-kun looks at me for a brief moment then to my complete relief says, "It's such a drag but I have to chaperon her or else mom would kill me. Frankly, I think dad married a troublesome woman."
"I think it's an unspoken law that moms ought to be the scariest beings on earth"
We both share a priceless laugh then. Miraculously, a conversation which started from my moronic question turns out to be a memorable one for me. It's not every day you see Nara Koshirou laugh; it's either you see him sleeping or playing shogi, hobbies inherited from his dad, he says.
"What are you both laughing at?"
When everything seems to be perfect, then comes Mr. Obnoxious.
"It's none of your business airhead"
I glare at the jackass before me. He is wearing his orange (what kind of ninja wears orange) shirt, the clan symbol on his back and white shorts, the hitai-ite on his brainless head.
"Say that again, plywood."
I growl. "Why you.." I grab the collar of his shirt, intensifying the menacing look on my face. If it's a glaring fight he wants, a glaring fight he gets.
"I suggest you reserve your energy for such petty arguments for the real training."
We both break away from each other at the sound of our sensei's voice. He gives us a final look of warning and turns his back and walk away.
"I'm gonna beat you to a pulp Uzumaki."And beat him to a pulp I did. Cha!
"Seiya look what time it is, we're going to be late. I told you to come home early."
When I got home, dirty and sweaty and bruised and all, my mom was already dressed-up. She is wearing her midnight blue kimono the one with cherry blossom designs on it. A visible vein pops in her forehead.
I hurriedly took a shower, much longer than this morning though and even if as much as I hate it, wear a red kimono. Ugh! I hate kimonos. They're too long and heavy and it makes me feel like I'm dragging a rag with me all the time.
"Come here"
My mom grabs me and before I knew it, she was styling my hair right in front of a mirror. Her pinks brows are knitted together in concentration and slight annoyance at my tangled hair.
"Aw!"
"Now if you only brush your hair like normal people do you wouldn't get it all tangled would you?"
I gnarl. My mom is a sadist. She then puts powder on my face and I instantly cough.
"Mom, is this really necessary?"
She ignores my protest and continues putting make-up on my face.
"Mom!" I start to turn my head away but my mom is more strong-willed than I am. Despite my squirming, she managed to give me a decent make-over.
"There, all done! Oh, my daughter is so pretty" she sighs dreamily.
I look in the mirror and I see a pretty woman. She has a heart-shape face, shining peridot eyes, red pouty lips and shoulder-length pink hair, in other words, my mom Haruno Sakura. Me? I got stuck with dull charcoal eyes with visible bags under it (if you wanna be a medic-nin, you should study lots of books all night), dry cracked lips concealed by a pink lip gloss (my mom applied it obviously), pale lifeless skin and long dark kinky hair. I frown. Yeah, I could easily pass up as a beauty queen.
The doorbell rings.
"That must be your cousins. Come on, let's go down."
I roll my eyes. The icing on top of the cake; my bitchy cousins. What's next, the fifth ninja war?
I hate Hina Matsuri. Shall I tell you why?
First of all, I despise dolls. I mean it's really useless. Why spend time playing with Odairi-sama or Ohina-sama when you can train, read medical textbooks or learn a new jutsu?
Secondly, I totally disagree to the tradition that Girls Day is celebrated through doll-making. It's insulting for a girl like me to be represented by a thing as weak as a doll. It seems to be saying that we girls are mere ornaments just for display; whereas girls are more than just playthings, we are strong, independent and we kick ass!
Most of all, the reason why I absolutely hate Hina Matsuri is that I have to be with the chameleon sisters.
"You girls go have fun. And Seiya, try to stay out of trouble this time."
As soon as my mom was out of sight, the chameleon sisters change their colors from sweet, good girls to bitchy bad girls.
"Lookie here girls, the black sheep is coming with us tonight"
Fuuko the eldest of the three does a cursory glance at me and she looks like she just smelled rotten cheese. Soon, Kira and Hitomi make the same looks and before I could crush their heavily make-up faces and commit homicide; I turn my back and walk away.
"Hey black sheep we're not done talking to you, "Hitomi calls out.
"We would just like to remind you that this festival is a celebration of femininity, serenity and gentility and we would not allow your barbaric ways to ruin such beautiful festivity and tarnish the Haruno name. So I suggest that you behave like a proper lady even just for tonight," Kira blabbers.
"By lady do you mean coyly flirting with old men just for a yen?"
By now the chameleon sisters are fuming. Their eyeballs are popping, their nostrils are flaring and smoke is coming out from their ears and wait, are those horns? Whoa, the chameleons just turned into bulls!
"Careful of that tongue of yours Seiya. It may be sharp but it might cut your neck out, " Fuuko says spitefully.
They flip their red locks simultaneously and turn around. I roll my eyes.
"Were those your cousins?"
"Do I even look or act like them?" I snap but when I whip around and see whom I was talking to, I regretted it.
"Sorry"
"You don't have to. They were very offensive. I'm surprised you didn't break their arms or something," Koshirou-kun shrugs.
"Am I that brutal?"
He gives me one of his lazy smiles.
Even if he is my crush since four and he look really heart-melting right now, I glare at him.
"If it's any consolation, you definitely do not look or act like them"
"Right. I'm the only one in the Haruno clan who doesn't have the same shade of red/pink hair, green eyes and elegant grace. I'm a black sheep both literal and figurative, remember?"
I say sarcastically, hands on my hips.
He stretches his arms and places them in his nape, a mannerism of his, and then his eyes shot heavenwards.
"You are different from all of them but that makes you.."
I raise a brow. "makes me what?"
"Haruno Seiya!"
I gulp. That voice could only belong to –
"Mom."
"Back to the house right this instant"
Rage is concealed in her words and I'm positive that the chameleon sisters have to do something about this. I expect a nightlong sermon from my mom but I am surprised to see my great grandmother in the living room, peacefully sipping a cup of tea. To her right are none other than the chameleon sisters in their sweet, innocent girl mode.
"Sakura, Seiya sit down. I came here to discuss an important matter with both of you especially you, Seiya." Great grandma speaks in a slow, calculating manner like a judge giving a verdict.
"It has been accounted in the past the misbehaviors of Seiya ranging from picking up fights and disobedience of family traditions. We had the same discussion before and I remember you, Sakura saying to take disciplinary actions to your daughter. I expected improvement from her behavior but it has been known to me tonight that she has yet again misbehaved by accusing her own family members such scandalous act which has no basis. Is this true Seiya?"
All eyes are on me. I clench my fist. I should have killed those conniving chameleon sisters earlier.
"I wouldn't have said those words without basis grandma" I try my best to control my temper, not meeting their accusing eyes.
"That's some heavy accusation you have, young lady. Do you have any proof?"
"I didn't manage to get any evidence. They were very careful to keep the skeletons hidden inside their closets."
I look at the three chameleon sisters meaningfully using every ounce of my self-control not to pounce on them.
"Fuuko, Kira, Hitomi, what do you have to say about this?"
"Of course that's not true grandma. Seiya is lying. We wouldn't do such a thing to disgrace our family. She is just saying that because we tried to reprimand her from behaving improperly, " Hitomi cries, fake tears running down her eyes.
"That's right. We tried to help her, to advise her but all she did was say such hurtful words," Fuuko wails.
The three shed crocodile tears and what's worst is that grandma buys it.
"Haruno Seiya you realize this is a very unforgivable deed. Hurting your own family, well I'll –"
"I'm sorry to interrupt grandma but it's unfair to accuse my daughter of lying when in fact you have not investigated on the matter. Sure, Seiya must have said harsh words but I did not raise my child to become a liar."
Everyone turn to look at my mom who appears calm and composed but I know better; she's clenching her fists too.
Grandma looks surprised from my mom's interruption but continues to sip her tea, still speaking sagaciously.
"But this is not the only time that she is reported to have misconducts. In fact we have received complaints from other villagers. I have let her off plenty of times in the past, have given many chances but I see no sign of improvement. Her behavior reflects your parental upbringing Sakura. I think you are too liberal, coupled with the fact that she was raised without paternal guidance, an illegi—"
"That's enough grandma!" My mom stands up, her eyes burning with rage. " I suggest you all leave this house. "
It's one of those gloomy nights. Without the faint glow of the candle, I couldn't have seen the silhouette of my mom sitting on the veranda. Her arched back is turned towards me, the dim light tracing her figure in the pitch black. I want to talk to her, to apologize but I am ashamed.
I disappointed her. Again.
She motions to lift a glass to her mouth and it's only then that I realize that she is drinking sake. I sigh. The last time she drinks, it was the day the late Godaime passed away.
Stealthily, I take a step. But away from her.
The crisp nocturnal breeze engulfs me as I trudge to my secret sanctuary. In the starless night, the lake looks eerie, but to me it is my tranquility. I open my mouth and let out all my bottled emotions flow in one scream of release. Wrath. Confusion. Obscurity. Failure. Despicability.
My throat feels hoarse. My knees wobble and I fall down.
A cloud drifts away, revealing the crescent moon shining in its golden glory. Its aureate glow shimmers in the cool, dark waters revealing an image of a child who was once a warrior. Her obsidian eyes are like vacuum, consuming all of her strength, her determination, her façade. It's like a bottomless pit that she tries to cover with conviction, pride and courage but could never ever fill up.
Who is that girl I see staring straight back at me?
The next morning is a blur. I don't remember hearing the doorbell, climbing out of my bed, walking down the stairs or opening the door. I remember feeling like getting hit by electricity; my whole body going numb as if every ounce of my blood is draining out from me. I remember seeing nothing but black, empty, stoic. I think I've seen them before.
Those eyes.
I think I've seen them in my reflection.
AN: There you have it, the very first chapter. I am open to all comments, suggestions, violent reactions, etc. All you need to do is review and let me know.^^,
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