"Uhh! Excuse you! … Freak…" I hear someone say as I'm walking through the supermarket. My headband is in plain view and there is no question what the lady was referring to when she called me a freak.
I hate this city.
There's no reason for the citizens of this city to hate any ninja that walks through the gates. At least, none that I've ever seen or taken note of. The only thing we ninja do here is help the people with their problems. We find lost people after a storm, and pets that have been lost or items that have been stolen. We catch thieves and other wrongdoers. So why should we suffer so much scorn?
Why do we bother helping people who don't seem to even want our help?
It makes no sense to me as I pay for my items and leave the store. There are so many people here, but they all look at me as though I'm crazy. It's blasphemy. This town used to be a famous Shinobi village, revering it's leaders as Hokage. The hokage of the past were still carved in stone at one side of the city, but they were graffitied and just a big mess to look at now. The first, second and third were all but destroyed, and the fourth was almost as badly destroyed. The fifth, Lady Tsunade, is still in rather good condition, but the sixth has been horribly destroyed since it was carved. The seventh Hokage, Naruto Uzumaki, was the crush of my great-great-great grandmother until she gave up and chose a member of the Inuzuka clan. Now, almost three generations since Naruto took the place of the fifth, no one remembers the time when this land was protected by shinobi warriors, and the few who do are members of the remaining shinobi populace, like me.
Kobashi Inuzuka is my name, and I wield both the kekkei genkai of my ancestors, the Hyuuga clan and the Inuzuka clan. A lot of thought involved, I get into the car and drive home. I hate these contraptions… They're a waste of space and pollute the air around them. Sometimes I think I could run faster than these contraptions will go.
Arriving at home, I walk in with the meagre amount of food I was sent out to get. "I'm back." I announce quietly as I take off my shoes and enter the small shabby dwelling. It makes me angrier than anything else to find that we're treated with such poverty for doing nothing but good for the people around us. From what I've heard, Suna is this way now as well.
"Arf!" A small dog hops onto my head just as soon as I enter the kitchen and I can't help a smile. Maruoka is my best friend and greatest ally. In fact, I don't know what I would do if it weren't for her.
"Hey girl… Did you miss me?" I say, scratching her behind the ears and making my way to the living room.
"Welcome back Kobashi." I hear from the corner and look over to find my cousin here for once.
"Arria, you never come here anymore."
"And you're not even happy to see me." A frown comes to her face and she stands up. "I guess I can get someone else for the mission we've been given…" she says, making her way toward the door I just came from.
"What? A mission!" I am astonished. The shinobi in this region have gone a record sixteen years without a recorded mission.
"Yeah. To securely take this nation's princess to a worldwide summit. If we do this, it might re-establish the popularity of the shinobi lifestyle again."
"I know… Where's dad?" I look around again and am surprised to see that my father isn't anywhere in the room.
"He left a while ago to make sure the other clans knew what was happening."
"Do the specs say anything about the enemy we might be facing?"
"Nothing. But it's a princess. They're probably taking every precaution they can think of."
"I guess…" Something was making me feel uncomfortable about this mission, so I couldn't help but be nervous about saying yes.
"Anyway, are you coming or not? It would be really useful to have your Byakugan technique with us."
Sighing internally, I finally accept the invitation to go on this important mission.
I wish someone would have told me right then that, if I accepted this mission, I would be aiding the beginning of the sixth shinobi world war.
We headed out almost immediately, wanting to get to the palace before dawn. That was nearly impossible without someone capable of warning about the obstacles ahead. Of course, that's what Arria intended to use me for.
My byakkugan scans the area ahead of us for enemies. When I spot one, I signal to Arria to change direction slightly to avoid them altogether if we can. I have the feeling that the trip to the palace tonight is going to be nothing compared to the trip to the northern tip of the Earth Country.
Thinking about it, I remember that we'll have to go slower then too, because we'll have the princess. Unless they decided that it's a good idea to have us ride in one of those awful vehicles. At which point I'll have to withdrawl from the mission as a whole.
I hate cars.
When we finally got there, hours after we left, I started to get the same uneasy feeling from earlier, a little bit worse though. Stopping, the older shinobi try to figure out a plan for who to send inside the palace. "I think Kobashi should go!" Arria states rather loudly. My cheeks turn bright red and Maruoka hides under the hood of my coat.
"What!"
"He's just a kid!"
"But so's the princess."
"So? We can't send a kid int o get the most important thing on this mission!"
"Yeah! That would be like putting him in charge of protecting her!"
"He is." After the sudden outburst, the rational voice of our current Shinobi leader startled everyone.
"WHAT!" Well, almost everyone.
"You heard me. Kobashi is the one in charge of staying with the princess on this trip and protecting her if or when the rest of us fail." She spoke with sincerity the rest of us could only dream of possessing, and I knew she was right. Everything she ever said was right, and she knew it somehow. 'If or when the rest of us fail'... I really didn't like the sound of that coming from the one person who probably knew more about the outcome of this mission than anyone else.
"Oh... Then I have to go inside to retrieve the princess?" I say lamely. Clearly that's what she meant by everything she said.
"Yes Kobashi, you do." Our leader regards me with a smile on her face, like she doesn't mind that I said something really lame. "Let me explain... Your father was supposed to get this task. He said that you would be better suited for it. I simply listened to his judgement."
"Oh... Okay... " That explains why dad wasn't home earlier.
"So, Kobashi, you get the most important part of the mission!" Arria is way too excited about this, but I smile at her and nod to the leader anyway, departing from the group slowly.
Me, protect the princess? Right. That's going to work so well.
I can almost see myself messing up already, even though I haven't even started the mission yet. Slowly I make my way up the steps the building before me, which looked rather unwelcoming for a palace, and step nervously inside.
Inside the half-collapsed building was a network of hallways that branched off from a main entrance hall that I could tell was once an astonishing sight. Like so many things in the land of Fire, it had seemingly been forgotten with all the technological advances of our current time. I sighed, wondering how such a wonderful place could ever fall into such a state of disrepair.
When I looked around at the place again, however, the reality of our mission finally came over me. This wasn't the princess. This was the Land of Fire's last princess. She was the last of her bloodline.
The last heir to the Uchiha clan is in my hands...
It wasn't even clear how the Uchiha clan had made such a comeback after Sasuke had abandoned the village before Naruto became Hokage. Even after the fourth shinobi world war, Sasuke hadn't returned to the village. Many years passed and people had thought the kekkei genkai of the Uchiha clan had finally died out when suddenly a young shinobi entered the village.
She had black hair and the Uchiha crest on the back of her dress, enlightening the rest of the village just a bit. That girl had been the best thing for us in the fifth world war that followed very closely after that. If it hadn't been for her advanced Sharingan abilities, the Land of Fire would have ceased to exist then.
Shaking my head, I realise that I need to stop thinking about these things. I need to find the way through this mess of broken hallways. Activating my Byakkugan again, I quickly locate the princess in one of the chambers toward the very back of the building. I quickly memorise the way there and begin forward, leaving the sturdy structure of the entrance hall behind very quickly. I don't trust this building to stay standing for much longer, no matter how elegant it once was.
Entering the chamber with the princess at last, Maruoka pops out of my hood again and barks happily, jumping down and going right up to the young princess. "Oh!" she gasps, lightly startled by the sudden appearance of the small dog. After a moment of surprise, she smiles and picks the puppy up. "You're such a small girl! How on earth did you get here all on your own?" she says, scratching Maruoka behind the ears and making the dog very happy.
Slowly, I enter the room from my hiding place among the shadowed entrance and call for Maruoka. "Come here..." I say quietly and she immediately comes to me, hopping to her normal place atop my head.
"Oh... She's yours?" The princess looks up at me, blue eyes sparkling.
"Yeah... My very best friend. Her name's Maruoka." I reply shyly.
"She's very cute and well-mannered." The dark-haired princess stands up and takes a few uncertain steps toward me. "Are you the one they've sent to pick me up?"
"Yes. My name's Kobashi Inuzuka."
"I see..." She takes a few more steps toward me, seeming a little more trusting than she was before. "You're so young..."
"All due respect, you're kind of young too."
The blue eyes grow wide for a moment and then she starts o laugh. It's a very musical sound and I'm relieved to hear it. I thought for sure she was going to be upset with me for saying something like that. "I guess I am kind of young, aren't I?" she says after a few seconds of the musical laughter. Before I know it she's standing right in front of me, no longer afraid. "Masaki Kuroi, last princess of the Land of Fire." she says, introducing herself at last.
I nod acknowledgement. "We should probably get going." I say, remembering that the entire guard is waiting for us outside. "Before we do that though, I should tell you. I am the shinobi they have designated to you. I will remain at your side throughout this journey, no matter the perils we encounter. If there is an enemy to be fought, I will remain at your side, protecting you until there are no others left to fight." I say, more bravery in the words than I actually felt.
There was no reason for me to have a sense of bravery for this mission. This was a task that had to be seen through to the very end. Our very way of life depended on it. And I was the one at the centre of it all with Princess Masaki.
If someone had told me this morning that, before I even had dinner, I would be conversing with the last Princess of the Land of Fire, I would have punched them for lying to me.
The thought made me smile.
Her voice brought me back to the present though. "I understand." she said, smiling a sweet smile of purest innocence. No way would I let this girl down. Her life depended on me, and my future depended on her safety.
Just a few minutes later we both emerged back into the courtyard of the palace where the rest of the guard were waiting for us. "Welcome back, Kobashi!" I heard Arria say happily as she saw me exit with the Princess. I simply smiled and waved at her a little, heading right to the leader.
The leader is actually kind of a stand in for the Hokage. We don't have a Hokage right now because we don't have enough influence in the area to warrant the need for a Hokage. Anymore, most ninja are rogue shinobi, bandits who steal anything they can get their grubby, defiled hands on.
Dishonourable swine.
We're not like that in the city though. We do what we can to protect the citizens from said rogue shinobi, and still keep our own honour and dignity. Well, as much of it as we can really keep when people keep calling us freaks and what-have-you...
It's a depressing time. "Are you ready to depart for the first checkpoint?" Kariin asked suddenly. I looked over at our leader and nodded my head, lifting the Princess onto my back. She smiled and accepted the position, though she looked rather uncomfortable to me.
"Sorry, Princess..." I said, following the rest of the group as we headed into the forest.
"Masaki, please." she replied a few moments later.
"Okay." I smile slightly, aware that the princess herself is allowing me to call her by name.
"Arf!" Maruoka yips loudly, snapping my attention back to the path. The puppy seems agitated by something and I can't help it when the feeling of dread creeps back into my stomach.
"Byakkugan!" I mutter, making the proper hand sign, and my vision instantly spreads to cover an unbelievable circumference around the group.
I can see where the group flanks out into three segments, and that myself and the Princess are right at the centre. I can see the city far behind us, and the temple that is our first checkpoint far ahead.
I can also see the enemies who have figured out our group. They're headed for the weaker support of the left flank. As I signal this to Kariin, I see her smile. She takes off in that direction and I watch her unique technique for myself as she battles off two bandits on her own. Eventually we throw them off.
Kariin comes back as quick as she left and I can see why people call her our current leader. She's very strong. "Are there any more between us and the temple?" she asks me. I smile and shake my head, not able to see anyone else in front of our group now. "Thank you." she replies, giving both myself and the Princess a small nod before going back to her position.
"Maruoka is very talented..." I hear from behind me. When I take the time to look, after deactivating my Byakkugan, I see that it was Arria who had spoken.
"Thank you." I say, a smile on my face. "you haven't seen her in action since before I was promoted, have you?"
"Nope. She's gotten really good! You both have though..."
Arria smiled at me again before drifting back off to her own position. The awkward feeling in my gut returns, so I decide to scan ahead again, finding new enemies near the temple on the other side. They're far enough away from it that I don't see us really having any trouble with them, but I decide to tell Kariin when we stop anyway.
The hours while by as we continue through the forest, and Masaki falls asleep on my shoulders, making her harder to carry. Eventually we emerge in a clearing right outside the checkpoint and Kariin tells me to go ahead and take the Princess inside. I do this rather eagerly, happy to get her off my back when she wakes up. "Are you okay?" I ask her.
She stifles a huge yawn before replying to me. "Yeah... I was just tired because I wasn't doing anything." she says, walking right up to the top of the stairs and stopping just inside the doors of the temple.