|-|Nothing is Forever|-|
|Part Two|
"Hello," he said.
It wasn't his tone of voice that made her wary of this stranger, it was the smile. It was fixed to his face in false way, making him look as if he were mocking others. The other reason would be for the weapon strapped to his back.
When she didn't respond, the smile slipped a little.
As he approached her, her throat tightened, as if she needed to shout or scream, but couldn't. Her fingers had gripped the bench she sat on, but it was like they had turned to stone, unable to move from their position.
Somewhere in the back of her mind, she wondered where the guards were. Clearly he was an intruder; he hadn't come through the front. Somebody should have noticed that he had managed to get to their house.
Oh, she thought, I did.
She noticed the shiny thing on his head was a headband with a metal plate. Engraved was the symbol for the Leaf Village. When he came to a stop in front of her, he crouched down.
"Could you tell me how to get to Konoha?" he asked.
Her fear crumbled almost completely.
"Why?" she asked, her voice quiet.
He stared at her for a moment before smiling like before. He pointed to his headband and said, "Because I've lost my team."
The word team along with his gesture didn't make sense to her, but if he didn't leave soon, someone might see and alert her father that she was talking alone with a boy. Not that he looked much like any boy she'd seen. His eyes looked older.
"Would it be enough if I showed you the direction?" she asked. Being so close to him, she felt like she needed something between them. A barrier, of sorts. Her shoulders curved out, as if she wanted to hide.
"That would work," he said and stood up.
Stiffly, Tamiko rose from her seat. "You can see what I mean easier from a height. Follow me and we can climb to the roof," she said. The roof was also a perfect place to escape unwanted eyes.
He complied silently, walking about three steps behind her. A particular side of the house had boxes piled up and the stone on the wall was from a fireplace inside. At an early age, she had discovered it made for a rather easy climb.
As soon as she clambered on one of the wooden crates, he had jumped from his position on the ground to being perched on the roof.
She stared at him with her mouth hanging open in a most unlady-like manner.
He held out a glove-clad hand towards her. "Here," he said.
Unsure of herself, Tamiko lightly placed her hand in his. He wasted no time, however, and yanked her up to the roof.
This made them very close.
"Is this a good spot?" he asked, turning away from her to look around.
With an unusually warm face, she shook her head. Realizing he couldn't see her, she said, "No, we need to get higher."
She started walking towards the second level roof. In mere seconds, he had appeared on the top by himself.
"Which direction?" he asked, looking down at her.
She pointed to her left, at an angle. "Do you see mountains?" she asked.
He squinted against the fading light. "Konoha?" he asked.
She nodded. "Yes," she said, since he wasn't looking at her anymore.
"Thank you," he said, smiling again. This time it seemed a little more real. "Goodbye."
With another blur of movement, he had disappeared into the trees.
"And you just let him go?" Aiko exclaimed, her eyebrows forced together to make a bewildered expression.
"But if—"
"What if he was dangerous?" she continued, scolding her friend. The other students in the hallway would glance over, but continue walking. Aiko was generally loud.
"He's a shinobi, there's no way he'd let stay alive if he needed to kill her," Taichi said, filling out some of his mathematics homework. It was their next class.
"Shinobi?" Tamiko questioned.
"How long have you been living here?" he asked. "Sheesh. If what you said about his headband was correct, then he's a shinobi. They're like an army, almost. They protect the land they're a part of. He was wearing a Leaf symbol, so he wouldn't kill you anyways, since you're in the Fire Country."
"Wow, really?" Aiko asked, looking completely enthralled.
"You've got to be kidding me," he muttered, writing down another answer.
Hope you liked it :) it'll get more interesting...I think.
Jen
