たすかハヤゾ！明かし！
Saruta runs a hand through his hair, wiping away his sweat. Panting, he slowly makes his way to a river, stooping down to wash his face. He keeps an eye out for his other teammates, Kotaro and Issun. He nods to himself before placing a hand in the shallow river, feeling the cool water and the mud under his fingertips. A somewhat serene smile grows on his face as he senses his sister's antics.
She was sitting under a tree by a dark-haired teen, discussing something with him, though Saruta didn't know what it was. He could see a genuine happiness in his sister's eyes―something he noticed whenever the two were together.
Saruta knows what his sister is feeling, even if she doesn't. He watches as the boy takes a strand of her cherry hair, messing with it, putting it into a braid. His sister smiles as she undoes the braid, her waist-length hair blowing in the passing breeze.
He chuckles to himself; shifting his hand around, moving on to a certain other girl that he'd been keeping an eye on. He finds her in the village leader's office, turning in paperwork, a smile on her face.
"Saruta!" a voice calls. Kotaro.
"Where are you?" a second one adds. Issun.
"Come out; come out wherever you are, Saruta!" his sensei trills.
He quickly pulls his hand out of the water, using a small stream of it to wash off the mud from his hand. He didn't want anyone to know he wasn't training―choosing to spy on his sister instead. She was in a different country, where he left her roughly eight years ago.
His sensei, Kobayashi Risako, is the first to find him. Her short, light pink hair is mussy from the wind blowing through as she ran to find him, and her matching eyes are full of amusement. "Spying again, huh?"
Saruta lets out a sound of surprise. "How'd you…"
Risako laughs lightly. "Your hand is wet, Saruta. What else would you be doing by a muddy river?"
Saruta groans, his head falling back toward the sky. His sensei, doubling as his adoptive mother, was the only one who knew that he wasn't really from Kusagakure―she was the only member of his team to know where he came from and all of his past. He was incredibly thankful she hadn't told the others.
Saruta dries his hand on his pants as Kotaro and Issun find them. "Hey, Saruta! Where've ya been?" Issun asks with a slight glare in his lavender eyes.
"Issun," Kotaro warns, "don't. He'll only kick your ass again."
Issun only chuckles in response, cracking his knuckles. He glances to Risako, who sighs, and nods, deciding to let them train.
"Before we start," Saruta steps back, into the river, "let me get my feet wet."
"Fine by…" Issun dodges a fist-sized rock aimed at his head. He laughs. "So, you're fighting like that today, huh?"
Saruta responds by throwing a mud ball at Issun, covering his eyes. While he's distracted, Saruta disappears, moving further down the river, bending the water around him to let him move silently away.
He can hear Risako and Kotaro's roaring laughter as he runs, not in the mood to train. He stops a few feet from the village, jumping to the side, heading to a nearby cave, where he can continue to spy on his sister and the members of her village.
His best spying was when he could connect to both of his elements―earth and water―at the same time. He pauses as he gets to the mouth of the damp cave, wondering if she could ever sense him watching her. Wondering if she had a sixth sense.
Saruta shakes his head, sitting down, legs crossed on the slightly damp dirt. He reaches out to the nearest cave wall, putting a tanned hand on it, ignoring the slimy feeling it gives him. He smiles, seeing his sister again. This time, she's with a girl with long pale blonde hair pulled into a ponytail.
The girl seems to be playfully teasing her about something, though Saruta doesn't know what it could be. Probably about her relationship with the dark-haired boy from earlier. He sees the other girl, from the village leader's office, walking toward them.
The blonde girl gives the other a glare, which the village office girl returns to her. They start shouting at each other, and it's at this time that Saruta wishes he could actually hear what they were saying. He sees his sister standing in between them, attempting to calm them down. They turn to her in unison, shouting at her briefly, before turning back to each other.
His sister turns away from them, giving up, probably going to her home. Their old home. The one he left years ago. The empty home.
Saruta shakes his head, taking his hand off the slimy wall. "Don't," he whispers to himself. "Don't think about that place. You'll only want to go back, and you know you can't. Get it together, Ha…" he stops himself.
That's not your name. Not anymore. That name died with them. Just like hers.
Saruta runs a hand through his strawberry hair, a tired sigh escaping his lips. He stands slowly, using the cave wall for what little support he can get. He returns to the village, taking his time getting home.
When he finally reaches the front door of Risako's apartment, he silently and slowly opens it. The lights are off and there are no sandals by the door as he steps inside, flicking on the light switch and slipping his shinobi sandals off his aching feet.
He glances around the quaint apartment. Risako kept it neat for the most part. Everything was in its own place in every part of the house… except for his room. The floor is clean, but his desks have with too many things that need put away.
Slowly, Saruta makes his way to his room, dreading the cleaning he has to do. Risako didn't often enter his room, but when she did, she expected it to be clean and neat; just like the rest of their apartment. He enters the room, wishing he could activate his clan's Kekkei Genkai so he could sense how many things were under his bed or around the room.
He groans to himself, checking under the bed, not seeing anything other than dirt. He stands, looking at his desk next, seeing so many papers covering it that they should've fallen over. He drags his feet, going through the pages, seeing what is important and what isn't, before crumpling it up, and tossing it into the empty trashcan in the corner of his room.
Saruta finishes cleaning off his desk, putting the important pieces of paper away in a cabinet off to the side of his desk. With a sigh, he leaves his room, going to the kitchen for a bottle of water. The wooden floors softly creak under his weight as he opens the fridge, grabbing a bottle of water.
He hears the front door open, a familiar feminine voice following it, "I'm home!"
Risako.
Saruta opens his bottle. "Welcome back!" he yells, closing the fridge.
Risako walks into the room as he takes in a large gulp of water. "What was she doing that was so interesting this time?"
Saruta takes another sip of water, grabbing a golden apple from the fruit basket on the white, shiny counter. "Well, she and that dark-haired guy were talking about something as he braided her hair. After that, I saw her with two other girls, who looked like they were arguing about something." He pauses, biting into the apple. "I wonder what they were arguing about."
Risako chuckles. "I don't know for sure, but I'd say it was a boy. Maybe they like the one your sister was with."
Saruta munches on his apple thoughtfully, nodding along. "Yeah, maybe."
Risako grabs a bottle of water from the fridge, wiping the excess water in Saruta's hair, earning a scowl from him as he moves his hand in the direction of the sink, willing the water into it.
"Why do you always do that?" he grumbles, crossing his arms over his chest.
She laughs again, a wide, slightly cat-like grin on her tanned skin, "Because I'm your mother, and I can, and you can't stop me."
Saruta sighs through his nose, taking another bite of his apple. "I'll be in my room."
He walks back into his room, shutting the door behind him. He can hear Risako making dinner in the kitchen and wonders what it'll be this time. Lying down on his bed, he looks to his nightstand, seeing the picture of his teammates with his sensei/mother.
Issun was glaring at the camera, Kotaro's expression was neutral, and Risako was grinning, her eyes closed, as she wrapped all of them in a hug. Saruta studies his own expression, seeing a certain joy in his eyes as he glances up to his sensei. They'd changed a lot within that year. He and Issun still didn't quite get along, but when they went on missions, their teamwork was almost flawless―according to Risako, at least.
Saruta studies the picture further. Issun's blonde hair was in a ponytail, his bangs kept out of his eyes with the use of his forehead protector. Kotaro's gray eyes were dull and nearly covered by his light turquoise hair, which reached the base of his neck. Saruta, unlike the rest of his teammates, had short red hair that spiked up, in a gravity-defying style.
Risako's hair was a bit longer in the picture, reaching just past her shoulders, as opposed to her now chin-length style. It was naturally what she still likes to call "fluffy," but it wasn't as bad in the photo. Saruta studies her face. Risako looked young―in her early to mid-twenties.
Saruta nods to himself, rolling onto his back. She still doesn't look very old. I wonder what people think when they hear I'm her son.
A knock on his door forces him up. Risako pokes her head into the room, glancing around. "Good job keeping it clean, Saru[4]. I'm proud of you." She smiles at him, "Dinner's ready, by the way."
Saruta steps to the door as she moves out of his way. "Thanks, mom."
[4] Saru means "Monkey;" Risako's nickname for Saruta, who is named after the Shinto god of earth
[A/N] Okay! Here's the second chapter! I'd like to apologize for the long wait that I forced you guys to endure. Anyways, how many of you guys can tell if I conjugated the chapter title right? When I put it into several translators, it turned out right, but I want a person to tell me if I'm right or wrong. It would mean the world to me!
Feel free to review, favorite, and all that other stuff... If you want to, that is. I obviously can't force you to do anything against your will.
I love you guys! Hopefully the next chapter will be out soon... I say that like I know what I want to do with chapter three... Anyways, have a nice week! See you soon! :)