Lonely Petals, Chapter Two: So Cold
"I hate, therefore I am. It's nothing personal, I just hate you." Unknown
Nagataka tapped his foot as he slowly turned the fish he had caught over the open fire just on the inside of the small cave. "When did you become a chuunin, Tsume?"
The bedridden Inuzaka glanced at the man she had named, "Why do you want to know?"
The amnesiac shrugged, "Curiosity, mostly. But also because I'm very, very bored. So are you going to tell me, or am I going to have to hazard a guess?"
Tsume grumbled a bit, "It was around two or so years ago, I was thirteen at the time."
"So you're fifteen now?" asked Nagataka.
Tsume nodded slightly, "Although I'll turn sixteen in the middle of August." She glanced longingly at the fish that were cooking. "Um...are those...you know..."
Nagataka smirked slightly, "Are you that hungry, Tsume?" He heard an answering stomach growl, as well as an embarrassed expression on his fellow cave-dweller's face. "I'll take that as a yes. Do you think you can sit up, or do you want me to feed you?"
Tsume growled softly as she struggled to sit up, "I think I'd rather starve than have you feed me, Nagataka."
The black haired man smiled in amusement as he assisted the female chuunin in her attempt to sit up. "Is that so?" he said. "Why do I not believe you?"
Tsume's stomach growling was all the answer anyone needed for that question.
Nagataka smiled softly as he watched Tsume fall once again into a deep and dreamless sleep. Seeing her shiver, he reached out and gently tucked the blankets he had wrapped her in tighter to her frame.
A cold gust of air blew into the cave, one that seemed to chill the very bones of his body. Glancing out of the entrance to the cave, he noticed the trees that were swaying slightly in the wind. The leaves rustled in the orange light of the setting sun, almost musical in the way they rubbed against each other.
That was when he noticed that the cold gust of air that had assaulted him had blown in from a different direction than the way the trees were swaying.
"For some odd reason," said Nagataka, "I'm feeling a little bit of deja vu."
Twirling one of Tsume's kunai's around his finger, he casually strolled out from the mouth of the cave. He smirked slightly as he felt he sensed someone glaring murderously at him.
The leaves of the trees started to quiet down, but not due to the wind dying down, as that force of nature remained at a constant speed. Instead, a thin layer of frost started to envelope the trees, choking their movement as if from within.
Wasting no time, Nagataka threw the kunai to his left, a puff of smoke and a kawarimi no jutsu log substitution confirming his suspicions. Not one to sit around and wait for an attack, he used chakra to launch himself through the underbrush towards his attacker, his hands flying through seals as he did so.
"Suiton: Mizurappa (Water Style: Raging Waves)!" he thought as water rushed like a raging torrent from his mouth towards his assailant.
However, the still unknown attacker was quick to freeze the water style jutsu before it had even touched them. Unfortunately for that one, Nagataka used this distraction to his advantage by leaping over the attack after it had been performed, kicking off a tree with one foot, and tackling the ice user to the ground.
The attacker tried to fight back, but Nagataka was stronger and quicker than they were, and was able to, after a brief struggle, hold the former assailant captive.
"Now tell me," Nagataka whispered in the ear of the dark haired woman wearing a mask that lay pinned beneath him, "what's a nice lady like you attacking a couple of wayward travelers?"
"I can't let you," panted the woman, "get any closer to the village. If the Mist were to find out where we are..."
"Is that some kind of drug cartel or something?" asked Nagataka.
"You don't know what the Mist Village is?" the woman asked incredulously.
"Enlighten me," Nagataka drawled.
"It is," a deep male voice said from behind Nagataka and the woman, "one of the five great shinobi villages. For some reason or another, the Mist has been committing genocide against those who have kekkai genkai."
"I see," Nagataka said. He looked back down at the woman before turning her around to face him. Taking off her mask, he was pleased to discover that she was quite the attractive woman. "In that case, my lady ice princess, I will be needing some sort of payment to let you go, and without telling anyone about your village."
The woman glared at him, "Since you seem to have me at a disadvantage, I guess I have no choice. What do you want then? Money? Power?"
Nagataka smirked, before leaning down and gently kissing the woman on the lips. "Not much," he said, "just something by which to inflate my male ego."
The woman he had kissed promptly slapped him, pushed him off of her, stood up, and ran away while sporting a large blush.
"You have a way with women, mister...?" said the silver haired man who had decided to reveal his appearance.
Nagataka smirked in response. "It's just my natural charm, I think. And it's Nagataka."
The silver haired man crossed his arms as he leaned against a tree. "You think it's your natural charm? You mean you're not sure about that yet?"
Nagataka shrugged, "I really don't know who I am, as I seem to be suffering a bad case of amnesia right about now."
A single eyebrow rose. "If that's true, how do you know your name?"
"I don't," replied Nagataka, "Tsume gave it to me."
The man sighed with relief, "So she did survive that fall. You have my thanks, Nagataka."
Nagataka waved his hand as if to brush away the comment, "No need to mention, Konoha Ninja Person."
"I would assume that's a very unsubtle way of asking me what my name is, then?" asked the silver haired man in an amused tone.
"You would assume correctly then," Nagataka said with a smile.
The man held out his hand, and Nagataka shook it. "The name's Sakumo. Hatake Sakumo."
TBC
AN: Yeah...been a while, huh?
You know how it goes, real life stuff. Not going to elaborate, as it would take more words than what this whole fic has got at this point in time.
Hope ya'll enjoy the chapter.