CHAPTER TWO
Sixteen years later...
"So whaddya think?" The sixteen year old Kunoichi grinned at the man across the counter as she watched the crown of his head move from left to right, examining the diamond.
She had seen some shady places in her life but this one took the cake. She glanced over her shoulder at the two men standing by the door. One had a crop of short, dull, black hair and dark eyes, and donning a simple blue suit. The other had short, spiky light-brown hair and dark eyes with a cross shaped scar on his right cheek.
The man across the counter set the loupe down and looked across at the young woman. "I'll give you 74000 yen for it."
Was this guy for real?
She slapped her hands down on the counter. "You're kidding, right? That's half the going rate!"
"Take it or leave it, kid."
She huffed and took the small diamond from the man's hands and turned to leave, but stopped when he called her back.
"Fine, I'll double it."
A smirk formed on her lips and she turned around to face him. He scowled at her but chose not to say anything. Instead, he turned and headed to the back of the building. A moment later he return with a small stack of bills and placed it down in front of her.
Yuna's smile widened. "It was a pleasure doing business with you, old man."
As she turned to leave, the other two men in the room blocked the exit.
She let out a heavy sigh. "Oh, come on," she said as she stuffed the wad of bills into her back pouch. "Look, we can do this the easy way or the hard way."
The two men lurched toward her.
"Guess it's the hard way." She said, and got into a fighting stance.
~MINE TO TAKE~
Yuna exited the pawn shop and dusted off her hands while the three men inside who attempted to attack her lay crumpled on the floor.
She pulled the wad of bills out from her pouch and snickered evilly as she counted each and every bill in her hand.
"You know, dad's gonna be angry if he finds out you're pawning off another one of your diamonds," the familiar voice said behind her.
Yuna gasped in surprise and whirled to find Ataru, her older adoptive brother approaching. He was taller than her and had short spiky brown hair and light brown eyes with slightly tanned skin.
She pursed her lips at him. How was he so stealthy? She hadn't even sensed him getting close.
She'd known Ataru for a long time, and her family had taken him in as one of their own when he had no place to call home. They were beyond close and whenever she needed someone to talk to or lean on, she knew she could always count on him.
Yuna placed her hands together and with a large smile said, "Please don't tell dad. He'll ground me for life."
"It's forbidden, Yuna," he muttered disapprovingly.
"I know," she replied in a small voice, not wanting the reminder.
After a moment, Ataru sighed and shook his head at her, amused but exasperated, too. "Fine, just don't do it again, okay?"
"I promise."
"We should get moving," he said and pointed over his shoulder with his thumb. "Mom and dad are waiting for us."
She nodded and she followed him back to the main road.
"By the way," she said, "did you have any luck?"
"Actually, yes," he replied and reached into his bag and pulled out a book: Icha Icha Paradise. "I had to look at three different places to find the one you were wanting. Did you know you have to be eighteen to get this?"
"I did," she grinned. "Which is why I sent you on that important mission. Now, gimme, gimme."
She squealed with delight and took the book from his hand and held it up toward the sky. "Finally!"
When she saw her parents waiting at the main road, she broke into a run. Judging by the expression on her mother's face, she was not at all happy.
Nariko Katayama was a beautiful, charming woman with long, flowing black hair and teal colored eyes. But despite her indisputable beauty, she could be extremely frightening when upset.
"Sorry we're late," she smiled nervously.
Apparently Nariko wasn't in the mood for small talk. She stopped inches from the young kunoichi with her hands on her hips.
"You know better than to up and leave by yourself, especially without telling anyone!" she said, her voice almost a shout, making Yuna wince. "I was worried sick about you!"
Yuna rolled her eyes. "Don't be such a worry wart. I'm not some child who needs-"
Her sentence was cut short when her father smacked her upside the head. "Ow!" She cried, and wheeled her head towards her father. "What was that-"
Yuna stopped herself before she could say anything more and swallowed hard. Her father could be equally as frightening as her mother.
Her father was a tall, lean-built, light-skinned man, with short shoulder length black hair that hung over both sides of his face to roughly frame his cheeks, and brown eyes. He was a man with strong morals and ethics and believed people should be honest and upfront about their feelings, like him. What she loved about him the most was that he was a kind hearted man who was willing to help people in need and was always there for the people he cared about.
"Don't disrespect your mother, Yuna. You made her worry. Now, apologize."
Yuna turned her attention back to her mother. "I'm sorry, momma," she said sincerely. "I'm sorry I acted on my own like that. Next time I'll make sure to bring Ataru with me."
Nariko's anger seemed to diffuse and she sighed wearily.
"Well, at least you're okay. That's all that matters."
"We should get going," her father said. "I want to arrive at the Leaf Village before sundown."
~MINE TO TAKE~
Yuna let out a shaky gasp as her eyes scanned the village critically. Much of the village including the Hokage Rock and the city behind it had been destroyed.
"How horrible," Nariko whispered.
"I heard the village was in terrible shape, but I never thought it would be to this extent." Ataru said.
"Looks like we have our work cut out for us." Masaru said. "But it can be accomplished if everyone works together."
As Yuna stood there frozen like a statue, she caught a movement from the corner of her eye. A colorful ball rolled to her feet. She picked it up as the young boy made his way toward her.
"I take it this belongs to you?" Yuna asked with a smile.
The young boy nodded his head silently a small blush forming on his cheeks as he took the ball from her hands.
"T-thank you."
She placed a hand on top of his head and ruffled his hair. "Don't mention it." She said, and his blush deepened.
Yuna watched as the boy scurried off and smiled to herself. She loved kids. She liked being around them, talking to them and playing games with them. And when she would begin to teach them the Water Surface Walking Practice, she enjoyed seeing their smiling faces and the excitement in their eyes.
Suddenly a loud voice behind them shouted, "Who are you four?"
They turned to see a young man in his twenties, with short, black spiky hair and blue eyes. He wore the standard Konohagakure flak jacket, along with a black long sleeved shirt paired with matching pants and sandals.
Her father straightened and stepped toward the cautious shinobi.
"I'm Masaru from the Hidden Sand Village and this is my family," he said. "I was hired by Konoha to rebuild the village."
Gradually his shoulders relaxed and the tension left his face. "Yes, the Hokage has been expecting you all," he said and motioned to follow him. "Please, follow me."
The sounds of construction echoed all around them. Other nail guns popped in the distance, hammers drove against wood, and voices bellowed for supplies over the racket. The villagers were working hard to recover from the effects of the tragedy that had taken place.
"Please pardon our run-in earlier," he said. "We're still a little on edge."
"There weren't any guards from the Leaf around and finding the village in such a state we were shocked and wondered what had happened."
"It was the work of an organization by the name of Kara."
"Kara?" Yuna scoffed, interlacing her fingers behind her head as she walked. "What a lame name for an organization. They could've at least put some more thought into it. You know, something that strikes fear into the hearts of men."
The male shinobi turned his attention to her. "Be that as it may, they were still formidable foes."
"I can see that," Yuna replied.
"I assume the Hokage has dealt with this Kara organization?"
"Actually," the man said, "It was his son, Boruto."
"Eh?" She gazed at him, her eyes widening. "He must be really strong if he managed to single handedly take down a whole organization."
"He is the Hokage's son after all." The pride is obvious in his voice.
Yuna turned her gaze to the remnants of the obliterated Hokage Rock. "Boruto…"
~MINE TO TAKE~
The Seventh Hokage sat back against his chair wearily. The past few months had been nothing but pure and utter hell, and running with little to no sleep wasn't helping his case.
The village was going under a lengthy rebuilding process after Kawaki's attack and much of Konoha's population had suffered greatly, giving him no choice but to request outside help.
He'd known Kawaki for a few years, and he never would've thought that he'd be capable of doing something like this.
And Boruto, the village hero. He held nothing but pride for his son, but also sadness. Boruto and Kawaki were like brothers. And when Boruto couldn't pull him back from the darkness, he had no other choice but to take him out.
Naruto let out a heavy sigh. There was no point in dwelling in the past now. It was time to focus on the task at hand: rebuilding the village.
Just then a sharp knock on the door broke him out of his thoughts and he instantly snapped to attention, turning to face the source of the sound.
"Come in."
"The door swung inward to reveal Shikamaru, sporting his short goatee.
"Forgive the intrusion Lord Hokage," he said with a slight bow. "But the carpenter you'd requested and his family have arrived."
"Thank you, Shikamaru. Send them in."
"Yes, Lord Hokage." Shikamaru turned and left the room. He reentered shortly after with two males and two females. All bowed in respect as Shikamaru took a standing position next to him.
"It's a pleasure to meet you, Lord Hokage. I greatly appreciate you taking my family and myself into your village despite the recent events that occurred here."
"Thank you," Naruto said. "And the pleasure is all mine."
The first thing Yuna noticed about the Hokage was his chakra. It felt warm and bright. And for some odd reason, he made her feel comfortable. He was a couple inches taller than her father, with blond, short spiky hair, blue eyes and three whisker markings on his cheeks.
She had read about him in her old village, heard stories about him from the Kazekage. He was the jinchūriki of the Nine-Tailed Fox and had proved to be one of the main factors in winning the Fourth Shinobi World War.
"Yuna!"
Her father's voice broke through her daydream and brought her back to reality in a hurry.
"What? Oh, sorry! What did you say?" she asked sheepishly as she realized they had been talking to her.
The Hokage shook his head and laughed.
"Come on space case, you do that on a mission and you could end up dead."
Yuna's face split in a toothy grin much more characteristic of his younger self and he smiled.
"No need to worry, Lord Hokage. I'm perfectly capable of holding my own."
"Don't act so smug, Yuna." Her father chastised. "The Hokage was about to issue you and Ataru's new headbands."
Yuna's gaze landed on the forehead protector, baring the leaf symbol, laying on the Hokage's desk. This was it, her first day as a leaf ninja. Her new start at a village.
"The two of you are officially shinobi of this village now. You two will protect and help this village maintain the Will of Fire." The Hokage held out the headbands.
"The Will of Fire?" Ataru asked, not understanding. He took hold of the headband and looked down at it. Yuna did the same and waited for the Hokage to answer his question. She too was trying to understand, but it seemed he wanted them to figure it out for themselves.
After a moment, Yuna looked at the Hokage. "I think I understand," she said. "We have a similar philosophy at our old village. The entire village is like a large family unit and every Konoha shinobi with the Will of Fire loves, believes, cherishes, and fights to protect the village."
The Hokage nodded. "This is what gives Konohagakure shinobi the strength to continue fighting against all odds, building willpower and strength of character. It is also symbolic of the hopes and dreams of the previous generation being passed to the next."
Yuna nodded and removed her old headband and replaced it with the Leaf's. "I understand. I will protect this village and its people. You have my word."
"Same here," Ataru said.
"Since the both of you were a team in your previous village, I'll keep things as is," he said. "I'm currently in the process of assigning the last member to your team so bear with me. In the meantime, Ataru you will be assigned to the medical team along with Nariko."
They nodded their heads in affirmation.
The Hokage turned his attention to Nariko. "I'm sorry to have to pull you out of retirement, Nariko. At the moment, the village is in dire need of medical-nin."
A smile graced Nariko's lips. "No need to apologize, Lord Hokage. I fully understand the situation. That's what we're here for."
The Hokage shared her smile and nodded.
Yuna pointed to herself. "And me?" Her eyes were bright with excitement.
"I have a mission for you already in mind. I want you to be on standby until I call you."
She gave him a sharp, one-handed salute. "Ou!"
"Now that we got that out of the way, I'll have one of the teams here escort you all to your destinations." The Hokage said and turned toward the door. "You three can come in now."
Just then the door opened and three shinobi walked in. They all appeared to be around her age. Her eyes landed to the boy who bore a great resemblance to the Hokage. This must be his son.
He had spiky, blond hair, blue eyes with a large scar across his right eye, and two whisker markings on each of his cheeks. He wore a black cloak over a tracksuit that had red stripes around the hems of his jacket and pants with a brown leather belt with a black sheath for his sword and brown shinobi boots.
The girl beside him wore a sleeveless, buttoned dull red dress bound by a yellow tie and a white belt with black fingerless glove on her right hand, a black arm warmer on her left arm and a pair of black ankle-length, open-toed high-heeled sandals. She had onyx eyes covered by a pair of red glasses and shoulder-length hair that was parted to the right, and tucked behind her ear.
And lastly, the boy beside her with tousled white-blue hair, thin eyebrows, with golden eyes, and a pale complexion. His attire consisted of a loose-fitting two-toned light and dark blue kimono shirt with billowing, overlong sleeves, tied by a thick khaki-grey Ono-stylised belt, and a pair of navy pants. In addition to his outfit, he wore black long fingerless gloves and black calf-length shinobi sandals.
"I'd like you all to meet Team 7. Sarada, Mitsuki, and my son, Boruto." The Hokage said. "The Katayama's are the newest addition to our village so please make them feel welcome."
Yuna took a big step toward Boruto. "Yo! I'm Yuna," she said, offering a hand for him to shake. "No wonder the sky is grey today, all the blue is in your eyes."
Her mother placed a hand on her forehead and shook her head, embarrassed by her daughter's flirtatiousness. "Oh, Yuna."
Ataru rolled his eyes.
Boruto's cheeks burned with a faint but noticeable blush and he leaned back away from her in surprise. Clear, bright-teal, enthusiastic eyes met his. They were the most extraordinary color—guileless, powder-teal—and for one awful moment, he thought she could see right through him. He felt…exposed. The thought was unnerving.
Sarada turned her head slightly and giggled before nudging him playfully in the side. "I guess there's still hope for you and that ugly mug of yours, neh, Boruto?"
Boruto frowned and rolled his eyes.
"Please excuse my daughter's behavior," Masaru apologized, "She can be rather eccentric and unpredictable at times."
Sarada laughed and shook Yuna's hand. "I'm Sarada. If you ever need anything just let me know and I'll be happy to help."
"Thank you," she replied.
"My name is Mitsuki. It's a pleasure to meet you."
"Likewise."
Sarada pointed her thumb over at Boruto and said, "Don't mind, Boruto. He's been a little grumpy lately."
"Oi, Sarada!" Boruto growled.
"Anyway," The Hokage said from his seat. "Mitsuki, if you could please escort Masaru to the construction area. Sarada, you're to take Nariko and Ataru to the medical team. And Boruto, if you can please show Yuna where they will be staying."
Team Seven nodded.
"Well then," he said, glad this meeting was finally over. "You are dismissed."
She was about to follow Boruto out the door when the Hokage called her back.
"Yuna, a moment of you time, please."
"Is something the matter?"
"Not at all," he reassured. "I just want to discuss a few things with you that were brought to my attention."
"Okay…"
"The Kazekage has informed me of the tension between your father's clan and that of you and your mother being the last remaining survivors of the Hoga Clan."
He folded his large hands and set them on the desk, evenly meeting the gaze of her teal eyes.
"I want to assure you that you and your mother are safe in this village. If by chance the Katayama clan should attempt anything I'll handle it accordingly."
Yuna nodded slowly.
"I'm also aware of the two Kekkei Genkai's you possess."
Boruto wheeled his attention to the girl beside him. This girl possessed two Kekkei Genkais?
"The same rule applies as it did in Sunagakure," the Hokage continued. "If others got wind of your ability it could pose a potential threat to you."
Yuna nodded again. "Yes, Hokage-Sama."
The Hokage stood from his seat and moved towards her before placing a hand on her head. "As tempting as it may seem to use that ability, you need to refrain from using it." He said. "I just don't want to see one my village children get hurt, okay?"
Yuna promised that she wouldn't and thanked the Hokage as she was dismissed. She and Boruto walked down the hall, down the stairs, and out the door.
"Your dad seems nice," she smiled, walking quickly to fall into step with Boruto.
He said nothing, just gazed up ahead.
She interlaced her hands behind her back and leaned forward with a grin. "Must be cool having a father who's respected by the entire village."
Again, he said nothing.
"You don't say much, do you?"
"When I have nothing to say, I don't say anything." Boruto answered simply, keeping his gaze focused ahead of him.
She inwardly sighed. He really disliked her for some reason, Yuna thought morosely. Everything she said seemed to irritate him. She was used to being disliked by her father's clan, but at a new village? The knowledge was disheartening.
Open and cheerful, she was eager to please and desperate to be liked. She was the kind of person who could get along with anyone, but she had a fear of being disliked, even by people she disliked.
The hatefulness she received from her father's side, while hellish at the time, proved to be her crucible, forcing her to develop the formula she needed for future success. She learned that flaming ambition combined with grinding hard work and enduring stamina would reap rich rewards.
She'd kept a diary since she was just a small child and she'd remembered writing, 'I wonder if I'll ever be able to earn their respect. She was always frustrated with herself, thinking she wasn't doing enough. She just had to achieve.
But with Boruto, they seemed like oil and water; incompatible personalities. He was so cold, so unfeeling, complete opposite of his father, and it made her nervous. Even so, Yuna could see something was troubling him. His jaw was tight, his lips pressed to a thin line. She didn't even know him yet, but she already hated seeing him like this.
"We're here," his voice interrupted her thoughts and she lifted her gaze to his. "This is where you'll be staying."
It was a cute two-story wooden house surrounded by trees and a small river not far from the house. The landscape could use some work, but it certainly had potential not to mention is was a place to call home.
Boruto reached into his pocket and handed her a single key. With that, he turned to go but stopped when she spoke.
"Um, Boruto," she said quietly. "I know we don't know each other very well right now, but if you ever want to talk—need to talk—I'm here."
He turned and narrowed his eyes at her. "Why does everyone feel the need to make me talk?" he asked, frustrated.
"It's just...I can tell something is bothering you. I'm sure others have noticed as well. Talking could help."
"Me or them? I'm sick and tired of everyone and their pity."
"I'm sure no one is pitying you. They're just concerned."
"I'm really not in the mood for this." he said and made the hand seals for a teleportation jutsu.
As he disappeared in a puff of smoke, Yuna pulled down her right lower eyelid and stuck out the tongue, saying "Beh-da!"