Searching for Destiny
Chapter 2: An Interesting Proposition
DISCLAIMER: I do not now, nor have I ever, owned Naruto.
They skidded to a halt as two masked ANBU appeared before them. "Katsu!" Haruka said and the two split up, Haruka going left and Kyoko going right.
The two ANBU split as well, each following a girl. Kyoko ran as fast as she could, darting from shadow to shadow almost too quickly for the ANBU to follow. One of her kunai glinted silver in the night as she threw it at the ANBU, a quick dodge the only thing that saved him from a killing blow. She cursed under her breath and threw two more kunai, one aiming for the heart, the other a few feet away. When he dodged her first throw he landed right in the path of the second kunai and it hit him in the leg. He cursed and fell, loosing Kyoko in the shadows.
Haruka ran, the cut behind her knee stinging slightly. She glanced back and saw the ANBU close on her tail. She sighed and grabbed a few senbon, waiting for the moment. She came to the edge of a building and turned, throwing the senbon the moment she began to fall. She turned gracefully in the air, watching the ground come closer and closer. At the last moment she forced her chakra out of her body, slowing her fall and allowing her to land safely on her feet. She looked up and sighed in relief to see that the ANBU was no longer following. She looked down the alley she'd landed in both ways before creeping silently toward the street.
She found herself in a courtyard of a large compound. She stopped suddenly, hiding in the shadows as a guard walked into view. She watched with wide eyes as he passed her by and disappeared from view. She let out her breath in silent relief, glancing cautiously around the courtyard before flitting from shadow to shadow. She had almost reached the far wall when a noise behind her mode her freeze. She turned slowly, her eyes wide with fear. A young man stood before her, his white eyes shining in the darkness. His long dark hair was loose and flowing slightly in the light breeze. "Forgive me." Haruka said, bowing without taking her eyes off the person in front of her. "I was racing one of my friends over the rooftops and I fell into your courtyard. Please forgive the intrusion"
"You fell into the courtyard?" The young man asked with a hint of sarcasm in his voice.
"Yes..." Haruka said, her eyes scanning the darkness, searching the darkness for others.
"There's no one else here." He said. "And you must be quite lucky to survive a fall off our roof. It's quite high." Haruka sighed. "You're a Hyuuga." She said, finally recognizing his white eyes. "Very observant." He said, watching her warily.
"Is it too much to assume you'll just let me be on my way? I really had no intention of finding myself in your courtyard tonight." "Why was an ANBU chasing you"
"I don't know." She said honestly. "Probably because I'm leaving this village without your Hokage's permission"
"Why are you leaving?" He asked.
"I have no place here." She said. "This is not my home. Forgive me." She said one last time before jumping onto the wall and using her chakra to climb it swiftly. The young man followed her and she shook her head unhappily. It looks like this is just my night for chasing. She thought wearily. She fled swiftly, the Hyuuga right on her heels. "I have no quarrel with you or this Village." She called back to him. "Please leave me be." She stumbled on a roof tile and he was immediately on her. She blocked his attacks, careful not to let him touch her. She knew all about the Hyuuga fighting style and she was in no mood to have her chakra points blocked. She managed to kick him in the chest, causing him to fly back. She raced ahead, thanking the heavens that he didn't have any weapons. She dodged from roof to roof, trying to stay in the shadows as much as possible out of habit. Two ANBU appeared before her and she cursed before turning to the right only to be blocked again. Another ANBU appeared from behind and she sighed unhappily. She turned around to see the Hyuuga stopping a few roof tops away, watching the scene. "What do you want of me?" Haruka asked wearily. "The Hokage wishes to see you." One of the ANBU said.
Haruka laughed bitterly. "All of this just for a chat? Very well; lead me on"
Two of the ANBU grabbed her arms and led her away. Haruka watched the Hyuuga as she passed him, her eyes blank of emotion.
"They got you too huh?" Kyoko asked as Haruka was brought into the Hokage's office.
"Clearly the Konoha ANBU's talents are superior to our own." Haruka said, sitting next to her friend. They sat silently, watching the two ANBU guards cautiously. Five minutes passed in silence before the door opened again and a woman with blonde hair entered the room. Haruka and Kyoko glanced at each other briefly before the Hokage took her seat behind her desk. "Sakamoto Haruka and Muraki Kyoko, rogue ninja from Kirigakure no Sato and Iwagakure no Sato respectively. Imagine our surprise when we discovered that the two young girls our ANBU rescued turned out to be dangerous criminals"
"Please Lady Hokage, we are hardly dangerous." Haruka said softly.
"I believe those men you met in the forest would disagree with you. None survived the encounter." Tsunade said.
"Those men were bandits that attacked us without provocation. We were within our rights to defend ourselves and as the matter stands we barely escaped alive." Haruka said.
"That being the case you still lied to the ninja I sent to question you"
"We would be foolish not to. The Villages we left were not allies of Konoha and considering our current exiled situations it would be very unwise to divulge all information to an unknown ninja." Haruka said, her eyes flickering toward the windows and door.
"So why were you trying to sneak out of the village in the middle of the night"
"We are not welcome in most Shinobi Villages. We thought to flee before you discovered our identities, obviously we failed." Haruka said. "It's difficult Lady Hokage, constantly being on the run. But we have no other choice so please; just let us go on our way"
Tsunade nodded, thinking. "You have both proved that you are talented ninja..." She said, almost to herself. She looked up from the papers on her desk and studied the two girls in front of her. "What would you two say if I offered to let you two stay in Konoha?" She asked.
Kyoko laughed before she could stop herself. "I'd ask what the catch was"
Tsunade smiled and nodded. "Well there is a bit of a catch. I have a mission I need done and I think you to have the perfect skills for the job"
Haruka frowned slightly, leaning toward the Hokage. "What's the mission"
"There is a group of rogue ninja that escaped Konoha a few months ago; I know that you were a hunter in Kirigakure so this should be right up your ally"
"How many ninja are we talking about?" Haruka asked.
"Five"
"Their ranks"
"Mostly s-ranked"
Haruka nodded and turned toward Kyoko. They looked at each other for a moment before Kyoko nodded slightly. Haruka sighed and turned back to Tsunade. "I have only one request"
"What"
"Send a Hyuuga with us. Kyoko and I are skilled in hunting and tracking, mostly because we've needed to cover our tracks so often, but if these ninja get wind that we are coming after them we will need more help"
"And why a Hyuuga"
"Their Byakugan is one of the most astounding and powerful kekki genkai. It would be useful for spotting traps and disabling opponents." Haruka said.
Tsunade nodded. "Very well; I will send a Hyuuga with you. You will leave tomorrow." The girls nodded and the two ANBU escorted them out of the room. They took them to a small room with two beds and a small bathroom in a room next to it.
"You will stay here for the night. I suggest you get some sleep, this won't be an easy mission." One of the ANBU said before leaving and locking the door behind them.
"So, we do this mission and the Hokage allows us to join her village, it almost seems too good to be true." Kyoto said.
"I think that the Hokage is loath to lose many more ninja right now. Their village was attacked recently and they need all their strength to rebuild the village. If we fail this mission then she loses nothing but if we succeed then she gains two strong ninja. It's a sound plan." "But how does she know she can trust us?" Kyoko asked.
"She's seen our records; we're not dangerous to them. Their ANBU caught us quickly, in time we might be a danger, but not now." Haruka said. "But those ANBU were right. We need to get some sleep now"
Kyoko nodded. "Yeah, tomorrow we get to go hunting, it should be a nice change." She said laughing as she crawled into one of the beds.
The next morning Kyoko and Haruka were up early and waiting by the gates for the Hyuuga member Tsunade promised. Haruka was leaning over a small table in the guard house, pouring over maps of the area.
"The ninja have been spotted between here and the Country of Waves." One of the guards told her. Haruka nodded, brushing a bit of hair out of her eyes. She circled three places on the map in red.
That's all for today! And please someone send me a review!!!! PLEASE!!!!!!!