Chapter 2
Disclaimer: same as before, I own nothing but my character Artemis
Artemis could see the Leaf gates looming in the distance. She dreaded going back to Leaf, fearing what would occur when she arrived there. She stopped suddenly, her foot hesitating to go down. "Just put one foot in front of the other." Her fellow shinobi, Saiko, encouraged. Artemis glared, "You are not the one who suddenly left. Leaf are not receptive of deserters." Saiki had blonde hair and green eyes, and stood nearly as tall as Chuu. "I'm sure they would be forgiving if you told them why you left." Saiko and Chuu were part of the secret ops along with Artemis. The secret ops group was small but were deadly, and were composed of equal number of males and females. Females were there to seduce and kill the target while the males were attacking directly. Chuu worked in a warlord's house for a few months before he took out the warlord. Chuu liked to draw his out, so that he would have something to do. Artemis was one of the three girls with the envoy. Ai, Kae, and Tamao were the three women, but did not know them well as she preferred to keep away from the cat fighting that would often happen between the three. They hated each other but were the best to represent the females of the secret ops.
Artemis took a deep breath and kept on walking, her eyes on the lookout for any of Leaf's shinobi or ANBU. Artemis carried her katana and a dagger. She took out the dagger and shifted in from hand to hand. "There are a few shinobi in the trees to the left and the right." Artemis said softly to Chuu. "Should we make our welcome party's presence known to us." Artemis smirked as she moved to the left and Chuu to the right. She appeared behind the dog masked ninja and swiftly swiped the legs out from under the ninja. The ninja caught himself while throwing stars at Artemis. She easily dodged the stars and grinned as her dagger nicked the mask of the ninja. " And here I thought the welcome party was to be welcoming and not a show of aggression." Artemis said with a grin. "The Hokage Tsunade is waiting for you." The voice replied. "Show the way." Artemis replied before heading back to the envoy. Chuu appeared at her side. "What a welcome we get."
The envoy arrived at the gates and a signal was given. The gates creaked open. Artemis took a deep breath and went through the gates. The dog-faced mask appeared in front of the envoy and was told that they would first be taken to where they would reside. Artemis did not recognize anyone as they moved through the streets. Their rooms were small but adequate for their needs while staying at the village. They had a meeting with the Hokage in the evening and had the afternoon to settle in and look around the village. Artemis and Chuu decide to practice sparring before the headed to the meeting. Artemis went to her favorite spot. It was a small meadow that was hidden. Artemis arrived before Chuu and began to stretch. She heard a loud voice that echoed. She looked and saw a young man with blonde hair and blue eyes. "Are you so loud all the time." Artemis asked. The boy quickly turned around, "Who are you." The young man asked loudly. "I am Artemis, a shinobi of the Storm village." The boy eyed her up and down. "Does the Hokage know you are here?" Artemis tilted her head, "And you are?" " Naruto Uzumaki." Artemis recognized the name as the boy who held the nine-tails inside himself. "Hello, Naruto. I was once of Leaf village before going to Storm Village." Naruto's eyes glazed over before looking wide-eyed. "Kurama says that you are War." "Yes, I once was." Artemis looked the boy over before asking why he was here. "I was practicing my jutsu." "Are you not late for a meeting?" Artemis asked not knowing if the boy was late for a meeting or not. "Damn, see you later." Naruto disappeared in a poof of smoke.
Artemis breathed a sigh of relief. She hoped the nine-tails would not go into detail about her role as War. She scanned the boy as he stood before her. He leaked the nine-tails chakra. He needed training in the demon arts, and Artemis was unsure if she would be willing to show another the demon arts where the power came quickly and strong. Those who could not control the demon arts often died. She knew the boy to be the son of the fourth hokage and did not wish to see the boy dead. Chuu appeared at her side, "Ready?" "Yeah…" Artemis trailed off before blocking Chuu's attack.