"On a mission are we, Yamato?"
"Where's the team?"
Kotetsu and Izumo were the Village's gate keepers, the famous ninja duo. They were the best of mates, and in the face of attack, their fighting skills match each other's perfectly and they because of bring so in sync with each other, they were a dangerous asset in the team.
"I'll be going with a fellow Black Ops member for this mission,"
A soft cough behind Yamato alerted him to his newest team mate standing behind him. He heard Izumo let out a quiet wolf whistle, and Airi's cheeks blushed a slight pink.
"Are we ready to leave, Yamato?"
Yamato nodded and glared at the two men who eyed Airi hungrily. Airi and Yamato both leapt off and headed towards the old hideout they'd been asked to investigate. Majority of the way, both of them had remained silent, unsure of where to pick up a conversation.
"How long have you been a part of the Black Ops for?" Yamato asked curiously. Airi glanced at him briefly, never slowing as she pushed off branch from branch.
"For as long as I can remember, I was a young child when they took me in," She smiled half heartedly. "I don't remember much of my childhood,"
'Huh,' Yamato gazed at the figure beside him and sighed. 'Why is there something so familiar about her?' they pressed on, heading towards the location given by Asuma's team, which was near the Tea Country.
"A few nights ago, I saw you in the forest, using fire. What else can you do?" Airi blinked at Yamato and a smirk tugged at her pink lips.
"Would you like me to show you?" They stopped running and stood on branches opposite each other. She made a few hand signals and winked at Yamato playfully. "Fire ball jutsu," a massive glow sprung from her fingers, and then advanced into a massive ball of fire. Although Yamato was a good 4 metres from her, he could feel the intense heat that it gave off, and he began to sweat. "Wind style, fire twister," Wind engulfed the ball of fire and twisted with a great pace, causing a tornado of fire to blaze brightly between them, the leaves of the tree began to burn and the twister pushed up through the tops of the forest. Yamato's eyes had been so caught up in the twister, that it was a shock when she released the jutsu and it disappeared right in front of him.
"So you can control fire and wind style? The two styles come in pretty handy when they go hand to hand,"
Airi smiled and nodded at Yamato, pressing forward towards the Tea Country. Yamato was impressed by her ability to control her jutsu so well.
The sun had begun to set, and running all day had exhausted them a little. Yamato conjured a wood house, suitable for them to sleep in for the night. They both laid comfortably on the floor, rugged up and settling for then night.
"Yamato, you never told me when you joined the Anbu,"
"I was young also, I don't remember how old. But I've been with them my whole life,"
"Do you think it was the best thing for you?"
"If I didn't, I wouldn't have overcome the tragedies of my past,"
Airi didn't ask him for more details, to which he was relieved. He couldn't provide her with an answer anyway, even if she had bothered to ask.
"I think I should've joined the military or something. I'm finding myself… a people person," she giggled half heartedly and sighed. "I've enjoyed being surrounded by the town's people of the Leaf Village. They're joyous and lively people. In the Anbu, you're not allowed to express or display emotion but… I enjoy being happy, and want to smile, and mean it. I want to experience friendship and love," Yamato listened intently. Since his stay at the Leaf Village, Yamato had become more accustom to emotions and using them. It felt like every day his emotions were becoming more natural. But no emotions meant there was no chance for pain.
"I understand," Yamato sympathised. "But the Black Ops is all I know. And when I return, I will welcome my emotionless state with open arms. Less options for pain, I guess," His worlds trailed off and he could feel the pull of sleep, dragging him into unconsciousness.
Yamato scratched the dark walls, searching for an exit, the earthy wall only crumbling beneath his finger tips."Quick, I can hear him coming!" A young voice whispered into his ears as a hand tugged on his frayed and dirty shirt. Fear gripped Yamato's heart, and he frantically pounded the walls of the Earth, wanting desperately to escape Orochimaru. He imagined what might be on the other side, maybe there is a tunnel? A river… The sun? A blinding white light burned into his vision, and the scene changed. He was clutching to the grass, his head sore and his body frail. Grass… Yamato's fingers curled around the blades and the feeling of the grass sent bliss through his heart. A pair of blue eyes appeared in front of his, a hand grabbing his own and pulling him to his feet. The body in front of him began to fade, wisps of smoke surrounding the figure and eating it up in front of him. His dream faded into blackness, his thoughts about those crystal blue eyes, the only thing keeping him company in unconsciousness.
Chapter 3 – 2 Weeks later
Yamato and Airi reached the hide out Orochimaru had used many years ago, for experimenting on victims. They scouted the area, searching for a way in and it wasn't long until they'd come across an opening, that led into the dark depths of the Earth. Nothing but darkness encased the steps the led further down into the Earth, and the unknown depth and dangers along the way, were playing on Yamato's mind.
"Airi, use your fire to light up the way. Keep in mind, Orochimaru would have had traps set up throughout the hideout," Airi nodded and signalled her hands, setting fire to a large stick on the ground next to her. Yamato retrieved the torch, and descended down the poorly carved steps, watching for any signs of traps.
"Something isn't right," Airi whispered from behind Yamato.
"You're right, there are no bodies," The light softly touched the corridors of the tunnel, dried blood etching a musty coppered scent into their noses, but no bodies from which the blood had come from. "Could mean it was recently cleaned out by Orochimaru or his henchmen," The continued walking through the tunnel cautiously, peering into the sectioned off areas within. The sectioned off parts held old and frail jail type rooms. The bars rusted and barely standing within the earth, old haystack beds, withering within the corners of the cells. Yamato and Airi continued into the depths of the lair, nothing seemly out of order, until they reached a large wooden door, sealing the room behind. Yamato handed the touch to Airi, and used his Earth style to break the door down, revealing the room beyond. It was dark and smelt of mould, dirt and dry blood. Yamato extended his hand behind him, waiting to retrieve the torch, but he never received it in his palm. He turned, to see Airi's face stark white, and fearful.
"Airi, are you alright?"
"Yamato…"
He stepped foot into the room, and lit up the area around him. An experiment table, covered in dry blood, the colour of rust, caused him to stop dead in his tracks. His head began to pound against his skull.
"No!" He fell to his knees, the contact with the ground instantly causing bruising. His palms dug deep into his eyes, trying to suppress the pain that coursed through his head. Even the white stars couldn't stop the memories flooding back in, like a river dam that collapsed, a rush of water escaping rapidly. Flashes passed his vision, the machines that hooked up to his soft flesh, sending shock waves through his skull. His body jolting as the shocks attacked his nervous system, sending his body into spasms of pain and fear.
"Argh!" Pain ripped through Yamato's skull as he fell to the floor, clutching his head in his hands.
A vision of the scalpels slicing deep into his arms and stomach, sending crimson rivers cascading onto the experiment table.
"Stop! Stop!" Yamato curled his body into a ball, wishing the pain would stop. He wanted to keep the memories as far away as possible, but the images of his childhood acted as visions he couldn't control.
Orochimaru's face appeared above his own, blocking the surgeons light that pierced his baby onyx eyes. 'Please stop,' he could hear himself beg. He screamed in agony as the cold metal made contact with his body once more, scarring him, his blood leaving him, causing him to pass out on the experiment table.
He woke, a little body lying next to him, clinging to his own body. 'It's okay, I've got you,' cooed the little body beside him, as she ran her fingers through his hair.
"Airi," His voice whimpered.
'Quick! I can hear him coming!' He clawed at the wall, imagining an exit, praying it would appear in front of him. He only needed to break through the Earth. The footsteps grew louder. He pounded his fists against the Earths wall. His body began to ache, and he could sense it changing, as if he began to harden. 'What… What's happening?' He pressed his hand against the wall and could feel it give up, just a little. The little person beside him tugged on his rag shirt, fear hidden in their voice. 'Please! We need to get away from him,' Yamato screamed and punched his fist through the Earth, breaking the barrier that kept him locked within the walls, locked with lifeless bodies of failed experiments, locked away from the sun. He pulled the little body beside him and ran, ran through the tunnel that was dimly lit by torches. Although his body ached, and the tunnel never seemed to end, Yamato pushed on, dragging the girl without looking back, aiming for the tiniest glimpse of sunlight that was visible at the end of the tunnel. 'Sunlight means escape, I just know it,' He raced harder; until finally, they broke free of the prison hell he seemed to spend his whole childhood in. He fell to the ground, his body unable to carry him any further, aching from whatever helped him escape from the depths of the Earth. The soft grass tickled his face and he smiled limply, at the small touch of freedom that lay beneath his battered body. A pair of blue eyes appeared before his, tugging on his hand, encouraging him to move, but he couldn't. He didn't want to, he wanted to lie there forever, the grass on his face and warmth of the sun on his back. The voice of the little girl grew weaker and weaker, and finally; darkness.
Yamato squinted his eyes, trying to focus them on the face hovering above his. Gentle crystal blue eyes stared down into his own, the uncanny familiarity of them causing him to bolt upright and scramble away from the woman.
"Yamato, are you okay?" A sickly pale colour had ghosted over the pretty woman's face. Her fearful eyes expressing the emotion he felt and knew was showing in his own.
"I remember… I remember everything that happened to me," He closed his eyes and controlled his breathing. Feeling a little more centred and relaxed, he opened his eyes and faced Airi. "You were there. You were captured by Orochimaru too, used as part of his experiments. But I thought… I thought I was the only survivor?" Airi shook her head and looked at the ground grimly.
"I remember too, only not as vividly as I just experienced you remembering. I don't know how I survived, but I know that it was you who helped me escape," Yamato pulled his knees to his chest, and rest his forehead against them.
"But then what… the last thing I remember is passing out,"
Airi sat across from him, crossing her legs and signalling her hands, a small fire springing to life in front of them, warming his cold and shivering body.
"When you passed out, a group of Anbu Black Ops had arrived. I found out later that they we're on their way to intercept Orochimaru's hideout, and had spotted me cuddling your body, crying for help. They'd arrived just in time, as Orochimaru emerged from the hideout. There was a massive battle, but you and I were carried off before it had begun…" Airi shrugged and sighed, warming her hands by the fire. "All I can guess, is that from there, we were brought up within the Anbu Black Ops in separate squads, and brought together now to discover our past," Yamato scooted closer to the fire, yearning for its warmth to spread deep within in, to chase away the cold memories that haunted him.
