"Non nobis solum nati sumus.
(Not for ourselves alone are we born.)"
― Marcus Tullius Cicero
"At first sight, his address is certainly not striking; and his person can hardly be called handsome, till the expression of his eyes, which are uncommonly good, and the general sweetness of his countenance, is perceived."
― Jane Austen, Sense and Sensibility
The smell was intoxicating. For a moment I forget all about my life, my parents, even my death. The breeze went through my hair and I could swear I was flying. The ocean seemed to go on forever. I bet it did go on forever and ever. Then I noticed the sun. I first saw it in the reflection in the ocean. A big ball of orange. I looked up and saw the sun for all its majesty. It would probably be strange to anyone that I was so overjoyed to see the sun, but they take the sun and everything around them for granted every day. The sun continued to shine even when I averted my eyes. The day was nice, maybe even a little chilly.
"Some of the balancers live in the national park. The state wasn't very happy but we came up with the necessary documents. There are about four living there right now I think." Boss spoke as I continued to relish in the view and sea breezed. Then his voice turned stern, "if any of them hurts you or even bothers you in some way, you tell me. I expect them to take care of you. You're much younger than our other recruits and they are going to have to slow down for you to keep up."
"I don't want to be a burden Boss," I said in a stern voice myself. "If I am to go back to my world, I'm going to have to be tough and learn all that I can from the people here. There should be no reason, I should be slow for more than a month. Also other people won't be soft on me, so they should prepare me for the road ahead."
I don't want anyone to go easy on me. True that I am still a child, but I come from another world which is harsher and would chew me up and spit me out. As it is, I've already died once, I don't need to meet death again. Even though I am immortal, I will not be weak. Revenge then entered my mind. I needed to avenge my family name. The Okinawa Clan will suffer for what they did.
"I am beginning to like you more and more Morrigan," my weapon, Arawn, said to my head. My fingers twitched already beginning to miss his weight in my hands.
"I also want revenge on those men, but it must not be our only objective in this life," Soubi said to me calmly. "We must find a higher purpose, one befitting an immortal Shinigami."
"I know that also Soubi. I do not yet know what that purpose is, but maybe living here, we will find it." Both voices were silenced, but their presences still known to me.
"Well, I believe we better get going. The sun is going to set and the balancers normally go out at night to strike. We must not be late." Boss said this turning us away from the sea and facing large trees.
The land before me looked as if the forest went on and on. I closed my eyes, knowing that Boss was going to teleport once again. The teleportation was getting easier, a mere familiar yank and drop much more mild than when we came from the world between worlds. I opened my eyes to see a log cabin with a green roof. The trees had bases as large as houses. The name of the trees popped into my head: redwoods. Boss set me down and walked to the cabin. I turned and walked to a large tree we teleported by. Rubbing my hand on the bark, I was surprised to feel the life energy it contained. Then having an idea, I brought chakra to my eyes and saw the chakra the tree also gave off. The chakra was a green color and dimmer than the red life energy the tree expelled.
Having been lost in my examination of the tree, I heard voices and feet walking my way. Startled I called Arawn. He appeared in my right hand which was not caressing the bark of the redwood. Turning I saw four people, each very different from the last. The first was a guy no older than twenty. He was skinny with glasses and wore what seemed to be a light blue collared shirt and pink tie. His pants were beige and baggy on his slim build. He was no taller than five and a half feet with black hair and light colored skin. The girl next to him was dark skinned with black hair in a weird style with red streaks: dreadlocks. She wore a black form fitting dress with no shoes and appeared to be around twenty also. She stood tall next to the first guy and even appeared to be taller than him with a more muscular body.
The next man was the oldest of the group around thirty-five and blond with what appeared to be green eyes. He was a giant and had to be at least six feet and built like a horse. He wore a white t-shirt that looked like it would rip at any second due to his muscles. The jeans he wore with white converse were a lighter color than mine. Lastly was a woman who looked like she was from my world with brown eyes and the brightest of red hair. She wore black stretchy pants which ended below the knee with a green blouse. She was the smallest of the group and was around twenty-five, but exuded a sense of power. Clutching Arawn tighter I looked to them with wary eyes and they in turn looked back with cautious smiles. Boss then appeared from behind the skinny man and seeing me scared, ran to my side.
"It's okay Morrigan. These are the balancers which I spoke of. There is no need to be frightened." Boss said this in a soothing voice, scared that I would either attack or cry, possibly both.
"Fear is not an emotion I am feeling right now Boss. I was merely startled. My father had taught me to always be armed and ready for a fight." I said softly, not wanting the others to hear my words.
"You knew where you were coming, kid. There ain't no reason to be pullin' weapons like we're at some fucking brawl." I looked to the group and saw that it was the dark skinned girl that spoke.
"Language Lily. She is only a child and she has been through enough." The fiery-haired woman spoke, reprimanding the other girl, Lily.
"Yah, but Akane she doesn't even know how to use that thing. She is liable to get hurt. It doesn't look like a very nice weapon either." The burly man said to the red head. I felt Arawn hum in my hand is disapproval.
"I would never hurt you Morrigan. You are my master." Arawn was slightly offended by this man.
"Arawn would never hurt me," I told the four strangers. They all looked to me once again, but this time their eyes each held a different emotion. The big man looked amused, while the girl with dreadlocks, Lily, looked angry. Akane or the red-head, looked like she disapproved of something which I did. The guy who looked—nerdy, yes my mind, nerdy—was blank throughout the conversation.
"I am sorry if I made any of you angry." I then bowed low while holding Arawn in both hands and said, "Please, accept my utmost apology. I will be sure nothing of this sort happens again."
"Whatever kid, just don't pull that shit again." I knew from the tone it was Lily and I rose. Keeping a blank face would be best until I know how these people act. I felt Boss shift nervously and could tell he wanted me to put Arawn away.
"I will call you again, if they do something. Okay, Arawn?" I told him mentally.
"I would rather not leave your side," Arawn said, slightly nervous at me being left open.
"It's okay, Soubi is with me. Besides I don't believe that these people would like it if I kept you out. We already had a terrible first impression." And father always said first meetings were the most important.
"I will protect her, you need not worry." Soubi was tense and I could tell he was ready to pounce at any moment. How he would pounce, I didn't exactly know.
"Very well. Until you call upon me again master." I then willed Arawn away and realized I had been silent for some moments. Everyone was staring at me and I couldn't help but blush slightly through my façade.
"I'm sorry. Arawn didn't want to leave me. To tell you the truth, he didn't seem to trust you people very much." I figured I'd tell them now that I wasn't the most trusting of people. Having died at the hands of what you thought was an ally did wonders for your trust instinct. They all looked at me surprised until the nerdy guy started laughing. The others didn't seem fazed by his laughter so I figured it must be a normal thing. Boss then cleared his throat and silence was blanketed over us once again.
"Well everybody this is Morrigan." Boss paused and I bowed slightly in a sort of greeting. "Morrigan, this is Arash (the nerdy guy), Lily (the dreadlock girl), Antonio (the burly man), and Akane (the red-haired girl). They are the balancers that we were talking about earlier. All of them come from this world except for Akane who came from your world on a transfer."
I gazed at Akane and met her brown eyes. No wonder she didn't look like she was foreign to me. Maybe she could teach me some ninjustu while I was here. She seemed like a nice enough person, having stuck up for me. She smiled at me and I returned it, she looked like a person I could trust. Then again, my instincts might be a little off.
I looked to Arash and he also smiled at me. He didn't look like much of a fighter, but looks could be very deceiving. I smiled at him back, figuring he hadn't gotten mad at me then why give him a reason. Turning to Lily I found a scowl. Immediately I scowled back and raised my nose to her. I didn't like her one bit. As I turned to Antonio I changed my face to match his wary smile. I heard Lily scoff at me but didn't return my gaze to her.
"Thank you for taking care of me, Boss, it was much appreciated. I also realized I forgot to thank you for saving our lives, both Soubi and mine." I said this with true gratitude. I was grateful. Boss gave me another chance at life.
"You are most welcome, my child. I know you will be in good hands here and if you ever need me, you know where I'll be." Boss then laid a loving hand on my head and disappeared in the next second. I guess he didn't want to be here just in case we got into a brawl as Lily said. I couldn't blame him. I turned back to my new keepers and an awkward silence ensued. The silence dragged on for a good minute and we just stared at each other with wary looks.
I turned away first, tired with whatever game they were playing. I looked to the redwood and decided I would try out climbing it. Might as well start training, it is better than looking at those fools. I focused chakra to my feet and ran at the tree a few feet in front of me. Immediately I felt myself stick, but tried to focus the correct amount of chakra to the tree. No need to embarrass myself here. When I reached the first large branch that was maybe twenty feet up, I flipped and sat down.
"Fucking hell, did you just see what the lil' shit did." I looked down at the balancers and saw all but Akane had wide open mouths. Lily who swore at me looked so surprised she might think that the world was round. The world here is round though, almost like a ball, but much, much larger.
"I do have a name you know. In addition to that, I was just wondering if you guys are just going to continue to stare at me or actually speak. Because I am all for the silent treatment, but after I know where I'm going to sleep and eat. Besides you guys are terrible hosts and hostesses. I would have already had a pot of tea going if you were my guests." I said this with a smile, happy that I could use chakra in this world just as well as at home. I was also happy because this is the first tree I ever got to climb and it was a beautiful tree indeed.
"If you come down, we may be able to actually show you your room." I looked at Akane who wasn't recovering from shock of my climbing the tree or shock from my words. I proceeded to jump off the tree, reinforcing my legs with chakra. Whatever shock the other three balancers were trying to get over, they didn't recover with my newest antic.
"That would be much appreciated, thank you." Akane then turned to lead the way to the cabin. We left the other three behind, but when I got to the door I called them to come in. They were just staring at the slight marks of my vans in the dirt, amazed. I wonder if they have ever really seen a shinobi. No, shinobi and all types of jutsu do not exist in this world and if they do, they are seen as magic or a myth.
"How boring that must be huh," I thought mentally to Soubi.
"Very boring indeed," Soubi agreed.
"So where are you from Morrigan?" Akane asked me while showing parts of the house. It was modest inside and everything was wooden. There was a dining room with a table for eight, a TV with couches in the living room, a small dark countered kitchen, three bathrooms and six bedrooms.
"The village of death in the Valley of Shadows, and you?"
"I was from Uzushiogakure in the Land of Whirlpools. I see that you have had shinobi training before and for your age you quite adept." Akane said this while showing me my room. My room was cozy to say the least. There was a large bed with a green comforter and wooden head and foot board. There was a small closet and a chest of drawers to the right of the bed. The bed itself was situated facing the door, probably so you could prepare yourself should someone hostile enter the room.
"Thank you. My father taught me as much as I could learn in the past year or so. I was bedridden due to illness for most of my life." I said dully entering the room and sitting on the bed. The comforter was warm and soft.
"I am sorry to hear that," Akane said, coming to sit next to me on the bed. "I could continue training you, though I must admit that I know very few ninjutsu and my taijutsu has suffered from lack of use. But I am very good at fuinjutsu and could teach you a lot of things there."
"I would be happy to take you on as a teacher, Akane-sensei." I was really overjoyed to hear that she would help me. I turned and smiled my first real smile since I met them at her. She was obviously surprised that I so readily accepted her and her small skills, but smiled brightly at me back. Just then, Antonio entered the room with a serious expression.
"We have to get moving to where they are holding the conference. One of Arash's cameras caught them all going in. We're going to have to leave now if we wanna get them all in one shot." I looked at Antonio and got off the bed. I don't think that he expected me to be ready to go with them. Antonio looked at Akane with a questioning look and she just put her hand up to send him off.
"Do you want to go with us, I'm sure that you're—" she asked turning to me. I interrupted her not wanting to hear her coddle me.
"I will go with you guys. This is my new job, my duty. Please don't treat me like a little girl, when I am capable Shinigami." I must admit, that I was exaggerating a bit—more than a bit really. I didn't know if I was capable. Hell, I didn't even know what we were going to do exactly, but I didn't want to be left behind.
"Okay then. Here are the details. We are balancers and we keep the balance between good and evil in the world. In order to do that, we have to kill people. Sometimes the people are good, but we still have to take them to keep the balance. Good people aren't often killed in this world though because evil corrupts this place way too often. Do you understand?"
"Yes Akane-sensei."
"Good, now there are a couple of people we have to kill tonight. This is a gang that has been killing several people with large-influence in justice here. But for some reason, they never answer for their crimes. This is where we come in. We set up a stakeout, and now is the time. We are going to go kill them. We've all seen the location before, but because you haven't hold my hand when we transport. And get your weapon out now. These guys have weapons that shoot faster than the eye can see so you have to be fast. Teleport if you have to, okay?"
I nodded and we both left my room with serious expressions. I had never killed anyone before, but this is my duty now. Because it was my duty, I would fulfill it without question. Being raised to see death as nothing also helped. We headed to the small kitchen and I saw that the others already had their weapons out. Lily had a set of daggers a golden color with blue stones on the hilt. Arash had a rifle with the letters B and C carved into the metal. Antonio had a crude axe bigger than my head. Akane summoned her weapon, a silver katana which gleamed with the now setting sun.
"Ready to go Arawn?"
"Of course Morrigan." Arawn appeared in my hands and I shifted to hold him in my right. With my left I grabbed Akane and kept my eyes open. The tug and pull of teleporting was insignificant. When we arrived I saw we teleported into what seemed to be an empty warehouse. Around a large round table stood a dozen men dressed in suits. When they saw us, they pulled out guns and started firing. Somehow instinctively, I knew what to do and without a second breath I began to fight.
Grabbing Arawn in both hands then, I teleported to behind the guy to my right. I immediately plunged Arawn's rounded tip into his heart. I pulled out and watched as he fell to the ground. I turned again and teleported to the side of a guy on the other side. This time I swung Arawn and beheaded him. The head rolled to the ground and stared at me. I watched as his eyes began to close and noticed Lily caught between two men who had come in through a door on the other side of the warehouse.
For a split second she looked scared. I didn't like that look on her face and I teleported behind the men. I drove the tip of Arawn through the first man's neck, blood spurting all over my hair and face. Turning Arawn, not fully pulling him out of the man's neck, I pushed his blade at the bottom into the other's heart. Blood once again spurt on me and covered my white hair.
I listened to the warehouse and realized there were no more gunshots. Looking down at Lily I smiled gently. She had fallen to the floor and was staring at both of the men. Slowly I crouched down and reached out to her shoulder. She looked at me with glazed over eyes. I smiled at her once again before she jumped into my arms and embraced me, crying into my shoulder. I shifted Arawn to the side and put my arms around the girl.
"Thank you. I, I was, was, stuck and I, remem, remembered when Boss found me. I just froze. Sorry. Thank you." She sobbed.
"It's okay. You're fine now. Everything is over." I said soothingly rubbing her back. I remember my mother doing it to me if I as particularly upset. She released me then, quickly rubbing her eyes. The black eye liner smudging making her look like a raccoon. I stood up and gave her my hand. Pulling her up, I noticed the others surrounding me.
"Damn, you're going to be a great balancer, Morrigan." Antonio said with an amazed tone.
"I concur." Arash said, his soft voice matching his small frame.
"Of course she will." Akane said, proud of me, even though I was her student for no more than thirty minutes.
"Fuck yah." Lily cursed, rubbing her eyes once again.
I knew then, that even though I was an anomaly, I would do well as a Shinigami. I would fulfill my duty. Then was when I made my nindo: to make the world a better place, by balancing the forces of evil and good. With the blood of my enemies on my face and hair, a scythe in my hands, and an almost psychotic smile is the moment when I became a ninja.
So, I made so me changes to the summary and I also changed the story from T to M. The story is going to get a little dark and also a little more sweary. Even though I haven't even thought of Hidan, there is gonna be a lot of bad language around here. But what can I say, I don't do drugs, don't drink, don't talk back to my parents... All I do is swear like sailor and play my music loud. Do you guys like Morrigan? I do. This isn't really a self-insert, but I am going to base off her idea of death off of my idea of death. Not saying I go out and fix the world by killing people, but sometimes bad people shouldn't be around to make the world worse. Whatever. I ain't a Shinigami, so I don't gotta deal with this. Remember to review if you totes hate my story or if you love it or if your indifferent or even if you saw a funny cat meme you wanna talk about.
So yah, ummmm I don't own Naruto (sigh) but I do kinda own the valley of shadows, village of death, the Okinawa clan, the Marusame clan, the Shinigami world between worlds, boss, Soubi the Okamiyasha and my fav Morrigan and my newest fav Arawn. I also kinda own the four new balancers.
(man is this owning stuff getting big. Do I really have to do this. Little sister say yes. Yes it is then)