Something just doesn't quite sit right…Those had been the last words of Nara Shikamaru to Satoshi, the jounin he deemed fit for the mission at hand. Some young girls from a small nearby village had been reported missing for a few days now, and while some suspected they had run off, the written reports about the whole situation placed an uneasy feeling in Naruto's supervisor. I remember a similar report had been filed a year ago, three girls, ages ten through fourteen, all missing within a span of a few days. There were search parties, and a few teams sent to investigate, but nothing was ever found; it was assumed they had taken off from home.
The days following, the jounin from the Hidden Leaf Village had made an investigation, going from local to local, waving the four small pictures he had of the girls for any useful leads he could find. A few individuals had steered him in the direction to the bathhouse on the outskirts of the village, claiming it was the last sight the girls had disappeared to, and yet when it was searched, no one had found a trace of them.
Landing atop the tree branches with ease, the shinobi skillfully jumped from oak to oak, noting how warm the air was, and the cool breeze that tickled his neck. If under different circumstances, he would've opted for a nice long nap in his hammock outside his apartment. Oh, and with his bowl of cold chicken teriyaki, of course.
Grwwwl. Ugh. The jounin placed a hand over his stomach, the thought of delicious food already giving him hunger pangs. Maybe when this is all over, a nice, big bowl from Iruyka's will-
"You and you, stay here and watch the place! You, run to Akito and tell him what has happened! You, come with me!"
The hoarse voice rang through the air, making Satoshi think of a bullfrog in mating season. Casting the image aside, the jounin stealthy made his way to the sound, fortunately not having to strain his hearing too hard.
"The Golden King is going to hang whoever did this…"
"Oh, it'll be a lot uglier than that, you have my word." The bullfrog voice sounded again, belonging to a man who even resembled a toad.
Slowly stepping around the base of the trunk, Satoshi spied on the scene down below, pondering if this had any correlation to his mission. The Golden King, eh? Why does that name sound familiar…? Satoshi made out five men below in the clearing, about two hundred yards from his target: the bathhouse. Mentally cracking his knuckles, he took mental pictures of each man's face, waiting for the opportunity to present itself.
Moments afterwards, the group split into three, with the jounin having decided to investigate the bathhouse first and interrogate the two left behind. As soon as the others were gone from sight, and his first victims were inside, the shinobi made his move.
Ow. Ow. Ow. Evelyn half-limped, brushing her wild, matted hair from her face for the hundredth time. The soles of her feet felt as though they had touched the surface of the sun, and her body ached and screamed at her to rest. The two before her seemed to carry on with ease, and either ignored her pain or did not notice. She preferred the latter.
Tinkle tinkle. The chain stretched out ever so slowly between girl and man, a silver trail beckoning her forward. Normally, she would be peeved to be left so far behind, but considering the circumstances, she could faint and not give a damn.
"Hey yo-ho back there, ya able to keep up?" The sack of fur had stopped and sniffed the air, black pupils critically eyeing her. "Ya not one much fer walkin' are ye?"
"I'm fine." Evelyn replied hotly, ignoring the doubtful look. Biting the inside of her lip, she steeled herself and painfully walked a little faster, finally coming side-by-side with the shark. Sweat was rolling down her forehead, and she had to force herself to breathe normally.
The sun blazed overhead as the trio continued their silent journey through fire country, each absorbed in their own thoughts. While uneventful, it wasn't exactly peaceful, either. Kisame strolled along, seemingly casual, but the hostile aura he radiated kept both weasel and girl at bay.
Hours passed as Evelyn was sure she was going to die from dehydration, and the nonstop journey took a toll on her limping, making her out to be a cripple.
"We almost there." The weasel eyeballed her.
Evelyn groaned. "You said that hours ago."
An audible sniff came from her right. He's right. The shark mused, equally as eager to be finished with their journey as she was, even if it was for different reasons.
The yellow rays of sunshine and clear sky did nothing to improve his mood that morning, and the long hours underneath the hot sun only made it worse. It was only thanks to self-control and an iron discipline that stopped him from strangling the girl and gutting the weasel.
"How were you able to find us?" Evelyn asked.
Ah, a question that was brewing in the back of Kisame's mind, along with a million more. Benji scratched at his black nose, wiggling his whiskers as he kept plodding along.
"It was easy, ya smell different."
"Excuse me?" Evelyn not-so-discreetly lifted an arm and sniffed herself. Ugh, a shower is long overdue. The thought of her stench being so powerful it made them easy to locate made her cheeks burn.
"Neh, neh. Not that smell. Ya smell." The weasel grunted and fiddled with his thoughts, trying to figure out a simple way of putting it into words. "Ya see, humans here have the same smell. Ye have a different one."
Kisame quirked an eyebrow and looked down to his female companion. That could be a problem.
"Well, what do I smell like? Is it a bad smell?" She jabbed a finger in the air. "What does he smell like?"
"Er, somethin' I can't put in words." The weasel looked thoughtful for a moment. "A difference between apples and oranges." He paused. "But ye smell sweeter. Can pick you out miles way."
Definitely a problem. Kisame frowned. "Who else can pick up this scent?"
Benji shrugged, a weird physical attribute for a small animal. "Who can say?" And he left it at that.
Great. Kisame's mind growled to himself. She's a walking beacon to whoever is interested. Hopefully no one else comes nosing around. He snorted at his own pun, earning a curious look from his side. And she has a seal, for what? Who is this kid?
Glancing to said thoughts, it was hard to believe that so much of his problems, (just general trouble, actually), generated from such an unremarkable girl. All he really knew of her that was concrete was that she was a whiner, was lacking in the physically capable department, and supposedly came from beyond the stars.
"Kunoichi." At the sound of her nickname ground out, she whipped her head upright and squinted against the sun. Raising a hand to provide some cover, she blinked up at him. "Tell me where home is for you." I'm gonna figure this shit out.
She grimaced at him. "You wouldn't know, and I don't think you want to know." She had actually been avoiding that little detail of, you're simply a product of someone's imagination and kids under the age of 10 watch this show and your fanbase isn't really all quite that big, sorry. She was sure that last bit would be the killing blow. How do you explain to someone something you yourself do not quite understand?
Kisame's frown deepened. He pointed a finger threateningly at her. "Listen-"
"O, hey now! No frit frat! Behave like good kits!" The weasel stuck a small tongue out at the two humans, much to their surprise. Kisame's mouth turned into a snarl, and the shading of his brow grew dark.
Silently thankful for the rodent's distraction, and yet fearful for his life, Evelyn moved from the shark's field of vision and stretched as far as she could between them. Ignorantly hoping he would forget all of his previous questions, (which she knew deep in her soul was foolish), and that he would simply just be the happiest fucker to grace the planet, (which she was sure would be the day the world imploded), Evelyn tried to make herself feel as small as possible and prayed to every deity above they would reach their destination soon.
"Stop." Benji suddenly grew to the size of a marshmallow, his fur sticking out on all ends. "Ya hear that?"
