Authors Note:
~Sorry I haven't updated in a while. I've been wrapped up with school and holidays and grades and so many other stuff. Its just been a... busy year... Wish me luck for my exams please.
~You have a pretty long chapter ahead of you. So strap on your seat belts and get ready for the journey of Saya's past. I tried pretty hard to capture the unique personalities in this chapter. Hope you like it!
As a child, Saya was an orphan, abandoned on the streets when she was only six years of age. Since she was so young she did whatever possible to survive. If it meant stealing candy from babies or wallets from full grown men she would do it, and she was pretty damn good at it too. Even though she was very skilled, she would only steal what she needed to survive, so she wouldn't steal a TV or an I-phone 5. All the same she wanted one so badly, but refused what she didn't need.
Later on in her life when she was only the age of ten, she was pilfering in the food market. After she conjured up enough supplies to last a week she walked out with stolen goods in her hands. It was simple stuff that would last long enough for it not to rot, they were mostly canned foods and drinks. She made sure to rip off all of the paper that surrounded the cans along with the barcode. (I think this works. I'm not sure… I'm a goodie-goodie. Hehehe) Then she began to walk home.
Once she arrived she looked at her home and sighed. It was a very small and very old house. The roof had caved in a few years before now and she was lucky to be outside at the time. The walls were a faded blue almost white and the railings were also faded but it was more of a peach color. Also, the railings on the porch were chipped and eaten away by the termites. The grass on the front lawn was very tall and thick so she mostly stuck to the path the drive way had given her.
She continued into her home and walked through the door which had no handle. Pushing it open she stepped in and went to the kitchen. There wasn't any furniture when she first found the place, but one time she was walking home and found some nice furniture on the side of the road. She took the small bedside table and a twin sized bed, after checking it for lice and other sort's bugs of course. It was clear, thank the god's for that. It took over an hour to haul both of the objects home and her back was hurting by the end of the day. This made her even more eager to sleep in an actual bed for once.
Once she stepped into the kitchen she placed the bags on the counter and began to take the cans out one by one and place them into the cabinets. The inside of the house was torn up but she cleaned it as much as she could to make it look nice. But, even with all the cleaning in the world nothing could make this house look even close to new. When she finished she took the can of Boyardee raviolis along with a plastic fork she had taken from a not-so-fancy restaurant. She popped off the top of the can with the already handy can opener on the top and dug in. Since there was no electricity she couldn't warm it up, but that didn't bother her, she preferred it that way. (I don't mind it either. It's not gross at all. People stare at me funny when I eat that though.)
She walked into the next room which had her bed placed inside on the ground with no sheets or blankets and the nights were usually cold. She considered many times going to a store and taking a small blanket that was just the right size to cover her but was small enough to where she wouldn't get caught. Instead of doing that, when it got too cold during the winter she would just sneak into a homeless shelter and spend most of her nights there. She plopped herself down on what she thought was a comfortable bed (to us it would probably be uncomfortable) and took another bite of her meal. When she cleaned out the can she set it to the side on her bedside table and laid back to look at brown stained roof. The brown stains are from all of the leaks she had to patch up in the attic with scraps she found on the side of the road. What a pain…
"Man… I really need to get something to eat besides Boyardee," younger Saya said aloud.
"Yeah ya do," a feminine voice replied. Hana wasn't expecting a reply. "So how about some prison food instead? Would that do?" Saya turned around quick and flipped her bed over hoping whoever it was would get slowed down because of it. She started to run for the exit but was blocked by a boy. Wait! A boy!? He was about Saya's age too. All he did was stand there wearing red head phones and playing on his phone. He had brown hair with brown eyes which constantly stared at his mobile phone.
"YA! Nice job Kenichi! You blocked the thief's path! MWAHAHA!" The same voice from before praised.
"Yeah sure Suotome…" the boy said not caring. "When are we going home?"
"When we catch this crook!" The girl with short black pig tails jumped at Saya but landed on her face when Saya moved to the side. "Oof."
"Here I thought they were the cops," Saya sighed out of relief.
"Well actually we are in school to be shinobi and will be graduating this year," another voice said very lightly. Her voice sounded similar to the nurse's in the anime called 'High school of the dead'. I'm not mimicking her, it's just how it sounds in my head. Noooo, I'm not crazy. I just have an awesome imagination.
"Actually your wrong Ringo," the boy Kenichi corrected not looking up from his phone, "Were only now starting to be shinobi this year."
"Oh really," she looked shocked and confused at the same time. The girl Ringo had shoulder length, permed blonde hair with a pink ribbon tied into a bow placed on top. "I must have dreamt that the school years went by fast then." She let out a small chuckle.
"Uh… sorry to do this to you, but if you're not the cops can you get out," Saya said walking over to put her bed back into its place.
"No way!" the girl name Suotome shouted, "First we're gonna have to take you to jail!" She lunged at Saya again this time Saya didn't dodge. She stood with her hand against the girl, Suotome's head as she walked in place rolling up her sleeve.
Saya leaned down and said, "You know you really suck at fighting."
"Oh really!" Suotome shouted, "Well then let's see what you got!"
"Hm?"
"Tomorrow at ten! Meet the three of us at the academy and we'll see how tough you really are! If we win then we take you in."
"What if I win? What will I get?" Saya asked.
"Um… what do you want?"
"Hmm…" She thought about it, but came up with nothing. "I'll get back to you on that," Saya answered.
"You mean you live in this dump and you can't think of one thing?" Suotome pointed out.
Saya slammed her hand on the wall behind one of her uninvited guests, Suotome to be exact. "Look Pigtails! If you have a problem with the way I live keep it to your god damn self! Got it? This is the way I live and I'm pretty god damn proud of it!" Suotome looked shocked at that side of Saya. She looked angry, but at the same time lonely. As if she had no one… no one to look after her. Her eyes seemed secluded and scared along with many other emotions Suotome couldn't pin point. She was sure if she stared into Saya's eyes long enough she would find out more about her.
"Hey," Kenichi interrupted. Finally looking up from his phone when he saw what was happening. "Sato can you finish this up? I don't have all day you know."
"Uh... yeah," she didn't look away from Saya who was now walking over to lay on her bed, "Let's get going Ren, Nichi."
"I guess we'll see you tomorrow then," Ringo said looking at Saya.
"Yeah, whatever," Saya said unenthusiastically. Ringo gave her a smile and skipped to the exit.
"Later," Kenichi said looking at his phone again.
"See ya," Pigtails said with the same look from before. She was trying to figure her out. What was so special about her? There was something about her eyes that intrigued Suotome and she wanted to find out, even if it took every fiber of her being.
Saya only sent her a glare before Suotome's hair shot up like a cats and ran. They turned the corner and a few minutes later Saya got up from her bed and peeked around the same wall. When she realized they were gone she went to pick up the can and started to walk out the front door. Across the street was the house of an old lady who couldn't walk and lived alone. Her husband passed away almost two years ago and her kids would only stop by every now and then.
Saya started to walk to the other side of the street to throw away her can in the outdoor trash can. She tossed it in like a basketball going into a hoop, after hearing the clanking sound of the can hitting the bottom she continued onto the old lady's house. At the foot of the door were three large bags of groceries. A man from elderly care stops by and leaves them there every week, but since the lady can't walk she has a hard time getting to the door and getting her groceries on her own. KNOCK. KNOCK. Saya picked up the bags and waited for the door to open. About ten minutes later the door finally opened and the old lady sat in her wheel chair and greeted Saya.
"It's nice to see you. Have you come to help me with my bags again?" the woman asked. Saya smiled with a small laugh. The lady smiled back. "Come in! Come in!" Saya walked into the familiar house and walked straight to the kitchen like she owned the place. She placed the bags down on the marble counter and put everything where the lady would be able to reach it.
"All done," Saya announced.
"Already? That's much quicker than last time," the lady said surprised. "Oh! That's right! Wait right here." She began to roll herself over into the other room and then came out with a thick purple blanket on her lap. Saya's eyes lit up. "Here you go," the woman said, handing her the blanket with a smile. Saya slowly and hesitantly took the blanket.
"T-thank-you, but you don't have to do this,' Saya said. She wanted the blanket, she really did, but she didn't want to worry the lady. She didn't want her to try and think of a gift every time she did her a favor.
"Oh poppycock! You'll take this blanket and you-will-love it." The old lady gave her a wink. Then Saya nodded with a huge smile while hugging her new blanket.
"Thank-you!" she said with a bow.
The next day Saya was standing in front of Sunagakure academy waiting for the bell to release the three musketeers. That's her nickname for the three kids from yesterday. She still has no idea what she wants for her end of the deal. At first she figured a blanket, but the nice old lady gave that to her. What to do? What to do?
"Well lookie here, the shoplifter actually showed," Pigtails said. Her two friends Ringo and Kenichi stood behind her doing their own thing. Ringo was staring up at the clouds in dreamland while Kenichi was obviously staring at his phone.
"Of course I did. I said I would be, didn't I?" Saya pointed out. Suotome wasn't expecting a comeback so she tensed up.
"Er-um… This way!" Suotome demanded after giving up on her next comeback. Saya began to follow after them. "Did you come up with your end of the bargain yet?"
"Nope." Suotome looked like she was about to object and say something but kept her mouth shut instead. "Why do you want to turn me in so badly?"
"Because you stole items from the store and that's a crime," Suotome, or Sato, said plainly.
"How else am I supposed to eat?" Saya murmured.
Sato looked at the girl in shock. "Well maybe you should have never ran away from home. You should go bac-"
"I didn't run away! So stop talking about things you don't understand!" Saya picked up her pace while everyone stopped walking and started paying attention to the argument. Even Kenichi looked up from his phone.
"So she's an orphan after all," Ringo said, "Looks like you were right, Nichi."
"Of course I was," he said plainly looking back down at his phone.
"Wha!" Sato shrieked. "You guys knew this and didn't say anything to me!"
"No," Nichi said plainly, "We only suspected it and we did tell you. You just didn't listen." Sato slouched down sulking.
"So who am I supposed be fighting?" Saya interrupted, waiting for them next to a pole.
"That would be me," Nichi claimed putting his phone into his back pocket, the headphones were still plugged in.
"Okay let's get this over with," Saya said getting into a fighting stance.
"Hold on. We never said it would be hand-to-hand combat." Nichi walked over to some targets Saya didn't see before then and pulled out a bucket of kunai's. "Whoever doesn't hit the target first loses."
"So first one to miss is the sucker, right?" Saya simplified. Nichi nodded.
"You can have a practice round if you like."
"Nah, I'm good." Saya walked up to the basket and grabbed a kunai. Throwing it at the target, she made clean bulls eye. Which made them all stare at her with astonishment. "A girls got to learn how to protect herself on the streets."
"Let's go then."
In the end Saya lost after about half an hour. Seriously how can someone go that long without missing? The only reason why Saya lasted so long is because she would practice aiming with Dango sticks (some call them dumplings on a stick), the rest of it was a piece of cake. Even if the handling on a kunai is much different than a sharp stick.
"Aaaaagggghhhh!" Saya fell to the ground screaming. "How did I lose!? I don't want to go to jail! Seriously, this is the second worst thing that's happened to me!" Then she began pouting with her cheek against the sand. "And I really wanted to test out that blanket the old lady gave me."
"Second?" Sato murmured. "Then what's the first?" Saya sat up almost instantly.
"None ya," Saya also murmured. "My parents left me that's all…" Everyone's eyes widen, not expecting her to answer. Saya stood up when everything got quite. "I had fun. We should do this again sometime." She started walking away.
"Hold on! Where are you going?" Sato asked.
"Wait, you were serious about turning me in? I thought you were playing a game." Saya stared at them blankly.
"Actually she was serious," Kenichi explained, "We were just making sure she didn't get into any trouble when we weren't looking." Saya burst out laughing.
"That makes sense," Saya said in between laughs, "Of course pig tails would need babysitters!"
"Hey!" Her expression changed quickly from mad to nervous. "Er…um… D-did you," Suotome asked lowly while fidgeting, it soon became shouting, "Did you actually mean what you said!?" Saya stopped laughing and started listening. "You know… about doing this again." Saya stopped to think about it.
"Yeah! I guess I did!" Saya replied with a smile.
"Then I have a proposition," Sato proclaimed, "Will you enroll at our school?! The year just started and we have only gone over little things so far, like taking notes. I think you would have fun. You could make new friends and-"
"What makes you think I want to go to school? Especially with you three?" Saya asked with an attitude.
"Uh… I'm sorry… I thought-"
"I mean it seems fun but… mmmimmmmmnotmmmmmreallymmmmthatmmmmsmart," Saya mumbled.
"What?" Ringo asked while leaning in closer.
"I've never gone to school so I don't know anything but the basics!" Saya shouted. "Like counting by ones and the alphabet. I know some words though, enough to get by… and-"
Ringo started crying very loudly. "I-Its o-okay, okay? I-I'll help you o-out! Kenichi's at the top of his class and I'm sure he'll help you study. Suotome won't be much help because she doesn't excel in anything, but she'll try!"
"Hey!" Sato shouted.
"Yeah sure I'll help," Niche said while he was on his phone. He seemed to be texting.
"Thanks… but… do you even know my name?"
"Uhhh…" Sato hummed.
"Hn?" Niche didn't look away from his phone.
"Name?" Ren questioned, "Its Liliana isn't it?"
"No, that's not my name," Saya denied. "Let's introduce ourselves properly. I'm Saya Teyomi!" She winked and waved a peace sign.
"I'm Suotome Ayami!" She stuck out her tongue.
"My name is Kenichi Tachibana," he announced not looking up.
"Uh… my name…? Let's see…" Ringo thought harder than she needed to. "Oh! It's Ringo Suemoy but you can call me Ren!" she introduced with a smile and rosy cheeks.
"It's nice to meet you all!"
"I think we should give her a nickname," Ringo recommended. "What do you think?"
"Nickname?" Saya questioned.
"That's a great idea!" Sato approved. "But… Saya is a pretty short name, it'll be tricky."
"Ringo's the one who came up with all of our nicknames. I'm sure she'll figure out something," Kenichi said in a matter of fact tone. Sato gave a smile of agreement.
"Um… Let's see here…" Ringo thought through some good ones but came out with only one. "How about Aya!?"
"Aya? I like the sound of that!" Saya spoke with a smile. Every one smiled along with her.
From then on Saya's life was much easier. She got an education at the academy and was at the top of her class in hand-to-hand combat. When she graduated with her three wonderful friends they all picked the same sensei together and were all put on the same team. For those of you who don't understand the sands teaming, the students pick the teacher and everyone who chooses that sensei is in the same group. When the Chūnin exams come around they split their team in half and then each of them search for a third member, since it was usual for the sand to have uneven groups. Or that was the plan.
Later on during their first C ranked mission, it dramatically took the turn for the worst and they found out the mission was actually an A rank. They originally were supposed to escort an object that was said not to give many risks, but every good shinobi knows that no mission comes without risks. On their way to the land of rice patties they were surrounded by bandits and Ringo ended up risking her live to save her friends. Saya, Kenichi and Suotome all made it away safely with tears in their eyes along with grief and regret in their hearts. Not too far away, but not close enough for comfort, their sensei was fighting a well matched opponent and couldn't escape to save his students.
Afterwards, everyone was depressed and miserable and even though they shared those emotions, they each showed it in a different way. Saya would walk around town sulking through the day and casting an aura that made others feel sluggish and slow working. Kenichi would stand in front of her grave all day without listening to his music or twiddling his fingers on his phone. The two of them sulked while Suotome tried cheering everyone up. Even if she felt as depressed and lonely and just as guilty as the others, she would always wear a smile.
"Why…?" Saya started to ask, but she was too worked up with tears in her eyes to finish right away, "Why do you smile? ARE YOU HAPPY SHE'S GONE!?" Kenichi stood staring at the ground with shadows falling over his face.
"N-no of course not…" Suotome answered quietly.
"Then why do you look so happy!?" Saya shouted placing her hands on her face to hide her tears.
"Because… Because I know Ringo wouldn't have wanted us to stop smiling!" her shouts started to become whispers, "Did you ever once not see her smile?" Saya and Kenichi looked up with shock and realization. "She always wore a smile. Even when she felt broken hearted her smile filled the room." Suotome smiled very brightly for her friends Nichi, Aya and most of all for Ren… for her friend Ringo. "Even on days like this her smile would bring cheer and happiness." She began to break out into tears while falling to the ground and covering her eyes. "I… I want to smile for her! I don't want her precious smile to vanish! If I smile… she will always be here, no matter what! As long as I smile- No! As long as we smile she'll be holding our hands with us! Laughing with us! Crying with us!" Suotome shakily took a deep breath before continuing. "For as long… as I am alive and breathing…" She whispered loud enough for them to hear. "For as long as I can move in the slightest bit, even if it's just a twitch or a blink of an eye… I will smile for her." She practically breathed those words. "Now tell me." Then she yelled her question with tears falling from her face, "Do you think her smile should disappear along with the rest of her!?"
Her two friends were speechless. No words could match what she had just said. She spoke what filled her heart and no one can top the words from a person's soul. I don't care how skilled of a smooth talker you are, you can't fight the bond of a true friendship, especially one this powerful. Sato's words reached out to her friends, touching their hearts and wrapping around their souls. They now realize that Suotome is right in every possible way and they burst into tears to the fact of not recognizing this before. Both of them.
"I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry," Saya repeated choking on her words. "Sato's right, Ringo. I can't believe I didn't think of it myself. You would have wanted us to smile even when you're gone. But still… I can't… it's too painful!"
"We should still try…" Nichi suggested with a very solemn look.
"He's right," Sato agreed, "Don't think of her being gone. Think of her smile. Think of every time she was a scatter brain and thought we graduated school when it was only our second year because she dreamt it the night before. Think of how… even with the smallest names she could come up with a cute nickname for us. Think about the good times… not the bad times." Sato shared Ringo's smile to the friends standing in front of her. They returned the smile, a real smile. All three of them shared their dear friends smile. They shared Ringo's precious smile. Then they went in for a group hug and began to cry again, but this time… they had smiles.
"I'm home!" Hana called out.
"Just in time! I just finished setting the table."
"Aren't I always," she bragged then sat down at the table. Saya sat across from her on the other side. "Thank-you for this food." Hana bit into a piece of chicken with a smile.
"You seem in a good mood today," Saya pointed out, "Something good happen?"
"Uh-huh," she hummed, biting into another piece of chicken. "What about you? You seem unusually happy yourself."
She closed her eyes and made a warm hum. "I was thinking about the past and how I met your parents and one of our very dear friends," Saya answered biting into her dinner. Hana was taking another bite of food when she stopped midway to her mouth, then blinked.
"Hm?" Hana looked up to see Saya crying. Then she noticed her smile, but it wasn't the smile that stood out the most. It was the fact that she wasn't forcing a smile just to comfort her. It was a true genuine smile.
"I miss them… so much." She kept crying while managing a smile.
"Then why the hell are you smiling!?" Hana asked not in an angered tone. It was more like she was aggravated because she didn't understand.
"Do you want to know the story behind this smile?" Saya asked, her expression was the same. Hana stared at her confused on how a smile can have a story.
"I'm only smiling because of your mother, and because of what she told me and your father that day," Saya began to tell her the story with a smile on her face and tears running down her cheeks. "Ever since that day I have never cried without smiling."
Authors Note:
~Was that emotional enough for you guys? I cried a little when writing this, but I didn't go to sleep last night and my emotional state is pretty insane when I'm half asleep. And how about Suotome's speech? If you didn't pick up on it, Suotome or Sato is Hana's mom. And if you guys didn't realize before Kenichi has the same last name as Hana and I mentioned Suotome told Hana's father and Saya that big speech about smiles. Wink-wink-nudge-nudge!
~Hey I have a question. Has anyone ever made a Fanfiction for their Fanfiction? I thought it would be interesting to do and wondered if anyone has ever done one. I'm not saying I am going to do one, I just had a thought. Reply to my question.
PLEASE REVIEW! JOh please, I would ever so appreciate it.
L.L.L.B.I.A.H.G.D.R.A.F.
