A/N: I don't own Naruto.
Warning: Language, mentions of murder...Gaara.
Hello: Japanese
Helllo: English
10
"It's far too sunny."
And that is my first and overwhelming impression of Konohagakure. And it is. Greens and golds, earthy and rich. I come from a world of sombre blues and smoke. The Chunin at the huge gates is ushering us forward and flicking through paperwork ignoring the morbid curiosity I lace over him.
As soon as the gates open up and devour myself and the three travelling with me I almost physically stagger from the noise. There's movement and voices everywhere. Kirigakure is almost constantly silent like the abused child tiptoeing around eggshells while her alcoholic parents sleep it off. But this place…is so full and alive. I'm not entirely sure if I like it. How could somewhere so colour welcome me and vice versa. Not that I'm the classic misery riddled and vengeful Kiri nin but still I feel like an outsider.
"Well then," Hitoshi readjusts his glasses in one quick movement, "I need to see some people. You have an hour before we convene back at the establishment I'll seek you out then."
Hitoshi turns to me with one of his sickly, faux smiles, "try not to get into trouble."
"Us? Trouble? We chafe at the very notion my dear man," I reply with a smirk.
Hitoshi disappears promptly and the other two join him now they no longer have to be in my company. The two Uncle has assigned are so startling nondescript that it's easy to pass over their presence. They wear the traditional Kiri shinobi uniform with the grey guard over each chest. They're far older than me, closer to eighteen than my thirteen years, and the vacant empty quality to their eyes is almost unnerving. Both cover their faces with black masks and cover their hair with their Kiri headbands so its almost impossible to distinguish physical features. In short, they're just as dull as Hitoshi.
I wait until they've gone before smirking and uncurling my fist around the crumpled piece of paper nestled in my palm. It only has two names.
'Uzamaki Naruto.
Gaara of the Sand.'
Carefully I slip it back into my jacket before fishing a liquorice lace out. Gnawing on the end I make my way through the snaking streets, humming with a slight skip in my step.
Time to meet the family.
…..
Hitoshi still feels the urge to check on Ren after dealing with the needed procedures. But he hasn't the time. The most pressing matter is bearing down on him and if he wasn't who he is a normal level of urgency sparking through his fingers. The centre that the Hokage has procured for the traveling parties isn't safe enough, too many ears and too many eyes, so Hitoshi makes his way towards the rundown districts in a premeditated amble.
He looks aimless.
He acts aimless.
But Hitoshi is anything but.
Aito is waiting outside, arms folded across his broad chest and the Ame headband resting against the tanned skin of his thick, bull like neck. The dark trunk-like limbs make an almost comical comparison to the stick-like arms and deathly pale skin of Hitoshi.
Aito bows his head in acknowledgement and Hitoshi replies with that watered down faux smile of his.
"Akira is inside I presume?" Hitoshi re-rights his glasses with that quick flicking movement of his.
"He is," Aito's voice rumbles up from somewhere deep inside his chest and barrels out his mouth like thunder.
"Then we'd best not keep him waiting," Hitoshi gestures for Aito to take the lead and both bodies enter the unassuming single story home.
Akira glances up, withered hands still curled around the wicker cane, and shuffles ever so slightly in the huge cushioned hair he's sunk his old bones in.
"Good day," Hitoshi begins, switching to English immediately now all three contacts are huddled inside the tiny house, "You're looking well."
"I wish I could say the same Alex," Akira fixes him with a stink eye that is almost entirely swallowed by the overlapping wrinkles that coat his face.
"Yeah, you look like crap,"Aito grunts.
"Well,"Hitoshi takes his glasses and meticulously cleans them with a cloth completely unaffected by their blunt comments, "We'd best get down to-"
Hitoshi lifts his head from his ministrations and finds the other two occupants of the room gawking at him. Hitoshi sighs deeply before addressing the incredulous stares.
"What is it?"Hitoshi asks irritably.
"What happened to-"Akira gestures towards his liver spotted head and the long, wispy eyebrows perched on folds of wrinkles.
"Where the fuck are your eyebrows and why the fuck are you bald?"Aito supplies instead staring at Hitoshi with a level of suspicion that really doesn't befit the situation.
"And why is there-" Akira's hands smooth over the baggy ball of his skin that is his head.
"Why the fuck is there a yellow sweet stuck to your head?" Aito grunts.
"I see you two are as eloquent as ever," Hitsohi mumbles under-breath before readdresses them with his pasty smile, "It has been some years since our last meeting there is much to discuss. My current...appearance plays some part in the new circumstances I've managed to fit myself into."
"So you managed it then?"Akira nods sagely, "The Jinchuriki is now under your tutelage?"
"She is,"Hitsohi replies, "Though unfortunately I have little to no sway over her. She remains very much the property of the Mizukage. She's also completely forsaken her memories. It's unfortunate that the only one of us to born into this world with such a huge degree of power has no real notion of what she could do with it."
"Regarding the Mizukage have you made any more progress with the rebellion?"Akira questions.
"I have. I've managed to amass quite a few followers in that respect and I am certain that at least the majority of Kiri Nin are questioning whether or not the Mizukage's actions are his own," Hitoshi answers.
"And you, Aito, have there been any developments in Amegakure?"Akira redirects his attention to the stocky middle-aged man with his arms still folded across his chest.
"Unchanging from what I can gather. It seems they are still recruiting, there haven't been any moves towards the Jinchuriki yet,"Aito replies.
Akira nods slowly and Hitoshi takes this moment of quiet to turn to the other younger man (though compared to the now silent ancient man anyone would seem younger).
"My future condolences for your team,"Hitsohi smiles.
Aito rounds his shoulders away and his mouth disappears into the high lapels of his thick coat, "They're good kids, they don't deserve...to go like they do."
"Consider it a small mercy then that Gaara finds them instead of Ren,"Hitoshi continues.
Aito's thick brows furrow over and meet at the top of his broad nose.
"Is she as bad as him then?"Aito mumbles only hearing rumours carried on the backs of travellers about the child demon in the bloody mist.
"Hrmm, difficult to say. She is far more unlikely to initiate a fight. Even though she seems to have an unhealthy appetite for proving herself through conquest generally Ren will not pursue needless combat,"Hitoshi shrugs, "However when the fancy does arise...at least Gaara is quick."
Aito makes no other moves to speak.
"So what is it that we intend to do about Sasuke?" Hitoshi finally voices, "And the Jinchuriki, am I to presume that we will still be following our previous intentions?"
Silence.
"Hey, old fart, we're talking to you," Aito frowns.
Hitoshi makes his way over to Akira and the battered, old chair he's hunched into. He bends down ever-so-slightly to place his ear over Akira's mouth then sighs deeply.
"He's asleep again,"Hitoshi mutters then turns to address Aito.
"We may as well-ah!"
"You coffin-dodging bastard get your wrinkly ass up!"Aito roars barrelling towards the old man and shaking him at such a speed that it takes a moment for his wrinkles to fid the rest of his skin.
Hitoshi merely sighs heavily and massages the growing headache between his eyes while Akira squeals girshly (which is more than a little disturbing since the man numbers around ninety) and Aito flings every curse known to man in the background.
...
"What are you bastards doing in my village?"
The question throws me ever so slightly. I pause, liquorice lace still hanging from the corner of my mouth, and spin on my heels peering down one of the many pokey little alleyways that cover this place. It is the plural that makes me halt. So far I've already encountered many of Konohagakure's inhabitants (shinobi and civilian alike) and they've all thrown suspicious and curious glances at the three wavy lines of my headband but so far no one has openly questioned my presence (it is the Chunin Exams after all). The plural makes me wonder whether this questioner is aware of Isobu's presence.
My face draws long as I peep around the corner. The alleyway is not entirely empty. A small cluster of little bodies make stage in the centre, three much young, two around my age and another two who appear to be my seniors though not by much.
"What's this?" I murmur curiously.
'Ren…Isobu-boku thought you were looking for the others?'
"We are but this looks like the beginnings of a catfight," I smirk, "We should make a mature interception so there's no trouble on safe, civilian streets."
'….You're going to antagonise them aren't you.'
"Why, pray tell, wasn't that a question?" I whisper, already sneaking my way towards the group. Isobu doesn't respond and I have to muffle a snicker.
They make an odd group though I only spare them a cursory glance (check for weapons, movement, indications of their next action). All are leaf besides the one in the weird cat get-up and the older girl who if the hourglass shape carved into the metal of their headbands is any indication hail from Suna.
Creeping nearer I notice the presence of another boy. This one two looks about my age. He leans against the bark of the tree (there's damn trees everywhere here) and the arrogant smirk that pulls at his lips instantly fosters dislike.
"Sasuke-kun!" the pink haired girl squeals so loudly that I almost jump.
"What the hell was that," I whisper, raising an eyebrow, "some kind of verbal twitch."
The blonde boy beside her is staring at the scene as if he's suffered a sudden case of constipation while the other two are staring up in equal amounts of wonder and displeasure at the boy hidden among the leaves. The little boy who I can only presume was being thrown about by the Suna Nin is scrambling over to his two weepy companions.
Make-up Cat guy is rubbing at his wrist as his hand spasms, "Ah...another guy who pisses me off."
"Get lost!" comes the curt reply from tree guy and I have to suffocate the snicker that rises up. This is the most pathetic pissing contest I've ever seen.
"KYAA! SO COOL! GET HIM SASUKE-KUN!"
Holy shit! What's wrong with her? I stare at the pink haired girl who's squirming about on the spot like some demented worm and seriously begin to consider whether or not she's suffering from some rare form of retardation. And that's a lot, coming from me because...well, I doubt I'd be wining any sanity prizes as it is.
"Hey punk get down here!" it's kitty boy again. He's obviously itching from a damaged ego and the boy in the tree seems to be gaining some smug satisfaction from the twitching fingers of Kitty's hand.
"I hate show-offs like you the most," Kitty continues, reaching behind his back for a wrapped object with an odd tuft of dark hair popping definitely from the top. I lean further forward from the shadows I've concealed myself in. What is that? A smirk crawls across my lips. It looks interesting...unless of course it's where Kitty keeps his emergency supply of wigs. I doubt it however when his fellow Suna Nin steps forward in alarm.
"Hey!" she barks, "you're even going to use Karasu?"
A Karasu? The smirk grows. That sounds impressive.
'Isobu-boku thinks you should leave...find the others.'
"One second Isobu-sama," I lean even closer, "this looks like it's about to get interesting."
"Kankuro stop."
And with that command my fun dies too.
Kunkuro (who I can only presume is Kitty) and the blonde Suna Nin beside him freeze and I see the look of fearful submission pass over their eyes. The air suddenly pulls taunt in the chests of the players this scene holds as yet another character is ushered onto the scene. My smirk spills over into a grin.
"You're an embarrassment to our village," his voice is so clear and sharp that it feels as though it cuts straight through you.
He should be laughable. Hanging upside down and glaring at everyone as if they're something that personally disgusts him but he's not. I can smell the blood on him, thick and heady and lodged deep down the back of my throat.
Do you know what wins a fight eight times out of ten. Skill, strength, speed these all help of course but what really wins a fight is the willingness to go where others won't. Brutality, having no barriers or restrictions just doing anything in your power to see the others blood smeared across every nearby surface.
I watch the cold sweat run down their faces under the unblinking flat wall of that boy's eyes.
"G, Gaara," Kitty stutters.
Gaara?
My head snaps from Kitty to the crimson haired boy with renewed interest.
'Isn't that the name of one of the Jinchuriki?'
"It is," I whisper in reply then frown slightly, "but he looks far too short to be a demon."
Despite my words I can feel my heart beating its fists against my ribs. They're real. Another Jinchuriki is right there. I almost expect him to disappear the moment I blink not that I dare to. No, believe in the nonchalance I'm playing. If I place too much trust in this...I don't know how to finish that thought but to make something fragile and precious is to only allow myself weakness. And I can't do that.
I'm Ren, I'm the strongest, the greatest demon of the bloody mist.
This blooming, pathetic hope is not something a demon posses.
"Losing yourself in a fight, how pathetic...why do you think we came to Konohagakure?" Gaara continues.
"L, look Gaara they started it," Kitty isn't looking so cocky anymore. In fact he's so paper thin right now I can almost see through the bravado at the little boy shaking in his sheets as the monsters rise up from under his bed.
"Shut up..." and they do, everything suffocates under the command, "...I'll kill you."
Maybe if I had grown somewhere else. Maybe if I had been anyone else. I would have felt the same shiver crawling cold up the backs of the others in the midday sun. But I wasn't and I'm not. I've heard Uncle do this, felt the same words push their way past my lips. I must stink of blood as he does. So why do I feel disappointed in his words?
'Ren...are you okay?'
My thoughts shake loose from cutting down people like weeds in the mist, from blood on my face and my hands and God on everything.
'...Ren?'
A short, puff of air escapes my nose as sun and the sound of bird song pierce through the heavy mist that lends its name to home. I'm being stupid again.
I snort and roll my shoulders in an attempt to dislodge the dark creeping up my back.
The others are still frozen in place and I take the opportunity to slink closer. Not Kitty or the other Suna and not the pink haired girl with the vocal twitches, I guess that only leaves one option. I place my head directly behind the blonde boy's shoulder and resist the urge to wrinkle my nose at the sensation of the coarse golden spikes against my skin. He smells of sweat and Ramen and I can hear his heart thundering in his chest, see the cold sweat slid down the tanned skin of his neck. Is this what they look like when they see me. Like little mice caught in a Viper's stare.
"Oooh," I whistle, "what are you going to do now?"
"ARGGHHHHH!" The boy screams and flails his arms in a display so violently alarmed that he manages to punt himself onto his backside.
All eyes flick from the crimson haired boy to myself.
"How! How long were you creepin' around like that!" the blonde boy yells waving a pointing finger at me in equal parts surprise and outrage.
"We've been here the entire time," I reply brushing invisible specks of dust from the lapels of my jacket. Honestly, so dramatic.
"We?" the blonde's head swivels about at a furious pace and he even sniffs deeply a couple of times as if he can sniff this other being out. Now I look at him his head seems disproportionately large for his skinny neck. His features are as large and loud as the voice blaring from his mouth. And always moving as if trying desperately to keep up with the wild ramble of emotions that are undoubtedly pulsing about inside that little body of his.
"Isobu-sama and I," I reply then wrinkle my nose ever so slightly, "And may we say that is the most hideous jumpsuit we've ever seen."
And it honestly is. Such a garish shade of orange and the material looks like it'd be irritable on the skin. You'd think Konohagakure would clothe their weapon appropriately.
"Who the hell are you?" the black haired boy is scowling directly at me but from the hard sheen of those black-out eyes I get the impression this facial composition is anything but new to him.
"I," I smirk and flourish myself into a bow, "am Ren, the demon of the Bloody Mist."
"No you're not!" the blonde shouts still jabbing a finger at me, "We already beat that guy's ass and you're a lot shorter than him."
I frown in confusion and glance across at the pink haired girl as if she holds some form of answer. She's just staring at me with her mouth hanging open.
Fantastic.
"And you've got really weird eyes," the blonde continued squinting up at me from where he still sat with his cheeks puffed out and his bottom lip jutting forward like some strange, insulted chipmunk.
"Naruto you idiot!" the pink haired girl suddenly raged thumping her fist onto the crown of the blonde's head, "Her eyes are the same colour as my hair."
"Ah! Sakura-chan, stop hitting me!" Naruto yells back, gripping the back of his head with both hands.
I pay little attention to them (even though part of me bristles at the girl's comment; my eyes are a much darker and striking pink than her hair), to the Suna nin who are already making their exit and the now identified Sakura as she questions them. My eyes are rooted on the back of the blonde's spiky head of hair.
"Naruto," I mummer and crumple the paper in my pocket until there's nothing but scrapes left.
A/N:
As promised the next chapter. Thank you all so much again for the feedback I'm still kinda of shocked people are responding well to Ren considering she isn't very, well...nice. I probably won't update tomorrow or for a week since I'm off on HOLIDAY tonight :D (God it feels like forever since I've been off -.-) but I'll try if I can find anywhere that does free wifi. Anyway I hoped you liked this chapter.
THANKS FOR READING