Kyandi: I'm back!
Aisa: And we have another chapter for you, obviously.
Kyandi: Thankfully, I'm somewhere with internet, so I'm trying to update as many stories as I can.
Aisa: Which means, she going to have to go through this intro as fast as she could.
Kyandi: That's right. Hopefully all of you will enjoy this chapter.
Aisa: She had fun writing it.
Kyandi: That I did. So, everyone, enjoy and review.
Aisa: Kyandi-sama does not own Naruto.
Chapter 12 Not Leaving You
"Wow, that was loud..."
Aisa had to agree as she rubbed her poor abused ears. Beside her, Shitarou was doing the same after both of them had had their eardrums yelled out by Naruto.
"I take it these are your teammates." Shitarou stated.
"Yes, they are." Aisa confirmed.
"Chirura!? Chirura!?" Naruto sputtered out.
"Lower your voice, Naruto." Aisa told him tartly.
Naruto instantly snapped his hands over his mouth and looked around to make sure no one had heard him. Thankfully, no one was paying him any attention. He turned back to Aisa and her friend, his eyes scanning Shitarou as he dropped his hands.
"Chirura? But his eyes are green. I thought Chirura's eyes were red." Sakura said.
"I'm only half." Shitarou replied.
"He's the child I told you about, Naruto. The one from the story about the clan." Aisa explained.
"You mean he killed them all!?" Naruto asked in disbelief.
Shitarou seemed to deflate, his head hanging. "Why does everyone always say that as if they don't believe I could hurt a fly?"
"Because you act like it. Show more backbone." Aisa told him.
"I see you're just as cold and snippy as always." Shitarou retorted, making Aisa frown.
In a flash, she stomped one foot down on his toes. Shitarou yelped and quickly apologized to Aisa while hopping on one foot so he could rub the other. All the while, her teammates watched them, unable to believe they were in the presence of a Chirura. Just knowing that he was half Chirura, had all five of them tensing, their nerves on end. Aisa and Shitarou picked up on the shift to battle ready in her teammates. It put a frown on Aisa's face.
"He's not going to hurt anyone so you can all stop acting like he's about to go on a killing spree." Aisa told them tartly.
"It's fine, Aisa, really. I know what I did was shocking and cruel. Even if it has spared several like myself, it wasn't the right thing to do." Shitarou told her, holding his hands up in an attempt to calm her.
Aisa turned towards him, laying a hand on his arm, her fingers squeezing lightly in a touch of affection.
"You and the others are safe now. Cruel and wrong it might have been, but I would believe it would be a fair trade off considering how much safer several people are." Aisa said.
"Right. Us half bloods weren't the only ones in danger." Shitarou agreed.
The others looked between the two. Even to them, it was like Shitarou and Aisa were sharing a conversation with a double meaning behind each word they spoke. Sakura decided to settle on a safe topic as she tried to relax.
"How do you two know each other?" Sakura asked.
"I lived near the clan growing up." Aisa answered. "Shitarou and I use to meet in the woods and play. We had to be careful though. Shitarou is a half blood and I wasn't part of the clan. If we had been found, we would have been killed."
"I remember you almost got us caught once." Shitarou said with a grin.
"That was not my finest moment as a kinochi. Your laughter didn't help matters either." Aisa retorted.
"Perhaps not, but at least I didn't end up hanging upside down from a tree with my dress over my head. You had the most adorable und-"
"That's enough, thank you." Aisa said, snapping a hand out to cover Shitarou's mouth.
It was easy to tell by the way his eyes shined, that Shitarou was inwardly laughing at Aisa's discomfort. Naruto grinned as he watched two interact. They were obviously old, close, friends.
"Anyway. Shintarou likes to come by and catch up, now and then. We were just heading to get something to eat." Aisa said.
Kakashi looked between the two as Aisa pulled her hand back. He didn't get the feeling that she was lying. If anything, it seemed the arrival of an old friend seemed to make her more relaxed, more open.
"Well, have fun." Yamato told Aisa, still a little nervous to be near a Chirura.
"Aisa? Fun? How long have you known her exactly? She doesn't have "fun". She-"
"We're going. Before you divulge more than I want you to." Aisa said, cutting Shitarou off.
With that, she waved to the others and ushered Shitarou away from them as fast as she could. With her hands on his back, Aisa pushed her taller friend down the street while he laughed at her. They watched until the two vanished.
"For someone who caused so much destruction, he's surprisingly timid and kind." Sakura remarked.
"Aisa did say that he was trying to turn his life around." Naruto replied.
Kakashi, his book held in front of his face, glanced towards the direction Aisa had vanished in. Something Sakura had said, rang over and over in his head. How could someone, who supposedly killed almost a whole clan of his own flesh and blood, be so sociable and kind? How could he be so soft hearted?
Something wasn't right here.
He had a feeling that there was more to Shitarou than what they could see.
And he didn't like it.
-0-0-0-0-
"It's been a long time since we could do this."
Shitarou glanced across the table to where Aisa sat, already eating. She always seemed hungry, even when they had been children, she had always constantly been eating. When he didn't say anything nor reached to eat his own food, Aisa paused and turned her face towards him.
"Something's wrong. I should have known you wouldn't come see me just to chat. What is it?" Aisa asked.
"Aisa...we need help."
Aisa hated it when Shitarou came to see her with those words on his lips. It always spoke ill about how her next few weeks would go, when he did. Heaving a sigh, she set aside her chopsticks and leaned back in her seat.
"What happened?" she asked.
"Do you remember a man named Zumaragi?" Shitarou asked.
"Yeah. He was the right hand man of the previous clan leader. Cruel man, if I remember right. Had two henchmen, twins, Kanega and Nakaru. I never liked the three when I saw them. I always hid as fast as my legs could carry me when they would show up." Aisa remarked.
"So did I. They terrified Mother. Gave her nightmares." Shitarou said. Not that Aisa could have blamed his mother for how she had felt when she was alive. "Glad you remember them...they're still alive."
Aisa stiffened. The three had been three of the worst Chirura to ever exist. They were cruel, even by Chirura standards, bloody, sadistic, and beyond insane. The product of generations of inbreeding and twisted upbringing. They had been the clan's top hunters of half breeds and Leaf shinobi. Aisa could see why Shitarou was nervous and upset.
"Where?" Aisa asked.
"About a week's trip, walking on foot, to the northeast. They're moving slow, taking their time, but there's no doubt in my mind...they're coming here. I already moved the others like me to our second hideout, out of the way of their path. I thought I should warn you so you could warn the Hokage." Shitarou told her.
"I appreciate the heads up. I'll tell Tsuna-nee." Aisa promised, her brow already furrowed as she thought.
"Look, Aisa...I'm sorry we keep having to bring this to you-"
"Stop right there, Shitarou." Aisa shook her head, cutting him off. "I made a promise to you and the others. I'm here when you need the help. I don't particularly like having to do this, but I will. Better me then the rest of you. So don't worry about it. I'll talk to Tsuna-nee and this will be handled. You'll be able to return home soon enough."
"I hope you're right. We've had to uproot our lives enough." Shitarou said lowly.
"I know. Just return to the others and assure them that it'll be fine. I promised that I would be the one to handle these things, and I will." Aisa assured him.
Shitarou stared at her, his expression mournful at best. Reaching across the table, he laid a hand on top of Aisa's, squeezing it until it was a little on the painful side.
"Be careful." he told her.
"I will be as careful as I can. You know how Chiruras like Zumaragi are. It's like battling the world's second worst monster."
"Second?" Shitarou asked.
"Don't you remember...I'm the world's worst monster."
-0-0-0-0-
"Huh...she's not answering."
Naruto frowned as he knocked on the door once more. When Naruto the rest of Team Kakashi, had decided to do some team training, they had Kakashi lead them to Aisa's apartment. Naruto had spent the last two minutes knocking, with no answer from the other side.
"Where could she had gone?" Sakura asked.
"She's not home, dearies."
All five of them leaned over the rail to look down at the ground below. There stood the old woman who ran the shop downstairs. She was smiling up at them, a broom clutched in her weathered, old hands.
"I'm sorry, ma'am, but what did you say?" Sakura asked.
"Aisa left two mornings ago. She had her pack all packed up. Said something about a mission that would have her away for a while." the woman said.
"Did she say how long or what the mission was?" Yamato asked.
"All she did was ask that I look after a few things for her since she was sure to be away for more than a week." the old woman replied.
More than a week.
Yamato and Kakashi shared a look. What kind of job would keep Aisa away so long and why hadn't she, at least, given them a heads up? The few missions she had had so far without them, she had at least told them that she was going to be gone for a while. This time, she had just left. Kakashi suddenly had a bad feeling in his gut. Aisa seemed the kind of person who was set in her ways, a person of habit. If she did something once, she was likely to repeat it. Something that was a bad trait to have as a shinobi, for it made them predictable, but it came in handy for him for it told him that if she was willing to break that routine action, then something was up.
"Hey! Steel-for-brains, is that you!?"
A sudden voice speaking up, had Kakashi turning towards the balcony just a jump from her front porch. He knew that voice and that insulting nickname. Hopping across to the balcony, he found the screen latched in place, but the door beyond open. Peering through, he could see Ihai locked inside a cage, his teeth bared in displeasure. Aisa never locked him up and lately, she had been taking him with her on missions.
The bad feeling in his gut started clawing it's way up into his chest, then.
"Where is she?" Kakashi asked.
"Like the hell I know!? She locked me in here, claiming it was for the best. She only locks me up when she goes on one of her hunting jobs." Ihai replied.
"Hunting jobs?" Yamato asked as the others joined Kakashi.
"You heard me! Now go find her! Every time she comes back from one of those jobs, she's half dead!" Ihai barked.
Kakashi didn't stop to question it. There was only one person who could tell him where Aisa was. Raising to his feet, Kakashi gave his team a look that they knew all too well. Things had just gotten serious. Leading the way, Kakashi made his way to Tsunade's office. There, they spilled into Tsunade's office, making her and Shizune look up at them.
"Kakashi? What is the meaning of this?" Tsunade asked.
"Where's Aisa?"
Tsunade's surprised expression changed to one of seriousness and she shared a look with Shizune who had the same kind of look on her face.
"She's on a mission. She'll be back in a few days." Tsunade replied.
"Cut the crap, Grandma! We know she's on a hunting mission." Naruto snapped.
Tsunade's eyes narrowed, her brows furrowing together as she looked at Naruto. It was obviously something they weren't suppose to know. Why was it that everything involving Aisa, had to be a secret? It was enough to drive a person crazy.
"Where did you hear that?" Tsunade asked.
"It doesn't matter. Where is she?" Naruto demanded.
Tsunade heaved a sigh. She knew Naruto wouldn't let this go, he never let anything go, but this time it wasn't just him. Every member of Team Kakashi had the same look on their face as Naruto. They were all determined to find out the truth with Aisa. Tsunade wanted to respect Aisa's wishes, but even she knew that Aisa couldn't continue to keep everything wrapped up so tight. She would never form the relationships in her life that she so dearly needed if she was constantly keeping everything about herself, a secret.
Something had to give and she knew it wouldn't be Aisa.
"Kakashi," Kakashi raised his eyebrows as Tsunade turned her eyes to him. "you know that Aisa is a Hokage secret."
"Yes."
"I didn't tell you the full reason why. Aisa's one of the best shinobi hunters there is. It's why she's suppose to be a reserved secret of the Hokages. It doesn't matter the abilities or rank of the shinobi she's suppose to go after. Once she's assigned to hunt someone, they better kiss their lives goodbye because she never misses her mark." Tsunade explained.
"So that's what she's doing right now?" Sakura asked.
"Doesn't sound too bad. She's strong." Naruto remarked.
"It's more complicated than that. Most of the marks she's assigned...are Chiruras."
Silence reined as horrified realization fell over the five. The sudden appearance of Shitarou, Aisa's disappearance shortly after...had he come to the village to warn her about the approaching of a Chirura threat? That meant...Aisa was out there fighting a Chirura at that very moment!? It was no wonder that Ihai said she came home half dead every time.
"Where is she!?" Naruto demanded once more.
"Naruto-"
"I don't care about all these secrets! Just tell me where she is before she gets herself killed!" Naruto yelled, cutting off Tsunade.
"She's always completed the job and in one piece." Tsunade replied.
"But she comes back half dead, don't she!? This could be the time she doesn't come back!" Naruto snapped.
Tsunade threw a glance at Shizune who had a somewhat panicked, concern look on her face. Heaving a sigh, Tsunade turned her eyes back to Naruto before linking her hands before her, her elbows perched on the desk top.
"Naruto, think about this for a moment. What you find out about Aisa by following her now, might be something you would prefer not to know. It could change the way you see her, completely. Do you really want to take that chance?" Tsunade asked.
It could change how they saw Aisa? Completely? Aisa's secrets were that big? While it didn't sound good, Naruto wasn't about to back down. Aisa, no matter what, was one of them. Yes, she didn't like Naruto very much, and she didn't along a lot with him, but she was still a teammate, still a friend. He wasn't going to let her get herself killed by insisting to do things alone.
And Kakashi was in complete agreement with him. He didn't like the idea of Aisa going at this alone. She had been alone for so long, but now she was apart of their team and Kakashi would never leave his teammates behind. Never again. If this meant risking finding out something about Aisa that could possibly be earth shaking, then they would all take it.
The five shared a look, nodding in agreement about their choice of action. Kakashi turned back to look at Tsunade who was awaiting their answer.
"Where can we find her?"
-0-0-0-0-
After gathering their gear, Team Kakashi headed out from the village, heading northeast. Pakkun lead them, tracking Aisa's scent. According to the dog, Aisa had moved quickly, the scents of her wolves mixed in with hers. She was tracking her target, whoever they were, and she was moving fast while doing it. That information, alone, lead Kakashi to believe that this target was a dangerous one indeed.
Why else would Aisa rush to find someone?
Rushed to find her before something could happen, they moved as fast as they could, only stopping long enough for everyone to catch their breathes before they moved on. Aisa had a two day head start on them. By the time the sun began to set, the moon rising higher into the sky, they still hadn't reached the end of her trail. Forced to stop and give everyone a break, the group came to a stop in a clearing. The all agreed to give themselves an hour to rest and then they would move on. If they stayed still for too long, they might lose Aisa's trail.
They were pushing it, they knew. If they ended up having to fight when they finally found Aisa, they couldn't afford to be exhausted from the run. Kakashi took this into consideration, making the team slow their pace when the hour break was up. It wasn't something that Naruto really wanted to do, but they had to consider their physical state. They had to still be making good time for Pakkun insisted that Aisa's scent was getting stronger.
If that was true, then she was on the move because they never got any closer than that the whole night.
By the time they had to stop again, the sun was inching up over the horizon.
"Damn! How far could she had gone?" Naruto asked.
"With two days...far." Sakura replied.
"She's close now, I'm sure." Pakkun assured them. "But her wolves are no longer with her. Their scents vanished about five hundred yards back."
Kakashi wasn't sure if that was a good thing or a bad thing. On one hand, that meant that Aisa was closing in on her target and that she would confront them soon, which was bad. On the other hand, that meant she would start slowing down, giving them a chance to catch up with her, which was good. He hoped they found her before she could really confront the enemy.
Moving on, they picked up their pace once more. They had not been on the move for more than an hour when Pakkun perked out.
"Heads up, she's found her target." Pakkun warned.
Wariness fell over all of them, all of them silently preparing for the fight ahead, Kakashi sending Pakkun away. They heard the sound of fighting before they saw anything. Landing in a clearing intersected by a forest road, they looked around. Kakashi could smell Aisa's scent in the air. Moving his headband up, he peered around him with this Sharingan eye. He could see the thin chakra lines all over the place that were constantly around Aisa.
She was nearby.
"Where is s-"
"Look out!"
Naruto was cut off as something darted free of the trees, crashing into him and carry him off to the side and behind a boulder. A moment later, two hands reached out, grabbing Yamato and Kakashi by the sleeve to yank them behind the boulder. Sakura and Sai quickly followed, ducking behind the large boulder without having to be yanked.
"You idiots! What do you think you're doing here!?"
Naruto raised his head, Kakashi and Yamato righting themselves to turn and face the person who had yanked on them. They were confronted with a bloody, beaten, and very livid Aisa crouched before them. Though she had questioned them, she was currently twisting and turning, as if searching the area, listening for approaching of enemies.
"Aisa! You're hurt!" Sakura said, moving closer to Aisa, a hand coming out to try to touch her.
Aisa pushed her hands away, her mouth twisting in a scowl. Sakura pulled her hands back to avoid having them swatted by Aisa.
"Stay put, Sakura. The five of you are all real idiots, following me out here. What did you think you were doing!? How did you even know where I was?" Aisa demanded.
Naruto had never heard her tone so sharp. None of them had. And she looked a mess too. Her clothes were torn, the skin beneath cut but not bloody. Her hair was stained with a mix of dirt and blood and she was currently missing one glove, showing a scar that raced over the back of her right wrist, as well as the pale, icy tips of her fingers.
"Lady Tsunade told us where you had gone." Sakura told her.
"Tch! I should have known. What is with the people in my life all suddenly deciding to meddle where they aren't wanted?" Aisa hissed to herself. "You can turn back around, right now, and leave. I don't need help here. I certainly don't need the five of you here."
"What's that suppose to mean!?" Naruto yelled, pushing himself up to raise to his feet.
"Get down, you fool!" Aisa snapped.
Kakashi grabbed Naruto's wrist, pulling him back down. When Naruto looked at him, Kakashi shook his head, giving him a pointed look. He then turned to Aisa, who was still twisting around.
"Fill us in on what's going on here, Aisa. The Hokage obviously thinks you need back up if she told us." Kakashi said, trying to reason with Aisa.
"You aren't a kind of back up I can make use of. Not here, not with this enemy. Your Sharingan wouldn't be of much use here. And I won't be responsible for your deaths." Aisa replied.
"Do you have that little faith in us?" Yamato asked.
"With this kind of enemy...I have little faith is everyone." Aisa told him, turning to lean around the boulder. "They will just devour any jutsu you throw at them."
"Devour? What do you mean?" Sakura asked.
Kakashi and Yamato caught on to Aisa's meaning quickly, the two of them getting a bad feeling in their guts. They remembered the story Aisa had told them and Naruto in the training field over lunch one day. The story of the clan of devourers.
"They're members of the Chirura Clan." Kakashi said, the seriousness of the situation settling in on him.
Aisa didn't move didn't turn back towards them, but Kakashi could see the stiffening in her shoulders, her fingers curling into tight fists. That was answer enough.
"If you understand that, then take the others and leave. You can't do anything against shinobi who can literally eat your chakra. Sooner or later, they will catch you and they will suck you dry." Aisa replied.
"But what about you? If they can really do that...what about you!?" Sakura asked.
"Just leave."
"Aisa!"
"No, Naruto! For once in your life, don't push the subject and just leave!" Aisa snapped.
She rounded on him, her expression serious. Naruto opened his mouth to argue with her when a new voice suddenly entered the conversation, the sound of it making Aisa's back go stiff.
"Oh, little half-breed! Why don't you bring your friends out to play with us too!" came a male voice.
"Yes, do. I can practically smell their blood and chakra from here. One smells so juicy, my mouth is watering. Has to be a young, attractive man." came a second, this one female.
Aisa greet her teeth, her grip on the boulder tightening until the rock began to crumble under the intensity of her grip. She twisted back around to face them.
"Leave. Now." she said, her words clipped.
"But Aisa, what about you!?" Naruto asked.
"I told you, Naruto...only a Chirura can kill a Chirura."
Slowly, the realization of the meaning behind that, sunk in. One by one, their expressions changed until all five were staring at her in horror. Aisa...Aisa was...a Chirura!?
"I told you I was a monster. Now that you get it, leave. I have enough blood on my hands without adding all of your's to it." Aisa told them before she rose and snaked around the boulder, her long hair trailing behind her.
Stunned silence fell over them until Naruto shook himself. Aisa was a Chirura...so what! She had accepted Naruto, somewhat, without ever once giving thought to what was sealed in him. He wouldn't hold against her the blood that ran through her veins. Turning, Naruto turned to Kakashi was staring at the spot where Aisa had crouched, the look in his eyes, thoughtful and serious.
"Kakashi-sensei? What do we do?" Naruto demanded. "We have to he-"
"We're leaving."
All four of Kakashi's teammates, turned to stare at him when he announced that in a firm voice. His expression suggested that he wasn't kidding. Naruto tried to argue but Kakashi just gave him a sharp look, that shut him up quickly.
"We're leaving, Naruto." Kakashi told him, turning and leading the way into the trees.
Beyond the boulder, Aisa stood in the pathway to the boulder, her back to where her team had been hiding. Through her jutsu, she could sense their departure.
"I knew it." she muttered lowly to herself.
Part of her was glad they had left. She wouldn't have to worry about them getting hurt, or worse, at the hands of her three targets. The other part was disappointed and, if she was being completely honest...a little hurt. She knew they wouldn't stick around if they knew the truth about her.
Who wanted to be around a monster born of the bloody gene pool of the Chirura clan?
Even Aisa hated herself for that stain.
She had loved her parents, but the burden that came with having Chirura blood in her veins, had become one that was slowly weighting her down and breaking her apart. But she could no more change the blood in her veins than she could change the sun rising in east and setting in the west.
But she didn't have the time to focus on that.
Aisa's head rose slightly as three people stepped onto the path twenty yards in front of her. She couldn't physically see them, but her jutsu weaved a clear enough picture of them for her. It was two males, one female, each baring a feral, crazed smile on their face, sharpened incisors bared like tiny knives. They all had cuts on them, though not a single one was bleeding. The man standing in the center, was a large, beefy man and Aisa could smell the blood that was dripping from his finger tips from where he had tried to rip into her stomach during one of their earlier clashes.
His two companions, as Aisa had heard, were twins and far smaller than their leader, the woman even smaller than her twin. Even then, the woman was still taller and more ripped than Aisa was. Not that Aisa envied her that. She liked how small she was.
Even without being able to see the color, Aisa knew that all three had hair and eyes as red as freshly spilled blood.
"Aw, did your little friends decide to leave you?" the woman, Kanega, mocked, her brother, Naraku, laughing like a loon.
"That's none of your business." Aisa retorted.
"I bet our little half breed here didn't tell them she had Chirura blood in her and now they hate her." Naraku added, making his two companions howl in laughter.
Aisa really didn't appreciate their sense of humor. A perk of being full blooded Chirura was that all the inbreeding and twisted philosophy made the person crazy and with the craziness, came a sense of indifference. They didn't have a care in the world on what others thought of them. To them, Aisa caring what others thought of her, was a ridiculous, naive notion worth being mocked and laughed at.
She didn't share their sense of humor.
"I don't share your sense of humor." Aisa said sourly.
"That's your problem, girl." This came from the middle man, Zumaragi. "Though, I can't blame you. It must really suck to be a monstrous mistake that even monsters don't want. A creature like you ain't got anywhere to go, huh? There ain't a single thing for you to live for, is there?"
Aisa really wasn't fond of mocking. Honestly, she didn't see any point in mocking an opponent like that. It never helped anyone. It seemed it was something else that the people of her clan did well. Useless mocking that made them look like total dicks.
"You're wrong."
Zumaragi stopped his laughter, raising an eyebrow as he stared at Aisa. He straightened his back, one bloody red eyebrow rocking up in questioning.
"Oh? Are you say you aren't a blemish?" he asked.
"Not exactly. I know who and what I am and, honestly, I'm exactly who and what people say I am. It's not like I can help that I was born this way. That's not what I was disagreeing with. I simply meant to correct you on your last statement. In fact, I have many things to fill my day. I'm not so simple minded as you that I can't enjoy a good book or something along those lines." Aisa replied.
Okay, so she could mock others too.
All was fair in love and war.
"Are you making fun of us?" Naraku demanded.
"It's not so funny when the shoe's on the other foot, is it? A monster I might be, but I still have a sense of humor." Aisa retorted.
"You little...!"
"The three of you have me all wrong." Aisa said, cutting off Kanega. "I don't particularly care what you have to say. In fact, I'm sick of listening to you people spout off your philosophy, claiming yourselves to be better than those like me. I might be lower than trash, but the other half breeds aren't. I think I've heard just about enough of your hypocritical claims. Think, and say, what you want, though I have a good idea on what it is."
"Oh, and what is that?" Zumaragi asked, amused.
"You think I'm nothing because I'm nothing like you. That I'm lower than low because my blood isn't as twisted as your's. You think you have me all figured out, that you know me, but you don't know anything about what I've been through or what makes me this way. You're simple minded, just like the rest of them have been and will fall for the same tricks they did. It's that simp-"
Aisa cut off as a whip made from Zumaragi's very blood, whipped out, lashing her across the left cheek and sending her head whipping to the right. She stood there for a moment as the blood that trickled from the wound began to weave the cut close like a set of stitches. Aisa's bare hand came up to touch her cheek, finger tips running over the blood stitches.
"You talk awful mighty for a piece of trash." Zumaragi snapped. "You are nothing more than a freakish mistake. A disgusting creature that even monsters don't want! You're own so-called comrades ran away from you! How dare you speak to me that way. I was Master Maruko's lead guard! You are just an urchin scraped from the bottom of the barrel!"
"And?"
Zumaragi stared at Aisa as she ran her fingers over the stitches once more before dropping her hand. She seemed to be calm, relaxed, not riled in the least. In fact, the only ones that seemed to be getting riled up, was the three of them.
"I would rather be an outcast than just bow down and obey a tyrant like Maruko was. I will always choose to be a freak over being a fake. Even if that means others will always shun me, because, when it's all said and done, there will be only one name on my grave and that's the only name I have to worry about. This world will never be what I wish it to be, so why should it matter if I fit into it's ideal of normal? Besides...look what following Maruko got the whole of the Chirura clan. His own grandchild killed him and now there are more half breeds left than there are pure breeds."
An angry, crazed gleam entered the threes' eyes. Aisa didn't need to see to know she had just seriously angered them. In a way, it was a good thing. Most Chiruras, these three being among those, had really bad temper issues and when they got angry, they got really stupid.
And as Aisa's mother use to tell her...there was no cure for stupidity.
Asia braced herself, preparing for the attack she knew was coming her way. Once their tempers were lost, they would throw themselves into a fight. It had been that way with every pure blooded Chirura she had ever faced.
With a roar like that of a crazed animal, Zumaragi launched his big body towards her. This was going to hurt, but she wasn't about to back down.
Fifteen yards, ten, five...he was right on her and she could feel his rancid breath on her face, when something came charging in from the side of her senses, smashing into Zumaragi and sending the large man flying away from her.
Aisa whipped around, facing the taller form that now towered beside her, standing close enough for her to smell the scent she had been slowly becoming familiar with.
"Hatake-san!?"
Kakashi stood beside Aisa, so close it was almost as if he was trying to defend her. It was a closeness that Aisa wasn't sure she was comfortable with. She went to step back away from him, for more than one reason, but Kakashi grabbed her elbow, forcing her to stay at his side.
"What are you doing?" Aisa asked.
"Have you forgotten that you are my teammate?" he asked.
"I really don't thi-"
"Have you or not?" Kakashi demanded, cutting her off.
"...No."
"Good. Then remember this...I don't leave my teammates behind. No matter who they are."
Aisa was surprised by the genuine softness in his tone as he spoke to her lowly, his grip on her elbow softening as well. She had expected disgust, or, at least, wariness. Not this. His next words were words she had wanted to hear since her family had died and it made her throat feel tight.
"Chirura or not, I don't care. I'm not leaving you, Aisa."
It was cheesy to admit...but her ice covered heart gave a flutter.
END
Kyandi: Screw a melting heart, I would have just melted.
Aisa: You have no composure then.
Kyandi: Not around hot guys like Kakashi, I don't. Come on, you can't say that didn't make you feel a little weak kneed.
Aisa: Not really.
Kyandi: I call bull.
Aisa: Whatever...
Kyandi: You're not denying it.
Aisa: ...Move on already.
Kyandi: Oh, fine. Everyone enjoy and review.
Aisa: We'll return as soon as possible.
Kyandi: Bye-bye!
