A Mission of Shinobi and Outsiders
Ch. 2 "A Mission Failed…For Now"
The Leaf ninja sat at the entrance to the cave, the children gathered around them as Shikamaru tended to the injury on Kensha's side the best he could; luckily it was just a flesh wound. Kensha introduced the kids one by one. The two kids from before were Konton Ongaku and Aggi Satsujin. There was another boy named Nijimaru Tokage. He was a bit shorter than Konton, with neat, short, light green hair and bright blue eyes. He wore a black sleeveless vest with no shirt, a long, simple metal chain necklace and dark purple pants with many pockets filled with art supplies. On his arms were hand drawn doodles of Koi fish, dragons and floral patterns that were high in detail. He seemed to carry himself like a noble, despite the way he dressed, and his mannerisms were highly polite.
The eldest girl, Yaketa Akumu, was about seven and came up to about Naruto's shoulder height. Her hair was dark brown and tied in a loose ponytail that came down to her collarbone. Her attire consisted of dark green shorts that went past the knees, a long-sleeved red and green striped shirt with a black skull with heart shaped eyes on the front, brown lace up boots with silver studs on the sides, knitted black fingerless gloves and a brown fedora with a blue Forget-Me-Not flower in the brim. She stuck close to Aggi; the two clearly best friends, though she was unmistakably the tougher of the two as the hot-headedness was easily seen in her midnight blue eyes.
The two youngest were not only siblings but were also Aggi's cousins. Orokana Omoshiroi, age five, and Ikimono Satsujin, barely a year old, were half sisters. Orokana had bright red hair tied up in cute double ponytails that stuck out from both sides. She had on a white shirt with long, rainbow sleeves, a red skirt with white leggings, multicoloured socks, and a necklace with a balloon shaped pendent. Ikimono had short black hair in a loose ponytail on the side tied with a purple pompom hair band (Like Rin from InuYasha) and the same emerald green eyes as her sister. She wore a sky blue baby onesie with lavender sleeves and a hood with bear ears. She sat in the lap of her older sister, loosely wrapped in a soft pink blanket with lion faces printed on the fabric. She stared happily at the people around her; the situation obviously to advanced for a child her age.
"You said before you were from the Village Hidden amongst the Demons." The Chūnin began as he finished bandaging her. "I don't recall a Shinobi village by that name in all the five great nations."
Kensha pulled the side of her hoodie down over her injury. "That's because we're not part the five nations. We live on the other side of the Silver Sea in a place called the Land of Creatures. It's quite a large coverage of land, with only two Ninja villages, so we have no need for assistance from the other nations."
"So then what are you doing here with a bunch of little kids?" Choji asked while munching on his BBQ chips, every so often offering them to Nijimaru and Orokana who sat on either side of him.
Kensha sighed as Aggi placed a reassuring hand on her leg and she returned the gesture by putting her arm over the girl's shoulders in a slight hug. "As much as I hate to admit it, I tried to take on a mission I was not assigned to. For a while, an organization called the Tetsudzuki have been kidnapping children from my village and selling them off overseas as some sort of slave trade. Ever since my younger cousin had been taken, I started gaining as much information about them as I could. Eventually I found out where they had prepared to ship the kids off and I had planned to take my findings to the authorities. Unfortunately, our village leader, the Onikage, isn't exactly the most…understanding type." She rolled her eyes as she continued, "I tried to persuade him to put me on the case but he insisted that it was no mission for a Genin like myself. They wouldn't even listen about the info I dug up. I even tried getting my own teammates to join me, but Kisoku never listens to me and Kuroneko… I like the guy, but he's the wimpiest ninja I know. So…I went off on my own. They were loading the kids onto a ship by hiding them in crates, drugging them to keep quiet, before containing them in the cargo hold. I managed to sneak aboard and locate them, but once I got the cell door open, one of those thugs knocked me out from behind. Next thing I knew, I was waking up tied to the ship's mast in the middle of the ocean. The boss of the Tetsudzuki, Rachi Kodomo, figured I was the right age and added me to the slave roster with the rest of these kids. When we arrived in the Land of Fire and they began escorting us to their hideout, I managed to break free from my restraints and get the kids out of there. We've been running for days now." She sighed as she pinched the bridge of her nose. "God, I never should have let Izumi's abduction cloud my judgment! I've really gotten myself and these kids in an awful mess."
Nijimaru smiled politely at Kensha, his right arm hanging in the loop of his necklace (Like Itachi does with his cloak). "Don't be so hard on yourself, Miss Kensha. If it weren't for you, we'd all probably all be slaves by now."
"I still say I could have kicked all their butts!" Yaketa smirked.
"Yaketa!" the children groaned, rolling their eyes.
"WHAT?! Someday, I'm gonna join the Anbu Black Ops and become a badass assassin! I totally could have beat those guys!"
"Even if you could," Aggi said teasingly, "how do you plan on getting us back home?"
Yaketa opened her mouth to speak but quickly closed it as she thought it through. "Grr, I hate it when you make sense!"
"Hey, you're the brawn and I'm the brains between us."
"Anyhow, we can't just leave you alone in unfamiliar land with a bunch of kids to protect." Shikamaru stood up. "I'm pretty sure our Hokage won't turn you guys away."
"Yeah," Naruto grinned excitedly, "Granny Tsunade will totally let you stay in the village!"
Kensha finally smiled. "Thank you all for your hospitality. I don't know what I would have done if I couldn't protect these kids."
"Well, I could have-"
"Yaketa, Shut up!" the kids groaned as they all started towards the Village Hidden within the Leaves.
XxXxX
The two groups made their way to the Village Hidden within the Leaves; the children keeping close in case the kidnappers were still in pursuit. "So," Neji asked Kensha, eyeing her with suspicion, "tell us more about this Land of Creatures."
"Well, we are basically a large island, a bit bigger than the Land of Tea. There are only two ninja villages, ours and our allies, The Village Hidden within Darkness. Both of the villages are top importers in the exotic pet trade as the wildlife in our part of the world is quite colorful. We usually don't have any enemies out of the usual, outlaws, thieves, poachers, drug runners. But I never thought there was anything as dreadful as the Tetsudzuki. Stuff like this isn't really my teams forte."
"What is your forte Miss Kensha?" Orokana smiled as her little sister cooed in her arms. "Ooh, are you one of the R.A.W.S shinobi?"
Naruto looked at the little girl with curiosity, "What in the world is a raw shinobi?"
Konton crossed his arms behind his head as he answered. "R.A.W.S is the Regional Animal Welfare Society. Their organization has been around since the third Onikage's reign."
"He's right, and I actually am one." The foreign ninja grinned, putting her hands in her hoodie pockets. "Through the years, overhunting has put a number of species in the endangered zone. R.A.W.S ninja like myself typically take care of black-market poachers and animal rescues. My clan originally founded the society, in fact."
Aggi beamed from ear to ear. "I'm totally gonna join the R.A.W.S when I become a ninja. It's my dream to work with animals. I've even been training my puppy, Smoulder, to be my Nin-dog!"
"Keh," Yaketa scoffed, "I still think it's ironic that your passion for animals all started from that venomous snake bite you survived a few years ago."
"Whatever! At least I didn't become a pyromaniac after stepping on a lit firecracker." Aggi rolled her eyes, snapping back at her friend.
Orokana laughed. "Ha! Dude, you'll need some ointment for that burn!" Kensha and the other kids groaned at her pun. "Hey, while most of you wanna have normal jobs, I'm gonna be an entertainer in the circus!"
Her baby sister giggled as she attempted to speak. "Cwlown! Kana, cwlown!"
"We're here, guys." Shikamaru said as they approached the Hidden Leaf Village. The kids looked at the giant walls and gate in astonishment.
"I still don't know about this…" Kensha thought as she held Orokana's hand tighter. "Are you guys sure we'll be safe here? I've never had any experience with non-allied shinobi. No offence."
"We normally don't let most outsiders in without a permit either," Neji answered, "but I doubt the Hokage would turn away these children."
Choji grinned, patting Aggi on the head. "Besides, what kinda threat would these little guys be?"
Noticing that she was still apprehensive, Kiba placed a reassuring hand on Kensha's shoulder and smiled. The kunoichi sighed and the group of new arrivals followed the Leaf ninjas into the Hidden Leaf.
XxXxX
They all made their way to the Jonin Station to speak with Lady Tsunade. The residents of the Land of Creatures waited by the door while the Leaf ninja caught her up on the situation. After some time, the young shinobi guest and the children were called in and they nervously entered. The six kids huddled behind Kensha as they approached the Hokage's desk, Shizune standing by her side. "So," the village leader began, "you're the girl whose got herself tangled with up with traffickers." The blonde Sannin interlocked her hands under her chin as she placed her elbows on the desk to look the newcomer in the eye.
She bowed respectfully. "Yes ma'am. I'm Kensha Inuchusei of the Village Hidden amongst the Demons in the Land of Creatures. These kids are from there as well."
"I've been told about your position and I must say, I have only heard rumours about your nick of the woods. Not many believe you guys actually exist. That aside, you've gotten yourself and these children in quite a predicament."
Kensha sighed with embarrassment. "I let the loss of my cousin drive my actions. I never intended to end up here or even get these kids involved. I just want to get these guys back home safe." Aggi and the others looked up at their rescuer, smiling to comfort her. She smiled back, putting her arm around Konton's shoulders.
Tsunade grinned at the girl as she sat up straight. "Well, with this… Tetsudzuki on your trail, I will allow you to stay here under our protection until our people can deal with them."
Shizune looked at the Hokage with concern. "But Lady Tsunade, it wouldn't be wise getting involved with outside affairs. We don't know anything about the people…or even enemies from their land."
Orokana stepped forward with her baby sister in her arms. "Oh please, please, PLEASE let us stay! We have no way to get home and the woods are scary!"
"Nobody's going to turn you away little one. We may not have all the information, Shizune, but we can't leave a group of children out in the cold with targets on their backs." Tsunade said, smiling at the child and baby.
"Thank you again for your hospitality, Lady Hokage. We won't be much trouble, I promise." Kensha said as she bowed again.
"Speak for yourself." Yaketa thought, rolling her eyes. "My pyro addiction is begging for a box of matches!"
XxXxX
(A/N) Well, thank god for the boredness of quarantine. I've been going back and updating old stories, i.e. my Creepypasta fanfic, and found this unfinished chapter gathering dust in my hard drive. Got a few plans for this story and will try to stay with it even after this pandemic.
Anyway, here's a few notes. Yes, Tsunade may sound OOC. She's hard to write dialogue for so get over it!
Next, I do like to give my characters names with meanings (Save for Aggi) so here's what I have:
Ikimono Satsujin = Creature Murder
Orokana Omoshiroi = Stupidly Amusing (why? cuz she's a clown!)
Yaketa Akumu = Burnt Nightmare
Nijimaru Tokage = Rainbow (-maru) Lizard
Konton Ongaku = Chaos Music
Thank you for reading. Your reviews keep me going!
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If you know the Grammar Nazis that left annoying reviews on my Pokémon story, please tell them to f**k off and get a life! Not everyone is a professional writer on this site, you S**t heads!