Naruto's eyes were wide, staring at one of the few people he had come to call a friend. How had it come to this?
The streets ran red, spattered with dewy crimson. The moon was high, a perfect disk of bright white. Before him stood someone he had come to cherish, illuminated by crisp rays of moonlight. Behind him, Sasa-chan was screaming something to him.
But everything around them seemed to fade away as the person's eyes bled into red, and all he could feel was the pulse of his own rapidly beating heart, all he could hear were his own wheezing breaths.
How did we get mixed up in this?
If he had to pinpoint the exact moment, he would say it was that day when the black haired boy with the cockatoo hair came bulldozing into their lives, not long after he left the orphanage to move into the apartment Sasa-chan managed to get.
Two years ago.
"Emi?"
"Yea?"
"How are you going with that new trick?"
"Great! Check it out, I can throw this card through the wall!"
"How about you, Eri?"
"I'm almost there."
"Good. I want to borrow the book for a while, if you don't mind. The chakra strings section looks interesting."
"Sure Junko, go ahead."
The morning was foggy, mist curled in the air with each heaving breath. My clothes felt soaked through from both sweat and moisture.
I stared up into the vast expanse of whiteness, the condensation on the ground further soaking into my clothes.
"You're becoming pretty damn quick," Yugi-sensei commented with a shit-eating grin. I groaned as I slowly dragged myself to my feet.
"Not quick enough," I sighed. The pranks with Naruto certainly helped, but if I really wanted to be fast I would need leg weights.
Yugi and I had been 'sparring' – and that basically meant she got to use me as a punching bag for an hour. She'd set me two goals to achieve during our spar; create four chains simultaneously at some point and use something unconventional in the environment as a weapon.
I had managed both. Well, I suppose throwing dirt at her face wasn't that original, but apparently it passed as unusual enough.
"Have you been keeping up with your meditation?" she asked.
I gulped.
"Uh, haha of course I have!" I laughed nervously.
Nope, I hadn't given it a second thought after the day she'd ordered me to do it.
Her eyes narrowed dangerously.
"Next lesson we'll be looking at some of the best ways to break bones," she said with a smile that looked positively devilish.
Inwardly I screamed, but outwardly I assumed a blank façade. After all, as much as I could get away with in terms of emotions with Yugi, I didn't want to push it.
"I see," I said as coolly as I could manage. "Well, I better be off now…"
Needless to say, I was dreading next lesson. But I didn't have time to worry about that; after all, I had to tell the Gang about my new apartment.
"YOU GOT A 'PARTMENT?" Takeshi shrieked.
I had called a meeting, and the members of the Gang crowded around me in awe except Naruto who was still at the academy.
I grinned and sheepishly rubbed the back of my head.
"Yea, well I asked for a double apartment for me and Naruto but I only got the one because Naruto is still meant to be at the orphanage, so we'll have to share…"
"That's awesome! We should hold our meetings there, this place is kind of shi- er, crap," Emi said, hastily correcting herself.
Simultaneously we glanced around at the old courtyard that had served as our base for all these years. It was surrounded by buildings, only a small, shady alley being the way to access this plot of land. The place became steadily more littered every time we came here, the patrons in the bar next to it having an unfortunate habit of throwing their rubbish over the wall.
One day it would be overflowing with beer bottles and trash, I was sure.
"The problem being that their apartment is in the western sector in the village," Kiyoshi pointed out in a drawl. "It would take much too long to get there for every meeting."
"Plus, this place has been our base for years and has never failed us - I don't see why we should give it up," Junko added, glaring at Emi, and then Eri too for good measure.
Junko, ever the traditional one. Then again, she had created the Gang so we couldn't really dispute her.
Emi and Eri exchanged glances, rolling their eyes the moment Junko looked away.
"Anyway, I'm going to join Naruto at the academy. See you!"
With the arduous task of informing the Gang complete, I made my way back to the academy.
"And just where have you been?" Iruka yelled the moment I stepped through the door.
"A black cat crossed my path," I said with an innocent smile. "So I got kidnapped and ended up in this really creepy organisation which is forcing me to train with this lady who's-"
"Just go to your seat," Iruka interrupted with a sigh. "You remind me of that man called Hatake…"
A couple of kids giggled at me, including a certain pinkette, but I dutifully ignored them.
I whistled innocently and took a seat next to Naruto, who was oblivious to the world reading the scroll on fuuinjutsu.
This was going to be a boring couple of hours.
Lunch, however, turned out to be another matter entirely.
"Hey, is that Mizuki-sensei?" Naruto asked aloud as he watched said man hurry to leave the school. Kids milled about in the yard, sitting with their various cliques. "Isn't he meant to be on duty?"
"Hey, let's follow him!" I smirked. We giggled excitedly at the prospect. He looked kinda suspicious, after all, though everyone knew Mizuki was one of the nicest teachers in the school.
Well, almost everyone.
We jumped the gate after he closed it behind him, shadowing him as he walked down the street outside the academy. Houses lined the street on the other side, and the only noticeable activity was a group of kids standing out the front of one of the houses.
"Hey, look at that house! I never noticed it before," Naruto pointed to the two-storey house overlooking the academy. Shikamaru, Chouji, Sasuke, Kiba and Akamaru all stood out the front, clearly arguing about something. They hadn't noticed Mizuki approaching.
"I wonder what they're doing there," I muttered, referring to the group.
Is Mizuki going to tell them off?
The front of the second storey was made up of tinted glass, allowing it an unhindered view of the academy, and also a balcony. The glass, however, was shattered in several places.
It had a botanical garden out the front, though the plants had clearly died some time ago and the koi pond was green with algae. Still, it looked like it had once been extremely modern in comparison to the houses surrounding it, if it weren't for the fact it was overgrown with weeds.
It was creepy, clearly abandoned, with rubbish dumped in the garden from passer-by's. The house was dulled from countless days exposed to the weather, as if no one dared or bothered to come near the place to keep it in good condition.
"Hey kids, what are you doing here? You're meant to be at the academy," Mizuki said as he approached the group.
The five of them turned in surprise and guilt.
"We were just… going," Shikamaru drawled seemingly unperturbed, not even attempting to come up with an excuse. Mizuki raised his eyebrow placidly and watched them leave, their faces red with embarrassment.
Naruto and I, who were hidden behind a trash can, called out quietly to them as they passed.
"What are you guys doing here?" Kiba demanded, and I winced and checked to see if Mizuki had noticed but his attention was still focussed on the house.
"Tailing Mizuki-sensei," Naruto said brightly. "What were you guys doing?"
"Kiba dared me to go in to that house," Chouji said uncomfortably. "But the Mizuki-sensei came so…"
"Pfft, as if you would have gone in anyway," Kiba retorted. Chouji shrugged apologetically, munching a chip.
"What's wrong with the house?" I asked, intrigued.
"Father says a missing-nin used to live there. Can't remember who, though," Sasuke said absently. "No one has lived there since, or even gone close. Apparently the guy was a real creeper, and paranoid as hell too. The place is laced with fuuinjutsu that even our best specialists haven't been able to disable and figure out, so no one can get in."
Naruto perked up at the mention of fuuinjutsu, eyes gleaming.
"If that's the case, then why are the windows smashed?" Shikamaru pointed out.
"I think they had to use really strong jutsu to break the windows, but even then anything that is alive cannot enter. You can throw rocks in, but humans can't enter. They think it has something to do with recognising chakra signatures…" Chouji informed us between bites. "So basically only people that the seal recognises can get in."
Missing… nin…
I couldn't help the shudders that ran up my spine.
Could it be?
"Hey- what's Mizuki-sensei doing?" Shikamaru spoke up, drawing our attention to said teacher who was now approaching the house himself.
"Quick, hide!" Naruto hissed, pulling the others behind the bin as Mizuki swept the area with a glance, as if to make sure no one was watching.
I blinked as Mizuki approached the door, which had no handle but was lined with gold left untouched, and carvings of snakes on the rotted wood.
"What is he doing? If he activates the seal, who knows what could happen," Naruto muttered. He went to stand up as if to warn Mizuki, but Kiba grabbed him.
"You idiot! Don't do that unless you want us all to have detention," Kiba whispered furiously.
"He knows what he's doing…" Shikamaru murmured, watching the man with calculating eyes. "It looks like he's done this before."
And the seven of us watched with astonishment as he pushed against the door, an array of ink in odd symbols and patterns briefly appearing on the door before vanishing.
And the door opened.
There was silence as he disappeared into the house.
"Maybe the rumours aren't true…" Sasuke muttered after the shock had somewhat abated.
"No, that was definitely the work of a seal master. You saw those seals appear," Naruto whispered, eyes wide.
"But why would Mizuki have access?" Shikamaru mumbled, tapping his chin thoughtfully. "Could the missing-nin and the fuuinjutsu have been a cover story for a hideout? That would explain why everyone believes no one has figured out the fuuinjutsu yet…"
Something like Root, I thought in my mind. But that didn't explain why Mizuki was involved. He wasn't anyone special, in the old timeline Naruto had beaten him as an academy student. Unless this was an organisation that didn't need man-power, but something else he had.
Or maybe something changed this time around…
"Let's get out of here," Chouji said uneasily.
Despite our curiosity, it was agreed upon that for now there was nothing we could do to investigate further.
"We're definitely going to figure out what's up with that!" Naruto declared. "But for now I'm hungry. Who wants to get ramen?"
Chouji, Shikamaru and Kiba were quick to decline, but curiously Sasuke glanced at me with a gleam in his eye before accepting.
Let's just say, both Naruto and I were taken completely by surprise. We hadn't actually expected anyone to say yes.
So as a trio we made our way to the trusty Ichiraku Ramen.
It was a surprise when we arrived at the ramen stand, only to find a certain silver-haired ninja already there.
"Kakashi?" Naruto asked in surprise, taking a seat next to him and ordering ramen for the three of us. Sasuke glanced at Kakashi oddly before taking a seat next to Naruto, while I took a seat on Kakashi's other side.
"Maa, shouldn't you be at the academy?" Kakashi drawled tonelessly.
"You wouldn't be here unless you knew we were coming," I retorted.
"Can't a man eat ramen without ulterior motive?" Kakashi asked in mock offense. "Anyway, who's this?" Kakashi's sharp eye turned towards Sasuke.
"This is Sasuke, my new best friend!" Naruto declared.
"Hey!" I yelled. "What about me, huh?"
Naruto rolled his eyes. "You're my imouto now, Sasa-chan!"
Sasuke gaped. Kakashi stared.
"Don't you mean otouto?" Kakashi asked slowly.
Oh shit.
I was reeling from two things. Firstly, Naruto had called me his little sister. Secondly, he had let it slip that I am a girl.
"Of course he did," I growled. "I'm a boy, remember Naruto?"
Naruto looked momentarily confused.
"Huh- what? Oh yea, right! Of course I meant that haha! She's my otouto!"
"He's your otouto," Kakashi corrected again, while Sasuke just looked suspicious.
"Yea! That's what I said!" Naruto nodded his head vigorously just as the ramen arrived.
"If you say so," Kakashi drawled, looking at me with a new light in his eyes. "Anyway, I forgot to let you know that the bathroom tap is broken."
"Yea, we noticed," I muttered between slurps.
"I'll have it fixed soon," he added nonchalantly.
"Wait, what are you guys talking about?" Sasuke asked.
"Kakashi requested an apartment for Sasa-chan!" Naruto said happily. "So we're staying together there now. I ran away from the orphanage and I don't think they've even noticed," he said with a boisterous laugh.
"You're both orphans?" Sasuke asked, actually sounding surprised. I guess it's amazing how little kids pick up on.
"Yea, but we're siblings now! We're family!" Naruto smiled gloriously and I couldn't help grinning back at him.
"I still think I should be the older sibling," I pointed out. "I don't know my real birthday, but I'm way more responsible than you!"
"Oh yea? Even if you were, and you're not, I'm taller than you!" Naruto declared proudly, which was quite an accomplishment considering how short he was. Of course it made it worse for me, since I was literally the shortest person in the whole school.
"Maa maa, does it matter really?" Kakashi asked.
"YES!" we both roared in response.
Kakashi raised his hands in surrender.
"Ok, ok. Anyway, I'll drop around tomorrow to fix the tap. Pakkun wants to meet you too," and before we could ask, he disappeared in a 'poof' of smoke.
The three of us exchanged glances.
"Hey, wanna come see our place?" Naruto asked Sasuke excitedly.
Sasuke shrugged.
"Sure, I'll ask my parents and see if I can come around tomorrow too."
Meeting Pakkun was an experience, to say the least.
"Kiss my paw," he ordered. The three of us were sitting on the couch in the living room while Kakashi worked on the tap. Sasuke gave him a disdainful sneer, but Naruto and I were all too happy to.
"Wow! A talking dog!" Naruto exclaimed.
I kissed Pakkun's paw repeatedly. "Ah, it's so soft!" I cried happily. "Can I hug you?"
Pakkun looked me up and down momentarily, before nodding.
"But wash your hands first."
I blinked, but rushed to do so. Then I cuddled him with all my strength, grinning.
"Hey, I want to too!" Naruto said, having washed his hands as well. "Stop hogging him!"
"Be careful, pups," Pakkun grunted as we fought over him.
Pups? I bristled at the term, but then smacked myself inwardly. Don't comment, otherwise he might not let you pat him!
Sasuke looked vaguely disgusted at our enthusiasm.
"Cats are better," he mumbled under his breath, to which Pakkun sent him a murderous glare. He glared back.
"I will excuse you as you are uneducated in the way of the pack," Pakkun said haughtily. "That will soon change."
And oh, it did.
Just as an aside it was mentioned in the anime that Mizuki decided to steal the forbidden scroll on Orochimaru's orders (or something like that, I'm a bit hazy on the details).
Question:
Do you like Orochimaru, as a villain or otherwise?