Chapter 2 ~ Ramen
Author's Note: Sorry for making you guys wait so long. I had to study for the friggin' regents. Arrgghh.I hate tests! But who doesn't? Oh. and this chapter is in 3rd person. just to be sure.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Suki looked around but she couldn't see him at all. He had disappeared completely.
"Where the hell is he?" She yelled. Her heart was beating frantically at the anticipation. How could he have disappeared without me seeing where he was? She thought.
"Don't move," said a voice. Suki felt the coldness of the metal blade of a shuriken. The blade pressed against her throat and she breathed heavily. She glanced around for a way to escape and saw Neji running towards her.
"I got him!" Shikamaru yelled. He made a few movements with his arms. "Shadow Copy!" he yelled. His shadow rapidly grew and connected itself with Neji's.
"I..I can't move!" he said. From the corner of her eye, Suki saw Yoko run to grab the bell from Neji's pouch, but was intercepted by Hinata. She slammed herself into Yoko's stomach and they both fell to the floor.
"Hand over the bell," Sasuke said threateningly.
"In your dreams," Suki answered.
"I don't want to hurt anybody."
"You don't have to."
"What the.?"
"Let her go," She heard someone say. It sounded a lot like Neji and she let out a slow breath.
"I thought you said you had him!" Yoko said, very irritated.
"My Jutsu only lasts for 5 minutes," he answered, panting. It was a stand off and she waited for a few minutes before she began to fidget. Sasuke's blade pressed closer to my neck and she stopped moving.
"Let her go," Neji said again. "Now." I guess it was time for my trump card, she thought. The sky began to turn crimson red and a loud screech sounded from the folds of the cloud.
"Oh no." Yoko whispered. "Not the Phoenix."
A large blazing red Phoenix appeared from the sky and let out a vicious screech. It's eyes landed on Sasuke and they began to glow red. Sasuke began to levitate and his shuriken slipped right past Suki's neck. Suki fell onto the floor from exhaustion and Neji ran to her. A red tinted bubble enclosed around Sasuke and an invisible force slammed into him. He fainted right into the bubble and it dropped to the floor. The Phoenix flew to Suki and nudged her cheek before it flew off and the clouds cleared.
"Hurry up and get the bell from them," Yoko said to Shikamaru.
"No!" he exclaimed. " I don't want to end up like him." He glanced at Sasuke who was still unconscious in his bubble prison.
"Don't worry, summoning the Phoenix takes a lot of energy and I doubt that she'll be able to do it again."
"Don't underestimate me Yoko," Suki whispered. " I can always do it again."
The sky began to grow red and Yoko paled.
"Let's get out of here!" Shikamaru pulled Yoko into the bushes and rolled Sasuke and his round prison. As they disappeared into the woods, the sky began to clear up and Suki pushed herself up from the floor. Hinata ran to her and held her up.
"Are you ok?" she asked.
"I.I think...so," she answered. She dropped down onto the floor again and everything blacked out.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
My eyes opened and everything was a blur. The soothing smell of grass and leaves floated around me. I sat up and my head began to pound like a jackhammer.
"Neji! She's awake!"
I turned to the voice and saw Hinata and Neji by the river. Neji got up and walked towards me with a small valve in his hand. He handed it to me and I took it.
"Drink it, you'll feel better," he said. I gulped it down and miraculously, my headache disappeared. But the aftertaste was horrible. I ran to the river and splashed my mouth with water. I walked slowly back to the tree and sat down.
"How'd you do it?" Neji asked.
"Do what?" I said.
"The Phoenix. I thought the Hidden Mist Ninjas were water users."
"We are. Just not me."
"Why?"
I closed my eyes. There was nothing I could keep from them. It would come out sooner or later.
"The Ono Clan has a special tradition. Like other ninjas, we also summon beasts in order to help us. But our clan does it a different way. When we reach a certain age, we go through a ritual in order to see which heir is worthy of the Phoenix. Like my father, I was chosen by the Phoenix. But my older sister was not. She was chosen like everyone else by the Water Dragon. Although on the nights of the full moon, everyone of the Ono clan would be able to summon both, not many people do that because the Phoenix and Water Dragon can be very jealous of one another. My sister became a Missing-Nin from my village because she was not chosen. The last I heard was that she had been accepted into Konohagare." I took out a picture and held it up. "Have you ever seen her?"
"I don't think so, but you should ask some of the Hunter-Nins in out village," Hinata answered.
"Maybe I should," I answered. "How many bells do we have?"
"One from Naruto and his team, two from Sasuke, and our own, which makes 4," Neji answered.
"Which also makes us the winner if we can hold onto them."
"Should we just lay low until times up?" Hinata asked. "Don't be such a coward," Neji said.
I glared at him, but he ignored me and I patted Hinata's back.
"Actually, I agree with Hinata. I'm already out," I said. There was a long pause until Neji finally responded.
"Fine. We'll just sit here until time's up," Neji said.
I moved towards the river and played with the water there. The water began to turn red and I looked around. The color seemed to be coming from the north and I motioned for Neji and Hinata.
"What the hell?" Neji said.
"It's coming from up there," I said, pointing upstream. I walked along the riverbank when finally, I spotted the carcass of a deer. It was untouched, but around its mouth was a pool of blood. The blood was fresh so I calculated that it was killed not very long ago.
"There's something out there," I said.
"And it just missed us," Neji finished for me.
"Can we go back?" Hinata whimpered.
"Yeah, I think we should because whatever's out there is not something I want to deal with," I said, heading back south. I loud ring sounded through the forest and Iruka's voice was heard from hidden loudspeakers.
"Time's up, head back to the base. In 5 minutes, whoever's not here will be disqualified."
I jumped through the trees and Neji and Hinata followed. I was happy that we were going to win, but something was nagging me in he back of my head. What was in the forest? What could have done that to the deer?
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
"OK everyone, hold up your bells."
I looked around and saw that only one other group had a bell. All the other groups were glaring at us. I snickered and proudly held up a bell while Neji and Hinata held up the others.
"Well, it's clear who won, group 4 with Neji, Hinata, and Suki. Here, the passes for a month's worth of free ramen," Iruka said, handing us three certificates. I glanced over to Naruto and noticed that he was moping. I walked over to him and handed him the pass. His face lit up and I nodded.
"Thanks!" He said, throwing his arms around me.
"OK, you can get off now, before I punch you," I said. Naruto quickly withdrew and ran off shouting to the ramen store.
"Everyone, dismissed!" Iruka announced. The village regained its hustle bustle as the young ninjas ran off to their activities. I remembered Hinata's suggestion and I asked Iruka.
"Uhh, Iruka Sensei, I would like to speak to this village's Hunter Nin."
"What? Oh, yes the Hunter Nin? I'll take you to them," he answered. As we walked to the Hunter-Nin building, Iruka began to ask me questions about Minako.
"Is your sensei married?" he said, hesitantly.
"No, why?" I said. I had suspicions that he was attracted to Minako, but this question confirmed them.
"Nothing, nothing. Do you know if she ever will?"
"Probably, if she meets the right guy. You like her don't you?" I prodded.
"What? No, no," he said, turning red.
"You're turning red! You do like her!" I said, laughing.
"Shhh! Keep it down!" he said, hushing me.
"Don't worry, she's single, so you can make your move on her. Who knows? Maybe she'll even like you too."
"Really?" he said, smiling.
"Yep, just take your time and don't rush her."
"OK. We're here," he said, pointing to a small building that was half hidden by trees. "I'll escort you in."
We walked through the trees and into the front door of the building. On the door was the sign for ninja in red and an animal mask hanging under it. Iruka took the mask in his hand and knocked the door. A small hatch opened and a face hidden by an animal mask popped out.
"Password?"
"Cha, cha, ha, ha, ninja," Iruka answered, doing a silly dance.
"Come in."
The door opened and I peeked in. It wasn't as dark as I thought it would be, like the Hunter Nin back at Hidden Mist Village. Instead, it was light and airy. There was a large sky window on the ceiling that let in the sunlight. In the front, was a small Shinto shrine, on the right of the shrine was a rack that hung many different styles of animal masks and on the left was a rack containing many weapons. Next to the door, was a large couch with a coffee table placed in front of it. A few ninjas were sitting around or watching TV.
"Who's the girl?" a ninja in a bird mask said.
"She's here to ask about something," Iruka answered. He nudged me forward to the other ninjas. I took out the picture of my sister that I always carried around and showed it to them.
"She's a missing nin from the Hidden Mist Village, but I heard that she had been accepted into Konohagare. Have you seen her?"
"How long ago was this?" a ninja with a dog mask asked.
"About 5 years ago," I answered.
"That would be a question for Kakashi," he said.
"What's a Kakashi?" I said, confused. "I'm Kakashi," someone said.
I turned around to the front door and a shadow walked in. He had messy silver hair and a headband that tilted to cover his left eye. His nose and mouth was covered with a handkerchief. He slowly walked in and plopped down onto the couch.
"I heard my name," he said. I handed him the picture and he stared at it for a while.
"Hmm, Misaki."
"So, you do know her!" I exclaimed.
"Yes, I do. But I don't know where she is," he answered.
My gut dropped. I was this close, but now the opportunity to see my sister was gone.
"But I can find her for you," he added.
"Really?!"
He nodded and I threw my arms around him. The other ninjas laughed and he turned bright red. Tears began to stream down my face and I let go. I wiped my face with my hand and Iruka patted my head. I was finally going to find my sister!
"Now, I can't guarantee that I'll find her. She could be dead, understand?"
I nodded and smiled.
"Thanks. I'm forever in debt."
"Now go, go do what you young ninjas do," he said, shooing me away.
I ran out the door and almost ran into Sakura and Ino. They led me back to the village and questioned me.
"What were you doing in there?"
"I asked the Hunters to find my sister," I answered.
"Well, you almost missed a contest," Ino said.
"They're having a contest at the ramen store. It's an eating contest between Choji and Naruto," Sakura said.
We ran to the ramen store and pushed through the crowd to Choji and Naruto. Among the crowd were children and adults alike. I noticed Neji and the back of the crowd, looking away. I pushed my way out and slapped him in the back.
"What was that for?" he yelled.
"Were you the one who gave a pass to Choji?" I asked.
"Yeah, so?"
"That was a really nice thing to do," I said, complimenting him. His blushed and turned away.
"Yeah, I know," he said. I sighed. He was as arrogant as ever. My attention went back to the contest when I heard Shikamaru yell. "YEAH! GO CHOJI!"
I pushed my way back and saw that Choji was wining. He was stuffing his face with ramen while Naruto was taking his time, slurping each strand of ramen into his mouth.
It took a while before Choji fell over, full of ramen, but Naruto kept on going. Hinata was by his side, handing him bowl after bowl of ramen while he kept on slurping it down. So, Hinata was attracted to Naruto, I thought. Who would have ever thought that Hinata, the most shy and quiet girl in the village would be attracted to Naruto, the loud outcast?
Outcast? That didn't sound right. It had finally occurred to me that everyone would soon find a group that they would fit into. Hinata was excluded from her family, but she found a friend in Naruto and me. Naruto, the outcast of the village found respect in Iruka and Hinata. I, on the other hand, was not accepted in Hidden Mist Village because my sister, Misaki, was a missing nin, but I find acceptance in Konohagare with Sakura, Ino, and Hinata.
I looked over at Neji. He was standing alone, outside the store. The night wind blew through his ink black hair as he stared out into the night. Someday, I wished that he too would cast aside his arrogance and find acceptance among his peers not as a highly respected ninja, but as a good friend you could talk to and depend on.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
AN: oh.Suki's having some feelings for Neji, Hinata's having some feelings for Naruto, and Iruka's having some feelings for Minako. Everyone's splitting up into pairs! More to come in the next chapter! Please REVIEW!!!
Author's Note: Sorry for making you guys wait so long. I had to study for the friggin' regents. Arrgghh.I hate tests! But who doesn't? Oh. and this chapter is in 3rd person. just to be sure.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Suki looked around but she couldn't see him at all. He had disappeared completely.
"Where the hell is he?" She yelled. Her heart was beating frantically at the anticipation. How could he have disappeared without me seeing where he was? She thought.
"Don't move," said a voice. Suki felt the coldness of the metal blade of a shuriken. The blade pressed against her throat and she breathed heavily. She glanced around for a way to escape and saw Neji running towards her.
"I got him!" Shikamaru yelled. He made a few movements with his arms. "Shadow Copy!" he yelled. His shadow rapidly grew and connected itself with Neji's.
"I..I can't move!" he said. From the corner of her eye, Suki saw Yoko run to grab the bell from Neji's pouch, but was intercepted by Hinata. She slammed herself into Yoko's stomach and they both fell to the floor.
"Hand over the bell," Sasuke said threateningly.
"In your dreams," Suki answered.
"I don't want to hurt anybody."
"You don't have to."
"What the.?"
"Let her go," She heard someone say. It sounded a lot like Neji and she let out a slow breath.
"I thought you said you had him!" Yoko said, very irritated.
"My Jutsu only lasts for 5 minutes," he answered, panting. It was a stand off and she waited for a few minutes before she began to fidget. Sasuke's blade pressed closer to my neck and she stopped moving.
"Let her go," Neji said again. "Now." I guess it was time for my trump card, she thought. The sky began to turn crimson red and a loud screech sounded from the folds of the cloud.
"Oh no." Yoko whispered. "Not the Phoenix."
A large blazing red Phoenix appeared from the sky and let out a vicious screech. It's eyes landed on Sasuke and they began to glow red. Sasuke began to levitate and his shuriken slipped right past Suki's neck. Suki fell onto the floor from exhaustion and Neji ran to her. A red tinted bubble enclosed around Sasuke and an invisible force slammed into him. He fainted right into the bubble and it dropped to the floor. The Phoenix flew to Suki and nudged her cheek before it flew off and the clouds cleared.
"Hurry up and get the bell from them," Yoko said to Shikamaru.
"No!" he exclaimed. " I don't want to end up like him." He glanced at Sasuke who was still unconscious in his bubble prison.
"Don't worry, summoning the Phoenix takes a lot of energy and I doubt that she'll be able to do it again."
"Don't underestimate me Yoko," Suki whispered. " I can always do it again."
The sky began to grow red and Yoko paled.
"Let's get out of here!" Shikamaru pulled Yoko into the bushes and rolled Sasuke and his round prison. As they disappeared into the woods, the sky began to clear up and Suki pushed herself up from the floor. Hinata ran to her and held her up.
"Are you ok?" she asked.
"I.I think...so," she answered. She dropped down onto the floor again and everything blacked out.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
My eyes opened and everything was a blur. The soothing smell of grass and leaves floated around me. I sat up and my head began to pound like a jackhammer.
"Neji! She's awake!"
I turned to the voice and saw Hinata and Neji by the river. Neji got up and walked towards me with a small valve in his hand. He handed it to me and I took it.
"Drink it, you'll feel better," he said. I gulped it down and miraculously, my headache disappeared. But the aftertaste was horrible. I ran to the river and splashed my mouth with water. I walked slowly back to the tree and sat down.
"How'd you do it?" Neji asked.
"Do what?" I said.
"The Phoenix. I thought the Hidden Mist Ninjas were water users."
"We are. Just not me."
"Why?"
I closed my eyes. There was nothing I could keep from them. It would come out sooner or later.
"The Ono Clan has a special tradition. Like other ninjas, we also summon beasts in order to help us. But our clan does it a different way. When we reach a certain age, we go through a ritual in order to see which heir is worthy of the Phoenix. Like my father, I was chosen by the Phoenix. But my older sister was not. She was chosen like everyone else by the Water Dragon. Although on the nights of the full moon, everyone of the Ono clan would be able to summon both, not many people do that because the Phoenix and Water Dragon can be very jealous of one another. My sister became a Missing-Nin from my village because she was not chosen. The last I heard was that she had been accepted into Konohagare." I took out a picture and held it up. "Have you ever seen her?"
"I don't think so, but you should ask some of the Hunter-Nins in out village," Hinata answered.
"Maybe I should," I answered. "How many bells do we have?"
"One from Naruto and his team, two from Sasuke, and our own, which makes 4," Neji answered.
"Which also makes us the winner if we can hold onto them."
"Should we just lay low until times up?" Hinata asked. "Don't be such a coward," Neji said.
I glared at him, but he ignored me and I patted Hinata's back.
"Actually, I agree with Hinata. I'm already out," I said. There was a long pause until Neji finally responded.
"Fine. We'll just sit here until time's up," Neji said.
I moved towards the river and played with the water there. The water began to turn red and I looked around. The color seemed to be coming from the north and I motioned for Neji and Hinata.
"What the hell?" Neji said.
"It's coming from up there," I said, pointing upstream. I walked along the riverbank when finally, I spotted the carcass of a deer. It was untouched, but around its mouth was a pool of blood. The blood was fresh so I calculated that it was killed not very long ago.
"There's something out there," I said.
"And it just missed us," Neji finished for me.
"Can we go back?" Hinata whimpered.
"Yeah, I think we should because whatever's out there is not something I want to deal with," I said, heading back south. I loud ring sounded through the forest and Iruka's voice was heard from hidden loudspeakers.
"Time's up, head back to the base. In 5 minutes, whoever's not here will be disqualified."
I jumped through the trees and Neji and Hinata followed. I was happy that we were going to win, but something was nagging me in he back of my head. What was in the forest? What could have done that to the deer?
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
"OK everyone, hold up your bells."
I looked around and saw that only one other group had a bell. All the other groups were glaring at us. I snickered and proudly held up a bell while Neji and Hinata held up the others.
"Well, it's clear who won, group 4 with Neji, Hinata, and Suki. Here, the passes for a month's worth of free ramen," Iruka said, handing us three certificates. I glanced over to Naruto and noticed that he was moping. I walked over to him and handed him the pass. His face lit up and I nodded.
"Thanks!" He said, throwing his arms around me.
"OK, you can get off now, before I punch you," I said. Naruto quickly withdrew and ran off shouting to the ramen store.
"Everyone, dismissed!" Iruka announced. The village regained its hustle bustle as the young ninjas ran off to their activities. I remembered Hinata's suggestion and I asked Iruka.
"Uhh, Iruka Sensei, I would like to speak to this village's Hunter Nin."
"What? Oh, yes the Hunter Nin? I'll take you to them," he answered. As we walked to the Hunter-Nin building, Iruka began to ask me questions about Minako.
"Is your sensei married?" he said, hesitantly.
"No, why?" I said. I had suspicions that he was attracted to Minako, but this question confirmed them.
"Nothing, nothing. Do you know if she ever will?"
"Probably, if she meets the right guy. You like her don't you?" I prodded.
"What? No, no," he said, turning red.
"You're turning red! You do like her!" I said, laughing.
"Shhh! Keep it down!" he said, hushing me.
"Don't worry, she's single, so you can make your move on her. Who knows? Maybe she'll even like you too."
"Really?" he said, smiling.
"Yep, just take your time and don't rush her."
"OK. We're here," he said, pointing to a small building that was half hidden by trees. "I'll escort you in."
We walked through the trees and into the front door of the building. On the door was the sign for ninja in red and an animal mask hanging under it. Iruka took the mask in his hand and knocked the door. A small hatch opened and a face hidden by an animal mask popped out.
"Password?"
"Cha, cha, ha, ha, ninja," Iruka answered, doing a silly dance.
"Come in."
The door opened and I peeked in. It wasn't as dark as I thought it would be, like the Hunter Nin back at Hidden Mist Village. Instead, it was light and airy. There was a large sky window on the ceiling that let in the sunlight. In the front, was a small Shinto shrine, on the right of the shrine was a rack that hung many different styles of animal masks and on the left was a rack containing many weapons. Next to the door, was a large couch with a coffee table placed in front of it. A few ninjas were sitting around or watching TV.
"Who's the girl?" a ninja in a bird mask said.
"She's here to ask about something," Iruka answered. He nudged me forward to the other ninjas. I took out the picture of my sister that I always carried around and showed it to them.
"She's a missing nin from the Hidden Mist Village, but I heard that she had been accepted into Konohagare. Have you seen her?"
"How long ago was this?" a ninja with a dog mask asked.
"About 5 years ago," I answered.
"That would be a question for Kakashi," he said.
"What's a Kakashi?" I said, confused. "I'm Kakashi," someone said.
I turned around to the front door and a shadow walked in. He had messy silver hair and a headband that tilted to cover his left eye. His nose and mouth was covered with a handkerchief. He slowly walked in and plopped down onto the couch.
"I heard my name," he said. I handed him the picture and he stared at it for a while.
"Hmm, Misaki."
"So, you do know her!" I exclaimed.
"Yes, I do. But I don't know where she is," he answered.
My gut dropped. I was this close, but now the opportunity to see my sister was gone.
"But I can find her for you," he added.
"Really?!"
He nodded and I threw my arms around him. The other ninjas laughed and he turned bright red. Tears began to stream down my face and I let go. I wiped my face with my hand and Iruka patted my head. I was finally going to find my sister!
"Now, I can't guarantee that I'll find her. She could be dead, understand?"
I nodded and smiled.
"Thanks. I'm forever in debt."
"Now go, go do what you young ninjas do," he said, shooing me away.
I ran out the door and almost ran into Sakura and Ino. They led me back to the village and questioned me.
"What were you doing in there?"
"I asked the Hunters to find my sister," I answered.
"Well, you almost missed a contest," Ino said.
"They're having a contest at the ramen store. It's an eating contest between Choji and Naruto," Sakura said.
We ran to the ramen store and pushed through the crowd to Choji and Naruto. Among the crowd were children and adults alike. I noticed Neji and the back of the crowd, looking away. I pushed my way out and slapped him in the back.
"What was that for?" he yelled.
"Were you the one who gave a pass to Choji?" I asked.
"Yeah, so?"
"That was a really nice thing to do," I said, complimenting him. His blushed and turned away.
"Yeah, I know," he said. I sighed. He was as arrogant as ever. My attention went back to the contest when I heard Shikamaru yell. "YEAH! GO CHOJI!"
I pushed my way back and saw that Choji was wining. He was stuffing his face with ramen while Naruto was taking his time, slurping each strand of ramen into his mouth.
It took a while before Choji fell over, full of ramen, but Naruto kept on going. Hinata was by his side, handing him bowl after bowl of ramen while he kept on slurping it down. So, Hinata was attracted to Naruto, I thought. Who would have ever thought that Hinata, the most shy and quiet girl in the village would be attracted to Naruto, the loud outcast?
Outcast? That didn't sound right. It had finally occurred to me that everyone would soon find a group that they would fit into. Hinata was excluded from her family, but she found a friend in Naruto and me. Naruto, the outcast of the village found respect in Iruka and Hinata. I, on the other hand, was not accepted in Hidden Mist Village because my sister, Misaki, was a missing nin, but I find acceptance in Konohagare with Sakura, Ino, and Hinata.
I looked over at Neji. He was standing alone, outside the store. The night wind blew through his ink black hair as he stared out into the night. Someday, I wished that he too would cast aside his arrogance and find acceptance among his peers not as a highly respected ninja, but as a good friend you could talk to and depend on.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
AN: oh.Suki's having some feelings for Neji, Hinata's having some feelings for Naruto, and Iruka's having some feelings for Minako. Everyone's splitting up into pairs! More to come in the next chapter! Please REVIEW!!!