Disclaimer: (Insert witty remark saying I don't own Naruto here.)
COLD FLOWER
Chapter 8: Enemies
By Mokora
Sasuke had passed the kunai test with flying colors, just as Kurai had suspected he would. Ino cheered loudly for him, though she only succeeded in distracting him, though this was unnoticable as he caught every kunai with unbelieving ease. He put Kurai's agility to shame, she saw, which amused her. Her teammates had never done that. But, it was Kira and Razu, after all.
As she sat upon the low branch of a younger tree, she thought back to Sasuke's testing. She remembered the three exploding kunais Ryo had thrown, due to his obvious frustration. Ryo felt overshadowed by this prodigy of fighting boy, almost intimidated, and thus, he upped his game. Still no use, whatsoever. Sasuke deflected them easily with the soles of his shows and the metal of his Konoha headband.
She obtained a smug smile as she the image of Ryo's defeated and annoyed scowl returned to her mind, that he wore after Sasuke's training. She praised the boy for this, since Ryo tended to be rather coky at times. But now she had ammunition against the glamorous Sensei, in which she could always say, 'Well, that Sasuke sure stood you up.'
Yes, much praise for the boy.
Sasuke looked towards her out of the corner of his eyes for an instant, noticing the far look within her white eyes. He wondered what she was contemplating, seeing as she was more like Shikamaru, always thinking things over. Though, she was much more serious and dedicated, which made her more unlike the lazy boy than she was alike. Though he did suspect she was most likely as intelligent as he.
Ino plopped down in the grass beside Ryo, who was draining a soda quickly. She looked up at him, cocking an eyebrow and watching his adam's apple bob up and down as he made loud throaty swallows.
"Ah!" He said, grinning, extending the empty can forward and crushing it within his palm with ease.
'Showoff.' She thought, amused.
He glanced around at the faces of the three pupils. Ino looked curious. Kurai, completely disinterested and spacy. Sasuke, irritated. He narrowed his eyes at the lack of determination. He might be abke to get away with a long break if he could think of some excuse...
"Alright, pups. Break time. I'll be back... soon." With that, he took off out of the woods. It was definitely a good time for a nice hot bowl of yakisoba.
Ino's jaw dropped. "Wha--? WAIT!" She shouted, taking off after him. Sasuke sighed, sitting upon the ground. Kurai, returning from her daze, simply shook her head, remembering all the times he'd used the, 'Hey! What's that behind you?' And bolted.
"Such a child." She accused quietly, wondering when he or Ino would return.
Sasuke said nothing.
Sakura gave a hopeless sigh. A break? Of course Kakashi would assign a break, at such a short notice. She looked at her two teammates, Kiba and Jouri, who seemed rattled by the man's antics. She offered a little smile towards the two. "Maybe we should take breaks too, hm?"
Kiba gave a little sigh, as Akamaru hid himself within his jacket, the bulge the little dog created wiggling frantically. "Yeah, sounds good. I promised Akamaru a walk."
With that, he stood and stretched. "Come get me if he comes back, alright?"
Sakura nodded and Jouri took off on his own path, wordless, receding into the forest. Sakura looked after the two and sighed. Of course, she was alone.
She took a seat upon the lush grass in the clearing, splotches of sunlight warming her face through the crevices of the thick leaves overhead. She sighed and closed her eyes, falling back. She loved the feeling of her hair splaying across the tickly grass, the sun's light filling her wondrous eyes, little pink and white flowers caressing her bare arms. A bee hovered by, humming robotically, landing upon the tip of her sandal. She smiled at it, watching it rub its eyes with its two front legs, its wings translucent and glistening. It took flight once more and up into a nearby tree. Her eyes followed it until it was gone, and even then, they lingered. She was left to her thoughts, with no one there to keep her company. She was far too social, she'd decided reproachfully. Things just weren't as entertaining without others.
But Sasuke... Well, Sasuke preferred to live like that.
She frowned wistfully, looking up at the intricate patterns of the interweaving leaves and branches. She thought back to what Sasuke had said before leaving, that all-too-fateful night.
'You really are annoying.'
She closed her eyes tightly. No! She wasn't! He was just saying that. He was lying.
But who was she trying to convince?
'You're pathetic.'
Her mouth twitched with anger as her inner voice began its lecturing.
'Am not.'
'Are too.'
'How so?'
'Look at you! You can't even sit in the grass without thinking about him. He doesn't like you. He told you that, to your face.'
'Shut up.'
'Denial...' The voice sang.
She bit her bottom lip.
'I don't care what he says. I'll never leave him.'
'That's why you're pathetic.'
'How does that make me pathetic?' She internally shouted at the rival, her brow furrowing. 'I care about him! There's nothing you can do to make me change my mind! It's not that easy! Don't you think I've tried? You were there! You witnessed everything, even my own personal thoughts and feelings. Don't dare try to tell me I'm foolish for caring!'
But suddenly, her eyes popped open as she emitted a small gasp.
"Am I losing my mind...?" She whispered quietly to herself, staring up at two bluebirds, perched high in a towering tree.
She had just attempted to argue with herself, a figment of her own imagination. She had tried to convince the tormenting little voice that she wasn't wrong, and that someday, he would care.
She had tried to convince herself. But she hadn't succeeded.
'You idiot.' It scolded.
'I know.'
Kiba sighed, Akamaru wandering off into a bush nearby to 'take care of business'.
"Take your time." He said flatly, pondering how long it would be before Kakashi found his way back to the training area. Then the thought of the quirky man forgetting completely entered his mind and he deflated, brow twitching. It was going to be a long walk.
Suddenly, his brooding thoughts were shattered, his senses flaring. His nose twitched involuntarily as a new smell surfaced. It was almost fragrant, yet very faint and at most, undetectable. He froze, completely still, while letting his ears pick up on the slightest noises.
The sing-song chirping of a small bird, the cool breeze, a honey bee.
But he was disappointed to hear no sound of anything that might be lurking nearby. He was considerably paranoid at this time, letting his eyes dart to anything within his surroundings that moved, narrowing them in suspicion. Something wasn't right. He wasn't alone.
He turned and glanced behind, feeling slightly foolish as the lack of threat was confirmed. He sighed, relaxing a bit, and turning back around.
"Ne, Akamaru! How long does it take?" He asked loudly with unease, still glancing about for danger.
Two eyes watched him from within the top of the branches overhead, narrowing as the beholder noticed the two red marks upon the cautious boy's face. The dark figure crept forward a bit, along the branch it was perched upon, much like a cat.
Kiba looked upwards. He'd heard something. He knew. There was something there, though he failed to hear any more of the mysterious and distant sounds. He glared at nothing in particular, and hated the feeling of being foolish, or tricked. Maybe his imagination was playing mere games with him. He cocked an eyebrow and kicked at the dirt before him, still occasionally letting his eyes drift upwards. That ruffling feeling that he was being watched kept entering his mind while he waited for his less than punctual companion.
The figure took a deep breath and unsheathed one of its weapons almost soundlessly. It consisted of a small circular blade, though, when manuevered correctly, it popped into accurate position, releasing another larger circular blade that surrounded the other, with knife-like ends and a dangerous glint.
'You'll get what you deserve.' The unknown pursuer thought, eyes narrowing.
Then, at that moment, Kiba picked up on louder noises, like the scuffling as something took flight from a tree and a battle cry, whirling about as fast as he could, only to see the fleeting image of another person plunging down towards him. This figure weilded a large ring-blade, he discovered, and immediately flew back with the instinct of extreme terror. He emitted a choked cry as he tumbled backwards, the stranger pummeling him in the stomach painfully, knocking him to the ground.
He was in shock, in the least, and he merely lay there with eyes shut so tightly he felt a headache creeping about. He waited for the tell-tale sound of the blade swiping his flesh, most likely his neck, and trying to decipher the thousands of thoughts that danced about his mind.
'Why do I have to die so suddenly?'
'Will I get to say goodbye to Akamaru?'
'Who is this person?'
'Am I dead already?'
The dust settled about him, and he ached as all muscles in his body tensed. He decided to take the risk and open one eye, slightly, immediately taking in tiny particles of dust that made it water. Though, through the discomfort of is eye's condition, he was able to see his pursuer, straddling his chest, with the ring-blade pressed against his throat. His eyes blurred as he strained to see the face of the stranger, feeling the cool weapon's edge against his neck, as his rapid pulse beat against it.
Then, his eyes focused, and he squinted with both eyes now to see it was... a female?
He clenched his muscles further, seeing the loathing look within this girl's eyes. Who was she? What did she want?
He began to notice her features more clearly now, in the absence of any sound whatsoever, as time seemed to stop for a moment.
She was prominent and built with strength, he thought, observing her toned shoulders. She had bronze skin and brownish-green eyes, that faded into gold around the pupil, which itself was a strange indigo color. She wore fishnet about her neck, covered in a strapless fabric top, that zipped down the center. She also wore capri-style pants like Hinata's, the only difference being the rich burnt-red color. Her hair was sandy-blonde, choppy and short, falling about her earlobes. There were two longer pieces protruding from the front, dyed deep brown, that hung on each side of her face. Her bangs were short and choppy as well, vaguely sideswept. Her lips were full and peachy in color, her eyes lined attractively with black, the lids covered in a dusty bronze color. The ninja headband she wore was made as a bandana, tied about herh ead much like Sakura's, and pointed at the tip. The plate was engraved with a leaf design, meaning she was a native to Konoha.
Her brow furrowed as she pinned him to helplesslness, obviously serious as she brandished her death-tool against his neck.
His chest heaved as he breathed with difficulty, each ragged breath making his heart beat a little faster. The two looked at each other intensely for the longest time. She threw her head back a bit and leered at him.
"What's your name?"
He didn't particularly want to answer, though he feared he had no choice.
"Kiba... Inuzuka Kiba." He rasped, beads of sweat forming upon his brow.
Her mouth curled into a sneer.
"Just as I thought." She snapped, her eyes narrowing. "An Inuzuka."
He stopped, and observed her more deeply now. The only clan the Inuzukas seemed to feel bitter towards in Konoha was the Miake clan, but she couldn't be...
The eyes.
Her pupils weren't black, like any other average person. They were purple, a deep purple. This was a tell-tale trait of the Miake clan.
His realization was rewarded with a bitter taste within his mouth as he replied hoarsely with a scowl, "You're a Miake."
She smiled, and said with an acidic underlying sarcasm, "Good work, flea boy! I'm Miake Rei, in case you wanted to know. But learning anything new right now won't do you any good."
The blade was pushed into his neck a bit more, and, though the movement was very slight, it was detectable and rather frightening.
He decided he had to act quickly, or else he'd be finished. She was definitely going to play a few more games and finish it. It was clear in her the muderous look in her hunter eyes, fangs of her own showing within that victorious smirk.
Such a shame, he thought distantly, within the back of his charging mind. She was sort of cute.
Not as cute as Hinata, though.
Just as he was desperately trying to work out some sort of escape plan that would lead to her unconsciousness, (he didn't have the heart to kill her, despite her lack thereof,) he heard a far 'Yip!' and little feet scampering near.
'Akamaru!' He thought, his eyes widening. 'No, she has a blade!'
The little white dog saw his master in obvious peril, and thus, charged without thoroughly thinking. The girl, Rei, looked up with frustrated question just as the dog tackled her backwards, barking ferociously. Kiba sat up and crawled towards the biting dog.
"DAMMIT! Get off me, mutt! Get off! GET THE HELL OFF!" She shrieked, trying to pry the dog away from her as it gnawed upon her bandana, refusing to let go. It had taken a path of hair within its teeth also, therefore her demands were mostly derived from the pain.
"Ow ow ow! GET OFF!"
Kiba wondered why she hadn't just picked up the blade beside her and removed the loyal dog that way. She seemed the type to do so, anyway.
"Akamaru! Come here!" Kiba ordered.
The little white dog whimpered a bit and withered under Kiba's fierce gaze, releasing the bandana slowly and backing off of the girl's lap, never taking its eyes from her. She leered at it, brow twitching with frustration.
Kiba looked down at the dog to quickly examine for wounds, and, upon deciding he was fine, looked back towards the girl.
"You okay?" He asked hesitantly, wondering why he bothered at all, after the scare she'd given him.
She looked at him as if her were a ghost. "W-Why do you care?"
"Look, I don't like to kill people I don't know. I don't like to kill at all, really." He picked the dog up. "I know your clan hates mine, but it would be really nice if you wouldn't try that again."
She looked towards the ground, turning his words over in her mind.
"That dog. Akamaru, is it? You own him?"
"Well, yeah. He's like... A best friend to me." He stroked the dog's head.
She laughed rather loudly, startling the boy. "Wait, wait, wait..." She said, still laughing. "You're saying... That that mutt... Is your best friend?"
His brow twitched at her underlying insults, and he sighed. Akamaru growled.
"Yeah."
A new hearty laugh surfaced and she grinned. "Alright, alright, Inuzuka Kiba. I won't hurtchu." She stood and dusted her pants off, retying her bandana with skill.
Kiba glared at the girl, wondering why she was wandering the woods at all.
"What are you doing here anyway?" He asked, his voice annoyed.
"Well," She began, looking towards the sky as she thought. "I ran away."
His eyes narrowed. "You're a runaway?"
"Yep."
"Why?"
"Hm, curious, are we? Well, I guess I just disagree with my clan, really."
"THEN WHY THE HELL DIDJU ATTACK ME?" He shot back, fists clenched.
"Calm down, tiger!" She said, throwing her hands up and grinning. "That doesn't mean I don't disagree with one of you asses breaching our treaty."
"IT WAS A MIAKE!"
"Sure! Of course that's what they'll say!"
"I can't believe this..." He grumbled, rubbing his forehead.
"Well, if you're so convinced that a Miake did it, why didn't you fight me?" She asked, crossing her arms with a cocked brow.
He heaved a sigh. "Because I don't know you."
"So? I'm an enemy."
"It doesn't matter."
"Weakling!"
"WHAT?" He turned, a dangerous glint in his eyes. She promtply poked her tongue out at him.
He took a deep breath. "I'm leaving." With that, he walked towards a thick patch of trees, Akamaru crawling inside his jacket snugly.
"Wait!" She said, looking around with narrowed eyes.
He turned. "What?"
"I heard something."
"Please..."
"No, seriously. It sounded like it came from over there." She pointed towards the trees behind her.
"Nice try. I'm leaving."
"Hold up! It's not--"
A shuriken flew beside his face grazing his cheek. He felt the minor sting as a drop of blood flowed from it, and he was overcome with anger.
"What are you trying to pull?" He accused, whirling about and stopping as he saw a strange man appear from the thick trees. His eyes widened.
Rei was frozen, leering at the stranger. She dropped slowly and braced her hand upon the ring-blade.
"I wouldn't do that, dear." The man's voice was melodic and mesmerizing. His eyes bore into her like a thousand knives, and she felt extremely uneasy beneath his gaze.
The man's skin was tan, with a prominent forehead and set black eyes. His hear was copper-colored and cut extremely short. Two grey stripes rose from each brow line, stopping at a point below the hairline. He scowled at the two, a large sword at his side.
"What do you want?" Kiba managed to choke, surprised at how confident he'd sounded. Akamaru quivered within the safety of the boy's coat, his eyes peering out towards the mysterious man.
Rei's hand didn't grip the weapon, nor did it retreat, as she continued to stare. The man let his eyes trace the two younger ninja, looking them over thoroughly. He cleared his throat slightly.
"You look to be Inuzuka. And you, Miake. You both seem to be at least fifteen years of age. No... sixteen." He continued to observe them, while they found their bodies wouldn't move at all. How did this man know so much?
"You're far from clan grounds. You must be a runaway." He said, nodding in the girl's direction. Her brow twitched as she cringed. So, he was intelligent.
"And you? Probably one of the trainees. You both seem fairly strong, though I can't seem to estimate your limits. Hm. Strange. And the dog..." He said, pasuing while he examined the frightened bundle from a distance. "...Must be a good dog."
"Who are you?" Rei snapped, startling Kiba.
The man turned. "Arashi."
And he receded, without another word.
Sakura was almost asleep upon the bed of grass, when her ears picked up on the sound of steps within the surrounding forest. Her eyes fluttered open, and she sat up slowly, looking about. Two silhouettes formed within the darkness and she smiled. "Finally! You guys took too long! I was almost asleep--"
She stopped mid sentence as the figures emerged and she realized the truth of them.
They were strangers. Fierce looking ones.
There was a tall, murderous-looking man on the right, who looked to be a whopping eight feet. The girl, who was significantly smaller, on the left, crossed her arms. She had black hair, pulled tightly back in a netted bun, a long tail hanging from it. A black kunai was tied at the end. She wore a confident smirk, her eyes glittering gold in the sun's light, two grey stripes trailing down from the corners of her eyes to below her ears, stopping at her jawline. Her nose was pierced, bearing a little black stud. Her lips were a shocking red, curled deviously.
The man had a protruding brow line and a long forehead, with spikey red-brown hair and two grey-blue stripes trailing down from his hairline. A small ponytail protruded from the back of his head, tied with a little black ribbon. His eyes were slitted, his features jagged and rough. His ears were peculiarly pointed, a little gold bell hanging from the left. He snarled, bearing his own fangs.
Sakura's heart almost stopped. Who were these people? Why were they so scary-looking?
"So, there are some young trainees at work on this fine day..." The woman said, tapping her index finger against her jaw, smiling. "You look scared, darling. What's the matter?" Her voice lied, and though her words were kind, Sakura instantly read the trick edge.
She tensed, prepared to run for it, though she found she couldn't move. Instead, she stared, wide-eyed.
"Hm, can't speak, can you? Well, what a shame. Though, I supposed Yashiro informed us not to chat. Isn't that what he said, Kuuma?" She turned to her tall horrific companion. He nodded solemnly.
"Ah, well, Yashiro ruins everything, he does."
"Sezumi shouldn't speak so." He said, with an alarmingly deep voice, which was slow and almost sad.
"Yes, I suppose." The woman said, irked. "Well, she doesn't look like that much of a challenge, really. I reckon we could take her now."
Sakura's heart skipped a few beats, if not refused to circulate all together.
The man nodded.
"Well, remember that, you big oaf." The woman said, patting the large man's arm. She winked at Sakura and smiled. "Sorry, dearest, but we've got to go. It was a nice meeting!"
With that, the two were gone in a flash, leaving Sakura to stare at their former location, still stunned with fear. What had happened? What did they want?
She staggered backwards a bit, her eyes trembling with fright as her shaken heart beat raggedly. She then took off the other other direction, running as far away from that place as she could, tears of fear stinging her painfully dry eyes.
Rei looked towards Kiba, who was reclining against a nearby tree. His head was propped upon his arms as he stretched out, shoeless and jacketless. He turned the encounter's purpose over in his head, still left without a reasonable conclusion. She'd taken him to a secret hideout of hers, to escape the possible danger of that man. It was a sort of oasis within the thick wood, consisting of a peaceful little pond clearing, where birds nested and foxes and rabbits dined and slept without fear. Akamaru curled up upon the boy's stomach, deciding to rest a bit.
"What did he want with us?" Kiba asked suddenly, breaking the hynoptic tranquility of the peaceful setting. She took a seat beside him and sighed.
"Don't know." She said honestly. The man was just as mysterious to her as he was to Kiba. She couldn't assume anything.
Kiba's brow scrunched together again as he brooded. "He knew so much. Hit everything right on the head. But he doesn't know us."
"Right."
"How can--?"
"There are ways."
He pondered her words for a moment. "You're right. There are ways. But--"
"Stop worrying. If he comes back, we'll kick his ass. If he doesn't, then we don't have anything to freak about."
He took a deep breath.
"Good logic."
"It's gotten me this far." She grinned at him, stretching her arms widely and leaning back upon the grass. She promtply yawned, and he eyed her fangs once more. She looked up towards the trees, smiling at the serenity of her favorite place.
'Well, maybe she is as cute Hinata.' He decided, averting his eyes to a flower that sprouted at the edge of the pond.
Yeah, so, I didn't really like this particular chapter, only because it didn't have that much to entertain. Except Rei. Who will get better as the story goes, I promise. Her and Kiba's relationship is cute, since they argue a lot, and she teases him. She also befriends Akamaru too, and becomes a dear friend to 'flea boy'. xD
So, these strangers are the general villains in the story. I'm still coming up with their whole role within the story, and they won't come up significantly, until, like, chapters from now. So don't expect much of them in neighboring chaps.
I'll just cut to the chase, and get down with reviews. x3
Kearu Soyokaze - No, no it's not. xD
PrincessChii - Thank you! xD Much will happen next. x333
xx-Tsumi-Chan-xx - I thought we'd all get a kick out of drunken ShikaIno. xD And NaruHina. And KibaRei. xDDD I'm so ambitious. Yes, yes, much more SasuSaku to come. Promise.
