Disclaimer: No I do not own Naruto.
Wings of the White Angel
Chapter 6: The First Mission
As the full moon hung over Konoha, Aiko sat on top of the roof of her one story cottage and looked up at the sky. Her forehead protector was lying at her side, and she sighed at the simple pleasure of the stars. Her two blank white eyes looked up at the twinkling stars with a look of slight happiness at it. "The world is full of dark and evil things…and yet I'm blind to it all. Even as I listen to the crickets chirping in my ears, I know that somewhere in the world something horrible and atrocious is going on. It is a vicious cycle…yet I simply look at the stars and feel my fear disappear."
"Reminiscing again?" A gentle voice asked from nearby.
"Perhaps…" Picking up her forehead protector, Aiko tied it around her eyes and stood up. "Is there something I can do for you, Haru? Or are you just here to bother me while I wax poetic to the moon?"
A dark blue-haired man stepped into sight and tipped his head to her. "I just wanted to let you know that the Hokage is looking for you."
"Why would the Hokage be looking for me?" She walked towards him slowly.
"He said it was important, though I'm not sure what he wants from you." Haru walked a little closer to her. "Listen…do you want to talk about…"
She disappeared in a flash of white smoke.
"I guess not…" Turning, he sighed and walked away slowly. ("It's only been a week since that fateful incident…the poor girl…")
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Kai slowly closed the front door of his home, making sure to avoid making any noise. He'd stayed at the training ground late again and now to avoid the wrath of his mother he'd have to be incredibly quiet.
But even as he stepped inside, he felt his foot tug on something. ("A trap?") His eyes widened as there was a zing noise and something hit him in the face, breaking and spraying him with white powder. ("Marking powder? She'll know that I tried to sneak in…damn it!") The sound of shuffling feet came from upstairs. ("Screw this…") Shoving the door open, he ran down the street and leapt up onto the top of a building. ("I'll just sleep outside tonight…") Something sharp shot past his cheek, leaving a small streak of blood. Paling, he wiped it against the back of his hand and then stared down at the black-clothed form of his mother. ("Uh-oh…I think she's mad at me…")
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Kin kicked his foot straight up at full speed, stretching his feet as far apart vertically as he could. Then he took a deep breath and relaxed his body so that he could hold this position as long as necessary. "Alright mom…let them fly…"
His mother smiled sweetly. "This reminds me so much of the times that I spent with your father…"
"That's nice mom, please let them fly. I'm about to lose concentration…" Kin began to make the necessary seals. "Suiton; Aumizu Iruka no Jutsu!" His eyes opened and he saw the twenty apples his mother had thrown into the air all around him at once. ("Now…if I can hold the increased reaction time long enough…") His hands began to move, knocking the apples one by one out of the air. ("I have to keep moving…can't stop or it might dispel…")
Ten apples hit the ground…and ten flew past him and into the pond of the garden.
Growling, Kin dropped his leg to the ground and released his focus on the Blue Water Dolphin technique. ("If there's one bonus to this technique, it's that I can shut it down when I need to because it's so weak at the moment.")
His mother walked up to him and patted him on the head. "Don't worry; you should get much better at it soon. Maybe you should practice dispelling the White Wind Angel instead?"
"No…I have to get the hang of the other three techniques before I start mastering any one of them…" His eyes looked down at each of the apples, which were damaged but not in pieces like he had hoped to make them. "I remember dad's words to me about the legendary technique…"
"You mean the Radiant Paradise technique?" She sighed and ruffled his hair. "You know that it's called a legendary technique for a reason, right? It's a legend…nothing more."
"I know it's possible…as long as I can keep my skills broadened over all four of the elements." Kin frowned at how foolish that sounded, even to his optimistic thoughts on the subject. Every member of the Watanabe clan who possessed the power to activate the element techniques had a body built to use only one of them efficiently. His body was that of a runner's, and therefore he could use the White Wind Angel without any problems. But the remaining three techniques were too much for his body…because it wasn't built to handle the stress to those muscles. ("But I won't give up. Dad believed that someone could learn the Radiant Paradise technique if they equally trained in all four elements long enough.")
According to the legends, the Radiant Paradise was a technique that pumped chakra into every inch of the body, turning the user into a supreme fighter by increasing their speed, reaction time, strength and endurance all at once. Of course, such a thing was nearly impossible. Nothing human had the chakra supply to simply supercharge every aspect of their abilities. Therefore, there had to be a trick to doing it. And he would figure it out…he would. "Hey mom, I'll be in for dinner in a minute."
Nodding, his mother picked up the basket and walked inside. "Don't be out too long dear. You start missions tommorow right?"
"Yeah…" Kin looked up at the stars.
"He proved nothing," Turning, Kai walked across the courtyard and towards his home.
("Why does that still bother me? Is it because that was the best I could do and I couldn't impress someone who is supposed to be at the same level as me?") Kin snapped his hands up. Maybe it was time to stop working towards the foolish dream of the Radiant Paradise. He could become a great ninja if he simply focused his full attentions on the White Wind Angel. But every time he thought of that, he thought of his father. ("His wish to see the Radiant Paradise…to see what one had to do to accomplish it.") Placing his hands together, he began to make the seals for Blue Water Dolphin. ("I'll master each of them in turn…and I'll show you what you wanted to see dad.")
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Kai leapt from rooftop to rooftop, kunai shooting after him at every jump. ("Just run…she's mad at me…just run…")
From behind him, his mother kept up with his speed perfectly. ("Stop running already…I want to see how much you have improved by now that you are a Genin! Stop running…")
Kai flashed a quick three seal combination with his hands, and then disappeared in a burst of white smoke.
His mother stopped running, and sighed. ("Maybe I was a little too forceful with him…")
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Kai dropped down onto a wall and took a deep breath. ("I'm finally free from that crazy woman…") Looking over the wall and into the backyard of the home he was bordering, his eyes widened in surprise. ("Well look at this…it's the mediocrity.")
Kin moved his arms as quickly as possible, but it wasn't enough. If he could throw all of the apples up on his own and then slap them out of the air as well, then he knew he'd have the Blue Dolphin Technique mastered. ("But that's impossible, unless you have a body developed for such hand movement.")
Kai watched calmly. ("He's moving fast…but I can track it. Is that supposed to be a technique? If so, it's pitifully pointless.")
Kin watched eleven apples fall right before the Blue Water Dolphin gave out on him. ("I'm nearly out of chakra…so I'd guess it would be best to stop.")
"Is something the matter, mediocrity?" Kai dropped down into the garden.
Kin barely avoided letting his surprise show. "What are you doing here?"
Kai smirked calmly. "I'm watching you make an idiot out of yourself. Do you really expect such a low increase in reaction time to be worth the amount of chakra I felt you give off?"
"Just shut up and go away." Kin fixed a death glare onto him. "You don't know anything about my family. It shows in the fact that you don't understand your own body."
"Excuse me?" Kai lifted one eyebrow. "What are you talking about? I know my body…"
"If you knew your body then you would understand that the way you fight is not taking advantage of it at all." Kin pointed at him. "Also, you'd understand that your build is like mine. When you have a runner's build then you need to use your legs more often."
"I use my legs often enough." Kai extended his senses to make sure that his mother wasn't approaching. "You're the one who needs to understand his limits. How can you pump all of your chakra into your running muscles and expect to do anything more than run around like an idiot?"
Their eyes met, and lightning crackled between them.
"Kin, your dinner is getting cold!" Kin's mother opened the door to the garden and blinked in surprise at who her son was talking to. "Oh, who's this?"
"Ummm…" Kin paled. "Ummm...it's Kai…my teammate."
"Your teammate? Oh how wonderful!" Clapping her hands together, Kin's mother stepped away from the door. "Well then come in Kai. Join us for dinner."
Kai grimaced and turned away. "I'm…"
Kin's arm snapped out and locked him into a head-lock. "I insist…"
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As the three of them sat at the Watanabe dinner table, Kin's mother asked Kai question after question. And through all of it Kin sat silent, eating his food.
"So, does the Otogi family have a long history of ninjas?"
Kai snickered slightly. "Yes…I suppose you could say that."
She slid out of her seat and walked into the kitchen. "Hang on and I'll get dessert."
As soon as she had left the room Kai stood up and began to walk towards the door. The only thing that stopped him was Kin grabbing his elbow. "Where are you going?"
"I didn't want to be here in the first place, and I'm full. Now I'll take my leave of you, since I'm sure that my presence here is what is making you so quiet." Yanking his arm free, Kai began to open the back door. But as he went halfway out the door his nostrils flared at a sweet smell coming from the kitchen. "What's that?"
Kin's mother came into the room holding a small cake in her arms. "Oh…were you leaving Kai?"
After a few moments, Kai stepped back inside and slid the door shut. "No, just getting a little air. But what's the cake for? Do you normally have cake for dessert?"
Kin's mother placed the cake down on the table. "Well…"
"Today is the fifth anniversary of the day that my father was killed. He loved cake in life, and this is our tribute to him on this day." Kin's fingers started to dig into the tabletop.
Kai looked at the cake…and then opened the back door again. "That's such a stupid way to honor the dead…" Then the door slid shut as he walked out into the garden.
"What did you say?" Kin leapt up and shoved the back door open. But Kai was already gone. ("You arrogant…prick…")
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Aiko sat on top of her roof again. It had been a short meeting with the Hokage, and now she knew her new mission. ("I'm sure it will be incredibly entertaining…") Resting her back against the tiles, she tilted her forehead protector to face the stars. ("Why am I doing this? What purpose does it serve for me to…")
"Do it now Aiko!" He held on as tightly as he could, but he felt his grip slipping away. "Please…if you don't…so many children…so many innocent people…will die…" Blood began to flow from his now open shoulder wound.
Aiko trembled…her hands still stuck in the final set of seals for the killing technique. "Don't make me do that…please don't make me do that…"
"Foolish mortals…" The held form struggled against the glowing blue net that held it restricted against the foolish male. "I will break free and…"
"DO IT!"
Aiko sat up and trembled in anger. ("Why did you put me in that position?")
Haru appeared a few feet away from her. "What's the matter?""
"Do you even have to ask?" She didn't move at all.
"Listen…Aiko…it's just that…it wasn't your fault." He began to approach her.
"It wasn't my fault?" She stood up and turned to face him. "You have some guts to say that, considering you were there. You know exactly what I did wrong."
"But that doesn't mean it was your fault…the creature was so powerful…" Haru looked up at the moon, and shivered at memories that flashed through his head. "We shouldn't have been able to stop it, but thanks to his sacrifice we did."
"Do you think I care about whether we stopped it or not?" She disappeared in a burst of smoke.
("No…you care only because you lost him.") Haru looked away. ("I'd feel sorry for you…but I know how much you hate pity.")
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Kai sat on top of the roof of his house. ("A cake…how stupid. The dead are already dead…they won't come back if you honor them…") His hand snapped up and caught a kunai that had been hurtling towards his head. "Hello mother…I think I'm ready to fight now." Standing, he turned slowly. "And I hope you're ready, because I feel like going all out."
To be continued…