The Sound of Heartache
2. A Long Day
The stars began to fade as the sun rose slowly to welcome a new day. It didn't take long before the sky became bright blue and the weather warm. Summers in the Sound Village were always too hot… so most of the ninjas either got up too early or slept the heat away.
Tayuya couldn't. She was one of Orochimaru-sama's five elite bodyguards. Plus, he had given them a mission the day before and she didn't want to mess anything up. The girl had never been punished before, but she still feared the pale man's wrath. The mere sight of Master would make the bravest ninja flinch…
The ginger looked at her alarm clock. 6:07. She had woken up earlier than usual: normally it woke her up at 6:30. Setting it off, she stretched her arms and back and fell on her pillow. She didn't want to get up at all, but there was no option.
The light wasn't enough to see anything clearly; the sun would come soon. The girl was tempted to go back to dreamland.
'There's something I forgot… but what is it?' the girl thought to herself. 'Let's see: yesterday we were in the woods, fighting. Then Kabuto-san came and…' her eyes shot open.
"Fuck! Sakon doesn't know! I bet nobody told him yet!" Tayuya got up in a flash, unaware that she was actually screaming. She got dressed as fast as she could and went outside. Remembering to lock the door and putting the keys away, the girl walked through the earthy streets of the Sound Village, hoping that the blue-haired twins were already awake.
The streets were almost empty. Of course, it was only ten past six in the morning!
Tayuya knew where her teammates lived, but she had never actually gone to visit when they weren't on a mission. She stood at the door, knocking lightly. The lights were off and there didn't seem to be anyone inside. Not a single snore.
'Well, I doubt he snores….' She knocked the door again, this time making sure he'd wake up.
"Hey Sakon! Ukon! Whoever! It's me, Tayuya!" She waited. Nobody answered.
"I've got a message to deliver!" she tried again, but nobody came to open the door. No one would take as long as the twins were apparently. Surely one of them had heard the noise… and in case it was Ukon, he'd probably wake up his brother. The ginger decided they weren't home, so she walked away. Now the problem was: where was Sakon? And would anyone tell him before the morning's meeting?
Kabuto-san would surely talk to them again at eight or seven thirty, and the Five were supposed to know everything by then… but one of them didn't. And that'd cost dearly.
So Tayuya walked aimlessly through the streets. The creepy man didn't seem to be anywhere around. He was commonly found at home or at the gates of the village…
'Wait… The gates? Maybe he is in the forest!' And the girl ran, hoping she would find the man there. Now more nins began to roam the streets, go hunting or open their shops. Some greeted the girl respectfully; others flinched just at the sight of her. For the Five that was almost a routine.
She once stopped to ask a young male ninja whether he had seen 'the Second' pass by. At his negative answer the girl decided it'd be useless to talk to the people, as they would just try to run away for fear to Orochimaru-sama. 'Hell! I'm not Kabuto-san! And it's not like I'm gonna rip them to bits…' she muttered returning to what she had been doing all morning.
The forest was a few steps away. Tayuya calculated she had been wandering for about forty minutes now. 'He better be in the forest! Or else I'll let him just die by Orochimaru-sama's hand…'
But she didn't have to worry: there were fresh footprints on the ground, a foot away from the gates. Well, not so fresh – maybe from the previous evening… but that didn't matter. It had to be him.
'But what if it isn't him?' she wondered suddenly. 'Well, I'm sure the others are looking for him too… I can't be the only one doing this…'
And she followed the marks. Slowly but surely she'd get her reward: 'not being killed…' and she sighed.
Her feet took her to a little cleared space; much like the one the Five had been the previous day. On the farthest corner (if it could be called that) sat Sakon. His eyes were closed and had a slight look of lack of sleep. He was not moving, but Tayuya knew he was awake. She stood a few feet away from him and took a deep breath before she finally spoke.
"Sakon." He opened his eyes and looked straight at hers.
"What?" he spat.
"Geez! You sound even grumpier that Jiroubou when he's hungry!" she scowled. "At least say 'hello'!" and she glared at him. The man suddenly seemed to wake up completely and his expression changed.
"I'm sorry… err… Hello Tayuya?" he attempted a puppy face but failed miserably.
"Drop it. It's ok." She sighed. "I came to tell you something."
"Really?" his eyes lit up. "What is it?" and he stood to face her at almost the same height. He couldn't stand to look up to talk to other people.
"Yes. It's a message from Orochimaru-sama." His face stiffened.
"What did he say?" he asked apathetically.
'Wow… Mr. Mood swings!' she thought and she proceeded to tell him everything Kabuto had said on their last meeting. Sakon listened but didn't pay as much attention as the girl wanted him to. If he got anything wrong, they'd all pay. But the Five couldn't fail! They were the elite group!
"Ok, got it. So when is today's meeting?" he asked when she had finished.
"Just about now." Answered a deep, calm voice. Both ninjas looked at the entrance of the village – which wasn't too far away – to see Kimimaro. Tayuya flinched almost automatically and Sakon frowned.
"What? How did you know I was here, Kimimaro?" asked the blue-haired man, clearly annoyed. Tayuya couldn't tell if it was because of their last chat. But Kimimaro seemed unaffected by this and remained silent, watching the two ninjas.
"I just knew it." And he walked away. Tayuya began to follow, getting lost in her thoughts. Sakon didn't want to be left alone, so he went too.
The ginger was looking straight at the white-haired man's back. Then, something she didn't expect happened: he turned around to face her and, looking at her straight into her eyes, whispered loud enough for her to hear:
"You did well. Thank you." And continued walking. Tayuya blushed slightly; she didn't know how to react… because she had done what any of the Five would have. It could have been either her, Jiroubou, Kidoumaru or Kimimaro. It was part of their duties, after all, to inform their mates about anything they didn't know.
Sakon was a few steps away from her. He wasn't looking ahead: he found the sky more interesting.
The meeting took place in a little room in Kabuto's place. Orochimaru-sama wasn't there.
"Ok, Five." Began Kabuto-san. "Your mission starts today. I assume you all know what it is about." He paused, looking at the other five ninjas. They all nodded.
"Good. Although you're going to find out everything for yourselves, there's a little information we can still give you for a start. Nobody can begin a search out of nothing, after all." And he proceeded to explain the details of the hints they had.
"Of course this" he pointed to a tiny red cross on a map "is where you may find what you need to go on. Or spies couldn't get anything else, but they're sure about this." And the Five looked closely at the old paper in the middle of the circle the six ninjas formed. It was either a town or ruins not too far away from the Sound Country. It didn't look too hard at all, but some of them already had their doubts.
"I don't like this…" muttered Jiroubou, frowning.
"Me neither." Stated Kidoumaru, serious.
Kimimaro didn't speak a word. His eyes were closed.
"And why is that?" asked Tayuya curiously.
"Cause it'll be hard to get good food there…" Jiroubou didn't notice he was thinking out loud. Five pairs of eyes started at him. Some frowned, others looked amused.
Jiroubou was puzzled.
¤
Soon the meeting was over. It didn't take more than half an hour – shorter than the usual ones – and the Five split up to get everything ready before the departure. It'd be a long journey, after all.
Tayuya entered her house sighing. She wasn't supposed to take too many things with her: just the necessary for a survival journey.
'Yeah' she thought sarcastically 'that's the perfect name for it…' and she went to the kitchen. 'Nothing that rots too soon…' and she took a bag and put sandwiches, bread (just in case) and other stuff that she thought would be necessary. Then some bottles with water 'I guess it's the standard drink for trips' and some paper napkins 'I'm clean after all.'
'What else?'
The girl entered her room and took a sleeping bag. She knew that it'd probably be only a burden, but she didn't want to be cold at night. Plus, after summer came autumn with its frosty winds. If she caught a cold it would be terrible for her skills and performance: she would even ruin everything. Ad if that happened…
She shivered. Suddenly Tayuya felt cold. Orochimaru-sama would definitely reward her with a most painful death.
"But that's not gonna happen, damn it!" she said aloud to the empty house to give herself some more confidence.
Feeling a bit better the ginger finished packing her small bag and left it near the front door: she'd rest a bit. Lying down on her bed, just for a few minutes, she closed her eyes. Her team mates would take a bit more, maybe. Or at least that fatass Jiroubou… if he packed any food, of course.
A pair of green eyes flashed in her thoughts. She opened hers, uneasy. Had she been there long?
"Doesn't matter…" the girl got up and headed to the entrance to pick up her things and go away. She stopped for a few seconds when her hand reached the doorknob. She looked back to her home. Her private and safe place.
How long would it be before she returned? She'd surely miss her comfortable bed with its feather pillows…
"I'll come back." And she opened the door, went outside and locked it before meeting her team mates at the east gates. She hoped she wasn't the last one to arrive.
The red-haired girl was lucky: there were only three of them; Jiroubou was missing. Relieved, the girl walked to them looking more confident. The others were standing next to the wooden gates, and as she could tell, they hadn't been there for long. All of them carried small bags similar to hers.
"Ha ha! I win!" Sakon said to Kidoumaru as the ginger got closer. "I told you she'd come before Jiroubou!" and he extended his hand to the arachnid ninja. This one mumbled something and gave the other some money.
"What?" asked the girl, a bit annoyed.
"Nuthin'." Replied both men, trying to look innocent.
"Just in time." Interrupted Kimimaro, but he wasn't talking to Tayuya. The four looked to see the fat one coming. His bag was much bigger than the ones the others had.
"Needed some breakfast, ya know…" was his only excuse.
"Ok, now we're ready!" beamed Sakon, eager to leave.
"Hold on. Here comes Kabuto-san!" Kidoumaru stopped him. He pointed to the mentioned man, who was in fact heading toward the five.
"Kimimaro. Come with me." The gray haired man commanded and the other followed. They spoke for a while and Kabuto handed him something (the other four couldn't see) and they kept talking.
"I wonder what they're talking about…" Sakon looked at them for a while before turning his attention to his other three mates.
"Probably something important." Commented Jiroubou, thoughtful.
"Of course it's something important, you silly!" replied Kidoumaru "But I want to know why he isn't telling us too! We're the Five, after all!"
"Whatever it is, I'm sure we'll know eventually." Tayuya was talking more to herself than to her companions, but it was the same.
Sakon stood next to the girl. She didn't notice it until he spoke again.
"So, Tayuya, what do you think this little trip will be like?"
"Yeah, trip. It's a freakin' journey we're talking about, you jackass!" she spat, angrily.
"Ok, ok. Easy…"
"You wish."
"Stop it, you two!" intruded Jiroubou "And Tayuya! You better watch your language!" She made an offensive gesture to him in response.
But before they could continue, Kimimaro came to stop them.
"I've been away for five minutes and you're already fighting?" his fellows couldn't tell whether he was joking or not, but they decided to just shut up. The white-haired man took a few steps forward and told them all to go.
As the five got farther from their village they began a quiet but nice chat.
"So who's got the map? It's good to know where we're heading." Kidoumaru was content: soon they'd be fighting and having fun!
"I got it." Replied the fat ninja, as he took it out. He studied it for some minutes before confirming their direction. "For now we have to look like travelers, but as we get closer to this marked place we'll have to sneak." He mumbled to himself, but everyone else could hear. They were pretty sure that this mission looked too easy to be true: just to sneak in a town or ruins and get some information about six ancient scrolls? Oh, and get them, of course.
¤
The Five walked for about five hours before they sat for lunch. Tayuya took out her sandwiches and was not surprised that almost everyone had some too. However, Kidoumaru's looked rather… odd. What the hell he was eating, she didn't want to know. She had to eat too, for God's sake!
Jiroubou's lunch consisted of too many things, as expected. He ate as if there was no tomorrow. Sakon choked with his water before laughing at his fat fellow.
"What?" he asked angrily.
"It's just that…" more laughter "Your food won't run away, you know!"
"Shut up!"
Tayuya was amused. She loved to pick on Jiroubou because he got irritated so easily. Sakon was being funny even without intending it. She then looked at Kimimaro, who had just finished eating. Gosh, was he so fast? Did he eat anything at all? He stared back at her, making her blush again.
"What is it Tayuya?" he asked, half-smiling.
"Err… eh… nothing, he he he." She scratched her head lightly. And she hid her face before some napkins, pretending she was cleaning her mouth and then blowing her nose.
Sakon burped.
Jiroubou mumbled something and frowned.
The girl felt amused again. She even giggled this time. Maybe this journey wouldn't be as long as it looked?
When everybody was ready to leave (they had to wait for Jiroubou) the Five sounds headed toward the mountains. If the map was alright, they'd be arriving there by the following day's midnight or so. Then they would have to be quick and silent: they didn't know what to expect yet.
They walked all afternoon without a stop. None of them spoke too much: they had to save their strength for what was about to come. Sometimes they sent one of them ahead or backwards whether to check the following areas or to make sure nobody was following them. Even travelers were suspicious, especially when they were foreigners.
But nobody was spying on them that day. Time passed too slowly for the group's taste and several times its integrants complained (all but Kimimaro, who seemed completely focused on their mission) until the evening. Afterward they were too tired to do so.
"I'm hungry…" was Jiroubou's last complain.
¤
A man wearing glasses was sitting on a roof. He was looking at the blood-stained sky with an apathetic expression on his face. His shoulder-long hair was tied; otherwise it would be annoying.
'I wonder if it's the right time…' he thought, looking for stars in the crimson evening. 'He sometimes doesn't know despite he's the boss...' and he took of his glasses to clean tem with his clothes. His sight wasn't that bad… but the current times urged him to be alert. Anything could be expected. Anything.
"And talking to him will just make things worse…" Kabuto thought aloud "Considering his situation and his origins… Hell I'm almost the same!" and, realizing he could be heard, the man sealed his lips and stood up. He looked around.
Nope, there wasn't anyone around. In addition, he was on the roof of Orochimaru-sama's place. Nobody would venture there unless it was strictly necessary: Orochimaru-sama was already dangerous, but was even scarier these days.
"Kabuto."
And talking of the Devil…
The man went inside through a trap door and hurried to his master. He was, as usual, sitting on his chair, staring at the darkening sky through a large window.
"Yes, Orochimaru-sama?"
"No stiffness, boy. I just want to talk." At the silence of his subordinate, the elder added "I'm just bored. Sitting here with nothing to do but to wait is terribly annoying."
"But it will be prudent not to take actions right now; the other countries are aware of danger…"
"That's true. I wonder if my bodyguards will be able to handle this by themselves…" but he didn't look like he was lacking confidence.
"We're not at a war, master. The enemy's attention is somewhere else.
"But the enemy is strong. You already know that. But my ninjas are the best."
"But, Orochimaru-sama, if anything went wrong… what would happen?" Kabuto was too serious now.
"That will not happen. I assume you gave them my triumph card already." The black-haired man turned to face the other with his golden eyes. Kabuto knew that look. His master knew him well too.
"Yes, master. I did as you told me." A short silence followed.
Orochimaru returned his gaze to the landscape in front of him. Kabuto, however, didn't take his eyes off his master.
"What is it, Kabuto?" even without looking, the snake like man knew there was something troubling his right hand man.
"… How do we know they are going to use it in time? What if they can't handle it?"
"Oh, they will. I trust you gave them instructions already. Plus, I need them to use it. Especially Kimimaro. The others are unimportant for that purpose, but it will be of great help in this quest." He paused. "Now, is there anything else bothering your thoughts?" he grinned.
Kabuto thought about it for a minute. Yes, he had given the Five everything they needed (according to Orochimaru-sama's plans) and none of them were stupid. They would get the hint in no time. And if they didn't, then Kimimaro would take care of the rest.
Looking back at his master, the man with glasses answered:
"No, master."
"Good." And the night came.
¤
The Five had gathered near a river. Sakon was looking for something in his bag. Kidoumaru was nowhere to be seen; Jiroubou seemed worried about something.
Tayuya was refilling some of her empty bottles with the water that flowed calmly, making musical sounds as it crossed the forest. When she finished with the last one the girl stored them safetly in her bag… and noticed something. Something was missing.
"HEY!" she yelled "Who the fuck took the rest of my food!" and she turned directly to Jiroubou, who had a guilty expression.
"Yeah!" spat Sakon, joining her immediately "I'm sure it was you, fatass!"
"But… Sakon! Didn't you…" he looked nervously at the man with blue hair "… Didn't you eat it all for lunch?"
"Obviously not! My bag is empty too!" and he looked at Tayuya, hoping she would say something else.
She didn't. Not for lacking a response, but for a lack of time. Somebody else interrupted with a reasonable answer.
"What's the point in fighting? If there's no food, we'll have to hunt it down. We are ninjas trained for this kind of missions and I'm sure there are a lot of edible things in a dense forest like this."
It was Kimimaro. Serious and sensible, as usual.
"He's right." Agreed Tayuya "Continuing this fight may be fun, but I'm already hungry. Go hunt something, inferior fatass!" she grinned.
"What!" Jiroubou looked offended. "Why?"
"Cause you ate my food, idiot. That's why." She smirked.
"Good one, Tayuya!" beamed Sakon, amused.
"Well, I'm not going alone-"
"What is it, fatty? Are you scared of this frightening forest at night?" Sakon mimicked a scared kid.
"It's not that, you fairy!" replied the other "It'll be faster if at least three of us go. And there'll be more food too!" the others snorted.
"That was the real reason!" pointed Tayuya, now laughing.
"Ok, I'll go look for Kidoumaru…" began Sakon, but a head popped from the bushes.
"I'm here." The arachnid man said smiling.
"Good. Your spider webs are perfect for traps. Bring some good preys!" ordered Tayuya.
"Yes ma'am!" joked the ninja and disappeared. Jiroubou went in a different direction and Sakon promised he'd get something really yummy.
"We'll set the fire then." Tayuya and Kimimaro were left alone. The ginger cut some branches from the nearby trees and placed them to start a fire. When it was all done she sat in front of the tiny flame, waiting for it to grow. Kimimaro wasn't around… where had he gone?
The girl got up and looked around. If it wasn't that Kimimaro was a serious ninja, she would have thought he was hiding for fun. Surely wasn't.
She took a few steps, not intending to go too far from their improvised camping site. 'Ah, there he is!' she thought when she spotted him. He was sitting near the river.
"Hey." Tayuya said a bit nervous "what are you doing here, Kimimaro?" He gestured her to sit next to him and she did, a bit hesitantly. He looked at the singing water and then spoke.
"Just came here to think."
"About what?"
"… Things…" this didn't sound so sure.
"Oh…" she didn't know what else to say. Maybe he didn't want to talk about it.
Minutes passed. Silence was unbearable for the ginger.
"So, these guys are taking too long…" she complained to the trees. She wasn't sure if Kimimaro was in the mood for more of that.
"Tayuya." He called.
"Y-yes?" she was taken by surprise.
"I want to make sure of something." He replied, now turning to her, but she was looking at the green trees.
"What is it?" she didn't move. But a hand took her chin and turned it slowly to its owner.
"Look at me." His emerald eyes met her hazel ones.
"…" they stared at each other for a while. Tayuya knew she was blushing, and she didn't want him to know. Thank God it was dark…
Hold on! Was he blushing too? Whether it was her imagination or not, the girl was sure she had seen a slight pink shade on his pale skin. But it was almost invisible.
Tayuya was going to speak, but somebody chose that moment to make appearance.
"Hey, guys! Got lots of fruits and a few rabbits…" Sakon was practically dancing. The girl quickly stood up and eyed the newcomer oddly.
"… Food." And he fell silent.
A shadow came with its six hands carrying stuff.
"Hello there!" greeted Kidoumaru "Look what I've got!" and he showed his fellows about seven rabbits and a few fish. "I'm sure this'll be enough for us! Let Jiroubou starve…" and he stopped. The other three were looking at him.
The spider man was confused.
"Er… did I miss something?"
§
Chapter two finished! I'm sorry I took so long to post it…there was a little lack of inspiration. In addition, I'm working with LtLA at the same time, but that's another story. If you got any questions about anything, feel free to ask! Reviews are welcome, but no flames. If you got a critique, it'll be appreciated if it is constructive.
For news about any of my stories, check my bio!
Thank you for reading! And review!
RaineL.