Chapter 3 pt.1
"Are we there yet? This cage feels like it is getting smaller every hour." Tani whined, leaning against the cage and propping one leg over her other. Night had fallen, and only two torches on each side of the cart kept it radiant from the rest of the woodland.
"Yes Tani, We are almost there. By sunrise we should be near the outskirts of the village." Tori replied, looking back.
"So then how about letting me out then? I wont kill you." Said Tani, winking and sticking her tongue out.
"We are hardly worried about that, Tani. We are more worried that you would try to escape."
"Why would I try to escape? I told you that I want more inform-."
"Look, it's not happening. Now just keep quiet and quit your bitching." Gero replied, interrupting Tani.
"Jeez I was just wondering…" Tani mumbled under her breath.
Sunrise soon came, and a cool morning wind could be felt flowing through the window in Tani's cage. Tani awoke with a yawn, and looked out her window to see if that had arrived yet. To her surprise she saw a vast forest spanning over three mountaintops, as far as her eye could see. "Amazing." She said to her self with jaw agape.
"Oh, you are awake?" Tori said with a smile.
"Where…are we?" Tani asked, yawning.
"We are currently in the heartland of the Land of Grass. Were riding down Mt. Douzo, and if you could see from where I am sitting, we are about a couple hours away from Kusagakure." Tori replied.
"Ahh…that's good." Tani said, leaning her head back down and falling back to sleep.
Tani awoke again hours later to the racket of stomping, talking, clanging, and shouting. She looked outside her window to see a very busy street filled with shopping, traveling, training, and children playing. "We must be here. This must be Kusagakure." Tani thought.
The scenery quickly changed, and went from a busting busy street to a courtyard. Suddenly she could feel her cage lifted up from the cart and carried into a building.
"Welcome back Tori! Gero! I am glad you made it back from your mission safely." Said a mysterious man. "May I please ask where our guest, Might Tani, is?" he continued.
"Guest?" Tani thought to herself.
"Hello, I am Might Tani. Nice to meet you!" Tani said, waving her arm outside of her small window."
The mysterious man looked at the cage, and then quickly shifted his eyes toward the two leaf nin. He walked towards and put both his hands on their shoulders. "Gero…Tori…may I please ask…WHY THE HELL IS OUR SPECIAL GUEST LOCKED UP IN A CAGE!" The mysterious man yelled, and then slammed both their heads into each other. "Guards! Get our guest out of this cage this instant!"
Helping Tani out of the cage, the mysterious man bowed and introduced himself. "My name is Henzo Sasari. I am the personal assistant to the leader of this village. I am very sorry these two NUMBSKULLS locked you up."
"She refused to come with us!" Gero yelled, trying to plead his case.
"Did you even explain anything to her, Gero?" Sasari said, glaring at him.
"Erm…well…it's not like we had a cha-" Gero continued
"What about you, Tori. Do you have any say in this" Sasari continued, interrupting Gero
"No, sir. I approved of using a cage as well. I too, will take the blame." Tori said, taking a deep bow.
"Very well then. You both will receive the severe puni-"
"Wait! Sasari was it? You don't have to go through all this" Tani said with a fake laugh. "They were both very helpful and informative. They made sure that I got her safely and explained everything on the way."
"Oh I see! If our special guest doesn't think that these two numbskulls need punishment, then that is fine by me!" Sasari replied with an upbeat attitude.
"Thank you very much, Tani." Tori replied quietly, taking a deep bow, while Gero remained silent.
"Now, Miss Tani, as for business. Our leader is currently unavailable as of tonight. He is currently visiting a nearby village to help two clans settle a feud. He will be back tomorrow morning, so until then please make yourself at home. I have arranged for you a room of top class here in the palace. Our hot springs are around the back. I hope that you will be joining us for dinner here in the palace this evening. Now let me arrange with you two personal guards for your safety." Sasari explained as he quickly flipped through a few pieces of paper on a clipboard he was holding. "Well, it seems that the only nin available are the two that just got back today, Tori and Gero." Sasari said to Tani. "Tori! Gero! Get over here!" He yelled to the two, just as they were leaving the palace.
"How can I help you, sir?" Tori said with a smile.
"You two are to be Miss Tani's bodyguards for the time she spends here. If anything happens to her, it's your heads!" Sasari demanded.
"No, please, don't say that. Nothing will happen." Tani said, nervously laughing.
"Great…more babysitting" Gero complained, only to be punched in the head by Sasari.
"Now if you don't mind, Miss Tani, I have some business to attend to. This two will assist you with anything you need. Feel free to ask them any questions. I'm sure they will more than glad to answer…wont you…" Sasari said glaring at Gero and Tori, and then smiling at Tani. "Ok then, I will be going. I will see you this evening at dinner, Miss Tani."
"Ok, I will see you then" Tani said, waving goodbye.
Tani looked towards her two new bodyguards. Gero was looking away from her with an annoyed look, while Tori looked at her, smiling.
"So…what shall we do first?"
"Like I give a shi-"
"I got it! Can you guys give me a tour of the city?" Tani said, interrupting Gero.
"Yes ma'am!" Tori said enthusiastically
Gero scoffed and replied "Whatever."
"Alright then, lets go!" Tani said, leaving the building with Gero and Tani.
Chapter 3 pt.2
The streets of Kusagakure were filled with a busting crowd. Tani was having trouble just moving from one place to another. "This village sure is crowded…how do you guys live with this?" she questioned.
"We have grown used to it. Despite this countries size, it has a very large population, especially here in Kusagakure. We have a lot of commerce between Kusagakure and the other villages." Tori answered. "So Tani, where would you like to go?"
"I don't know…I don't know anything about this place. Where are the interesting spots?" Tani asked, watching the busy streets and all the people.
"Well we could go visit the-"
"Lets go get something to eat. Is there a ramen shop around here?" Tani asked, interrupting Tori.
"Sure, there is actually one right down this street." Tori replied with a smile.
"Ever heard of letting someone finish a sentence?" Gero griped at Tani.
Tani looked at Gero, and stuck her tongue out.
"Bitch…" Gero mumbled under his breath.
Time flew by, and the three headed back to the palace. Sasari was there waiting there at the gate. "Welcome back, Miss Tani. I hope you had a good time. Now please follow me up to your room. Dinner will be served soon." Sasari said as he led her up to her room. "Here you are, Miss Tani. Please feel free to freshen up. We have an assortment of dinner wear in the closet, all unused. Feel free to wear any of them to dinner."
"Are we dismissed, sir?" Tori asked.
"No you numbskull. You are here to protect her. Go home and get something nice on. You will be joining us, you too Gero." Sasari answered.
Tori's eyes brightened as she ran out of the palace. "Thank you, Sasari!" Tori yelled running out. Gero grumbled and sulked out.
"I will meet you downstairs when you are ready, Miss Tani." Gero said as he walked out.
Tani placed her bo staff and all her equipment down in a large basket near the bed. She sat down in front of a mirror and sighed. She took her bandana off and undid her hair braid. Moving towards the closet, she thought, "I hate formal stuff". Opening it up, she saw a huge variety of dresses. She grabbed the one that looked best to her, and put it on. She then went back and sat down in front of the mirror.
Sasari knocked on the door "Are you ready Miss Tani?" he asked
"Yes, Sasari. I will be right out." Tani replied, looking at herself in the mirror.
Tani walked out of her room to see Sasari with his jaw dropped. "So…. beautiful…" He thought to himself.
The two walked down the stairs and into a giant dining room. There was a long table was filled with the most delicious looking foods and drinks. Around it was Kusagakure's top officials, and a feudal lord as well. Sasari lead Tani to an empty chair at the end of the table. There she saw Tori and Gero.
"Here you go, Miss Tani." Sasari said, pulling the chair out so that Tani could sit down. "You look wonderful, Tori. As for you Gero… WHY THE HELL ARE YOU WEARING WHAT YOU WORE EARLIER TODAY?"
"I don't own any formal clothes, asshole!" Gero replied
"Ugh…hopeless. Oh well, lets not let this ruin our evening. Please Tani, have something to eat. I will be sitting over here. If you need anything, just ask me." Sasari said, walking towards his seat.
"Wow Tani, you look really beautiful." Tori said, looking at Tani.
"Thank you, Tori. So do you." Tani replied with a smile. She then grabbed a plate and started eating.
Dinner went on for about a couple hours before everybody started getting restless. Sasari stood up and put his glass out in front of him. "Everybody, I would like to give a toast to our special guest, Might Tani!" Sasari said.
"Might Tani? I haven't heard that name in awhile." Someone said across the table. "I heard she had died." Another one said. Commotion began to rise around the table before Sasari yelled, "People please. She is fine and she is here to help us find information on…that man.".
Those who questioned quickly became silent.
"Now, as we were, a toast to Might Tani!" Sasari said with a smile.
Dinner soon ended, and the parties began to leave. Walking out, Tani questioned Sasari "How do all these people know who I am?"
"Well, during the war, you were one of our top assassination targets. We viewed you as a great threat because at the time our spies noticed you were quickly becoming a very strong ninja, and we didn't want to take any risks in the future. But please, Mrs. Tani, don't look deep into that. It's all in the past." Sasari said with a chuckle.
Tani laughed nervously and went up to her room. She undressed and got into a bathrobe before walking towards the palaces hot springs to relax. When she got there she didn't see anyone in the spring, so she threw off her robe and jumped in. Rising from the water, she leaned back against a rock making her comfortable. She thought to herself "I hate formal stuff" before closing her eyes.
"Um…Tani…Sasari sent us to ask you if would like anything before he goes to bed." Tori embarrassingly asked.
Opening one eye, Tani replied, "No I think I'm good for tonight. What about you Tori, why don't you join me here?"
"Well…Sasari usually doesn't let anyone other than guests and royalties in the palace hot spring..." Tori implied, blushing.
"I will take the blame if anything happens. Now come join me." Tani stated with a smile.
"Really? Ok! Thank you!" Tori said and ran to undress and get a towel.
"You wanna join us, Gero?" Tani asked jokingly.
"I'm leaving." Gero replied, leaving the hot spring area.
"Suit yourself." Tani said smiling, as Tori came running through the door then walking in the spring.
Looking away, Tori asked "So what do you think of our palace and our city?"
Tani laughed, replying, "You don't have to look away Tori. Its not like I have something you have never seen before."
"Well…. ok" Tori turned around.
"Now, I have had enough questions today. What about you Tori? You look awful young to be in the special forces of a hidden village." Tani asked.
"Well, I am only 14 years old. But I was acclaimed especially talented in the art of Ninjutsu and Genjutsu. I became a Chunin when I was 10 years old. The Kage allowed me to join the Special Forces when I was 12, even though I wasn't a Jounin yet."
"She reminds me of myself when I was her age" Tani thought to herself. "You must be very talented. I am impressed." She said.
Tani blushed and giggled. "Thank you, Tani."
"What about that Gero fellow? Looks like you two have been working for awhile." Tani asked.
"Gero joined the Special Forces the same time I did. He is 18 years old though. Our Special Forces teams are formed by pairs and we happened to be paired together. We have been working together for two years now. He is a pretty quiet and quick-tempered guy, but I like him. He specializes in Taijutsu, and has the bloodline ability of stone skin." Tori continued.
"I see, But what about your personal lives? That's the important stuff." Asked Tani
"We aren't allowed to discuss those. We must keep our personal information unknown." Tori said with a strict face.
"Gotcha." Tani replied with a wink. "Well, I am gonna head to bed. I have a long day tomorrow." Tani stood up and walked towards the doorway and grabbed her bathrobe. Tori noticed a large scar underneath the navel of Tani.
"What's that scar underneath your belly-button, Tani?" Tori questioned.
"Just a battle wound" Tani said quickly, and walked off.
Tani walked into her room and quickly through the bathrobe off. She then fell onto her bed without even putting any clothes on and closed her eyes.
"What's that scar underneath your belly-button" Tani remembered Tori saying that as she thought to herself. A tear began to run down her cheek, and she fell asleep.