A/N: (talks like a guy in a commercial) Up next, Yumiko's past.
It took me long to make this chapter. Since the O.C. this chapter is about isn't mine, I had to make sure of some details. Yakushi Yumiko belongs to Jishin. And the next chapter, you may already know, is about Agurashi Mei. The second chapter was about Ritsuko, and this one's about Yumiko so it's logical that the next one's about Mei... For me, I sounded weird when I said "logical" Oo
... Anyway, Agurashi Mei belongs to HyuugaVSUchiha. Both Jishin and HyuugaVSUchiha are my friends. Hope you enjoy this chapter!
Oh yeah, you guys want the disclaimer thing? Here you go…
Disclaimer: No one here, I own. The only things that are mine are the O.C. named Kagachiwa Ritsuko and the chick named Nell...
O-O-O
A certain purple-haired Sound kunoichi, along with her Siberian husky, met up with her fellow black-haired Sound kunoichi, with her pet chick on her shoulder, by the gates of Konoha. Yumiko smiled at Ritsuko. "Well, Ritsy-chan, it's gonna be a long journey back to Sound."
"Ritsy-chan?" a different kunoichi's voice asked.
Suddenly, Ritsuko felt someone place an arm around her neck and started trying to suffocate her, seemingly.
"Morning, guys!" the voice was heard again.
"Damn you, Agurashi. Let go of me right now." Ritsuko choked.
The brown-haired Rain kunoichi, Mei, did as said. She pouted after letting go of Ritsuko. "You guys are leaving already?"
"We have to." Yumiko said, sadly.
"Well, I'm one who's actually glad to leave." Ritsuko said, "I can hardly wait to see my father and brother again."
Mei blinked. "What about your mom?" she asked. With that, Ritsuko glared at her.
"You never told her?" Naruto's voice was heard.
Ritsuko looked at the shinobi behind Mei. "You followed me, Uzumaki?" she questioned the blonde as she glared at him, too.
"You didn't notice?" Naruto asked in confusion.
A vein was clearly seen on Ritsuko's forehead. right on top of her left eye which was twitching.
"Never told me what?"
"Do not ask."
"Never told me what?"
"Do. Not. Ask."
"Never to-"
"DO NOT ASK!"
"Ritsuko, stop it!" Yumiko yelled. "We really better be going." she added.
"Leaving so soon? You got here only yesterday!" Naruto said, "Can't you stay a little longer?" The blonde pouted.
"Kabuto needs us back in Sound." Yumiko informed. "I wish we could've stayed longer, too."
Naruto sighed. "Well, take care then." he said. Yumiko nodded. Mei and Naruto waved at them as good bye. Yumiko waved back while Ritsuko just stood there. And soon, the two Sound ninjas and their loyal pets set off for their journey back home.
O-O-O
It was silent at first as the two, still with their pets, obviously, walked toward their own village which was miles and miles away. Actually, it was only a little after noon did any of the Sound ninjas speak...
"Hey, Ritsy-chan, what do you think Naruto-kun's doing?" Yumiko asked as they stopped walking to rest.
"How should I know?"
"Don't you think he's... thinking about you?"
"Why would that idiot do that?"
"He did tell you to take care."
"Surely, he was talking to the both of us."
"Oh, I know he's going to die if I get hurt." Yumiko teased.
Ritsuko glared at her companion as she jumped up to a fruit tree's branch. She got some fruits for their lunch then jumped back down with the food. She gave Yumiko and Cello an equal amount of food and then all of them, including the pets, started to eat. Cello barked as he did not think that he would like the fruits. "Sorry Cello. This is all for today, okay boy?" Yumiko said, getting another bark as a respond.
They were sitting by a river bank as they ate their lunch. After eating, Yumiko looked over at Ritsuko who sat quietly, patting Nell.
"Hey Ritsuko, we're friends, right?"
"Unlike what I said to that Agurashi, yes."
Yumiko chuckled, knowing that her friend didn't despise Mei at all.
"...And only you, Yumiko, are my friend. There is no one else."
"Oh? So Naruto is something more than a friend?"
"Enough of your teasing."
"So you admit it?"
Ritsuko stayed silent.
"You know, it's not like you're the only one who experienced losing someone." Yumiko started, smiling slightly as she watched the running water of the river flow with her silvery blue eyes.
Ritsuko looked at Yumiko. And now that Yumiko mentioned it, Ritsuko didn't know much about her friend's past.
Yumiko looked back at Ritsuko, with the smile, still. "Will you mind if I start talking about things to you? You don't really have to do anything because you'll just be there, listening. And-"
"And you need someone to listen to you." Ritssuko finished Yumiko's sentence and nodded. Yumiko smiled. "Thanks..."
"Hm." Ritsuko murmured as if to say "You're welcome." She leaned on the tree behind her. But then something small and wet hit Ritsuko's nose with a plop. Ritsuko blinked. She looked up at the sky. It was still after noon and there were already dark, gray clouds. "Damn. It's going to rain..."
Ritsuko held Nell in her hands. Yumiko followed with Cello running beside the purple-haired Sound ninja which is she, Yumiko. They were unlucky. The rain was pouring over them as if they were under a waterfall.
Sooner or later, they found a cave in the foot of a mountain and ran to it. They settled inside and tried drying themselves. After all was satisfied, Risuko sat on the cold, hard ground of the cave. Yumiko did the same across to the other side of the cave. Nell sat beside Ritsuko while Cello sat beside Yumiko.
Ritsuko looked at Yumiko. "So... you were saying?"
Yumiko looked at her fellow kunoichi then to the rain falling from the clouds like tears. "Well, it started like this..."
Flashback
"A beautiful day!" a young girl excitedly exclaimed as she woke up, dressed herself up with a simple dress and ran into the dining room to have her breakfast.
"Hey! Where's the fire, little girl?" a man asked, picking up the 3-year-old, as the girl came running into the dining room.
"C'mon, dad! Put me down!" the girl said, giggling and squirming, trying to escape the wrath of the man which is her father. Her father put her down as she said, and the girl went to the table and started eating her breakfast.
"You're a little more cheerful today, Yumiko." the mother stated. The young Yumiko smiled, showing her little, white teeth.
"Kabuto's bringing me to another pretty spot today! I can't wait to go!" Yumiko said after swallowing some of her food.
"Kabuto... He's always searching for new things. That nephew of mine is going to get hurt one day."
"C'mon, dad. What's wrong with exploring?"
"Only a joke, Yumi. But I'm always worried when you two go somewhere without any adult. You could get hurt."
"But Kabuto-kun's always careful."
"You're my precious little angel... Do you know the meaning of protecting? Do you know when something or someone is precious?"
Yumiko showed a puzzled look. "Things you love and care for are the ones that are precious, right?" she guessed.
"Precious things are the ones that you would always protect, the ones that you would die for, the ones that are worth dying for, dear." Yumiko's father corrected.
"C'mon dad, you're sounding so corny." Yumiko said, rolling her eyes.
"Oh really?" the man said in a challenging voice as he picked up his daughter once more and started tickling her. Yumiko giggled and tried to escape her father just like earlier.
Suddenly there were three knocks heard. "C'mon, dad! Kabuto-kun's here!" Yumiko choked, still laughing. Her dad put her down. "Take care now!" both Yumiko's parents said together as their only child, only angel smiled, ran to the front door, went out and joined her cousin in the start of their adventure.
Yumiko smiled at her cousin, Kabuto who smiled back. They both heard barking and looked over at one side of Yumiko's house. Sharla and Cello, Yumiko's huskies, were both staring at them. Yumiko looked back at 10-year-old Kabuto. "Can they come along, Kabuto-kun?" she asked him. Kabuto smiled and nodded. Yumiko smiled brighter and soon, the two children and the two dogs started walking. Kabuto lead the way. Yumiko followed with Sharla on her right while Sharla's little puppy, Cello, on Yumiko's left.
"Nah, Kabuto-kun, how far is this place?
"Oh. It'll take us only a few minutes to get there."
"Hey. Last time, you said it would only take us ten minutes. We ended up wasting three hours. I don't think it'll take us a few minutes."
"We'll see." Kabuto said, smiling. Yumiko looked at him in disbelief and mistrust.
But in no time, the four, including the huskies, reached the foot of a small hill.
"So we did arrive after a few minutes..." the 3-year-old said, defeated. The 10-year-old just smiled at her with the 'I told you so.' look on his face.
Slowly and carefully, the two started to walk up the small, grassy hill along with the two dogs. It surely wasn't long until they reached the top. Here, Kabuto, Yumiko and the two dogs could see mostly everything in their little village and the ocean beside it, spreading like an endless, blue blanket.
"Wow! I never knew the village was so huge! I thought it would be smaller! And the ocean... It's so beautiful!" Yumiko exclaimed happily. Kabuto simply smiled.
Plop!
Yumiko looked up. "Rain?"
Kabuto slowly walked to Yumiko and brought her under a tree. He did the same with the dogs. "We'll stay here until the rain stops." Kabuto said in a serious type of voice as the rain started falling from the sheet of dark, gray clouds.
But later on, things started to get worse. The rain was really hard. Kabuto couldn't see a thing because the light rain turned into a horrible storm sooner than they thought. Thunder, lightning, and all that heavy rain and strong wind combined in the terrible incident. The trees were already swaying and branches were being torn apart from different plants.
"We should go and find somewhere to hide. It's no longer safe here." Kabuto said.
"Can't we go back to the village?"
"The hill's too slippery. We have to go some place else."
Yumiko could see that Kabuto was worried. She never saw him this way before, her cousin being so troubled, she would think.
Kabuto held Yumiko's hand as he guided her through the storm but it was no use. The ground was wet, muddy and slippery. It was hard. And Kabuto still could barely see anything. There was flood as well. The water was already reaching the children's and the dog's ankles.
Kabuto, all of a sudden, tripped as he hit his foot on a hidden root. He fell to the ground, pulling Yumiko down with him. Following the two, Sharla and Cello fell as well and whimpered in worry. Kabuto held on a different root to prevent him from sliding down the hill. He held Yumiko tightly so his cousin wouldn't fall down either. Cello was successfully caught by Yumiko with her free arm. Sharla, sadly, fell to the foot of the hill where the water's height was very much higher. "Sharla! No!" Yumiko screamed as her Siberian husky disappeared under waves of the salty, rushing water.
Water rose even more as the rain still got harder and harder. The two cousins could see villagers panicking and trying to survive the flood. Yumiko's parents caught sight of the two cousins and called their names, "Yumiko! Kabuto!"
Yumiko could hardly hear her father and mother because of the extremely loud thunder and the sound of the ocean's water which was still rushing in. But soon, she saw them, too. "Otosan! Okasan!" she called.
And then, death was right before them as a giant tidal wave coming from the ocean was moving toward the village. It came crashing down and Kabuto held Yumiko tighter. The wave crushed everything there was that existed in the village and most of the things around it as well, the small village. Kabuto and Yumiko still held on together as Kabuto couldn't hold on to the root any longer and as the water pushed them through what used to be their calm and happy home. Yumiko got hit on her shoulder by a splintery. She opened her mouth to scream in pain but no sound came out as she was still underwater.
After what seemed like eternity, at last, the storm stopped and the water slowly dispersed. From then, the two children's lives were changed.
End of flashback
"Kabuto and I were few of the survivors. Cello, too. Orochimaru came a little later after the tragedy, I guess, and took us in. We were trained for years since then." Yumiko explained.
"Yeah. You were Orochimaru-sama's adopted daughter. I know."
"We were to kill and do as ordered. I got sick of it, seeing so many people suffering. So then... I left."
"It was never too late to become what you might have been, huh?"
Yumiko nodded. "Kabuto told me that, too."
Ritsuko shrugged. "It's just an old saying..." she said.
The two shivered. Was it their imagination or was the temperature going lower? It was freezing! Yumiko didn't mind though, now that her friend listened to her story. She smiled.
"Hey, remember that I fixed things back in Sound with Kabuto?"
"How could I forget? Orochimaru-sama left Sound to you and your cousin. The both of you were in charge then."
"Do you also remember that you were in a battle against Nartuto-chan right before the war stopped?"
"Yes..."
"And that you only found out the war actually ended just when you were about to kill Naruto?"
"I have told you this once. Don't make me say it again."
"Why? Whatever did I do, Ritsy-chan?" Yumiko giggled.
"Enough of your teasing, Yumiko."
Yumiko smiled. She looked back at the rain still falling from sky outside the cave that they were in.
"Hn. I already know that I'm not the only one who experienced a painful past."
Yumiko looked back at Ritsuko who was, again, patting Nell.
"And I also know, very well, that that was the past. What's more important now is the present..."
Yumiko smiled at her friend. "Glad to hear that, Ritsy-chan."
"Feh."
Yumiko smiled a bit more. She patted Cello and looked back at the tiny droplets of water known as rain. Now that Ritsuko just said things about the present being more important than the past, Yumiko felt better. Come to think of it, they didn't bother her as much anymore, those ripples of water...
O-O-O
A/N: Yeah, I guess it's long enough... It's just a little longer than chapter 2 anyway... (stretch) Reviews appreciated.