'I've become so numb
I can't feel you there.
Become so tired,
so much more aware.'
~Numb
Linkin Park
The entire burial lasted from sunset till sunrise. To Narumi that was too long, but also not long enough.
She felt numb.
All the bodies were found and carried to a large piece of open land. Family, comrades, enemies. Narumi buried them all. Every single one with equal care.
She felt empty.
She didn't even feel tired afterwards, despite obviously needing rest and time to recover.
She felt nothing.
Narumi decided to rummage through the rubble. She found an only slightly damaged sealing scroll and used that to store and carry whatever she deemed useful.
Afterwards she headed towards the entrance to the sealing chambers. Those things were built to withstand a tsunami, so she wasn't surprised when she found it untouched and still intact. The civilians and injured were supposed to go there, but there wasn't enough time.
She felt hollow.
In there she gathered all the scrolls she deemed important, as well as whatever weapons were stored there. A large amount of blank paper and ink was gathered as well. They all went into a more advanced sealing scroll. The scroll she found outside was also promptly sealed into it.
Food was important, but Narumi didn't have the energy to gather any. She was already exhausted after using what little chakra she had recovered to seal the supplies she wanted.
She felt tired.
There was a backpack in the back of the chamber. She decided to take it. Inside it she put the two scrolls she used to seal everything, and the single kunai she decided to keep for self defense. She also placed the damaged Uzushio Hitai-ate she found in the backpack. On the edge of the metal plate she could faintly see her name scratched into the metal. She then activated the tattoo seal on the inside of her forearm and put the backpack in there.
Geared up, Narumi turned her back on the place she's called home for more than half of her 19 year long life, and left.
She felt dull.
Narumi walked for hours. Over mountains and and fields and lakes. She didn't tire nor stop once. By the time she reached something that looked even remotely like civilisation, the sun had done a full cycle. It was, once again, beginning to rise up from behind the horizon.
The small town that Narumi stumbled upon was a harbour-town. There were no more than 7 small houses, and most of them were empty. The docks, while big, held only a small handful of boats. The citizens of the town were rushing between the boats and their houses, carrying as much as they could to the vessels.
"Ah, hello! Didn' see ya there. I'm afraid the shops and inns are closed, sorry. Pardon me fer askin', but are you alright?" Narumi looked up at the sound of a voice directed towards her, and found a middle-aged man with a thick beard kneeling in front of her. When had she sat down?
"Are ye seekin' passage across the waters?" The man continued, unperturbed, but mildly concerned, by her silence.
"I... I don't know what I want to do." Narumi said. The man's eyes filled with sympathy.
"Ah, I see. The war got to yer part of the Nations too, didn' it?" He asked, not missing the wince Narumi gave at the mention of the war.
"Yeah." She whispered, averting her gaze, "My family and I were frontline fighters."
"Were?" The man repeated, eyes lighting up in both hope and dread, "Is the war over?"
Narumi gave a slight frown, "The war's over, yes. But the Akatsuki destroyed everything." She looked around at the civilians preparing the boats, "You're making the right choice by leaving. There's nothing left in the Elemental Nations that's worth staying for."
The man sighed. A deep, sorrowful one that was full of acceptance. "Yeah, I figured." He said, before stretching and holding out a hand towards Narumi, "Apologies fer my bluntness, but from the look in yer eyes I'd reckon yer the only one outta yer family that survived the front lines." Narumi's eyes were downcast, refusing to meet his own.
"Yeah, I'd recognise those kinda eyes anywhere. C'mon, Missy. You can hitch a ride on my boat." Narumi finally looked up at his suggestion, eyes widening minutely.
"Arigatōgozaimasu." She said sincerely, "I'll be sure to repay your kindness as soon as I can." With that, she grabbed his still outstretched hand and hauled herself upright.
The man barked out a laugh, "That's gotta be the most emotion I've seen you show since we met. And I don' think a face like yers is meant to be that blank. Don' worry, we'll work on it while we're sailin'."
He kept a firm grip on Narumi's hand and shook it twice, "Name's Daisuke! Ain't got no last name, an' I'd like to keep it that way. What about you, Missy?"
Narumi looked at the now-dubbed Daisuke. His bright smile, shining eyes, and overall fatherly appearance. 'He kinda reminds me of Naruto and Roshi.' The side of her mouth twitched faintly: the first form of a smile she's made since... it.
"Uzumaki Narumi." She said. To Daisuke's credit, he didn't show any outward reaction to her last name. Whether he had in internal reaction or not was still up for debate.
"Nice to finally have a name to attach to tha' face, Missy." Daisuke said, still grinning brightly. "Do ya mind helpin' me lug those crates behind ya onto my boat? It's the dark one on the far end of the harbour."
Narumi turned around and saw that there were about 5 crates. Each one reached her hip in height, and they were about thrice as wide as she was.
Narumi thought it over, 'This could be the first step I take in repaying his kindness. Plus it gives me an opportunity to try out this chakra-enhanced strength I got from Kurama.'
"Sure." Narumi said, face impassive. She bent down and effortlessly picked up 3 crates stacked on top of one another. She paused, tested their weight in her arms, and turned to a slack-jawed Daisuke.
"What's inside these crates, Daisuke-san?" She asked. Daisuke, thankfully, quickly recovered and said, "The bottom one has boat parts, and the top two have food. That's an impressive skill ya got there, Missy."
Narumi still had a deadpan face, but there was a slight frown in her features as Daisuke bent down and picked up one of the two remaining crates. "My name's Narumi." She said.
Daisuke barked out another laugh, tipping his head back, "I know that, Missy. I've just grown attached to the nickname."
Narumi frowned for a couple more seconds before sighing lightly and turning her gaze back towards the path in front of them, "Whatever you say, Daisuke-san."
"Drop the '-san'!" Daisuke yelled, turning to glare at her, "It makes me sound old. An' I ain't old yet!"
"Whatever you say, Daisuke-san." Narumi repeated, speeding up slightly to walk ahead of the older man.
The indignant cry Daisuke let loose very nearly made Narumi's mouth turn into a small smile. Nearly.
With Narumi's now-discovered strength, loading Daisuke's belongings and cargo onto his boat didn't take that long. Pretty soon, Daisuke was giving her a rundown of the workings of a boat.
"-and that's about it. Did ya get everythin'?" Daisuke asked, finished with his explanation.
"Got it." Narumi said, blankly staring at him.
"Stop starin' at me like that, Missy! It freaks me out!" Daisuke yelled, flailing his arms.
"Gomen, Daisuke-san. I'll be in the crow's nest if you need me." Narumi said. She gave a quick bow before jumping up and landing in the crow's nest in one leap.
Daisuke let loose a strangled cry and Narumi peered down at him.
"Give me a warnin' before ya do that ninja shit, Missy! Ya nearly gave me a heart attack!" He yelled, shaking his fist in the air while his other hand was clutching the front of his shirt.
Narumi tilted her head, "Does me being a Kunoichi bother you, Daisuke-san?" She asked. "I'm afraid I can't stop doing it, since it's my heritage and is running through my veins." She continued.
Daisuke sighed and flippantly waved his now relaxed hand at her, "It's fine, just tell me before ya do anythin' crazy. Got it?" He said, bending down to untie the boat from the harbour. They were going to be the first vessel to leave the harbour, and coincidentally the boat leading the migration.
"I can't promise anything, but I'll try my best." Narumi said before turning to stare at the horizon.
"Good enough." Daisuke grumbled, rolling the rope and tossing it into the corner of the boat. He leaned over slightly and kicked against the dock, pushing the boat away and into the ocean.
"An' we're adrift." He announced, heading towards the helm.
"The ocean seems calm enough for safe travels." Narumi informed him, "Where are we heading?"
Daisuke stumbled and very nearly fell face first onto the deck if he didn't grab the steering wheel. Narumi peered down at him, head tilted almost curiously.
"Ya climbed aboard a vessel without even knowin' where it was headin'?!" He yelled.
Narumi shrugged. "Your chakra didn't convey any malicious intent. And I didn't want to stick around." She said, leaning over the edge of the crow's nest to look at the disheveled man.
"Right." Daisuke mumbled, righting himself, "Ninja got their freaky chakra sensin' and shit."
"We're called Shinobi!" Narumi yelled down, "Ninja is a derogatory term. That's only one aspect of a Shinobi lifestyle."
"Then how many different branches of 'ninja' do ya combine to be a Shinobi?" Daisuke asked. Out of the corner of his eye he could see the other boats leaving the harbour and following him.
Narumi thought the question over, "Well," she said, "the basics consist of ninja, samurai and assassin skills. But there are a bunch of different directions a Shinobi can take. No Shinobi is a one trick pony, but the basics are something everyone has to learn before specialising in what they're good at…"
Narumi told Daisuke as much about the Shinobi lifestyle as she could remember from her academy days. She saw no harm in doing so, as his chakra truly held no malicious intent.
In return, Daisuke shared tales about some of his adventures on the vast open sea with her. Some of the stories sounded ridiculous to Narumi, but Daisuke probably thought that about her Shinobi stories, so who was she to judge?
The two of them talked for hours. Narumi felt more relaxed than she had been in a while. It was nice. To relax and enjoy the view while sharing stories with a friend.
The only reason Narumi realised something was wrong was because of her habit to stretch out her chakra into the area around her. She picked up a disturbance in the area ahead of them. Looking through the spyglass attached to the crow's nest, Narumi saw dark clouds gathering ahead of them.
Daisuke stopped halfway through his story when he noticed Narumi looking through the spyglass. He followed her gaze and adopted a grim expression.
"We have to go through that, don't we?" Narumi asked, already knowing the answer.
"Aye, we do. I don' think all of us are gonna make it through." Daisuke said, turning to look at the boats behind him.
Narumi turned to look as well, and that was their fatal mistake.
The boat suddenly rocked violently, and Narumi immediately pumped chakra to her feet to keep from falling. She looked down and saw that Daisuke had grabbed the railing, but his face was pale. Narumi followed his gaze and immediately saw why.
There was a giant sea serpent. And it did not look happy.
The serpent was the one causing the storm, if the clouds circling around its head were any indication. The serpent eyed them, before taking in a deep breath.
Narumi's Shinobi training kicked in. She leapt off the crow's nest, muscle memory letting her hands from into hand signs. She landed on the deck just as the serpent released a high powered jet of water. Narumi sent a silent prayer to Kurama's spirit before flashing the last necessary hand sign.
"Katon: Kitsunebi."
10 fireballs appeared around Narumi, starting above her head and going down beside her arms. She thrusted her arms forward and the fireballs spun and converged in front of her, forming one giant spinning ball of fire that met the serpent's attack head on.
A massive amount of steam erupted, covering the boat and the area around it. Narumi used the moment of distraction to turn towards Daisuke. "Are you alright, Daisuke-san?"
"Yeah, I think I'm okay." He said, glancing around and looking for the serpent. He spares her a glance and asked, "I thought you said yer affinities were water an' then wind?"
"They are." Narumi replied, stretching out her senses to look for the serpent, "That's pretty much the only Fire Jutsu I can use effectively. Any other Fire Jutsu just sputters out or is below its full potential. I would've used an Earth Jutsu, but there isn't any solid ground nearby for me to- Look out!"
Narumi cut herself off and dove for Daisuke. She tackled him out of the way just as the serpent's tail crashed down onto the part of the boat he was just at.
The impact caused a massive crack to form in the deck of the boat. The crack spread and the boat started sinking at a quick pace.
"We have to abandon ship." Narumi told Daisuke, getting ready to jump.
"We can't just leave the others here to fend fer themselves!" Daisuke shot back, keeping a firm grip on Narumi's arm to prevent her from leaving.
"There aren't any others left!" Narumi yelled, causing Daisuke's grip to slacken. "I stopped sensing them as soon as the sea serpent attacked us. I think there might be more than one."
She grabbed Daisuke's forearm and in one fluid motion threw him onto her back.
"Put me down, Missy! I know how to swim." Daisuke yelled, struggling in her grip.
"I don't doubt that. But you certainly don't know how to walk on water. And I'm a Shinobi! I swore an oath to protect civilians. I failed those on the boats behind us, and I refuse to fail my only friend. So stop struggling before I knock you out!"
Thankfully, Daisuke did stop struggling. Instead he made sure he had a firm grip. "I'll direct ya." He mumbled, "Show ya the way to go."
Narumi nodded and jumped off of the remains of the still-sinking boat, pumping chakra into her feet as she fell. She landed on the water and immediately started running. The raging waves and uneven footing barely bothering her. After all, the whirlpools around Uzushio were much worse than this, and she learned to water walk on them.
"If you head west fer about 20 kilometres you'll hit solid ground." Daisuke said, moving his head close to her ear so that she could hear him.
Narumi nodded, seamlessly turning and heading in that direction. '20 kilometres.' She thought, 'The other boats were so close to safety. The sea serpents must be protecting the land we were headed to.'
"On yer left!" Daisuke suddenly yelled. Narumi leapt to the right to dodge the tail that came out of the water a moment later.
"Hold on with your legs." Narumi ordered, spinning on her foot and facing the sea serpent that emerged where the tail lashed out. Narumi used her now free hands to flash a sign that Naruto loved to use.
"Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!"
Daisuke jerked his head back as two clones of Narumi popped into existence in front of them.
Original-Narumi looked at her clones and said, "You guys are gonna do the technique Otouto and I always practice in the waters behind Uzushio. Aim for diversion and attack."
The clones nodded and leapt towards the sea serpent who, in the meantime, had called its friends, thus confirming Narumi's suspicions. There were now 5 sea serpents between them and the path towards the land Daisuke talked about.
"You can squint your eyes if it helps." Narumi told Daisuke. He wanted to ask her what she meant, but opted for watching the clones instead.
The clones ran side-by-side towards the serpents. One was flashing hand signs, while the other's hand was stretched out beside her, palm facing up. Condensed wind began gathering in her hand, while the other finished her hand signs and water gathered in her hand.
"Fūton: Rasengan!"
"Suiton: Hahonryū!"
The Wind Jutsu was fired first, followed by the Water Jutsu. Upon impact, the Wind Jutsu appeared to absorb the Water Jutsu. The result was a giant vortex of violently spinning water.
"Gufū Suika no Jutsu!"
The clones directed the vortex towards the sea serpents, and the result was exactly what Narumi wanted. The smaller sea serpents were caught in the vortex, while the larger ones couldn't find a way around it. The clones saluted towards Narumi before disappearing in puffs of smoke.
"We should go while they're distracted." Narumi said whilst running around the destructive water tornado.
"Sure…" Daisuke said, slack-jawed. Daisuke looked down at Narumi, who was still running on the water while carrying him, with a newfound respect.
By the time they reached the land, Narumi was on her last legs. She technically shouldn't have used any chakra, as she was still recovering.
But she had to stay strong. She had to. She refused to lose another friend.
She bent her knees slightly to give Daisuke easier access to get off. Once his feet touched solid ground he let out a long breath.
"We made it, Missy." He said, turning to look at her. His eyes widened and he rushed towards her.
"Narumi!"
The world was tilting. Why was the world tilting? Well, whatever. Narumi was tired, and she wanted to sleep. The last thing she saw before passing out was Daisuke's worried face.
Hitai-ate = Forehead Protector
Arigatōgozaimasu = Thank You Very Much
Gomen = Sorry
Kunoichi = Female Ninja
Shinobi = Ninja
Katon: Kitsunebi = Fire Release: Fox Fire
Fire Jutsu = Fire Technique
Earth Jutsu = Earth Technique
Kage Bunshin no Jutsu = Shadow Clone Technique
Otouto = Little Brother
Fūton: Rasengan = Wind Release: Spiralling Sphere
Suiton: Hahonryū = Water Release: Tearing Torrent
Wind Jutsu = Wind Technique
Water Jutsu = Water Technique
Gufū Suika no Jutsu = Typhoon Water Vortex Technique