'I'm so alone,
nothing feels like home.
'I'm so alone,
trying to find my way back home to you.
I'm so alone,
nothing feels like home.'
~Alone
Marshmello
Getting around the town unnoticed was stupidly easy. Sneaking back into the cabin to steal back her remaining property was even easier.
After that the days kind of just blurred together. Narumi had eventually figured out how to turn her appearance back to normal. The red eyes were something she expected, but the ears and tails were a surprise. Definitely not an unpleasant surprise, as her new appearance made her feel closer to Kurama.
Kami she missed Kurama. Narumi never realised how lonely the silence could be without a voice in her head to argue with. Still, what happened, happened. Narumi needed to move on, no matter how much it pained her.
Narumi had made wearing her Shinobi attire underneath her kimono a habit. It was just easier to travel that way. Said Shinobi attire consisted of a sleeveless, indigo qipao that went to mid-thigh and had slits on the sides. The qipao had white trimmings and designs on. The Uzumaki swirl was embroidered on the back. Underneath the qipao she wore a mesh shirt with sleeves that went to just above her elbow. She also had mid-calf length, grey pants. A shuriken holster was attached to her right thigh. There were wrappings that went from underneath her left pants leg down to her ankle, and she wore standard Shinobi sandals the same shade as her qipao. Her waist-length, red hair was done up into a ponytail, with chin-length parts of her hair framing her face. An orange hair clip held part of her fringe to the left and out of her face.
The hair clip was a gift from Fū.
Bandages the same shade as the hair clip were wrapped around Narumi's wrists and arms, disappearing underneath the mesh sleeves. This was mostly done to hide her seals, which some people could see as unholy tattoos.
Over this outfit she wore a light yellow kimono and a black obi. The kimono's sleeves were made longer than necessary to purposefully hide her wrappings.
While wearing the kimono, Narumi usually took one arm's wrappings off to easily store anything she bought while in town.
The kimono was the little pet protect Narumi had been working on in the cabin. She found a picture of her mother, Kushina, wearing a yellow battle-style kimono, and Narumi wanted one as well. The kimono Narumi had made fell to her ankles, but could easily be folded up and tucked into the obi if she needed to make a quick getaway.
After the incident in the first town, Narumi was extra careful whenever she travelled into a new one. Everything was fine when she entered the first town. She used makeup to hide her whiskers and didn't bother with a Henge.
This town actually saw her red hair as exotic, and she very quickly used most of the coins she won to stock up on supplies. All she really had to do was decline all the marriage proposals. Since when did she of all people get marriage proposals?!
Unfortunately, her adventure in the town was cut short when a messenger arrived from the town she had come from.
This message was delivered in the late afternoon while Narumi was purchasing ink. The sun was already setting and the shopkeeper was getting ready to close up the shop. She only overheard the message because the ink shop was next to the Daimyō's house.
Yeah, turns out they still had Daimyō's here. There was one for every 10 towns, and this one was the Daimyō for the towns in the coastal area.
"Daimyō-sama! Daimyō-sama!" The man yelled, hunched over and out of breath. He extended his hand and presented the Daimyō, an aged man, a scroll. The Daimyō took the scroll, but made no move to open it, instead waiting for the messenger to speak.
"Urgent news! A demon has been spotted in Mizu no machi!" Despite the weight of his words, Narumi still found the name amusing. Town on the waters.
Immediately silence overtook the plaza. Every single head turned towards the messenger. Every head except Narumi's, who tensed and scurried towards the shopkeeper, whisper-asking if she could pay. She was ignored, as the shopkeeper's eyes were focused on the messenger and the Daimyō.
The Daimyō looked startled. He looked down at the scroll in his hand before opening it. He gestured for the messenger to continue while he read the report.
"Two days ago, 8 residents were brutally killed and eaten by a demon woman. Said woman had red hair, demonic red eyes, and whiskers."
Some citizens gasped, the shopkeeper included. The Daimyō lowered the scroll, a troubled look on his face. He focused his attention back to the messenger who was getting ready to speak again.
Externally, Narumi's face was blank. Devoid of emotion. Internally, she was panicking. 'It's only been 2 days!' She thought, gazing at the familiar-looking messenger. 'How the hell did he get here so fast? I jumped between the trees in the forest and I only arrived this morning.'
"We have decided to name the demon the Red Reynard, Daimyō-sama." The messenger said. Ok, now Narumi was really panicking.
"And why that specific name?" The Daimyō asked.
"The demon woman had fox ears and nine fox tails, Daimyō-sama." Now every single person present let out a gasp, gazes transfixed on the messenger.
"We believe that she was a Kyūbi no Kitsune."
'A nine-tailed fox spirit.' Narumi thought ruefully. 'Well it is accurate. Wait, didn't he say that eight people were killed? Huh, guess that means they think "Himitsu" died as well.'
The Daimyō physically startled at the messenger's proclamation. "Young man, are you sure?" He asked.
"I'm dead sure, Daimyō-san. I witnessed it myself, after all."
Narumi gasped, eyes widening slightly. Now she understood why he looked so familiar. It was Denki.
"Gather my scribes and messenger hawks." The Daimyō ordered. "We need to send word to the other towns and Daimyō's immediately."
He then looked down at Denki and said, "Go to my scribes and retell your story. We must make haste to prevent another tragedy. It's right next door."
Denki nodded, and before Narumi could even attempt to do anything, he turned and the two of them made eye-contact.
Narumi's face was blank, though her eyes were widened slightly and she had pots of ink clutched in her grasp. Denki held nothing, but his eyes widened in shock and his fists clenched.
He opened his mouth faster than she anticipated and yelled, "There she is! The Red Reynard!"
Now all eyes were trained on her. Time seemed to freeze as Narumi took in everyone's wide-eyes stares of fear.
Bang!
Narumi's head reeled back as something made contact with her temple. Immediately blood gushed from the wound and covered one of her eyes. Narumi clenched it shut to prevent infection. Narumi looked around and saw that Denki was now sprinting towards her, arm outstretched from when he threw the rock. In his other hand was another, which he quickly chucked at her as well.
Now more aware of her surroundings, Narumi effortlessly dodged. She then leapt to the store's roof and landed in a crouch, ink pots still in her grasp. Narumi quickly stuffed them into her sleeves and activated the seals on her arms. The ink pots disappeared and Narumi now had her hands free.
Bang!
Narumi turned to look at where the noise came from and what she saw actually made her break her blank look. She blanched at what she saw. 'A pitchfork. They're throwing pitchforks at me. Just great.' She thought.
Narumi leapt from roof to roof, skilfully avoiding the pitchforks and rocks being thrown at her. Suddenly she hit a loose board on a house. She would've fallen head-first if she didn't pump chakra into her hands and stick herself to the ceiling. The sun had completely set, and the moon wasn't high enough to provide any proper light. 'I'm not gonna be able to get away like this.' Narumi thought. 'When did I let myself get so rusty?'
Sighing in defeat, Narumi activated more of her chakra. A layer of corrosive, bubbling, red chakra appeared around her. Said chakra immediately convened at the wound on her head and healed it. She then let the cloak fall away and pumped chakra to her eyes, changing them into their red hued form. This led to her night vision drastically increasing.
In the short amount of time that it took her to heal her injury and improve her eyesight, about half of the town had gathered underneath the building she stood on.
The angry mob consisted entirely of men, with Denki leading the charge. A few of them visibly flinched when Narumi turned to look at them. Her eyes must be glowing in the dark, then.
"G-go back where you came from, Demon!" One of the men yelled, though the tremble in his voice was obvious.
Narumi surveyed the scene. There were men armed with pitchforks, torches and rocks gathered around her, though they were clearly keeping their distance. Narumi could make out faint shapes of the women children, hiding from her.
They were scared of her.
An overwhelming sadness filled Narumi. She stood upright and turned to address the crowd. Narumi could sense how they tensed the moment she turned towards them, and she hid her flinch. Narumi sensed when their tension faded slightly into confusion when she bowed deeply.
"Gomen'nasai."
The crowd was confused, but Narumi could still sense underlying fear. Narumi withheld a sigh, and opened her mouth once again, still bowing.
"Disrupting your town's peace was not my intention. I merely came to purchase some supplies the old fashioned way. I apologise for any discomfort I may have caused. You won't see me anywhere near this quaint town again. Sayōnara."
With that said, Narumi turned away from the citizens, pumped chakra into her legs, and leapt towards the forest.
Narumi didn't stop until she reached the cave she'd made her impromptu temporary home. Narumi calmly sat down near the entrance of the cave, curled into a ball, and just sat there.
'I'm going to have to be more careful now.' She thought, grimacing. 'Kami, I hate using a Henge. Guess I don't have much of a choice now.'
Narumi didn't move from her curled position, content to just sit there in the silence. More time must have passed than she expected, and her guard must've been down, because she didn't sense anyone approaching until they were right in front of her.
"U-um. Sumimasen?"
Narumi looked up and made eye-contact with a child. A child with pink eyes.
"No. No. Widen your stance more. Not that much, Narumi!" Yagura yelled, swinging his staff and hitting a little Narumi in the head.
"Ow!" Narumi whined, clutching her head. She pouted at Yagura and said, "That was mean, Yagura-san."
Yagura raised a single brow and asked, "We're you expecting me to not berate you for making the same mistake. Again. For the 7th time."
"It's not my fault the stupid Jutsu's being difficult, 'ttebane!" Narumi said.
Yagura crouched down in front of Narumi and placed a hand on her shoulder. She looked up at him when he opened his mouth and said, "Just because water's your affinity doesn't mean that all water jutsu's gonna come easy to you. You gotta work for it, just like how you work to master your wind and earth jutsu."
"I know, Yagura-san." Narumi said, "But this dumb Jutsu's been bothering me for nearly a week now."
Yagura looked down at the pouting redhead, and wasn't it a wonder that he could still do that, and wordlessly strapped his staff back into its holster.
"You see, the thing you're doing wrong is that you aren't centring yourself." He said, slipping into a more refined version of the stance Narumi was currently in.
Narumi looked up at Yagura, gave him a blinding smile, and copied his stance.
"-is? Miss? Are you alright?"
Snapping out of her reminiscence, Narumi focused back on the girl in front of her. Looking more closely, Narumi could see that her eyes were much lighter than... than his eyes. The eyes also, at first glance, didn't appear to have any pupils. Closer inspection revealed that they were similar to Hyūga eyes, and had pupils that were nearly the same shade as the irises.
"Yes. Yes, I'm alright." Narumi said, giving the girl a once-over. She had long, matted black hair and light pink eyes. 'Her eyes kinda look like sakura blossoms.' Narumi thought.
The most concerning thing Narumi noticed were the rags the girl wore as a poor excuse of clothing.
"So," Narumi began, causing the girl to look away from the forest and back at her, "what's a pretty girl like you doing in the forest in the middle of the night?"
The girl flinched, but to her credit didn't run away or shout out. Instead she just peered at Narumi curiously.
'Is... is she genuinely worried about me?' The girl thought, disbelief clouding her thoughts. 'Her concern sounds real, but her face is so... blank!'
When the girl remained silent, Narumi realised it was probably because of her expression. But still, was she really about to drop her mask for a child?
Narumi once again looked at the girl's unkempt hair and rags, and noticed that she was barefoot and covered in scrapes. Sighing in defeat, Narumi closed her eyes. When she opened them again, she could see the girl simultaneously relax and flinch back, which looked kinda funny in Narumi's opinion.
'H-her expression changed just like that?!' The girl thought, staring at Narumi in disbelief.
"Gomen." Narumi said, giving the girl a gentle smile. "I'm not used to dropping my mask in front of strangers. Life hasn't really been all that kind to me, and I've learned that hiding your emotions is the best way to not get hurt. Name's Narumi, by the way."
'When in doubt, always try overwhelming honesty. You'll either damn yourself, or gain someone's trust.' Narumi thought, silently hoping she didn't just scare the girl away.
The girl, however, just smiled. Narumi internally sagged in relief.
"Kon'nichiwa, Narumi-sama!" The girl said, giving Narumi a small but genuine smile.
'Narumi-sama?' Narumi thought incredulously.
"I noticed that you were sitting in this cave, all alone. So I brought you some food!" The girl said, thrusting her hands in front of Narumi's face. Narumi looked down, and half a loaf of very stale bread greeted her.
'Messed up hair, rags, no shoes, stale bread. Oh.' Narumi thought, cold realisation washing over her. She looked away from the bread and back at the girl, before smiling empathetically.
"Arigatō." Narumi said, taking the bread and putting it on the ground beside her. She then turned back to the girl and said, "However, I don't think either of us actually want to eat stale bread. I have food in the cave. Do you want to join me?"
The girl looked shocked and uncertain, but Narumi could also see a glimmer of hope in her eyes.
'Can I really trust her?' The girl pondered, inspecting Narumi's face. It remained unchanged, but her eyes were patient and there was a small smile on her face. Making up her mind, the girl straightened her back and bowed.
"H-hai!"
"Itadakimasu!"
"So," Narumi said after giving the girl a chance to dig in and eat a good portion of the meal. "I don't think you ever answered my question. What are you doing in the forest in the middle of the night? Alone."
The girl swallowed and sent Narumi an accusatory look, "You're alone too."
"I'm an adult. You are a child. There's a difference." Narumi snarked back. 'Gosh, when was the last time I've been this carefree? I guess children really do bring out people's true personalities.' Narumi thought, idly picking at her miso.
The girl put her empty bowl down and avoided eye-contact when she answered, "I... I come from a poor family, Narumi-sama. We barely make ends meet, an' with the Daimyō increasin' the taxes my parents got desperate."
Narumi resisted the eye-twitch that wanted to come when she was addressed in such a formal way. Instead, she focused on how fidgety the girl got.
"They wanted to sell me." The girl said, and Narumi let out a hiss.
Tears gathered in the corners of the girl's eyes. "They were gonna sell me! Just like they sold Onēsan! I didn't want to go with the bad men, so I ran!" It looked like she wanted to say more, but instead she just dissolved into sobs.
Narumi felt sick. 'Why the hell would someone do something like that to their child?' She thought, disgusted by humanity's cruelty.
Narumi looked at the sobbing girl, and gave her the time and space she needed to compose herself. Once she looked relatively ok again, Narumi dared to ask, "They wanted to do it because of your eyes, didn't they?"
Instead of tensing up like Narumi expected, the girl just nodded. "Mhmm. Onēsan had eyes like mine too, but darker. No one else in the family had abnormal eyes. They were born normal, not as freaks."
Narumi placed her fingers over the girls mouth, preventing her from saying anything else. When the girl looked up she was met with a scowling Narumi.
"I'm gonna stop ya right there, Kid. Your eyes are special. You're special. And there's nothing wrong with what you look like, you're actually quite cute. And if you're family couldn't see that, then they aren't your family. Got it?"
The girl mutely nodded, eyes wide. But Narumi wasn't done yet.
"You see my hair?" Narumi asked, grabbing a strand and lifting it for emphasis. The girl nodded. "It's freaky. It's weird, and it doesn't let me fit in. And I fucking love it! My hair makes me unique. Sure, I look different from everyone else, but fitting in is overrated anyways. I'd much rather be myself. And..."
Narumi trailed off and proceeded to spit into hand. The girl remained silent, starstruck. Narumi took her wet hand and rubbed it against her cheek. The girl let out a gasp when Narumi revealed her whisker marks.
"I was born with these." Narumi says, "And I love them just as much as I love my hair. The only problem is that these are a one-way ticket to Death's door. So I hide 'em. But Kami knows I hate doing it."
Narumi sighed, absentmindedly using her kimono's sleeve to rub off the rest of the makeup. "Look, the point I'm trying to make is that your eyes don't make you a freak. You're as normal as anyone you'd run into in that dumb town. Heck, your more special than them. And if they can't see that, then that's their fault."
Finished with her speech, Narumi sat back down and drained her remaining miso in 3 gulps, just because she could. She put the bowl down and was immediately tackled by a tiny body.
Looking down, Narumi saw that the girl had tackle-hugged her, and was now openly sobbing into her kimono. Narumi gave a small smile, and rubbed circles on the girl's back while she sobbed. Narumi could make out the occasional soft "Arigatō" in between the sobs.
Eventually the girl's sobs devolved into soft hiccups. Narumi patiently waited until she stopped sobbing completely, before opening her mouth. However, she closed it again. This process repeated a couple of times while Narumi thought about what to say.
'I don't want to leave her alone.' Narumi thought, absentmindedly rubbing circles on the girl's back. 'But do I really have the resources to take her with me?'
Narumi blinked, a new thought entering her mind, 'Can she use chakra?'
Narumi cautiously spread her chakra to the hand on the girl's back, and searched. The chakra that pulsed back in response was both relieving and worrying. How many people were born with the ability to use chakra, but never got the chance to use it?
'Then again,' Narumi thought, recalling the type of people she met in the previous town. 'Maybe it's better that way.'
Narumi let out a breath before making her decision and opening her mouth. "Would you like to come with me?" Narumi asked.
The girl's head snapped up, wide pink eyes meeting calm, but expectant blue. The girl's lip quivered and she tackle-hugged Narumi. Again.
Narumi sighed, but brought an arm around the happy, but crying, girl.
"There, there." Narumi said. "It's gonna be ok now."
"Arigatō, Narumi-sama."
Narumi resisted another eye-twitch. She had sent the girl outside so she could pack the supplies into the scrolls without having to explain chakra to the girl. They'd both been through a bit too much today.
"I've already told you, Kid. It's really no trouble." Narumi said, joining the girl outside. She gave the girl a once-over, and grimaced.
"We can stop by a river on the way to the next town to wash up." Narumi said, already thinking of ways to acquire cloth to make the girl some clothes. And how to get shoes.
"Hai!" The girl exclaimed, smiling. Come to think of it, that smile hadn't left her face since Narumi said she could come with her. Ugh, all those female pronouns are gonna get confusing, Narumi really needs a name to apply to that face.
"By the way," Narumi started, waiting for the girl to look up at her before asking, "What's your name, Kid?"
Silence greeted her. Well that's not good. The girl's smile disappeared, and she looked down at her feet.
Narumi crouched down and cupped the girl's cheek in her hand. The girl looked confused, but Narumi ignored that. Instead she closely inspected the girl's face. She recalled what she thought about her when they first met: 'Her eyes kinda look like-'
"Sakura." Narumi said. The girl made a confused sound, but hope was shining in her eyes.
"Your name." Narumi clarified. "How about Sakura?"
…and now she had a sobbing toddler in her arms again. Speaking of, how old was she?
.
.
.
.
.
.
Oh, she's 4. This is gonna be interesting.
Shinobi = Ninja
Henge = Transformation
Gomen'nasai = I am very sorry (I think. It's basically a more formal, more sincere way of apologising)
Sayōnara = Goodbye/Farewell
Sumimasen = Excuse Me/Pardon Me
Jutsu = Technique
Gomen = Sorry
Kon'nichiwa = Hello
Hai = Yes
Itadakimasu = Thank You For The Meal/I'll Enjoy Having This
Onēsan = Older Sister
Arigatō = Thank You