-.- ok here's chapter 2 part 2, I'm having a hard time figuring this site out so... one again, please bear with me "
"Ok, spill Acea, what were you doing with that guy for the past few hours?"
Acea sighed and told her about getting lost, and Gaara coming to her "rescue".
Ami listen attentively and nodded here and there.
"Huh, ok… Guess whom I got to spend the day with… Kiba! He is so sweet, and he has dogs too and loves animals and…"
"Oh boy," Acea thought, "This is going to be a long night…"
The dark kitten watched as Gaara left the girl's apartment and headed for his own. It followed until he was inside. Satisfied, the kitten ran to the Hokage's office, and snuck its way past the ANBU that kept watch. Jumping on to a tree, the cat jumped from branch to branch until it was close to a window and leaped over to it. The window was open a fraction of a centimeter, but sliding the tip of it claw under it, the cat was able to lift it up high enough for her to slide under. There were two doors, one that led towards the Hokage's office, the other led to where she needed to go.
Stealthily making its way towards that room, she used her claw as a pick and unlocked the door.
Once inside, she saw the person she had been waiting to meet, and changed into her normal form. Rin nodded to the cloaked figure wearing an ANBU mask, but she knew that he wasn't. The figure removed his hood and smiled at Rin.
"It's good to see you again, Rin-san."
She nodded gravely at the sound ninja.
"It has been a while, huh, Kabuto?"
Even though the Sand was no longer officially affiliated with the Sound Tribe, she still kept in touch with her most reliable source of information.
"What can you tell me about Gaara?"
He smirked as he drew his ninja info cards from his cloak.
"He's the youngest son of the former Kazekage. He has been on several A and B rank missions without receiving so much as a scratch."
Rin stood in shock at this.
"But that's impossible!" she protested.
Kabuto shrugged as he handed her the card.
Her eyes skimmed through the info card when she noticed something.
"This can't be possible! What would he be doing here if he's the-"
There was a knock on the door.
Kabuto took the card from her with a glare.
"You told someone about this meeting!"
"Wait. NO!"
He started towards the room that Rin had entered through. Someone was trying to get through the opposite door. Jumping from the open window, Kabuto made his escape, leaving Rin without knowing all the information she needed.
The doorknob was turning and she walked backwards, ready for her back to hit the wall. The door flung open, revealing a tall silhouette. Thankfully the room she was in was dark, so he couldn't see her yet.
"Who's there?" the voice demanded in a sophisticated tone.
"Oh no…. Not Baki…" she thought as she took a few steps back. Rin expected to feel her back hit against the wall. But instead of a wall, she fell back into open air. Tumbling out of the window, she knew it was only a matter of time before the ground swiftly met her.
Kakashi and Iruka were walking slowly in the rain. They had recently made it a tradition to go for a walk in the evenings, rain or no rain.
"Come on Kakashi, you've got to get yourself a girlfriend. I mean, even I have a girlfriend."
Kakashi rolled his eye, and brought his hands out in frustration.
"Listen Iruka, girlfriends just don't fall out of the sky yah know."
What happened next made their jaw drops. Falling from the sky into Kakashi's arms was Rin.
Startled and embarrassed, Rin pushed out of his arms and ran off, down an alley. It only took Kakashi a split second to recover from his shock, to go follow her. All the while, leaving Iruka standing there by himself in the rain. Too stunned to move, he first tried putting one foot in front of the other. After moving about a foot away, he heard a thud.
Turning around, he saw Baki face down on the pavement.
"Uh… hey Baki?" There was no response. Walking over and crouching down next to him, he grabbed a stick and poked his unconscious friend.
"Baaaaaaaaaaaaki…"
Iruka sighed as he tried to pick him up and carry him back to the building.
"You know, when you pursue an enemy, usually you find a DIFFERENT way of following."
His only response was a grunt, a sophisticated grunt, and Iruka smiled to himself.
"Well, at least he's not dead…"
Acea wanted to pull her ears off so she wouldn't have to listen to Ami go on and on and on about Kiba.
"After Hokage-sama put me with Kiba for the day, Kiba introduced himself and his dog, Akamaru. He is so cute!"
Acea wondered whether she was referring to Kiba or the dog.
"He showed me all the really cool parts of Konoha and even took me to this secret spot he has, that only he and Akamaru know of. Since he liked me so much, he wanted to share it with me too. Isn't that sweet?"
Acea wanted to gag.
"And then at lunch, we ate at their secret spot and watched our dogs play. Akamaru seemed to get along great with Freddy and Jason. When lunch was over, he offered to walk me home, and we had to run to avoid getting really wet. He came in for a little while to dry off and have some of the cookies you and I had baked yesterday."
Actually, Ami made them herself, all Acea did was lick the bowl and wash the dishes.
"And then he had to go, but promised he'd walk me to the training grounds tomorrow morning. I tell you, he is just the sweetest guy you will ever meet."
Acea buried her head under her pillow. How much longer was she going to have to endure this? Ami kept chattering on about how it was interesting that both she and Kiba had those strange markings on their faces. And how they both liked dogs. Acea finally thought of something.
"Yah, and wouldn't it be weird if it turned out you guys were related?"
Ami's mouth shut as she thought of this startling new revelation. After a few minutes, she shook her head.
"I doubt that would be the case, since he's from the leaf tribe and I'm from the sand tribe."
Acea shrugged as she slid out of bed.
"I'm going to get some fresh air, it's a little stuffy in here."
Grabbing her robe, she pulled it on as she walked out of their bedroom and opened the balcony's door. The cool air from outside was fresh and crisp. Acea took a deep breath, and stepped out. The rain had stopped to a light drizzle that the overhang provided cover from. The night breeze blew recklessly through her hair and rustled her robe. Even the moon, though slightly shrouded in clouds, was making an appearance tonight.
Sighing, she walked over to the railing and leaned over, watching the streets that were empty save for the few stray cats and dogs running here and there. Peace filled her broken soul and everything seemed… right. Ever since her parents' death, her lonely life had become even lonelier. Rin had found her, and taken her in, willing to instruct her in the ways of the ninja. And it was all so she could take revenge on her parents' killer. She didn't know his name, but the third eye tattooed on his forehead was burned into her memory forever. It was just like the mark he had left on her, a curse that she would never forget her mistake that had cost her parent's life. The relief that had briefly filled her fled at the memories and her soul shattered. A shiver ran down her spine and she willed to tears not to fall, but they came of their own will and stained her face. Viciously wiping them away, pain emanated from the curse mark and Acea fell to her knees and cried. The searing pain in her heart, mind, and soul was almost too much for her to bear. Her sobs were lost in rain that began to come down harder. Why did this have to happen to her? Why did she have to be so weak? She hated herself all the more for it. Her childhood memories forced their back; through the mental barriers she had strived so hard to put up. Back to when her mother used to sing her sleep, back to how her father had carried her in his arms when she was too tired to walk. The love both of them had shown her, the love they all had shared. Then he came, and it all changed. The man had come to their village demanding her father give him their family's sacred scrolls that contained information for a powerful jutsu. When her father refused, he had sworn that he would kill each and ever last person in the village. Being only four, she thought that it'd be best to do as he said. Sneaking into her parents' room, she took the sacred scrolls the man had asked for and brought them to him. Her parents saw her leave and chased after her, yelling at her to stop. She could clearly remember the terror on her mother's face as she watched her child hand their most prized possession to the evil man. Once she handed him the scrolls, he patted her on the head, but it was in no way a nice or caring gesture.
"Thank you, and because of your cooperation…"
Pulling out some shurikens, he aimed and cut the throats of her parents.
Struggling out of his grip, Acea ran to her father, tears blinding her as she ran. He looked up at her, blood spilling from his parted lips. His eyes were soft, and he brought a hand up to caress her face.
"My little desert rose…"
His hand went limp and his eyes lost focus. Her mother was already dead, lying next to her father, staring at her with the same unseeing eyes. The sound of footsteps echoed behind her and the man took some of their blood and wiped it on her face.
"See what you've done little one?"
Then he left her with the bodies of her parents, and he and a group of rogue ninjas proceeded to kill the rest of the villagers. Acea was left completely alone in the village, which had been burned down in the massacre. Before the man left, he placed a scarred hand on her back and placed the curse mark there.
"You will always bear my mark little one. You would do well to listen to your elders. I won't kill you, but I'll give you some time to think about what it is you've done. Your curse will be that you can never forget this, and don't worry; the sacred scrolls are in good hands. When the time is right, I'll return, and you will be mine!"
And with that, he left. .
After a month, there had been no word from the village, and the Kazekage was getting suspicious and sent one of his new ANBU to investigate. Rin traveled to the village, with two other ANBU members, only to find the charred remains of what had been a prosperous town. Death hung thickly in the air, almost masking the presence of that which it had not seized in its cold grasp. Rin found Acea near the bodies of her parents. The young girl sat on the ground, motionless, and staring blankly at nothing. Rin had gathered the young girl in her arms, and taking compassion on her, brought her back with her, and had showed her the basics of ninja training.
Acea opened her eyes, the memories of her past leaving as quickly as they had come. Ami didn't know of her past, not even Hiroshi, only Rin. Acea sighed and dried her tears. She had had this happen to her before, but never with such force. The memory of the man cursing her flashed before her eyes and she grimaced at the pain shooting down her spine.
Standing up, she walked back inside, ignoring how stuffy it was, and climbed back into bed. Ami was dead asleep, and mumbled every now and then about a candy cane or puppy. Acea smiled faintly as sleep over took her.