Those Who Are Lost
Chapter 3
The Girl with Indigo Hair
Hey there guys, its AraelDranoth here again! I am proud to bring to you the 3rd chapter of Those Who Are Lost and I hope that you find it enjoyable.
Without further ado I present to you chapter 3.
P.S. MERRY CHRISTMAS!
Disclaimer: I do not in any way claim ownership of Naruto or Naruto Shippuden. These two great series are the rightful property of Masashi Kishimoto the true Rikudo Sennin.
Himawari couldn't say many things with any degree of reliable certainty anymore but she could definitely say this; the dream that she was currently experiencing was peculiar to say the least. She had been having this dream repeatedly over the past few days and she still couldn't make full sense of it.
In the dream she found herself sitting at some sort of dining room table, the rest of the room unidentifiable as it was shrouded in darkness and no matter how hard she tried, she couldn't make anything out in the inky blackness.
In front of her was a small white cake laced with pink frosting. That frosting presented itself on the face of the dessert as well in the form of writing.
Happy Birthday Himawari!
Looking at the words should have filled her with some sort of happiness or excitement but to her bitter surprise all she felt was hurt.
She looked to her left and then to her right. There were two people with her but she couldn't tell anything about them other than one of them was female and that the other one was male, a boy about her age if the sound of his voice was anything to go by.
"Don't worry Hima, I'm sure there's a good reason why your father's late." The woman spoke to her, her voice soothing in the most pleasant of ways. It felt so achingly familiar that she wanted to scream.
It wasn't fair! Why couldn't she remember?!
As if sensing her distress the woman reached out, slender white hands emerging from the black to place themselves over one of her own, squeezing gently. The boy seemed to think differently on the situation.
"Don't bother keeping your hopes up little sister. Dad won't show, he never does… in the long run we're just not that important to him when stacked against the village." His words cut deep because on some level she knew it was true even as she shook her head in denial.
The woman, her mother she was guessing, inhaled sharply but didn't say anything.
Happy birthday to me, I guess.
"-wari."
She blinked confusedly, unsure of her surroundings for a moment before she remembered. She was in Kouda's home, where she had been staying for a little over a year now. Shaking her head slightly she sat up in her bed and proceeded to rub the sleep from her eyes.
"Awake now are we?" Kouda laughed lightly moving away from the door and stepping fully into her bedroom.
"What time is it?" She asked sleepily, frowning when she noticed that the man seemed to be dressed in a variety of heavy fur coats with thick pelt linings. In his hands he carried a pile of similar clothing but smaller size, most likely for her.
"It's a little past dawn and we need to get an early start today." He told her simply, depositing the clothing at the foot of her bed. "Boots and gloves are in the cupboard, don't forget them or you're going to lose some digits to the frost."
"Why? What are we doing today?" She asked simply, slowly getting out of bed, gritting her teeth as the cold air made her wounds ache dully.
"Today we go to town and start asking questions. Now go get ready and be downstairs in twenty minutes, I should have breakfast ready by then." With a small smile Kouda left the room closing the door behind him as he went.
Himawari shuffled over to the window, opening the curtains slowly and taking a deep breath in surprise. It must have snowed heavily during the night because for as far as the eye could see the world had turned white. It was so much and so pure that it almost made her wince, her eye aching from trying to take in the majesty of it all. Quickly she turned away lest she made herself go blind and instead made her way to the bathroom in order to freshen up and get ready for the journey that day.
Since she had agreed to begin searching for answers with Kouda's help they had made very little progress. Her condition had improved but her physical therapy had yet to advance to the point where she could be deemed fit for any period of extended travel.
As such the two of them deemed it prudent to restrict their search to the home, asking all those seeking medical aid as well as merchants who stopped by for herbs and other medical supplies whether they knew anything of Himawari's identity or who might know of such a thing.
But now it seemed that Kouda had deemed her physical condition worthy of travel and they were to try and expand their search. Himawari neglected to tell Kouda that she was perfectly content where she was and ignored the twisting feeling in her stomach that came whenever she thought of leaving the old doctor alone if they were to find her family.
It was true that she had grown comfortable here in this place. She didn't want to leave but she had already promised Kouda that they would look for her past and some part of her just couldn't bear to hurt the old man.
Once she was ready she made her way downstairs and joined him for a simple breakfast of toast, eggs and some bacon obtained from merchants from the far west. The two ate in comfortable silence, Himawari content to just enjoy the morning and save her questions for when they were on the road.
Two hours later.
It was cold. Colder than she'd ever thought it would be but Kouda assured her it was only for the portion of the road that they were currently on. The road took them through a long ravine where the wind whistled past sharp rocks and seemed to cut right through her furs and straight to her heart. Kouda and the carthorses seemed not to notice and actually seemed quite relaxed despite the weather conditions.
Shaking her head in a vain attempt to clear the snow from her long hair she then turned her attention to the piece of parchment in her hands.
It was a simple enough thing she supposed. It contained a large pencil sketch of her portrait as she was now and some commonplace text below it indicating that if anyone were aware of the girls' identity then they were to contact Kouda Shimura for a small reward, if the information were to be satisfactorily substantiated. The location of his clinic was provided at the bottom as well as a small map detailing his location.
"You drew my nose too big." She commented dryly.
"Hmm?" Kouda asked having not heard her clearly; his attention focused on the road which had developed patches of ice at particular intervals and which he was doing his best to guide his old horses around so that they wouldn't injure themselves.
"My nose, it's too big in the sketch." She insisted shoving the parchment in front of his nose and tapping the offending sketch with her index finger, emphasizing her point.
"Mine's at least an inch shorter." She informed him primly.
Kouda looked back and forth between her and the road for a moment before letting out a soft snort. "I don't know… kind of looks like I should have added a few inches not taken them away."
Himawari took a moment to absorb this before letting out a soft snort and a small smile. They stayed silent for a while, her mind and gaze fixed on the sky, enjoying the way that the snow fell into a million, obscure and beautiful patterns.
"So where are we headed exactly? You never told me." The words slipped out effortlessly from between her lips and she rolled her head over in his direction, curious to find out.
"That trader that came through yesterday, he told me he does runs deeper into the Hidden Countries, going as far as Sunagakure. He also told me that he remembers seeing shinobi with hair the same colour as yours there." Kouda explained, before reaching into his nearby satchel for a flagon of water to clear his throat.
"So you're taking me to Suna? That's too far!" Himawari exclaimed, looking at the man in disbelief. Kouda merely snorted and finished taking his drink.
"Don't be ridiculous girl! We're going to one of the border towns close to the Land of Wind. I'm not expecting much to come of it but perhaps we'll get a lead or something equally valuable. Besides, I need to stock up on certain herbs that I can only get from the Gust Desert and I'm guessing that the town might be one of the only places I might find such things." By the time he was done talking he found himself thirsty once more and so reached for the flagon again.
"What's the name of this town?" At this point she was asking more from boredom and lethargy brought on by the cold and inactivity than actually curiosity, her attentions returned to the falling snow.
"You look tired. Get some more sleep, we'll only be there in about four or so hours. When you wake up there will be no more snow and instead only sand." Kouda told her in a soothing tone, grinning like a madman when he saw that his words were working. Himawari's eyes drooped lower and lower with each syllable before finally they shut.
Four or so hours later.
"Wake up girl!"
Himawari awoke with a start, eye flitting from side to side looking for any immediate danger. "What's going on?"
Kouda merely pointed ahead and her eye followed.
She gaped. There was no other word for it, that's the only explanation. She gaped.
It was a wall. A titanic wall that stretched hundreds of meters into the sky and across the landscape and which seemed to be made of pure golden sand. At the base of the monstrosity there were a dozens of flickering lights, the lights of the town no doubt just visible in the shadow created by the wall
"Welcome to Dustwall kid. Created by the Third Kazekage during the Shinobi War to protect the Land of Wind's borders from the threats lurking in the Lands Unknown. It is a sight to behold isn't it kid?" Kouda sounded so smug that she wished she could slap the look straight off his face.
But she couldn't deny what the old doctor said. It was indeed breath-taking to see the colossal, constantly shifting sand of the wall held together by the remnant chakra of a now long dead Kage. It was strangely beautiful to watch.
"Let's hope that there are some answers waiting for us over there." She told him quietly. Kouda merely grunted before spurring the horses and the cart forward.
Sometime later
It had been a while since they had arrived at the small town built in the wall's shadow, aptly named Dust Town. Since then Kouda had made it a priority to replenish his various herbs as well as certain spices. These items were rarities up north and so they took the opportunity to grab as many as they could before they returned home.
Once they were done with the necessary trading, they began asking questions around town about Himawari, showing her face and pinning her portraits all throughout the town. For the most part they had little to no luck and so they took the time to sit down at a nearby café for something cool to drink. Kouda had insisted that they both shed their furs before entering town and Himawari was now quite glad for it.
The heat was beyond intense and she was amazed at how quickly the temperature had changed from freezing to boiling.
"Strange." Kouda stated, causing Himawari to raise an eyebrow in question.
"Oh?"
Kouda purposefully made her wait, taking the time to take a long and slow drink from his glass before taking a further moment to cough and clear his throat. Himawari knew that he was doing this on purpose and did her best not to be irritated by it.
She failed miserably and let out an annoyed huff and was rewarded with Kouda's victorious smirk at her impatience.
"You don't seem too upset at our lack of success." Kouda finally informed her.
Himawari for her part pointedly avoided looking the old man in the eye. She tried to think of something to say but nothing seemed right when it crossed her mind so her mouth opened slightly as if she was about to speak.
She probably just looked like an idiot.
"It's alright girl, I understand. You're comfortable with me and I'm probably the only familiar face you know. I don't blame you for being scared." His words were short and to the point, his tone gentle as if he were talking to a frightened animal. Given her state of affairs he was in a way.
This time she did look him in the eyes. She didn't say anything and she got the feeling she didn't have to and that that was okay.
"Let's finish our drinks and head home girl."
And that's exactly what they did.
They remained unaware of the eyes that followed them as they left the town and wall behind them. Himawari remained blissfully ignorant to the fact that their questions had sparked a chain of events that would change the course of two lives forever.
Yes yes I know, this was a very short chapter and I'm sorry. I had planned to expand into the beginning of Himawari's next chapter but I'm tired and about to start a game of Civ and Total War so I thought I would post it and then the next chapter of One Second in the next week or so and then write sporadically across all my stories.
Anyway enough of my drivel, I hope you enjoyed the chapter and that I might finally get a review. (Pretty please?)
See you next time my fellow fanfictioners.
Next time
Chapter 4: The Duel of Myths.