Another brilliant chapter written by Zoicite23. We are lucky he wrote this so fast. While Amai works on her training, how will her and Team Ashika advance? Will the three characters get even closer? Read to find out!
~~~Amai's POV~~~
My shoes tapped fiercely along the ground as I ran. Skidding to a stop and picking up a small cloud of dust I narrowed my eyes at the still wooden dummy. Reaching for the thick blue scroll in my other hand I pulled it open, thrusting the sheet away from my body.
Like thousands of times before I funnelled my chakra through the paper, animating and controlling it. The blue scroll whipped out, unravelling quickly as it sped towards the target. It wrapped around the dummy several times before sealing symbols etched over the blue material.
From twenty feet away I held the end of my scroll as it sealed the movements and chakra of my imaginary opponent. My chocolate-brown eyes shone in amazement.
"I did it! I performed the Sealing Scroll Jutsu!"
Uncle Reikou gave a slight nod of approval. We were training in the Makijiku temple, the bright sun overhead was reflected on the green tiles of the eastern-themed roof. The white stone walls bordered the backyard training area I was standing in with Uncle.
A short distance away Grandma Kouga sat on the back stairs. Her hands and chin were resting on her walking cane, she gave no indication that she was proud of my achievement. Other members of my clan could be seen from inside the temple, browsing through the many scrolls on the shelves.
My uncle, and the head of our clan, walked towards me. Forming a single hand seal I recalled my chakra and watched the black symbols retract from the dummy, returning to the inside of the scroll. Unwinding itself the blue scroll sped towards me, rolling itself back up.
Reikou stood with his hands behind his back, short light-brown hair messy from the training. His lined face was impassive as his identical eyes studied me. If he seemed tired it was nothing compared to how I felt, or looked.
I was slightly panting, my shoulder-length hair dishevelled. Bruises and dirt smudges covered my body. Honestly I had no idea what Daichi and Akuma did in their spare time, but I was pretty sure I was doing more training than the both of them.
It was bad enough that Ashika-sensei would tire us out with missions and our own training, but Grandma Kouga was making me work just as hard on our clan's secret techniques. Every night I would go to sleep aching and burning, especially my arms and upper body. But like our sensei liked to say, no pain no gain.
"You have accomplished the technique," Uncle Reikou began "but you have far from mastered it." I slipped the blue scroll inside the black sash around my waist as he continued. "Your attack is too slow. A competent enemy would be able to dodge it even after you've knocked them off balance."
"Yes, Uncle Reikou." I sighed. Movement caught my eye and I saw Grandma Kouga stand before walking inside the temple.
"Our training is over." Uncle turned and walked away. "It's almost noon and you have to meet your squad for the next mission."
I would only have time to quickly grab some things from home before heading off to the village headquarters. Not enough to shower and fix myself like I would have wanted.
"Uncle!" Running over to him I held out the blue scroll. He looked over his shoulder and studied me before speaking.
"Keep it."
"Really?" I asked in surprise.
"I'm now confident enough in your abilities to know you won't hurt yourself by attempting this jutsu. Now you can practice the technique by yourself." He continued off and I smiled to myself.
Hurrying through the temple and out the front I looked back after farewelling Reikou's friendly wife as she manned the counter. The golden symbol of our clan, a circle with a rectangle inside it, shone brilliantly at the front of the temple. I would've liked to hurry home but I was too sore to move quickly.
Instead I paced myself deeper inside the village. After running home I spotted Mum reading the paper with her legs up while Dad was fixing them tea.
"Hey kiddo," he called to me. "How was training?"
"Very busy!" I shouted as I ran up the circular wooden staircase. Once in my room I snagged the backpack filled with lunch and tried fixing my hair in the mirror. As I hopped down the stairs I stopped when I noticed Suppai standing at the circular table, facing away from me.
She sheathed a small sword over her shoulder and when she turned to look at me I saw she had the frightening black paint on her face. My older sister watched me stare and it prompted me to speak.
"Leaving the village on another Storm Operations mission?"
"Yeah," she answered, looking away to attach her kunai pouch to a utility belt. My black-haired mother walked into the living room, her woolly hair falling either side of her face.
"You're going to see the Raikage for your next mission aren't you, Amai?"
I nodded to her bleakly and she pulled up a smile. "Suppai is heading over there as well, you two should walk together." She spoke as if it were a brilliant idea, my eyes widened as I stared at her like she was crazy. Mum knew perfectly well we didn't get along.
"I think it's a good idea." Dad walked in, putting his arm around his wife's shoulder. "You two don't get to spend a lot of time with each other as it is."
My mind whirred as I tried to come up with an excuse.
"Yeah, but..."
Suppai strung a small backpack over her shoulder.
"Are you ready?" She asked me. My jaw clenched with hidden exasperation.
"Yes." I muttered simply.
"Goodbye." Suppai farewelled our parents.
"Be safe."
"We love you."
My older sister replied "love you too," with a smile before heading out the door.
"Bye." I told them quickly and simply before stepping out after her. Hurrying to my sister's side I walked alongside her with intense awkwardness.
I figured that she too would have tried to come up with some excuse as to why she couldn't walk with me, or at least vanished as soon as we left the house. But instead she walked next to me soundlessly. Weird. And that time when she found out I was in a Jonin squad she even asked me who my sensei was.
It wasn't like her to be so involved or curious. Normally we ignored each other.
"How is your training going?" And now she's asking me questions? Who are you and what have you done with my sister? I looked up to see she was staring ahead.
"F-fine." I thought for a while. "I've almost learnt the Sealing Scroll Jutsu."
"That's good. Maybe by the time you're my age you'll master the Dragon Scroll Jutsu."
I eyed the red scroll with the gold edges that hung from a clip on her utility belt.
"I don't know... that's a highly advanced technique. Dad doesn't even know it."
"You have the potential to be better than he ever was. Look at me." Suppai's brown eyes met mine and I gave her a slight smile.
It was the first time she'd said something nice to me in so long, but I didn't say anything. I didn't want to push my luck. We didn't speak during the whole trip, a lot of the time we were silent and it wasn't entirely uncomfortable. A lot of the villagers we passed shot glances at Suppai. She was dressed all in black with the face paint, the guise of a Storm Operative.
Soon the large yellow turnip building came into view and we reached the end of a bridge that connected two sharp mountains. Sometimes the low hanging clouds would obscure the bridges that connected plateaus and rocks in our village. Despite the wonder it inspired in outsiders it was just a hindrance to us locals. Thankfully the skies were relatively clear today.
I spotted a girl with long white hair and recognised Gin, my sister's soft-spoken partner. She noticed us too and waved excitedly.
"Hello Suppai! Hello Amai!" I headed over to her with a smile while my sister was more casual. Gin's wide smile was easy to read, even under all that black paint.
"Hey Gin, what sort of mission are you going on?"
"Can't say I'm afraid. It's top-secret." She looked to her partner. "Lord Arashi wants to debrief us himself."
Suppai gave her a nod and I looked between the two older girls.
"I'll see you around." My sister told me.
"Y-yeah. See you..."
Gin glanced at us strangely, as if she was also surprised by my sister's change in attitude, but it seemed like she was satisfied about something.
"Goodbye Amai, good luck with your mission!" The white-haired kunoichi cheered as she followed my sister away.
"Yeah, thanks!"
"Do your best!"
"I will!" I watched them leave passively before turning back to the headquarters.
The building was magnificent, and looked even more impressive the closer you got. The yellow lightning kanji in the centre gleamed as it reflected the sun. I moved off towards it and spotted several people moving in and out of the building.
Beside the main entrance I spotted a familiar figure who seemed to be wrestling with someone. Hurrying over I weaved through the traffic, glad once again that I wasn't the last person to arrive. Reaching up I tightened my forehead protector.
Akuma was yelling at someone to quickly go away before I found him.
"Hello, Akuma." It didn't seem like he was interested in getting to know the rest of his team, but maybe he'd open up? I wasn't too hopeful but considering we were on the same team it was important we co-operate.
"Hi," he grunted unhappily, orange eyes falling to the ground in defeat.
"Hello friend of Akuma!" I stared with alarm at the older woman who shouted from beside my team mate. I blinked, only just noticing her. Her bizarre purple hair fell unevenly down her shoulders and she was dressed in very revealing clothing. I was getting cold just looking at her.
"Ah... hi."
"Your name's Amai. I already knew that. But I'm a Jonin so I know most things. My name's Kaira." She spoke quickly and I was taken aback, staring wildly. Her teeth were sharp and there was a sword strapped to her waste.
I had no idea how such a person could be a Jonin, or know Akuma. His eyes remained on the ground as if in shame.
"Okay, um-" The strange woman cut me off to shout again.
"Oh it looks like the final member of your team is about to arrive!"
"Can't you just go!" The long-haired boy cried in exasperation. "You're not my friend and I don't want you to meet my team!"
"Aww don't lie, Akuma. I'm the best friend you have. Besides I want to meet your new team."
Akuma's eyes became menacing as he glared at Kaira, their natural fiery colour making it even more intense.
"Go. Away."
"Hey guys." Daichi chirped, wearing a backpack like the rest of us. We all paused while Kaira smiled at him wildly with her sharp teeth.
"Hi..." I muttered.
I noticed someone holding onto his arm, a slim girl with shoulder-length off-white hair. She wore grey clothes underneath the typical white flak jacket and her headband was around her neck. The girl was very pretty with a friendly smile and I realised she must be Hikaru, Daichi's girlfriend.
"Everyone, this is my girlfriend, Hikaru." Daichi introduced her proudly, even though it wasn't necessary. Akuma remained quietly exasperated while Kaira jumped forward before the girl could even speak.
"It's so nice to finally meet you!" She shouted exuberantly, shaking the bewildered girl's hand. "Ah... what was your name again?"
"Hikaru..." She answered uncertainly, just as off-put as I had been to meet the strange individual.
Then she looked to her boyfriend who was staring at the purple-haired woman blankly. "Daichi... who is she?"
"I don't know." he admitted. Kaira gave them both one last smile.
"Take care now." Then she whipped around the pair and disappeared into the crowd. Akuma could be heard sighing quietly. Recovering from the shock I stepped forward to introduce myself, this girl seemed nice enough.
"Hi, Hikaru. It's nice to meet you. My name's Amai."
"Hello," she smiled at me appreciatively before her pale blue eyes left my face to observe the scrolls in my sash. "Are you from the scrollmaster clan?"
"Yeah..." I brushed my pale green clothes before fixing my light-brown hair. "Is it that obvious?" I said with a laugh.
"I'm from the Tabame, or I suppose you could call us the bird clan. I went to your temple with my mother recently because we needed a sealing jutsu. It's very beautiful."
"Thanks." I smiled and then noticed something strange about Daichi. Speaking before thinking, I blurted out "are you wearing make-up?" Daichi lowered his eyes while Hikaru looked away. Now that I looked closer there was a big bruise hidden on his forehead.
It was worryingly large and I wondered why he would have covered it with make-up. Thinking of the mark I saw on his cheek during yesterday's mission I felt a small pit of concern in my stomach. Akuma walked over, probably thinking the same thing as he mumbled an apology.
He looked up and his orange eyes widened. It seemed he too noticed the cover up wasn't for the bruise on his cheek, but something bigger and more ugly. Daichi laughed off the attention, his vibrant blue eyes sparkling.
"So Ashika-sensei isn't here yet? I thought this time I'd be late for sure but he always seems to get here after us." Me and Hikaru laughed nervously while Akuma turned away.
"You're a ninja too," I stated to the other girl, wanting to break the awkward silence. "Don't you have your own team to do training with?"
Hikaru noticed me looking at her headband and smiled.
"We recently went on a mission outside the village, so Kenta-sensei had to let us take a day off. He wasn't too happy about it. It works well for me because I could see Daichi off before he left the village." She brushed his arm tenderly as she said this and the two of them grinned at each other.
There was so much endearment in their gazes, I was surprised sixteen-year-olds could have such a mature relationship. They reminded me of a married couple. I smiled and supposed it wasn't too surprising, Daichi was a very friendly and likeable guy and Hikaru seemed nice as well.
"About time." Akuma grunted and I turned around to see Ashika-sensei walking towards us. He yawned before ruffling his red-orange hair.
"Alright." He stopped in front of us four. "I hope you're all ready to leave the village. Should be exciting."
"We're ready," Akuma snapped. "Are you?"
Ashika remained unfazed as he noticed Hikaru standing beside Daichi.
"Hello there," he greeted in a bored tone, she responded with a small smile. "I'm afraid bringing your girlfriend doesn't count as a ninja tool, Daichi. She'll have to stay behind."
Akuma smiled, seemingly smug about something.
"I'll see you when you get back." Hikaru spoke to Daichi and they shared a quick kiss. "See you, Amai." She said with a smile.
"Yeah, bye." I replied. "Maybe when we get back we could all hang out some more."
"Yeah, I'd like that." She gave me a parting smile before leaving Daichi, their arms stretched before they let each other go. Daichi and Ashika watched her leave before Akuma scoffed.
"Maybe you were misleading us with your interests. That girl is as flat as a board."
"Excuse me?" Daichi growled, suddenly angry. I also looked at Akuma, appalled. He just looked away in a superior manner. It was clear he crossed a line, Daichi was usually never angry.
"Alright guys," Ashika raised his hands to calm us down. "This is going to be our first mission outside of the village as a team. So I expect everyone to co-operate and be on their best behaviour."
Daichi glared daggers at Akuma's back while he looked away stubbornly. I turned to our sensei.
"We don't even know what our mission is yet?"
"That's why we need to visit Lady Raikage and find out. Come on." He turned away and the three of us followed him as he led us inside the large building. Many ninjas in the typical single-strap white flak jackets over black clothing moved past us. There sure are a lot of ninja in our village, I couldn't help thinking.
We made our way up the circular staircase and I heard loud chatter as we got to the first level.
"...don't care if you're a Jonin! I'm the eldest and I have secretarial duties, so I need you to be the errand boy! Who else can I trust with-"
"Afternoon, Kidori."
"Oh!" The pretty scarred assistant looked over at us. "Ashika, I didn't see you there." She started flicking through her green notebook. I noticed a bald dark-skinned man standing beside her looking exasperated.
"Hello, Jurio." I greeted, remembering the man from the last time I was here.
"Hi, little girl." He smiled in response. Kidori brushed a strand of white hair behind her ear, finger trailing along the scar on the right side of her dark face.
"You're actually late," she spoke with her eyes on the paper. "You were supposed to be here five minutes ago."
"Well better late than never." Ashika walked by her with his hands in his pockets. The three of us followed him nervously towards the double doors that led into Lady Ranko's office.
"Hey, wait!" Kidori called out before Ashika let himself in.
"What took you so long to get here?" Snapped a rude voice that didn't belong to the third Raikage. Lady Ranko sat behind her desk atop a stack of books with a passive expression. Beside her Grandma Kouga angrily stepped forward.
I lowered my eyes sadly, figuring it must be my turn to be embarrassed by someone. When she paused I looked up to see her shrewd eyes on my sensei. "Ashika..." she murmured, an unreadable expression on her face. Ashika didn't say anything to her.
"Don't feel too bad if something kept you," Lady Ranko began with a cheeky grin as we filed in. "Amai's lovely grandmother here was able to keep me company." I felt my team mates' eyes on me while Ashika's gaze remained forward.
Peering through her thick glasses the Raikage nodded to Kidori who unhappily closed the double doors behind us. "I hope you all feel ready for your first mission outside the village!" She dropped her small arms on the table excitedly, the gold piece in her square hair bun shaking.
"Yes, Ma'am!" Daichi merrily replied.
"Have you all been training hard?" She leaned forward, still smiling.
"They have." Ashika confirmed and Kouga sighed.
"Let's just get to the mission, we're late as it is!" She snapped.
"Alright, alright. You're always so impatient, Kouga." The small old lady flicked through the papers on her desk. "Here it is, a D rank mission."
"We're leaving for another D rank?" Akuma questioned.
"You'll have to speak up, dear. I'm a tad bit deaf in my left ear." Before he could repeat it louder Ashika spoke up instead.
"I think what Akuma is meaning to say is that he was expecting a bit more of a challenge."
"This is the only mission available for your team's current level." Ranko answered. "But you need to remain on guard, anything could happen."
Lifting the paper close to her nose she started to read. "A neighbouring village is having difficulty with a wild species of animal, some kind of hedgehog I believe. They seem to be ruining their crops so the villagers are willing to pay fifty-thousand ryou for a team to hunt down the animals."
"That sounds acceptable." Ashika noted.
"These animals are fast, enough that the villagers needed to hire shinobi. Depending on how big the pack is and how much ground you need to cover, I might be sending an additional team to assist you."
Ashika stepped forward and Kouga handed him the file.
"We'll head out now."
"Good luck to you, and try your best, young sparks." She grinned at us. "Don't feel ashamed of your progress now, soon you'll be doing better missions. I was once the runt in the litter but now I'm head of the village." Staring off wistfully she stroked the symbolic Raikage hat that sat on her wide desk.
Kouga scowled at her.
"You are from the Inazuma clan, the strongest clan in the Hidden Cloud. You inherited a powerful lightning chakra nature and one of the legendary skin techniques, or Hijutsu. So don't go filling these children's heads with nonsensical dreams."
My Grandma raised her chin as she went for the door. "The best Amai can hope for is to be head of the Makijiku clan one day, like I was. Even her older sister, Suppai had to join Storm Operations just to become somebody."
"Fortune favours the brave." Ranko stated simply. "All of these children have the capability to do great things for the village."
Kouga stopped momentarily besides Ashika.
"Be sure to take care once outside of the village." She muttered. "Although I probably don't need to tell you that anymore." My Grandma then walked out and I watched Ashika's face, his soft brown eyes narrowed. I wondered what she could have been talking about.
Itching her nose, Ranko busied herself with the stack of papers in front of her.
"Good luck," she repeated.
"Thank you." I responded as our sensei walked out. Ashika flicked through the brown folder.
"I'll fill you all in on everything once we're outside of the village," he spoke as we headed down the stairs.
"I know it's just a D rank mission," I spoke up. "But I can't help feeling excited."
Akuma didn't look excited but Daichi smiled at me. Ashika-sensei seemed distracted, and I wasn't sure if it was about what my grandmother had said.
So Team Ashika set off on their first mission together outside of the village. Why did Amai's grandmother mean when she talked to Ashika? Read to find out!
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