NARUTO: THE VILLAGE DOUSED IN RAIN
© NARUTO / Masashi Kishimoto
Scroll Eight: "Enter: Narumi Risu and Akatsuni Syrin…!"
The moment Ena opened her eyes from the dawn sun she knew it was now or nothing. Risu and Syrin could have left Konohagakure for all she knew, but it was worth a shot.
'I've gotta find those two,' she thought. 'And they're gonna have to do a load of explaining when I get my hands on them…!'
It was true, seeing as how two mist Shinobi, no older than she, were the requestees of whom demanded the completion of an A-ranked mission. It was more than blasphemous--it was complete and utter madness.
Making herself presentable, Ena rushed out of her humble abode and started her search: atop roofs, down streets, through buildings, and finally around shops... but to no avail.
Sighing, the Kunoichi purchased an ice cream cone and slumped on a public bench.
"I've searched everywhere," she contemplated aloud. "But there's just no sign of them anywhere."
Abruptly, something fuzzy brushed against her cheek and made her squeal. However, there was no case for alarm, for it was only a miniscule rodent, preferably known as a squirrel.
Ena smiled half-heartedly and stroked the bushy-tailed mammal's warm fur. It gave a playful chirp and dove at the black-haired Kunoichi's ice cream.
"H-hey!" she exclaimed grabbing the squirrel by the tail. "That was mine, you little moocher! You only let me pet you for my snack!"
It made a sort of irritated face, as if it were saying, "Well, duh. Why else would I let you pet me?"
Sighing again, Ena threw the frozen treat aside and observed as the rodent dove for it, consuming it in a matter of mere moments. Licking itself clean, the squirrel climbed up the Kunoichi's back and onto her shoulder, giving another playful chirp.
"I'm not buying you another ice cream, you fuzzy rat," Ena informed, annoyed.
It shook its head and tickled her nose with its bushy tail.
"H-hey! Cut that out! Oh! Hold on a minute," the black-haired Kunoichi looked to the squirrel, realizing something. "Doesn't 'Risu' mean 'Squirrel' in Japanese?"
The squirrel gave a chortle and hopped down to the ground, landing on its hind legs. Watching in awe, Ena gasped as the small mammal erupted in an explosion of clouds. And from it appeared a semi-familiar shinobi, with jet-black hair in a pony tail, dark eyes hidden beneath a pair of sparkling glasses, and a graduate headband tied around her waist…only it didn't bear the mark of the leaf, but of a different village…
"Mist," Ena whispered under her breath. "So you really are…"
"Yes," the mist ninja smiled solemnly. "I am Narumi Risu. Did you enjoy my transformation technique?"
"I was beginning to wonder why a squirrel would be so friendly around me," Ena murmured darkly.
Risu continued to smile that same smile. "Yes… your hands have blood stained into their pores, giving them a putrid aroma. A normal human would not be able to notice that, but the smell is extremely strong towards the sensitive nose of an animal. Now I know, for sure, that you're the one we need to help complete our mission, Hatake Ena."
Her speech gave the black-haired Kunoichi a cold shiver down her spine. "And why would you need a killer like me? Whose blood-stained hands can only destroy and ruin?"
Risu's eyes slightly glinted a glare. "There is someone we need to… rid of if we are to bring peace to our village once more…"
"What?" Ena questioned, not being able to interpret all that the mist Kunoichi had spouted.
"We'll talk about it later," she answered calmly. "However, we leave at the hour before sunrise... be ready to meet Syrin and I here, near the Koi forest with possessions at hand. If you choose to bring along some allies that's fine, but be forewarned: we could very well all perish for even attempting that which we are about to do... Good day to you, Hatake Ena."
With that, Risu quickly transported elsewhere in a puff of smoke, leaving Ena in her lonesome.
'What was I thinking with this mission?' she thought nervously. '"We could very well all perish…?' I don't like the sound of that... not one bit. But what choice do I have? I better go inform Uncle Kakashi so that he…'
And Ena paused, looking adamantly at the ground below her. She couldn't tell him about this... he would only decline and interfere like the sneak that he was…
'But maybe he will understand this time,' the Kunoichi added, all the while kicking a stone on the dirt path. 'I hope.'
...
"No," the silver-haired elite shinobi shot. "Absolutely not!"
"Wait a second, Uncle," Ena attempted her hand at a hasty compromise. "Maybe we could…"
He glared ravenous daggers. "My reason is solidified! You will not take this mission! Besides, even if I do attend with you, who knows when that damned curse mark will start acting up again! And when it does, we'll be in big trouble!"
"Just listen to me, Uncle!" Ena exclaimed, grabbing his sleeve.
He smacked her hand off coldly. "And enough with this 'Uncle' business! You are not a little girl anymore, Ena. You are a full-fledged shinobi and practically a young woman…It's time that you start acting it too…by, first, listening to your sensei's commands without question or doubt!"
Ena bit her lip, slicing the sensitive skin on accident and drawing a sliver of blood. She then harshly snapped, "I hate you," and quickly dashed to her room.
Kakashi sighed, rubbing his aching temples, and took a seat on the windowsill beside the kitchen table. "Forgive me, Ena," he whispered in a morose tone. "But this is the only way I can protect you."
...
'That's it,' the black-haired Kunoichi restlessly thought as she furiously packed her travel bag with all of her necessities. 'I can't trust him anymore... I'm on my own from now on. No more shackles and chains…I'm free to act on my own will!'
And in a flash, Ena ripped open her bedroom window and jumped out, landing perfectly on the pavement below, like a cat. She dashed through the chilled air of the Leaf Village, and slowed down as she approached its out skirts…Voices sounded in the distance, and every hair on Ena's body stood on end--they were the cheery and rambunctious voices of her friends…all of them.
"Ena! What're you doing out so late?" Naruto called out.
"And what about you?" Ena retorted, blaming herself for getting seen so easily.
"We were at the Katsu-Don shop!" he grinned goofily. "Tonight was the all-you-can-eat-Karaoke bash! We've been wolfing down Katsu-don and singing to folk songs for over five hours straight!"
"Except Sasuke," Sakura added as-a-matter-of-factly. "He's been a polite gentleman…right, Sasuke?"
The lone-wolf remained silent and stared hard at Ena. "Where are you going?"
'Damn you, Uchiha-kun,' she clenched her fists tightly.
"Yeah," Kiri popped up from behind Sasuke, "what's with all the gear?"
"Well," Ena sweat dropped, "I, er…"
It was Katone's turn at twenty questions. "Stammering equals mischief! What are you up to, Ena?"
And out of nowhere, a voice answered, "She's off on a mission with us of course."
Everyone baffledly scanned the area for the intruders, but they didn't need to search for long; from the shadows of a patched up, brick buildings appeared two figures: Narumi Risu and…
"You must be Akatsuni Syrin-san," Ena said.
The chestnut-haired, brown-eyes mist Kunoichi nodded, "Correct."
"Hey!" Naruto obnoxiously intertwined, "What happened to that foreign accent of yours, huh? And what are you two up to, anyway? Whaddya mean that Ena's going on a mission with you?!"
Ena patted the excited blonde on the shoulder in reassurance. "Don't worry I've got everything under control, Uzumaki-kun. She speaks the truth."
"But…!" he began, but stopped at the dead serious look on the assassinating shinobi's face.
Instead he asked, "Does Kakashi-sensei know?"
"Why does he need to know?" Ena growled, "I don't need him to give me a thumbs-up all of the time…I can take on this mission on my own!"
Katone and Kiri then nodded to each other and both gave Ena a good double-slap upside the head.
"W-what was that for?!" the black-haired Kunoichi exclaimed in pain.
"Fool!" Katone spat a bit too sarcastically, "You can't go on by yourself! We'll come, too!"
Kiri smiled sympathetically, feeling sorry for the slap. "Uh, huh. And Team Thirteen sticks together through thick and thin!"
Strangely, instead of scolding them, Ena found herself saying, "R-really? Are you sure?"
"Do we look sure to you?!" Katone bellowed.
Thus they did, with shining confidence in their eyes (literally sparkling), that made Ena chuckle lightly.
Sakura scowled. "But we're not going!" she quickly looked from Naruto to Sasuke, "Right, guys?"
"Count me in, too, Ena! I won't let you have all the fun by going on a secret mission! Believe it!" Naruto stated loudly.
"I'm going too," Sasuke finally spoke, ending his words without a reason.
Sakura was more than just red in the face- she was downright pissed. "Wh-wh-what?! NO! You can't leave without Kakashi-sensei's permission! I-if you leave… If you leave, I'll tell him myself about what you're doing!"
"Fine," Ena replied simply. "But if you do…I'll rip out your intestines and tie you to a tree with them, got it?"
The rose-haired Kunoichi shivered and gulped.
Giving in, she spouted weakly, "U-understood…But I'm coming, also!"
"Fine then," Ena shrugged, liking Sakura less and less. "Just don't slow us down."
Risu plastered on her automatic smile and said, "It's settled. All eight of us will leave in twenty minutes... so, those of you who need to, can hurry home, bid your farewells, and pack your things in that amount of time."
"Okay?" Syrin added sweetly.
The other five shinobi agreed and rushed back to their quarters for their personal items. Ena was left behind with the two mist ninja, and felt, suddenly, at unease with them.
"Hey," she decided to ask abruptly. "Why do you two want to leave at the hour before sunrise so badly?"
Risu was going to answer, but Syrin held up her hand as if saying, 'Allow me'. "'tis simple enough--I thought even a bright, powerful Kunoichi such as yourself would have figured it out, but oh, well."
"Well then what is it, already?!" Ena shot impatiently.
The chestnut-haired Kunoichi smirked at her. "Because… everyone knows that the darkest hour is before dawn--and that's the exact type of darkness that we'll need if we're going to hide our tracks from those who may be pursuing us."
Impolitely staring at the mist shinobi, Ena gulped, pondering once again, 'What was I thinking?"
...
I am capable of making my own decisions.
And thus does the plot begin to start as the journey begins for our group of Shinobi. A sudden thought as I revised this, is the fact that Ena said "I hate you," after having a rather childish arguement with Kakashi. That was very stereotypical in my eyes...=w=
Speaking of stereotypical, here's the first piece of criticism I have received from SHE-san who said for Chapter One:
"I realize you're probably too far into your story, but your oc character is the complete and cliche mary-sue. Besides that some of your transitions are a little weak and your descriptions too flamboyant at times, you need to fix that character. You need to give her more faults, more character weaknesses. She's already too Mary-sue to like. You're a good writer despite some bursts of mistakes here and there, but you're characters lack reality, quality, and many other things."
Wow, and here I thought Ena was a trouble child... Well, it was only chapter one and Ena does have her killing sprees here and there... But since this is just the first "volume" of Ena's story, I say that she definately does obtain weakness. [This story is already completed and saved onto my computer for those of you who think I'm just typing this on the fly.] She becomes weaker, actually, and over-thinks everything. But since this is still the first volume in Ena's fanfiction Naruto saga, she will be a strong heroine ;3. So forgive me SHE-san, and anyone who is anti-Mary-Sue. But if you have any other problems, please just send me a message at:
edsbestfriend_15[at]edwardelric[dot]zzn[dot]com
Just fill in the appropriate terms in the parenthesis, and it should all be good from there on out.
That said, next chapter will be coming at you soon... 'till then review please! ;3