Chapter 4: Ninja Students Wanted
The heat seemed to grow as I trudged across the dirt road. Sweat collected in my hair and under my arms. My breath was coming out short and dry. I can't do it anymore... Defeated, I collapsed onto the ground. Hot dust swirled around my head, and the scorching ground burned my skin. My senses seemed to numb one by one. This is how it ends, huh? Well, I tried, but in the long run, my efforts were wasted. I closed my eyes and succumbed to the forces against me.
"HEY! DON'T DIE IN FRONT OF MY SHOP, DAMMIT! GET YOUR BLONDE ASS OUT OF HERE, KID!" Damn shopkeeper. I looked up at the burly man and groaned. "GET OUT OF HERE! NOW!" Picking myself up, I continued to walk down the hot streets of the town.
Here's the gist: I'm currently looking for students to enroll in the school with Sasuke and me. Kakashi agreed to teach us and reopen the school, but we have to help around. Sasuke volunteered to help clean up the campus. Pretty dumb if you ask me. How's he gonna clean that whole place up? Whatever. Not my problem. I got stuck with finding more students to enroll. It was a better choice, but this is turning out to be a lot harder than I thought it would be.
There's this town that is about 15 miles east of the school and the forest surrounding it. It seems to still be in Leaf Village territory, so I'm finding a lot of pro-Danzo jerks. No one wants to enroll. Actually, there's no one to enroll. The town is made of of a bunch of middle-aged geezers and grannies. It's getting on my nerves! Plus, it is too hot out here! The ground is fuming, and I'm about to pass out. I wiped sweat off my face once again and continued on. All I see are boring shops and houses. I need a miracle! I need somebody!
Suddenly, my body jolted and fell back. The ground slammed into my back hard. What just hit me? Groaning and coughing, I looked through the dust in my eyes and saw her. She had short, light pink hair that framed her heart-shaped face. Her bright, teal eyes seemed to pop out from her smooth face. She wore a simple, carmine-colored dress.
To be short, she was smoking!
"I-I'm sorry about that!" I quickly jumped to my feet and extended my hand. "Wasn't looking where I was going!" I can't believe I bumped into a good-looking girl like her! Plus, she looks like she's a teenager! Score! She can enroll in the school, and maybe I can win a date with her too...
"I-It's fine! I wasn't watching myself either." She gave me a heart-breaking smile and took my hand. Wow. Her voice is so sweet. Getting over how nice her hand felt, I helped her up.
"Hehe! Guess we're both to blame!" I rubbed the back of my head and grinned. "Oh! Uh, I'm Naruto! Naruto Uzumaki! What's your name?" I stuck out my hand, and she took it.
"Sakura Haruno." Gosh, even her name is cute! Sakura. She's so perfect!
"Well, it's nice to meet you, Sakura!" I don't sound like a dork, right? I hope not. That's a major turn-off. I probably look and smell bad too. I've been rolling around in this stupid town's dirt for too long. I'm also sweating. This is not my day.
Wait. What was I here for again? I crossed my arms, closed my eyes, and tried wracking my brain to remember. I...don't really remember. Nope. It's all a blank. Is my attention-span THAT short? Huh.
"Um, are you okay?" Sakura's voice pulled me out of my thoughts.
"Yeah. I'm good. Why?" She gave me a funny look.
"You just have a weird look on your face." Yep. That's how you get a girl, gents. You look like a complete moron in the middle of the streets. Works every time.
"O-Oh. Uh, sorry. I'm just trying to remember why I'm in this town again. I know it has something to do with you though." Sakura blinked and pointed to herself.
"Me?"
"Yeah, you! I need to ask you about enroll-" I stopped myself and smacked my head. Way to go, Uzumaki! "I remembered. Sakura, do want to enroll in my high school?" She cocked one of her pretty pink eyebrows at me.
"I'm already enrolled in one."
"I know, well, I really don't know, but you know, well, whatever! Listen! My high school is special."
"Special how?"
"It is going to be the best one of them all! Yuniti High School is the best school there is. It offers a place for students to dorm, and you can get jobs too. It's going to be full of excitement and adventure. We just need more students to enroll. I promise you; it is going to be the best ninja school in history!" I huffed and beamed with confidence. This should work! Sakura had a blank look on her face.
"Ninja school? Did you just say "ninja school"?" I blinked, but my smile still remained.
"Yeah. Why?" Then, she laughed. I felt my smile fall. Her beautiful cheeks turned bright red as she laughed at me and my school. Well, that's harsh.
"A ninja school!? You must be kidding me! No way would I join such a place!" I placed my hands by my sides. Her laugh is kind of cute. Kind of.
"Why not? It's a great place! What? You don't believe in the power of ninja?"
"I don't believe in the power of useless people. Ninja are so overrated! Why would I waste my time at a stupid ninja school?" I felt my face contort to an uncertain look.
"You don't honestly believe peace will last in this land forever, do you?" If she does, boy, do I feel bad for her. Sakura gave me a mean look. Her face. It's not as pretty as before.
"Of course I do! That's what Lord Danzo has been saying." I moaned and shook my head. She's a Danzo believer. Just my luck.
"Sakura, Danzo is like a broken record! All he talks about is eternal peace with no effort or support."
"Which has been happening as far as I know!" Only a few people passed us by, so I had no reason to hold back.
"Ninja are needed! What do you think gonna happen when this whole "eternal peace" thing doesn't work out? Without ninja, how will we control and maintain peace!?"
"Ninja are not needed, Naruto! They're the ones who caused war. Lord Danzo and the other leaders of the land stopped them, and we have peace now!" I blinked. Does she seriously believe that!? I can't believe this is what people think. If only they knew the truth, then they would think differently. I could tell them, but Kakashi made me promise not to. "Some people aren't ready to accept something like that as the truth, Naruto. They're to blinded by happiness to see otherwise." It disgusts me to think that Danzo has hypnotized everyone to believe lies like this. Not only does it make it hard for me to find students, but ninja will never be honored like this. I sighed.
"Sakura?" She narrowed her eyes at me.
"What?"
"I am sorry." Her eyes widened as she looked at me. "I am sorry you will never learn the truth. I am sorry that you are forever blinded by lies. I am sorry that you will continue to live in false happiness for the rest of your life. I am sorry that one day your life will change. I am sorry that one day you will learn the truth, and it may be too late. But, Sakura, I am not sorry for doing what I believe. I am not sorry for choosing the path of the ninja." I stared into her eyes at the end. She shivered but narrowed her eyes back.
"Out of my way." She pushed past me. I looked back at her. She only moved a little before turning back at me. A cold look was engraved in her face. "Have fun at your ninja school, loser." she spat. She turned and left for good. Another sigh passed through my lips.
That girl was like the devil reborn. Not only does she have a mean character, but she's totally two-faced! Why must such a pretty face hide a mean spirit? I feel like I got cheated or something. I continued my walk. I don't feel too down. Sure, a pretty girl turned me down, but I can't let that stop me! I need to find students somehow. I looked over and saw a small park. I went over and sat down on a stone bench under a shady tree. I wiped sweat off my forehead again and flicked it off my hand.
"Geez! This heat is killing me!" Who would live in a town like this!? It must be nice on other days, but days like these aren't worth it. I was about to lay down and rest until I noticed something else was on the bench next to me. To my left, there was a small, white towel neatly folded with an unopened water bottle on top of it. I looked left and right, but I saw no one else in the area. There were only a few kids playing out in the field far away from here. Strange. Who does this belong to? I picked up the water bottle. It was still icy cold, so it must of only been put here a short while ago. I placed it down and picked up the towel next. It was cool and completely damp. I sniffed it. Smells like water. I'm serious now. Who put this stuff here!?
I got up and looked around again. No one was coming to claim this stuff. The breeze picked up behind me, and a nice scent filled my nose. Lavender. I looked behind me, but I only saw the tree. Hm. My ninja senses are telling me there's someone behind this tree. Quickly, I dashed up the tree, jumped up, and landed behind it. I stood face to face with another girl. She had midnight blue hair chopped short at her forehead with two long pieces on the sides, but it was longer in the back. She had smooth, fair skin with mysteriously white, purple-tainted eyes. A large white jacket and navy blue pants covered her body. I scratched my head.
"Eh? Are you the one who left that water and wet towel on the bench?" She looked really surprised to see me. Then, her face grew really red. "Are you okay?" Does she have a fever? Her face growing so red is kind of abnormal. "Hey! Hold on!" I grabbed her hand and ran back around the tree. Placing her on the stone bench, I grabbed the wet towel and placed it against her head. "You shouldn't be wearing such a large jacket anyways. You'll pass out." She blinked and nodded.
"Th-Thank you." She had a really soft voice. I barely heard her. I smiled anyway.
"No problem! So, did you really leave this stuff here?" She nodded again. "Why?" Suddenly, she grew really red again. Huh? She started stammering something that was either "Kung Fu" or "For you". I'm guessing it was the latter. "Really? Well, thanks! I was really hot. You're a life saver!" I opened the water bottle and gulped some water down. Ah! Sweet relief! I smiled at the girl again, and she smiled a little back. She's kind of weird, but she's a nice person. "So, what's your name? I'm Naruto." She fiddled with her fingers before answering.
"Hinata."
"Okay then, it's nice to meet you Hinata!"
"Y-You too, Naruto." She's not that bad. She's better than a certain other girl I met. Wait. This is my chance! I leaned a bit closer to her.
"Hinata!" She jumped back a bit, and I instantly felt like smacking myself. "Oh. My bad! I tend to get excited quickly." I rubbed the back of my neck.
"N-No! It's fine. I was just shocked. Continue please!" She was still stammering a little but looked calmer than before.
"Okay then! I just wanted to ask something. Are you enrolled in a school?" She paused for a moment and shook her head.
"There's no need for me to go to one. Why do you ask?" What does she mean by "no need"?
"I was wondering if you wanted to enroll in my school. It's called Yuniti High School. It's a really nice place. There's going to be so much action and adventure when it's up and running again. You can board at the school and find jobs there too." She looked a little doubtful for some reason. I clenched my fist. "Please come, Hinata." She stared at me, and I stared back. "Everyone needs an education, and everyone deserves a future." Hinata's eyes shot to the ground.
"B-But, someone like me..." Huh?
"Someone like you? What about you?"
"I-I don't always have the strength to believe in myself. I always make mistakes, and people always look down on me." Her voice started to quiver, and she looked like she was about to cry. "Someone like me has no purpose." I jumped up from my seat. I will not hear this from her.
"Which is why you will make the perfect ninja!" Hinata blinked up at me.
"N-Ninja?" Oh. Did I forget to mention that part?
"Yes, ninja! Yuniti is a ninja school! If you go there, you will find a purpose. You will gain the power to protect yourself and other people. You will gain the confidence you need. I know it! Come with me, Hinata! Please." A couple moments passed as she looked at me. Hinata lowered her head and stood up. My insides clenched. I wasn't able to convince her.
"Okay." I blinked and looked at Hinata. Her eyes seemed glow with a new light in them.
"Huh? Wait! You mean it!?" She nodded.
"Yes. My family might not approve, so I won't tell them about the ninja part, but I say yes! I will come with you to become a ninja, Naruto!" She smiled at me. It was a kind and gentle one. I couldn't help my own from finding its way on my lips.
"Alright! Just go grab your things and meet me at this town's east entrance by dawn. We'll travel to the school from there. Oh, wear some good shoes. It's a little bit of a walk." She nodded again and dashed away. Watching her run so happily made me feel a thousand times better. I jumped into the air and cheered.
"Alright! I'm getting work done!"
"Yes, it seems like that." I froze. Who said that? I turned around and was faced by a boy. His skin was whiter than a sheet of paper, and he had emotionless black eyes and short, black hair. He wore black shorts and a black sleeveless jacket with a black backpack. He closed his eyes and gave me a fake-looking smile. "Hello."
"Uh, hello?" What's with this guy? "Problem?"
"No, no problem at all. I'm just thinking about how well you tricked that girl." Huh!?
"Trick!? I didn't trick her! I was telling her the truth!" He opened his eyes and looked a little surprised.
"Really? So, there really is a ninja school still around?"
"Yeah! What of it!?" He took out a small notebook and case. Popping the case open, he took out a pencil and started doodling in the notebook. What's with that?
"Nothing really. I was just wondering." Grr! This guy is starting to piss me off! What's with the calm and uncaring attitude!? He almost reminds me of Sasuke.
"Whatever! You're really annoying, you know that!?" He looked up from his notebook and gave me another phony smile.
"That's fine. I personally hate people like you." HUH!? We just met! Why that little...! I felt my face grow hot and clenched my teeth together.
"Who are you anyway!?" He looked me in the eye and showed me his notebook page. It was a detailed drawing of a little boy under an umbrella. It was raining all around him, and he looked very depressed. It was a great drawing with a sad meaning.
"I am an artist." When you look closer, the boy in the drawing almost looks like guy in front of me. "But, you can address me as Sai." Sai. I wonder if that drawing is his true feelings? I breathed in and let the air out slowly. I better not regret this.
"Sai?"
"Yes?"
"Do you want to join my school?" Sai blinked and put his drawing down.
"Why?"
"If you come there, you won't be sad or lonely. You'll make friends and many memories. Everyone has the talent to become a ninja. Those who want power, those who lack confidence, and those who are lonely are always welcome! Trust me." Sai looked speechless and looked down at his own drawing.
""Loneliness"? So, that is what I've been feeling." He waited a while before he smiled at me again. It wasn't completely genuine, but it was starting to be. "Okay then. I'll come. I'll be at the east entrance by dawn. Good bye for now, Naruto." With that, he dashed away and vanished from view. He's a mysterious guy, but none the less, he wants to become a ninja too, so I'm okay with it.
I headed back to the east entrance of the town. I didn't encounter Sakura on the way, so I made it in peace. After a couple hours of waiting, dawn came and Sai came strolling down towards me. I got up from my seat and greeted him just as Hinata came jogging towards us with a couple bags of hers. After introducing them to each other, I took some of Hinata's things and lead my soon to be fellow peers and comrades to our school.