I apologize for the length of this chapter. I just couldn't bring myself to shorten or separate it.
Koroku, the village master, heard Shigure and came running to see what all the noise was about.
"Huh? What are you doing here? Didn't you get the fish to your village?"
Shigure would have answered his questions, but at the moment he was too breathless to speak.
Koroku's beautiful wife, Rina, came out of the house. She walked up to Shigure.
"Aww, who is this? You look so tired…have you been traveling all night?" She stroked the fur on Shigure's face.
"Um, dear, this is one of the shenobi from our hidden village."
"Yes, I know that. I'm not stupid, Koroku." These two were a very odd match. "Come on inside, eat, and tell us what happened," she said.
"I-I accept the offer, but…I'd rather not talk about it…not right now…"
Rina had an understanding look on her face, "Alright…by the way my name is Rina and this is my husband, Koroku. What's your name?"
Koroku rolled his eyes. This was a trademark of his.
"I'm Shigure…Shigure Nomura. I-I…" Shigure's voice trailed off as the fatigue and exhaustion from the night started to take hold of him. He wavered and collapsed on the damp ground. Rina gasped and they both helped bring Shigure into the house.
After a few hours, Shigure began to come around. He found himself lying in bed in human form. Apparently, he had been forced out of his wolf form after he had fainted because his body had sensed his low chakra level. He looked up and saw Rina hovering around him. She was making herself busy with different things in the room. Laundry and such.
"Oh, good! You're awake. I'll start making you some breakfast."
"No, thank you, Rina. That's very kind of you, but I'm not very hungry."
"Oh, Shigure, you need to eat something. You were traveling all night long, using up all of your chakra, and now you're running on 'empty.' You need the energy."
It was then that Shigure noticed that she had taken his clothes and was bringing them in from off the cold-dry hanging line outside (fast and successful cold-drying was a secret only known to the women of the Land of Ice). He glanced under his covers and looked back up at Rina. She had set his clothes, nice and folded, at the end of the bed.
"Um…thank you, Rina."
Rina looked up at him and smiled, her dark eyes twinkling. Shigure could feel his face getting hot. To Shigure, Rina looked a lot younger than Koroku. Actually, to him, she seemed not but only a few years older than him. This made him feel even more uncomfortable.
"I'll start your breakfast," she said as she headed back downstairs.
Shigure sat up in bed. The muscles in his back, legs, and arms ached horribly from his traveling. He looked ahead of him, and, to his surprise, there was a mirror on the wall at the end of the bed. He saw himself, the sad expression on his face, the brightness gone from his pale green eyes, his thin, but muscular form, and…his scar. The one that was made at the time of his birth in order to make the Fusion Jutsu performed on him permanent. It started at the top of his hip bone on the left side and curved up along his lower rib. This brought back memories of a day in the Academy. All the boys were comparing the places where they had their scars. Shigure could not remember most of them, but he did remember where Sora and Yuri's scars were. Sora's was across his left shoulder and Yuri's was zigzagged across the fingers on his left hand.
These pleasant memories made Shigure lay back down on the bed. At first, he didn't want to get up and have to face the day without his two best friends, but he couldn't just sit there. So he got up, put on his clothes, and walked down the stairs, following the scent of sautéed cod and fried rice. Shigure sat down at the table after a gesture from Rina. She had a place set for him at one end of the table. His plate was steaming with the fresh fish and hot rice. There was a glass of cold white-milk next to his plate, a smaller glass of ice-water next to that, and a pair of crimson chopsticks on the other side.
Shigure looked at his meal and sighed. It looked so good, but he knew that he couldn't eat. His stomach was in too many knots to hold any food. Koroku was sitting at the other end of the table, eating his third helping of fish. Rina sat down on one side and started eating. She noticed Shigure's sad expression and the fact that he still wouldn't eat.
"Um…Shigure, are you ready to tell us what happened last night?"
Koroku looked up from his food. Shigure still stared down at the table, "When we got back to our village…it had been attacked. Enemy ninja had slaughtered everyone. The ones that were still left picked us off like prey, one by one. I…I'm still not quite sure how I escaped."
For a while the table was silent, meditating on Shigure's words. Then, Koroku spoke. "So, what do you plan to do now?"
Shigure thought for a moment, Now? He hadn't even considered exactly what he was going to do. Suddenly, Shigure remembered something that Yuri had said-- "…you must fulfill your Mission, Shigure…" Mission?
Finally, Shigure looked up at them, "I must travel to the Land of Fire. I must take the exams and become a Chunin. For my family. And for my squad…Kisho, Sora, and Yuri."
"But, that's so far away. There is no way that you could make it there in time for the exams. Actually, I'm not so sure that you would make it there at all," said Koroku.
"Yes...I will make it. I have to. I know that I might miss the exams, but I must get there, at least. I must achieve something my entire village never dared to do..."
Rina and Koroku looked at each other. They could tell by the fierce, determined look in Shigure's eyes that there was no changing his mind.
"Are you sure, Shigure? I mean we don't want you to make a foolish decision," said Rina.
"I'm not. This is what I'm going to do, whether you like it or not...it's what I have to do." Shigure stared down at his food again. The liquid-like steam that was rising off of it was beginning to dissipate.
Rina and Koroku looked at each other once more, reading one another's thoughts through their eyes.
"Well, since you seem to have made up your mind," Koroku started, "I guess we'll just have to help you get started."
Shigure looked up with a surprised expression on his face. "Help...me?"
"Yes, we've made our share of journeys, too. So maybe we should give you a few tips." Koroku eyed Rina.
"Starting off with a good breakfast!" Rina smiled and glanced down at Shigure's food. He sighed and picked up his chopsticks. He prodded at the buttery flesh on his plate. It smelled good and it looked good, but he just couldn't bring himself to stomach food.
Rina sighed, "Here, I think I might have something you'll like better." She stood up and walked out the front door. Shigure and Koroku watched her curiously as she opened up the outside freezer where they keep their caught fish preserved. Rina came back with a huge paper package that looked wet. Koroku immediately knew what it was and he sat back against his chair. She took the package to the kitchen and unwrapped it. Suddenly, the savory smell of fresh salmon engulfed Shigure's sences. Salmon was his absolute favorite. He could feel an incredible hunger enter him and his mouth watered. All of the knots in his stomach left him as Rina brought the fish-- full-bodied, blood, flesh, and bone-- out to the dining room. Shigure's hunger was growing so fiercely that he had to squeeze his knees again to keep himself under control.
This posed another challange to the user's (or "user") of the Fusion Jutsu. When the ninja aquires the skills of an predator, he also gets te curse of the predator-- blood-lust. The shenobi must be specially trained to control the blood-thirsty beast inside of him. If he failed to do this, he was to be reported and decommissioned as a ninja...permanently. Although, this only happened in the Village Hidden in the Snow...which is now non-existent.
Shigure began to breathe heavily in an attempt to calm down. Rina could see his hunger and excitement. She smiled and placed the fish on the smooth, tile floor a few feet from the table. She sat back in her seat and continued eating. Shigure looked at Rina, wide-eyed. She looked back at him and nodded gently as if she could read his thoughts. Shigure stood up slowly. He looked down at the fish. It had thawed mostly and a trickle of reddish liquid from it's mouth had formed a little puddle on the floor. That was all Shigure needed.
He took on his wolf form and began to tear at the fish-flesh that he loved so much. He crunched down on it's head, shattering it's skull and disconnecting it's bottom jaw. This sound made Koroku shutter a little, but Rina's emotions were untouched. She smiled and thought back on the days before she was a fisher's wife. Her life was so much different. There was no comparing it. Rina has an incredible passion for animals…even if they are half human.
Shigure ate the entire fish, lapping up the last of the blood on the floor. His lust was satisfied…for the moment. Rina stood up and went back into the kitchen. Shigure sat down and licked his jaws of the last, sweet remains of fluid on his face. Koroku finished his food, stood up, and brought his dishes to the kitchen.
Rina came back with a bowl and another salmon, bigger this time. She put the fish on the floor to one side of Shigure and filled up the bowl with the water that was at his seat. She set that close to the fish. Shigure looked up at her and smiled, mouth open and tongue hanging out. Rina knelt down to him and ran he slender fingers through Shigure's fur on his face and neck. Her touch was calming in the same way it was the night before. He came in closer to her and laid his head on her shoulder. She wrapped her arms around his neck and breathed in the smell of his fur. This embrace felt somewhat strange to Shigure. The only other person to give him a true hug, like this one, was Sora.
Shigure slowly pulled out of the embrace and glanced down at his food. His blood-lust began to rise again. Rina could see this in his eyes, so she stood up and busied herself with the dishes that were on the table. Shigure finished the last fish and drank most of the water out of his bowl. He decided to save what was left of his chakra for the trip, so he became human again.
Rina started washing dishes in the kitchen. Koroku came up behind her and wrapped his muscular, fishing arms around her waist. She turned her head and kissed him lovingly. Shigure noticed this one kiss. It made him feel sad inside. He had never been kissed before. Well, he did give Sora mouth-to-mouth a long time ago, but that didn't count. He blushed at the thought. Shigure wanted to be loved so badly, to be able to hear those priceless last words-"I love you." Just once in his life. His dad may have loved him, but he never said so. His mom…well, she had never been there to love him. He knew his friends loved him…but now…he has no one. At the moment…he wasn't sure if he could love anymore.
He turned away from them and walked out into the living room. He laid down on his back on the floor. He sighed heavily, sad, but content. Koroku came out of the kitchen and Shigure sat up.
"Alright, we have a few things you will need for your trip."
About ten minutes later, Koroku had finished gathering some important items for his trip.
"Starting off with a practical invention known as the 'bag'." Koroku handed Shigure a worn, leather knapsack. It was soft to the touch, but it had be used so much that the leather was almost invincible. He also gave him a water pouch, a small weekly calendar, a second pair of boots, a good-sized pouch of vitamin herbs, and a copy of the book Make-Out Paradise by Jiraiya. Shigure took this, raised an eyebrow to it, and looked up at Koroku.
"What? It's just for some…um…'light' reading; if you get lonely. To tell you the truth…Rina has been trying to get me to get rid of it."
Rina poked her head and gave him a big, pearly smile. He rolled his eyes.
"Anyway, here is the last thing." Koroku handed Shigure a pen and a notebook. It was a brand-new, black and white composition book.
"What's this for, sir?"
"Well, to record your journey, of course. It's a journal. And who knows. Someday you might become famous and the words in that book could be worth millions!" He laughed at his own joke. Shigure smiled and Koroku was trying to think if there was anything else the traveler would need. He wouldn't need most of the necessities a human would like food, weapons, clothes, etc. because he was part wolf. He already has most of those things and he can hunt on his own. They packed up all of his stuff in the knapsack and put it near the front door.
Rina suggested that Shigure take a bath and a nap before lunch. So he did. Rina prepared it for him, filling up the bath and re-dressing his bed. Shigure stepped into the warm water of the deep bathtub. He sank down in the water and sighed. The bathtub was so big that Shigure could lay down in it flat with only his nose and mouth out in the open air. Rina had treated the water with an herb of some kind. The smell inflamed Shigure's senses and calmed the perpetual pounding in his wolf-like ears. The warmth soothed his tight and sore muscles. He felt for a moment that he had entered a different world that he wished he could never leave.
After his bath he took a nap. Shigure needed all the energy he could get. He slept deeply, almost dreamlessly. Until a few minutes before he woke up. He dreamed of Sora and Yuri and his village. He saw their faces smiling and enjoying life together under the sun. It was a short and sweet dream, but it got Shigure motivated. He remembered his promise to Yuri and Sora to remember them and protect them…protect the memories of them.
Once Shigure woke up, it was lunch time. Rina and Koroku were eating boiled king crab and some of the left-over rice from breakfast. Rina set Shigure's place with four whole crabs, no rice. Shigure sat at the table, in human form this time, and consumed all four crabs. All that he left was some of the outer shells that were inedible.
"Thank you, Rina. It was delicious."
Koroku nodded his head in agreement.
"You're welcome. So, are you planning to start traveling after lunch?"
"I think I should, but…" Shigure stared down at his crab shells solemnly. Koroku and Rina stood up and walked over to Shigure.
"Don't worry, we'll see each other again…someday soon." Rina smiled and Koroku put his arm around her shoulders. Shigure looked up at them and smiled, "I hope so." He stood up and they all walked over to the door. Shigure picked up the knapsack and opened the door, "Thanks again, Rina, Koroku."
"You are very welcome, Shigure, come back anytime," said Koroku.
"Oh, yeah! I wanted to give you something before I forgot." Rina pulled something out of her apron pocket and placed it into Shigure's hand, "For good luck," she whispered to him. Shigure looked down at the little treasure in his hand. She had given him a necklace. The pendant was a smooth, flat, gray stone with a paw-print engraved in it. There was a little silver, crescent moon and star inlayed in the largest pad of the engraved print. This was strung on a thick, black string.
"Thank you, Rina. I hope it will bring me the luck it brought you." He glanced at Koroku who smiled, catching on to Shigure's kind words.
"I promise to come back to you both-as a Jounin, ready to take on the world!" Shigure smiled until his eyes sparkled in the noon sunlight.
"We'll be looking forward to it, Shigure."
That dream came back into Shigure's mind as he remembered the reason he was traveling in the first place-to become a Chunin and, eventually, a Jounin; to use the opportunity that his companions never had. Tears came to Shigure's eyes. He flung his arms around both of them and they all pulled into a tri-hug.
"Now go, Shigure Nomura…and make the journey of a lifetime," said Rina, "And don't look back…never look back…"
Shigure looked into her eyes and, just then, he saw that little flicker of a canine predator. He smiled in the way you do when you have just found out someone's wonderful little secret.
"Thanks, again…" Shigure turned and started down the road that went south along the middle of Uomaru. He slipped on Rina's necklace and gazed down at it. Koroku and Rina watched him as he walked down the little street and disappeared into the horizon.
End…Chapter Nine: The Beginning of a New Mission
Introducing (and explaining) the next section:
The next part of the story may seem a bit strange to you at first, but it will clear up soon.
The ending of Section 1: Chapter 9 means the beginning of Section 2: The Traveling Journal where Shigure will chronicle his four-month journey to the Land of Fire in the journal that Koroku gave him.
Shigure: Wait! So I have to write in this damn journal for FOUR MONTHS?
Well, yes.
Shigure: But, why? Why can't you write it?
Because I can't read minds! I don't know how you're going to feel while you're on your trip from Ice to Fire.
Shigure: Well, than how did you write about what I was doing for the past nine chapters, hm? (raises eyebrow)
Because I was…um…watching you from a distance. -
Shigure: That is really creepy…o.O
Sorry, that's how I work.
Shigure: Well then, why don't you just follow me on my journey and write about what happens?
Are you serious? I'm taking a plane!
Shigure: …You suck…
Anyway, as I was saying before I was so rudely interrupted, there are a couple of details to explain before we start this section-
1) Shigure begins the journal entries with "Dear Ikko,…" The reason for this is that he saw the name "Ikko" in a dream he had after his first encounter with Sora and Yuri when they were still attending the Village Academy. Shigure isn't sure who exactly Ikko is, but he does know that this person will be of significance sometime in his near future. Maybe too near…
2) Shigure signs most of the entries as "Ippiki Ookami." This simply means "Lone Wolf." Just so that all you people that aren't super Japanese freaks got it. -
Now, I am not one to be the most confident about Shigure's traveling route, so if there are any geographical/chronological mistakes that he might have made, please review and correct them. I will be sure that he fixes them in the manner that you inquire. - And don't worry, the story will continue in normal story form after Shigure, eventually, finishes his journey.
Also, this section might take me a little longer to publish so-
Shigure: You mean "take me a little longer to publish" -.-+
Yes, that's what I meant. I'm sorry, Shigure. So, please be patient and keep reading and reviewing! Thanks!