a/n okay! so finally, I am back with the fourth chapter. I already have plans for the next chapter, but I don't know how long it will be until I update, you see, I made a whole update list for myself.
1--Butterfly Prophecy
2--Song of the Full Moon's Child
3--Cherry Blossom Kiss
4--I've Got No Strings
5--Sunrises
6--maybe the new story.
"When did you figure that out?" Yoshi-sensei sarcastically remarked. He took some of the sand and lowered his face to his hand to inspect it.
Haruki scowled deeply at this comment; Satoko giggled, holding one of her slender hands to her mouth as she did so. It was hard to not notice her eyes flickering towards the silver-haired sensei of ours.
"This doesn't seem normal..." Yoshi-sensei mumbled. He ran a hand through his shaggy hair.
"What was that?" I inquired even though I had heard his words clearly.
He said it isn't normal, you dunce Uncle sneered at me. I ignored him. It had been getting easier as the days passed along, to be quite honest.
"What? Oh, nothing!" Yoshi grinned up at me. "Don't worry your pretty--or silly, in Haruki's case--heads over this. It's just sand. Now let's continue, please?"
The three of us silently agreed and the five of us all moved onward. But no matter what the Jounin we were subordinates to said, we all knew that the sand was suspicious.
Night grew closer and it seemed like we had gotten no where. Yoshi-sensei suggested that we all walk for a bit since it might be a while until we came upon a safe place to rest.
It was while we were walking that we spotted something me might not have seen if we had been jumping from tree-limb-to-tree-limb.
There was a small house out there in the woods. It wasn't in the best of conditions, and it appeared to be abandoned. However it seemed safe enough to spend the night in.
I tapped my sensei on the shoulder. "Maybe we could stay there?" I suggested
The young man stopped walking and stared in the direction of my finger. His multi-colored eyes seemed glazed over as he stared at the one-story building.
"I suppose we could check it out," he murmured. "Haruki, Satoko-chan! Change of course, just for a little bit. Follow us."
Don't you think the building looks suspicious? Uncle whispered into my ear, sending chills all up my back.
I shook my head. "It just looks empty is all," I whispered back. Haruki cocked an eyebrow at me, having just walked up to my side.
I smiled lightly at my older brother but said nothing to him at all. I couldn't think of an excuse for my mumbling to myself right off the top of my head and had no intention of pushing my brain to do so.
"You three stay here until I say so, alright?" Yoshi-sensei ordered. He looked sternly at each of us. Satoko and I gave a firm nod while Haruki grumbled something inaudible.
It was obvious he wanted to look around at the house, too. Looking over at my sister I noticed an anxious look in her dark eyes. With hands clasped over her chest she stared at our sensei's receding back.
A nighttime breeze came fluttering past. It was an eerie sort of breeze that usually carried fear and unease with it. Satoko bit her lower lip as she glanced over at me.
Maybe Uncle Hiroshi was right. Maybe the house was suspicious.
We three siblings stood stock still for a few moments. I was beginning to feel quite uncomfortable there in the middle of foreign woods. The breeze seemed to be whispering warnings to me. It had the same sort of voice as Uncle usually had when I spoke to him, but it was different. I heard several people speaking...
Could it be...? Am I hearing ghosts?
I quickly shooed away the thought. There was no way, no way I was hearing other ghosts.
And yet...it felt as if I was.
"That's it!" Haruki suddenly growled, breaking me from my thoughts. "I'm not going to stand here any longer! Satoko, Hina! Come on! Let's go to that house!"
My sister and I eagerly followed after the middle child. I personally wanted to get away from the swirling, dead, crunching leaves and the eerie winds. Satoko, I suspect, was more concerned about what happened to Yoshi-sensei.
As we approached the house, Haruki's hand hovered about the hilt of his sword. Satoko's hand went immediately towards her weapon pouch, hidden beneath the bow of her torn kimono.
I made no move for I had seen something through one of the filthy windows. I candle flame had flickered. Squinting my lavender eyes I noticed silhouettes surrounding the flame; their shadows also showed up on the wall.
I recognized the shape of one of these figures--Sensei.
Cautiously I stepped forward and rapped my knuckles on the breaking front door. With my other hand I grabbed Haruki's wrist and pulled it away from his sword.
It wouldn't be necessary, I was sure.
The door was pulled open suddenly, revealing a hunch-backed old man with a wrinkled face. He smiled up at me for he was shorter than I.
"Well, hello! You must be Yoshi-san's pupils."
"Er, yes we are," I replied uncertainly. "We were just wondering what happened to our sensei."
"Well of course you were! Please, please! Come in! Your sensei has been telling us about your journey. Friendly fellow that one is." And he laughed.
"Yes, he is," Satoko warmly replied.
The three of us squeezed through the doorway and uncomfortably followed the stranger into another room. The room we stopped in was the one I had seen the candle and the figures in.
Including the old man, there were four people whom Satoko, Haruki, and I did not know. There was the old man, an old woman with frizzy gray hair who was presumably his wife, a man with long dark hair tied back in a low ponytail, and a beautiful woman with red-violet hair and large violet eyes.
Yoshi-sensei looked over at us and grinned.
"Hello there! Sorry I forgot to come get you--I got wrapped up in a conversation! Here, let me introduce you to our new hosts!"
"...Hosts?" Haruki slowly asked.
"Yes! We'll be staying here for a day!"
"Or two," the woman with the red-violet hair added.
"Yes. It really depends on how much rest we need." Sensei's multi-colored eyes flickered towards the woman. By just that one glance I knew--and so did Satoko by the looks of it--that it depended on more than just that.
"So anyway! This man here," Yoshi-sensei slapped a hand on the old man's hunched back, "is Daisuke!" Our sensei moved towards the old lady.
"This lovely woman is Daisuke's wife, Etsuyo." Yoshi lifted the withering hand of the woman and gently kissed it.
"Now this beautiful woman is Chikako. She's Daisuke and Etsuyo's daughter, you see. And finally, this young lad is Hideki. He's Chikako's fianc." The hint of bitterness in his voice was very obvious when he spat the word.
Chikako stared at Yoshi with her large violet eyes and giggled. Yoshi smirked at her in response.
Hideki was definitely not pleased by their obvious connection. After all, he was the one engaged to the woman!
"So everyone, these are my pupils. This is Haruki, the loudmouth; Hina the...shy one; and this is Satoko, the fierce, independent, protective one. Satoko is oldest, then Haruki, and last Hina."
"It's a pleasure meeting you!" they all said; Chikako's chirpy voice was the loudest.
Is it just me or is she trying to impress Yoshi? Hiroshi whispered in my ear.
I shook my head and hoped he'd understand what I meant by that. I didn't dare reply to him around these strangers, lest they think I was talking to myself or worse, about them.
"Please, sit down. Everyone," Chikako invited; Yoshi took the seat beside her and the woman, acting very comfortable considering they just met, snuggled against his arm.
Hideki was furious. Daisuke didn't look too pleased either, but he said nothing. However his lips did tighten and he crossed his arms over his chest.
"So...where are you from? Yoshi-san didn't say," Etsuyo inquired as an attempt to stir up conversation.
Haruki opened his mouth to answer, but he stopped when he received a warning look from Sensei and a discreet jam in the ribs from Satoko.
"...Gekkougakure," he hesitantly lied.
"That's very far away, isn't it?"
"Yes, it is."
"The Hidden Village of Moonlight...I've heard many things about that place. Supposedly every hundred years or so the Full Moon blesses a child from that village and he or she becomes the most powerful, admired, and lucky person in the entire village. And several other villages, if I'm not mistaken. Also, they're the most sought after person--for good and bad. Tell me, do any of you know this person?"
I had never heard that story before, to be truthful. Sure we weren't actually from the Hidden Village of Moonlight, but it was supposedly a very famous story. That's what Etsuya-san implied, and it appeared to be true since Yoshi, Haruki, and Satoko were all nodding their heads slowly, showing they knew what the old lady was talking about.
"No, we never did find out who it was. However we do know that there is someone, currently, who can go by that description. A girl, I have heard," Sensei replied.
"Yes, a runaway," Hideki murmured. "I heard so a while ago in the market."
"The market?" Yoshi, startled, inquired.
"Yes. There's one quite a while away. Every so often we send Chikako and Hideki out. It takes so long to get there--about a day and a half--that they shop, go to a hotel to spend the night, and then early the next morning head back. All we can buy, because of the distance, is things which don't need to be preserved," Daisuke explained.
"Have you ever considered...moving closer to a village?" Satoko gently inquired.
The four looked aghast.
"Never!" Etsuyo shrieked.
"What not?" Satoko urged on. "It must be so annoying to have to walk all the way there. And you can't have meat or anything!"
"We survive," Daisuke gruffly replied. His eyes flashed at Satoko and my sister meekly sat back in her seat.
As she did this I slowly stood, a thought entering my head.
"Excuse me, for a moment. I...forgot something outside."
"Yes yes, go ahead and get it! Just be careful, alright?" Yoshi passively permitted.
"Yes, go right on ahead," Chikako added.
"Arigato," I humbly said, bowing low to them.
"Do you want me to come with you? It's dangerous in the woods at night--especially when you're alone," Satoko offered; I shook my head.
"Arigato, but no."
I quickly exited the house and stepped back out into the fresh air. Dark had fallen, and it had fallen hard. I hated that I didn't have a light, but I told myself that my eyes would just have to adjust.
I began walking cautiously through the night, constantly tripping over roots and dead branches which had fallen from trees.
Once I was back on the path we had been walking I felt comfortable. Haruki had been smart enough to, occasionally, scrape the surface of a tree with his kunai. Of course it was also stupid of him because that meant our trail could be followed, but I'm sure he felt we were prepared for anyone and anything.
Eventually I could no longer walk because I was afraid that I'd take too long. I was also frightened. I began to hear odd noises and see things which I normally did not.
And the whispering.
I no longer felt the breeze but the noises--the voices it had carried followed me still.
So I began to run. I hadn't realized how far we had gone since we had discovered it earlier that day.
I was paying g for that now, though, let me tell you. My muscles were sore and I was exhausted. I felt dirty and hunger was gnawing at my stomach.
Right when I was getting to the point that I was going to forget about it and turn around to go back, I reached the trail of sand.
Smiling triumphantly to myself I knelt down beside the fine grains. From out of my weaponry pouch I procured a small glass vial. It was narrow and tubular shaped, but rather long for being so small. I lowered my grimy hand down to the sand and scooped some into the vial.
Carefully, I corked it and then, without a final glance at the suspicious sand, I headed back to the house.
When I arrived everyone was preparing themselves for bed. It seemed that I had missed the meal which had been provided. I was oddly aware at the mention of that how my stomach was growling.
"Let me show you to your room," Chikako offered. She placed her hand on the small of my back and began leading me down a narrow hallway.
I--discreetly--wriggled free of her touch and instead walked slightly behind the young woman.
"Here. You will be sharing your room with Satoko. I hope you don't mind sharing a room?"
"No, not at all!" I replied, relieved that it was only my sister I'd be in there with.
"This was my old bedroom. I sometimes still sleep in there, when Hideki is annoying me...oh I'm sorry! I shouldnt be bothering you with such trivial information!
"Now your brother and sensei will be sharing a room down at the end of the hall, opposite side as yours. Across the hall is where my parents sleep, and across from Yoshi and Haruki-san's is where Hideki and I sleep. If you need anything from anyone just say so, alright?"
I nodded slowly. "Got it. Thank you, Chikako-san."
The woman smiled gently at me, placing a slender hand on my shoulder. "Please, just call me Chikako."
And then she walked away. I shivered. It wasn't that the woman gave me the creeps or anything of the sort, to the contrary she made me feel almost comfortable, but I didn't like being touched.
I dropped everything I could on the floor beside Satoko's stuff and stepped back out into the hall.
I found Hideki sitting on the sofa where I had last seen him before I left. He appeared to be distressed.
I tried avoiding eye contact with the older man as I fell back in one of the worn-out armchairs.
I began to think of things as I sat there in the eerie house. I thought of home, I thought of where we were headed, although I wasn't sure where exactly that was. I mean, I was supposed to decide but I never did, and Yoshi-sensei seemed to have his own ideas.
"Hey, Hina-san?"
Startled by the sudden sound of another being's voice, I jumped. However it was only Hideki, and I fell back again, calmed.
"Hai, Hideki-san?"
"...does your sensei...have a girlfriend or anything?"
I didn't even have to think before replying with a shake of the head. "No, he doesn't."
"Is he honestly aware, then, that I am Chikako's husband-to-be? Sure he isnt being unfaithful, but what about Chikako?"
"I wouldn't know what's going through my sensei's head, sir."
Hideki's smile was a bitter one.
"Yes, yes. I apologize Hina-san. Please, allow me to get you something to eat. Your stomach's growling quite loudly."
I blushed. "Arigato, Hideki-san."
Hideki extended his hand to me after standing, to help pull me up, but I declined. Instead I struggled to get out of the chair and uneasily followed the young man to the kitchen.
It was a cold meal, the one he served to me, but it would do fine.
I felt uneasy as I ate. Hideki watched me, seemingly curious. I didn't honestly understand what he had to be curious about. That was probably why I felt so uncomfortable.
Occasionally I'd glance upward and my lavender eyes would meet his sharp gaze. I didn't like the look on his face so I would stare back down at the mush I had been served.
"Hina-san...how old are you?"
"I am twelve, sir. And you?"
"Twenty-five," he said regretfully.
"How long have you been engaged to Chikako-san?"
"...About four years, I believe."
"When are you getting married?"
"A month after she turns twenty...if we're still together then. I don't know how much more I can take of her...infidelity."
They keep telling me things I don't need to know...
"Yoshi isnt the first person she's acted this way about. However, he is the first person she honestly seemed to like, and also the only one who didn't seem to care that she's engaged."
Are you getting uncomfortable, Hina? I know I am, and I'm not even the one who this man is...hitting on.
"Ew, no," I muttered in response.
"I'm sorry?" Hideki said, implying he hadnt really heard what Id said.
"Oh, nothing. I just...saw a dead bug...so anyway! How old is Chikako-san?"
"Nineteen. But enough about her. Tell me about you. You know you remind me of her..."
I cocked an eyebrow. "How so?"
"You look like her, only your hair is lighter as are your eyes. You're very pretty..."
"Um...thanks. I'm tired, and I think we're leaving early in the morning. Thanks for the food and...goodnight."
I hurried back to the room I shared with Satoko and closed the door. I sat down on the mat which had been set up for me and, quietly since my older sister was asleep, said to Uncle.
"Is he kidding?! Me, pretty?! And anyway, he definitely was not hitting on me, as you so nicely put it."
If you wish to think that, go ahead. But you didnt see the eyes...
He was just complaining about Chikako-san...he wouldnt do the exact same thing."
Think what you wish...
After that he said no more. I quickly changed into nightclothes and made myself as comfortable as possible under the covers.
"I'm not pretty," I whispered to myself, glancing over at my sleeping sister. "Chikako-san is, and so is Satoko...but I'm not."
And then I fell asleep, feeling rather self-conscious about the compliment. Little did I know that I would be receiving several more like them in the not too distant future.
a/n was it any good, do you think? anyway, please leave a review. I want to know what people think of this so far. I mean, I know I like it and so do people on quizilla, but yeah. Fanfiction is sooo much different from quizilla. the people and the layout... anyway, if you could just take the time that would be nice. anyway, see you next time!