Chapter Two: Friends
In order to get to their destination faster, the masked people began to jump from tree to tree. They were quick but silent. I wouldn't even know they were there if I had been on the ground.
One tree after another, I felt the exhilarating rush of the wind on my face. It felt nice for a change. At least my head stopped hurting now.
"Can you teach me?" I asked the masked man. The man turned his head slightly to look at me, "Sorry?"
"Can you teach me to fly like you?" I asked and the mask chuckled. "We'll see."
He increased his speed, and the forest around was just a blur. Laughing at the rush, I held on tighter as I loved the way the air danced through my hair and clothes.
Suddenly, we stopped, and the sudden presence of sound caught me by surprised.
We stood close to a large gate. There were a few men standing nearby the gate, watching out at the road. From my vantage point, I could see a few people moving in and out of the gate, holding bags and stuff.
"That's the entrance to Konoha. But we are not going through there." The mask told me. I turned to look at him, "Why not?"
A small laugh escaped from the mask, "Well, we have a special way to get in."
My eyes grew big in wonder, "Really?"
He nodded once and suddenly I felt a rush of wind.
I felt light-headed. My hair hung above me.
A grunt questioned our arrival and I looked over at the source. It was an old man who was sitting down behind a desk, with lots of paper piling around on and around the desk. There was a pipe in his hand and smoke billowed from his nostrils.
The masked man dropped down from the ceiling and waited for me to slide off his back before standing up. The others weren't here though. I looked around, wondering where they went.
"My Lord Hokage, our group found this child roaming dangerously close to the Nara territory. However, she doesn't seem to have any memories." He looked as if he wanted to say more but he was quiet.
The man nodded and puffed out the remaining smoke and stood up. He walked to stand in front of his desk to face us fully.
"Alright. Do you at least know your name?" The old man asked.
"Mononoke." I replied and his face seemed slightly surprised but he quickly recovered.
"I see. Well, Mononoke. My name is Hiruzen Sarutobi, but you may call me Hokage-sama. Alright?"
I nodded and he continued.
"For the time being, since you're just a child, I can assign for someone to take care of you for awhile but when you're older or when you have no need of a caretaker, you will need to fend for yourself. Is that all right?"
I pondered for a moment before turning to look up at the masked man, "Then, can you take care of me?"
Both men seemed taken aback at my boldness. The man turned to the old man, who, I guess, is in charge here, to see his reaction to my request.
"Any specific reason why?" The old man inquired.
"I want him to teach me how to fly." I said immediately.
The Hokage raised an eyebrow at the masked man, a look of amusement hidden under his serious demeanour. The masked man scratched the back of his head sheepishly, "We were running in the forest and I had her on my back. It was a faster way to travel through the trees."
A soft chuckle escaped the Hokage's lips, "Of course."
Turning back to me, he smiled kindly, "It seems both of you have taken a liking to each other. Very well. I suppose I can take Kakashi off his ANBU duty to be your caretaker for the time being." Although he said that, I heard a soft sigh from the masked man and looked towards him. Now that I was looking closely, the mask resembles a dog, with red and black markings around the eyes, sides and mouth.
I don't think he is really happy about this and I felt kind of bad. But I really want to learn how to fly. Besides, I only trust him now. I don't want somebody else to take me.
"Well, it is my last time to patrol around Konoha. I suppose being a babysitter would be a decent change." He said wearily, although his answer was confusing. Just as I was about to ask what he meant, the Hokage interrupted me. I made a mental note to ask him about it later.
"So now that this is all settled, both of you can go get to know each other." Sarutobi smiled as he puffed another billow of smoke.
Before anyone could react, I ran to the Hokage. Quickly hugging his legs and muttering a small thank-you, I turned back to who I now know as Kakashi, smiling, "When do we start?"
XxXxXxXx
Three Years Later
I frowned at Kakashi as he continued reading his dumb book. I tried to steal and read it once, and boy, was he mad. Said it wasn't for kids and all that. But that's not the point why I'm mad.
"I'm not going." I stated for what probably was the ninth time I said it.
And he ignored me again.
Fine, I'll try a different tactic.
"Kaaakaasshiiii..." I whined as I nudged my head on his shoulder a few times before rubbing the top of my head back and forth on his elbow.
Finally, he sighed, "I'll teach you when you're older."
My head snapped up and I glared at him, "You always say that!"
Fuming, I crossed my arms and turned away from him.
Sighing again, I heard the book close and I felt a hand patting my head, "Kid, even I had to learn the basics before I got this good. Besides, you're a smart kid, it shouldn't be hard for you." Still, I refused to look at him.
He leaned over to look up at my face, "How about a deal? You go to the Academy for a month, then you decide whether to leave or to stay."
I thought about it and glanced at him, "What happens if I chose to leave?"
A smirk formed under his mask, "Well, then you can't be a ninja." I turned back at him and scowled, "That's cheating!"
He shrugged, "Well, if you want to be a ninja, you have to go through the Academy." Turning away, I muttered, "But I want you to be my teacher."
He hummed for a moment, thinking, before he spoke again, "How about this? If you get to graduate and be a Genin, you'll be assign to a team. Then, I can be your teacher."
I turned to him suspiciously, squinting. He smiled, reading my mind, "Well, I can't exactly teach at the Academy, I still have missions to do, kid." Sighing, I gave up, "Okay. I'll go."
"Ah, alright then. How about we go out for dinner tonight?"
XxXxXxXx
The first day of school. How I dread it. Kakashi tried to sooth my anxiety this morning but the moment I saw the look on the parent's faces, I knew things weren't going to work out well.
The moment they saw me, they began to whispering and glancing my way. For once in his life, Kakashi wasn't terribly late. Well, late enough to miss roll call but not late enough for the Hokage's speech. I tighten my grip on Kakashi's hand and he squeezed it once.
"It'll be okay." He whispered and trying to be optimistic, I nodded but I stood closer to him anyways.
Sarutobi was talking about what a grand day it was because a lot of kids have enrolled this year and that he was proud to have so many talented children that will learn many things here, etc etc. Grandpa Sarutobi sure can talk a lot.
Finally, we were assigned to different classes. Kakashi had looked at my schedule and nodded in satisfaction, "You're in Iruka's class. That's good." Then, he squatted to be level with me. Seeing my anxiety, he smiled, trying to pacify me, "You'll be fine, kiddo. Just make sure not to break anything." I grinned at the joke, letting him lift my spirits, "I'll try!"
Ruffling my hair, he nodded, "That's my girl. Now go on. You know where to go."
Typical Kakashi. But he knew I won't get lost in the place. Even when I lost him at the supermarket, all he needs to do is just wait for a few minutes and I'll appear. I was pretty good at tracking, apparently.
I gave him a hug and ran off into the school, crossing my fingers.
xXxXxXx
Iruka-sensei is a really nice man. I watched him greet the other children as they went into the classroom. He has a warm trusting smile that draws me in. When I had walked into the class, he had bent over to talk to me.
"Oh, hello. I suppose you're the one with Kakashi-san just now, huh?" He asked, smiling. I nodded and he continued, "So what's your name?"
"Mononoke." I replied and instead of being slightly shocked like how a lot of people had been, he merely nodded as if it was a very normal name. Maybe Kakashi told him about me beforehand.
"That's a nice name."
I blinked at his reply. He grinned at me, "It's very nice to meet you, Mononoke. I hope we'll get along well."
I returned his grin and thought to myself, 'Maybe being here isn't so bad after all."
He nodded to me and gestured to the half-full classroom, "Go and take a seat while waiting, all right?" I followed his instructions and sat beside a boy with dark brown hair. The reason I sat with him was because he has facial markings like me. Although his were red fang markings on his cheeks and mine were just black upside down arcs on my cheek bones.
He grinned at me as I sat beside him, "Hi! I'm Inuzuka Kiba!" His enthusiasm was infectious but I wasn't about to fully trust him yet. I tried making friends once, they laughed at me because of my name and had turned away.
"Mononoke." I replied slowly. I almost expected him to wrinkle his nose in disgust, or roar with laughter. But he did neither. Instead, he cocked his head, "What's your last name?"
Well, I never thought of that. I don't exactly have a last name because I don't have one but when I think about it, I didn't quite mind it until now.
Before I could answer, Iruka-sensei had interrupted us and called for attention.
"Alright, so I need to make sure everyone is in class so I'll just do another roll call." He said and the kids grew excited, though I hardly could understand why.
He began ticking off names, hands were raised, replies were excitedly given. He have pass the last names starting with 'H'. Does that mean Kakashi didn't write his last name beside mine? If so, what did he write? Maybe nothing?
"Mononoke." I snapped out of my thoughts and quickly raised my hand at the sound of my name, "Here!"
The classroom fell considerably silent.
Oh no.
A few whispers began to spread, I could hear a few of them.
"Did he say 'Mononoke'?"
"Isn't that supposed to mean 'demon'?"
"Does that mean she is a demon? That's scary..."
There it is. The taunts will start. Just because Kiba didn't mind doesn't mean the other kids wouldn't. I tensed up as I braced myself for what was coming.
On cue,a voice piped up loud, "She's a demon who's here to eat us!" A paper ball was thrown at my head. I winced, not because of the ball, but at the comment. I bet Kiba is going to avoid me now. Everyone is. They always do.
"Knock it off!" I heard someone scolded. Surprised, I turned to look beside me to see the source of the voice. Kiba was baring his teeth, "Leave her alone!"
"I bet she's going to eat you first, dog boy!" Another voice said.
"THAT WOULD BE ENOUGH!" The room hushed as everyone turned to look in front.
Iruka-sensei had an intimidating gaze as he looked at the class, "No one is to make fun of others like that. Whoever who had just said she's going to eat you and threw that paper ball, I know who you are and you will see me after school. If not, your parents will be noted of this behaviour. If I see anything like this going on again, there will be punishments. But since today's the first day of school, I would like to start off in a good, fair way. Am I clear?"
"Yes, sir." The class said in unison.
Some glares were still thrown my way but I was too hurt to care. Just because my name means 'demon' doesn't mean I am one, so why do they have to think that way? Why must they be so... mean?
"Hey, you okay?" I heard a voice asked beside me. Kiba had lean over slightly to look at me. I shook my head and smiled, "Yeah, I'm fine." Before he could say anything, I added quickly, "Y-you know, you don't have to do that just now. A lot of them might not be your friends anymore. S-so, if you don't like me, you can-"
"I know what it feels like." Kiba interrupted me. Blinking, I looked up at him and he continued, "The other kids always make fun of me because I'm like a dog, ya know, with my teeth and stuff." He bared his teeth a little showing his canines, "See? And it kinda sucks to get picked on. It's not nice. Besides, you heard what they called me. They don't like me much either."
"But-" I protested but he just grinned, "It doesn't matter. You're my friend now and friends always got your back!"
He reached his pinky finger to me, "I'll swear on it, if you don't believe me!" I hesitated but he reached over and pulled my hand to lock pinkies with his.
"There! Now we're friends!" He announced gladly and I felt relief washed over me. I gave him the biggest grin I could make, "Yeah!"
A little more tweaks again! Tell me what ya think! :3