Author's Notes: Alright everyone, here's the second chapter. Thank you to everyone who put this story on story alert, and thanks to CrashingUpward for writing a review! I chose to have Haruka not start out meeting all the Naruto characters for a couple reason, the main one being that I know this type of story usually has one of two problems: Either the author tries too hard to make the story exactly like the actual plot and it turns into a retelling of the entire story with their character watching from the side and making comments, or the author starts to focus too much on their own character and the story turns into the main character ignoring everything anyone says except for the main character's love interest, both of which are things that I want to avoid. My thought is that if I set up a strong character personality and maybe a few extra original characters that I can flesh out as the story goes on then when Haruka meets the Naruto characters I will have enough of a feel for her personality that I should be able to focus on making the other characters be in character as much as humanly possible without sacrificing her own personality in the process, because I don't know about you guys but I personally hate it when someone writes a character doing something they would never do. As always, constructive criticism is much appreciated as it helps me be a better writer for you guys. I've rambled enough now, please enjoy!
Chapter 2:
Civilization
'What's up?' That's the first thing you think to say? She mentally chided herself as she followed closely behind the man and girl that she was thoroughly convinced had saved her life. She hadn't been surprised when the two of them had looked confused at her less-than-thought-out salutation, but thankfully she was able to save herself and come up with a better- and more acceptable- greeting, and the rest of the conversation had gone about as smoothly as she could have hoped, given the circumstances.
The man had introduced himself as Kenta Aragaki and had explained that the girl next to him was his daughter, Miyu. He then went on to tell Haruka that he was something like a traveling salesman, and that he and his daughter were actually on their way to deliver something- some sort of package- to a nearby village. He also seemed very concerned for Haruka's well-being, asking where she lived and if she had any parents. She chose to ignore his questions and instead asked him what village he was headed to. Obviously she didn't know the name of every village out there, but she assumed she couldn't have been too far from her city, and if the name did ring a bell she could go with them and find a phone to call home when they got there.
Needless to say, she had been very confused when the man had told her they were headed towards a village by the name of "Konohagakure". She hadn't heard of a village by that name in her entire life. Just how far from home was she?
Again he asked where she lived, but when she told him the name of her city his face only drew a blank expression and he shook his head. She knew she must have looked pretty pathetic to him. Here she was, a girl not much older than his own daughter, lost in the woods in the middle of the night with no idea where home was, and clearly in need of a bath and some new clothes. Like a stray dog. She thought. But if it helps me get home I don't care what I look like. He had little choice but to bring her with.
As they walked along she took to star-gazing. She had never seen the stars so bright before in her life, a fact that only made her more worried. It's going to be fine. She tried to reassure herself. You'll be back home before you know it, and all this is going to seem like a bad dream. She couldn't help but feel tired at the thought of dreaming. She didn't know how long she had been asleep for, but it couldn't have been more than an hour or two.
Her legs felt like lead as she trudged along behind the traveling salesman and his daughter, doing her best to keep up with them. Kenta had told her that they had no intentions of stopping and that they'd be able to make it to the village by dawn if they kept up the pace. She knew she wasn't in any position to argue with his kindness, but exhaustion was starting to take its toll on her. She wasn't used to walking for hours without any resting, and she was thankful that Miyu had been kind enough to lend her a pair of shoes so she wouldn't have to go walking around in only socks anymore. They were a tight fit, but it was that or nothing so she didn't complain. Looking down she examined the shoes more closely. She had never seen anything like them before, noticing the design was similar to a sandal in some ways.
Along with the shoes, Miyu had given her a new shirt to put on and a comb to brush through her hair. The shirt- like the shoes- was a little too tight, and the material it was made of was less than comfortable, but at least she didn't look like she had been raised in the wild anymore. It hadn't taken long to brush out her hair, but she relished the feeling of no longer having a rat's nest sitting on top of her head. Taking a little bit of water that the Aragakis' had with them, she rinsed off her face and arms as best she could. When she was done she gave a triumphant grin, and the looks of approval from both Miyu and Kenta told her that she had cleaned herself up pretty well, considering.
She felt her eyelids start to close as they pressed on, and she bit down hard on her lip in an attempt to wake herself up. It worked for a minute or two before she had to repeat the action to stop herself from drifting off again. At this rate she was going to end up mangling her lower lip just to get to this village that she was only half convinced even existed. It was going to be a long night, of that much she was positive.
She wasn't sure how it was possible, but somehow she made it. The sun had just started to peak its head over the horizon when she saw it, although she had trouble deciding just what "it" was. She assumed it was the village they were heading to, but it didn't look like any village she had ever seen before. The entirety of it was surrounded by what could only be described as a giant wall that looked to have only a single gate to get in or out of.
As they approached she took note of the shear size of the place. This is way too big to be called a village. A little small for a city, but still. The wall blocked out any view of the buildings that she might have, and because it was so early there was no one going to or from it. She could feel her stomach twist and turn with anticipation when they neared the giant open gates.
When they were close enough to be able to see in she made every attempt to do so, the overwhelming fatigue she had felt only moments before dissolving as she braced herself to see her first civilization since waking up in the middle of that forest. Unfortunately, nothing could have prepared her for what she saw.
It was hard to put into words what was so wrong about this village; there was nothing extraordinary about Konohagakura besides the fact that just wasn't possible. She was accustomed to seeing giant buildings made out of metal and concrete pushed so close together that one single block could house hundreds- if not thousands or millions- of people. What happened to the streets so crowded you couldn't move a inch without getting in someone else's way? Where did the constant honking of car horns disappear to? And since when did they move Mount Rushmore out of America? Then again, Haruka couldn't recognize a single face on the giant stone sculpture as being a president from the United States, so she really couldn't call it Mount Rushmore, not that that was much comfort to her though.
I'm so screwed. She said it to herself over and over again until the words started to blend together and it no longer sounded like a real sentence anymore, and then she said it a few more times just for good measure. She could feel the hope that had come with being found by Kenta and Miyu earlier begin to shrivel up as they neared the gates, and felt it die completely when a man who had been standing at the entrance noticed them and approached.
If the man's face hadn't held such a serious expression Haruka might have thought he getting ready to go to a costume party. He had spiky black hair, some sort of boot-sandal hybrid on for shoes, and the lower part of his legs seemed to be wrapped in bandages. His pants were a very dark navy color that ended near mid-calf, he wore a long-sleeved shirt of exactly the same color, and for reasons that Haruka almost didn't care to know he also had bandages running over the bridge of his nose. On his forehead he sported some kind of metal forehead protector that had a strange symbol that Haruka had never seen before etched into the surface. What had confused her the most, however, was what he was wearing over his shirt. It was some sort of vest- that much was obvious, but as he came to a stop in front of the three of them she couldn't help but notice the similarities between it and a flak jacket.
What the hell? I thought flak jackets were used by the military for protection against shrapnel! Oh God, what kind of post-apocalyptic hell-world have I stumbled upon? I'm going to die like this, aren't I? I'm going to be killed here without any idea where I am or how I got here, and the only two people who would be kind enough to bury my body wont even know what to write on the tombstone. This is it, Haruka, time to make your peace with this world. Silently bemoaning her tragic end, Haruka had almost been too busy to catch the first part of the conversation that ensued between Kenta and this strange military man, but came back to reality when she heard the man speak.
"Hold on, no one gets past here without permission. Do you have paperwork?" His voice was fitting, the type that made you feel small and insignificant without any effort on his part. She watched as Kenta set down his bag and pulled out a set of papers that he presented to the man in front of him.
Military-man took the papers and began flipping through them, his eyes scanning over each page quickly. At last, when he had reached the final page, he looked up and his eyes fell upon Haruka and Miyu. "Who are they?" He asked the salesman, making a gesture towards the two young girls. "They're my daughters." Kenta said without missing a beat. Military-man looked at the two of them again, and it took Haruka every amount of self-control she had not to start squirming under his intense gaze.
And then, all at once, his expression softened, and he smiled. "I see. Well then, welcome to Konoha!" Haruka let out a breath she didn't realize she had been holding. He actually believed him. Maybe luck is on my side just this once! Kenta thanked the man, slung his bag back over his shoulders, and was off before Haruka could even blink. She lurched forward, nearly tripping over herself as she raced to keep up with the traveling salesman, taking her first steps into the wonderful village known as Konohagakure no Sato- "The Village Hidden in the Leaves".
To say that Haruka was lost would be the biggest understatement of the year. She was beyond lost. She was in some unknown village in the middle of God-knows-where with no means of returning home any time soon, sleeping in what was quite possibly the most shady-looking hotel room she had ever been in in her life- if it could even be called a "hotel"- with two complete strangers looking after her. Yes, "lost" couldn't even begin to describe her situation.
Ok, so they aren't complete strangers, but I did meet them less than a day ago. I wouldn't exactly call them my good friends yet. After they got through the gates Kenta made a beeline for the nearest inn, at least that's what Haruka decided it was. Upon entering the small building they were greeted by a stern-faced old woman that eyed the two young girls with a look that seemed to scream "if I hear so much as a peep out of either of you while you're here I'm throwing you all out on the streets", which admittedly was quite a look to be able to pull off.
Haruka was starting to wish she could just disappear. What's with this village? We haven't been here five minutes and I already feel like the whole place hates us! The old woman took some money from Kenta and produced a set of two keys from under the desk that she stood behind, handing them to the salesman before retreating through a door marked "Employees Only". Kenta turned to the girls and gave them a broad smile, dangling the keys up in front of himself. "Alright, looks like we'll be staying in number 12! We'll take a quick nap and then you two can help me set up shop, sound good?"
A "quick nap"? Do these people ever sleep? She reluctantly nodded her head as Miyu chimed in with a far too energetic "Yes, sir!" for Haruka's liking. Where does she get that energy? "Good!" Kenta grinned, and they were on their way again.
What really confused Haruka about the "inn" was that you had to go outside to get to where you were staying, almost like a cross between a motel and some apartments. They took a set of stairs up to get to their room on the second floor, stopping in front of a door with the number "12" painted on it. Kenta unlocked the door, flung it open and flicked on the lights. Haruka stepped in last and let her eyes scan the place, allowing herself to take everything in.
The place was... Well, it certainly left something to be desired. The walls were a light shade of gray that did nothing to hide the cracks and dents that were scattered across it. A wooden border ran along the bottom-half of the walls, coming a little higher than Haruka's waist. The whole place was divided into four areas. The first was a similar to a living room, but only in that it had a couch pushed up against a wall with a small table sitting in front of it. The second area was a kitchen, the third was a door that she assumed led to a bathroom, and the fourth looked to be a bedroom with two beds in it. "So whaddaya think?" Kenta asked as he set his bag down on the table in front of the couch. Haruka had to search for the right words. "It's... cozy?" Sure, we'll go with that. Kenta chuckled at her comment. "Cozy, yeah? You're right, it is pretty cozy in here."
She was happy he hadn't taken offense to her comment. It's not that she wasn't grateful to him, she might as well have owed him her life, this just wasn't what she was used to. Thankfully he seemed to realize that. "There's two beds in the bedroom, I'll take the couch. You two go and get some rest, I'll wake you up in a bit." Haruka was about to protest- surely she should have the couch and he and his daughter could have the beds- but the look on his face told her that there would be no arguing and so she gave up, following Miyu into the bedroom.
She didn't bother to change her clothes, that would have taken too much effort and energy. Miyu took the one closest to the door so she took the bed next to the window, sitting on it as she took off her shoes and socks before slipping under the covers. The bed was hard and she had doubts about when the last time the sheets had been washed when a small cloud of dust lifted into the air as she moved the covers, but by that point she really couldn't care less. She had a roof over her head and a bed to sleep in, and for the time that was all that mattered.