Night Rain
Chapter Three
"What?" My mother breathed out. "No, this can't be."
"Im so sorry, madam," Even Gai had lost the sparkle in his eyes. After a long silent moment he subtly cleared his throat. "I hate to say this but we will need your cooperation for identifying the bodies."
She managed a small nod and burst out in cries. Gai gave us a weak smile and patted me on the shoulder before he left.
Opposed to my mother's shaking and sobbing, I remained still and silent.
I thought back to the picture that was outside.
The aftermath of mass destruction had been evident all the way to the borders. It looked like someone had hit the earth from under the ground.
"This is such a natural disaster," I overheard someone saying.
For me it was now evident it was a deliberate attack. I'd watched too many movies to know that natural disasters don't end with the village; someone had planned this all along. Furrowing my brows, I searched for a certain person but in the crowd I wasn't able to spot her.
'Does she have something to do with this?'
I hissed unintentionally as the anger in me rose. My world suddenly crumbled to pieces; too literally for my tastes. The painful realization that I lived in a lie this 8 years hit me hard. Silly me, I have actually believed I was safe in this damn village. I have succumbed to the idea I could survive in the Narutoverse.
Clenching my fists, I left the fury overwhelm me. I've tried to control it before; now it was pointless.
Somehow I have ended up in here. I didn't want it, I've never wished for it but regardless I was reborn here. I was detached from my real parents, from my friends, from my life. And once here there was no way back. I got a new body, new parents, new friends, new life. And although I accepted it as who I am now, deep inside I was still that girl from the 'real world'. Whatever I did, that part from me would never accept the new reality. For it, it was all a long dream I would eventually wake up from. It was, let's call it, the dark in me – in Amaya. One would think it goes away with time. It does. With every passing year I felt it get smaller and smaller. And it all shattered to pieces when this tragedy happened.
Now my father was dead. Like it or not, he was my biological father in some odd sense. In the mixture of emotions that I had inside me, I knew I had love stored for him. Other than this one occasion he never gave me a reason to hate him. He was kind and caring; he had always been. 8 years was a long time, even longer when you live them for a second time. During those years I've seen him every single day and whether I wanted it or not I grew emotionally attached to him.
And yet right now I felt nothing.
I couldn't cry because of the dark, that had taken control over my being and as for it he was not a parent to me, I was indifferent. It was furious. Someone dared to disturb its sleep in the back of my mind and he was going to pay dearly for that.
At this exact moment the decision, to which I hadn't been able to find an answer, to become a ninja or not, looked so simple.
"Amaya!" A distant call reached me.
I was forced out of my musing. My sight focused the worried faces of Dai and his father staring at me.
"What happened?" I asked as I sat up. Strange, I didn't remember lying down in the first place.
"As soon as we heard the news we came back to find you," Dai's father explained. "When we arrived you had already passed out."
"Pass out? I don't…" I looked around, noticing the setting had changed.
'How long have I been out?'
I saw my mother still crying at the bench next to us. Dai's mother was holding her in a hug, probably trying to calm her down. When she looked our way she immediately ran to me.
"Aya! Oh my God, don't you dare scare me like that again!" she hugged me tightly and sniffled.
I patted her back to show I was there for her.
'My father…'
A single tear rolled down my cheek.
At some point the available medics gathered the frightening few survivors out of the tent.
Outside, Asuma Sarutobi finished a cigarette.
"Is everyone here?" he asked loud enough to be heard.
"Everyone that is in condition to move," one of the nurses answered.
"That's good," he cleared his throat.
I took my time to look closely at him in the dim light of the twilight. Asuma had never been one I paid much attention to until he had died, when I had cried my eyes out. Needless to say, it was interesting to see him real.
"Due to the unfortunate circumstances that have befallen this village, I would like to inform you that Konohagakure will be contended to welcome you there."
A murmuring aroused from the crowd.
"What is that supposed to mean?"
"Are you asking us to leave the village you deliberately put us in?"
"So, the village is not being rebuilt?"
"Why so courteous?"
These were one of the many I could hear.
Asuma looked a bit taken aback by this reactions and turned to Gai, who was standing next to him. They whispered something and with a nod the Sarutobi looked back at the crowd.
"Konohagakure is taking full responsibility about what has happened," Everyone shut up at this sudden statement and turned their full attention back to him. "I'm afraid your village won't be rebuilt. This territory is no longer safe for civilians."
I raised a brow at this strange behavior. What was Konoha gaining from this? Were they really responsible? And if they were why not repair the damage? I couldn't come up with answers for all the questions but I was sure that wasn't the entire truth.
My mother looked confused as well.
"Mom, what are we going to do?" I asked innocently.
The situation was strange and the motives questionable, yes, but it was a chance to go to Konoha.
Although I had calmed down after my initial anger burst, I was still quite determined to ride along the ninja journey. The fear of losing my life (again) had apparently unlocked some sensible amount of bravery in me and I was eager to get it done. Also, I had never been patient.
She seemed to be very deep in thought. I couldn't blame her; what she endured today was terrifying. Her face was swollen, the redness left from the endless crying noticeable even in the dark.
She rested her head in her hands and let out a deep sigh, "I guess we will do as they say."
A slight tingle in my stomach signified my anxiety.
After a limit of 30 minutes we had been given to pack some things had passed, in which we didn't really retrieve much, we were ordered to line up and wait for further instructions.
Dai's parents had been thinking about staying here and almost made my mother rethink her decision, much to my terror. It had taken both Dai's and mine manipulation to convince them.
Also, this time around I didn't fail to see Kamiko. She was trailing along with our group with a face that had to resemble fear but was a pure grimace.
We were going to travel the whole night to reach Konoha at dawn. Measured as a straight line the distance wasn't big but since there was a mountain separating the villages we had to pass round, it took half a day. Another thing slowing us down was the immobility of most of the villagers. They had various injuries, some bad, some worse, to the point they couldn't walk.
We stopped multiple times to rest and still I felt absolutely miserable. Every muscle in my body throbbed and I could particularly see myself not being able to move for days.
The weak light of the moon gave the surroundings a sinister note and the wind was whistling an eerie tune. It looked more like we were going to the depths of hell rather than to the most humane village of the Five Great Nations.
With the loom of the sun everything changed.
Finally crossing to the other side of the mountain we stopped for a break. The reddish light of the dawn shone in the sky, giving us all the chills. I looked up at the sky, towards the mountain where it reflected. My blood instantly froze as I saw four stone faces carved into it.
The Hokage Monument.
I gaped in awe as I realized I had been living just behind it for 8 years. It looked so majestic. It was really incredible to be able to see this anime landmark being real.
With a smile on my face I looked at the distant dot that was Konohagakure. After all I ended up here.
The arrival in Konoha was pretty formal much to my surprise. Not only were we greeted at the very entrance but it was the Hokage himself who did it. Well sort of.
After a double check from the shinobi on post at the gate we were allowed to pass. We were led a few meters ahead where two other shinobi guarded the Sandaime. One of them was Genma, who I had met almost 7 years ago. It sure brought back memories, mostly of me being mortified of the situation. Ah good old times of confusion and denial.
Sarutobi dismissed all shinobi of our group and left only Gai and Asuma. They gave him a scroll, containing details about the mission, I guessed, and he nodded in approval.
"I wanted to welcome you all personally in Konohagakure and also express my sincere apologies," he started, after exhaling a ball of smoke from his pipe. "I would be contented if you grow to feel this village as your home again. Everything of first importance you may need will be provided," he exhaled more smoke and coughed. "Now, if you'd excuse me I have to be heading back to my office. Gai and Asuma here will escort you to your new homes."
As we were once again led to somewhere I noted that Konoha was a lot bigger than it seemed in the anime. My inner fangirl was having a moment and distracted my concerns.
Gai and Asuma left us in a neighborhood, in front of two 4 story buildings. Each family was given keys and after making sure no one needed help the two jonin took off.
Mom's and my flat was in the second block of flats on the second floor and above Dai's apartment. Inside the flats were pretty simple, furnished with just the essentials. The front door led into the living room which was also a kitchen. From there another door revealed a hallway, two rooms on each side and one in the very end. The side ones were the two small bedrooms and the last the bathroom. It wasn't anything impressive, not compared to the house we lived in before.
I chose the right room, because it had these amazing big windows. I bet the night sky was going to look amazing through them. The other furniture didn't differ from the other bedroom; there was a big bed, a wooden desk, a wardrobe with a full sized mirror and a bookshelf. Simple and convenient.
I looked at the reflection in the mirror and was a bit taken aback when one poor looking kid looked back at me. Its face was dirty with one nasty cut above the right eyebrow. The raven hair was messy and tangled, its normal perfect curls deformed and sticking in every direction. Its clothes were ripped and stained with blood and God-knows what else.
I patted my cheek to make sure it was really me. I was a huge mess with a desperate need for a shower.
Buying clothes had been my excuse to persuade Dai to go around with me. (Other than the fact I really needed them) We had been given money as compensation for the lost properties and we were out to spend them. That and the curiosity from being in one of the Five Great Nations.
For Dai it was pure amazement – seeing the bigger world. For me on the other hand, it was something like a dream come true. Walking along the streets of Konoha – one of the most famous places in anime.
So far we had gone through a lot of shops and were finished stocking. I hadn't seen any canon characters except for some jonin I couldn't name. It was still hard to grasp how big the village was.
I was making a mental challenge to get to know every pebble in here as well when I smelled something delicious. I didn't know what it was but man it was dragging me and Dai by the nose. We hadn't had much food since yesterday and our stomachs were both rumbling.
We followed the scent a bit further until we found ourselves in front of a little food shop with white curtain-like things.
I didn't need to read the name to know exactly what it was.
With a bright smile on my face, I grabbed Dai's hand and pulled him in. My heart skipped a beat as I realized I could've seen one certain blond but he was absent so yeah, unlucky I guess.
It was empty and we chose the most remote seats at the very left of the bar.
The shopkeeper came from the kitchen and smiled at us. "Welcome to Ichiraku ramen! I haven't seen you before. Travelers?"
"Just arrived here this morning," I answered and looked around for a menu. I had never in my life tried ramen and didn't really know what to order.
"Then you came to the right place," he exclaimed then saw my confused looks. "Let me serve you what we sell best."
Dai and I both nodded, in unison with our starving stomachs. The man disappeared, leaving us alone again.
"Ironic."
"What?" I raised a brow at Dai.
"Remember a few years ago when you said we could join the Academy? Fate brought us here."
"Do you really believe in fate?" I snickered though I wasn't the one to speak. "Though, there is something about it."
Maybe fate was really giving us signs. Why throw me in all this shit for no reason? Maybe I was reborn here with an important task and fate was just helping me to get to work. I was 8 now and I knew Academy starts at 5 or 6 so I'd missed my chance. Was I even meant to be a ninja? My role is to probably bring peace without force or violence. Yeah, that's it, fate doesn't want me to become a ninja but still I need to be close to the main characters so thus Konoha.
"You know, we should try for the Academy!"
Who am I kidding, I don't believe in fate. I got stuck in the shinobi world and I'm going to make the best of it. So why not have some fun?
"Made you decision, ne?" he laughed and looked up in thought.
"Well I didn't do so much training for nothing," I replied, laughing as well.
I had always wondered what Dai's motives were. Unlike me, he didn't know much about shinobi life, the details in particular. And most certainly, he didn't do it because he was a huge fan. Was it in people's blood in here or was it similar to us wanting to become policemen and firefighters as kids? A mystery I wanted to solve.
I poked him on the shoulder to attract his attention, "Earth to Dai, hello?"
He snapped out of it and looked at me with his raspberry eyes, "I don't know. It feels strange to do it for real."
Sighing, I looked away. Couldn't blame him for that but without him I wouldn't have the courage to go to the Academy.
"You know-" I started but Teuchi arrived with our orders.
He placed the bowls of steaming goodness in front of us and wished us a nice meal.
"Oh and also," he added. "I kind of overheard your conversation. If you want to become a ninja Konoha is the best place and I say it not because it's my home but because it's true."
"Yeah, the other villages are pretty rough with their students," I showed my knowledge of the topic, proudly shaking my head.
"Right," Teuchi nodded. "Don't be afraid to try and who knows – you may become our next heroes."
"Thank you," I smiled back at the old man.
The rest of our meal was silent, both of us enjoying it at a max. I swear to God this was the best thing I'd eaten so far in this world. We paid, thanked again and left.
It was late pass lunch time and the sun was burning in the sky. We were planning to continue our reconnaissance mission but a sudden hindrance occurred.
It was walking straight towards us with a fake friendly smile.