Hey guys, Microsoft is finally working on my computer again. Anyways, I'd like to thank AliceBeilschmidt for the question ideas she submitted and I hope your ankle is feeling better!
Chapter Six: Diving into an assassin's past
Iruka turned to address the class. "Alright, whoever has a question, raise your hand and when chosen, tell us your name." Sakura's hand immediately shot into the air. "Alright Pinky, what's your question?" She smiled brightly. "My Name is Sakura Haruno. I was wondering if it was true that you can summon demons." Moriko nodded. "It's true, however, the do enjoy popping up from time to time, so don't be surprised if you see any of them while I'm here." Another hand shot up in the air. "Alright, swirly cheeks." "My name is Chouji Akimichi, what's your favorite food?" Moriko gave a bright laugh. "Well, that's a rather difficult question, since I absolutely love food. I would have to say, either ramen or dango." Hands started popping up all over. "Alright… Kiba, was it? What's your question?" The dog-lover grinned. "My name is Kiba Inuzuka. What is your favorite animal?" She grinned. "Why, dogs of course! Canines are great companions to have. Actually, I was saved by a pack of wolves when I was a kid."
Kiba's eyes widened. "What happened?" Moriko laughed. "It's a long story kiddo, maybe I'll tell you about it later." Kiba nodded, beaming happily. "Alright, blondie." The blonde girl smirked, tossing her ponytail off her shoulder. "I'm Ino yamanaka. What was your education?" "Oh, I didn't go to academy, if that's what you're asking. I've taught myself and I've been taught a few by my summons." Ino opened her mouth, about to continue, but Moriko cut her off. "Alright, um… the girl with the violet eyes, in the back. I can tell you want to ask me something." The girl fidgeted, pressing her two pointer fingers together as she blushed. "Ano…. M-my name is Hinata H-hyuuga. Um.. I was wondering i-if…" Her blush darkened and she ducked her head. Moriko smiled, speaking gently. "Go ahead. You can ask me, I don't bite." "Um…. Do you feel bad… t-taking a life?" Moriko reclined against Iruka's desk.
"Well…. In this line of work, you can't really be squeamish. However, since I used to work in freelance, roaming from village to village, I got the ability to choose which missions to take. However, you have to be pretty well-known to do that. The work I usually choose deals with tracking down and eliminating serious threats, such as spies with information that could kill entire villages, serial murderers, child prostitution rings, you get the idea. So when you do work like that, you're doing something that does a lot of good. Protecting those who can't protect themselves like we can. So I can't really say that I feel bad about taking a life that has taken the lives of several other people."
Hinata nodded, a small smile on her face. Maybe she could use this as inspiration. To be honest, hinata would have rather become a medic nin, but certain… circumstances wouldn't allow that. Perhaps, she could do something that would do good, something like what the legend before her did. Moriko smiled gently. The girl was almost painfully shy, but she had a gut feeling that this girl, with the right motivation, could become rather powerful. "Wait, what do you mean "used to"?" She turned to face the male who had spoken. "And you are?" "Neji Hyuuga." "So your related to miss bright eyes. I can see the family resemblance. Your hokage has offered me residence here in konoha, and I accepted. To be honest, moving from place to place has grown tiresome and I wanted to find something… stable, so to speak."
"Does that mean you're not going to wear your mask anymore?" The kids began to murmur excitedly. "What's under the mask?" Moriko lifted her hand, effectively silencing them. "Not as of right now. Maybe after enough time has passed, I will. But for now, no." She could see several of the kids practically deflate, pouting. She chuckled, they were so expressive. It was refreshing, since she was usually stuck with others who were practically robots. "Alright, how about mister glower over there. What's your question?" "My name… is Sasuke Uchiha. Why did you decide to become a killer?" Iruka's head snapped to stare disapprovingly at the loner. "Sasuke, I don't think that's an appropriate question-." "It's all right Iruka-san. I don't mind." The teacher went silent, sending one last look of disapproval before turning his attention back to her. "Well… I became an assassin for several reasons…"
"Freak!" "Monster!" "Abomination!" Words were hissed at her as she followed meekly behind the woman in black. Here she was back at the orphanage, at least she was inside this time. The last time she was returned, she was chained to a doghouse out back for three weeks. A few days ago, the elderly couple that adopted her had brought her back, unwilling to care for her much longer. Usually it was several months at a time before she was re-adopted. She was led through a large entryway and brought to the familiar room with the angry faced lady and a strange man. He had slitted yellow-ish eyes that was surrounded by purple paint and was wearing a jounin outfit. However, his headband was missing.
"This man wants to adopt you, Moriko. Be grateful that someone wants a monster like you, and has payed a pretty penny as well." The child looked up at the bag of coin with empty eyes, then looked at the strange man, who knelt down to look her in the eye. "My name is Orochimaru. I don't have a wife, or a family and I'm quite lonely being in a big house by myself. I would like some company, would you like to come with me, daughter?" She looked up to see a kind smile and kind eyes, and gave a slight smile of her own, nodding shyly.
Three days later, she realized just how much of a monster he truly was. He had this man tie her to beds and inject her with strange chemicals and shove tubes down her throat and nose. When he realized that they had been found out, he left her in a cage and set the place on fire. She had barely escaped with her life.
She shook her head and continued her explanation. "Anyway, to answer your question Sasuke, I guess the main reason I became an assassin was because I've seen people suffer injustice and be taken advantage of, with nobody there to help them. I became an assassin to protect the ones who cannot protect themselves and of course…. I have personal reasons, but I won't go into that." She turned to look at Iruka. "I think that's enough questions for now, sensei. I'm sure you have other important things to teach them." He nodded, smiling. "Thank you for speaking to the class, I hope they weren't too invasive." She waved his concern off. "It's fine, sensei. They're curious. It's perfectly natural." Iruka's smile widened. "Well, would you like to observe today's class?"
Moriko lay on the academy rooftop, staring up at the clouds as the children play below. Naruto was swarmed by other students, who were curious about the assassin he had brought with him. The whisker-scarred blonde was eating up the attention, careful not to reveal her gender or her identity. She heard the door open and glanced over to see a boy slouched over, his hands in his pocket. He had spiky brown hair that was pulled into a ponytail and grey eyes. Everything about his screamed lazy, but she had a feeling there was more to him than that. He stopped at her right and lay down next to her, staring up at the sky. "It's nice, isn't it?" He looked over at her, as though evaluating the pros and cons of communicating with her.
"The weather?" She shook her head. "Staring at the clouds. There's no thinking needed, no emotion, nothing. You can just clear your mind and just… relax." He seemed surprised by her statement but gave a slow grin and looked back up at the sky. "Yeah. It's nice to see someone who can appreciate the calm and the quiet." "Hey guys!" Moriko sighed and looked over to see Naruto standing in the doorway. "Class is about to begin." She pushed herself up and dusted herself off. "We'll be there in a minute Naruto, go on ahead." The blonde nodded and left. "Hey." She turned around to look at him. "Why is it that you hide the fact you're a girl?" She laughed. "Y'know that you're the only one that has caught onto that? It's not like I go through painstaking lengths to hide it. It's not my gender I'm hiding, it's my identity." He nodded, understanding completely. "Shall we go?" He smiled. "Yeah. My names Shikamaru Nara, by the way." "Nice to meet ya. You can just call me 'Red' for now."