Chapter nine: A woman scorned
"He did what?!" A flock of birds flew from the trees surrounding the main building, fearful of the furious roar that echoed through the village. Kurenai glanced up at the building in boredom. "Looks like Red found out." She glanced back at Gai, who's eyes were wide in shock, silent for once. "Great. She broke Gai." The woman looked back at the building. "I'd hate to be Mizuki right now…"
The blonde legend slammed her hands against the desk, snarling in righteous fury. "Iruka." The brunette glanced over, concerned for the girl. "Let me see your back." He opened his mouth to argue, but upon seeing the look on her face, complied with her wish. He gently placed his vest and shirt on the Hokage's desk. The young girl walked over to him, placing a cool hand on the bloody bandage encasing his torso. She pulled a jar from the bag clipped around her right thigh and handed it to him. "Have a clone smear this on your wound when it starts to scab over, it'll help heal it quicker." She turned to Sarutobi. "What did he do to Naruto?"
After Sarutobi relayed the story, she snarled once again. "Mizuki, you mean the creepy, white-haired little toad that teaches here?" upon the conformation, she growled. "Where is the slimy little git? I'll gut him like a fucking pig!?" Iruka, now re-clothed, placed his hand on her shoulder. She didn't flinch, too enraged to react to the touch. "Moriko, calm down. We're alright. It's just a-." "I don't care if you think it's just a flesh-wound. He could have killed you. You and Naruto are the only people here I can trust, the only people here that I care about. You two are the only people who ever treated me like I was even remotely human, Iruka. So, when somebody tells me that some jackass attacked my special people, Of course I'm gonna be pissed."
She panted heavily, ignoring the obvious stares of shock from everyone in the room. After she had caught her breath, she looked at Sarutobi. "I'm asking you Hokage-san. Where is he?" Before he could answer, the door burst open with two jounin escorting the offender in. "You!" Before they could react, Moriko had snatched him out of the jounins' grip, slamming him into the wall, blade at his neck. "Give me one good reason I shouldn't gut you now, Mizuki." She spat, hatred and bloodlust coating every word. The man's face grew deadly pale, his lips trembling. Even this psychopath wasn't stupid enough to not fear the deadly assassin.
The room was still, waiting to see just what the woman would do. Frustrated by his silence, she hit him with the handle of her blade. "Answer me!" Iruka, not wanting her to do something regrettable, wrapped an arm around her, gently tugging her from the pinned man, who cowered against the wall. "That's enough. I know you're angry, but this isn't the right thing to do. Please, I'm asking you not to kill him." They watched as she fidgeted, fingering the cool blade. Someone gasped as she spun, hurling the knife at Mizuki's body. It landed inches from his neck. "If I ever see you again, Mizuki, I will kill you." The jounin lifted the terrified man from the wall, carrying him from the room. The door closed, leaving the four alone once more.
"Moriko…" She glanced up at the teacher, her expression hidden behind her mask. "I understand that you're upset, I am too. I just don't want you to do something that you might regret." She was silent for a moment, before replying. "My life is full of regrets Iruka, what's one more?" Before he could respond, she walked from the room, saying. "If you and Naruto don't feel like going to Ichiraku or anything, feel free to stop by and I'll cook."
The next day, Moriko walked into Iruka's classroom. "You wanted to see me, Iruka?" The brunette smiled, gesturing for her to come towards him. "Hokage-san has requested that you are put in a genin cell, to socialize and help train the village's future ninja." "Alright, where-." "I was here first, Ino-pig!" "You wish, forehead! I was first!" The two girls squabbled as they attempted to beat each other to where Naruto and Sasuke sat. Sakura was there first. "Hey Naruto." The blonde stared up at the pinkette in adoration. "Y-yes Sakura?" "You're in my seat!" Moriko's eyes narrowed. "I don't like her, she seems like a complete bitch. What could Naruto possibly see in her?" Her eyes trailed to where Hinata Hyuuga sat, shooting shy glances at the boisterous blonde. "She would be a much better choice, at least she harbors feelings towards him." She glanced back over at the squabble, and her eyes widened. Naruto was in a lip-lock with the Uchiha brat!
She chuckled as Naruto flew away from the emo, gagging and spitting in disgust. Sakura glared at him, an aura of hate surrounding her. "Hey Naruto….. You're dead." Within moments, Moriko was standing in between the two, an evil idea forming in her mind. "Really, Haruno? If you had been paying attention, you would have noticed that Naruto was pushed into the uchiha, it was an accident. However, from the blush on Uchiha's face, he didn't seem too opposed." The class went silent before Moriko started chuckling. "This is why you should pay attention to your surroundings, you miss out on important information, and won't know what is real, and what's a joke." Sakura's face burned red, and sasuke glared at her before huffing and turning away. "Ah, the joys of mindgames." She turned to look at Iruka. "You should probably start naming off the cells, while they're all quiet…"
Moriko lay on Iruka's desk, the classroom completely abandoned other than the pinkette, the blonde, and the pinkett'es dark-haired obsession. She sighed, the sensei of this squad was so late, everyone else had already left. She heard a creak and glanced over, seeing Naruto place a chalkboard eraser on top of the door. "Naruto, what are you doing?" The pinkette whined, glaring at him in disapproval. "Teaching him a lesson about being late. We're the only ones here, sakura." "Oh, as if a jounin would fall for-." The door slid open and the eraser fell on top of the sensei's head. Naruto started laughing and Sakura started sucking up.
Moriko lazily glanced over, examining the man. Spiky white hair, black eye, he wore a mask over his mouth and nose and his headband over his other eye. She felt herself blush. "Why am I blushing? I'm not embarrassed." "How do I say this… my first impression of you… I hate you." Moriko chuckled, bemused by his blatancy. He wasn't the type to sugarcoat things, that much was obvious. He glanced over at her, his eye widening slightly before his expression went neutral. "Meet me on the academy roof." He disappeared in a puff of smoke and she stretched before hopping off the table. This was going to be interesting, that much was certain.