Chapter 24
"Homura-sama, Koharu-sama." Susumu says as we enter the room. The two elderly people raise their heads to look at us.
"Who are you lot?" Koharu speaks with a gush.
"Uchida's squad if I'm not mistaken." Homura answers.
"Oh, Uchida's. Yes, call him in." Koharu speaks, beckoning to a Jonin standing by the door. The Jonin bows.
"M'lady." He speaks before disappearing. We stood around for a minute until he came back with another Jonin.
"Yamashiro." Koharu says. This new Jonin walks past us and gives her a respectful bow.
"Yes, Koharu-sama?" He replies.
"You are taking Uchida Komaru's place as Jonin leader of Team Komaru until Uchida recovers from his illness." Koharu says.
"Yes ma'am." The Jonin replies, then faces us. "You must be Komaru-san's squad, correct?"
"Yes!" I reply, then stare at his red-framed, oval-shaped sunglasses. He chuckles in his throat.
"They look like a rather green, nourishing patch to me." He jokes.
"Aoba. Please do not joke around." Homura speaks.
"Sorry." He replies. "I can't help it."
'Green and nourishing?' I look at the three of us, I'm wearing Gai-sensei's ultimate bodysuit, Susumu has a green shirt, and Daisuke.. has green eyes. "Ohhh, I get it!" I say, then start laughing. They look at me strangely.
".. Heh, so you get my humor little broccoli?" Aoba asks, grinning at me.
"Broccoli?" I ask.
"Well.. look at you!" He laughs. I pout.
"I'm not little!" I grumble.
"You are to me." He sniggers. Okay, he had me there, he's like a tower compared to me.
"Enough, leave all that for your leisure time." Koharu gushes, becoming impatient.
"Sorry." Aoba says, facing the to elders again.
"Now as for this mission, it is rather important that it successes." Homura says.
"Aren't all missions like that?" Daisuke asks. Susumu growls and hits him over the back of his head.
"Ow.."
Homura clears his throat. "The mission is this; find and capture a rogue ninja."
"R-rogue ninja?" I stutter.
"Don't worry yourself young one. This criminal is only C-rank, the four of you should be able to bring him down." Homura says.
"Sounds simple enough." Susumu says.
"C-rank?.. That's nothing." Aoba says.
"Precisely. This is thus a C-rank mission. This person's name is Shigeki Masataro. Distinctly, he has white hair, a scar down his left cheek, and usually wears black clothing. The reason we want you to capture this man is because not only did he betray his village, he also stole a rather important scroll from our forbidden library." Homura explains. "The main importance of this mission is to retrieve the scroll before it lands in the wrong hands. And if the situation becomes too dire, you have permission to kill this man."
"I understand." Aoba says.
"Uh yeah, we do too." Susumu says. I stand up straight and salute.
"I understand too!" I exclaim. They all sweatdrop.
"Alright, where was his last seen location?" Aoba asks.
"The lodging town, not too far from Konohagakure. It should take you roughly a day and a half to get there." Homura says.
"So either leave now or very early hours in the morning." Koharu says.
"Yes ma'am." Aoba says.
"We gotta pack!" I exclaim.
"Well duh!" Susumu scoffs.
"I will meet you three at the gates in 10 minutes, alright?" Aoba says.
"I UNDERSTAND! NOW I WILL GO PACK!" I exclaim loudly, making them cringe.
"Stop shouting!" Susumu gushes.
"I had to get it off my chest..." I say. Susumu glares at me. "Uh... 10 minutes!" I say then run off home to pack.
Just 30 minutes out of the village and we had to stop.. Why? Because apparently boys can't control their bladders.
I lean against a tree with my arms folded and eyes closed, waiting for them.. Wherever they are. They went to go behind a bush but they were being so immature that I couldn't handle it and walked off a little further away.
I sigh to myself. 'How long does it take to pee?' I open an eye and see a kid in front of me. I blink. He was glaring at me.
"Uh...?"
"You're a Leaf ninja!" He exclaims, pointing at my headband.
"Yeah..?"
"I'm gonna defeat you!" He growls then goes to kick me. I sidestep, making him kick the tree instead. "Oww!"
"Uh, kid, you shouldn't be out here alone." I say. He turns to me with fists.
"What makes you think I'm alone!" He questions then looks past me for a second. Leaves in the trees began shaking slightly and I look up at them.
"How many is ther- oomph.." I look down seeing his fist against my stomach.
"I said I'm gonna bring you down!" He says, then goes to punch me again, but I effortlessly catch his fist then kneel down to his height. "Don't mock me!" He growls then goes to punch my face, but I catch his other fist as well.
"I'm not mocking you.. I'm simply kneeling down." I say.
"I don't care! Me and my friends will defeat you!" He exclaims, the leaves kept moving. I look up again, and he goes to kick me, and personally, I was getting fed up with it. I jump backwards, letting him go, and look around at the trees.
"Well, in that case, I have to defeat you all!" I say to the trees. I jump up and quickly run around on the moving branches looking for these 'friends' of his. But there was nothing there. I blink. Something else was making the branches shake.
"Hey! Come back down here you coward!" The kid wails. I jump down behind him and kick him into a tree, making sure to hold back so I don't seriously injure him.
"OW!" He cries. I walk over to him.
"A kid such as yourself can't take on a kunoichi from the Leaf and expect to win." I say.
"Help me! She's going to kill me!" The kid pleads. Behind me I heard bushes rustle as though someone jumped out. I close my eyes with a sigh and turn around, catching this person's foot inches before it hit me.
I open my eyes, seeing another kid, though, distinctly older. "Lemme go bitch!" He shouts, trying to break my grip.
"Kids shouldn't be using language like that!" I say, astounded by his language.
"You hurt my little brother! How dare you!" He growls. I drop him. "OW!"
"Just who are you two?" I ask.
"Nii-chan she hurt me!" The first kid cries.
"I know!" The older one gushes. "I'm going to kill her for you! I told you you're not strong enough!"
"But.. But I just wanted to do something right.." The other whines.
"Shut up! I need to concentrate here!"
"Alright, time out." I say, putting my hands on both their heads and forcing them into a sitting position. "Tell me who you are."
"Why should we!" The younger one snaps.
"Konoha ninjas can't be trusted!" The older one says, standing up. I fold my arms.
"Are you two orphans?" I ask.
"NO!" He wails. "NOW DIE!" He shouts, grabbing a pocket knife from his jacket and threatens to stab me with it. It didn't really bother me.
"Hey, I don't want to hurt you two, but you're not giving me much choice.." I say.
"Argh! Shut up!" The older one shouts then goes to stab me with it. I avoid it and catch his wrist then throw him into another tree.
"Nii-chan!"
"OW! .. Ow.. that hurt!"
"It could be worse." I mention. The little one runs up to me and start repeatedly punching my thigh.
"Please! Don't hurt my brother!" He wails.
"Kunihiro! Get away from her!" The older one shouts.
"Kunihiro?" I ask, looking down at the one still punching me. He gives me a pleading look.
"Don't hurt him please! He's the only family I have!"
I felt sorry for them now. The older one comes running back. I close my eyes and jump up into the trees, and I could've sworn my hand hit something between the branches. I squint my eyes and saw a lot of wire string connected to nearly all of the branches.
"Oh, so this was supposed to be a fluke." I say. I turn around and see the older kid standing there.
"I do not have these ninja skills for nothing!" He shouts.
"Ninja skills? You?"
"You're doubting me!"
"Then prove it!" I say, staring intently at him. He growls and does a couple of hand signs. I study them carefully, then I realize they're the exact same hand signs Komaru-sensei uses for his..
"Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu!" He says, then inhales. I very quickly perform hand signs.
"Water Style: Water Shockwave!" I quickly say then a large spiral of water shoots up like a hurricane. The boy goes to breathe out his fireball as the water quickly rushes to him, however it was only a tiny flame, no bigger than an index finger, and the water throws him from the tree from it's brutality. It slams him into the ground after I had no control of it.
"Nii-chan!" The younger one cries, running over. I jump down beside the older one before the other could get to him.
He looks in serious pain. "... Like I said, you shouldn't fight a proper kunoichi and expect to win." I say. He slowly opens an eye.
"P-please.." He croaks. "Don't.. hurt my brother.."
"Nii-chan!" The other cries and pushes past me.
"I wouldn't have done this if you didn't start it." I say. The older one looks at me for a moment before looking down and sitting up. He hugs his little brother tightly. I crouch down.
"Sorry.. we just don't like Leaf ninjas." The older one says. "We.. had a bad experience with one.."
"That doesn't mean we're all bad." I say. They both look at me questionably. "I'm Kuromizu Setsuki." I say, extending my hand. The older one hesitantly takes it and I pull him up to his feet.
"I-I'm Ukita Takumi and this is my brother Shou." The older one says. I tense up at the name 'Shou'.
"Well.. nice to meet you both. But tell me, why are you out here alone?" I ask.
"Well.. we had a small cottage.. out here... but an evil man came and... took over." Shou says, looking down. Takumi sighs.
"Evil man?" I ask.
"Yeah, a Leaf ninja." Takumi says.
"Oh.. wait..." I trail off in thought. "Did he have a slash through his headband?" I ask, pointing to my headband. They shake their heads. "Oh.. well, what did he look like?"
"Um.. it was a while ago.. but he had white hair.. his eyes were dark and.. he was evil.." Takumi says.
"White hair... hmm.. did he have a scar on his cheek?" I ask. They shake their heads. I sweatdrop.
"I think he said his name was Mizuki.." Takumi says.
"Mizuki? I've heard that name before.. somewhere.." I say, trying to think.
I heard the trees rustle and three people lad behind me. I frown.
"Seriously, how long does it take to pee?" I question. They snigger. I turn my head around and sweatdrop, realizing it's not my team..
"Takumi, Shou, come home wont you?" One of them says.
"Tch..!" Takumi stands up and in front of Shou protectively. I stand up, standing between this trio and the kids.
"Who are you?" I ask.
"Oh, oh! A Leaf kunoichi! Haha, and she's all by herself!" They scoff.
"S-Setsuki-san.. please, take care of them." Shou shyly says.
"Are these bad people?" I ask.
"Bad? Did you hear that? Bad. Ha!" They laugh.
"Why you..!" Takumi growls then goes to attack one, but they go to counterattack. I jump between them and catch this stranger's fist.
"Takumi, Shou, get back. I'll take care of them."
"... Come on Shou." Takumi says, picking his brother up.
"But nii-chan.." Shou whines.
"Shh, she's going to help us." Takumi says, then jumps off.
"Heh. Alright, we'll take out this girl, then go after 'em." One of them says. I get into my fighting stance.
"Do not underestimate me." I say, giving them a serious face.
"I'll go first." Says the one in the middle as he steps forward. I jump up in the air.
"Severe Leaf Hurricane!" I say, going to kick them all down. I manage to hit the one that stepped forward, but the other two ducked.
"Alright! Lets take 'em down!" Says one of the two standing. I face him curiously. He faces his teammate and goes to attack.
"H-hey! Ozuru! What're you doing?" The other questions, trying to defend himself. I blink.
"Don't worry Setsuki, I gotcha back!" The one attacking 'Ozuru' says.
"Eh?" I stare at him. I have never seen him before.
"Psst, Setsuki."
I turn around and see Susumu in the bush behind me. I jump over, Aoba-sensei and Daisuke were also there.. well, Daisuke seemed to be unconscious.
"What happened?" I ask. Susumu rolls his eyes.
"Mind Transfer. Surely you'd know that by now, we've been teammates for how long?" Susumu scoffs. I pout.
"Gah! Get out of my head!" Ozuru shouts, holding his head. The third stands up and looks around.
"Where is she?" He questions.
"Probably ran away in fear." Ozuru sniggers.
"Psh, I sense them in that bush over there." The other says.
Aoba-sensei performs 3 hand signs. "Scattering Thousand Crows Jutsu!" He says, then suddenly, what looked like thousands of crows appear out of no where and move around the three. I couldn't see them at all. "Come on, lets go."
Aoba-sensei picks up Daisuke on his back, then jumps off. Susumu and I follow.
"Wait!" I call and stop on a branch, they stop and look back.
"What is it?" Aoba-sensei asks.
"Takumi and Shou! Those three guys were gonna hurt them!" I exclaim.
"Who?" Susumu asks.
"Two kids I found. Well, they found me, but those bad guys want to hurt them." I say. Aoba-sensei sighs.
"We have our mission. This is their problem, not ours." Aoba-sensei says.
"But.."
"No, come on." Aoba-sensei says, then continues jumping. Daisuke begins to wake up slowly.
"Morning sleepy." Susumu scoffs, jumping after them. Daisuke's eyes snap open.
"SETSUKI! MY LOVE! WHERE ARE YOU!" Daisuke calls. I sweatdrop. Susumu and Aoba-sensei laugh.
"Water Clone Jutsu.." I mutter, secretly creating a clone. I signal for the clone to follow them, and I go off looking for Takumi and Shou.
I go back to where those three guys were. Apart from a lot of black feathers on the ground, the area was empty.
"Dammit!" I groan. I look around. 'Which way did they go?'
"Urrgh.." I hear. I look around for the cause of the noise. "Wh.. what?"
I blink towards a rock. I walk over curiously and see a battered snake, it's coloration consists of a light brown and pure white underneath. It's size.. looks more like an over-grown python rather than a snake, but it's not quite as long as a python. It looks up at me, making me tense up. I remember Uncle Takashi once saying that snakes are a bad omen. It sticks it's tongue out, feeling the air around it.
"You. Human, help me out here." It speaks. I almost jump.
"Y-you spoke..?" I exclaim. It sighs.
"Of course I can ssspeak. I'm a sssummoning animal." It says.
"Summoning?" I ask.
"Yes.. now jussst help me out." It says. I look at the rock.
"You.. wont hurt me, right?" I ask. It wiggles it's head, I took that gesture as a head shake.
"You don't have the sssame hostile presssence as thossse othersss." It says.
"Others? You know which way they went?" I question.
"Well, no not really. I sssaw them chasssing a pair of children, it'sss my nature to protect youth you sssee, I thought if I maybe ssstrike them the youthsss could get away.. however, I wasss wrong.." It says. "However I don't know where my massster isss."
"Your master?" I ask.
"Yes. Every sssummoning animal has a massster." It grumbles.
"Who's your master?" I ask.
"Hisss name isss Yakussshi Kabuto," I tense up. "however I don't think he really wantsss me back. He brought me out here, sssaying I am too gentle and that I am worthlessss.. and he did not releassse me back to my world. Ssso I am trapped here." It explains.
"I see..." I reply and lift the rock up, freeing it.
"Ahhh. Thank you human." It says.
"No problem."
"Ssso you know thossse kidsss?" It asks.
"Well, not really. But they're in trouble and I need to help them." I say. "But.. I don't know which way they went.
"Come thisss way." It says, then slithers off. I blink and run after it.
"You can track them?" I ask.
"I wouldn't call it tracking. I would call it following." It replies. I sweatdrop.
"Right.."
"Keahebi." It says.
"Huh?"
"My name." It replies.
"Oh, Keahebi huh? I'm Kuromizu Setsuki." I reply.
"Sssetsuki. Very well." It says.
It wasn't long before I heard shouting, rather, the shouting of Takumi. "I sssense them." Keahebi says.
"I can hear them." I say.
"Thisss way." Keahebi says and slithers faster. For a snake, he sure is fast.
We run/slither until we find them. I saw the trio standing with their arms folded, facing Takumi and Shou who were backed up against a rock face.
I go to run out to them but Keahebi shoots in front of me, stopping me in my tracks. I blink.
"You're a ninja, correct?" He asks.
"Yes..?" I reply.
"Ssstealth.." He says.
"I uh.. stealth isn't really my strength.." I mutter. Which is true, I almost failed that class at the academy.
"Well.. attack from a dissstance. Ussse a jutsssu or sssomething."
"Ohh. Well that's easy." I say.
"Do you know any long range jutsssu?" He asks.
"Of courssse I do." I reply, then realise I'm starting to hiss as I speak as well. I sweatdrop. "Eh.. watch and be in awe Keahebi!" I exclaim while quickly performing some hand signs. "Water Style: Water Gun Jutsu!" I gush out a powerful gush of water from my mouth, slamming into Ozuru from behind, and smashing him into the rock face, causing him to become unconscious.
"Well, I'm not in awe.." Keahebi says. The other two turn around, acknowledging my presence. "I would be in awe if you had taken them all out with one hit."
"... Whatever.." I grumble.
"You again..!" One of them growls.
"We'll take you down!" The other exclaims. They both begin running towards us.
"Here they come.." I say.
"I'm on it." Keahebi says, then bolts through the ankle-high grass. However, it didn't really hide Keahebi as much as he would have hoped, because Keahebi is about 3 inches taller than the grass. I have to cover him, after all he is my comrade for now.. even if he is a reptile.
I run towards the duo and after a good enough run up, I jump into the air. They both stop running and look up at me.
Keahebi used this minor diversion to strike. He bites one of their ankles, sinking his fangs all the way in. The guy wails in pain. The other guy growls and goes to attack Keahebi. I come down to drop kick him, however he grabs my foot and throws me into a tree.
It hurt. I cough a bit and stand up rubbing my back.
"Setsuki's back!" Shou shouts. I smile at them and give them a thumbs up.
"Here to help!" I say.
"Kick their butts Setsuki!" Shou says.
"I will!" I say with a slight chuckle.
"Now you've really pissed me off." Says the one who threw me. The one Keahebi was attacking fell over with white bubbles falling from his mouth like he was paralysed.
"I will not let you hurt those kids!" I exclaim.
"Kuh. Yeah right. You're no match for me." He scoffs. I run at him. Keahebi goes to attack him. The guy pulls out a kunai. I notice his headband which his hair covers. He's a rogue from Kirigakure. The guy moves quickly and tries to stab Keahebi, I quickly throw a shuriken at his hand, redirecting his arm, making him miss and Keahebi bites his wrist. "OW! FUCK!"
"Heh, my turn!" I exclaim the run at him with a kick. "Dynamic Entry!" I kick his face, and before he went flying, Keahebi quickly slithers up my arm and sits across my shoulders. I watch as he smashes through a tree and into the rock face, becoming unconscious. I grin.
"That was a clossse call." Keahebi says. I turn my head to face him.
"Yeah. It's a good thing Gai-sensei trained us well in reflexes otherwise I might not have been able to move that fast." I say.
"You ssseem like a good perssson, Sssetsuki."
"Thanks." I reply. I walk over to Takumi and Shou with Keahebi on my shoulders still. "Are you two alright?" I ask, kneeling down to their height.
"Yeah." Takumi replies. I smile and ruffle their heads.
"So where are you two from?" I ask. They look at each other nervously.
"Well.. Kirigakure.." Takumi mutters. I stand up straight.
"Kirigakure is an enemy of Konohagakure right?" I ask.
"Asss far asss my knowledge goesss, I believe that isss correct." Keahebi says.
"Wow a talking snake!" Shou exclaims.
"Shh." Takumi hisses. "And yeah.. that's why we attacked you.. and probably why that Mizuki guy attacked us."
"Well where's this house you spoke about?" I ask.
"Um... it's around here somewhere." Takumi says, looking around.
"Nii-chan, it's down there." Shou says, pointing down a small cliff face.
"Oh, closer than we thought." Takumi says.
"So are you two okay now?" I ask.
"Yep! Thanks heaps Setsuki!" Takumi says.
"Yeah! You rock Setsuki-nee-chan!" Shou says. I blink and Takumi looks at him, then smiles at me.
"Right. Setsuki-nee-chan." He concurs. I scratch my cheek and smile.
"Wait, one more question." I say.
"What is it?" Takumi asks.
"Why are you living all the way out here if you're from Kirigakure?" I ask.
"Well.. parents were.. um.. we're orphans.." Takumi says. I feel a wave of sadness hit me. They don't have parents either.
"Do.. do you have a guardian at all?" I ask. They shake their heads.
"B-but it's okay. We can manage on our own." Takumi says. "And well the reason we're out here far from our village is because no one likes us there. So we.. came out here." Takumi explains.
"I see."
"And I want to become a ninja one day too!" Takumi exclaims.
"Yeah! Me too! I want to be a ninja so I can explore the world! There's so much out there and I want to see it all." Shou says.
"That's quite an ambition!" I say. They look at me again, smiling. I give them a thumbs up. "If you two keep at it, I'm sure you'll both become great ninjas!"
"Thank you Setsuki-nee-chan!" They cry in unison. I smile back at them.
"And stay safe." I say. They nod.
"I hope we meet again one day!" Shou says. "I wanna spar if we do, and I'll win for sure!"
"That's the spirit! I look forward to it." I say, giving them both the nice guy pose... without the sparkly teeth. They both return the thumbs up. "Alrighty, I had better get going. Goodbye you two." I say.
"Bye Setsuki-nee-chan!" Shou replies.
"See ya." Takumi says, picking his brother up on his back. "I also hope to meet again one day." I nod and watch him jump down the cliff-face and run off. I turn around and begin walking and face Keahebi.
"Now that isss sssomething to be in awe about." He says.
"Whaddaya mean?" I ask.
"Normally, enemy ninjasss would kill each other. You being from Konoha, and them being from Kiri, I'm quite sssurprisssed that you didn't kill him."
"I would never harm a kid." I say.
"Hmm.. Sssetsssuki."
"Yeah?"
"Thisss isssn't sssomething I would normally sssay, but I like you." He says.
"Thanks, I like you too." I reply.
"Would you consssider becoming my new massster?"
I blink. "Master? Really?"
"Yesss. Then you may sssummon when you wish."
"Really! Of course I will!" I say, getting excited.
"Excellent. All you need to do isss sssign a blood contract with me." He says.
"Blood contract? What do you mean?" I ask. He slides down off my shoulders and I crouch down and extend my arm so he could go to the ground.
"You mussst write your name in blood on a sssummoning contract. In other wordsss a contract with sssnakesss consssidering that's what I am."
"So.. I'll be able to summon heaps of snakes?" I ask.
"Yesss. But each time you sssummon one of usss, you must offer blood."
"I see. Well, I'm in!" I say. Keahebi nods and a sudden puff of smoke makes me jump. A scroll sits as the cause of the smoke. "What's that?"
"The contract. Unravel it to an empty ssspace." Keahebi says. I nod and unravel the scroll across the ground. I notice a lot of names written in blood. The first name written – 'Orochimaru'. Further along.. 'Yakushi Kabuto'.
I finally find an empty spot. "So I write my name in blood."
"Yesss."
I get a kunai from my pocket and prick my finger on it. I wince slightly, but compared to other things I've been through, this didn't hurt at all. I write my name 'Kuromizu Setsuki'.
"Excellent. Now ssso that I know you can sssummon usss properly, I want you to perform thessse hand sssignsss in conjunction; Boar, Dog, Bird, Monkey and Ram."
I nod and do that.
"Now usssing the blood on you hand, put your hand on the ground."
I put my hand on the ground.
"Now concentrate on bringing forth a sssnake."
"Uh.. okay." I reply and close my eyes to concentrate. After a minute I open my eye seeing some sort of strange black markings on the ground. Smoke began coming out between my hand and the ground.
"Ssseemss you've got it." Keahebi says. Suddenly, 'poof' and I felt something wriggling under my hand. I lift it and see a small snake. A really really tiny one. "... Well it could be better."
"Hey! It's my first time!" I exclaim.
"I know. Practise thisss and in time you will be able to sssummon much larger sssnakesss.. and don't forget about me."
"I wont forget about you." I say.
"Right. Now, if you will, releassse usss."
"Right!..."
"... It'sss jussst like releasssing a clone."
"Ohhhh." I perform the hand sign. "Release." Both snakes poof into smoke, including the scroll. I stand up straight, grinning. "I can summon snakes!" I exclaim. "I'm already that much stronger than Daisuke and Susumu!" I blink, that feeling of loneliness shrouds me again. I shiver then begin running back the way I came, just hoping my team hasn't gone too far. I don't want to be lost in this forest.. alone.