(Welcome back! Stuck in the freezing cold with barely any clothes or weapons Kuroda fights for his life and that of his ally. I love feedback and constructive criticism, so please leave a review so I can improve my writing and storytelling skills. Enjoy!)
"What? Where did he…?" the Rain Ninja thinks, moving his eyes to the left and right before looking down and seeing his opponent right in front of him.
"I am smart enough," says Kuroda as he pulls his first special kunai out of the ground and stabs it into the man's neck. The man stumbles back, dropping his silver umbrella and clutching his neck. He tries to contain the gushing blood, but it is wasted effort. He drops to the ground, dead, turning the white snow a deep crimson red. Kuroda robotically goes to retrieve his second kunai before coming back to take the other one out of the dead enemy. He looks over the corpse, emotionless, to see if there is anything valuable worth keeping.
"This weapon is pretty unique," he thinks as he raps his knuckles on the steel umbrella, "But it really is not my style. The special steel used to make it is worth looking into though." He is able to break off a small portion of lose metal and stores it in his pocket. He departs the scene, abandoning the dead body in the open for animals to eat and the snow to bury. As he walking back towards his fair-haired comrade his foot knocks against something in the white. He reaches down and picks up the Rain Village headband that had fallen off earlier in the battle. He decides to take this item and folds it up before putting it in his pocket.
"Do you have a shelter nearby?" he asks when he arrives next to the young girl with white hair.
"Yes," Yukiko quickly confirms, trying to hide her shock about his easy victory, "It is not that far."
"Good, it is cold out here and we have a few things to discuss before I go," he says helping her off the ground.
"Is there anything in particular?" she inquires.
"Well, I was thinking of learning a Jutsu from you so I am not as unprepared in the future. It would allow for greater flexibility in my tactics," he explains as they walk off.
*Two days later*
"If someone does happen to spot me while I am crossing the ocean they will just think they are seeing things," he thinks as he prepares to depart on the journey back home, "I'll be there one second and then gone the next. Like the legends say: the goddess of the ocean likes to play tricks on unsuspecting sailors."
"Are you leaving already?" Yukiko inquires when she walks into the tent and sees him packing.
"Yes, my time here is at an end," he responds, "In fact I probably stayed far too long already. But if someone questions where I was I already have several excuses lined up that should get me out of any trouble."
"You are always thinking three steps ahead," she comments as she gazes at him, "I knew I made the right choice to join with you."
"More like ten steps, but that is just semantics," he responds, "And I knew I made the right choice when I offered to let you join me. Even though I haven't fully mastered the Ice Jutsu you taught me I should be able to in no time. It will prove very useful to me in the future. Thank you, Yukiko."
"It was my honor to be able to teach you something," she replies, with a short bow, "So now that you are leaving am I to return to my mission?"
"Yes, mainly because I don't have anywhere or anyway to safely hide you back in the Leaf village and I don't have any other missions that you could complete on your own," he explains, "So just stay in this country and keep searching for Kunoichi that are worthy of joining us. Oh, and keep your eyes and ears open about the conflict in the east. I want to know what it is about and whether it will be ending anytime soon."
"I won't disappoint you," she promises.
"I am confident you won't," he says as he goes to her and gives her a gentle kiss on the forehead, "Ohh, by the way do you mind lending me a kunai? My emergency ones are not really designed for traveling."
"Do you need more than one?" she offers as she hands him the requested item, "I can buy more at a shop a few miles away."
"No, just the one," he says as he accepts the kunai and wraps a special tag around the handle, "Farewell." With that he pushes the tent flap out of the way and departs the shelter.
Outside a light snowfall is coming down along with a rough breeze of wind. The miniature snowstorm dies down as he reaches the edge of the land and looks out over the deep blue sea. He faces in the southeastern direction necessary to get back to the village and then takes a deep breath. Then he tosses the special kunai straight up into the air. After rattling off the necessary hand signs his chakra goes to work. He looks up and mutters, "Flying Thunder God Technique."
His body flashes out of existence and reappears instantly next to the kunai. He grabs the kunai in mid-air and twists around to gain extra power before launching it out over the ocean. He watches the weapon intently as he falls down toward the freezing water below, and when it is almost out of eyesight he flashes away and reappears next to the kunai again.
He swiftly catches it before it speeds past him and then twirls around again before hurling it in the necessary direction. He repeats the exact same maneuver minute after minute, hour after hour, until he reaches the mainland. After a brief rest in the forest he climbs up to the top of the highest tree and resumes his journey home. All in all, it takes him a full day to arrive back at the village safely.
To his luck, a convoy of goods arrives at the same time of night that he does so he stabs his kunai onto the side of one of the carts and hides in the bushes outside the gate. Once the convoy passes through the security inspection it moves into the village and he flashes to it without anyone noticing. He jumps off into one of the many back alleys littered throughout the village and walks home. As he turns out onto one of the more open streets he bumps into a familiar face.
"Watch where you are going, Kuroda," snarls a boy with short cut hair and traditional marble colored robes.
"Oh, sorry, Jando, I didn't see you there," Kuroda apologizes.
"How could you not see me? I'm not that much shorter than you!" Jando counters.
"I just had something on my mind and wasn't paying attention to where I was going," Kuroda explains.
"Yeah whatever," Jando says not convinced, "I'll see you later, I have some more training to do. I have to stay sharp for when the next mission comes up."
"Good luck," replies Kuroda.
"Yeah, see ya," Jando responds as he heads off in the direction of the Hyuga compound.
"Well, I figured he wouldn't notice I was gone," thinks Kuroda as he watches his teammate walk off, "He usually doesn't pay attention to anyone but himself." He turns and continues on his way back home observing the people around him for any sign of suspicion or surprise at his appearance.
The black-haired boy with bangs over his right eye is moving past a flower shop when he hears the jingle of the doors and followed by a fast moving figure that crashes right into him. A bundle of light brown, green, and blue covers his eyes as he hits the ground. He hears a moan from the person on top of him and waits for the person to get off.
"Oww my head," groans Rame Tsu as she sits up and rubs a small lump on her skull, "Why do boys' heads have to be so hard?"
"I'm sorry, but there really isn't much I can do about that," Kuroda replies, with a nervous chuckle.
"Oh, it is you, Kuroda," she says in surprise, "Why are you going to the flower shop?"
"I'm not, I was just walking by," he replies.
"Oh, good," she says as if winning a private victory.
"Umm…as much as I enjoy this position would you mind getting off me?" he asks with a slight smirk.
"What?" she says confused until she realizes the situation and practically leaps off, "Ugh, you pervert! Boys are so disgusting."
"So why are you at the flower shop?" he inquires as he stands up.
"To get flowers obviously," she replies loftily.
"Then these must be yours," he says as he gathers up the periwinkles scattered about the ground.
"Thanks," she mutters reluctantly as she takes the re-done bouquet out of his hands.
"Although I must say that blue really isn't your color," he comments as she fixes them.
"They are not for me," she replies as a spot of red starts to take over her cheeks.
"Oh, then who are they for?" he inquires.
"None of your business," she says sternly, "Now I have to go to the sweets shop, I'll see you around."
"Good luck," he calls as Rame Tsu runs off, "I hope she likes them."
She stops in her tracks and turns around but finds he is gone. "Does he know?" she wonders, slightly embarrassed. Without dwelling on it for too long she returns on her journey to find the perfect gifts.
"Well, I guess she is too focused on other things to notice I was gone," Kuroda thinks as he strolls through the more packed streets of the village. A large number of people seem to be out shopping for their weekly needs. The fruit looks fresh, the vegetables seem large, and the hunting season seems to be well under way. All sorts of new clothes, blankets, and accessories have been introduced to the village. Kuroda looks around at some of the items but none of them pique his interest so he moves on.
"Hey, Kuroda, wait up!" a voice calls just as he gets past most of the popular shops. He turns around to see a young girl with blue-green eyes and a dark brown ponytail running towards him. Naoko Fei is not wearing her normal attire today and instead wears a light blue summer dress. Since her legs are not covered up like normal Kuroda notices that they are actually one of her best features.
"Hey, Naoko, what's up with the dress?" he questions, finding it very odd for a tomboy like her to be wearing that kind of outfit.
"Shut up," she says becoming defensive, "My grandma bought it for me and my mom said I had to wear it today. I wouldn't normally go around looking like this."
"Why not? It looks good on you," he says in complete honesty.
"Be quiet," she says blushing and crossing her arms over her chest, "That's not what I wanted to talk to you about anyways."
"What do you need then?" he asks.
"I've been looking for Rame Tsu all morning and I can't find her anywhere," she explains, "Have you seen her?"
"Actually I just ran into her a few blocks back," he reveals.
"Really?" she asks as her face lights up, "Do you know where she was headed?"
"She said something about food," he expertly lies, "She wasn't very specific though."
"Hmm… maybe she went to Ichiraku's Ramen Bar," she mutters as turns to leave, "Hopefully I'll be able to catch her there."
"Good luck," he says.
"Thanks for the help," she says before running off.
"You really do look good in that dress," he calls after her, "You should wear stuff like that more often."
"Don't be a pervert," she shouts as she disappears into the crowd.
"I wonder if something special is going on today," he thinks as he continues his journey home, "I'm pretty sure it isn't a holiday today. Is there a festival tonight?" He looks around at the buildings for some sign that a celebration is coming up, but nothing stands out. Everything looks like it would on a normal day.
He is a few blocks away from his apartment when the door to a small shop opens and a long arm plucks him out of the street. "Hey, what's going on here?" Kuroda shouts, becoming a little nervous.
"Quiet down, no need to yell," says a man in a black suit with unusually long arms.
"Sorry about that, Kuroda," says another voice," I asked the tailor to pull you inside so I could get your advice."
"Tousen-sensei, is that you?" Kuroda asks as he tries to make out the figure behind the curtain.
"Yes, my young friend and I are in desperate need of your help," Tousen says dramatically, as he strikes strange poses.
"Umm…how can I help you then?" asks Kuroda with a bit of wariness.
The curtain slides open revealing the captain of Squad 15 in all his glory. The charismatic Jonin with dirty blonde hair that reaches towards the sky is not dressed in his custom grey combat vest. Instead he is dressed in a sharp black tuxedo. He strikes a few more unusual poses, testing the limits of the new outfit. "It is almost perfect," he mumbles as he looks at his reflection in the full body mirror.
"Looking good, Sensei, what is the occasion?" Kuroda whistles.
"It matters not," replies Tousen, "What I need to know is which one looks better?" In his hands he holds up two ties. One is a classic red and the other has slanted stripes in shades of blue.
"That depends on the occasion," Kuroda frowns, "What are you getting dressed up for?"
"I doesn't matter, just tell me which one is going to win me the heart of a special female," says Tousen.
"Wait, did Kayo-sensei actually agree to go on a date with you?" Kuroda inquires incredulously.
"A woman's heart is a hard thing to win. Now tell me, which one?" the Jonin asks as he alternates the two ties in the proper place on his neck.
"I'm not 100% sure, but I think Kayo's favorite color is red. I've noticed that girls tend to like the color of their eyes," Kuroda explains, "So I would go with the red one."
"They like the color of their own eyes, huh?" Tousen repeats, more to himself than the young Genin, "Well, then that settles it! I must go with the blue one."
Kuroda scratches his head and says, "But I just told you…"
"Yes, yes thank you very much for your assistance," Tousen interrupts, "You are free to go." Kuroda begins to argue but the silent tailor scoops him up and seconds later he is standing outside the shop.
"Well, that was strange," Kuroda says to no one in particular as he scratches his head..
He resumes his journey home, moving faster than before since less people are on these streets. "So it pretty much seems like no one noticed that I was gone for three days," he thinks as he walks, "Although everyone was acting a little bit strange. But it didn't seem to be directed at me in particular. It was like their minds were somewhere else. Oh well, it doesn't really matter, as long as I am in the clear then everything is fine."
He turns onto the road his apartment is on and sees a figure standing in front of his building looking around. He tenses up a bit getting ready for a confrontation until he recognizes who it is and relaxes. In the street wearing a light purple colored kimono stands Sakura Nagana. Her hair is pinned up in a bun and her face light up with joy when she sees Kuroda walking towards him.
She waits until he gets near to say, "Welcome back."
His eyes dart around for a bit before he reaches out for her hand and says, "Let's talk inside."
Once they are up in his apartment she can't resist embracing him in a warm hug. "I was worried about you," she confesses, "I didn't know where you went. You were gone for three days."
"Sorry, I didn't plan to leave but something came up," he responds, "But luckily you seem to be the only one who noticed I was missing."
"I know, I thought it was strange that no one else was worried. I even asked Ichimaru but he figured you were off training somewhere," says Sakura, "I didn't know what to do so I've just been waiting here all today to see if you would come back."
"You know you can talk to Kayo-sensei if you are worried about me," he says as their hug ends.
"Yeah, I know," she replies, "So, where did you go?"
"It isn't important," he says evasively, "Anyway, is there some sort of festival going on tonight?"
"Festival? Not that I know of," she says, looking surprised.
"Then why are you all dressed up?" he inquires with a puzzled frown.
"Oh, its Naoko Fei's birthday today," Sakura explains, "I'm going to her party later."
"That does explain a lot of things," Kuroda comments, "I wonder why she didn't mention it to me when I ran into her."
"Probably because you are not invited," Sakura reveals, "It is a girls-only party."
"That also makes sense," he says, "But I guess that means that Tousen-sensei is going to be disappointed."
(It seems Kuroda has lucked out and his absence from the village didn't cause any problems. How long can his luck hold up? As always, if you want more information on my characters you can see their bios on my profile page. Be warned, there may be some spoilers. Also I'm in the process of getting pictures drawn for the characters, but I have no idea how long that will take. If you're interested in drawing and have a DA account then send me a Message. Enjoy the next chapter, and please review.)