Ooookay; so it's been who-knows-how-long since I last posted a chapter and I'm terribly sorry. I've actually got distracted writing my OTHER stories (Which I'm not publishing until I get a good idea of their directions) and whenever I looked at this one it didn't make me feel like writing anything...but that's over now (hopefully)...
Disclaimers: I do not own anything by Masashi Kishimoto; I only own my OC(s) that may, or maynot, appear in this story.
Glaring at the closed door for a few minutes she sighs and stands up, raising her hands high above her head until she pops her back. Sighing again she mutters a 'bothersome' before pulling her kimono on and tying her obi around her waist. Placing the end of the bandage in her mouth she pulls her hair up into a high ponytail before tying it with said bandage. Finally she leans down and picks up Ichi and Nee; slipping them into her obi on the left side before staring down at the white sword. Reaching down she hesitates to pick it up for only a few heartbeats before swiping it off the ground and thrusting it into her obi on the right side. Grimacing once more she slides open the door and steps into the living room; both of the shinobi were standing near the door as O bāchan was held by Ojīchan protectively.
With the sound of her entrance all eyes turned to her and she subconsciously tilts her chin up. Ken offers her a smile before motioning with his head that they were leaving; he bumps his partner's shoulder with his fist lightly before they both left the inn. Bowing slightly to the inn keepers she turns and walks out, catching up with the shinobi easily.
As they walked down the street, both shinobi standing side by side in front of her, they were graced with open stares from the citizens. Some of the gossipers would lean over to their friends and mutter their thoughts; some bad and others worse than that. As they walk past a flower shop that said 'Yamanaka' she could only assume it belonged to Yamanaka-Chan's family; she was proven correct a few minutes later when Yamanaka-Chan and Haruno-Chan run out of said store. As they call out to her the shinobi in front stop and turn to look at them; she did too after a moment of looking up at the sky.
"Yes?" Her voice was bored, dull and tired; obviously she didn't know why they seemed so scared and stressed as they stop in front of her. "Can I help you, ladies?"
"What's going on?" Ino asks as she looks at the shinobi behind Kumo. Ken smiles nervously before stepping forward and placing a hand on Kumo's shoulder.
"Well… You see the Hokage wants to see her. We were asked to escort her there." He glances at his partner before shrugging. "So if you don't mind we'll be on our way."
Both shinobi turn and start to walk away; Kumo shrugs at the girls, slipping her arms into her kimono and crossing them over her stomach before turning and walking away without a single goodbye. Honestly she didn't care if they were scared for her or not; she didn't see why they should be scared for a stranger but she has found that people in Konoha were different than most.
As they walked to the large red building and walked in Kumo glanced at everything without really moving her head, she couldn't risk the chance of getting jumped although she didn't know why she would be; she was always taught better safe than sorry. The shinobi in front of her lead her up the stairs, periodically passing up other shinobi who seemed to stop and stare at her as if she was a prized gem. Finally they reached the large double doors that she assumed led to the Leader's office; her eyes narrow as the quiet shinobi knocked on the door and a gruff female voice told them to enter.
Ken offers her a quick smile before him and his partner open the doors and they enter, along with a distraught Kumo trailing after them. The woman was well endowed with breasts, had long blond hair pulled into low pig-tails, a purple gem in the middle of her forehead and wore a light grey shirt that showed off her assets. She found herself raising an eyebrow when she spots the sake cup and bottle at the corner of the desk, partly hidden by the piles of paperwork.
"Ah, Kyoui-Kumo," Her voice was slurred slightly, a sure sign that she's had a few cups. "I'm glad you came. Sit," She motions to a chair in front of her desk before dismissing the two escorts. Ken waves to her, offering her a wink before closing the door behind him and his partner. Eyeing the chair she stays where she was and shifts her eyes to the female Leader with a blank face; the leader frowns before continuing. "Kyoui-Kumo-san I have heard that you know Uchiha, Sasuke." She pauses, her eyes searching her face before frowning at the lack of reaction. "They say you have traveled with him… I would like to know all the information you have on him."
Raising an eyebrow Kumo scratches the side of her chin with her left hand before looking up in thought. "His favorite food to eat is rice balls with Bonita filling." She states lightly, "He also eats tomatoes, although it's not because he likes them but because, apparently, they let him use his full potential." She didn't notice the annoyed look in the leader's eyes, or at least she didn't comment on it. "His sword is named Kusanagi and his hair looks like a chicken's but-"
"Okay!" The woman snaps, slamming her fist onto her table causing piles of paper to fall to the ground and the bottle to tip onto its side. "I want to know where he is! What he's doing! I don't want the basics!" She was clearly annoyed but Kumo couldn't bring herself to really care; instead she tilts her head to the side, drops her hand back into her kimono and shifts her weight to her left leg before opening her mouth to talk.
"But …" pausing slightly she realized that she didn't know the lady's name before continuing. "Miss Leader-sama I only know the basics." She offers a small smile that was clearly a mask before continuing. "It is true that I know Uchiha-kun, that I've traveled with him but I do not have the pleasure of knowing what his dream is, nor where he lives, nor his plans. All I know is that whenever we meet he makes me fight him and if he wins he kills me and if I win I have the choice of traveling with him for a short time. The longest we've been together would be for 7 days, I do not try to earn his trust and he does not try to earn mine; we are merely travelers that know that groups are safer than solitude."
The woman growls before leaning back in her chair and glaring at her, Kumo could practically feel the anger radiating off the large-breasted woman but she didn't comment; instead she waited patiently until the woman opened her mouth to speak. When she did it caused Kumo to frown with displeasure.
"Until I trust that you are telling the truth you are hereby ordered to remain in the village." Kumo takes a deep breath, she didn't have a knack for yelling and she wasn't going to start now.
"With all due respect, Miss Leader-sama," She starts, forcing her voice to stay calm, cool and neutral, "but I am a Rurouni; I have left my village for the soul purpose of traveling and doing as I please." As she talked her voice couldn't help but grow colder until the lady was shocked that she wasn't spitting ice. "I do not have a master; I do not like being told that I cannot go where I want." The woman laughs slightly before leaning on her hand, which had her elbow propped on the table.
"Little girl," She starts before flicking her free hand's finger at her. "I am issuing, with the power of the Hokage's power that I possess, a village emergency. As long as you do not help us with our quest to find Uchiha, Sasuke you are hereby ordered to stay in this village and I will make sure you do so." A wickedly evil grin forms on her lips before she causes Kumo's dread to deepen; although she didn't show it on her face. "And to make sure you stay put you will be escorted everywhere you go. No exceptions."
Shifting her weight from either of her feet it seemed like she was going to do something, although her feet stayed planted on the ground. The woman could feel the killing rage build up in the girl but she showed none of it on her face, which remained perfectly neutral. The woman wondered idly where this girl had learned such self-control but wasn't sure she would get an answer if she asked.
"You will regret trapping me here in such a small place." Kumo states, her voice not holding any of the rage the woman felt.
"Have you seen the size of this village? It's huge, you'll be fine." She tries to offer a smile but it fails when she sees the dead look in the girl's eyes. A curious frown touches her face as she leans forward. "The only way you can get out of here without my permission is if you beat me… Do you think you can kill the Hokage of this village?" Silence answers her question for a time and she was curious to see what the girl would do until the girl strode forward and placed her hand on top of her desk, a sad smile on her face and her eyes lowered.
"Yes; I do believe I can." The tension in the room rose higher but before anything could happen after that the doors burst open and a flash of orange flew past Kumo and over the desk, only to be stopped by the Hokage's hand on the flash's face.
"NARUTO," The lady snaps before pushing the frozen boy back over the desk. "What the hell do you think you're doing here?"
"Granny, Sakura-Chan and Ino said you arrested Kumo for no reason!" The blonde yells at her before jumping up and slamming his hand onto her desk, right where Kumo's hand was if she hadn't taken that opportunity to back up a few steps and remained quietly forgotten.
"I have my reasons, Naruto." She snaps at him, obviously trying to sound patient with the hyperactively angry boy.
"And what reasons are those?" He yells, throwing his arms up and waving them around wildly. "She hasn't done anything wrong! And she's really nice! She says she knows Sasuke and that he's still alive! Why was she arrested?"
"That's exactly it, Naruto!" She stands up and slams her hands onto her desk, by now all of the paper work littered the ground. "She knows where Sasuke is, don't you want him back?"
"Of course I do, believe it, but she doesn't know where he is!" Naruto yells back; waving at Kumo, who was shocked that he still knew she was there, he continues. "Kumo only travels with him if they run into each other, that doesn't mean she knows where he lives or anything! And you should know Sasuke! He doesn't tell anyone anything; why would she know something we don't?"
The lady was quite, blinking several times before leaning back and staring at him hard. "For once you actually make sense…" She mutters before glaring at him with annoyance. "Fine, so she doesn't know where he is, that doesn't mean she can't find him if she wanted. The order stands, she's to stay here until she agrees to help find Sasuke."
"If I may," Kumo buts in quietly, half to herself for she didn't expect them to listen to her. "But I don't think Uchiha-kun will allow himself to be found if he doesn't want to be." When they turned their eyes onto her she shrugs, "Honestly, he only lets me find him when he thinks he can beat me, and even then we've only met up a few times. If he knew I was with someone, especially people he knows, he wouldn't allow himself to be shown."
The woman grimaces before falling onto her seat and glaring at the table top, as if that would give her answers. "Then what do you suggest, Kyoui-Kumo?" Her voice sounded annoyed, bitter, and cynical at the same time; it made both Kumo and Naruto to frown with displeasure.
"I suggest you let me go, put a tail on me, and when I meet Uchiha-kun that tail sends a message to you and starts to tail him instead. It's a win-win for the both of us; you get Uchiha-kun and I'm not trapped." It was a pretty good plan, very logical and easy to deploy but the lady seemed to think of something and starts to shake her head.
"No. You'll just loose the tail that's following you, find Uchiha and tell him about this and both of you'll disappear. I'll not let that happen, you will be escorted everywhere you go by a minimal of four ninja at all times." Kumo almost had it in her right mind to scream but she remained as calm and neutral as possible. Before either of the teens could get the next word in she hits a button on her desk and two ninja enter the room; the two that had brought Kumo in the first time.
"You called, Hokage-sama?" Ken asks lightly, a small smile playing on his lips; when he sees Kumo he offers a kind wink before bowing to the lady gracefully.
"Yes," She nods before waving at Kumo who had turned to stare out the window with envy. "Find me a group of four to escort Miss. Rurousha around. Tell them they are not allowed to lose her from their sight." She was answered from a low growl, all eyes turned to Kumo who hadn't realized she did it. As her apology she lowers her head in a some-what bow before turning her head to the window again.
"Yes, Hokage-sama." Ken bows again before he and his silent partner leave the room in search for Kumo's new jail-keepers.
For the next twenty minutes the office was quiet; the lady had gotten someone to get her a new sake bottle and she was now occupying her time drinking while Naruto started to fall asleep on the small couch that sat against one wall. As for Kumo, she was staying exactly where she was, in the exact same position; arms crossed inside her kimono, head turned to view the window and eyes trailing on the clouds that roamed over the sky. A nock on the door caused the lady to look up with slight panic before hiding her sake bottle while Naruto fell off the couch and Kumo to not react, as if she wasn't there in spirit, only body. The door opened and Ken popped his head in; he offers another of his trademark smiles before opening the door wider and allowing four ninja to step inside.
"Lady Hokage," Ken states; he was offering himself up as a stall for the drunken Hokage to get her bearings. "I found the four shinobi that you asked for. It was decided that Team Gai be her escort as of now, is that okay with you?"
The lady smiles at the thought of the team before nodding. "Yes, that is excellent. Thank you, Ken, are they here?"
Ken's smile grows before he nods, "Yes they are."
"Then let them in. It's best if Miss. Rorousha meets her new escorts as soon as possible."
I'm on a count down... As of today (the 13th) I have 5 days to move-in and 12 days to school-start... So if my updates get a little slow I'm ...sorry... Just message me and yell at me to hurry my butt up... I normally start writing a lot when I know someone's reading it...and actually like it...