I was happy sliding home with new clothes in bag swinging them as I walked, fresh black dress that slit on both legs and some dark green shorts. This mission had destroyed the ones I am in. Holes, blood. A mess. Some people had weird looks my way as I headed home to clean but even my hair was a disgusting mess.
Stepping up there was a small paper sticking out of my mailbox, strange to me as no one sends me anything. Sliding it out on the cover was my name in a messy way, flipping it over Itsuki's name was on the back.
My heart beat up as I kicked open my door, tossed my bag and moved to open it with excitement.
So I guess you are on another mission. I wanted to ask you to join me as I am finally being sent on one, an A rank that will take a week or more. I am so excited. I miss you, see you soon.
Those last words made me freeze as I reread them slowly smiling and then I gave a little dance with my arms.
It may not be a love note but damn it made me happy.
Shit to bad I was not here, to go on a mission with him, days of being next to each other. Even with that the smile did not leave my face, I stepped into the bedroom for a place to save and put it. I opened the drawer on the desk, tossed the pens out and placed it carefully inside like a prize.
No one ever wrote me a note before.
If I go on a mission maybe I should write him back? Should I write him anyway?
I pulled out paper and wrote him anyway.
The first draft almost made me think I was telling him how much I liked him so I tossed it in a ball and wrote something a little more natural, again it was to mushy so I rolled that up and tried again.
I was in the best mood as I ran around the village to boost my speed and stamina. I held a small one hand and pushed the wind around my feet. Jumping in tree's all it did was cut them up as I landed making me jump faster before I destroyed them having them fall to the ground as I flew away.
I know I can do this.
I focused but it was not working.
Maybe I was wrong and can not do it at all, I wanted to move faster and the thought of shooting wind out my feet would help but, nothing.
I landed in a training zone where Guy was punching at a half destroyed tree looking like a crazy lumberjack.
"Damn my man that is insane." I spoke landing behind him.
"Kei." He sounded excited to see me. "I need to beat my rival, I just need to."
"I wish I had a rival." I leaned on the tree in a part he was not hitting. "I need your stamina." I checked him over, his hands and the tree covered in blood. His biceps are huge, the way he fights with just tai is amazing to me and I think he is just the weirdest in the best way.
"You can do this, just takes some time." He said and nodded at the tree next to his.
Standing in front of it I peeked at him doubting myself before I started to punch. A few punches in the bark dug into my knuckles painfully. Pushing on I focused and got serious.
"Make sure." He took a stance. "Your shoulders match like this." I followed. "Ah that is better."
I punched and punched but I was barely making the bark come off. I felt like the worst right now all it did was hurt me.
"Brace your feet and swing in a more upward motion." He spoke as I smiled and nodded glad to have some Tai being taught to me.
"Don't give up and just keep going, you are a lovely flower and you are a badass."
I smiled at him and really put everything into it, my Tai is so weak.
He then looked at me lifting his bleeding hand into a thumbs up and grinned madly. "Yes this is the way to train." He gave a large weird laugh that I could not help but chuckle to.
We did this silently, peeking at him I checked him out again, shocked he did this for so long as the tree was pretty destroyed, almost like it would fall over soon, his blood all over. That stupid green jumpsuit pulling a little to tight around his backside making me bite my lip and hold back a laugh.
"You like my outfit huh?" He took it wrong, unsure what to say, I was caught. "Don't worry I will get you one just like it." He paused and did a quick toe touch stretch as my eye's grew in fear. "This baby breaths." Please don't tell me I need to avoid him now.
A small chuckle from behind making me look back, there was Asuma leaning on a tree a bit away, he stood up and walked to us, a feeling of relief through me that I could ignore what Guy was offering.
Using the escape I pulled out some bandage wrap and started on my slightly bleeding knuckles. Guy was back to punching the tree. "Don't give up my flower." He yelled at me but I just looked to the new guy heading our way. The not perfectly clean cloth burning my open cuts wishing for something to clean it with.
"He has offered it to me." He leaned in joking but Guy heard it spinning around.
"Oh Asuma." Guy spoke turning back to the tree. "What is going on?"
"We have a mission, me, you and Kakashi."
"Kakashi Hatake." He stopped and spun looking determined holding up his bleeding fist as it dripped down his arm. "Oh, he can't run from me now." He looked serious making me smile.
"Don't worry he will take forever, you can get your hands checked out and take a short rest." Asuma spoke. I almost wanted to go with them, sounded fun.
"So that late thing Kakashi does is normal then?" I asked him and he nodded, his smoke moving with his gentle smile. Guy just ran off excited towards town so fast he was basically gone.
"I want his determination." I mumbled.
"Ya, it is definitely strong." We stared walking.
"Where you guy's going?" I asked.
"Somewhere in the land of wind." I nodded, I hate that place, ever run in sand it sucks. I paused as I held my hand feeling in pain.
We looked at the tree I spent a while hitting, you could slightly see under the bark at mine, then I looked to Guy's. I gripped my bleeding fist sadly.
"Man I did nothing." He nodded. "Maybe ill just give up being a ninja and do some pottery." I looked at him with a small smile.
"Make me an ashtray." He smiled as the smoke moved in his mouth. "I do love it square."
"Ya?" I smiled at him. "What color and do you want something to put out your smokes?" I asked.
"That would be nice and black." He smiled at me.
The air was light and free around us like we are kind of friends now. "Well I need to finish what I started." I patted him getting a little blood on his arm. "Sorry." He smiled saying it was okay. "Good luck with those two."
"See you." He said and I ran off back to what I was doing pushing myself a little more seriously now, I need more speed. And now I know I need more strength.
We saw the white smoke before the town, the smell of burnt homes and random shit was thick in the air so strong my head started to hurt, a feeling of failure washed through me as we were too late, walking into the small place made me feel cold before we split up and looked for anyone still alive.
Kurenai to the left and Reili to the right.
My heart sinking more as I passed a young man dead on the ground.
I peeked into a fallen home, the roof had fallen in and was about to move on when I heard a small help me. Stepping into the broken home I searched and under a large pillar of wood was an old man, his eye's weak as he stared up at me with fear.
I was careful making sure he was not broken as I pulled it off, I slowly got him on my back and walked him to the middle of the town where Reili was placing down a second older person that also looked about to pass out.
"We need a med ninja but we don't have one." I whispered to her.
"I got it." She said back.
I stepped to these people. "I am sorry we are to late." I spoke to the group of mostly old men as Reili put down a young man that was passed out. No one really spoke as I watched her pull out a page and scroll and shockingly a bird came from the scroll and she sent to note back to the village.
"Well, I need that." I looked at her.
"They took the women and children." The old man I brought spoke softly and pointed to the west. "They took them all."
I glared at the direction, this just got worse.
"How long ago?" Reili asked.
"A.." Another man coughed, I assume from smoke inhalation. "A bit ago."
We stepped back to talk.
"I think we need to go now." Kure spoke quietly before looking at the group sad. "But I am afraid to leave them right now like this."
"Well, you sent a note I think we can go, leaving to late will be worse for the abducted." Reili spoke taking the lead like he always does.
"It may take another day for someone to get here." She spoke sadly. "What do we do?" We both looked to Reili, he wants to lead, he can lead and yet he did not seem to know what to do.
I pulled my scroll from my belt and dug into it, squatting on the ground as they watched me. I pulled out a few bottles of water, some bags of chips as I had no real food and a first aid kit.
"So you got one?" He smiled down at me. "Seeing you prepared is new." I looked up at him confused and a little angry. When am I not prepared? "Girls are always unprepared." That made us share a look and we just ignored him.
A quick check together to make sure no one had a life threatening problem, gave them water and food and we ran off hoping to find the trail.
"With so many people, it should not be hard to find a trail." Kure spoke.
"Let's move faster." He spoke speeding up.
We found the slightly cut up and squashed grass easy, following it onto another large main dirt road. A small bump of a wheel dug into the ground.
"So they put them in some form of transportation." Reili spoke bending over. I just moved forward ignoring his condescending tone like I do and ran faster heading south west.
It was a bit of a run when we came to the end of a cliff, two roads heading down in both directions as we looked over the field of open fields, farms and many rivers. "The land of rivers." He spoke.
We checked both paths finding the one south had a bit of a trail, it headed down between the mountains not far from the ocean. Come late in the day we turned a corner, silently jumping up into the tree's above a cliff side before we were spotted.
We had the high ground as we looked them over.
There was a large cage pulled by a bison with many women and kids sitting and cuddling themselves, a few sniffles as a large group of men chatted and laughed around them. We followed them from above checking them out.
There was eight men of unknown power, dirty, unshaven, I could smell them from here.
"The best we can do is ambush them." Reili whispered. "Can you take one over?"
"I am not sure." I spoke. "I might need to fight here." I looked down the road, there was only one way between two different sized cliffs, one where we are higher and the other falling into the ocean in a large drop. "I got an idea."
We ran silently through the trees above them, hopping over a small waterfall as they headed for the bridge between us. Leaving Reili to watch them Kureani and I placed paper bombs, paralyze seals and a spot to make a landslide in the perfect spots.
We then waited for them to get here slowly.
They still chatted loudly and not noticing they were walking into a trap.
We split up, I would take the back, Reili will take the front and Kure will stay hidden until we can unlock the cage or we need back up. She was to use a large genjutsu on what was left after this ambush.
It would be a large ghostly black shadow appearing from the ground. Wish I could see that but genjutsu is in the senses of the target.
The second three stepped on our paralyze seals we blew up the bombs and caused the landslide at the same time making sure the cage was not harmed.
The landslide fell onto one frozen man blocking the road as it rolled into the ocean below, the bombs blew up one massively and knocked two over the cliff side. A small red headed man turned into a ball of sand, another jumped out of the way in time.
One that missed everything at the front screamed and tripped over the landside falling down and almost off the cliff as he gripped onto the ground with chakra it seems.
I landed behind them, boosting eight kunai and tossing them at them and Reili landed in front of them. They dodged me as Reili slammed into the one, he moved back ready to fight. They rolled out of my way as I ran in and used my wind dagger on the lock of the cage, whipping it open letting the mass of people run away.
I slammed my whole body into the one that was blocking Reili's short sword as they scurried out of the cage. He moved to block me so I kicked out his legs, the tip of Reili's sword was then in my face as before it slid out of his body from behind.
The man dropping to the ground.
The one that screamed grabbed a small boy.
A kunai to his neck pulling him backwards that stopped us from moving along with an older women who looked like she was about to fight him as well while the others ran down the road. "Move and he's dead."
The sand man was back to normal, he was short with red hair covered in a large loose brown outfit.
Suddenly one of the ones blown off the cliff jumped between us ready to fight looking winded from climbing back up, his long brown hair whipped over his face and he pulled out a large shuriken spinning it in his hand.
The last blonde man walked towards the small read headed sand guy ready to fight.
They all looked at us like they got us.
Suddenly the one holding the boy's eye's grew, his pupils so big they were black. He let go, jumped back swinging his kunai. Kure was suddenly there, slamming her foot into this man as she grabbed the kid. Kicking him again off the cliff side.
She nodded at me, picking up the kid and ran to the women grabbing her hand following after the rest.
I waited to see if this man was also going to come back up when the blonde man did fast hand signs. He was then so fast as he kicked me in the chest, I flipped my body backwards landing back on my feet. I tried to stay vertical as I slid and tried to block his fast fists.
Reili tried to swing at the man turning to sand but it was not working, he then moved to a close battle with the other.
"You just made our payment run off, don't worry we will get them back." The red head spoke turning human again just as this guy slammed his hand into my chest so hard for a few rapid punches knocking me down, I spun back onto my feet and ducking but then he ran around me.
After a second waiting for him to hit me again I knew he was gone after them all I looked to Reili. "Go." He nodded and followed him off, he was the fastest of us and might need help with all those people.
So here I am. Two vs one.
A man who can turn into sand and a weaker but still strong ninja that messes with fire.
My mind running over all I can do to do this fast.
The short red head pulled off his jacket tossing it away showing off his stacked body, wrapped around his arm was a sand symbol hitai ate crossed out saying he was a missing nin.
"Mistake." He spoke.
Unsure why he needed to get half naked, but alright.
So silent now.
His hand moved down like he was about to ditch more of his clothes.
"Please don't take off your pants. I am fourteen."
He looked startled and glared at me, the other stepped forward cracking his knuckles. I waited for them to make the first move. "We got a cocky child it seems." The blonde spoke.
The red head ran at me my body moving naturally to block his hits with my fists. I grabbed tightly around his wrist sending my chakra into him to mess with his nervous system. His legs collapsed and while he dropped I slammed my foot into his face and jumped back dodging another ball of fire.
The blonde was behind me fast, I spun and ducked from a kick but he got my other leg and slammed me onto my back. I traded just in time with a branch up top, I saw from here not only his fist slamming right through it but a large dagger into where my head would have been from the red head cutting the wood in half.
I ran to change spots as I tossed boosted kauni at them both. The sand man turned into sand just in time as the other moved, one kunai cutting into his arm so badly it flopped to the side leaving him with one barely working arm as he cried out grabbing onto it.
The sand man vanished in sand into the air and in a second he kicked me off the cliff right towards his friend. A fire ball came at me as I fell and he was turning into a person again diving at me reaching out from behind.
I brought my wind around me quickly. Cutting into the red man as he turned back into sand, the fire ball disappearing on my tornado. I fell into a roll and back at my feet. I held it in thought as I watched them both.
The sand and fire could not get to me in here, weapons were even weaker as they stalked around me like predator's. I watched the blonde pull out a large shuriken and tossed it at me, my wind moved it around and it flew towards the sand guy that had to dodge and then glare at his friend.
Friendly fire is always nice to see.
I tossed more boosted Kunai from this spot, as many as I could at both. The same thing happened. I can not hold this forever as we seemed to be in a stand off. The blonde is fast and stronger then me.
And I can not hit or even lightly hurt this red fucker.
My eye's scanning the area around me for an idea.
The blonde moved fast and was on the other side, something was wrong about that so I jumped back with my wind where a bomb exploded from below but I was fine as he rolled his eye's.
"Can not hold that forever you brat." He yelled at me.
I slid my hand into my pocket pulling out a paralyze seal. Last one.
I ran at the red head pretending to try and pull him into my wind as I dropped it near his feet and he vanished again. I dropped my wind with my one hand doing fast hand signs, I put the blonde to sleep as he fell down knocked out. Just as it dropped he was human again reaching out to harm me and I spun falling on my ass and shoving my mind into his.
I was him, I paused before I hit myself as my body lay limp, I grabbed the seal and jumped off the cliff with power to make sure he was far away. Slammed the seal onto his chest and flew back to my body.
I opened my eye's as a kunai came at my heart.
I grabbed his wrist pushing it away and down as it cut into the skin of my nonexistent breast slightly cutting into me. Using one hand I activated the seal knowing he will fall into the rocky waters and then used both hands to push this mans weapon away from me.
Being stronger then me it slowly cut into my chest as I pushed it away and down slicing below my ribcage.
"Thought I was out." He growled. "You think your so good." He got louder. He pressed harder as I tried to stop it but it slowly cut into my side as I moaned in pain and he chuckled darkly as it slid deeper.
I felt so weak and scared like a child, my power does not stand up to a grown mans. I glared in determination, I can do this as it slid deeper into my side my mouth opening in pain without a sound.
I shoved my nervous system blowout into his chakra, using the last of my chakra to make a wind dagger explode from my hand. The moment of his power leaving him I cut into his hands with my wind while shoving him away into a roll.
I was on top of him before I used my wind dagger to go right into his heart.
I fell off of him and laid there gripping my side breathing and calming down.
"Fuck me." I moaned as I tried to get up holding my side to stop bleeding, I need to find my team to help me. "Fuck that sucked."
I tried to walk but I was floating, crossing over the bridge I almost fell over into the waterfall below but I made it. I lasted another five minutes when I leaned on the cliff side in pain, my face scrunched as I slid down to take a rest.
I wanted to move but I could not get up.
Light and black filling my eyes like a kaleidoscope.
Panic filled me but it faded in my head as it faded with my ability to see. I looked down and drew a small heart in my blood beside me as I blacked out.
I was warm and cozy and rolled in comfort before a small pain was in my side and my memory came back. I tried to sit up but was swaddled in a large blanket.
I was laying in a makeshift tan tent, a large blanket held up by a tall stick.
I was in a small amount of pain before I tried to get unstuck in this stupid thing.
I finally got out looking down I was topless with a bandage wrapped around my rib cage and chest, a small amount of blood coming through where I was stabbed.
A little wrapped around my left arm.
Crawling out I looked around there was a fully covered man in tan sitting around a fire with the sand village symbol on his fully covered hat.
He looked at me and as he sat up straight I saw the large chest that made him a her.
"There you are. I am not the best medical ninja but I did my best. I thought you were dead." Her voice was so seductive I was startled, never thought a women's voice was so attractive before. She pulled off her head covering, her long blue hair came piling down and damn this was a beautiful twenty year old women.
"So did I." I smiled walking over to the fire to sit down. "Thank you." I said so kindly and looked around the open field but it was just her and I. "Did I have friends?"
"The group I was with found you, I was left to heal you and the friends I think you mean went with them."
"Oh."
"Now I am a pretty good med ninja but I have heard story's of the leaf and I don't hold a candle. I would love to learn there and maybe soon I can. They had to go and they said so long as I tried my hardest to keep you alive they would put a good word in so, here I am." She smiled at me.
"Well, thank you again."
"Oh shit your bleeding again." She sighed and stood up pulling out some bandage and a small bottle. "Stand up hun." I nodded and slowly got on my feet as she dealt with my stab.
I hate being healed, it is an invasion of strange chakra and tried so hard to not let it bother me.
"I was sadly mistaken on the age of your group." She shook her head. "They looked older but damn they are cute, well other then the one with weird hair. One day for you." She winked at me before standing up and nodding that the wrappings would stay.
That confused me, I guess Reili is cute, but no way she mistaken Kure for a boy. She then handed me my weapon pouch and scroll. Pointed to my dress hanging on a tree. "I washed it but it is pretty torn around the chest area."
I stood up and pulled it off the tree, she was right, so torn it covered nothing.
"Well young women like you should be covered." She grabbed a bag near her feet. "Let's see what I have." I nodded sadly as I just bought this thing. Looking down the only thing on my chest was a large bandage wrap around, showing off everything else.
She held up a small hat and tossed it at me, I looked confused at the small purple fox hat with ears, it was kind of cute. Then she tossed me a purple silky night shirt with fox eye's on the chest, showing off the cleavage I did not have along with a tail attached the back bottom of the top. "It goes together, my pajamas, got to wear one with the other or it does not look right." She smiled at me like this was okay as I looked at them weary.
I would wear that damn jumpsuit of Guy's over this weird thing.
How is this tail thing comfertable to sleep in?
She held up the tiniest shorts. "Want the whole thing?" I shook my head no as the shorts I had on covered my thighs and that would not cover my ass.
"You like scorpion skewers?" I looked confused at her as I held them in my hands. "My favorite, here." She pulled some sticks out with meat on them and placed them over the fire.
"Never even heard of them." I spoke softly.
"They are the best skewer out here." She smiled at me. Her smile was almost unsettling and yet so seductive. Damn I aspire to be this way when I age. I slid the top on and she waved me to wear the hat as well. I slid it on slowly not saying a word before I took to my seat around the fire.
"No." I spoke interested in her story just snacking on my skewer, it was actually really good.
"Ya and then when he pretended not to know me, oh I destroyed him." I smiled liking her more. "You be with me and leave me." Her eye's dark. "Oh, how old are you, maybe I should not be sharing this story." She finally stopped talking about all the men in her life.
"Who cares, it is to late." I smiled and she smirked back.
"Good point." She leaned back. "Oh, there is cutie number one." She smiled. "He is going to be a knockout." She shook her head, I looked back happy. "You got to send him my way when hit's eighteen."
That bothered me, kind of creepy of her but I was startled to see Kakashi in a regular outfit walking our way so casually. "What?" I whispered, looking back at her. "What about the pink boy and the girl?" I said worried.
"Oh, ya they are with them."
I looked back shocked.
He was next to us pretty fast looking down on me coldly and nodded at her. "We found them, already took down some stragglers, I am here to bring you back incase they move and we need to track." She stood up dumping a small bottle of water over the fire.
"Let's go cuties." She said to me as she took apart her tent. "Let's hunt down the missing nin." She slid on her hat covering her pretty hair and we headed off at a slow run.
Kakashi glanced at me a few times I think to make sure I can move.
Are we are slow because of me? I sped up and they followed.
"I am okay." I said to him, I did feel weak and dizzy from bloodloss but no one needed to know that. "So did the women get away?"
He nodded. "Our mission was to help the sand, a hand out to become allies."
That felt odd to me, like the sand was showing their dirty laundry and I must be missing something about this.
"You better not change your promise that you will put a word in for me." She spoke coldly inside her hat. Fuck I love her voice distracting me from my thoughts.
"I keep my word." He spoke back just as cold. "I guess one of them you fought Kei, my dogs found you." He looked me over again.
"Really?" I looked at her. "Ya he had an interesting jutsu."
"I was curious how you took him down, he was a tough one." She spoke not asking really.
"I made him jump off the cliff."
She looked at me but behind the hood I did not know her reaction and when started to laugh.
"I like you kid." It made me happy to get a compliment from this women. "I can picture it now, oh he deserves that ending, so cocky, would talk about how he could almost fly." She shook her covered head like it was the best thing.
Kakashi was still looking my way a few times so I asked him 'what' with my face as his eye's scanned the hat on my head. "What are you wearing?"
"This is my ass kicking outfit bitch." I joked with a silly smile holding back an urge to remove it from my person in embarrassment, but not only would I be shirtless I would insult this women running beside us. She just laughed as he shook his head and focused in front of us.
We just sped up towards the others with a light in the air.
"Seems you found your mother." He spoke quietly, I held back a sharp laugh and bit my lip looking forward. Ya, they got some similarities.
"Oh, your looking for your mom, aw how sad." She spoke not understanding.