I woke up feeling heavy and more exhausted than I should have been, considering I didn’t do any training yesterday. With a groan, I pushed myself up and opened the window to get some fresh air. It was early in the morning so the breeze was a little cold, but it helped me wake up. I sat there for a moment as I blinked my eyes awake until finally, I went to get ready.
I went through my morning routine as usual, but stopped when I went to put on my mask. Staring at my reflection, I felt a knot in my stomach beginning to form as I stared at the burn scar that nearly took up the entire left side of my face. Part of my left cheek looked like it had been cut out so some of my back teeth were visible. They would have been completely visible if not for the burned flesh that covered part of it. It looked raw and melted, almost like candle wax. It was nothing but grotesque and repulsive to look at. I didn’t even know I had this scar until I wandered into the first village five years ago and received frightened and repulsed stares, so one of the first things I got was a mask. I’ve always disliked looking at it, and now that I knew where it came from, I hated it.
After tying on my mask and headband, I started on my way towards the Mission Room, since that was where I was supposed to meet my team that day.
“Good morning, Riku-chan!” An elderly voice greeted once I stepped outside.
I looked around until I saw Chousa-baachan, the elderly woman who owned a small pastry shop that she managed herself. She made everything, too. She was right outside my building, so I saw her quite often and got to know her over time. Sometimes she would even give me a small cake as a present that by now, I had learned that it’s easier to just accept the gift instead of insisting that I pay for it.
“Good morning, Chousa-baachan.” I greeted politely. “Have you been well?”
“As peaceful as always around here.” She answered with a smile, though it soon turned into a slight frown. “I’m not sure how much longer that will last, though. I’m sure you must have heard by now, but there’s been talk about rogues starting to cause trouble lately.”
“I don’t think I’ve heard much about that.” I shook my head, starting to get concerned myself. “Are they causing trouble around the Fire Country?”
“I’ve only heard bits and pieces, but it sounds like they’ve been starting to pop up all over the place. Will you be okay during missions?” Elders seemed to always have the same sort of grandparent-type worry for any adolescent they saw. That, or they were going senile and hated the younger generation. I was thankful that Chousa-baachan was the first kind of elder.
“We’ll be fine.” I reassured with a smile. “It’s what we’re trained to do, after all.”
Chousa-baachan laughed meekly. “Yes, yes, of course. It’s still so worrisome, though. I have grandchildren, you know. They aren’t training to become shinobi, but I could hardly imagine being able to sleep at night if they were. Don’t make this old lady worry too much, alright?”
“I won’t.” I reassured once more. “Thank you for the caution, though. I’ll be sure to tell my team about it.” I said and left with a wave.
Speaking to Chousa-baachan made me a little late, so the rest of my team was already there once I arrived. After some half-assed scolding and me sheepishly explaining myself, we got straight to business. I heard we were heading out of the village again, which probably meant we had some travelling to do.
“It’s a simple delivery mission.” Iruka-sensei explained. If I remembered correctly, he was the chuunin who taught Ino, Chouji, and the others when they were back at the Academy. “You’ll be delivering a few supplies to Yugakure.”
“Again with the Hot Springs Country?” I asked with a sigh.
Iruka-sensei nodded while scanning the mission scroll. “After the scouting mission you completed with Team 7, we’ve been working to establish a less hostile relationship with the country. As it turns out, the explosive tags weren’t set up by their shinobi at all, but by thieves who were trying to use them to damage carts so they could steal from them more easily.”
“Sounds like one big misunderstanding.” Asuma-sensei commented with a laugh. “Well, it’s good to know that it’s cleared up.”
The chuunin nodded. “It’s just a C-Rank mission, and you only have to get to the border to make the delivery, so it shouldn’t be any trouble. Good luck!”
Since we left so early and travelled the entire day, we managed to get to the border the next morning, which was when the people from Yugakure were going to meet us anyway. As we closed in, however, I was immediately annoyed to see one particular face amongst the three shinobi that were there to pick up the supplies.
“You again?” I sighed, staring at the chuunin as the delivery was made. “Considering the fact that I live two days away, we sure seem to run into each other a lot, Mubou-jiji.”
“Mubou… Why does that sound familiar?” Asuma-sensei repeated with furrowed brows before appearing to remember. “Oh, is this the man you encountered with Kakashi-sensei and his team during the scouting mission?” I nodded, and the jounin laughed. “Small world.”
“I’m not too happy about seeing you, either.” Mubou-jiji said while giving me a faint glare. “It doesn’t look like you’re not getting in anybody’s way, though. It’s about time you grew up a little.” This time it was Ino and Chouji who got annoyed, but our sensei gave them the sort of look that told them not to say or do anything. “I’m going on ahead.”
Before his comrades could stop him, the chuunin disappeared into the forest.
“Mubou-san…” One of the other shinobi said worriedly while giving us an apologetic look. “I apologize on his behalf. Please don’t take it personally. There have been a lot of thefts around here lately, so we’re all a little on edge because of it.”
“There’s no need to worry about it. We’re aware of Riku’s history with your country and village.” The jounin reassured while ruffling my hair. “I promise she won’t be causing any more trouble around here anymore.”
“Of course she won’t!” Ino interjected, getting fed up. “She even participated in the Chuunin Exams with us, and she kicked some serious ass, too!” Asuma-sensei apologized nervously as he tried to get Ino to quiet down, but the two shinobi simply laughed.
“I’m sure Mubou-san would be surprised to hear that.” One of them admitted. “Anyway, thank you for delivering these to us. It may not seem like much, but it’s much appreciated.”
Asuma-sensei nodded and smiled. “Not a problem! Is it alright for just the three of you to carry them, though? There are quite a few tools in there, so the packages are pretty heavy.”
“We’ll be alright.” The third shinobi reassured. “Thanks again!”
Just as they were about to leave, however, a flare suddenly went off in the distance. Seconds later, smoke bombs went off all around us, clouding our vision within seconds. Before we could register anything, we heard the sounds of the two shinobi struggling. It was hard to see, but I could just make out the silhouette of a third person.
“What’s going on?!” Chouji cried between coughs.
“Don’t tell me…” I heard Asuma-sensei murmur. I heard him lung towards the third figure, but they had already.
“I’m going.” I called, hearing the figure escaping the area.
My sensei shouted for me to stop, but I had already jumped out of the cloud of smoke and towards the figure that was trying to make their escape. This thief had their head shoved way too far up their ass if they thought they were going to get away that easily.
Once they were in sight, I used a genjutsu on them. “A Thousand Hands!”
Shadowy hands stretched out from the branches and trees around the thief, wrapping around their arms and legs to pull them back. They immediately tried to dispel the genjutsu. I could sense the panic coming from the thief once they realized that it wasn’t working. I grinned victoriously as I caught up to the thief and jumped in front of them, turning around to look them in the eye.
“Sorry, but my technique won’t be dispelled so easily.” I said with confidence, staring them down with my patterned eyes. With a small hand gesture, the shadowy hands reached out and grabbed the stolen wares just as my team and the Hot Springs shinobi returned. “I’ll be taking those back now.”
“Nice going, Riku!” Ino cheered, throwing her arm around my shoulder. Asuma-sensei apprehended the thief as I dispelled my shinjutsu, shifting my eyes before facing the three chuunin, particularly Mubou-jiji, who looked like he was stunned into silence. “What, cat got your tongue? We told you that Riku’s changed!”
“The Youkugan…” was all he murmured, however, surprising all of us. “I heard about the rumours that came after the Chuunin Exams, but to think that it would be you of all people…”
“Go figure, eh?” I shrugged.
There was a brief moment of silence as Mubou-jiji appeared to be in thought. I expected some sort of snarky comment from him about how the bloodline was wasted on me, or something along those lines, but to our surprise once again, he cracked a smile… and laughed.
“Unbelievable…” He sighed before looking back at me. “Looks like I owe you an apology, Riku. You’ve really turned out to be quite the shinobi. Way better than some petty thief stealing from the locals. It’s reassuring to an old man like me to know you’ve finally put that genjutsu to proper use. Even got yourself a place to call home.”
I wasn’t quite sure to say to this. His attitude towards me made a sudden one-eighty and to be honest, it was a little bit worrisome. Was he having a stroke, or maybe going senile already? Did witnessing my Youkugan make him delusional?
“Okay, what?” I finally said, cocking my head to one side. “All you’ve have ever given me was a hard time. What’s with the change of heart?”
“It isn’t just Mubou-san.” One of the other chuunin said. “The rest of us, too – because you had no home, or family, or friends, there was nobody there to teach you discipline or respect. It may have come off as harsh to you, but Mubou-san, and soon the rest of us… We gave you such a hard time because, who else would?”
Before I could respond, Asuma-sensei laughed as he ruffled my hair.
“Haha! It sounds like you were a little bit like Naruto when he was younger.”
He commented while smiling at me, which didn’t seem like something to smile about. I’ve heard stories about how much of a bratty prankster Naruto used to be, too, and I really, really hoped I wasn’t too much like him. At least I had some sort of class and dignity to uphold.
“It sounds like they were nothing but a thorn in your side, but I’m sure they weren’t trying to be the bad guys, either.”
“Well, yeah. I was the one who was stealing. I knew it wasn’t right, but it’s not like I really had any other choice at the time…” I trailed off, digging my toes into the ground as I glanced away momentarily. “So, you guys were just looking out for me in your own old geezer sort of way, huh.”
“That’s one way to put it.” The other chuunin laughed. “Since we aren’t the most powerful country or village, we get quite a few thieves around here. I wouldn’t be surprised if this one is like how you used to be.” She explained while nodding towards the thief, who simply looked away in silence.
“It troubles the village, but we understand that sometimes, it’s for survival.” Mubou-jiji said. “That’s why we tried so hard to get you to stop. Normally, shinobi wouldn’t put so much attention on petty thieves like we do, but normally, kids like you shouldn’t have to be thieves in the first place.”
For some reason, those words sunk in pretty deep.
“Hmm… They don’t seem so mean anymore.” Chouji mused, looking towards me with his eyes squinted as they often were.
I nodded, still in disbelief that they were saying any of this at all. “Yeah… I guess so.” Feeling like a weight was lifted from my shoulders, I smiled, stepped forward to address them more formally. “I guess I did learn a thing or two from you guys. Sometimes I really would consider trying to get a job in the village instead, but I always figured I wasn’t welcome, so I always decided against it... but I’m okay now. I have friends, a home, and I’m always being told that the entire village is my family, and I don’t need to steal anymore.”
“It looks like you’ve really become quite the shinobi.” Mubou-jiji admitted before facing my teammates and sensei. “I’m sure you all had a lot to do with that.” He said appreciatively.
“Yeah, I owe them a lot, but it looks like I owe you guys, too.” I bowed, as if to demonstrate that I really did learn some respect and discipline. “Thank you, Mubou-san, and sorry for all the trouble.”
We exchanged a final glance and for once, instead of mutual bitterness and annoyance, it was one of mutual respect as fellow shinobi.
< hr />
It was a nice feeling, finally being on good terms with that old man and his comrades. The rest of the situation was handled more smoothly, too. We decided to bring the thief back to Konoha so she, as the thief turned out to be, could be dealt with there. Who knows; maybe she could eventually become a shinobi, too.
As we arrived in front of the Hokage’s office late into the evening with the thief in tow, Tsunade-sama asked us to wait a moment after we knocked. Shortly afterwards, a dark-haired woman walked out. From the looks of it, she was a jounin from Kumogakure, which explained why the Hokage was still around at this hour in the first place. She must have been expecting this visitor.
We all silently questioned her presence here, but greeted her with a small nod as she did to us. It didn’t look like it was for anything bad, so there was no reason for us to be on edge. My eyes locked with hers for a split second, however, and the look she gave me was one of familiarity. Not in a familial or friendly sort of way, but the one that only said that she knew who I was.
“Come in.” We heard Tsunade-sama call, so we entered and greeted her appropriately. “Is bringing in strays what my shinobi do now?” She asked, annoyed, nodding towards the girl that was with us.
Now that I could get a proper look at her, she was much younger than I thought she would be. Her hood was up before, so I didn’t get a good look at her face until now. From the looks of it, she was around my age, or maybe even younger. She had a slender figure and light hair that was tied back in a neat bun. Her face was thin, but her expression was fierce. It didn’t look like she was capable of much, but her posture and demeanor said otherwise. Dark eyes stared at the Hokage, not glaring, but not particularly respectful, either.
“She’s a thief who tried to steal the packages at the delivery point. We thought it would be better to bring her back here than to leave the Hot Springs Country to handle it, since we’re better suited for this sort of thing.” Asuma-sensei explained while Tsunade-sama nodded in agreement. “There isn’t much to worry about, though. In fact, her situation is quite similar to what Riku’s was when she first arrived. Maybe we could arrange something instead of sending her straight to prison.”
“I don’t need you people to pity me.” The thief responded haughtily.
Irritated, Tsunade-sama silence the girl with a glare. “We’ll run some interrogations and keep her under surveillance for now. We can work things out into more detail, later, assuming she’s willing to cooperate.” She added at the end, giving the girl another intimidating stare. “What’s your name?”
Hesitant to comply, the girl paused before answering. “…Yasagure Mayuri.”
“Shizune, take care of her for now.” The Hokage said, and her assistant responded immediately. Once Mayuri was escorted out of the room, Tsunade-sama turned to us with a more serious look. “I’m sure you must have passed that Kumo jounin on your way in.”
“We’re not going to be getting into any trouble soon, are we?” Ino asked cautiously, to which the Hokage thankfully shook her head.
“Not exactly, anyway.” Not so thankfully after all, then. “It appears that the Kumogakure rogues have caught wind of the Youkugan, and are now actively searching for it. Perhaps you may have heard of the recent rise in rogue activity lately.” Ah, so that’s what Chousa-baachan was talking about. “We’re not exactly sure why they want it, but it’s more than enough to keep our guards up.”
All eyes turned to me and I sighed. “It was bound to happen eventually.” I muttered, since there was nothing I could do about it, anyway. “Do they know it’s me?”
“The chances that they do are low, but of course, it’s best to stay cautious. For now, just be alert. If there’s anything else worth knowing, it’ll be passed on to you.” Tsunade-sama finished, addressing all of us. “That’s all for now. Don’t forget to hand in your mission report.” She added, addressing Asuma-sensei, who nodded in turn. “Dismissed.”
Once we were dismissed, Asuma-sensei sent us home, so with a time to meet tomorrow and a short goodbye, we all parted our separate ways, which left me to my thoughts as I walked home.
After showing my bloodline at the Chuunin Exams, I wasn’t surprised to hear that people were back to wanting to track me down for these eyes. It still didn’t make it any less unsettling, though. Then again, from what I heard from the others about that Orochimaru guy, it sounds like I could always ask Sasuke about how he deals with that kind of stuff.
I sighed, having nothing else that would be useful to add. I’m starting to get the feeling I’ll never be able to relate to him in a normal way.
Phasing out of my thoughts to pay attention to where I was going again, I walked in silence. I looked up ahead at the horizon so I could see the stars, only to find that there were none. Weird. At this time of day, the stars were usually plenty, unless it was cloudy, but that wasn’t the case either. It made the area feel even quieter and deathly empty, as if I were walking around in a void. It really was quiet. Not even the crickets were chirping.
I kept walking but kept my guard up, now focusing on my surroundings. I fluttered my eyes shut as I yawn, bringing my hand up to wipe the tears that formed from it. As I brought them down, however, I formed a hand seal in a blink of an eye and adjusted my chakra wavelength.
“Kai!” My voice disappeared with my energy after I dispelled the genjutsu, which meant that any other vocal attempts at attracting attention would be futile, so I didn’t bother. It was a waste of energy – something that I was dangerously running out of by the second.
Whoever was there, they were already moving once I made the hand seal. I may have dispelled the genjutsu, but it was already too late. Before I could register anything else, I felt a needle pierce my neck. I tried to struggle and fight back, but my body had already gone numb, collapsing under my weight. With the last of my strength, I flared my chakra as wildly and violently as I could. At least maybe then, somebody would be alerted that something happened here.
My vision blurred and darkened immediately afterwards. The last thing I saw were the stars in the sky, as they should be.
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Chapter notes: In which Riku ties up some loose ends.
Chapter end notes: Any and all feedback would be greatly appreciated. I'd love to know what you like or dislike about my story, even if it's just a little thing or two. Thanks for reading!