Beautiful Silence

Chapter 4: Her First Friend

"I see..."

The Hokage said after putting down Shizuna's diary. Kurenai had brought it to him, with Riko's permission, to give him a better understanding of Riko's situation.

"Kurenai, it would be wise to keep this between us. People are afraid of what they don't know or can't comprehend. If they knew, they will treat her harshly."

Kurenai looked at Riko who was by her side.

"Yes, Hokage-sama. I'll keep my lips sealed for her sake."

Even though Riko didn't show any reaction, she knew what they meant. She knew that people will be even more afraid of approaching her if they knew her whole story. Being half demon wasn't exactly something that people welcomed with open arms. Maybe here in this village people won't mind her disability to speak. In Kusagakure, her mom and her had come to settle in suddenly, which made everyone around them wary.

As the conversation between the Hokage and Kurenai went on, it started getting too complicated for RIko to understand. Out of boredom, she turned around and headed for the door.

She got out of the mansion and started strolling around the village. She stayed close to the mansion so that Kurenai wouldn't have too much trouble finding her.

While wondering around, she came across a park. She saw a lot of children there. Some of them looked her age.

"Give me the ball, dattebayo!"

"Don't give Naruto the ball!"

On boy in particular stood out from the rest of them. He had bright blonde hair and blue eyes. He was chasing after the ball but no one ever passed it to him. Riko got a very negative vibe from that. She knew that it wasn't because he was simply not good at handling a ball, but that it was due to something deeper and more malicious. They just simply didn't like him. They didn't want him anywhere near them. Riko knew those looks of disgust. The people of Kusagakure looked at both her and her mother that way. Was Konohagakure the same after all? What was the reason behind their hostility towards that boy that they called Naruto? She wanted to step in there and do something, but she was too shy. She didn't even know what she would be able to do without the ability to talk. She stood there silently, hiding a bit behind some bushes. The torment went on, but the boy never gave up. He kept going after the ball and demanding that they pass it to him. Riko wished she could do something. If only she could take the ball from them and give it to him. It wouldn't be too hard considering how agile she is. However, she figured that that wasn't really what the boy would've wanted. If only the ball itself curved towards him... Riko imagined how the ball would curve and land right in front of Naruto.

Just as she was imagining and hoping for it, the ball curved from one of the kids who threw it and landed right in front of Naruto, exactly like how Riko pictured it. All the kids paused for a bit, including Naruto, surprised at what had just unfolded. Naruto giggled at the realization of what had just happened.

"Hehe! I got it, dattebayo!"

"Oh no, the annoying kid got it."

A guy with spiky hair resembling a pineapple grumbled. Another guy who had a dog following him also expressed his annoyance.

"Shikamaru, let's go home!"

Just then a female voice sounded from near where Riko was. She looked at the woman and assumed it was his mother. One after the other, parents came to pick up their children. Everyone began to leave until only Naruto remained. Where were his parents? Were they running late?

With everyone else gone, Riko gathered up her courage and slowly came out of her hiding spot. Naruto looked up at her with a little surprise showing on his face.

"Who're you?"

Riko then got closer to the boy and wrote her name on the sand in front of them. Naruto looked at it with a clueless look. He didn't know how to read that. He stared and squinted at the characters in the sand for a bit, concentrating as hard as he can.

He gave up on trying to read it, because he was really getting annoyed.

"Why don't you just say it, dattebayo?!"

Riko looked at him in the eyes and tried to explain to him that she couldn't talk. She pointed at her throat and then crossed her arms in the form of an X to visually explain that she couldn't speak.

"You... Your throat hurts?"

Well, he was a bit close. Riko shook her head. She then tried to explain in another way. She pointed at herself, then did a talking motion with one hand, opening and closing her thumb and her other fingers together, and did the same thing as before with her arms crossed.

"Oh! You can't talk!"

Riko nodded while smiling. She got through to him. It was the first time she ever spoke to someone who looked close to her age. It was definitely harder to make him understand things than it was with her mom or with Kurenai.

"Why is that?"

Riko just stood there, puzzled as to how she would ever be able to explain that.

"Oh wait, you can't talk. Let's not get into big explanations then. I've never seen you around before. Are you new around here?"

Riko nodded.

"Well, if ever you need help, I'll gladly show you around! I don't like to brag, but I know this village inside out!"

Riko smiled at the thought that she might've just made a new friend. She nodded in response to Naruto's offer.

"Riko? Riko, where are you?"

That was Kurenai's voice calling.

"So your name is Riko-chan?"

Riko nodded once more. She then looked towards the direction where Kurenai was.

"Ah! There you are. Come on, now. We're going home."

Riko waved to signal that she was coming. She then turned to Naruto and smiled.

"You can find me here whenever you need me. I usually come hang out in the park."

Riko smiled and waved goodbye to Naruto, her first friend.