Beautiful Silence

Chapter 10: A Cursed Being

"The first test is a written exam. Therefore, we will not be needed there immediately."

The head of the medical team for the Chunin exams was explaining how they would proceed. Riko was paying a lot of attention, making sure not to miss anything.

"Tomorrow is the second test. That is where we come in. We'll be stationed at the tower in the Forest of Death, which will be the destination for the contestants. At the end of the second test, some of us will be dispatched in the forest, with the exact location of the contestants that are in critical condition, while the others stay in the tower until further instructions. That's it for today. Meet up in front of the forest of death tomorrow morning."

The members of the medical team were then let go for the day. Riko went out, hoping to see how things were going in the first exam. She knew that it was held in the Academy. She wanted to go cheer Naruto and Hinata on, as well as see how they'd do. The exam was still in session, so she would have to wait when she got there. She also knew that the place would be heavily guarded to prevent any cheating. Riko was a bit scared of getting caught, but her desire to cheer on her friends was stronger.

First, she went around the school from far, trying to spot which classroom's window was the one they were taking the test in. She spotted Gaara, the red haired boy she met before, in the third floor window. Riko felt even more strongly about getting to that window after seeing Gaara there. She made her way the Academy yard, getting to the closest tree to the window. Oddly enough, none of the Chunin stationed there noticed her. Unbeknownst to anyone, even herself, her desire to be concealed awakened her powers, making her invisible to those she didn't want to be seen by. She climbed up the tree with agile movements, and sat down on the branch right next to the window.

Noticing a presence, Gaara slightly shifted his eyes to the window. Seeing Riko there surprised him, since no one else seemed to notice her. He surveyed the Chunin and Jounin in the room, but none of them seemed to have a change in behaviour, meaning that none of them sensed her there at all. He was really getting intrigued at how she was able to do that. He then decided to stop pondering on it and focused his mind back on the test before him.

Riko was able to see everything that was happening in the classroom. She didn't notice, however, when Gaara slightly looked at her. She spotted Naruto and Hinata sitting next to each other in the middle of the classroom. Sakura was a bit behind them, and Sasuke was a bit further in. She noticed how almost everyone was using weird jutsu to cheat. Riko wondered how a lot of them weren't getting caught doing that. She was sure that the shinobi in charge of this exam could spot these tricks. Sitting on the branch, she was admiring the creative and interesting jutsu that the examinees were using. At some point, everyone started paying attention to the front of the class. Riko looked in the same direction and found the exam proctor talking to them. She couldn't, however, hear anything, since she was on the other side of the window. She noticed that a lot of people were leaving after what the proctor said. More talking went on, then Riko sensed a presence close by. Turning her head to the side, she caught a glimpse of something crashing through the front window, into the classroom. Startled by it, and not wanting to get caught, Riko quickly jumped down and got out of the Academy yard. She decided to just wait for her friends to be done at the entrance.

She didn't have to wait long until people starting coming out of the Academy. The first people who came out were Gaara and his team. Gaara was walking in front, and the other two were following. When Riko saw him, she gave him a small smile. Noticing her, Gaara stopped in his tracks. He slightly frowned at her. He was wondering why she was smiling at him. He also wanted to find out about how she was able to sneak up to that tree branch. More than anything, though, her existence was annoying him. He couldn't figure her out.

Seeing him staring at her, she looked at the ground, fidgeting a little, not knowing what she should do. Gaara's two teammates decided to just go on ahead, not wanting to be around him for longer than they had to.

"Riko-chan!"

Naruto's voice called out. Hearing it, Gaara decided to leave. Riko made a step towards him, wanting to follow him, but restrained herself. Naruto then caught up with her and started telling her about how he "aced" the first exam. When Hinata also joined them, Riko smiled widely, happy to see her friend. Riko never really had much time to see any of her friends, so this was one of the rare opportunities. Soon, all the nine rookies of their grade were gathered together. After talking for a bit in front of the Academy, they each went their separate way.

Riko decided to walk around for a bit, since Kurenai was out with Azuma that day. Azuma was also a Jounin in charge of a Genin squad, specifically Shikamaru, Choji, and Ino. Kurenai had been going out with him a lot, recently. Riko was happy for her, of course, since Kurenai always seemed excited to see him. When Kurenai talked to Riko, she would tell her all about Azuma, since Riko was such a good listener. From how Kurenai talked about him, Riko figured that Azuma was much more than a simple colleague to her. Since Kurenai was out to see Azuma that day, Riko knew she'd be home quite late.

Walking around aimlessly for a while, Riko bumped into one of the shinobi from another village. He didn't look happy about that. When he turned around to face her, Riko recognized his and his teammates' headbands as being from Kusagakure, the village where she spent her childhood, and where her mother died.

"Watch where you're going!"

Riko just stared at his headband, awful memories flowing back into her mind.

"Hey! At least apologize!"

"Ah.. Ah.. Uh.."

"Haha! Can't you even talk?"

The three of them laughed at her. She then turned around and tried to get away, but one of them blocked her way. They all surrounded her.

"Now that I look at her more closely, she seems kind of familiar..."

The kunoichi from Kusagakure said while scratching her chin.

"Oh! I know! It's that cursed child! Didn't she run away from Kusagakure?"

The third member, a boy who looked a bit older than her, said while pointing at her.

"Doesn't that make her... a traitor?"

The one she bumped into said menacingly.

"And we all know what happens to traitors."

The kunoichi closed in on Riko. Riko was feeling scared. So scared that her legs were trembling. She didn't know what to do. She felt the evil intentions in these shinobi's eyes. It was the worst kind of cruelty. The one that people did just for the fun of it. This feeling she got from them terrified her even more.

"A disgusting cursed being like you shouldn't even exist. We'll fix that right now."

The kunoichi grabbed Riko's wrist and twisted it. This caused Riko to let out a sharp cry of fear and pain.

Nearby, a boy was sitting on the roof, observing everything that was going on. At first, he didn't really care. He then started to pay more attention to what was happening when he heard them calling the mute girl "cursed." His heart squeezed slightly after hearing that. It reminded him of how people looked at him. His emotions then started to boil after hearing that kunoichi say that a cursed being shouldn't even exist. He'd make them pay. He'd make them all pay.

Sand wrapped around the three ninja from Kusagakure, causing them to scream in terror and confusion. Riko was also looking at what was happening with fear in her eyes. Everything then happened so fast, that, a few seconds later, the whole area was covered in blood and limbs. Riko was amazingly fine, though, since her powers reflexively protected her. She was shaking in horror at the terrifying sight. She didn't know how it happened. She slowly got up and surveyed her surroundings, but there was no one. Unbeknownst to her, Gaara had left after seeing how she protected herself from the blood.

Riko carefully got away from the putrid sight and stomach-churning smell of blood and human limbs. She headed straight home where she found herself alone. She then curled up in a ball on her bed and cried herself to sleep.