Fire Locks

Chapter 2

Elizabeth's pov

I listened to Iruka drone on and on about the ninja life, and about how it was dangerous, and how some of us may die. Like, no shit. If someone here wasn't already aware of our impending deaths, they need to step the hell out right now. I'd be severely worried for the mental health of anyone who thought we might actually survive this whole ninja thing. We were all destined for early deaths. Honestly, the Third Hokage himself is tempting fate by simply existing. It's a miracle he's lasted this long! It's always the strong ones who make it. Unfortunately, this class is made up of what will probably be total flops out in the real world.

My eyes trailed over to Naruto and Sakura in the midst of these thoughts, and I frowned. Sasuke was still staring. That's fine— totally cool.

Back to the point at hand. You see, the three of them are bonafide idiots. Honestly, I'm an idiot too. The only difference is that I'm self-aware. Sasuke is cutthroat enough to maybe make it out there. Sakura is... book smart, but she needs to be life-or-death situation smart if she wants to make it. She has her moments, but if she stays caught up in Sasuke, she's going to trip and we'll all fall with her. Naruto is determined. His iron will is probably enough to keep him from bottoming out. Besides, he has other forces at work in him.

I turned back to Sasuke. He's gotten over his embarrassment and met my gaze fearlessly. I took a risk and rose an eyebrow. When he didn't respond, I decided it was time go channel some of my dormant childhood memories. Age? Four. Location? Drama class. Skill? Acting. Let us initiate.

I twisted my expression so dramatically you would've thought I was in the process of shapeshifting. I channeled ever drop of disgust and confusion I could into my face. I made it sudden, I made it fast, and I made it exaggerated. If my theatre teacher could see me now, she'd be more than just proud. She would be awed. Absolutely amazed! Sasuke seemed to jump a little in shock, which was the goal. He was clearly bewildered by my sudden change. He studied me like he'd never seen those two emotions so potently on someone's face. It only proved my hidden talent all the more.

I let my face shift into something calmer, giving Sasuke a look to communicate that his staring had disturbed me, and that he'd be paying for any therapy I needed as a result. After that, I got the last laugh by looking away first and to Iruka, who was still rambling on about God knows what. And that's it. A close to a very extra scene. This has been your step-by-step by Ella. Godspeed, brothers, sisters, and non-binaries.

"Alright, everyone!" Iruka swooped in, a saving grace ready to lay waste to Sasuke's incessant gaze. "You'll be meeting your jonin sensei after lunch, so make sure to report back here as soon as you've finished eating! Dismissed!"

Everyone shot out of their seats like I'd set them on fire, even though I haven't done that in two years. They still don't know it was me. Is it truly a crime if no one was harmed, aside from that one bitch that woke me up from my nap in the first place? I sighed, leaning back as I waited for the hoard™ to funnel out the door. There's no way I'm walking through that crowd of barbarians. Do I look like someone who wants to be trampled outside the bedroom? That comment was inappropriate, and I apologise, but it's also what she said. And I really can't argue with that.

I sighed and shook my head, tutting to myself as I stood and stretched. The last students trickled out quickly much to my immense relief. My back gave a pop that was horrifying and satisfying in equal proportions. I cocked my head at just the right angle, and my neck did the same. I took this as a sign I should head for the door and did just that. I yawned on the way, scratched my cheek. Straightened my plaid shirt. The whole shabang, really. I went through the whole routine.

Only to be interrupted.

I've always attracted bad luck. After being cursed out by a talking tree suffering from smoke inhalation brought on by my own hand, I swear my life has never been the same. You see, Sasuke either had the same bright idea as me and waited for our classmates to flee the scene, or he's taken up stalking as his new hobby. Either way, he was quick to intercept me on my way to the door. I could tell he was trying to be intimidating, but he was only an inch taller than me, if that. Size was not on his side— that's what she said— so I just stared blandly in response. He glared back, as though I'd done something to offend him.

Slowly and with great deliberation, I raised my eyebrow at him in silent question. He had no reaction whatsoever. Just more staring. Does he want something? Was I not supposed to stop, and just go around him instead? Maybe my existence is the problem. No one wanted the four man cell, so because I'm the odd one out, he wants to intimidate me out of the whole thing.

He seemed to catch on that I wasn't going to say anything, and took it upon himself to ruin my day by speaking. Typical.

"I've never seen you before." He proclaimed with such confidence I almost felt bad for him. He spoke it like it was an achievement, when really it just means he's unobservant. Not great, all things considered. Being a ninja sort of relies on your ability to deduce aspects of a situation, including the number of people present at any given time, as unnoticeable as they may be. As someone stuck on his team, this really is not a vote of confidence. Add a tally to the death scale. We're not surviving this one, boys.

Sasuke's pov

I stared down at the redhead with a small frown. She's nothing special. Unruly hair that makes her vaguely resemble a stray dog and a nose that makes it obvious she's not from around here. Her freckles are everywhere. There was nothing orderly about her. She's not even wearing any clothes suited for ninja work, unless she thinks flannel is tear resistant enough to curb a kunai. She's also obstructing her sight by covering one of her eyes. Sakura and Naruto are already let downs. It seems like Ella here will be too.

That being said, she isn't swooning over me like all the other girls in this class do. I have no complaints about that. It's a pointless waste of time to fawn over another person. I need to get stronger. I don't have time for their silly games and annoyances.

Most people here are from some sort of clan, big or small. Even Sakura has a known family, even if they aren't a family of ninja. But there is no "Ellandeer" clan. If she's not from a notable clan, the chances of her having any sort of kekkai genkai are slim. Sakura and Naruto are already going to drag me down. I can see, looking ahead, that this sorry excuse for a ninja will as well. Unless she's hiding something. I don't know enough about her. She could have something useful up her sleeve, and if she does, I want to know what it is. But before I could open my mouth to speak again, she interrupted.

"I've never seen you before." She mocked in an overly-high pitched tone. I tensed, taken aback as she scoffed and rolled her eyes. "Shitty thing for someone from a clan centered around their sight-based kekkai genkai to say. Keep it in your pants. We're supposed to be a team, not competition."

And then she shoved her hands in her pockets and walked around me and straight out the door. I was too surprised to respond, or to even turn to watch her go. Instead I stared at the floor, wondering if maybe I'd judged her a... little too quickly.

Elizabeth's pov

That was far from the worst experience I've ever had in my entire life, but did I enjoy it? No, not even slightly. The only thing I gained from that interaction was the satisfaction that came with walking off before someone was done talking. What a prick! And I'm going to be stuck on a team with him, too. I should round up the boys and we can proclaim our own platoon. All we need is a sensei and then we're legit. Unless we want to go freelance and just become vigilantes, which is a viable option.

My stomach grumbled and I bit back a sigh. Should I even bother trekking back to mi casa for lunch? I live a ways out, but getting there and back isn't much of an issue. It's just a matter of whether or not I actually want to. I'm not sure if there's anything edible in my fridge, unless you think crow eyes are edible, but we won't go there.

I could go for mochi right now. Mochi is one of the few gifts God has left us on this Earth, along side churros and loyal pets. Speaking of pets, I should really get one of those. Making a living thing is such a pain, and it requires a lot more sage than one would assume. An owl with a bear head would be cool. Do I even have a bear head? Scratch that, I do, it's the owl I'm missing.

Oh, I forgot to explain. I'm sure you're wondering what in the sam hill I'm rambling on about. Make a pet? You can't make pets. That's not how the moon orbits or how the earth spins, right? This isn't Fullmetal Alchemist! We don't merge various animals with small children!

Yeah, I probably should have mentioned this in the beginning, but...

I'm sorta a witch.