Rotted Rowan

Us or Them

Each of the capital cities in the countries were well known for having a disgusting underbelly. Unfortunately, our capital's underbelly seemed to prefer child slavery and abductions (although the Land of Water was particularly well known for its sex trade in children).

Disgusting world.

Disgusting humans.

Unlike me, Obito was oblivious to the notion of an underbelly and the very idea of being able to our country's capital seemed to send him over the moon.

Kakashi's nose crinkled underneath his dark scarf and we shared a look of equal annoyance.

"Stay close to us, okay, Obito-kun?" I leaned towards the young naïve boy, to which his cheeks turned a bit rosy (probably out of displeasure, as I was most certainly patronizing him). "We wouldn't want you to accidentally sell yourself... the poor buyer wouldn't know what he was getting into."

Obito just chuckled weakly, and looked away.

"How fast will we be moving?"

"Well," Minato said, glancing towards the snowy front gates, "I'd like to get there by noon, so we can have lunch with our client and go over the details, so let's keep a brisk pace."

"Understood," Kakashi said.

Minato tugged his bright, bright orange scarf around his neck (courtesy of one Kushina) before signaling for us to move.

(ง ⌣ ~ ⌣) ง

The city reeked.

I was so accustomed to the fresh air Konoha provided that the moment I smelled Ni~tsu no Hikaru, I inwardly cringed. Judging from Kakashi's minute reaction, I could tell he didn't particularly approve of the stench, either.

It didn't smell like a particularly bad stench. It didn't smell like bodily odor, or rotten corpses, or really anything specific. It just had this overbearing and overwhelmingly strong smell of something unpleasant. The words failed me to assign it a single name. It was like an entanglement of just bad smells all mixed into one big bad stench.

The city itself was bright, and filled with thousands of paper lanterns and loud voices laughing, bargaining, flirting, and jesting. The sun was barely setting behind us (as the city was nestled in the distant east) and set the city in a warm winter glow. Hardly any snow was seen on the ground (indeed, you could only the snow on the roofs, and even then only on some). There were beautiful women and men intermingled, exchanging looks, and caresses along the sides of the streets.

A handful were seen being a bit more intimate that made me feel a little tingly (which made me cringe as I realized puberty would be coming soon).

The three of us huddled close to our sensei, making sure our hitai-ates were clearly seen (yakuza and other unpleasant business tended to leave shinobi and kunoichi to their own devices, unless they wished an entire village sent down upon their heads like a blistering vengeance from hell).

I reached for Kakashi and Obito's hands, grabbing one in each. I knew they were capable shinobi, but some part of me worried for them nonetheless. Minato glanced back at each of us, assessing us before he began to silently move through the streets.

I took up the lead, pulling on both of their hands as I moved. I felt Obito's hand fidget while I gripped it in my bright orange mitten, while Kakashi's remained loose. He was used to having me drag him around from childhood, and as long as I let go of his hand when we met the client, he wouldn't complain too much.

I tried my best to memorize the streets that Minato lead us through, but I found that it was more difficult than I would have anticipated. With all the sound, stench, and general atmosphere, it felt all very intense.