When I came to, I immediately sensed that something was wrong. There was something cold and hard pressed against my neck and I couldn’t move one of my arms. Jolting awake immediately, I saw that one arm was pressed tightly against my back and a kunai was the cold metal object at my neck. One chuunin had me in a tight grip while the other was basically in my face, a palm out to tap me awake. They both didn’t look delighted at my consciousness.
“You’re finally awake.” the one in front of me said. I struggled against the other chuunin, trying to free myself, but he didn’t loosen his grip.
“Wh-what’s going on?” I asked, obviously frightened.
“Just look for yourself.” he said, waving his arm toward where the Waterfall Maidens were. To my horror, all of them were gone. Tears swam in my eyes and fell just as easily as they came. He took them; he took all we ever had. Not only that, it was my fault. That was why the chuunin were being so hostile toward me. I was the one who brought Kabuto to the Waterfall Maidens, expecting him to be lucky to have just one. Now all of them were gone.
“You know what this means, don’t you?” the chuunin behind me said.
Bile seemed to rise in my throat. I knew exactly what that meant, “Bu-but... I didn’t know! I had no idea that he would steal them all!” The chuunin in front of me crossed his arms with disapproval as my heart pounded like a fist upon a door in my chest. I was basically a betrayer to the entire village, and that could mean two things; depending on what Lord Shibuki sentenced me with: either death or banishment. Both things were devastating enough to me.
“Never trust an outsider; even if they seem to be the most trustworthy.” the chuunin in front of me said simply, “Come on, we’re going to pay Lord Shibuki a visit.” The chuunin holding me in place jerked me forward and without another word, I was taken to the village to receive my sentence.
Walking through town, it seemed that word already got around. Considering it was a small village, it was no surprise, but even still, it hadn’t even been a day yet. People exchanged glances when I came toward them. Whispering, muttering... no matter what came out of their mouths, I knew it was all spoken against me. I had done something terrible; I had placed the Hidden Village of Waterfall’s sacred treasure right into unknown hands.
My mother poked her head out of the door with my father in tow. She looked as though she had been crying—seeing as she had a kleenex in her hand and her eyes were red. She shook her head slowly in terror when she saw me in custody by the two chuunins. My father put a hand on her shoulder as she planted her face into the kleenex and she cried so hard her shoulders shook. My father didn’t cry as obviously as my mother, but I knew he was. That scowl on his face told me he was trying his hardest not to cry—he respected Lord Shibuki to the end and probably trusted him not to do anything drastic like have me killed. Though, it must have been hard on him just as it was for my mother.
Finally, I came face to face with Lord Shibuki. There was a disappointed scowl drawn on his face and I knew that he was finding it hard to accept that all the Waterfall Maidens had been taken. He was a kind-hearted man with short grey hair and amiable brown eyes. He always wore a navy blue long coat symbolizing his authority but I always thought it was the tackiest thing ever. Though, looking at it now, it was something to be feared. My life was basically in his hands at the moment and just his word would decide everything.
“Lord Shibuki...,” one chuunin began, but Lord Shibuki raised a hand for him to stop. The chuunin bowed and backed away from me along with the other one. I silently gulped. What would be his answer?
Finally, he sighed and began with, “I remember that one day when you were young. You had your nose in another botany book when you ran into some of the local bullies.” I frowned with my eyebrows furrowed. Why was he bringing up the past? “They picked on you for being a bookworm and you took it all seriously. I had found you crying by yourself in the park—the book on your lap. I had asked you what the matter was and you replied that you got picked on. Then I asked why they did that. You said that it was because the book was just so interesting, that you couldn’t put it down to look out for the morons.” He paused, chuckling at the memory, “Then there were a couple of other cases: tripping over a chair almost everyday, nearly falling off ladders... you were always like that...
“But I had never would have imagined that you’d mess up this bad.” Ouch. That stung. Still, I tried to put on a brave face. Being insulted like this was the easy part until it got to the sentence where it would probably hurt even more.
“What do we do with the traitor?” a chuunin behind me asked impatiently. I stood by, almost anxious myself to know what my sentence would be. It seemed like the meeting was lasting forever. I just wanted to know what would become of me already.
Lord Shibuki leaned forward to put his elbows on his desk and rest his forehead on his connected hands. He clearly was hesitant about killing or banishing me. Though, weren’t those the only options? I did betray them, albeit unintentionally since I was just so clumsy. I didn’t deny that for an instant. But, in the end, he had to choose something to happen to me.
Suddenly, his eyes seemed to flash from an idea that popped into his head. I held my breath, waiting for it, “Track down the traveler!” My eyes widened after not hearing the anticipated words: ‘You are banished’ or ‘Kei is sentenced to death.’ A giant smile was drawn on his face like the revelation had made him overcome with happiness.
“...What?” I asked, not quite hearing him correctly.
“If you track down the person who stole the Waterfall Maidens,” Lord Shibuki elaborated, “and get them back, then we can take the seeds from the flower itself and replant them!” For a moment, the idea sounded great, until one of the chuunins spoke up behind me much to my dismay.
“But, Lord Shibuki, the flowers would wilt after time.” he protested, “And even if he preserves them, he won’t waste time using them.” My shoulders slumped. He was right. Kabuto wanted to use them for his friend; so obviously he wouldn’t hold on to them for very long. Who knows how devastating the wounds of his friend were.
“That’s true...,” Lord Shibuki considered, sinking back into his chair.
“Should we send someone with her to speed up the process?” the other chuunin suggested. Lord Shibuki shook his head.
“Kei should be the only one doing this; she must rectify herself in order to be accepted into the village again. Besides, deploying ninja at a moments notice would waste a lot of time.” Lord Shibuki turned to me, at first smiling gently, then gave me a strange look, “Where did you get that cloak?”
Surprised, I looked down at Kabuto’s cloak that he had given me when he saved me from drowning, “It’s Kabuto’s—the traveler’s.” Suddenly, a spark of realization zapped through my mind, “This could be used to track him down with a Dog Ninja!” Lord Shibuki smiled even more as he nodded to a chuunin who bowed and disappeared in a poof of smoke.
While the chuunin went to get a Dog Ninja, Lord Shibuki handed me a bag of supplies. Inside were about a dozen and a half soldier pills and water. Thanking him greatly for it, I also thanked him for the chance to come back to the village.
In a few minutes after receiving the supplies, the chuunin came back with a cute little snow-white Volpino Italiano dog with a really large magenta bow wrapped securely around its neck.
When the chuunin set the dog down, it said to me in a light voice, “So, where’s the traveler’s cloak?” I bent down to let the dog sniff the cloak thoroughly. With a cringe, he jumped back away from the cloak.
“Yuck. It’s soaked with blood.” The dog said. My eyes widened. So that was the other smell I was picking up back then. I knew it was something other than hospital goods, but I never suspected it to be blood. Just who was Kabuto? What kind of secrets did he have hidden in the shadows?
“Well, Missy, you’d better follow me if you want to track down this person.” The dog said pausing then added, “Though I suggest you take extra precautions when you do find this guy. Some of the scents on that cloak didn’t agree with my nose.” With that piece of caution, I bowed to Lord Shibuki and left his office, my heart beating like crazy. What kind of stuff didn’t agree with his nose? What other things did Kabuto do?
When I got to the village gates, my father was standing there a hand upon the fence. He stared at me unrelentingly, but with a hint of sadness and hidden wishes written deep in his eyes. My father and I didn’t get along great, but he did have his moments. Like now, as I approached him, he pulled me into an embrace. Shocked by the gesture, I put my chin on his shoulder, taking in that familiar scent of home. I really wished I wasn’t going to find some crazy guy that stole rare flowers just for his friend’s benefit and did maniacal things in his spare time. Still, it was probably better than never coming back to the village or being sentenced to death.
“My daughter...,” my father whispered in a weary voice, “...I heard everything; and I can’t believe what you are forced to do.” I wasn’t in the least surprised that my father had eavesdropped on the conversation. He was an excellent ninja—a trait I obviously didn’t inherit. It was imminent that he would be able to hide his chakra from both the chuunins and Lord Shibuki without being found.
“But I must, father.” I answered, “It’s an order from Lord Shibuki himself.” He closed his eyes tightly, not wanting it to be true, but knowing full well that it was.
“Of course... being a ninja of the Hidden Village of the Waterfall it is your duty to listen to your leader and respect the rules and orders he makes.” My father nodded slowly. I didn’t like seeing him like this. It never happened before—my father showing such weakness. He was the light in the dark when bad things happened. He was the one my siblings and I wanted to be like when we grew up. Here he was, that very man, nearly weeping over his daughter doing the thing he was always forced to do every day in his life. It wasn’t right.
“...Yes. We do.” I replied gently.
He placed a hand onto my shoulder, his eyes shimmering with fresh tears, “Please, be careful, Kei. I love you; so does your mother and all your brothers and sisters. Don’t push yourself too much...,”
“Are you almost done, Jii-Jii? This traveler guy’s not going to wait for us.” The dog spoke up from below. I frowned down at the dog, discouraging his rude speech. My father just weakly nodded in understanding. Obviously, he heard the situation as well.
“It is as he says.” my father said, trying to smile despite himself, “Take this, Kei.” He outstretched his hand and in it, I couldn’t choke back a gasp that escaped my lips. It was our family’s secret weapon: The Kiri no Megami! It was a fan-like object that, when waved, would envelop the area with mist; all the while giving you the advantage because it gave you sight in the mist. It was a simple-looking fan that looked like it would be a geisha’s if you didn’t read the kanji written on it, displaying its name or notice the chakra of the mist infused into it.
I stared at my father incredulously, “Y-you... really entrust this to me?” He didn’t immediately reply, he just made me lift up my hand and placed the Kiri no Megami into my palm and made my fingers curl over it, his hand lingering on mine.
“If it brings you back home safely, then I’d give you a thousand of them.” he simply said. Tears welling up in my own eyes, I threw my arms around him, nearly tackling him. Now I really didn’t want to leave. My father, whom I rarely ever got along with, was entrusting the family’s treasure to me. Not only that, he had openly declared that he loved me and truly wanted me back home safely.
After saying our extended good-byes, I left the village, only looking back once to see that everyone from the village had come to the gates to glare at me. Their looks hurt me so much. I didn’t do anything wrong! It was an accident! I wanted to scream at them, but couldn’t. Silently, I vowed to myself that I would—no matter what—get the Waterfall Maidens back. No amount of Kabuto pretending to be nice to me like before; he wouldn’t even matter. He was only an obstacle I had to overcome to regaining my place in my village.