«THIRD PERSON'S POV»
It was already nearing sundown when the 2 females reached a village. Both were tired and sleepy. Akarina was so tired she didn't even notice the village they had walked into. There was only one thing in her mind: a bed. She dragged herself behind Tsunade while her eyes were slowly closing.
'To hell with it...'
Akarina gave into sleep's awaiting arms and fell to the ground with a thud.
Tsunade walked in the direction of the hotel she was residing in when she suddenly felt as if she forgot something. She stopped and turned to look behind her. The sight before her made her chuckle. There was Akarina, on the ground, sleeping like a baby. Tsunade sighed, knowing she would have to carry her the rest of the way. She walked back, picked her up and walked into the hotel. She walked straight up the stairs to a room on the 2nd floor. She knocked as best as she could with the child in her arms. The door was opened by a fair-skinned girl of average height and slender build. She had black eyes and hair. Her hair was straight and shoulder-length with bangs that cover her ears and frame her face. A pig walked from behind her oinking at her master.
"Lady Tsunade, you're back already? And who is that?"
"Yes Shizune. This is Akarina Uzumaki and she'll travel with us for a year."
"You mean Uzumaki as in the jinchuuriki of ½ of the nine-tails?"
"Yes now let's rest. We've travelled a long distance. She fell asleep right before we reached the hotel. Tomorrow we have a lot of work to do."
"Yes Lady Tsunade."
Shizune bowed and everyone in the room retired for the night.
√AKARINA'S POV√
The bright sunlight seeping in from the window awoke my tired body. I sat up and looked around. I was in an unfamiliar room, it had two more beds and a door which I assumed lead to the bathroom. The memories from yesterday rushed back to me in an instant.
'Hmm I wonder where Lady Tsunade is...'
I got out of the warm and cozy bed. Terrible idea really. The cold hit me like a ton of bricks. It was freezing! It wasn't this cold when we came yesterday, right?
The door opened and a girl I had never seen before appeared.
'I wonder if Lady Tsunade changed her mind and left me with the first stranger she found on the road...'
"Oh, you're awake! I thought I would've had to wake you up."
I gave her a forced smile trying to not be rude.
'I shouldnt be rude! She could've left me on the road but she didn't ya know!'
"Oh, where are my manners! My name is Shizune. I'm Lady Tsuande's apprentice too."
I felt a huge sigh of relief escape from my lips. What a relief!
"It's a pleasure to meet you! I'm Akarina Uzumaki ya know!"
'I didn't know Lady Tsunade had another apprentice!'
"Well, we were just waiting for you so we can head out for breakfast. After that we'll be on our way! Get dressed and don't unpack anything okay?"
"Okay!"
I did my morning routine, got dressed and we headed out. I followed Shizune out of the hotel into a terrible looking place. The moment we walked in a bottle was thrown at us. I barely dodged it while Shizune seemed unfazed by it. It was almost as if she was used to it.
"Why are we here? Aren't we supposed to meet Lady Tsunade at some diner or restaurant or something? This place freaks me out ya know?"
"Well, I guess you don't know as much about her as much as I do. Well I'll explain as soon as we get out of here, okay?"
"Okay. But if any of these weirdos try anything... well I don't know what I'll do because I look the opposite of threatening ya know, so you'll like have to look after me."
She chuckled and gave me a smile.
"Don't worry, I will protect you if anything were to happen."
I gave her a closed-eye smile as we walked further into the repulsive place. I looked around and saw many things kids my age shouldn't be allowed to see. We made our way to the middle of the room where Lady Tsunade was gambling and let me tell you, it was a pitiful sight. She had close to nothing on her side of the table, unlike her opponent to that had his side filled with all the money he won from my new teacher.
'That is just sad, I bet if were to go there and learn the basics of the game, I would surely win back all of that, ya know!'
Shizune grabbed my arm and pulled me over to Lady Tsunade. She tried persuading her into forfeiting and leaving but she was too intoxicated to reason with. I walked closer to try to convince her myself.
"Um Lady Tsunade? Can we-"
"NO! I AM NOT LEAVING THIS PLACE UNTIL I GET SOME MONEY!"
"FINE YOU OLD HAG! WASTE YOUR TI-"
I didn't even see the fist coming until I felt it connect with my head.
"OW! WHAT THE HELL GRANNY! I WAS GONNA WIN YOU BACK ALL THE MONEY BUT WITH THAT ATTITUDE YOU AIN'T GETTING NOTHING YA KNOW!"
"WHO DO YOU THINK YOU'RE CALLING GRANNY YOU BRAT!?!"
Another punch...
«THIRD PERSON'S POV»
Akarina had tears in he corners of her eyes.
'Geez, and I thought grandmas were supposed to be sweet and gentle...'
In her rage, Tsunade managed to hear the last part of Akarina's sentence.
"And how do you plan on doing that?"
"Yeah, how do you plan to win all of this back from me girly? My name is Daisuke and I'm the best gambler while you're just and inexperienced brat."
Apparently, Tsunade's opponent heard Akarina.
"Well old man let's make a bet. I choose what we play and if I win, you give me all the money you have there."
"Let's say you lose, what's in it for me?"
Akarina reached inside her shirt and took out 2 necklaces.
"This one is made of pure onyx, a very precious and rare gem, and this one is made of turquoise and gold. So if you win, which you won't, you'll stay with the money and get these 2 necklaces."
A sick grin made its way on his face. Tsunade was gaping at the redheaded child.
'How can a mere child have so much money on her. Does she know those 2 necklaces are worth much more than all the money on that table?'
"Alright girly you got yourself a deal. What are we playing, Poker, Bingo, Roulette, Slots, Black Jack? You name it we play it."
Akarina looked at Daisuke and everyone in the room looked at her. A brief moment of silence passed until Akarina gave an answer that made everyone fall off their seats.
"Hide and seek."
"WHAT!?!"
"You heard me. You know how to play right?"
"Of course I do you insolent child! What do you take me for? An idiot?"
"I will not answer that question because I have manners but we will play hide and seek. The rules are that I get to hide anywhere in this room, I can't leave the place. Everyone here will close their eyes and count to 10. I'll give you 15 minutes to look for me and if in that time lapse you can't find me, I win. Is everything clear?"
"Yes."
"Okay you can start."
"1, 2, 3..."
Akarina looked around the room...
"4, 5, 6..."
She stood up from where she was without making a sound...
"7, 8, 9..."
She lifted her hands and...
"10!"
When everyone in the room opened their eyes, the redhead was nowhere to be seen. They all looked around and tried to find her. Daisuke stood up from his seat and stretched.
"This will be the easiest bet I've ever won!"
15 minutes later...
"WHERE THE HELL IS THAT BRAT!"
Daisuke was raging and tearing the room apart. He searched everywhere and everyone in the room.
"COME OUT OF YOUR HIDING PLACE YOU DEVIL'S SPAWN!"
"Yeah Akarina, time's up anyway."
Tsunade said truly curious as to where the girl was hiding.
"Okay!"
All eyes turned to a big vase in the corner of the room. It had a beautiful design of a sakura tree. Suddenly, a mass of red hair popped from inside it.
"YOU COULDN'T HAVE BEEN THERE! I MOVED THE VASE AND LOOKED INSIDE IT TWICE! I EVEN TRIED TO TRACE HER CHAKRA!"
Akarina took out her hands from the vase. On her right hand there was a dark colored cloth that could easily camouflage anything inside the vase making it seem as if it was empty.
"Oh that! Yeah I masked my chakra so you couldn't trace it. I also used the cloth to cover up my hair. It's a trick I learned back at the village ya know!"
Furious wasn't enough to describe what Daisuke was feeling. He had lost to a child! He not only lost money, but also his dignity. But she was gonna pay with blood...
Tsunade was beyond happy! Akarina proved to be a good gambler and won all her money back. Maybe she wasn't gonna be so bad to have around...
Akarina walked over to the table filled with money and started counting it.
'Maybe I should learn how to play all those games Daisuke mentioned...it feels sooo good to win..."
Akarina didn't notice the shadow creeping up behind her until she felt someone roughly grab her from behind. She was about to struggle when she felt a cool surface on her neck.
"Alright now just give me the necklaces, I'll take my money and nobody gets hurt."
Akarina's eyes widened as a whimper escaped her mouth.
'No! He can't take those necklaces. They're all I have to remember Ryuuji and Shisui by...'
Daisuke was thrown into a wall as Shizune caught Akarina in her arms.
"Don't worry dear I've got you."
Akarina looked and saw a gaping hole in the wall. From the rubble, she could see Daisuke's mangled body being picked up by a furious Tsunade.
"Listen here you piece of trash, if someone is gonna make that kid suffer, it'll be me and my training,"
Akarina's eyes widened in terror. She looked at Shizune as if to confirm what had been said. Shizune shrugged and tried to smile but to Akarina it looked more like a grimace.
'Oh dear! What have I gotten myself into?!'
"NOW GET LOST!"
Was Tsunade's last words to Daisuke as she punched him into oblivion.
A/n
I am sosososo sorry for taking so damn long to update thus chapter. It was totally my fault and I take all the blame.
I know there are no excuses.
Hopefully, from here on I'll update more often.
Thank you guys for being here and reading my story.
✌✌-mousegoesrawr.