A Unexpected Visit

[~Mifune~]

A day had passed since my initial entrance into Konoha. My rock throwing plan had worked successfully (I had since discarded the shiki on the rock) and I was finally back in my homeland. I had hidden away my Kiri head band underneath my clothing, so now there was no need for anyone to think I was a threat. Just in case however, I tucked my wakizashi into my Gi, and kept my satchel around my waist. Other than that, I was wearing a simple black shirt,pants, and sandals. I had pulled my mask down to avoid being identified as a shinobi, and walked amongst the crowd in a very nonchalant way.

It felt weird to be within these walls. When I think back to the many trials I have gone through, returning to Konoha seemed surreal. My uncle spoke fondly of the peaceful air of this village, and I know now that he was not exaggerating. I could see children walking hand-in-hand with their parents, and I wondered what my own parents where like. I had no memories of them, and I have no idea how they died. I was an infant when I left this village, and my uncle had been my only link to it. That would change today.

I had already spent a day hidden amongst the many trees of Konoha and was nestled in it's leaves at night. After a day had passed I decided it was time to continue

As usual I looked for an isolated location with little to almost no through-traffic. I found a cozy little park that was fenced off just a few feet away from a local tavern. The Hokage's Residence could be seen just 50 meters away. I flawlessly executed a few hand-seals before placing my hand on a nearby tree, seconds later my shiki would appear across it¹.

The shiki was necessary if I had to return to my homeland if it ever was in peril. My next mission would be to find the only thing left for me here:my parents graves. That would be hard seeing as I had no idea where they were buried.

Now that my mark had been placed I proceeded to wander the streets of Konoha, content with losing myself within these walls, but none the less keeping up my defenses. After all, a good ninja is never vulnerable.

SPOILER: Click to show

¹Hiraishin Shiki-Jutsu (Flying Thunder God Technique Formula)
Rank: SS
Range: -
Type: Supplementary
Handseals: 3
Chakra Consumption: High
Hiraishin, the seal which allows its owner the unique ability to literally cross space and time and teleport to it. Able to be placed on anything, from parchment, paper and weapons, to actual people, this legendary teleportation skill is surpassed by none. It''s easy - by creating a destination marker, or 'technique formula', the owner of the shiki can detect its signal from anywhere in the world, so that they may have the option of warping to it.

Note: The Hiraishin seal cannot be removed by 'Gogyou Kaiin' (Five Elements Unseal), or any other 'unsealing' method; the only legitimate way to 'deal' with it is by destroying the very surface it is placed on, or by killing the owner. User can 'feel' the surface which has seal placed on it, including if/when it is moved, and whether any form of contact has been established with it. The time in which the user is notified of any changes is instant. Once placed, the seal will remain visible for all to see. Users can visit a shiki multiple times, until it is either removed by the user or destroyed.

Chakra Remaining: 1 massive, 1 high

[Naiya]

She shut the front door to her house and gazed at her door for a moment before she had smiled and turned around walking away from it. It was definitely a differently thing being a ninja now. Now you didn't really have a reason to stay home, it was something that you have to be ready to do at any point in the day, so it was just much easier to be outside all the time until bed time rolled around.

She had been getting into the swing of things as her life transitioned from being a academy student to being a full fledged ninja. Having to keep training, which she normally did, and learn new ways of getting better. There was one thing she had been waiting for was the assignment of a team. She knew that, that was going to be something that was going to be of extreme difficulty for her to deal with, since she wasn't the type to like being around other people.

Well she did make a friend not all that long ago so that was something. No matter now, today she wore her headband on her forehead. The bangs of her hair covering most of it anyway. She wore black spandex clothing that hugged her body and over that she wore a black haori which she tied closed with a black belt, across it's design it had red flower petals scattered across it, and in the center of her back a roman numeral 23 was embroidered into it.

For now since she didn't have to go out on a mission, she figured walking around the village would be nice. Patrolling around and keeping the villagers safe, it was apart of a shinobi's job.

[~Mifune~]

I had no intention of bringing attention to myself, but after a few hours of wandering I still had no idea where to even look for my parents grave. I checked every graveyard I could find. I ran across a few "Nara's" but not a single "Jin". If what my uncle told me holds any merit, then my family was a distant relative of the Naras. However no one seemed to have heard of us.

I dared not venture to the Hokage to ask questions, I had not exactly entered the village through ordinary means. Today I was hear as Mifune Jin, not a ninja of the mist. I had no time to go through the red tape of back-room politics. Most likely even if I could gain an audience with the Hokage, she would dismiss me without any further thought. After all, what reason would she have for helping a Konoha defect.

Perhaps another shinobi would be of assistance to me. As long as they didn't ask for identification, I would be fine. My eyes found a small ( but VERY busty) shinobi walking adjacent to were I was sitting. I wasn't very good with dealing with people of her..... build.... but I had no other options. I cautiously approached her, and as I got in range I reached out my hand and placed it on her shoulder

"You mind helping me out?"

[Naiya]

Originally she would have reacted reflexively and gouged out someone's eye with bone's skewering them, but she was a shinobi now. She couldn't just do that within the village, she might run into an accident and severely and possibly fatally, injuring a civilian and she wouldn't want that to happen.

With the touch upon her shoulder stopping her movements, she would halt in mid-stride. Her left foot foreword as she turned just enough to look at who it was that was grabbing her attention. From the appearance it just seemed like a regular civilian, though who knows in reality. This person seemed bothered about something though the look on her face was quite blank. "What seem's to be the problem?" She had to help them since she wasn't doing anything and she didn't have a reason to lie her way out of this.

Naiya figured it wouldn't be a problem to help this person out, they looked harmless enough. Though she did look him up and down as a habit of making sure someone wasn't armed or concealing anything dangerous that she possibly could spot with her eyes.

[~Mifune~]

It was slight, but I could see a small instinctive reaction trigger in the small girl. Those were the nerves of a true shinobi, or at least someone with a lust for battle. Upon looking at the girl's face, I had to pull my mask back upon my own. She was adorable, and her figure was certainly not fitting of her age. I could not calculate how old she was exactly, but she had an air of inexperience about her face. If only it matched her body.

" Erm... I was hoping you would be able to point me out to a specific area.. erm.. more like a person.. uh, people.. well they were people.. uhm...... yeah."

I really need to shut my mouth. Any further and I would risk humiliating myself even more. I had no reason to be nervous around this little girl, but her stoic face had a way of disarming me. Me, a specialized killer, who had committed atrocities so terrible they were forbidden to be common knowledge. I began scratching my head as I wracked my brain, thinking of something to say.

[Naiya]

Naiya had a moment to register what it was that this person was talking about. He wanted directions, though he did seem a lot more bothered now because of something. Naiya had no clue, but she did pay attention that he had a black mask. It was something out of place for her, i mean really how many people walk around with a black mask? though she didn't make a mention of it and just kept it to a mental note.

With her gaze focused now upon his eyes, she stared at up, given that he was quite taller then she was, at him. "I can attempt to guide you in the right direction, but there is no guarantee. Do you know what it is that you are searching for?" She was also at the same time keeping to memory the man body language, and appearance.

[~Mifune~]

Again I was face to face with that stoic stare. I averted my gaze and calmed myself. She was just some kid, who cared what she looked like. Returning my gaze with new found confidence, I spoke:

"I'm searching for a place where they would bury shinobi fallen in battle. You see I have relatives there, and I have never actually paid them a visit. It's almost like a pilgrimage for me, so its very important I find there graves."

I began scratching my head and looking up towards the sky. I had gotten out the easy part, but how was I supposed to explain why I was looking for these graves? I knew whom to search for: Riku (my mother) and Takeshi ( my father). But my uncle had never directly mentioned there last names, I had always assumed it was the same as mine. However I had gotten the "Jin" in my name from my uncle. So it was possible they did not share the same last name. For now lets go with the obvious.

"They're names are Takeshi and Riku Nara. Have you heard of them?"

[Naiya]

So he's looking for the deceased then. Well she could only assist on that for so far. Most of the dead were from a time before she was a shinobi, so she really didn't know any of them. She may have heard of some of them, but no guarantee that she knew of these particular ones that this one was looking for.

"I never heard of those names, but there are a couple places you can look at." While she may not have heard the names, she had a couple ideas that she could suggest to him. "Well, let me correct myself, not a couple places, but more so rather two." He did mention the clan name Nara, but if his relatives were Nara, wouldn't that make him one as well? At the same time, Naiya was able to tell something just from this conversation, he wasn't from konoha. "You can go speak with members of the Nara clan and ask about them and see if they have some sort of graveyard for their clansmen, but the other option is the Memorial stone near the shinobi's third training ground."

[~Mifune~]

As the girl spoke I began to list in my head the places my parents could be buried, and came up with the same two places she had. Unfortunately I had already scoped out (broken into) the record room of the Nara clan, and not a single mention of my parents had came up. Perhaps this memorial stone was the best place to search. I once again found myself putting my fate in the hands of this little girl.

"Well you see, I'm from a.... distant part of Hi no Kuni, so I'm not all to familiar with Konohagakure. Perhaps you could show me to this memorial stone?

I wasn't necessarily keen on accompanying the girl any longer than was needed. I had a feeling that she was beginning to catch on to me, and I could not afford to be identified as a ninja, for then I would lose the discretion I had worked so hard to maintain. If I had wanted to announce my presence I would have passed through the gates like a normal person instead of going way out of my way just to enter. Perhaps I should have chosen an academy student? Then again, I would risk being jerked around even more than I am now. Yeah, this girl really was my only hope.

[Naiya]

Well she wouldn't have expected someone to be familiar with konoha unless they were given direction prior to arriving or they have lived in konoha. Naiya broke her gaze with him and faced him now as she studied his face while they were still talking. I figure it couldn't hurt." it's not like the Memorial stone was private, anyone could go and visit the memorial and pay their respects. Though what she found a tad surprising was how far out these clansman had family members at. Well guess it's to be expected, it would be strange if people stayed in the same spot that they were born in. Least that many people, someone was bound to be the odd ball out and want to see the world.

I can lead you there, so you may follow me. She thought of it as well, she, herself, never really visited the memorial stone. Yes, she knew where it was at, but she never actually paid a visit. Most of what she did was see it off in the distance whenever she was at the third training ground location since it was not to far from it.

[~Mifune~]

I smiled to myself as the girl agreed to take me to this memorial stone. At this point, I was very anxious to get this over with. Years of wondering and questions are finally gonna be answered today. At least, I'm hoping they are.

I wasn't really in a mood to be let down. I had already been through so much shit in order to get this far, if it was all for nothing not even the Mizukage could calm my rampage. The girl began to walk and I followed her. For such a young woman she possessed an amazing aura. I had a feeling that this girl would come to do many meaningful things in the future. Perhaps she could be an ally in future exploits?

"So your a genin huh? A newbie? Well trust me shit only gets more tedious from here... er.. or so I've heard."

I was not very good at communicating with women, but she was only a little girl, so she didn't disarm me as much. Maybe if I got to know the kid, things wouldn't be so awkward.

[Naiya]

The walk there would be a tad lengthy, but she couldn't just go at ninja speed. As far as she knew, least not counting her suspicions, he was just a civilian, but that didn't mean she would let her guard down. as she led she would glanced back at him as he spoke. Instantly identifying her as a genin, did something about her scream genin? Maybe it was her height, she is quite small for a shinobi who has been around for a while.

She did give a slightly narrowed stared at him, like she had just noticed something, rather it was in how he spoke.

"Well it is the shinobi life, it's difficult no matter what. You're only lucky if your village is not in war." Least that's how she saw it. This was a job that you'd have to risk your life at any moment, it wasn't something that was made of sunshine and rainbows.

[~Mifune~]

Yeah.... war. War's only supposed to be used as a last resort, but lately shinobi have been content with waging war for their own personal reasons. There are so many battle-hungry maniacs in this world, and as a shinobi you are the instrument of their will, or their destruction. Either way, you will be forced into many situations in which you will have to choose your village over your own peace of mind. Let's just hope your ready for that."

As I spoke, I returned her cold stare. She had no idea the things she would be asked to do in her life as a shinobi. I wonder if she would have chosen this path if she could take a glimpse at what war was truly like. Though I was not one to talk. It was only recently that I had been exposed to war's horrors, and I cant lie and say I handled them well.

For me, there was no quitting. If I were to cease being a shinobi now all the lives I took would be wasted. But this girl was still inexperienced, she could still be saved from needless bloodshed. She could still keep here innocence. I looked away after realizing I had been staring for too long. What did this girl know about life as a shinobi?

[Naiya]

It was something expected to happen when living the life of a shinobi. There was no way one can be a shinobi and not expect to see blood shed. If only did expect that, then only an early grave is waiting for them. "You sound as if you speak from experience..." she stated as she looked away from him. Looking foreword, but she didn't stop talking. "I took this path, knowing full well, what I will be doing." While, yes, she was currently an innocent when compared to most other shinobi's who have been doing this for quite sometime.

The only upper hand, she felt she had, was her bloodline. The battle lust filled blood of the Kaguya flowed through her. Battle was something she expected, matter a fact, she yearned for it some days. "My village is what comes first, no matter what. If I was concerned about my own mental stability then I should have never picked up a kunai in the first place." She was firm on her decision to be a kunoichi.

[~Mifune~]

Heh. Seems like Konoha shinobi are more dedicated then I give them credit for. Well, this one at least. Maybe I'm being just a little too pessimistic. This girl truly believed that she was prepared for life as a shinobi, and her confidence was echoed in her words.

"You're a good kid. The world could use more like you.

I'm starting to appreciate Konoha a little more. If I had been born here would I be as strong willed as her. I chuckled as I notice the admiration I had for this little one. Heh, if she was a few years older maybe I could get over my xenophobia.

I would continue following her to the memorial site. I had butterflies dancing in my stomach as I was tempted with the closure of finding my parents. My uncle had described them as kind and admirable people, the exact opposite of me. What would they think of me being a mist shinobi? Would they be proud? My face was lifted towards the sky in thought, and I simply followed the echoing footsteps of my new acquaintance.

" The sky is so blue here. You're a very lucky woman. Something tells me you don't have many friends though. 'Prolly cuz' you have that steel like stare."