“The Awakening” Saga – 65. The Other Host
A temple on Genbu island
Several shinobi were standing guard outside
"ROOAAAR!!!"
"?!"
"AH!"
"Hey, keep it together!"
"B-but!"
"If...if that thing gets loose we'll-!"
"That's what the temple is for in the first place! It goes out of control, then we seal it"
"R-right"
"Y-yes sir..."
BOOM!
Loud explosions could be heard from within the temple. The men outside could even feel the ground shake
"Ahhhh!"
"H-hiii!!"
"Ugh! For the love of...you're acting like a bunch of little girls!"
"I find that offensive"
"?!"
The man that seemed to be charged was startled at the sudden voice emerging behind him. Turning around, he saw two young Kunoichi. But he was more surprised the young teens managed to get the drop on him so easily
One had green eyes and light ashen hair tied in a bun. The other had blue eyes and blonde hair in a short bob-cut style
"I don't believe either of us have ever acted like THAT in our lives"
"Seriously, for grown men, they need to chill out. It's very embarrassing to our village"
He had a apologetic look
"Sorry about that. I take you two are here to pick 'her' up?"
"Yes, you lot can leave now"
The two young women made there way inside the temple
"W-wait! It's against protocol for anyone to!-"
"She's dangerous!"
Hearing these words, the ashen haired girl turned around with a glare on her face
"You keep talking and I'll show you just how 'dangerous' I can be"
GULP!
The room went quiet before the man in charge led the rest of the guards away. As the pair made their way down a hall, the blonde girl spoke
"Hey"
"..."
"Didn't I just say to be chill?"
"I know, I know"
"That still doesn't sound very chill"
"Sorry, but hearing our would-be comrades treat her like she's some kind of dangerous animal really sets me off. But you're right, it's not like me to lose my composure"
"It's fine, I feel the same way. But they don't know...they don't understand her like we do. In front of that kind of power, it'd be more strange if average guys like them behaved normal. So don't lash out at them too much. 'She' doesn't and has far more of a reason than you to do so"
"...Sorry"
"No worries. Just remember to keep your cool from now on"
"I'll try. But you know...hehe...it's kind of hard to do that considering we're going to meet her"
"...You have point there. Agh! I can feel the heat already!"
Continuing their way into the temple, the pair entered a white room that was engulfed in flames
"Man! She really went all out today!"
"Hold on, I'll get her"
The blonde haired girl walked closer to the flames and a large figure came into view
"HEY! YOU'RE LEAVING EARLY TODAY! PUT THESE OUT ALREADY SO WE CAN GO!"
"?!"
The large figure behind the flames noticed the girl and the flames in the room began to fade. As they did, the large figure also underwent a change, going from large to small in seconds
"Phew. Sorry about that ladies"
What emerged was another young girl with long, straight blonde hair tied in a pony tail. Dark eyes, red lipstick, and uniquely styled outfit with cloud art on various parts of it. Finally, a red sash belt and blue beads on her left arm
"You really went all out today Yugito"
"I'm pretty sure someone as cool headed as you wouldn't mind a little heat Samui" (Yugito)
CLAP! CLAP!
"?" (Samui & Yugito)
"Save the chit chat for later. Let's go!"
The ashen haired girl seemed to be in a hurry and urged the other two girls to leave. After they exited the temple room, Yugito started to look around.
"Did you forget something?" (Samui)
"No. I was just wondering where everybody else went" (Yugito)
"They were no longer needed so I told them to leave before they wet themselves"
Yugito rubbed her head while chuckling awkwardly
"I could hear the explosions from outside" (Samui)
"Ah...I guess I was pretty loud" (Yugito)
"No worries. It's not your fault they don't have any balls"
"Eh?" (Yugito)
"..." (Samui)
"Come on, we're almost out of the temple"
As the ashen haired girl led the group outside, Yugito whispered to Samui
"Hey...did I do something? Why does she seem to be a bad mood?" (Yugito)
"I honestly have no clue. It's true she was irritated by the inappropriate behavior of your 'guards', but she's been in a rush since the day started" (Samui)
Exiting the temple, the trio made their way off the island and onto a boat. The girl leading the group called out to the ship's captain
"We're done here Hikaru! Let's go!"
"Alright, heading for the 'Land of Hot Water'!" (Hikaru)
The boat set sail, moving at swift pace towards its destination. The three girls were the only ones on the deck
"The Land of Hot Water...I take it you didn't want bring us there for a relaxing girls night out. Are we headed to it's capital village Yugakure?1Hidden Hot Water Village" (Yugito)
"We'll meet our client there but our actual work will be near the border between it and the 'Land of Frost'. We've received requests from the Daimyō's of both countries" (Samui)
"Both? What the hell is going on?" (Yugito)
"Apparently, some idiots have been causing trouble for nearby travelers. And its effecting the business of both lands" (Samui)
"Can't their villages handle this? And why would Kumogakure send us?" (Yugito)
"Normally, Kumogakure wouldn't send a team of Jonin like us for such a mission except, they suspect the perpetrator's are related to those 'ravagers' our village encountered a while back"
"Ravagers...hey...wasn't your little cousin on that mission?" (Samui)
"Mhm...this might be the first lead we've had on them in a while. There's no way Raikage-sama was gonna let this chance slip"
"H-hey! Be careful what you say! We're supposed to be-" (Yugito)
"Not to worry. There's a reason we're on a ship that can be piloted by one person. Hikaru-san, like the three of us, is a member of Raikage-sama's 'inner circle'. We can speak freely"
"Still...this timing...I don't like it" (Samui)
"What is it?" (Yugito)
"The village is days away from finalizing the peace treaties with Konoha. And then suddenly, chaos turns up in the countries closest to the Land of Lightning?" (Samui)
"...This whole situation reeks" (Yugito)
"That's why Raikage-sama went to the trouble of reassembling our old squad instead of sending an average team"
"Alright, I understand. Now I know why you were in such a rush" (Yugito)
The ashen haired girl stood up looked towards the sea
"?" (Yugito)
"While I understand the importance of this mission...it's not the reason I'm in such a hurry. I...I just don't want to miss another one of his birthdays..."
"Huh?" (Samui)
"That's right! Rei-chan2Suffix used for endearing expressions. i.e. young children, close friends, babies, and grandparents. It may also be used towards cute animals, lovers, or a youthful woman should be turning nine in a couple of days" (Yugito)
"Your skillset even earned the attention of the late Third Raikage. You've always had a heavy workload" (Samui)
"That's for sure..."
"I can't believe it's been almost two years since I met that cute little rascal. How's he doing Mabui?" (Yugito)
Mabui turned around with a slight dejected look on her face
"We don't see each other as often as I'd like, and the last thing I want to do is create a rift between us. I'm the only family he has left after all. Tango's the one who informs me of his progress and from what I've heard, it's going quite well" (Mabui)
"I could tell just from meeting him for the first time that he had a good head on his shoulders. I doubt you need to worry about him like the way I worry about my brother" (Samui)
"Hehe...Atsui-chan certainly is a handful. The complete opposite of Rei-chan" (Yugito)
"He was practicing his Ninjutsu yesterday and set fire to the house. I swear, chaos is his best friend" (Samui)
Samui made a heavy sigh
"Hehe! See Mabui? Compared to yours, Samui's familial troubles are much worse" (Yugito)
"I won't argue with that" (Mabui)
Yugito stood up and patted Mabui shoulders
"We'll get this mission done quickly and have you back on your way to village just in time for his birthday" (Yugito)
"What she said" (Samui)
"Yugito...Samui...thank you" (Mabui)
"Now let's head below deck so you can give me the rest of the mission details. It's starting to get cold" (Yugito)
"I quite like it" (Samui)
"Brrrr...of course YOU would" (Yugito)
Yugito and Samui made their way off deck with Mabui right behind them. Before going below, Mabui turned and looked at the sea once more
"I truly do hope things go well..."