Maki sighed happily as she sunk into the warmth of the water around her. Steam curled lazily into the air. She leaned her back against the heated rocks and stretched her arms and legs in a large motion with a satisfied sound. It was really a great feeling to be clean once again. Scrubbing off the layers of grime and blood had a calming effect on her. Had it really been nearly two weeks since she had been even remotely clean? Her smile faded a little and her brows creased at the thought. She wiggled her toes a little in the air.
The blonde intended on saving everyone in due time. There were certainly priorities like Nagato and Obito, but Orochimaru...It had been hard enough to forgive (and by that she meant agree not to hunt down and most likely seriously injure) the snake with Sasuke's situation alone. Now that she was more acquainted with his sadistic tendencies, the decision to condemn him a lifetime in T&I was extremely tempting. Maki grimaced at her own idea, but decided to still give the man at least an opportunity to change. Somewhere deep, deep, deep, down...there still has to be some of Ero-sensei's old teammate that's hanging on right? Maybe. She half submerged her head and blew a mass of bubbles in her frustration.
Her ears twitched. She could hear someone's feet padding along the damp stones followed by the sounds of another body displacing the hot water. Maki flicked her eyes to the newcomer. Thick, medium length black hair tied up in a bun. A pale curvaceous body -it was Jiraiya's fault that Maki would ever even observe that- and startlingly recognizable red eyes. The woman waded deeper into the spring, making it easier to confirm these characteristics. Kurenai, Maki realized with a jolt. Wonder how Mirai is doing…
Kurenai looked up to see the blonde submerged in the water looking at her. Whether she was staring into space or just plain staring was something else entirely, though Kurenai felt slightly self-conscious about it either way. The brunette fidgeted uncomfortably under the weight of the Maki's perpetual stare. After a long silence disturbed only by the sounds of the rushing water, Kurenai could stand it no longer. She blurted out.
"I've never seen you around! Are you a foreign ambassador?" The blonde blinked bemusedly. She waved a hand flippantly.
"No. I'm a Konoha jounin," Maki stated firmly with her wide, blue eyes peering at Kurenai above the water's surface. Frog-like, almost, Kurenai thought until her brain processed exactly what the girl said. A jounin? Her?
"But I've never seen you before. And you're so young! Are you a genius?" The fact that the blonde was a female went unsaid. Kurenai was floored and she couldn't help with her fluster of questions. If the girl was telling the truth, then that meant she was a prime example of females being able to become jounin; as strong as the male shinobi, even. And at her age? Female prodigies were nearly unheard of- only Tsunade-sama. Kurenai caught herself before she began to hero-worship a stranger. A prodigious female that became a jounin but no one (Kurenai, at the very least) had ever seen or heard of. Impossible.
She was interrupted out of her thoughts by the blonde's response. Maki gave Kurenai a wry grin. "Age is deceptive, but I'm no prodigy. I've worked hard and there were a lot of special circumstances surrounding my case. No worries, I'm definitely a strong jounin and loyal to Sandaime-sama."
Kurenai saw a chance here. There was no way that Hokage-sama would let someone as distinctive looking as the blonde wander about the village if she was really a foreign spy. It was also a pretty bold, and honestly stupid, move to pretend to be among the village's best shinobi.
"Can you help me?" She paused. Flustered, she wrung her hands together above the water. "I mean-" the brunette stuttered as she tried to explain. "I want to become a jounin. I want to prove to Asuma, to Kakashi, to Genma that women can become strong."
Maki watched the nervous kunoichi soaking in front of her stare determinedly back at her with earnest eyes. Kurenai was flushed, both from the heat of the hot spring and from having to beg a girl younger than her for training. I wonder if this is what Jiraiya saw when I tried to force him to me for the Chunin Finals. Although, she reminisced, I most definitely wasn't this shy. I want to help Kurenai-sensei, but I haven't taught anyone since Konohamaru and I'm not sure if the Sexy Jutsu and the Rasengan qualifies me to teach.
"Ahhh…" the blonde threw her head back and slid her arms on the stones behind her as she leaned back. "Alright."
Maybe this is is for the best. The first step in changing our future. I'll make a friend out of her!
"I don't even know your name and you don't know mine. Should you really be asking me for training?" Maki smirked teasingly. "Maybe introductions are in order first. I'm alright with training you. Anything to make the village stronger after all."
Kurenai flushed harder, if possible. "Of course! I'm Yuhi Kurenai, Chunin and hopeful Jounin. And you?"
"Tema Maki. New jounin and ex-wanderer." The blonde lazily skimmed her arm about the surface of the water, creating ripples. As the ripples reached Kurenai, Maki continued. "I'll be at Training Ground 29 starting at 7 o'clock for the rest of the week. You can feel free to join me then. We can spar to practice taijutsu. My body is a bit weak right now, so I could use the exercise as well."
Her fellow bathmate shook her head contemplatively before asking, "Do you think I could practice my genjutsu on you?"
"Are you trying to become a tokubetsu jounin specializing in genjutsu before you advance to jounin?" Maki tapped her chin before swimming to sit next to Kurenai. "Speaking of which, what's your nature type?"
"I'm an earth elemental type but primarily a yin release. One of Konoha's best genjutsu users." Kurenai stated proudly.
"If you use pretty tame genjutsus on me, then it's fine. But I've got a pretty dark history and would rather not bring it up." Kurenai furrowed her brows in an obvious question. "Er…" Maki scratched the back of her neck. "I mean...life as a wanderer was pretty rough especially during the war and stuff you know?"
Kurenai nodded in agreement as the hot spring descended into awkward silence. The two young women both sunk deeper in the water as they tried to come up with something to revive the conversation with. Perhaps, Kurenai thought, I could ask her about how Maki feels about Konoha. As a new member, she must not have many friends. Her thoughts were interrupted by a boisterous voice yelling over the wooden wall separating the two genders' baths.
"Oi, Maki! You done yet? I feel like I'm shriveling up into a Shisui-prune. How could the ladies like me then?" Cries of mirth and much back slapping could be heard from the males' side of the wall as the shinobis there laughed along with Shisui.
Maki looked apologetically at Kurenai, her pretty face pouting. "Shisui and I are going out for ramen after this. You just got in a bit ago so...I guess I'll see you in the morning sometime soon?" Kurenai nodded in affirmation.
"Thanks for the opportunity! I'll definitely be there tomorrow."
"Alright." Maki paused before taking in a big breath. "We're leaving Shisui!" The blonde grabbed the towel on her head and, as she leapt out of the hot spring with a loud splash, wrapped it around her body tightly. Kurenai kept her eyes to herself. No need to make her new sparring partner feel awkward.
"Bye Kurenai-san!" The blonde gave a bright smile to the brunette before bounding off into the changing rooms. Said woman chuckled at the cheery girl before sinking down into the water. I'll go get some new genjutsu scrolls from the Archives to practice tonight for tomorrow. And ask around for some more info on Maki. Maybe Anko will know.
Maki's grin stayed glued on her face even as she left Kurenai's company. She was in a truly good mood. Kurama, I've made a new friend! Silence greeted her. Ah! The blonde slapped a palm to her forehead as her grin faded away. I forgot! Kurama's still sleeping. Lazy, fat lump of fur. A half-asleep sounding growl turned into a yawn before falling silent again. Leaving me here all alone, she grouched.
The blonde soon reached her locker where she had stuffed her new bag of clothes into. Pulling the noisy plastic out, she dumped its contents onto a wooden bench. Undergarments went on first before Maki grabbed her orange top. It was a ¾ sleeve qipao style blouse with black lining and wide, billowing sleeves. A tribute to best friend Sakura and a fellow great kunoichi TenTen with a Naruto dash of color.
It looked like Sakura was getting her wish to stuff a Naruto into girlier outfits after all. Though, the qipao like blouse was still easy enough to move around in unlike the other things that Sakura had her try on. Standard black shinobi pants to the calves and black sandals completed her ensemble. As Maki walked out of the locker room, she began to wrap her lower arms up to her mid-palms.
"Ramen, ramen, ramen. ramen" Maki sang as she flipped the curtains of the locker room exit. "Going to get some ramen."
Shisui was already outside waiting for her, and grinned when he saw the joyous, now much cleaner, blonde. "You clean up well, sweetheart!" Maki rolled her eyes and decided to turn the topic to the extremely important mission ahead of them. She didn't even get a word out as they turned a very familiar corner. Mission start.
"RAMEN!" Maki gave a great holler filled with absolute love and devotion as Ichiraku came into view. She moved so quickly that all the bystanders saw was a yellow streak.
"Oy old man! Give me your biggest bowl of miso ramen!" the blonde cried as she barged into the small restaurant and planted herself firmly onto a stool. Shisui stood several feet away blinking in shock at the girl's behavior before following in a calmer fashion. Teuchi did a double-take at the similar features between his current, and favorite, customer and the newcomer. However, the old owner caught himself and smiled in acknowledgement. Shisui quickly ordered his meal and the ramen maker went to the back to hand make his famous noodles.
It only took a brief moment for the two blondes to turn and observe the other. Maki was briefly astounded, while Naruto was open-mouthed in his confusion. The girl knew she would eventually run into her younger male self, -it seemed that with their ramen craziness, it was inevitable- but she certainly didn't expect it this quickly.
The silence that followed was tense. The smaller blonde flinched a little. Why is he afraid?
Ah...right now, we only have ojii-san and Ichiraku. Can't have it stay that way anymore.
"Hey there, kiddo!" the automatic grumbling that preceded this comment had her grinning. "The name's Tema Maki. What about you?" she stuck her hand out in greeting. Naruto glared hard at the appendage, as if it were a cruel joke. Deciding that it was safe, the child tentatively put his hand in hers. When the girl didn't flinch or pull away, he smiled widely and shook the hand more vigorously.
"I'm Uzumaki Naruto and I'm going to be the greatest Hokage ever- ttebayo!" Maki laughed at the child's infectious energy.
"Don't you mean the orange menace?" Shisui slipped himself into the conversation with. "I swear, between the ANBU and the Uchiha police, we still don't have enough manpower to deal with your pranks." Maki's eyes twinkled at the mention of her favorite pastime.
"Pranks, huh..." Her voice trailed mischievously and Shisui paled. "I may have a few ideas you would possibly like. Better yet, what do you say we pull some together?
I just joined the village and what better way to introduce myself to the wonderful people of Konoha than a large-scale prank?" The two chuckled and began to scheme in contained whispers.
Shisui had to admit that this newcomer was already odd from the beginning. Maki was certainly unlike other females that he knew at any rate. It wasn't a bad thing, though. -it would mean that shopping with her wouldn't be nightmarish thankfully- What was even odder was how eerily similar she was to Naruto. He hadn't made note of it before, as he didn't know Konoha's jinchuriki personally, but when the two were together shoveling down ramen at disturbingly fast rates? It was very...odd; definitely too much to be a mere coincidence. It looked like he would have to do some digging eventually. The Hokage probably knows, though he wouldn't tell me. If worst comes to worst, I can always 'borrow' some records to look through.
He absentmindedly finished his noodles and pulled out his wallet. "How much is that going to be Teuchi-san? I'll pay for the kid, too." It couldn't be too much. After all, it was a young woman and a child no more than six years old. The old man handed him a sheet of paper with a suppressed laugh. Shisui looked at the price and blinked. That's nearly all the money I have on me right now! How-? He turned slowly to face the mountain of empty bowls that confirmed the harsh truth. Shisui could hear the figurative crying of his poor, poor wallet as he handed over a wad of bills.
A poof of smoke appeared out of Maki's large empty ramen bowl. A webbed hand poked out of the clearing smoke and waved about.
"Aye Maki-chan. Jiraiya told me to give this to you," the colorful toad held out his other hand. He was holding a big stack of ryo. "This is supposed to start you off until you start taking your own missions. Hokage-sama also got you a place to live at. 15 Yoshi Apt. 6. Bye!" The toad rapid-fired spoke before canceling his own summoning.
Naruto was literally vibrating on his stool from excitement. He began to wave his arms around in the air as he yelled, "We're neighbors, Maki-neesan! Neighbors!" He jumped out of his seat and began prancing about. "Think of all the pranks we can plan and you're a shinobi. You can train me. You'll be the sensei of the greatest Hokage ever!"
Maki, Shisui, and Naruto stood in front of the sad-looking wooden door. It was painted a pretty blue color but with all the wear and tear on the it, it looked nothing but forlorn. Maki put on a brave face and grasped the doorknob. Turning it, she heard the door give an ominous creak.
"Uh...nothing a little grease can't fix?" she tried to suggest optimistically before stepping into the darkness of the apartment. Her hand fumbled against the wall as she tried to find a light switch to flip. "Aha!" with a small, victorious cry, the lights flickered on. The three of them stood in the entranceway; their shinobi-trained eyes tracking the movement of a large spider crawling on the floor. It was a huge, grotesque thing and Naruto screamed in disgust. Maki flung a shuriken at it in a knee-jerk reaction. "Ahhhhh! So gross!" Spider guts splattered on the floor and Maki grimaced at the thought of having to clean it.
With the spider dealt with, her eyes explored the rest of the room. The door opened up to a small living room, dusty and dirty with nothing but a rickety table and two equally rickety wooden chairs. The front right of the living room opened up to a tiny kitchen. The appliances and kitchen tools looked rusty and not very sanitary. A sole lightbulb dangled precariously from the ceiling. Shisui walked over to stand underneath it and prodded it gently. The lightbulb shook from the motion and lit up. "What? I didn't even flip the switch."
To the left of the kitchen there was a short hallway with three doors. Maki and Naruto opened the first door on the right. A bathroom greeted their eyes. Old and yellowed with age, the bathroom looked moldy and rusted. A centipede stopped its ascent up the bathroom wall. Naruto slammed the door shut. "Ne, Maki-neesan, I think your bathroom is a little gross. Why don't you use mine for now?"
"That's a kind offer, Naruto. I'll take you up on it."
Shisui rejoined them with a grim smile. "You have a fearsome battle ahead of you, Maki-chan. I wish you the best of luck." He saluted the two blondes before attempting to hightail out of the nightmarish apartment.
"Not so quickly, Shisui-kun. You're gonna help me aren't you? How could you leave a poor lady and child to fend for themselves?" Maki retorted as she grabbed ahold of Shisui's sleeve. The male stopped with a jerk. "There are still two more doors to explore and we're gonna do it together."
The next door on the right revealed a shelved closet. Naruto opened that door and was attacked by a swarm of moths. Apparently, the last tenant had left some clothes in the closet and it had festered with the creatures.
Maki maneuvered herself behind Shisui, shoving Naruto behind her. She placed both palms flat on her back and pushed Shisui forward. "Open the door for us. It's your turn."
Shisui gulped but did so. He turned the knob and gave the door a hesitant push. He quickly stepped back, herding the girl and boy behind him back, as the door creaked open. Sunlight poured into the room. The wooden flooring was unevenly colored, some patches lighter than others. Sunlight bleaching, Maki deduced. It was surprisingly the cleanest of all the rooms in the apartment. No monstrous sight revealed itself to them. The only thing in the room aside from some dust bunnies was a rumpled futon thrown in a corner of the room. The light fixture seemed fine, the window was uncracked, the ceilings and walls not decorated by the sights of large insects.
The three all let out relieved sighs until they heard rustling. Maki was the first to hear it with her enhanced senses. She turned slowly to face the futon. Whiskers twitched in the air. A wet nose sniffed the air. Two beady black eyes stared into two blue eyes. Two dark eyes and another pair of blue eyes followed the line of contact into the corner. Naruto was the first to respond. He shrieked before running out of the bedroom, down the hallway and out of the apartment. The creature was next to respond. It hurtled out of the futon and scampered out of the room, leaving rat droppings scattering from its nest.
"Disgusting!" Maki snarled as she hurled another shuriken at the giant pest.
AN: Ruka- Well Tsukiko and I are done with college apps now. And we're making an attempt to write better. Writing. Disgusting. We also plundered Bath and Body Works.
Tsuki- Thank goodness. I don't think I could write another college essay blegh. Thanks to everyone who's still sticking with us, old and new!