Categories > Anime/Manga > Naruto > Shades of Black
“Catch me if you can, Ikari!” The fiery red head called back to her cousin, younger by seven moons, as she darted through the forest, laughing. The two had been playing in the forest all morning, not paying any attention to the layers of frost covering everything. After all, it was only a common thing in the Hidden Frost Village. Six-year-old Ikari smiled slightly at her older cousin’s behavior, before dashing off after her. Trees flew by at a quick pace, both girls using their newly found, chakra enhanced speed. Frosted foliage crunched softly under their bare feet, loose pants and shirts catching the slight wind. Neither found the forest to be ominous as some of the other villagers did. The large, sturdy trees loomed over them. Young and old, each watched over the forest creatures and provided a home to those in need. The Elda Trees whispered their stories in the wind, age-old legends, long forgotten by any mortal being. The two younglings, however, had not been taught to listen for such things, and continued their gleeful games without any hesitation.
“I’ll catch you. You can count on that Eri!” Ikari shouted back. The younger girl pushed herself to go faster to catch up with the fire-haired one. Giggles permeated the air as the Guardians of the forest watched on in amusement. They followed at a pace that was leisurely to them and kept up with the two young ninja’s-in-training easily. Their silver and gold eyes watched the Chosen’s. Soon, they would be ready to receive the Gift. Soon, their lives would be changed forever, for better or for worse. The great Mother Wolf Spirit and Father Wolf Spirit had said as much, and such would be done.
“Ha-ha! I told you I could get you!” came Ikari’s jovial cheer as she tackled Eri to the ground. The two younglings wrestled around, tugging at each other’s clothing and hair, bright hazel eyes shining with unusual mirth. Unusual, because the two never really had the chance to be the children that they were. Eri managed to worm free of Ikari’s grasp and darted away in laughter once more. Ikari followed after, but soon found that her cousin had disappeared from sight.
“Eri! Eri! Where are you Eri!” the youngling trembled, having never been alone in the forest before. Eri had always been with her. Seeing this, the Guardians sent waves of calm to the little one. It seemed to work some, as her searching became less frantic. Ikari’s searching led her back in the direction of the Village. Once she was close to where she knew was the forests borders, she heard a twig snap. She froze in place, straining her hearing. She cautiously took another step forward and another. A hand grabbed her arm suddenly, and Ikari would have screamed, had another hand not darted out to cover her mouth. The person who had a hold of her, pulled her back behind a tree.
“Shh! Ari. It’s just me!” Eri’s familiar voice brushed her ear in urgency. Ikari sensed the fear in her voice.
“Eri, what’s wrong?”
“Don’t you smell it?” Eri asked. Ikari looked into her cousins matching hazel eyes and tilted her head side ways then concentrated on the smells around her. The musky sent of the forest, the dampness of the earth, the sweet sent of Wintersweet’s nearby. Then, concentrating harder, Ikari picked out what Eri was talking about. Smoke. The two looked at each other and crept forward some more, nearing the edge of the forest. Once there, the two sat behind some shrubs. Ikari whimpered quietly at the sight; Eri clutched the younger ones hand in a tight grip. Before them, their village was burning to the ground quickly. Yet, the fire wasn’t like any the two had seen before. It burned blazingly hot, but was not the right color. Instead of orange, red and blue, it burned a blazing white, similar to the color of the White Plains.
People cloaked in black ran around, setting everything alight, and laughing when they ran across a burning Frost villager. One wandered close the forest, making sure nobody escaped, and Ikari couldn’t help but whimper again. The person’s head snapped to look in their direction and the two found themselves looking into bottomless eyes. Without further delay, the two ran. Ran as fast as they could, back through the forest. Shadows closed in around them, the sounds of a few pursuers behind them as dusk started to fall.
The two jumped over logs and bushes, thickets pulling at their clothes and scratching their skin. The Elda Trees watched on in dead silence, adding to their endless tales. The pursuing ninja never got close to the younglings, despite their determination. The Guardians wouldn’t allow it. It was because of the Guardians, that the younglings stumbled upon an old deserted cottage in safety. Ikari and Eri stumbled in and locked the door, being quick to hide. They huddled in a dark corner of a closet for the remainder of the night, hugging each other tightly, letting tears stream down their pale cheeks shamelessly.
“I’m scared, Eri.” Ikari whimpered.
“Me too.” Was Eri’s meager reply.
“Chase away the demons.”
Ikari jerked up in bed, panting, a thin layer of cold sweat coating her skin. Chase away the demons. The words echoed in her mind as she slowly swung her legs over the edge of her bed. She ran her hands over her face. She moved her tongue around in her mouth, attempting to rid it of some of its dryness. That only did so much though.
The silver-eyed ninja stood up and wandered into the small kitchen. She grabbed a glass from the cabinet and filled it with tap water, downing it and two others. Once her stomach and mouth were appeased, she quickly flicked the curtain to a window above the sink out of her way for a moment. The sun was just starting to come up. With a sigh, she padded into the bathroom. The hot water took a while to warm her chilled, pale skin. She took her time to wash her long, dark hair. When she finished with that, she washed off her body and stood in the shower for a few minutes, allowing the heat of the water to relax the muscles in her back that were constantly tense.
‘It’s been awhile since I had that particular dream.’ Ikari sighed again and shut the water off. She dried off and walked from the bathroom, in her natural state, since she lived alone. She stepped into her room and ran a brush through her hair before picking out clothes for the day. Black pants and a black, long-sleeved shirt. Like usual. She pulled on her black, fur-lined boots. She made quick work of her hair, twisting, weaving and braiding the bones and beads back into it. After she was finished with that, she pulled on her black, fur-lined jacket and headed to Kree’s “castle”.
The “castle” was merely the biggest building in the Hidden Ice. The older sections of the building were made of stone, but the newer sections were made out of the special chakra molded ice. Ikari stepped inside and searched for Kree’s chakra waves. She received a distressed signal coming from the study and she quickly walked that way. Upon reaching the study, she walked in, not bothering to knock. Kree wouldn’t mind.
“I said to send Mikomo’s men to Fayne as back up!” Kree shouted in his native tongue at a man Ikari had seen around but hadn’t particularly cared enough about to get his name. The man was about to retort when Ikari coldly said,
“You dare question Lord Kree’s orders?”
“Ikari. Good morning.” Kree slightly nodded in her direction. She returned it before directing her attention back to the disobedient man. The way he looked at her made her want to laugh. His conflicting emotions showed clearly on his face. Should he talk back to Lord Kree’s advisor? Should he simply swallow his pride and back down? He seemed to, rather reluctantly, pick the last one. He turned to face Kree once more.
“I apologize, my Lord. I should not have spoken out of place. I will inform Mikomo that he is to take his troops to the North and assist Lord Fayne and his men.” The man bowed and went to leave, but Ikari’s words caused pause in his step for a moment.
“You will do it right away, whether they still slumber or not. If I come back from my meeting with Lord Kree, and find even one of Mikomo’s men still here…” she left the rest to the mans imagination as he hurried out of the room. When his footsteps disappeared, Ikari turned to Kree. He was rubbing his temples, the dark lines under his eyes making him seem so much older then his twenty-one winters. Ikari walked over and rested a hand gently on Kree’s shoulder comfortingly. He glanced up and smiled at his friend.
“Don’t worry about me. I’ll be fine. I just wish this war would end soon, and in our favor.”
“I agree. Perhaps the Konoha ninja will be of help to us.” Ikari said slowly, as if tasting the words.
“I thought you did not want the help of outsiders. I thought you didn’t trust them.”
“And you thought right. However, I cannot see any other option. We need help, whether we want to accept that or not. I do not trust the Konoha ninja…completely.”
“You say that as if you have an ounce of trust in them.” Kree raised a light colored eyebrow and took a sip of the warm tea that was in front of him. He silently offered some to Ikari, but she declined.
“I trust the Hyuga.” Ikari said softly.
“Hyuga?”
“The one with light lavender eyes. It has been a while since I’ve seen him last, we were quite young. It was before I came to this village. Before his father died. I will never forget those eyes though. The Byakugan.” Ikari watched as Kree nodded his head.
“So, I can trust him as well then?” Kree inquired.
“I believe so, yes. His family helped mine, once upon a time. He knows a lot about the war in these lands. He also knows a little bit about our customs, though if he remembers them or not can be questionable.” Ikari replied. Kree nodded again and digested the information.
“Though I wouldn’t trust him with all your heart, my friend. Even friends are known to turn on each other in calamitous times.”
“I am not that daft, pup.” Kree gently snapped at Ikari. The corners of her mouth twitched upwards. Kree had always been easy to offend, if you knew how to go about doing so.
“Of course not.” She said playfully. Kree swatted at her.
“Don’t you have some Konoha ninja to baby sit?” Kree laughed at Ikari’s half-serious, half-mocking groan.
“I’ll get on that then.” Ikari said, before slipping out of the study.
“I’ll catch you. You can count on that Eri!” Ikari shouted back. The younger girl pushed herself to go faster to catch up with the fire-haired one. Giggles permeated the air as the Guardians of the forest watched on in amusement. They followed at a pace that was leisurely to them and kept up with the two young ninja’s-in-training easily. Their silver and gold eyes watched the Chosen’s. Soon, they would be ready to receive the Gift. Soon, their lives would be changed forever, for better or for worse. The great Mother Wolf Spirit and Father Wolf Spirit had said as much, and such would be done.
“Ha-ha! I told you I could get you!” came Ikari’s jovial cheer as she tackled Eri to the ground. The two younglings wrestled around, tugging at each other’s clothing and hair, bright hazel eyes shining with unusual mirth. Unusual, because the two never really had the chance to be the children that they were. Eri managed to worm free of Ikari’s grasp and darted away in laughter once more. Ikari followed after, but soon found that her cousin had disappeared from sight.
“Eri! Eri! Where are you Eri!” the youngling trembled, having never been alone in the forest before. Eri had always been with her. Seeing this, the Guardians sent waves of calm to the little one. It seemed to work some, as her searching became less frantic. Ikari’s searching led her back in the direction of the Village. Once she was close to where she knew was the forests borders, she heard a twig snap. She froze in place, straining her hearing. She cautiously took another step forward and another. A hand grabbed her arm suddenly, and Ikari would have screamed, had another hand not darted out to cover her mouth. The person who had a hold of her, pulled her back behind a tree.
“Shh! Ari. It’s just me!” Eri’s familiar voice brushed her ear in urgency. Ikari sensed the fear in her voice.
“Eri, what’s wrong?”
“Don’t you smell it?” Eri asked. Ikari looked into her cousins matching hazel eyes and tilted her head side ways then concentrated on the smells around her. The musky sent of the forest, the dampness of the earth, the sweet sent of Wintersweet’s nearby. Then, concentrating harder, Ikari picked out what Eri was talking about. Smoke. The two looked at each other and crept forward some more, nearing the edge of the forest. Once there, the two sat behind some shrubs. Ikari whimpered quietly at the sight; Eri clutched the younger ones hand in a tight grip. Before them, their village was burning to the ground quickly. Yet, the fire wasn’t like any the two had seen before. It burned blazingly hot, but was not the right color. Instead of orange, red and blue, it burned a blazing white, similar to the color of the White Plains.
People cloaked in black ran around, setting everything alight, and laughing when they ran across a burning Frost villager. One wandered close the forest, making sure nobody escaped, and Ikari couldn’t help but whimper again. The person’s head snapped to look in their direction and the two found themselves looking into bottomless eyes. Without further delay, the two ran. Ran as fast as they could, back through the forest. Shadows closed in around them, the sounds of a few pursuers behind them as dusk started to fall.
The two jumped over logs and bushes, thickets pulling at their clothes and scratching their skin. The Elda Trees watched on in dead silence, adding to their endless tales. The pursuing ninja never got close to the younglings, despite their determination. The Guardians wouldn’t allow it. It was because of the Guardians, that the younglings stumbled upon an old deserted cottage in safety. Ikari and Eri stumbled in and locked the door, being quick to hide. They huddled in a dark corner of a closet for the remainder of the night, hugging each other tightly, letting tears stream down their pale cheeks shamelessly.
“I’m scared, Eri.” Ikari whimpered.
“Me too.” Was Eri’s meager reply.
“Chase away the demons.”
Ikari jerked up in bed, panting, a thin layer of cold sweat coating her skin. Chase away the demons. The words echoed in her mind as she slowly swung her legs over the edge of her bed. She ran her hands over her face. She moved her tongue around in her mouth, attempting to rid it of some of its dryness. That only did so much though.
The silver-eyed ninja stood up and wandered into the small kitchen. She grabbed a glass from the cabinet and filled it with tap water, downing it and two others. Once her stomach and mouth were appeased, she quickly flicked the curtain to a window above the sink out of her way for a moment. The sun was just starting to come up. With a sigh, she padded into the bathroom. The hot water took a while to warm her chilled, pale skin. She took her time to wash her long, dark hair. When she finished with that, she washed off her body and stood in the shower for a few minutes, allowing the heat of the water to relax the muscles in her back that were constantly tense.
‘It’s been awhile since I had that particular dream.’ Ikari sighed again and shut the water off. She dried off and walked from the bathroom, in her natural state, since she lived alone. She stepped into her room and ran a brush through her hair before picking out clothes for the day. Black pants and a black, long-sleeved shirt. Like usual. She pulled on her black, fur-lined boots. She made quick work of her hair, twisting, weaving and braiding the bones and beads back into it. After she was finished with that, she pulled on her black, fur-lined jacket and headed to Kree’s “castle”.
The “castle” was merely the biggest building in the Hidden Ice. The older sections of the building were made of stone, but the newer sections were made out of the special chakra molded ice. Ikari stepped inside and searched for Kree’s chakra waves. She received a distressed signal coming from the study and she quickly walked that way. Upon reaching the study, she walked in, not bothering to knock. Kree wouldn’t mind.
“I said to send Mikomo’s men to Fayne as back up!” Kree shouted in his native tongue at a man Ikari had seen around but hadn’t particularly cared enough about to get his name. The man was about to retort when Ikari coldly said,
“You dare question Lord Kree’s orders?”
“Ikari. Good morning.” Kree slightly nodded in her direction. She returned it before directing her attention back to the disobedient man. The way he looked at her made her want to laugh. His conflicting emotions showed clearly on his face. Should he talk back to Lord Kree’s advisor? Should he simply swallow his pride and back down? He seemed to, rather reluctantly, pick the last one. He turned to face Kree once more.
“I apologize, my Lord. I should not have spoken out of place. I will inform Mikomo that he is to take his troops to the North and assist Lord Fayne and his men.” The man bowed and went to leave, but Ikari’s words caused pause in his step for a moment.
“You will do it right away, whether they still slumber or not. If I come back from my meeting with Lord Kree, and find even one of Mikomo’s men still here…” she left the rest to the mans imagination as he hurried out of the room. When his footsteps disappeared, Ikari turned to Kree. He was rubbing his temples, the dark lines under his eyes making him seem so much older then his twenty-one winters. Ikari walked over and rested a hand gently on Kree’s shoulder comfortingly. He glanced up and smiled at his friend.
“Don’t worry about me. I’ll be fine. I just wish this war would end soon, and in our favor.”
“I agree. Perhaps the Konoha ninja will be of help to us.” Ikari said slowly, as if tasting the words.
“I thought you did not want the help of outsiders. I thought you didn’t trust them.”
“And you thought right. However, I cannot see any other option. We need help, whether we want to accept that or not. I do not trust the Konoha ninja…completely.”
“You say that as if you have an ounce of trust in them.” Kree raised a light colored eyebrow and took a sip of the warm tea that was in front of him. He silently offered some to Ikari, but she declined.
“I trust the Hyuga.” Ikari said softly.
“Hyuga?”
“The one with light lavender eyes. It has been a while since I’ve seen him last, we were quite young. It was before I came to this village. Before his father died. I will never forget those eyes though. The Byakugan.” Ikari watched as Kree nodded his head.
“So, I can trust him as well then?” Kree inquired.
“I believe so, yes. His family helped mine, once upon a time. He knows a lot about the war in these lands. He also knows a little bit about our customs, though if he remembers them or not can be questionable.” Ikari replied. Kree nodded again and digested the information.
“Though I wouldn’t trust him with all your heart, my friend. Even friends are known to turn on each other in calamitous times.”
“I am not that daft, pup.” Kree gently snapped at Ikari. The corners of her mouth twitched upwards. Kree had always been easy to offend, if you knew how to go about doing so.
“Of course not.” She said playfully. Kree swatted at her.
“Don’t you have some Konoha ninja to baby sit?” Kree laughed at Ikari’s half-serious, half-mocking groan.
“I’ll get on that then.” Ikari said, before slipping out of the study.
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