Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Destiny’s Meeting

Kashikoi’s mind was beginning to wander as he pondered whether or not he would’ve broken the door down anyway if he had found the room without Ryuuji’s help.

Wuuuuuuaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa….

An eerie sound came from inside the room. It was enough to make even Kashikoi alert, Ryuuji froze when he realized the door was already unlocked before they got there. Someone… or something was in the room.

“What was that?” Kashikoi asked, looking at Ryuuji expectantly.

“I-I don’t know…” the man replied, looking rather disturbed, he was curious too. “It’s your room.” Kashikoi pointed out, “might as well find out.”

“R-right…” that was all he could muster u for a reply as the sound came again.

WUUUUUAAAAAAAA…..

It was louder this time, and strangely calming. It wasn’t the typical threatening cry one would expect from an intruder. It was… small… the voice of a small child, crying. The sound continued on as they stood there, dumbfounded until finally Kashikoi spoke again.

“Well…?”

He was getting impatient, if Ryuuji was too spineless to open the door, he would do it himself. He grabbed the doorknob, hand folding over Ryuuji’s. Ryuuji in turn gasped in shock over the sudden movement and looked at Kashikoi in surprise. Without a word, Kashikoi twisted the knob; whilst still clasping the latter’s hand as he flung the door open.

“WHAT TH-“ Ryuuji cried out as he ducked.

Kashikoi’s eyes widened in surprise as he was caught off guard; unable to process that a table was flying in their direction. It flew towards him at high speed, having been thrown with immense force. Quickly, Kashikoi grasped the edge of the door and slammed it shut, there was the sound of wood breaking against it and the door lurched forward, groaning and creaking as if to complain at Kashikoi for using it as a shield. Its paint chipped at the middle as it bent at an impossible angle, and its wood splintered, following the paint’s actions

The two panted, mostly out of shock. The room was anything but silent now as loud voices thundered inside. But they were the voices not of strong, deadly shinobi, but of little children. Kashikoi furrowed his eyebrows in confusion as he took a deep breath to clam himself. He was sure now; somebody up there was definitely messing with him. Ryuuji was panting from slight panic now, confusion flooded over him as he heard the yelling and arguing of children. He knew the sound well, often surrounded by the laughter and cries of the younger generation. The man was puzzled, paying more attention to the sounds emerging from the other side of the door more than Kashikoi, who noticed his confusion and decided to act. The pale man had still not let go of the knob, even after the table had smashed into the now abused door. He turned it the other way this time, activating the tumblers, thus opening the door. Bravely, or rather fearlessly-as if danger, death, or the unknown struck but little concern into him, he stepped into the room. Ryuuji stared, thinking that Kashikoi had gone crazy; he sat there for a few moments but eventually-and quite reluctantly, following anyway.

“Damare!!” A little girl screamed at another-one who was crying, as she lifted another table off the floor with an air of ease.

Kashikoi was quite surprised, even he couldn’t hide that fact as it took him a bit of time, and a long stare to realize what was going on. Ryuuji watched the man; he himself was at a loss as of what to do. In almost no time at all though, Kashikoi had appeared behind the girl, taking the table out of her grasp as she attempted to throw it. She gasped and turned around to stare at the man. Her eyes were a brilliant sapphire hue; they shined in the dim light of the early morning sun, making both Ryuuji and even Kashikoi stare. They both had little time to admire this though, because her blank and vacant face soon bore the look of annoyance as a frown made her lips pout.

“BAD!” she said, as if her vocabulary had yet to be developed.

Kashikoi raised a curious eyebrow at the young girl. Judging by her size, he concluded that she couldn’t have been older than eleven--twelve years tops, far too young to be a ninja selectee. Although her usage of words deemed her an idiot at best, a slow learner perhaps. Out of further curiosity, Kashikoi let his eyes leave the girl before him to eye the others in the room. There were two more children there, both girls, both seemingly the same age as the one he currently towered before. She however, didn’t seem intimidated by his height, yet by how he had interrupted her.

“BAD!” the girl yelled again, making Kashikoi’s attention snap back to her.

Unexpectedly, Kashikoi suddenly felt a very painful sting strike his shin as her heel impacted with his flesh, he yelled. “ITAI!”

Glaring at the girl, he snatched her up by the cloth she was wearing. It was a soft fabric that was completely white, adorned with ribbons and frills. She was obviously a very cared for child, a spoiled brat most likely. He growled, she screamed as he lifted her off the ground. The sound of quick movement met his ears as she was snatched away, by none other than Ryuuji.

He glared at Kashikoi furiously, “What are you doing?!” “Her fault.” Kashikoi simply stated, irritating the other man further. He smirked at the reaction. “She’s a little girl!” Ryuuji exclaimed, “I can’t believe you would degrade your standards as to hurt a child!” The corner of Kashikoi’s lip twitched; his signature sign of agitation. “Degrade?” He emphasized the word, adding a threatening tone to it, making the other man take a half-step back.

“BAAAAAAAD!” the girl Ryuuji now held carefully yelled, pointing an imposing and quite accusing finger at the man.

“Hrmph… don’t make me kill you, brat.” Kashikoi huffed under his breath, making sure the rest of them hadn’t heard what he said.

“Now, now…” Ryuuji said calmly to the girl, smiling softly as he put her down, only to gasp and cry out.

She had bitten him. Sinking her teeth into his hand, she managed to draw blood, and ran away to hide behind a table right after. Ryuuji clasped his hand and flinched, knowing all the while that Kashikoi was smirking down at him.

“Tch…” Ryuuji got up. “Take that smirk off your face, Kashikoi-sensei.”

“Bite me first.” Kashikoi simply grinned at him, he was greatly amused.

“Wuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhh!!!” it was the same sound they had heard through the door.

The two flinched at the uttered cry, turning to find that the source was another little girl. She was hunched up in a corner, sobbing, in the direction which the first was about to throw the table. Ryuuji silently thanked God that he was sent there just in time, and with the right company, though he didn’t like the man very much. Either of them dared to think about what might’ve happened if they hadn’t barged into the room the moment they did. This one was a smaller girl, her hair was black, with a very, very, very light tint of brown to it which was hardly noticeable even if you were in the right light. She looked very Ching, with a small, fragile looking thin frame and thick glasses. Which was slightly odd that she would be there—the Chingese would usually be patrons—businessmen of sorts, hardly at all interested in the likes of ninja. But the presence of this child here at their selection facility proved otherwise. They weren’t very reliable on the field usually however, being so fragile and incapable—must have been from one too many days sitting at some wooden desk and filing papers away and brooding over numbers and all sorts of useless nonsense. Kashikoi knew their kind well.

Ryuuji approached this one with more caution, having learned his lesson with the other one. The girl merely continued to sob as she watched him; the same amount of caution as his in her eyes-if not more. He got close enough to grab her if he wanted to; she seemed to dislike the idea and frowned.

“No, no, no…” Ryuuji said. “Don’t be afraid… don’t cry anymore, okay…?”

“Tsk…”

Ryuuji looked at Kashikoi expectantly.

“What?” Kashikoi turned to face him, frowning.“I didn’t say anything.”

“Huh…?” Ryuuji said, confusion getting ready to overload his senses. The situation was strange enough as it was. “Then who…”

“Here.” A soft voice said.

Kashikoi and Ryuuji turned to look at the third girl; Kashikoi had taken note of her presence earlier, but ignored the state she was in. This one had pure nightingale hair, the color of a starless night. It was in a messy two-part fringe in the front, and the rest of it was cut so short, that for a second the two men had mistaken her for a boy. She stared at them with green eyes, luminous like those of a nocturnal animal; they were half-lidded as if with little interest. She even yawned at them.

“Ignoring…?” She said.

Ryuuji took time to notice that her eyes were a very distinct feature, they weren’t just green; they were emerald. She was definitely a Midoritama; Ryuuji and Kashikoi both sensed it in her unique chakra. Most shinobi would have a stable and reserved chakra that gave off a certain feel, an aura if you will. It was retained within the body and secure there, only exerted in the form of attack or use, which allowed them to conceal it from time to time. However, this time he could feel this chakra pulsating away from her, down from her feet in a steady heartbeat, into the ground. She moved as one with the earth, breathed as one with the earth, as far as the Midoritama went, they were the earth. This of course made it all the more easier for this clan to conceal their chakra, all they had to do was let go, and they would be masked as part of the landscape. This girl, seemed very strong in her bond with the earth, it sent shivers down Ryuuji’s spine thinking about all that power. Kashikoi however seemed less interested than Ryuuji, he just stared, or at least, he seemed to--nobody could tell with that hood on his face, shadow obscuring the sight of his eyes. But nevertheless, the man just stood there, face in one direction and not looking like he was going to shift gazes anytime soon.

Kashikoi was sure of himself though, he indeed was staring; under all that shadow and concealment, he was staring. Midoritama weren’t the kind you would mess with, they were known as part of the elite, the deadly, savage, vicious, and respectable. And yet, his eyes were fixated on a little girl with a bored expression on her face, which soon changed into one of discomfort as she realized he was staring at her. Odd, he thought. The Midoritama’s training methods were extreme; he had heard that once a little girl was found a few years ago. Apparently for their first training exercise, the head of the clan--the girl’s supposed father, had chosen to set rabid and hungry wolves on her, to test her survival. It was madness, even for a hard shinobi. If she had lived; which some say she didn’t, she would’ve been roughly the same age as these three girls here now. Kashikoi’s mind wandered again, as it usually did. He pondered about whether or not this was the girl, she seemed stoic enough to be--one usually is when one survives a life and death experience at an early age. Kashikoi continued to stare, this was making her uncomfortable, but he ignored it and finally saw what he was looking for. A telltale scar on her neck, puncture wounds where a large dog would’ve bitten to kill its prey. It was mostly covered by the strands of her hair, but his eyes were sharp, despite the fact that they were shielded under the shadow cast by his hood.

“Ngh…” the girl had looked away from him, turning so that the scar was completely out of sight.

“Kashikoi-sensei, don’t.” Ryuuji said firmly, he was standing now, carrying the smallest one of them in his arms, gently, carefully. What a woman. “You shouldn’t scare children like that, Sensei.”

“Whatever…” Kashikoi sighed, deciding it was better to listen to the woman of a man and just get it over with.

He ignored the smaller man from then on however, and proceeded to the desk at the front of the room. Ryuuji watched him curiously, giving the man a questioning look when he finally looked up.

“What…?” Kashikoi asked, sighing-they had been asking that question a lot lately, and it was getting tiresome. “I came for a scroll, and I intend to get it.”

‘What a prick…’ Ryuuji thought to himself, feeling guilty for again insulting the man in his head. ‘Sorry… but I really just can’t help it right now…’

Kashikoi continued to shuffle in Ryuuji’s desk drawers as the other man watched. He knew that Akemi would usually take advantage of his room and his desk to keep important files-nobody thought to look in a teacher’s desk for anything moderately important. But he never knew she would forget something in there, nor that she could forget. He knew her vaguely, but well enough to know she didn’t fool around unless she was drunk… curious.
Seshiru peeked from behind the table she was using as her shield. She watched the hooded man curiously as he raided the desk in the front. Seshiru had watched her ‘papa’-as she liked to call him still, and knew what a man would look like if he owned the desk he was shuffling through. This man, was utterly confused as per the contents of the desk, she concluded with what shred of an attention span she had, that he was a thief. BAD…

“BAAAAAAAAAD!” she wailed from behind the desk, making Ryuuji look up and Kashikoi drop the paper file he was currently shuffling through.

“Oh my…” Ryuuji said.

“Oh shit…” Kashikoi muttered, “I think I messed something up, thanks to that little brat.”

“BAD!” she said again, while Ryuuji shot him a glare.

Kashikoi sighed again, he was getting tired of all this, and the sooner he found the scroll, the sooner he could get out of this strange gathering. “Chh…”

“BAD man!” Seshiru ran up to him now, attempting to kick him again. “Go away!”

Kashikoi had wised up by now, and he turned to face the child before Ryuuji could stop him. With one quick move his hand made a swatting movement; it would easily knock such a delicate little annoyance away. At least, that’s what he thought, until the back of his arm collided with a small—adorably small—hand as it grasped his wrist. His attempt to ‘swat’ her away was stopped, with but a single, tiny, baby-soft hand… that was now threatening to crush the very structure of his wrist! He yanked his hand away roughly, effectively taking it out of her monstrous grip. She frowned and lunged at him in an effort to topple him over with what looked like a tackle. With his speed, he easily dodged it without thinking, and made it to the other side of the desk as she crashed into it. The wood broke from the force of her fall—as impossible as it seemed—and the table fell apart, folding into itself beneath her small form. Dust rose from the debris as papers from inside flew outward in an intricate and yet untamed pattern, decorating the floor with white.

Seshiru sniffled as she was about to cry, realizing she broke the desk. She was but a child still, and didn’t like being blamed for such things, usually finding someone else to blame it on, an animal, another person, anything. But she knew she could not do so now, because she had done so in front of everyone. The dust that flew out from the splinters of wood managed to enter-and effectively tickle, her nose.

“Ah…” she began, “Wa-hah… aaaah… ACHOOO!!”

FWOOOOOOOOO!!

Fire shot out of her mouth as she sneezed, Kashikoi needed to duck yet again as he was in its natural path. He cursed out loud this time. Ryuuji stepped back plenty as the fire shot out in one clean bundle of… black? As if reading Ryuuji’s mind, Kashikoi looked up to confirm that the fire was indeed black. What kind of girl was this?

“Muuu…” she sniffled again, having sneezed everything out. “Sowwy…” guilt and solemn apology coated her small voice.

Kashikoi straightened himself, resisting the urge to attack the girl-it was how he was taught… to retaliate. ‘She’s just a girl, just a girl Kashikoi… calm down… calm down…’ He chanted in his head, as if it were the only lifeline that prevented him from going completely insane. The irritation, frustration, and annoyance that piled up within him in an ungodly matter was beginning to seethe from his very being, Ryuuji felt it. As if in response to Kashikoi’s peeking anger, he snatched the sapphire-eyed girl away and shooting the hooded man a look while shaking his head.

“Tch…” Kashikoi twitched again, he didn’t need this right now-all he wanted to do was get that scroll and leave.

“Excuse me…” someone meeped.

The small voice made Kashikoi look down; the left of his pants was being tugged by a group of small pale fingers. It was the Midoritama. He blinked as she stared at him, tugging his pants even after he had acknowledged her presence.

“Nanii?” he asked, for what seemed like the hundredth time that day.

“Ano…” she was holding something in her hand, fingers just barely making their way in an improper grip on… a scroll. “Is this what you’re looking for…?”

He was taken aback but nodded, and proceeded to take the scroll from her-all the while her emerald eyes never leaving his shielded face. She smiled; the tone of her voice this time had been different. There was an absence of boredom in it, and a melodious sound of interest and curiosity. Kashikoi couldn’t help but wonder why that was. He blinked at her again when he realized they hadn’t stopped staring at each other. Her eyes didn’t waver as she looked at him though; her gaze was steady and unrelenting-boring a hole into his own unseen eyes as she managed to meet them. She was beginning to decipher him, very slowly. Deciding it was best he left; he snatched the scroll away from her, nodding slightly in thanks before he turned to leave. However he was stopped by a tug at the back of his pants-annoyingly around his right buttock.

“Mnnn…” she hummed curiously, staring at him and keeping a first grip on his pants. “Where?”

He looked at her silently, wondering what on earth she was doing. Oh right, he thought—nearly smacking himself on the head. She was child, and a small one at that--she barely reached the height of his mid-thigh. As usual however, little children tend to have big curiosities, and not even the Midoritama would be an exception. She continued to stare and wait for his reply. Ryuuji was watching until now, holding the two other girls and waiting for the man to make another dangerous move. That was all he needed right now, a reason to hurt him in a physical way. He knew he would regret it later, but he could not stand for any sort of child abuse. Kashikoi raised his hand, and Ryuuji braced himself to attack all the while keeping the two girls he was already handling out of harm’s way. Kashikoi lowered his hand slowly, and Ryuuji tensed as he watched.

“Hehehe…” the girl giggled as he patted her head, and then she began to pout-very thoroughly showing her discontent. “Secret…?”

Kashikoi shook his head, and left in a brisk walk, shutting the door smoothly behind him smirking all the while. He didn’t know why, but as he trotted a steady pace down the hall he was calm… quite calm actually. Suddenly, he stopped, turning, he looked back to the closed door.