The Missing Fiancé

The morning sun was sneaking in Kazuo's room through the open window. Some fresh air always helped the teen work on his paintings. Warm and cold colors were blended into a strange, intimidating portrait of somebody that Kazuo seemed to remember from the past. He decided to finish the painting with a couple of final touches and then drew his signature down on the right corner of the canvas he’d been working on all night long, as he only managed. Uh, looks like I won’t have time to rest before I head off. He put on a regular outfit, a blue shirt and black pants, and while wearing his boots he was hoping she would like the painting. He tried on a few jackets before deciding to go for a black one, a pretty usual choice, and then packed his tent-cloak in a backpack along with his genin gear, just in case they were going to need to sleep somewhere in the forest.

The day before somebody delivered Kazuo a letter in which were included the details about a mission he had to complete with Hariko Satsune, one of his classmates back from the academy years. Back then she was probably completely ignorant of his existence, as Kazuo would always try to avoid the infamous girl that many feared. He was ready to head off, so he grabbed the letter, the fresh painting and his bag and shut the door behind him. The sunlight made it hard to see, as he had been painting all night. The weather was strangely nice and warm and the day had already begun for most citizens. He met many acquaintances on his way to the gates, the village was busy. He was about to pass through the gates and that was when he noticed the clouds that decorated the bright sky.

Several steps later, he was already out of the village. Walking through the tall trees, he figured he would have to hurry in order to be there in time. Their meeting place was supposed to be somewhere on the route leading to one of Fire Country's popular lakes for fishing. Kazuo hoped his comrade would also be there on time, in order for them to start working as soon as possible. A mission was always something exciting enough on its own, and a comrade excited the young genin even more. He had to go on a mission that required social interaction and teamwork. Probably a mission that wasn't simple enough to be carried out by a single shinobi. But this time, his comrade was not just an ordinary genin. He was about to meet and cooperate with the girl that was once the child his peers were so afraid of. She would cause trouble and bully other kids in the academy. She was some sort of a leader among the strong students that got to torture the rest. Kazuo was a bullying victim and despised bullies, people that could cause physical and psychological harm to others. He had overcome his fear towards bullies a long time ago and got to become more confident around people as soon as he met his first ever friend.

At the present time, he wasn't a bullying victim, but Kiretsu Kazuo, a male genin on a mission. Ignoring trivial things like that was his goal. In fact, he even painted his comrades portrait, or at least created something that looked more like her in her academy years than her current self. He tried to make it as realistic as possible by trying to remember her features from the few times he had seen her around in the village. He was pleased with the outcome and now just hoped his mission partner would appreciate art and his gift. It was a way to introduce himself as an artist, not just a genin, and might prove to become a way for her to like him and not behave like she did towards most academy students.  

I have about twenty minutes to be there, so let’s use this path instead. Kazuo turned right and followed a small path that he knew lead to the desired location. The main route was made around the forest land to avoid any possible dangers. But for a genin this area was a place that they’d use to their advantage. A forest is the perfect place for a Konoha shinobi to move through. And he was sure nothing would go wrong. He was actually right. His steps caused little to no sound and he tried to watch his step in an attempt to keep the animals close. Humans scare wild animals and most birds away with sounds of cracking sticks they step on or with speech. However, Kazuo admires nature and takes pleasure in his walks around a place where the air is fresh and nature is not disturbed by human civilization. He was almost about to reach the place where he’d meet his partner, but he instead chose to just stand there and look up. The leaves were dancing in the breeze as the sun rays slipped through them. Kazuo would say he was happy to be there, away from him family and clan, away from his memories. It was a place where his body and mind were able to function properly. But also, a place he was supposed to be working. Yes, he had to keep walking.

As the trees started to become less dense, Kazuo was able to see the open area that was just a couple of miles away from the lake. A figure was also standing there. It was a female figure, dressed in a dark coat. This had to be his mission partner. He decided he would sneak behind and then introduce himself. As he was approaching she looked impatient. Kazuo checked the time and he was eleven minutes early, thanks to the shortcut he chose to follow. He suddenly wore his professional look and before he managed to say hello, he heard his partner’s words. "Come on little teammate.  Show up before I have to explain to the supervisors why my boot is stuck up your ass." He frowned and hesitated for a moment, but then he thought that if she hadn't changed at all, he did change. He cleared his throat to let her notice him and starting speaking to introduce himself.

"Kiretsu Kazuo, Konoha genin. I am here today to work on a mission with you. You must be Hariko Satsune." Before letting her even answer, he thought it’d be a great move to be decisive, and so he went on talking to explain the mission details. "A fisherman has been missing for 24 hours and his fiancé asked headquarters to send somebody on a mission to find him. We were told he was around this lake, but he didn't return. Our job is to investigate the dock and the area around the lake and find him. More details, including the boat’s appearance are in this letter." Kazuo had to act strong and be confident. He shouldn't let her be offensive. He held his painting behind his back in his left hand and handed the letter to her using his right arm. "Oh, and it’s nice to meet you." He faked a smile and now waited to see what her response would be.

The Missing Fiancé

Kazuo had a feeling that his partner would give him an answer that was to be expected by the likes of her. The best scenario would be just calling him something and then moving on to the mission. But of course, she didn’t hold back. By the time Kazuo finished talking, she looked angry and after some seconds of thoughts, she was about ready to compose a symphony of annoying complaints and insults. Kazuo was patiently standing there and hearing everything she had to say. He did provoke her with that polite and professional introduction, but he really didn’t know how else to do it to begin with. After thinking about other possible ways to introduce himself, he figured out that every introduction would result in her going on about how stupid he was and how pathetic the mission she was supposed to complete was. Many words later she finally stopped to breathe and it only took her some seconds before opening her mouth again. Fortunately, she at least tried to think about the mission.

He was about to answer, but he instead just thought to himself and let her continue. Believe me, miss, I don’t like you either, but this is our job. The two of them were silent for some seconds. She finished her sentence and fixed her hair and coat looking up, however, this moment of piece came to an end as she started complaining in a now soft and ironic tone about how stupid the way he introduced was, and how she didn’t like the fact she had to be there. Kazuo simply ignored her. She obviously didn’t care about the mission details and looked at the letter with disgust, so he slightly opened one side of his jacket and placed it in a small pocket. He let out a sigh and made a step forward after her final sentence that asked him to lead the way with a cold and fake smile.

“Of course I will lead the way, Hariko-chan.”

He managed to perfectly copy her expression and tone. Was it sarcasm, irony or a pure coincidence? He would never know, but he did know it delivered his message. He was there to carry out his mission and he wouldn’t care less about her. He decided to start walking. After taking his first few steps he had his back turned to Satsune and he started waving the painting around like carrying shopping bags, but in a way that she coulnd’t figure out what it looked like. The paints were already dry but the canvas still let out a fresh scent of the young man’s piece of art. He just needed to lead her to the lake and start searching for that fisherman. They had to find him, preferably alive of course, but it wasn’t impossible to find a dead body. The ground turned into a declivity that lead straight to the lake. They had covered the distance quickly enough to avoid any more talking and were now able to spot the water from up high where they were descending the hill.

“We will have to mainly search for him around the lake shore. Chances are he either had an accident in the water or lost his way due to the storm that broke out at the dawn he was supposed to return home after a night out fishing. Although we will probably find him alive somewhere in the forest, we can’t rule out the possibility of theft or any other criminal act against him. We should even consider homicide for whatever reason if we discover a corpse. His social status doesn’t depict wealth or high incomes in order for him become a target, but it is possible.”

He stopped walking when they were some meters away from the lake shore and adjusted his backpack. He looked left and right to see if there was something obvious to help them. A clue, tracks or footsteps, even his body. About thirty five meters away, he detected a boat. “Looks like we found his boat. Let’s have a look there.”  Surprisingly enough she was following him and they managed to reach the boat, which was empty. It matched the one described by the fisherman's fiancé. Built with strong wood, but not really big. It had been recently painted white and there was also a yellow stripe design in the side. On the inside, there was only water and fish traces left, but nothing like a clue to help them find their missing person. Kazuo thought that the fisherman's fiancé was probably right about him being lost, since the boat was dragged out after he was done fishing and he was also carrying his catch with him.

“So, do you happen to have any scouting skills that will aid us search the shore and the forest area around? We have to cover a large lake and it will take us quite a lot of time to go around and investigate the perimeter, not to mention the forested area.”

He hoped his partner had a skill up her sleeve to be able to search and scout the land and the water surface from above. Maybe she was some kind of a sensor, maybe she could fly or see from afar. Other than that katana strapped on her waist, he had completely no idea about her skill set. Then he thought it was the right time to give her the little present he created. Would she like it? Kazuo was not that worried about it. He just held it with both hands, looked at it, moved his head slightly to the right like he was testing it, and then rolled his eyes up towards hers. He stepped forward and raised the painting towards her, like offering a helping hand.

“I almost forgot about it. I made you a little present. Don’t know if you like it or even accept it, but I figured it would do no harm.”

The Missing Fiancé

The young kunoichi accepted to search for clues around the area and when Kazuo handed her the painting he had made for her, her shock was obvious. All this time she was oblivious to what Kazuo was about to do. Her eyes focused on the painting and she told Kazuo that most people who created pictures of her had the sole purpose of using it as a dartboard. Kazuo’s eyes widened and smiled in an attempt to hold a chuckle. Tell me about it; I wonder why. He mumbled, and noticed she was scanning him. She was probably confused or surprised by this turn of events. She definitely wasn’t expecting him to be an artist or even so, she would have never expected a painting created as a present for her.  After a brief moment of thinking about it and meticulously looking at the paper, she accepted it. She looked hesitant and skeptical about this. When she started talking, it was apparent this polite act was something that rarely – if not never – happened towards her. She couldn’t understand why a guy that didn’t know or like her just gave her a present and called him weird. She even thought about saving it before he would also use it himself as a dartboard after the mission.

“Don’t worry about that, I never do that. I just test my skills and memory by to draw people and places I haven’t seen for a while. And it’s nice to offer presents, even simple ones like this painting.”

The teen was an artist that never stopped doing what he loved. Drawing and painting was one of the things that helped him escape from reality, even though his artwork was many times realistic. His soul was there to choose the colors; his thoughts were swimming around his mind in order to finish a piece of art. There were only certain ones he couldn’t finish, and that was due to his inability to draw dead people alive. It always freaked him out, every time he tried to draw his dead friends, his hands would start thinking for themselves and draw the lines slowly, torturing Kazuo. It now came down to a bully from his academic past, a girl that he didn’t know personally, but her face was such a great theme for him. Her pretty features and her smile clashed with her horrible behavior and speech. But Kazuo didn’t care. He just did what he would’ve done anyway. And why not try and get to know her considering they were partners for that mission. Whatever the case, she obviously didn’t like him and the reason she accepted his drawing was unknown and mysterious.

After rolling the paper she put it into a pouch. She then proceeded and opened a scroll on the ground. What is she doing? Is she going to use a barrier? Why a scroll? Kazuo was a tad bit confused as to how she “would do the magic”. Then she picked up a brush and an ink capsule, and as Kazuo slightly best over by her side, he carefully watched her hands. He was expecting a sealing formula, symbols or text to activate a technique. But she instead started quickly drawing. The black lines swiftly met each other to form mice. More than two dozen of them were drawn. Kazuo was surprised and liked how fast and well she drew that many mice in just few seconds. However, what was even more spectacular was the fact that the mice started moving on her command, they came out of the paper and their tiny bodies started running around in different directions like little scouts, or maybe like hounds. Kazuo turned his head back down on Satsune again, only to find her focused and having her eyes closed for a couple of minutes. What now? Wait, can she… She can see through the mice! Kazuo figured her technique when she stood up with open eyes and he looked at her amazed. She had found a hat and they started walking towards its direction after she told him where it was. The mice had disappeared, they never returned to the scroll. Their existence probably came to an end by the time she completed her technique.

A few more steps between the tall trees and they were standing in front of a blue hat with an orange star stamped on the front. Kazuo checked the letter to make sure, and it was indeed the hat described by the fisherman’s fiancé. Satsune asked him if it belonged to the person they were searching for and added a comment about his taste. Kazuo nodded. He reached down and picked up the hat; he then started analyzing its appearance. It only took him some seconds before he patted the fabric taking off the dust and dirt that was stuck on it. The storm had changed the color, but a red stain was still there.

“This looks like blood stained traces of finger tips.”

Kazuo was about to go on and tell his partner the possible scenarios that came across his mind at that instant, but a weak voice coming from a decent distance disturbed his thoughts. Kazuo frowned, started looking around, his eyes opened wide and started scanning the scenery. He heard the voice for a second time. This time it was louder, and clear. It was a frightened male voice. Kazuo changed his stance as his ears pin pointed the direction from which he heard the call.

“Help! Get away from me! Please! Help!”  

Kazuo suddenly realized something was wrong. He instantly started running between the trees of the forest, jumped above several thorny bushed and the ground started creating a small incline. He mounted the hill running in a fast pace and was expecting his partner to follow. The voice kept on begging for help, and then a second voice, a stronger one, pierced the genin’s ears.

“Shut up, idiot! There’s nobody around here! Just give me your money and I’ll leave you alone!”

Kazuo was finally up the hill and was now standing on the top. He looked around with anxiety and noticed a standing figure about 50 meters down the hill. The forest was dense and he couldn’t detect the second voice. The young genin started running again, when he looked down and discovered broken wings and animal footprints formed on the soil after the storm that broke out. Fish were scattered around and blood traces were splattered on the leaves and the soil. Kazuo was utterly confused, but figured out their victim had been attacked by one or more hungry animals after the storm, and was now being attacked by a bandit. The both of them were shouting, and didn’t notice the young ninjas rushing down for the poor man’s rescue. Only about 10 meters were left between Kazuo and the standing figure, when he managed to see a man crawling and striving to defend himself. Kazuo took a couple of strides and in a blink of an eye retrieved a kunai from his backpack, actions the bandit was at the time aware of. The bandit looked at the two young ninja frustrated and started running away from their victim, jumping over him and getting lost in the forest.

“Capture him, I’ll help him out, he’s bleeding!”

Kazuo quickly ran towards the fisherman and fell on his knees to give him first aid. He was pale and his tattered clothes were stained by his own blood. His wounds were not really serious and certainly not fresh, but they were probably infected. Kazuo tried to help him out, but the fisherman was still in shock and resisting glaring at Kazuo's grip on the kunai. He was unable to understand what was going on, if one considered the fact that he was struggling in the forest for more than 24 hours since he was attacked by the wild animals and was just robbed by a bandit.

“Calm down, sir. Calm down. You’re safe.” He repeated a few times before the fisherman responded and stopped trying to fend Kazuo off. “I’m here to help you, what happened to you?”

“Wild beasts, dogs, wolves, I don’t know what, what the heck they were.” He spluttered in pain and shock, unable to talk clearly. “They chased me down the hill and the rain… I couldn’t…”

Kazuo managed to figure out that the fisherman lost his way because of the storm and then was attacked by wild dogs or wolves that were attracted by his catch. He thought the fisherman was lying wounded and exhausted somewhere around here and a bandit found him and stole his money. He had to stop the bleeding. Kazuo cut the vines that were entwined around his legs and forced him to relax and lie down. He then cut his shirt to have a better look at his wounds, peeled off all the stuck pieces of fabric and then picked a small flask full of water from his backpack to wash the more serious looking wound. He cleaned the wound by rinsing a small amount of water and then cut a clean strip from the shirt and tied it around the man’s torso. He was bitten on the area of his left ribs, his arms and his legs were full of scratches and small minor bites. Kazuo used what was left of his water to get rid of the dirt on the wounds and offered the man just a couple of small sips. The wounds were not greatly serious, but his shock and exhaustion were what kept him lying on the ground.

“Press here with your hand and try to stand up with me, okay?”

The fisherman somehow snapped out of his shock and trusted Kazuo. He probably noticed the sign on his forehead protector and felt safety as a Konoha ninja was there to help him; he nodded affirmatively. Kazuo had treated the wounds in the best way he could and placed the kunai and the empty flask back into his backpack. He held the fisherman’s right hand, stepped on his right side and after placing his arm on his shoulders he helped him stand up. The fisherman managed to stand even though he was in pain. He complained a bit, but also thanked Kazuo for saving him. Kazuo took a glance into the forest and waited for his comrade to show up, most likely with the escaping thief.

“Don’t worry; we’ll soon be at the hospital.”

The Missing Fiancé

Kazuo had already offered the wounded fisherman first aid and helped him stand on his feet. He really devoted himself into helping the man and treating the bleeding wounds as he possibly could in order to make sure the infections weren’t going to deteriorate. During that time, Satsune followed his small order and chased down the bandit. Kazuo didn’t even pay attention to what she was doing. The blood on the frightened man’s body wouldn’t let him look away and see his partner’s actions. She had used a scroll to use one of her techniques again. But that time she didn’t bring to life a group of tiny mice. She instead created a couple of large and intimidating ink lions that strangely run away without Kazuo even picking up their existence. Satsune had already cursed the poor man to bleed out, calling him useless with an interesting selection of words that were bad enough the draw the fisherman’s attention during his struggle to defend himself.

He was now standing with Kazuo’s help and his weight was gradually being forced on the genin’s body. He was out of energy and his exhaustion was making it really hard for him to properly use the muscles of his feet. What helped him survive all those ours in the forest was the relatively good weather that was allowing a warm temperature even after the sunset. “Is that girl with you?” The man managed to exclaim with the strength his voice had left. And the man had all the right to be afraid of her. Kazuo was looking around the area and searching for his partner into the forest. “Yes, it was our mission to rescue you. Your fiancé has been really worried about you, mister… What’s your name, sir?” Kazuo didn’t care about the fisherman’s name at all. The only thing he was trying to do was to change the subject and let Satsune’s phrase pass. The fisherman’s face frowned and his expression was depicting frustration. “My name is… Yes, my name is…” The man Kazuo was now completely holding on the side of his back strangely lacked the ability to answer that simple question. “It’s alright; you can tell me what your name is later.” Kazuo looked back at the large trees and tilted his head. It must be a concussion…

A scream disturbed Kazuo’s thoughts and his eyes widened in shock and the pupils constricted as his green irises started scanning the landscape to understand what was going on. What was that? Did she kill him? What the hell is wrong with her? I told her to capture him, not hunt him down and murder him! Kazuo suddenly started sweating and the possibility of such action frustrated him. Although it would be a murder in action, Kazuo was unable to forgive her if she just killed him or even just tortured him only to entertain herself. All the worst case scenarios were making his mind think chaotically, one after the other, as the seconds passed. She was once a bully and her behavior was not good towards Kazuo or the fisherman, but turning into a killer was a totally different story. All the cruelty and violence acts in this world were already enough for Kazuo to comprehend and accept. However, if he chased the bandit to capture him, that murder would’ve been avoided. But even if that happened, Satsune was in no way going to help the fisherman. She would probably form a disgusted expression on her face and get away from his weak body, letting him suffer. Kazuo’s row of thoughts was messed up, and some following calls of the male bandit begging for his life confused Kazuo even more. But Satsune was talking back, and as they were approaching their voices were coherent and clear enough. Fortunately, the guy’s life was spared. Oh man, our guy is alive; I’ll thank my father’s stupid gods after this mission.

"He's going to live I assume?" His female partner asked in disappointment when she made her way back at where Kazuo was standing. Kazuo frowned and sighed in relief. He didn't even try to answer that question, because he would get upset. She came out between the tall bushes and two large majestic figures followed. Two lions were carrying the terrified bandit by holding his arms in their strong jaws. They were really looking intimidating and the man was shocked in tears, believing his life was on the line after facing the cruel kunoichi. Now lions? Wow. Her skills are even far better than I could imagine. The pair of lions were standing tall and waiting patiently for their summoner’s orders. Kazuo took a moment to admire how artistic and creative that technique that produced those two beautiful creatures was and as his eyes were wandering around the little details on the bodies of ink, Satsune said one more thing. “If you'd prefer it you can throw him onto the back of one of the lions.  That way you won’t have to actually touch him so much, and it would be less tiring.” It was really clear to Kazuo yet. She was offering him help? It was probably more of a way to let him stay away from the dirty clothes and skin and not come in contact with all that dirt, sweat and blood that was not completely washed off the fisherman’s flesh. After thinking about it, and considering it being a trap to eventually kill the both of them using those huge jaws her lions could use as lethal weapons, Kazuo agreed. It only needed a few steps from both sides, and with a lot of Kazuo’s help the fisherman was not sitting on one of the lions’ back and they were ready to return to the village.

It had been several hours and after this long morning, they were finally walking down the path back to Konoha. Surprisingly, the two genin worked really well together and carried out the mission with no practical problems getting into their way. Kazuo was convinced it was quite easy for a C-ranked mission. But he didn’t do the hard work, after all. Thanks to the ninja that he worked with, they were able to find the fisherman and capture a low rank criminal in a short amount of time. As they were walking in a fast pace, the sun rays were slipping through the leaves and a cool breeze helped nature create a melody and a small dance. The young man had come to meet another artist. Satsune was a quality artist that could utilize her drawing skills in action, through scouting techniques and offensive, strong creatures. It was a unique skill set and Kazuo admitted it. But didn’t tell Satsune how he admired her wonderful skills, because the painting he drew for her as a present was already enough. It would seem as a flirt if he went on about how beautiful her artwork was. What was important was that they managed to complete that mission, which they both weren’t willing to work on to begin with. The village gates opened for them and they followed different roads, as Kazuo made his way to the hospital to ask the medics to take care of the fisherman, while Satsune lead the bandit to the administration building to let the authorities decide what should be done with his case.

The teen’s bedroom door shut close behind him and he lied on his comfortable bed to rest for the next five or six hours. Kazuo was exhausted after this mission, because he stayed up the whole night painting. He was awake for more than twenty four hours, but he didn't eventually sleep for as long as he needed to. He woke up and after a quick shower and a bowl of heated up ramen, he looked out of the window to see how the sun painted the sky red. The sunset always amazed Kazuo and his red hair looked only natural whenever his whole room was tinted in red and orange shades. He took a seat on his office chair and grabbed a pencil. He then picked up a random sheet of paper and started doodling. A few minutes later, several ink strokes decorated the blank paper with grey abstract lines. The graphite lead broke off when Kazuo applied more pressure and his left palm hit his face which looked up at the ceiling.

“Shit. I forgot to report at the mission office.”