Beautiful Silence

Chapter 2: She Found and Was Found

Riko had been wondering around the forest for weeks. She was hungry and exhausted. She had been crying every night since her mother died. The only things she had eaten during this whole week were the fruits of fruit trees that she randomly stumbled upon. They provided her with both food and water. The juices of the fruits were enough to quench her thirst for a while. Now, however, her body was demanding more than just mere fruits. Every inch of her was aching.

The forest was starting to get even more dense as she went on. Feeling lost and sad, she started to cry again. She didn't know how there were still tears left in her eyes after all these weeks she'd been crying. She didn't care, though. All she felt was sorrow. It felt like her life wasn't even worth living anymore. She didn't know what to do. The only thing that kept her going was her mother's words. It was her mother wanted her to run away and to do her best to keep on living that she was still trying her best to honour her mother's last wish. She felt, however, that she was at her wit's end. She was about to collapse any second now.

Riko sat down, her back resting on a tree, and started loudly crying. A group of ninja, not too far away, heard her cries.

"Did you guys hear that?"

A woman with reddish eyes and black hair stopped in her tracks at the sound of Riko's crying.

"Kurenai, this could be an ambush. Let's stick to the mission and not get sidetracked."

Even though Kurenai was a skilled Chunin, her motherly instincts kicked in stronger than ever. She couldn't just leave a crying child in the middle of the forest like that.That crying sounded so pained and desperate that it was pulling at her heart strings.

"Sorry, you'll have to finish this mission without me. I can't just ignore that."

At this, she left the two other Chunin and headed for where the sobbing is coming from before her squad could react. The close she got to the crying sound, the more it squeezed her heart. Whoever was crying was in so much emotional agony that it felt like they were about to give up on life. She was finally able to locate who the owner of this agony filled voice was. It was a little girl, sitting on the floor, looking like she'd been crying for hours. Kurenai carefully landed on the ground, as to not startle the poor girl.

When Riko noticed that there was someone, she stopped sobbing. Tears kept rolling down her cheeks, but her whole attention was focused on that newcomer. She didn't know whether to feel afraid or relieved. Maybe this woman could help her, but she could also harm her. She was wearing a headband, meaning that she was a ninja. Riko didn't recognize the symbol on it, so she was sure that she wasn't from Kusagakure. She also had red eyes like her, except that she had black irises, while Riko's were just as blood red as her eyes, making it seem like she didn't have irises. They also weren't as bloody looking. Only the outer circumference was vibrant red. The closer to the iris it got, the more neutral the red was. Still, the look in that woman's eyes was kind. Riko felt a little at ease.

Kurenai looked at the little girl with a lot of concern showing in her eyes. This little girl looked exhausted. She looked like she hadn't eaten properly in days. Kurenai started approaching her slowly.

"Are you alright, little one?"

Riko shook her head slowly. She couldn't lie and say she's okay. She could never lie at all since the day she was born. She was never able to hide how she truly felt from anyone. This time was no exception. The woman was now right in front of her, crouching at her eye level.

"What's your name, sweetheart?"

"Ah, ah."

Riko wrote her name on the dirt on the floor next to her.

"Ri... ko... So your name is Riko?"

Kurenai read the name as Riko wrote it. Riko nodded.

"You can't talk, Riko?"

Riko nodded, in affirmation to what Kurenai said. To Kurenai, that little girl looked old enough to be at least able to say simple sentences.

"How old are you?"

Riko showed five fingers.

"Five? Is there a reason why you can't talk?"

Riko looked down. She was debating whether she should show that woman her mother's diary. She then decided to first learn more about the woman before showing her that.

"Ah."

She pointed at Kurenai.

"Ah. Ah."

It took Kurenai a bit of time to understand what Riko wanted.

"You want to know my name?"

Riko nodded fervently, happy that she finally understood what she was trying to tell her.

"I'm Kurenai. I'm a kunoichi of Konohagakure. I heard you crying so I couldn't just leave you there. If you want, you can come with me to Konoha."

Riko just stared at Kurenai. She was so happy that someone who seemed so nice had found her that she started crying again, but, this time, it was out of joy.

"Oh, don't cry..."

Kurenai said gently as she wiped Riko's tears with her hand.

"Ah..."

Riko then remembered that she wanted to show Kurenai her mother's notebook. She didn't want Kurenai to take her without knowing what she was getting herself into. Riko took out the notebook and handed it to the kunoichi.

"What's this?"

Kurenai took the notebook from Riko's outstretched arm and opened it. After scanning through the pages, reading the important parts, she closed the notebook and gave it back to Riko.

"I see..."

She got up and looked at Riko.

"Come on, Riko. It doesn't matter who your parents were. You're still a very nice girl. Let's both head to Konoha. I'm sure the Hokage will be happy to welcome you."

She smiled at Riko to reassure her that everything was fine and that she wouldn't just abandon her just because of who she was. Kurenai thought to herself: 'That poor girl... She must've gone through hell to end up here. Her father was already dead before she was born. Her mother probably died too. Why else would she be here all by herself? I'm sure she had her fair share of rejection from ignorant people. The fact that she's so trusting towards me just shows that she's still just a pure little child. I'll honour her trust in me. I'll do everything so that she can have the life she deserves.'