The Ultimate Weapon (Naruto Fanfic)

55-Experience

A yawn escaped Kuria's lips, hanging in the cool air as she walked with her team. It was early in the morning, yet Aoi had already woken them up and had them heading down the street toward the rendezvous point. Looking at her teammates, she could see that they too were a bit groggy. She marveled at how Aoi was unaffected, even though it seemed he hadn't even slept the night before.

Stopping them in front of a nondescript shop, Aoi leaned against the side of the building. It seemed like a bakery, but it was too early for even this shop to have smoke curling from its chimney. Some time passed as they waited, the three genin talking among themselves as their sensei seemed to doze.

The shuffle of footsteps on the dirt road drew everyone's attention. Assessing the approaching figure, Aoi straightened. Red hair kept short in an A-line, framing a face with brown eyes, with just the faintest tint of red in them. Height just around a meter and a half. Short for her age, but she didn't seem bothered by the fact, maintaining an air of confidence that showed her height was of no importance. Recalling the description and image he had received from the Hokage, there was no doubt that this was who the team was to escort.

She strode up to them, a small smile a mere ghost upon her lips. "The name is Seisa. Given your headbands and gear, I assume you are the shinobi I'm looking for."

"Indeed we are," Aoi nodded. "My name is Aoi and I am the leader of team 13, we will be protecting you as we make our way to Konoha."

"Uwah! Team 13? How unlucky can I be?" She smiled as she said it, taking any potential sting from her words.

Ignoring her outburst, he moved on. "Are you prepared to leave?" A quick nod of her head and the five were walking down the street, this time on their way out of the town.

Despite being escorted by strangers, Seisa seemed cheerful. She chatted with the genin that walked beside her, occasionally turning to see if Aoi, who walked behind the group, wanted to join the conversation. His stoic expression and perpetual silence answered her inquiring gaze each time she did so. Though small and frail looking, she seemed experienced in her job, for as the day wore on not one complaint escaped her lips.

When the sun was directly over their heads, Aoi double checked that he could sense no threats before calling a stop. Stepping off the path, the genin sunk to the ground gratefully. Trying to hide her underlying tiredness, Seisa did the same. As he dug through his pack, Aoi reflected that he might have kept them moving a bit too long.

Tossing a small package at each of them, he sat back against a tree and unwrapped his own. Inside each were a few rice balls. It wasn't much, but after a long morning of walking, everyone was grateful for the food. It was silent for a while as everyone dug into the food, Hane picking at the rice ball Aoi held.

Eventually, Jinhai broke the silence. "So where are you from Seisa?"

"Ah, Yumegakura, it was a small ninja village." At the mention of this, Aoi glanced up.

"Does that mean you're also a ninja?"

Laughter erupted from her, a soft sound. "No, I don't have the talent to be a ninja. If I were, I wouldn't need an escort now would I?"

Kuria spoke then, "You seem a bit sad about the fact, did you want to be?"

"Hum... I suppose somewhere in my heart, that was once my wish. I gave up on it though." She smiled. "It's much more enjoyable traveling like this. Somehow, I find it freeing. All those rules, I don't think I could become a proper shinobi."

Aoi held interest in the conversation now, though he still refrained from joining. They continued to chatter for a while, asking about Seisa's hometown. Soon enough she was misty-eyed as she described the mountains that surrounded the village. It was obvious she held the fondest of memories of Yumegakura.