No One Stands Alone

Chapter 1

Chapter 1:

  Leaning his head back against the rough bark of the tree he was sitting against, Haruto released a tired sigh. Brushing his pale, blond hair out of his face, he let his eyes wander the forest that sat behind the clan compound. He tried focusing on the sounds around him and to forget last night. But his guardian's words continued to echo in his ears and linger on his mind. She lectured him the night before since he didn't receive a perfect score on the most recent test. He had to be perfect, and that meant being the top of his class for everything. He couldn't disgrace his mother's legacy with anything less.

  Suddenly a familiar voice pierced the silence of the forest. Haruto tried to figure who it was, but he was too far away to be certain. A second voice followed, also belonging to one of his clanmates, but he still couldn't distinguish who the person was. Driven by his curiosity, Haruto stood up and began making his way towards the sounds. Minutes passed as he followed the sounds that grew louder and clearer as he walked, and he eventually spotted a clearing ahead of him.

  "Who are you three?" The voice, high and light, came from within the clearing. He knew her.

  Ensuring that he wouldn't be seen by any watchful eyes from inside the clearing, Haruto stayed low to the ground and crept closer. Concealing his presence like Junko taught him in class, the blond crouched down in the foliage to stay hidden, and scanned the clearing. He recognized two of his clanmates: Hotaru and Ai. The pair was backed up against a thick tree, and Hotaru was holding a stick out in front of him as a weapon.

  Haruto remembered that those two used to be inseparable in class. Any group work that Junko had assigned them, Hotaru and Ai always paired up to complete it. But, if Haruto recalled correctly, Ai had attempted to perform a jutsu before class started. Haruto assumed that she was trying to impress the boy since she made it obvious, at least to him, that she had a crush on Hotaru. The blond wasn't sure if Hotaru knew his longtime friend liked him that way. That had occurred only a month ago, but Haruto could still see the scars of her failed attempt peeking from underneath her collar and sleeves. Junko and the clan head promptly had the girl removed from the classes as an endangerment to the others.

  Honestly, he was glad to see the purple haired girl leave the class. He never liked her. She always glared at him when she thought he wouldn't notice, and whenever she had to talk to him, contempt laced her words. That the feeling of hostility was the only thing they had in common.

  A movement from his right caught his attention. Haruto blinked away his memories, and focused his gray gaze on three strangers who entered his line of vision. There were two males and a female, all who appeared to be teenagers. Each had a ninja pouch strapped to their legs, so the blond assumed they were shinobi from another village, but he couldn't find any sign of which village they were affiliated with. The three stopped several feet away from his clanmates. They seemed relaxed, but Haruto could tell from their body language that they were anxious of something.

  "It doesn't matter who we are. Do you know where the Tsukishima Clan' compound is?" the shortest of the two male teens spoke. "I don't want to ask again."

  "And why would I tell you?" Hotaru asked defensively. His grip on the stick tightened with fear. "Why do you need know?"

  "We aren't getting anywhere," the female sighed. She turned to the shortest male. "This would have been so much easier if you didn't lose our map."

  The male whirled on her. "So says the one who got us lost only a day into the mission! How could you have read the map upside down?"

  The two dissolved into a fit of bickering. The third member of the team allowed for it to continue for a minute before stepping in—Haruto speculated that the male wanted his teammates to blow off some steam before he intervened. "Ryouta, please keep the mission in mind. Shizuka, don't bait him like that."