Grasping at the Sky

Chapter 9: Apart

Konoha was vastly different from Suna. Even with most of the village in ruins, Kira could tell that. The massive trees of the surrounding forest were ancient and must have provided cover for towering buildings at one point. Now, as she walked along a calm stream that bordered the outside of the construction area, Kira had an almost completely unobstructed view of the other end of the village.

It had taken nearly three days to arrive due to a sand storm that had pinned her company down in a small cave for a good portion of the second day. The small group of builders and supply wagons were gone now, left to work under the care of leaf ninja and civilians. The trip had been uneventful besides the storm, and for that Kira was grateful, though she was still finding grains of sand in places she wasn't used to.

With her ANBU mask carefully tucked away and her black pants and blue shirt in place, she searched for the infamous Copy Ninja, Kakashi. The sealed scroll almost burned in Kira's side pouch, reminding her yet again not only of her orders to give it only to the white haired former ANBU, but also of the last hours she had spent back at home.

Quickly, Kira pushed away her agitation at her thoughts before she could feel the heavy weight of disappointment and worry on her shoulders again. Stay on mission, she reminded herself, turning at bend in the path and recognizing a training field not too far off to the left. Just like everything else, it was different from Suna, placed in a wide-open field, the far edge lined with trees.

There were four Shinobi there, one much older then the others, telling Kira it was most likely a squad getting in some practice. As she walked along the path, getting closer with each step, her amber eyes picked out more and more details about the group.

Three of them, including the elder of the group were male, leaving the last to be the all too common single girl. The girl and one boy had brown hair leaving the other two with black, strangely identical haircuts. Pausing at the edge of the field in front of the group, Kira realized the last two were almost copies of one another, the separation of apparent age being the only difference.

How odd...

At the moment the team leader was shouting about something, an arm up in the air and a giant gin stretched across his face. His younger version was promptly following suit, fisting a bent arm in front of his own face. The other two looked as weary as Kira felt, the girl in particular letting out a loud sigh and pressing a hand to her forehead. As odd as it was, Kira found it oddly charming to watch the interaction and probably would have kept watching if the brown haired boy hadn't turned and looked at her a moment later.

She could tell, even from the yards in between them that he was a Hyuga. The sharp lavender-gray eyes of his family pierced through her and Kira resisted the sudden urge to take a step back. She did however, look away, wishing for her mask and rubbing the arm she habitually wrapped.

"Hey there, could you use some assistance?" The booming enthusiasm of his voice made Kira's heart jump and she glanced up at the older man who was looking at her with the same grin as before. By now, all four of them were looking at her and Kira hunched her shoulders, the tips of her ears burning suddenly. She hadn't meant to interrupt them.

"Oh... uh. Sorry," she pushed out the word, glancing up at him again before looking down. "I was just trying to find someone, and...well, I guess... " She trailed off, shifting her feet before sighing. It was so embarrassing meeting new people, even worse when she was caught off guard.

"Oh?" the girl chimed in, taking a step forward. "Do you need some help? We know everyone pretty well." She smiled, lines fanning out around the corners of her eyes that oddly put Kira at ease, calming her heart. She took a few steps into the field.