Naruto Fan Fiction ❯ Chain Effect ❯ Prologue ( Prologue )

Naruto is property of Masashi Kishimoto. This is an AR.

--

"Remind me again sensei...just exactly WHY are we here?!"

Naruto's voice pierced the tense silence. He folded his arms behind his head as he walked along with the rest of Team 7: Sasuke, Sakura, and Master Kakashi. Typical. But...what was NOT so typical was where exactly they were walking through.

Welcome the Village of the Rain, a poor, defeated city where the only income that keeps it afloat is silk. Yes, its fine, fine silk. However, the process took so long and they created so little, it wasn't enough to help them off the ground. The weather was chilly and bitter, and the land seemed constantly to be enveloped in fine mist. You would have to wonder how they cultivated silk worms in this sort of climate; it should have been too cold for that certain profession.

They were apparently in a hostile area as well, and the students for the most part were on edge. The Village of the Mist was only a few miles away from this unguarded city, and it sent chills up their spine just thinking about their last encounter with two of their shinobi. Or at least, one shinobi and their most infamous missing-nin, Zabuza.

Kakashi gave a disapproving click of his tongue.

"For the tenth time Naruto, we're here to run an errand for Lord Hokage. The scrolls you carry," he motioned towards the large bundles they were all carrying on their backs, "are for the Village Elder of this town, which we are to deliver to his home."

Naruto snorted impatiently. "Huh...could've had some of his lackeys do it for him...the old geezer. If he's the great shinobi that everyone says he is, why can't the old man do it himself?" This comment received a set of rather nasty glares from his other two teammates, capable of rivaling those of the passerby's of the village. They didn't seem to take kindly to outsiders. Just as how Sakura and Sasuke didn't take kindly to Naruto's slander of the revered Lord Hokage. But being Naruto, he was oblivious to this (or just didn't care).

Sakura inspected the shabby and very unwelcoming homes and abodes of the village.

"What a dump...how did these people even earn a living?"

"Most work with silk worms, by selling the silk they produce. How they manage to raise the buggers in this area is a mystery. But some say even though the village is so poor, it's the finest silk in the world," Kakashi said coolly as he carelessly flipped through his dirty book, seeming unconcerned with the glares he and his students were receiving. Sakura hesitantly offered her opinion.

"Well…I don't think that's helping them out so much…" She shuddered as a meaty vendor leered at her with beady eyes. Unconsciously she stuck closer to Sasuke.

"Huh...and the worthless ones that are too incompetent to get a job?" Sasuke asked coldly, trying to discretely inch away from the pink haired girl.

Kakashi shrugged, "Stealing, robbing, doing odd jobs. What else would they do?" He carefully slid his piece of literature into his pouch and patted it fondly. Coins could be heard jingling inside. Ignoring the suddenly perked ears of the villagers, he gave one last warning.

"Best keep a sharp eye out then. But the Elder's home isn't too far away now. We shouldn't have to worry about it."

The Village Elder's home, unlike the unsanitary wastelands these people called home was a splendid mansion that stuck out like a sore thumb among the dirty abodes of the villagers. But the villagers...despite their devious and wicked nature, did not dare to even set foot in the mansion. They mirrored the shinobi who looked up to Lord Hokage in Konoha. The Village Elder was treated with the utmost respect and was nearly worshiped like a god. Therefore, robbery on the house of the Elder would never be a problem. In fact, the mansion didn't even have security. No guards even. How strange...seeing how the splendid abode housed a dark and terrible secret.

Although he always seemed to be uninterested and distant, Sasuke's sharp eyes took in everything, and maybe more than just that. His battle trained vision picked up potentially useful information. Nearly every villager they passed had something lethal close to hand. The fleeting shimmer of the suns rays on a needle in a woman's hair. Or the odd, but subtle droop in one's pant leg. The case it was for many of the passerby's Sasuke would note with a bitter smile. This village appeared to be very dangerous. Of course, as you may have already guessed.

Caught up with his examination Sasuke forgot to watch exactly where he was going. So inevitably he ran into someone.

"Omph!" a small grunt of a distress and their heads knocking together brought Sasuke back to a line of straight vision. In front of him stood a woman about his height dressed in an odd assortment of clothing, rubbing her forehead. His eyes narrowed. Something made her attire different from the villagers own, and it wasn't because her clothes were more than weather worn.

Remembering what he had seen of the villagers, Sasuke's hand automatically snapped down to his thigh, where his shuriken holster hung. Instead of the expected hostility towards Sasuke that his comrades expected, they received quite the opposite.

"My apologies sir," the woman said in a hurried fashion bobbing her head quickly in a bow, her ponytail of black hair whipping about. She raised from her bow more slowly, fixing the head band wrapped around her head.

"Please forgive me."

Sasuke blinked, but remained decidedly silent. He was slightly surprised at the politeness from a common village girl.

But there was still something off about this person…

"Waugh!"

Sasuke turned in time to see Naruto fall heavily to the ground, running into another person like he had; only that he had been more on guard.

"And forgive me sir," A young man no older than he was helping Naruto off the ground. He was talking with the same strange civility that the girl had used.

Naruto seemed as surprised as Sasuke, but didn't bother masking it, "Er...it's ok?" The man smiled and nodded, his strange silver eyes glinting.

The girl pulled out a watch, and blinked.

"Well, I must be off." She smiled, and she walked passed the four of them, the man following after her as company.

"Wait...." Sasuke said quietly as his hand ascended from his shuriken holster to his pocket.

That clinched it. How could someone who lived in such a poverty-strewn area have access to a luxury such as a working watch? And they had both left together as well. He finally realized what was so different about the girl: she had the headband of a shinobi! His hand felt emptiness inside his pocket.

Now how about that: a thief and a ninja all in one. Soon available in stores near you.

"My money! GET BACK HERE THIEF!" Sasuke roared as he spun on heel to face the two robbers who had just walked past them. He quickly rid himself of the cargo on his back, dropping the scrolls to the dirt. The man's head snapped back to look at Sasuke.

"Hmm...This one's surprisingly attentive," the silver eyed man said calmly to his female comrade.

"Don't talk, damn you, run!" the girl snapped, the former politeness gone in an instant. She took off, shoving Sasuke's money in her pocket. Sasuke and Naruto (who realized the man had robbed him) took after them.

"I'll kill you!" Naruto screeched as he dove at the retreating man. Unfortunately for him, he had forgotten that he was carrying heavy items and was considerably slow. Failing to grab onto the long queue the man wore his hair in as he leapt for the rooftops, Naruto was left with a face full of dust.

Naruto snarled in annoyance as he batted away at the cloud of dust. "Damn it: they're shinobi?!"

"Kakashi-sensei...shouldn't we be helping them?" Sakura asked with annoyance at his failure to do anything to stop the two thieves.

Kakashi simply laughed, his one visible eye curving upwards in mirth.

"Why should I Sakura? The best teacher in life is life itself. Care to join me and watch?"

Sakura gave a sigh of frustration, pulling at the thick straps of her scrolls. "Why not...."

"Haha...this one's fast! He'll be a worthy opponent for ya, eh?" the silver eyed man said airily as he got within hearing range of his female comrade.

She smirked as she changed a look over her shoulder at the rapidly approaching shinobi, "A worthy opponent my ass, I'll have this guy out cold in less than five minutes," how very wrong she was. To pick a fight with a Uchiha wasn't a smart thing to do.

"Eh? So cocky! What makes you think that jonin of theirs won't intervene?" the unnamed one asked, giving her a look from the corner of his eye.

"Idiot, if he wanted to interfere, I highly doubt we'd be here right now, eh?" something bright whipped past, barely missing her ear. Looking over her shoulder she cursed.

"Damn it! This one's fast!" The girl was right; Sasuke had already caught up with them enough to safely throw shuriken. And he was still gaining with nearly impossible steadiness. The man nodded his approval.

"Heh...then perhaps you'll get some actual action today. I'll take care of the clumsy oaf he has for a partner. I had enough fun last week with that rich man's body guard. I'll catch up with you once you're through with this unwelcome shinobi, like a rabbit to its hole. He then dropped into a gap between houses disappearing from Sasuke's line of view.

Sasuke spat, "Huh, I've no business with the boy. I don't care if it's a trap for Naruto. The girl's got my money." He pulled out another shuriken as she armed herself.

She frowned as she readied two kunai, one for each hand. "Damn, I didn't think I'd have to go into the forest to finish this," up ahead of them, the line of rooftops suddenly ended, giving way to the dense forest. Preparing herself for a battle, she slashed her way through the trees, waiting for the opportune moment to strike. Sasuke dived into the sea of leaves after her.

Meanwhile Naruto, who was fast…but not as fast as Sasuke was still leaping from roof to roof. The speed that he was achieving was tremendous, even though the scrolls were still weighing him down and he was…well, he was Naruto.

Following what he had seen before the two shapes he had barely made out as Sasuke and the woman thief before they had vanished into the wood.

"Damn it! How am I ever going to find that stupid thief in the woods?!" Naruto snarled angrily.

"And I was saving it to buy Ramen, too!" As he leapt she spotted the rather large gap that was between two houses.

"You've no need to worry about that boy!" In an instant the thief was in the air, meeting Naruto's flight with a knee to the gut. Naruto flew backwards, skidding across the roof top. The boy watched with slight amusement at Naruto's expression from the sharp pain.

"I've got your money right here."

"Oi!" She called over her shoulder into the rustling leaves that gave away Sasuke's position completely.

"Your skills aren't doing you so good."

"Really? Then why can I do this?" Eyes stared as she caught sight of him. There stood Sasuke on a branch, directly in her way. A solid smack could be heard as she received a hit in the face. Courtesy of Sasuke's foot.

"You're fast…" The shinobi said almost approvingly as she landed on a branch across from Sasuke's. The tension could nearly be seen taking solid form between the two.

"What's your name, boy?" She asked coolly as she idly tossed her kunai blades up and down, catching them with ease.

"..."

Silence.

She snorted, "Come now boy, I can't be calling an opponent that can I? It's not respectful!" She shook her head. "Not respectful at all. And besides, what're you afraid of?" Brown eyes glinted dangerously. "That I'll come hunting you? How can I if you're so sure I'm going to loose this fight?"

He grimaced.

"Uchiha Sasuke."

Her lips quirked upwards in a smile, and was still fingering her kunai.

"Nice name, Uchiha. I think I've heard of you before…" she reached into her pocket, still speaking.

"The name's Yasui Amaya."

He stood, unmoving. His eyes followed her casual movements, taking in how his kick had affected her. Her personality swayed, completely different from her cocky attitude before. But it wasn't like Sakura's mood swings at all…

"Or maybe no one's tried to put her in the loony bin yet."

The girl pulled out a small pouch of money. His money. Sasuke gritted his teeth, beginning to plan how to get it back, as well as take some revenge on her.

"You want it back, don't you?" She dangled the small pouch of Sasuke's money by a finger, still smiling as she had when it was stolen. To her delight, Sasuke nodded. "Well, you seem to be so attached to it. I kind of have some remorse for you." With one swing, she caught it in her hand. She sighed, shaking her head.

"Ah well, can't have it both ways." The girl swept it away to a hidden pocket.

"You can have it-"

She sprang at him, the smirk back on her face.

"If you can get it from me!"