Naruto Fan Fiction ❯ Comfort ❯ Comfort ( Chapter 1 )

Kimura Arika sat alone at the counter of the bar next to the Chûnin HQ in Konohagakure. She had her head propped up on one hand, as she stared unseeingly into the air in front of her. He other arm rested limply on the counter and her hand was wrapped loosely around an empty Sake glass.

 

She had just gotten back from a retrieval mission that had gone horribly wrong. According to the information that had been given to Ari and her partner for the mission, an older Chûnin named Yuka, there would be three Chûnin guarding the scroll they were to get. There had been three to start with, but soon after they had acquired the scroll seven other Shinobi, who had not been mentioned in earlier reconnaissance, ambushed them.

 

***Flashback***

 

“Shit where did these guys come from?!” Yuka grounded out from between clenched teeth in a hissed whisper, as Ari preformed a quick healing on a rather nasty gash that he had just received from a kunai. They were hunkered down in the roots of a large tree hiding from the enemy that were hunting them; some clones ran through the forest trying to by their casters some time.

 

“No idea…there that should be healed enough to get you back to the border. I'll do a better job there.” Ari answered back in a whisper. “It's only an hour or so from here to the border. If we want to make it we should move now.”

 

“How's you Chakra?”

 

“I'm at about half, I'd say. It's plenty enough to get me to the border. How about you, Yuka?

 

“About the same. So as long as our unfriendly shadows don't hold us up for a prolonged period, we should be fine, ne?” He slowly rolled to his feet pulling his shirt back down to cover his chest.

 

“Hai. So lets get while the getting's good, as the saying goes.” They made sure that their pursuers were far enough away that they wouldn't notice the pair's movement right away, and then took off across the ground and through the trees.

 

About ten minutes and a few scuffles later they were in sight of the border that ran between Hidden Leaf and Hidden Rain. If they used an amplification Jutsu they could call out for help, but before either Chûnin had a chance they were surrounded.

 

Ari and Yuka dropped from the trees and came to a sliding stop. The young Kunoichi smirked as she brought her hands up in front of her and preformed several quick hand signs. “Blood Leaf Dance no Jutsu.” Leaves fell from the boughs of the tree like raining Kunai, cutting into the enemies. As soon as the enemy was efficiently distracted they tried to make an escape but failed to notice that one of the Shinobi following them was missing. So as they turned to flee he through a barrage Kunai and Shuriken at them, halting the duo in their tracks. They went back-to-back and eyed their adversaries warily.

 

“Any bright ideas?” Ari asked as she pulled a pair of Kunai from her pouch and gripped them tightly in her hand. Behind her Yuka filled his hands with his preferred weapon, throwing knives.

 

“Yeah, one. You're faster than I am and are a Genjutsu master. You can easily slip away, get across the border, and get the scroll to Hokage-sama.”

 

Ari shifted uncomfortably as the realization hit her of what he was implying. “And do what exactly? Leave you here to fend for yourself?” She felt Yuka nod, “No way! I won't do it.”

 

“Think of the mission Kimura…”

 

“Fuck the mission! I was taught never to leave a teammate behind, unless it's absolutely necessary.”

 

“There are seven of them and two of us. I'm pretty sure it's necessary!”

 

“Are you two done arguing, or do you need a few more minutes?” Asked one of the Shinobi surrounding them.

 

“You think of a different plan,” she said to Yuka. Then to the other she said, “And you…shut the fuck up!” She glared at the older man as she reached into her pouch and pulled out a more Kunai and a few flash bombs. The group around them laughed wondering what she was going to do with a hand full of Kunai and light bombs. She smirked and threw them as hard as she could up into the air. Those in front of her watched as the rose into the air, while the others watched the Konoha-Nin's. They failed to see the iris of Ari's eye grow to fill the entire eye, till there was nothing but green, making her look blind.

 

The enemy Nin's threw their hands over their eyes as the objects in the air exploded filling the area with falling shards of Kunai and bright light. The man who had spoken earlier glared at Ari through squinted eyes. “What the hell was that?”

 

“A distraction. Yuka!”

 

Yuka held an explosive note with what looked like an extra kanji added on at the end. He smirked at those who could see his face and ripped it in half. While they had been blinded by the light Ari and Yuka had spread explosive notes, transformed into rocks, all around them, and as Yuka ripped the note he had in half, the ones on the ground exploded, making a large dust cloud.

 

Ari burst through the cloud of dust and attacked the ninja closest to her. Keeping true to the teachings of her Genin-Sensei, instead of killing them she just knocked them out with a powerful sleeping Jutsu, they'd be out for a good three hours. Yuka was using the dust to his advantage and cutting the enemy bit by bit, slicing hamstrings, thigh muscles, biceps and triceps, basically anything he could get to.

 

A Chakra wind suddenly ripped through the clearing and the dust was gone. Ari and Yuka immediately went back-to-back with one another and prepared to attack. “Well we got rid of three at least.” Huffed Yuka.

 

“Good. Lets see if we can't get rid of the other four then, shall we.”

 

“If it gets bad…”

 

“Don't you start that again, or I'll kill you.”

 

“The only reason you were able to get an attack in was because most of us were still blinded from that little stunt you pulled.”

 

“Not my fault you didn't see it for what it was. A Ninja should read the hidden meanings within the hidden meanings.” Ari cackled evilly at the look of outrage on the Rain-Nin's face. Oh man, Kazu and Naruto are such bad influences, she thought as she scolded herself for voicing her thoughts allowed.

 

“We were just going to take the scroll and rough you two up a bit…but just for that, you both die here. Kill them. You can get a scroll easier off a corpse.”

 

“Way to go Ari.” Yuka sighed as he dodged to his left and Ari rolled to her left as well.

 

“I'm sorry. It's Kazu's influence…and Naruto's. It really isn't my fault.” A Kunai embedded itself in her chest and she disappeared in a puff of smoke. A hand shot out of the ground next to the person who had thrown it and wrapped around his ankle. “Earth Style: Crushing Grave!” He disappeared into the earth and Ari reappeared a few moments later. As she turned to face her next opponent Yuka screamed in pain. She whipped around to see what the matter was. Yuka looked like a pincushion, wherever she looked Ari saw Shuriken, Kunai, Senbon, and other projectiles embedded in his body. She was brought out of the horrific sight before her with a punch to the head. She hit the ground hard and turned her head to see her assailant. “You should pay attention to the battle in front of you.” He kicked her in the stomach and she disappeared in another puff of smoke.

 

“And you should learn to tell flesh and blood from a clone,” she ground out from behind him, her tone dangerously low. He fell over with a Kunai sticking out from his throat. She looked back over to where she had last seen Yuka, he was slumped over, face in the dirt. His body jerked every time the two remaining ninja kicked his prone body.

 

“Leave. Him. ALONE!”

 

The Rain-Nin's looked over at the enraged Chûnin and were surprised to see green flames enveloping her right arm, from fingertips to elbow. She charged at the one closest to her. He dodged the punch that had been aimed for his chest; it hit him in the arm instead. It didn't matter though, were the flame-covered fist touched, the flesh beneath it burst into a bloody mess. He screamed in pain and fell back holding his arm, trying to stem the rapid flow of blood. Ari turned her attention from the screaming ninja to the one that still stood over Yuka.

 

“What…what are you?”

 

“Extremely pissed off. Now I suggest you take those of your comrades that are still alive, or able to walk, and leave while you still have the ability.” The frightened Shinobi nodded and grabbed his bleeding comrade and made a hasty retreat.

 

The flame around Arika's hand died away as she dropped down next to Yuka. She started carefully removing the weapons from his body and healing the major injuries he had sustained. Once he was healed to her satisfaction she hauled him up onto her back and started the trek towards the border, using a shadow Jutsu that had been taught to her by one of her Genin teammates to hide her tracks.

 

They were met by an ANBU border patrol about halfway there; they had been coming to see what the explosion of light had been about. One of the ANBU took Yuka from Ari and rushed him to the Med Tent that was there for the border's injured.

 

She went with the escort to Konoha the next day along with Yuka. She had been assured that he would be fine in a few days. She delivered the scroll to the Hokage. Ari only nodded or shook her head to whatever was asked of her, unless the question required more than one word. After that she took her leave and went to wander around the Village for a while to try and clear her head. She kept seeing that Rain-Nin's arm explode in a shower of blood, could feel his blood dripping down her face and arms. Once she realized that that was working, she decided to try and drown her problems with Sake.

 

***End Flashback***

 

And that's how she had ended up here. She had been at the bar for just over two hours, but had only had two drinks in that time. She wasn't a big fan of any type of alcohol for two reasons. One: it changed people if they had too many. Two: Alcohol played havoc with her Blood-Limit's Chakra pathways; she knew from personal experience that that was anything but fun.

 

Arika sighed and pushed the empty glass way from her and stood up to dig in her pockets for some cash. She placed the money next to the glass, not caring about her change, and turned to leave. As she turned she bumped into someone and stumbled back onto the stool she had been sitting on. She mumbled an apology and stood up again to leave the bar. As she was about to pass the person they grabbed her arm gently, stopping her from leaving. “Ari?”

 

Ari's head shot up to look at the person who held her arm. She blinked slowly in recognition, and cursed herself for not having been paying attention to her surroundings. She wasn't in the mood for talking and just wanted to go home. “Oh. Umm… hey Kiba.”

 

He grinned at her brightly, “When did you get back from your mission?”

 

“Earlier today…” She mumbled, hoping to avoid the conversation all together.

 

He had released her arm but his hand now rested lightly on her wrist. “How did it…hey are you okay?” he asked finally noticing the troubled look on her face.

 

She tried to grin reassuringly at her friend, but she's pretty sure it fell about 100 ft. short. “I'm fine. I was just about to go home actually.” She pulled her hand carefully out of his grip and started to walk away. “I'll see later you, Kiba.”

 

He watched her face as she spoke. Her eyes seemed dead, they didn't hold the usually playful and mischievous light they usually did, and her face was closed off from the world, distant. If you didn't know Ari well and were to just glance at her, she would look like she normally did. But to those who knew her and understood her moods, they would know immediately that something was wrong. Forgetting that he had come to the bar to get a drink, he turned on his heel and followed is usually extrovert friend out of the building.

 

When he reached even with her, she turned her head slightly in his direction and asked, “Can I help you?” Kiba frowned when he heard none of her usual bite behind it.

 

“You had to use the Gouka on your mission…didn't you?” He asked her softly.

 

She stopped in her tracks and looked at him sharply. He looked back at her calmly. “How did…?”

 

“Arika, I've known you since we were ten. And I know how you get after you use the `Hell Fire'. What happened out there? I thought you said it was just a simple retrieval assignment?”

 

She stared at him for a few more seconds before she started walking again, she didn't say a word. The Inuzuka heir followed her just as silently, hands in his pockets, waiting for the Kunoichi to explain what had transpired during what was supposed to be a “cake-mission”.

 

They arrived at Arika's apartment a few minutes later; she fished in her pocket for the keys. She hadn't been back home at all since she returned from her mission. She unlocked the door and let Kiba enter first; she followed closing the door behind her. While Ari headed for the kitchen, Kiba made his way into the sitting area and flopped himself down onto the couch that was there.

 

He blinked when he heard Ari banging stuff around in the kitchen. `She never eats after she uses the Gouka in a mission, at least not for a few days. What's she up to?' He thought to himself as he rolled off the couch and walked to the kitchen. What he saw surprised him more than Ari making food would have. She was making tea. `What the hell? She hates tea, and if her Chakra levels were low enough to make her drink tea she'd be in the hospital.' He approached her cautiously because of her abnormal behavior. “Hey Ari…why are you making tea? I thought you hated the stuff?”

 

She jumped at the sound of his voice dropping the cup she had had in her hand. Good thing it wasn't a long drop to the counter.' “I do hate tea. But I want something warm, and I'm out of hot chocolate. Plus I want to get the taste of Sake out of my mouth. Did you want any?”

 

“No thanks. What's up? You never make tea, even when you're cold…” A thought suddenly struck Kiba as to why she was making the beverage she hated most in the world. “It's not that kind of cold, is it?”

 

Ari paused again then shook her head. She abandoned her tea making and left the kitchen, heading back out into the sitting room. She sat down with a sigh and leaned against the arm of the couch. She didn't say anything after she had sat down, just stared into the space in front of her. Kiba wasn't used to hearing this amount of silence from the Kimura heir, even is she was just sitting or listening she moved or made some type of noise of impatience or acknowledgment.

 

He followed her into the room, but stayed by the doorway. “What happened?”

 

A few of the objects in the room shook a bit, but they settled down after a few seconds. `She must be really upset if her Limit's getting away from her even a little bit. She's gotten better at controlling it over the years. Maybe I shouldn't have asked?' He thought as he left the comfort of the doorframe and sat done beside her.

 

She pulled her legs up to her chest, wrapped her arms around her legs, and rested her head on her knees. “You're right,” she started softly. “I did have to use the Gouka. After we got the object we were sent to get, we were ambushed. The chased us all the way to the border. Before we had a chance to call for Aid they attacked. We were doing okay we got rid of three. But after I had just gotten rid of one with a Jutsu, my partner was attacked…he looked like a pincushion, or one of Tenten's targets. I killed the guy I was fighting with, a Kunai to the carotid. When I turned back to help Yuka…” She paused there, remembering the sight of the two Rain-Nin's beating on Yuka's prone body. Without even seeming to realize what was going on, she let Kiba wrap his arms around her and pull her against his chest. He waited patiently for her to continue, not pushing her. She rested her cheek on his shoulder, gripping the fabric of his shirt in anger as she recalled the events. “He was unconscious and the two Nin's that were left were kicking him. Like he was the lowliest piece of dirt on earth. I guess I lost it, I don't really recall. After seeing what they were doing to Yuka I kind of blanked. The next thing I knew one Shinobi was already on the ground holding the bloody mass I'd made of his arm, and the other one was backing away. They left, but it took everything I had not to follow them and kill them for what they'd done.” She choked back a sob on the last few words.

 

“Hey, you didn't though, now did you? You checked your reaction and did what was more important, healing your teammate.” Kiba said reassuringly as he rubbed Ari's back with one hand and held her against him with the other. Sometime during Ari's tale Kiba had laid down on the couch with his head resting on the arm, and Arika had found a comfortable spot between his legs, with her head know rested on his chest.

 

“I guess…but still that's why I hate the Gouka. It makes me think like a different person when I use it. I feel like those Rouge-Nin's who only kill for money and pleasure.”

 

The arm that held her shook her once sharply, “Listen. You'll never be like they will. I've seen you use the Gouka in battle, you've never gone off and done mass-murder, or killed just for the hell of it. You always check yourself before you even get close to going that far. And you only ever use it if your life, or that of your comrades is threatened.” He smiled down at Ari's bewildered face. “You worry too much. I know you think that the Gouka will change you if you use it too often, but how often do you use it, hm?”

 

“I think I've only used it four times since I became a Chûnin, and that was almost four years ago.”

 

“Exactly. That's like what, once a year?” She nodded. “Then you have nothing to worry about.”

 

Ari stare at him for a few seconds before smiling softly, some of the emotion returning to her eyes and face. “Thank-you Kiba.”

 

“Hehehe, no problem.”

 

Ari leaned back against him. After lying there for a few seconds she realized the position they were in. She was about to sit up and move to another seat on principal, but decided she didn't care all that much… and besides she was warm now. She settled back and closed her eyes. A few minutes later she was asleep, still held in her friend's arms. Kiba apparently seemed to have fallen asleep as well.