The Last Chinoike [A NARUTO LOVE STORY]

The Brutal Chinoike

"Who is that?" A Hidden Cloud ninja who was patrolling the village with his partner asked the nearby ninja. He had spiky white hair that starkly contrasted his tanned skin.

The accompanying shinobi scoffed before pulling out a kunai. "Whoever it is is carrying a dead body on their back. Do you think they came seeking refuge or came looking for a fight?"

"Well we can't be too sure. However, I'm getting a feeling in the pit of my stomach that I've gotta say I'm not too fond of."

"Amen on that one. Let's go." They nodded to each other and flickered closer to the person who's silhouette was slowly coming into focus.

Instead of hiding their presence, they surrounded the person who was carrying a corpse. The person who was attempting to trudge along was revealed to be a she, in fact. The lady spoke softly, an obvious quiver in her voice.

"P-Please, help m-me..." The young woman, Hayami Chinoike, who had been walking for a few hours with the suffocating weight of her dead comrade on her back was a few moments away from going limp herself.

"We'll help you once you tell us what's going on." The one with white hair spoke harshly, trying his best to ignore the hurt in the stranger's voice. 

"She... was killed..." The small breaks in her speech were interrupted by huffs and an attempt to focus her eyesight on the two standing around her. "T-trying to escort me here..." 

"Why would you be going to the Hidden Cloud? Who exactly are you, brat?"

She couldn't answer the other ninja who was questioning her. Hayami's lungs burned each time she sucked in a breath, her legs shook, and were just begging for rest. A few wheezes and coughs escaped her throat before she collapsed onto her left knee.

"HEY! Stand up and answer us!" 

"If... I could..." Hayami's arms shook from trying to keep Kaori steady on her back. Her left arm soon gave out, the young woman's body heading toward the dirt. Fortunately, she was able to use the last of her strength to keep both her and her dead peer's head off the ground. "Then I would... she was just killed a-and I-"

"Did you kill her?" One of the male ninja asked. They both quickly realized that the woman was too beaten up to put up an actual fight so they sheathed their kunai and wandered a bit closer.

"N-NO! I didn't... I did not k-" Just then, as if on cue, Hayami dropped into the dirt. Her face mushed down into the caked mud and grass she was previously kneeling on. The corpse that was previously being held up by sheer will power alone slipped down and rolled on to the ground. The head of limp purple hair lolled from side to side and then rested on the shoulder of the girl who just collapsed.

The two shinobi who hailed from the Cloud looked at one another before picking up the young girl, restraining her wrists in case she was to suddenly wake up and try to attack. They also hoisted up Kaori's body before flickering off to just outside of the Raikage's office.

While Hayami was unconscious, although due to the forces imposed on her body, she still was plunged deep into a memory from her youth. However, instead of a dream housing smiles and fond memories, she relived one of the most traumatizing days of her life thus far.

~~~~

Hayami Chinoike sat beside her classmate, Momo Chinoike. The two girls made eye contact every so often and rolled their eyes at how boring the listen was. Their sensei was preoccupied delving too deep into detail, yet again. The topic of today's mundane lecture was the dojutsu of the Chinoike and how to obtain it: the Ketsuryūgan.