Second Chances Exist •Naruto Fanfic•

Mask Off

"Ugh," I whined for the eighth time on this trip. "Are we almost there yet?"

Ryoku chuckled at me, not even looking the least bit tired which simply amazed me. "Not even close."

I adjusted the bag on my back, trying to make it feel lighter in this heat. "So how long does it take to get to Konoha?"

Ryoku looked up at the sky for a moment as if he were calculating something. "We've only left Suna about two hours ago. It takes a full three days to reach Konoha."

My jaw dropped open and I gawked at him. "Three days?!" He nodded calmly as if it were nothing. "That's insane!"

He laughed at me again. "You're funny."

I blew out a puff of air. Yes, I'm the funny one when he's the one who just said it takes three days to get from one village to the other. "Oh really?" I retorted with slight sarcasm in my tone.

"Mhm." He murmured, seemingly lost in thought.

I eyed him as we walked. He was quiet but friendly nonetheless and it made me wonder why. I opened my mouth to speak but then tripped over a mound of sand and fell on my face.

I pushed myself up and spit out the bits of sand that got into my mouth. I looked beside me to see Ryoku had also tripped over the mound and fell with me. On the ground in front of us was Ryoku's deer mask. My head snapped up to his face. I've been curious as to why he wore it and what his face looked like, but I didn't dare to ask being I'd only just met him today. Excitement and curiosity bubbled in me as I waited for Ryoku to stop rubbing sand away from his face. Finally, his arm went down. His shaggy white hair reached just past his chin and was parted on the left, his bangs slightly covering his right eye which I'm seeing now are crystal blue. He made brief eye contact with me before sighing and standing up, grabbing his mask. I made a face at him. 

"Isn't it too hot to wear a mask?" I inquired, hoping he wouldn't put the mask back on.

 He shrugged and my hopes shriveled up when I saw him sliding the mask over his head, but then it immediately faded as I saw the mask resting comfortably atop his head on his hair. He extended his hand out to me and at first I was confused but then I realized I was still sitting on the sand. Yes, very intelligent of you Rinai. I gratefully took his hand and got back on my feet with Ryoku's help. I looked at him from the corner of my eye and smirked. He seemed to catch it and looked at me questioningly. 

"You didn't put your mask back on." I pointed out.

Ryoku gave a small smile before shrugging again. "You've already seen my face so there's no point in hiding now. Unless you want me to put it back on?"

I could hear his voice more clearly now without it being slightly muffled behind the mask and I can tell he definitely was about my age. I quickly shook my head, my purple hair whipping around. "No! No, I can see your face now and really hear you."

Ryoku chuckled at me and nodded. "I won't put it back on but when we near the village, I'd have to. Got it?" I nodded in response, completely satisfied.

After walking in silence for awhile I spoke up again. "Why do you wear the mask anyway?"

Ryoku took a deep breath with a slight smile on his face. "I'm apart of Konoha's ANBU Black Ops."

My brows pulled together at this. Black Ops? Like Call of Duty Black Ops? To clear my assumptions I asked, "What's that?"

Ryoku glanced at me in surprise for a moment before giving me am eye closing smile. "I almost forgot, you've never even been to Konoha let alone know anything about it." He laughed to himself briefly before continuing to explain. "Anbu are recruited from the regular shinobi forces and hand picked by the Hokage for their special skills. Age, rank, background, and gender don't matter when making the decision. We, as Anbu, protect the village, go on high-risk missions, and we're the ones who deal with exceptionally strong ninja." I waited patiently as he paused for a moment before going on.