Whispers in the Rain - Bleach X Naruto - Uchiha Itachi Love Story

Chapter 17 -Mountain Pass Scuffle

This chapter is dedicated to kookies_with_jams! Happy reading :)

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Saya pov:

"Hey ojisan, is there any library in the village?" I asked while leaning against the inn's reception desk.

"A library? Looking for something to read, hmm?" He asked with a laugh.

"Yup! I've been here for almost a week with absolutely nothing to do! Of course, it was my idea to take a vacation but sitting around all day and doing nothing just isn't my style. I can't stand the boredom anymore!!" I complained, close to wibbling.

Kurenai san and the team were to arrive by early morning tomorrow and I was glad that I would finally have some company. But I really was quite bored today and I wanted to do something besides sitting in my room or napping or sensing the inflow and outflow of people in this village.

"I expect no less from a young lady like you! It's good to see you're always looking for something to do and not sitting idly." He gave me a rough ruffle on the head, turning my hair into a bird's nest. "The library is just down the road and across the crop fields. It should be easy to spot."

"Oh! Thank you ojisan! I'll head out now." I smiled and ran my fingers through my hair to set it in place.

I gave the inn owner a chaste bow and made my way to the main doors of the inn. Just before I could step out of them though, I stopped and turned to look at ojisan when he called out to me. He looked a little anxious and when he joined me near the entrance, he looked around as if checking if someone was there.

"You should be careful when you go there though. Since the village has been under the watch of the Iwa shinobi, your every move will be watched. Make sure you don't get into trouble with them!" He said in a hushed voice.

I frowned a bit at his warning. The village was under the watch of Iwa shinobi? Was the situation here even direr than I had initially thought?

"What do you mean, ojisan? This village is being watched by Iwa shinobi?" I too asked in a hushed voice.

"W-well, I can't tell you any details because you're an outsider and I don't want a pretty young lady like you dragged into something dangerous. But just be careful, okay?" He said, giving my back a pat.

He didn't let me question him again because he turned around swiftly and walked back to the reception desk. I narrowed my eyes and looked out of the inn. I looked on either side and saw regular civilians walking around. But just as I had been sensing chakra since I first arrived here, I could tell there were a lot of shinobi lurking around. Well, some were openly showing that they were shinobi from Konoha with their forehead protectors clearly visible. However, there were some who were walking around in casual clothes.

I couldn't be entirely sure if they were Iwa shinobi because they spoke well with the civilians and they were not feared. I did spot a few Iwa shinobi walking through the village – I identified them by their red and beige outfits as well as the Iwa forehead protectors. They were constantly looking around and most people, including the Konoha shinobi, hesitated to even meet their gaze.

I shook my head and walked away from the inn and towards the library ojisan had told me about. I walked down the road and came to the large crop field in the middle of the town. I spotted the library on the other side of the crop field and I made my way across it while looking at my surroundings keenly. I didn't turn my head and made sure that people thought I was just looking ahead.

I narrowed my eyes further when I sensed and spotted more than fifteen Iwa shinobi walking on the rooftops, on the streets and even sitting outside restaurants and eating food. All the people who passed them bowed and scurried away as quickly as they could. As for the one guy who accidentally bumped into a ninja, he was shoved, kicked and left trembling in fear on the ground.