Orochimaru-Sama

Chapter One

Sweat trickling down from under my forehead protector drips to my chin, and onto the ground. Shuriken still in hand, I wipe it swiftly as I jump back a meter or two. With my other hand I take a kunai, aim it at my target and throw it. Right after that, the shuriken follow in the blink of an eye, both heading to hit the target between the eyes. Within a moment, it is over. Headshot. I ease my position a bit, and head to retrieve my weapons from my target.

"That is what happens when you mess with me." I say as I tug the weapons out of the head and store them away again. Not one of my targets ever survived. None lived to tell the tale of their encounter with me. And I most certainly never turned my back on a target that I hadn't killed yet. I'm a cautious girl, and dangerous too for that matter.

"You die." I continue, talking to the victim of my accurate aim. I smirk a bit as I look at my hits. All clean shots, exactly where I aimed them to be. Ha! And they told me I couldn't hit a target were it a meter away from me! I laugh at the thought of my old schoolmates, seeing me now. Oh they'd be surprised!

"I bet you didn't see that coming, did you? Your defeat came so easily, it's almost as if you were dead long before I even hit you! You were no match for m-"

"Miko, stop talking to that dummy." A voice interfered my monologue and I froze on the spot. I could have known someone was there. I could have. Why didn't I notice her coming? She's so damn quiet, even the Hokage would have trouble with noticing her presence.

"Ah damn Aina.. You never cease to amaze me with your stealth.." I mutter as I turn around to face her. She seems to be rather amused by the performance I gave her, unconsciously. Her arms folded at her belly, she sits under a rather large tree, which covers her in a flaky shadow. Flecks of light shine through the leaves, onto her silhouette. The back of my hand runs along the edge of my forehead protector again, wiping the sweat off my face. Maybe I should take it off for a bit.

"Same goes for you and your puppet show." She exclaims condescendingly.

"Don't be mean, Aina. I need to practice somehow. They won't allow me on any good missions yet." I sit down beside her and take off the blue band around my forehead, I wipe my forehead with the fabric before putting it on the ground between my legs.

"You'll get yourself killed on the big missions and you'll only get in the way on the smaller ones. There's just not a right one found for you yet." Her cheering up-attempt isn't really working, but I smile at her anyway. She means it well. Besides, she's right. I'm not advanced enough to join the important missions, and I'll just get behind on the small ones. I tend to overanalyse the situation, and sometimes it can be a good thing but most of the time it's a disadvantage.

"Don't worry about it Mi-chan!" Aina suddenly cheers and laughs as she slaps my back. The surprise hit me hard enough to let out a small cry of surprise, which makes her laugh even more. She must have noticed that this is really bothering me, somehow. I just feel so useless.

"Of course I don't!" I call out smiling, and it grows wider as I see her reaction to this: uncontrollable laughter.

"What's so funny, you hamster?" I slap her back repeatedly, as if she's choking on something. I can't help but to start laughing too.

"Breathe Aina, breathe!" She laughs ever harder and we both had the giggles for what seemed like at least fifteen minutes. Without a doubt, she is my best friend. The best friend I ever had and most likely ever will have.

"Mi-chan, you're such a terrible liar, your face turns all funny when you lie to me." Aina manages to bring out, half choking on her laughter. She's probably reminding herself of my face again. Aina always seems to notice when I lie. No one else knows me like she does, but that's not it. Aina knows when a person is lying, whether it be someone close to her or someone entirely strange to her. She just knows. I'm not sure how she does it, she never wanted to tell me. "Never let anyone in on your secret techniques. They'll use it against you." She used to tell me. She still tells me that. I stopped asking after a while.

"Don't get me started on yours, hamsterface." I add jokingly. We laughed for a while longer, every time we even looked at each other we fell back into helpless laughter. After some more minutes, it thinned down and we were leaning back against the tree, shoulders touching, still giggling a little. I picked up the forehead protector and rubbed the iron plate and its engraved symbols on it. The four slightly swirling lines make up the symbol for the Hidden Village of Mist. Aina and I have lived her all our lives, and inside the village itself it's not so bad. People outside the village aren't as friendly..

"Aina, when do you think we'll get a real mission on our hands?" I'm curious about the world outside the village. I've never actually been outside, I just hear stories from neighbours and the elder people that drink too much. I want to see for myself, someday.

"I don't know Miko. Maybe they'll recognize our talent soon and send us out. Maybe we have to wait another year. Who knows." I follow her gaze to the clouds drifting by. Today has been a surprisingly clear day. Our city is usually enveloped in mist, but the fog has lifted today. I guess the weather can't always be predicted after all.

My name is Kurunagi Miko, a ninja of the Hidden Village of the Mist, just like my best friend, Akasaka Aina. We are two ordinary genin from the Hidden Village of the Mist. Aina and I have known each other since preschool, we lived next to each other and gradually our friendship grew. Now, we are the best of friends, never have I had a better friend and never again will I find one. Nothing can ever come between us, we’re thick as thieves. Many have tried, only to fail. The bond between Aina and me is too strong to break. She’ll follow me anywhere and I will follow her. We don’t question each other, we go with it and have the best time of our lives. And this is how we will always be. 

We thought.