Painless [A Naruto Fan-fiction]

Painless: Chapter 2

Freya’s feet hit the floor roughly, the cement beneath her feet covered in the dirty footprints of her fellow graduates, the group standing near a stage in the center of the room. A tiny hand popped out from the crowd, the familiar black nail polish gleaming in the light.

She pushed past a few nameless faces until she finally reached Emi, the black-as-night orbs she called eyes shining happily as the Hokage made his way to the stage. Freya’s eyes shifted as Emi wiggled excitedly beside her, a grin spreading from ear to ear when the Hokage came to a complete stop.

“Today,” he began, giving his lips a firm lick, “we have come together to congratulate these fine young men and women on graduating from the Academy.” The crowd stayed silent, but the kids receiving the honor did all they could not to begin their celebrations that second. “And, now, they will be assigned to their teams…”

Freya let her mind wander as the classmates around her stepped forward, meeting with their teachers, some ecstatic, others not as happy. Her eyes traveled to the corner stage, where Kakashi stood, his new students next to him, only one of the three there looking the least bit excited with their team.

“… Freya Shoomi, Emi Tsumatsu, Raiden Kye,” Emi squeaked next to her, jumping up and down as their names were read off on the same team, “Team 14, to be led by Rin,” Freya felt her heart drop, and felt the same thing happen to the girl beside her.

“… Damnit,” Emi hissed under her breath, stumbling forward as she realized the Hokage was waiting for them to approach the stage so he could continue. Freya followed closely, her footsteps echoing through her head as the ice-cold stare of her teacher-to-be traveled to her.

“That concludes the graduation ceremony,” the Hokage waved his hands, giving his thighs a quick pat as if he were searching for something in his pockets, “congratulations, all!” He wiggled his bony fingers into his pocket, whipping out his pipe and giving a content sigh before walking off the stage, closely followed by his masked escort.

“6 AM sharp, kids,” Rin walked by, not giving her new team a single glance before exiting the area. Freya glanced around the room, each teacher leading their students outside in an excited manor, all more than happy to share their goals in life… well, most all. Sasuke was clearly dragging his feet, the pink-haired girl beside him swooning at the mere sight of the boy.

“Raiden, wait,” Emi whispered, grabbing and missing his hand as he walked by, “Freya!” She looked briefly to Freya before rushing after Raiden, his footsteps heavy as he followed their teacher.

“Hey, I thought we could get to know one-another, you know?” Raiden shouted after her, waving his hand excitedly, “w-wait up,” he stammered, taking one step forward and slamming straight into Rin and tumbling to the ground. “How did you-”

“Let’s get something straight, kids,” she mused, stepping past her fallen student and eying Freya and Emi as they approached, “I have no interest in becoming friends with you, or sharing my life with you, or anything that involves us seeing each other outside of practice.” Emi held out her hand to Raiden, who gratefully took it and stood beside his teammates, his head sinking lower with each word. “We practice, you get better, you graduate,” she turned resuming her walk towards the center of the village, “that’s it.”

“Raiden, I thought I told you she’s no good,” Emi scolded, wiggling her finger in front of his face, “why don’t you ever listen to me?” Freya looked after their teacher, her long black coat flowing in the wind and her jet black hair falling down her back gracefully.  Something about this woman felt familiar to Freya, but she couldn’t quite place what that was.

“I get it, I get it… I just thought I’d try,” Raiden scratched the back of his head, “maybe we can snuggle up to another teacher?” He suggested, giving Emi a goofy grin as she let out a heavy sigh.

“We don’t need her,” Freya blurted out, her hand traveling to her mouth as she realized what she’d said.

“What are you talking about, Frey? Of course we need her,” Emi followed Freya’s gaze, their teacher completely disappearing over the hill, “she may be miserable, but there’s no other options, we just need to train until we don’t need her anymore.”

I can’t risk her knowing, Freya sighed inwardly, looking to her teammates as they began bickering once more, and I can’t risk you two knowing, either.

“How ‘bout it,” Raiden popped into Freya’s vision, his gold eyes sparkling happily, “wanna grab a bite to eat?”

“S-sure,” Freya recovered quickly, despite the fact Raiden wouldn’t have noticed anyway, but she avoided Emi’s gaze as she walked by, the black orbs staring curiously at her.