Nature's Friend

New Friends

''Perhaps I am a bit lost.'' I admitted to myself in a soft voice, coming to a stop in the middle of a forest. I strayed off the path a few days ago, wanting to be closer to Mother Nature by travelling through the heart of the forest. In exchange, I lost track of my supposed route. I was on my way to Konoha. I had heard it was beautiful and that its people were kind. I wanted to try some of their food, rest up for a bit and then continue to wherever my feet may carry me. I wasn't upset that I was lost, I was a very calm and peaceful person. I didn't really stress or worry and so, I calmly walked in a different direction and hoped for the best.

I wore a tattered, light brown button-up shirt which seemed to be a few sizes too big. I had fiery red hair, soft green eyes and a freckled, pale skin. I wore dirty brown khaki's and travelled bare foot. I love the feeling of the grass and dirt between my wiggling toes, and it always made me sigh in contentment. I had a leather strap on my back which held a beautifully decorated ukulele that I made myself. I had all chakra natures because of my friendship with nature, and my wood-style jutsu had allowed me to make the ukulele. It had special powers were I to play it whilst infusing chakra into the strings, but when I did not, it was just a beautiful piece of art.

I took the ukulele from my back and continued walking in the random direction, my fingers tentatively tugging on the chords. It was tuned enough to play a song. A serene smile formed on my plump, pink lips as my fingers played the strings of the ukulele, producing a calm and soothing song. I hummed softly along to the notes and gained a certain skip in my step, an aura of love and friendship seeping out of me and my music. It didn't take long or I was being followed by nature's wildlife. Boars walked at my sides, birds flew over my head and squirrels followed me through the tree-tops. I gave each animal a friendly smile as I continued to play, humming to myself and my newly gathered audience.

I was barely paying attention to my surroundings as I lost myself in the music like I often did, so when I heard a threatening noise from all the animals around me, my eyes fluttered open. I blinked at the sight before me and calmly hung my ukulele on my back. The animals around me were being defensive of me because infront of us was a group of ninja, according to their headbands. A tall man with gravity defying silver hair whom I assumed to be their sensei. And three little genin. One in a bright orange suit, with  fierce yellow hair and an excited smile. One with black hair and onyx eyes, staring at me as if I had just taken his favourite food. And a girl with long, pink hair who kept stealing glances at the black-haired boy.

I was a very shy and timid boy, so I ducked my head in the collar of my shirt to the best of my ability, a pink teint spreading across my freckled cheeks. The boars stomped their hooves and took a threatening step forwards when the tallest of the group attempted to walk towards me. My green eyes sperred open and I squatted down, offering a serene smile to the animals around me. ''Thank you for walking with me, my new friends. I will play my ukelele for you again, I promise. Now it is time for me to make new friends again--'' I gestured to the group of ninja before me as I stood up, tilting my head to the side with a closed eyed smile. ''--like I just did with all of you. I can't befriend them if you don't let them closer now, can I?'' My voice was soft and laid-back the entire time, and as I finished speaking, the animals around me slowly dispersed back into the forest.

I turned towards the group of ninja and bowed my head once. ''My apologies for that. My new furry friends seem to have taken a liking to me and my music. I hope they didn't scare you too much?'' I gave them a curious glance, opting to make sure they were alright. ''Those stupid animals would never scare me, believe it!'' The yellow-haired blob yelled loudly as he fist pumped the air. I offered up a warm smile and gave a simple nod. ''That's good. We are all creations of Nature and thus should live in harmony. Its good to not be scared of animals.'' I replied smoothly, reaching up to run my boney fingers through my ginger locks. The pinkette made a strangled noise before she started to coo at me, and I wasn't sure what to make of it. But it seemed to be done with the best intentions, so I gave her a warm smile with my head slightly tilted to the side. At this, her entire face turned red and she was openly gawking at me now.

''We are on patrol duty. Your music drew us here. We were curious where it came from.'' The adult finally spoke up, his one uncovered eye staring me down. Assessing me, to decide weither or not I was a threat. ''From me, indeed. You did very well in finding me. My name is Shizen Tsure.'' I offered them the information of who I am without any hesitation, sending them a closed eyed smile. I am not a threat thus I am not nervous. ''My name is Kakashi Hatake, Sensei of team 7.'' The adult started, before gesturing to each of his pupils. ''These are Sasuke Uchiha, Naruto Uzumaki and Sakura Haruno.'' The Uchihia gave a nod, Naruto waved excitedly and Sakura merely swooned. 

''Hatake, you say?'' I blinked owlishly for a moment before a shy smile danced on my lips. ''The copy-cat ninja. Yes, I read about you. Its an honour to finally meet you.'' My words however, did not have the desired effect. The moment I showed recognition, Kakashi took a defensive stance. Not just Kakashi, but also his pupils. I tilted my head to the side much like a confused puppy. ''How did you know that?'' Kakashi questioned me sternly. Realisation dawned on me and I flailed my hands in a sort of panic, my face turning bright red in embarassment. ''Gomen, Kakashi-san! I did not mean any disrespect. I read about you in the bingo-book. You see, I am in there as well. Child of Nature. I am not ranked a criminal, although every village seems to want me regardless.'' I rambled nervously, before trailling off in an awkward silence as I stuffed my hands in the pockets of my khaki's.

''You are the Child of Nature?'' He eyed me curiously, his muscles relaxing some when I nodded my head as an answer to his question. ''Everyone keeps saying Child of Nature, but what the hell is it!?'' Naruto screamed loudly, chasing away a flock of birds that were perched in a tree top near us.  Sakura hit the boy on the back of his head for being loud, but even she had to admit that she was curious. ''The Child of Nature is registered in the bingo-book as a boy who protects nature and is one with it. He hates to fight and kill, thus he avoids both as much as possible. Every ninja village is dead-set on making him one of their own, to have a strong weapon should a war break out. Not much more is known because despite obvious attempts, no one ever gained more information than the boy's name.'' Kakashi explained to his students as he recalled Shizen's page in the bingo-book. 

While they talked about me, I had moved to one of the larger trees and sat down underneath it. With a flick of my wrist, a fire started infront of me and immidiately engulfed me in its warmth.  I took my ukelele from my back and began to infuse my chakra in it as I played a soft melody. It was meant to lure animals here into bringing me their food so I didn't have to take it from nature with force. Squirrels and birds came over and dropped fruits and nuts in my lap before disappearing once more. I had forgotten about the group of ninja who had all gathered around me and the fire, sitting down criss-cross as they stared at me and the animals in wonder. I did not have any meats since I was a vegetarian, but there was enough fruit and nuts to last me a few days if I had to. I set the ukelele aside and smiled to each of the still present animals. ''Thank you, my friends. Be safe.'' I whispered to them as they hurried back into the forest. I saw the group of ninja sitting around me and, startled by their sudden closeness, I blushed a furious red colour. I gathered the fruits in my arms and sprawled them out in the grass, gesturing to the group. ''Join me for the night, my new friends. There is plenty to share.''