Naruto: Of bone and ice

I was picked up by a stern looking man who didn't look impressed when he saw me. "Follow me kid." He said. I followed him out of the hall and out of the academy, this was the first time in three years that I was outside of the academy grounds. While we were training none of us were allowed to leave the village, it was very strict but now I couldn't help but feel free. The first thing we went to was the equipment barracks. This was where the ninja would report for new weapons and clothing, they had everything from Kunai and shuriken to explosive tags and scrolls. It was quite an impressive collection. The man I was with handed a piece of paper to the woman at the desk and she nodded, not even a minute later she came back with a bunch of clothing and weapons. "Alright kid, this is your new gear, put it on and we'll be off."

I nodded, grabbed the equipment from the table, and went to change. I was given a mesh armor undershirt, a black long sleeved top, and the standard gray "stealth fog" body armor. Complete with a pair of black combat pants, two weapon holders, one for my leg and one for my thigh. As for my weapons, I was given a large number of Kunai and Shuriken, five explosive seals, and two scrolls that had even more weapons sealed inside.

It was a lot of gear and I took my time putting it on using the mirror provided. It was the first time I had seen my reflection since joining the Academy. I took a long, hard look at myself, noticing the Kaguya markings on my forehead, just like Kimimaro's. My hair was jet black like Kachina's, it was a little longer and stuck out more to the right with bangs hanging down on either side of my headband that was around my head. My eyes were blue like Kachina's, but my skin was slightly tanned. I guessed I got it from my father, who I knew nothing about other than he must have been a member of the Kaguya clan. I was pulled out of my thoughts when my superior shouted across the locker room.

"Please hurry up, we have things to do." He said with a sigh.

I came out dressed and ready to go. He even smiled slightly, "Now you look like a real Blood Mist Ninja." We walked out of the equipment barracks onto the main road, the air was humid and foggy as usual.

"Listen carefully, little one, we have days of travel ahead of us to the border. There we will meet up with the three troops and cross the sea to the land of hot springs. Once there, we will act as reinforcements in the battle against the hidden leaf."

I nodded, taking in all the information, if this was a battle against the hidden leaf, then I knew it would be a tough battle, probably one we wouldn't win. "Okay, I understand."

"Good, because we're leaving now," the man said, suddenly turning and running. I did the same and followed him. We walked out the village gate and began to weave through the trees, jumping from one to the next. We'd been forced to practice this during our time at the academy as part of our chakra control lessons, it was vital that we could move quickly and use the terrain to our advantage. He didn't say another word the entire way, and I decided to remain silent as well.

We didn't stop to rest, but luckily for me, I had a decent level of chakra and was able to maintain my physical exertion long enough until we arrived at our destination. There was a large camp with a large number of shinobi waiting to disembark on three ships in the harbor. The camp was located in an alcove between two large rocks and was a good tactical point for going out to sea. The others noticed our arrival and came to greet us.

- Well, look who's back, Nobu! And I see that you've brought fresh blood, - said one of the men, looking at me with a smile.

The man next to me, who had just been named Nobu, pointed at me, "This is Fuyun Yuki, just one of his class given to us this year."

The others who heard this said, "You must have really pissed someone off to be sent with us, kid. You know Genin won't last long on the front lines," he said with a laugh.

Nobu turned to me as they walked away, talking amongst themselves. "Make yourself at home, kid. And get some rest, we're heading out in a few hours." With that he walked away, leaving me alone. I decided to grab some food from the small food tent, it was a treat stand with a large pot of stew that was left with bowls next to it. I grabbed a bowl for myself and sat down on a rock to eat, most of the other people were in groups, chatting, some checking their weapons, and others fast asleep on the ground. It was nothing like the Academy.

My meal was interrupted by a sudden burst of loud voices coming from not too far from where I was sitting. I decided to take the high ground and could see a group forming around what was happening. Squeezing through a small gap I was able to get a better look at what was happening, there were three men dressed in robes, each with a wild look in their eyes. They were facing six other men dressed in standard Hidden Mist clothing and it looked like a fight was about to break out.

"Damn Kaguya! Watch where you're going, scum!" One of the men shouted. The word Kaguya caught my attention. I looked closer at the three robed men and was shocked to see that they were all from the Kaguya clan. Their hair was tied back and the zigzag cranial pattern in the center of their heads was visible. They also had red marks on their foreheads, it was so obvious that they were Kaguya, I don't know how I missed it.

"Say that again and I'll kill you all," one of the Kaguyas said with a wide, devilish grin on his face. You could feel the bloodlust in the air as the pressure around both groups grew heavier. Suddenly, Nobu stood in the middle of them.

"What the hell is going on here?" He shouted, looking at the six men. They all stood still. "N-nothing, sir." They were spoken about quickly. Nobu turned to the three Kaguyas. "Would you care to fill me in on what's going on here?" He said.

Kaguya smiled slightly and turned away. "Nothing, just a friendly chat to remind your men of their place." He said as the three of them left, the murder still strong in their eyes. Nobu turned to the others and slapped one of them on the head. "Are you completely insane? Why the hell did you start a fight with Kaguya? One more second and you would have all been killed." The others tried to defend their actions, but Nobu couldn't take it anymore and told them to get out of the way and stay out of the way.

All three Kaguyas had a large frame and a murderous feeling about them, the one in the middle, who I guess was the leader of the small group, turned and looked at me as they left, his half-trimmed eyebrows lowered as he noticed the red marks on my forehead. I decided now was the time to slip through the small crowd and disappear from his sight. The attention of these crazy bastards was the last thing I needed right now.