Chapter 34: Training and Perish

Nue's POV

I walked to the training grounds since that was place where Anko told me to meet her. Am I nervous? You bet your money I am. Why did all of sudden did she choose to train me? Why did she want to train me in particular?

Maybe I should ask her when I get there. I decided not to bring Kiyoshi with me today because I wanted him to have the day off. "Anko?" I called, once I got to the training grounds. I jumped in fear as a kunai knife scratched my cheek.

I blinked when I saw Anko jump down from a tree and smiled at me. "Looks like you're on time. Congratulations." She said with a grin. I stood there, speechless, or at least waiting for my heartbeat to stop beating like drum.

"Ready for training?" Anko asked me. "Um yeah. But why did you want to train me all of sudden?" I asked. "Ask questions later. Right now, we have work to do. Let's see what you got." She said. I sighed, knowing she wasn't going to tell me. I just got out my kunai knife and began to fight her.

(Time skip)

"Wow, kid. You're pretty strong." Anko panted. "Thanks." I said, breathlessly. We both had our hands on our knees and were panting pretty hard. We were both pretty worn out. "Alright, kid. Break time's over." Anko said as stood up straight 

"I'm going to teach you a new trick."  She said. A new trick? "Like what?" I asked her. She smirked. "You'll see," Anko went over to a tree and got in position. "Ninja Art: Shadow Snakes!" Snakes shot out of her sleeves and lunged at the tree.

"That was awesome! Where did you learn that?" I asked. "That move was from a long time ago." She said as she made the snakes slither back into her sleeve. "Can you teach me that?" I asked her. "Sure thing, kid." She smiled.

After trying to do the technique about a dozen times, I was just about ready to give up. "Damn it!" I shouted out of frustration. Anko laughed at my outburst. "Don't get so angry, kid. You'll get the hang of it." She said. "Easy for you to say. It's harder than it looks." I mumbled.

I huffed, then continued to work on the technique, focusing o. "Hey, let me ask you something." Anko said. "Sure. What is it?" I asked. "I notice you wear that cloak all the time. Care to tell me why?" She questioned. I froze in my spot. How can I tell her without freaking her out?

"Well... it's a long story." I said.

"Whaaat? Come on, you can tell me."

"I'd rather not."

"Come on. What's the worst that could happen?"

"You could faint, or scream and run away." I muttered.

"All right. If you won't tell me, I'll just have to force the truth out of ya." she said. "Force the truth out of me? What's that supposed to mean?" I asked, turning around to face her, but she was gone. "Anko? Where'd you go?" I asked, looking around.

"Fire Style: Dragon Flame Jutsu!" I look up to see a huge fireball coming at me. I dodged away and saw Anko coming at me with a kunai knife in her hand. I summoned my trident and made it clash with her knife. She smirked and swept her leg under my feet, causing me to fall on the ground. She went to grab my cloak, but I rolled away.

I did a backwards roll and quickly stood to my feet while Anko began to jump from one tree to another. Pretty soon, she began jumping all over the place, trying to confuse me so it would be hard to pinpoint her location.

I threw shuriken piece at the spot she was going to land next. Anko saw it coming and jumped out of the way. I picked up the kunai knife she dropped and ran towards her. She gasped when she saw me coming. I lunged at her with my speed and pinned her to the ground. I went to stab her neck until I stopped myself just in time, my face close to hers.

She stared blankly at me as I stared intensely at her. "You're faster than I thought, kid." Anko mentioned. I didn't say anything as I continued to stare at her.

"Hey, are your eyes glowing?" She asked. I gasped and quickly jumped away from her. "Not now. Not now." I whispered as I covered my eyes with my hands. I heard Anko get up and walk over to me. She kneeled down in front of me and gently removed one of my hands from my face.

"Relax, kid. It's just your kekkei genkai acting up." Anko said. "My kekkei genkai?" I repeated. "Yeah. Nothing to worry about." She confirmed, giving me a closed eye smile. "How do I deactivate it?" I asked.

"Try calming down. Just take a deep breath." She said as she rested a hand on my shoulder. I closed my eyes and took in deep, calming breaths. I took one more deep breath before opening my eyes. "See? Your eyes are back to normal." Anko said.

I touched the bottom of my eye and sighed. "All right, maggot. Enough resting. Let's see you try that jutsu again." Anko said, standing up. I raised a brow before nodding my head and standing up. I closed my eyes and concentrated.

"Ninja Art: Shadow Snakes!" I shot my arm out at the tree and three snakes attacked it. "Yes! I did it!" I pumped my fist in the air. "Nice job, but you're gonna need more training if you wanna win in the finals." She said. "Right." I nodded my head and we got to work.

After hours of training, I was on the ground, on my back, completely out of breath. This woman's trying to kill me! Anko doesn't joke around when it comes to training. It's hardcore! But hopefully, it's worth it.

Anko taught me everything she knew and she says I'm almost at chunin level. I'm surprised that I mastered them all in one day. "All right, kid. That's enough training for today. We'll pick this up tomorrow." Anko said as I stood to my feet.

"Hai." I bowed my head before walking home, humming a soft tune to myself. I walked back home humming a soft tune to myself. When I opened the door to my apartment, I was engulfed in a bear hug. "Yay! You're home!" Iri cheered.

"I missed you, too, Iri." I said, hugging her back. "Welcome home, Nue-sama." Maria said, bowing. "Hi, Maria." I said before hugging her. "Hey, there, kid." Kiyoshi said as he slithered towards me. I kneeled down and held out my hand as he slithered up my arm, up towards my neck.

"Where'd you go today?" Kiyoshi asked. "Just to the training grounds. I was trainging with Anko." I answered. "Aah, Anko-san. She can be quite scary when it comes to training." Maria said as held her face with a blush.

I'm getting the feeling that Maria has a "thing" for Anko. "Meow~." Misaki rubbed herself against my leg, so I picked her up and petted her. "So, how was training?" Iri asked, Misaki jumping out of my arms. "Brutal." I said as I flopped on the couch, too lazy to take off my cloak.

I looked around, noticing Okaa-san wasn't here. "Where's Okaa-san?" I asked Iri. "I'm not sure. She's been gone all day." She answered. "Luna-sama said she was going out for a bit. She said she'd be right back." Maria said. "How long ago was that?" I asked.

"Hmm... About an hour ago?"  

"That's strange. Do you think she's in trouble?"

"I hope not." Iri said.

We heard a knock at the door and Maria went to go answer it. I'm glad I didn't take off my cloak. "Yes?" Maria answered when she opened the door. "Does Iri and Nue Satori live here?" A jonin asked. "Yes. Please come in." Maria said as she stepped out of the way.

"Is something wrong, sir?" Iri asked. "It's about Luna Satori." the jonin said. "Oh, thank goodness. Where is she?" Iri asked. "We found her outside the border of Konoha." he said. Iri and I shared a confused look. "I'm sorry to tell you this, but Luna Satori is dead." The jonin informed. My eyes widened with terror.

"No." I whispered. "You're lying! She can't be dead!" Iri said, raising her voice a bit. "I'm sorry, but it's the truth." He said. "Please take us to her." Maria requested. The jonin nodded and lead the way as I left Kiyoshi and Misaki on the couch.

As the jonin lead the way, he lead us to the morgue, I spotted a metal table with a white sheet covering something. A body, I assume. I gulped as we approached it. A person dressed in white clothing removed the white sheet, revealing Okaa-san.

"Okaa-san?" I whispered. Her skin was so pale and her eyes were closed, as if she were sleeping. "No... It can't be her. It can't be." I said. I didn't want to believe it. But here she was, right in front of me, lying dead on this table.

"We also retrieved two more bodies from the scene," The man dressed in white informed. He lead us to two more tables, white sheets covering two more bodies. He and the jonin removed the sheets and I felt my heart sink.

"Do you recognize these two people?" The jonin asked. "Yes... They're Mother's maids. Julia... and Sharon." Iri answered in a sad tone. "Julia? Sharon?" I whispered as tears formed at the brim of my eyes.  "Please... Please wake up. This has to be joke. Please, wake up. I'm begging you." I said as I shook Sharon's shoulder.

"Nue, it's... it's not use. They're gone." Iri said. "No! They can't be dead!" I hugged Sharon's body and began to sob. "Come back! Please, this can't be happening!" I sobbed louder. "Nue, stop it. They're not coming back. They're dead." Iri said, her voice shaking.

"No, don't say that! It's a lie! They can't be..." I trailed off as my hair covered my eyes, more tears streaming down my face. Iri embraced me from behind and began to cry into the back of my shoulder. "Why? Who... Who would do this to them? I just... don't understand?" I whispered.

"We... We have to be strong, Nue. For them." Iri said, but I could tell she was just as sad as I was. "I want her back!" Iri said as she began to cry. My hands gripped the sides of the table as I began to cry harder.

"I'm truly sorry for your lost." The doctor said as he rested a hand on Iri's shoulder. "Shall I escort you home?" The jonin offered. "No, I'll take Nue-sama and Iri-sama home." Maria said. The jonin bowed his head, apologetically.

"No... I won't leave them. I don't want to." I said. I went over to Okaa-san's corpse and hugged her. "Okaa-san... I'm so sorry." I whispered as I began to cry again.

After spending a few more minutes in the morgue, Maria, Iri, and I went home and I headed to my room. I locked the door and went over to my bed, hugging my pillow tightly as I cried myself to sleep. Happy memories of my mother flashed in my head.

I pictured her smiling face and her beautiful pink and blue eyes. I remember how Julia and Sharon would always help me with my training and playing with me whenever I got bored. I remember how they would always find a way to make me smile.

Sadly, I never got a chance to say goodbye. I never got to thank them for saving me from the streets, for taking me in , and for always being there for me. I never got to thank my mother for accepting me as her daughter, for accepting me into the family.

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Sad. Nue and Iri lost their mother and their maids. Who killed them? How long will Iri and Nue bear their deaths? Will they ever move on? Vote and comment. Sayonara.

Kureiji out~