Chapter Text
The young girl perched above one of the many branches of the never-ending trees within the forest inhales another long, deep breath. Her eyes are closed and the bottom half of her face is masked. The forest is quiet and the sun's luminous rays feel nice on her skin. The rhythmic rise and fall of the girl's chest shows that she's at peace with her surroundings.
At the sound of crunching leaves, her eyes snap open and quickly locate the source of this disturbance. She watches a rabbit approach the pond near the bottom of the tree she's on. A bit disgruntled from being interrupted during her meditation, the smallest of frowns appears on her face.
So much for a little bit of peace and quiet.
Swinging her bag on her back, the girl jumps off the tree. Her feet barely make a sound as they come into contact with the grass. The rabbit remains unbothered.
The girl's eyebrows raise just slightly. I can hear you, but you can't hear me. No wonder they haven't found me yet.
She sits down against the base of the tree and watches the small creature as it drinks water from the pond. A small sigh eventually escapes her lips, and at this, the rabbit's ears perk up and it turns its head toward the girl. The girl plucks a patch of grass and holds it out.
"A peace offering," she says. The rabbit slowly hops over to her. She stares at the small creature as it starts to eat from her hand. What a vulnerable being.
The rabbit finishes eating and the girl gives its head a small pat before it scampers out of her sight. Staring after the direction it left, she sighs again. If only everything were that easy.
As the girl begins to close her eyes once more, she quickly jumps from her spot and to another tree just as a rain of kunai stab the tree where she once sat against.
"Now, that wasn't very nice," she raises a single kunai of her own and turns toward her attacker. She stares at his forehead protector and refrains from letting out a sound of distaste. "Gee, I didn't picture Konoha shinobi to be this rude. What kind of a welcome was that?"
The older male glares at the young girl, "State your business."
The girl hums, "I'm not sure if I want to disclose that with someone who just tried to harm me."
"Tch," He narrows his eyes. "I have orders to take you back to the village. Either you come willingly or we'll take you by force."
"I don't thin-"
Before she can finish her sentence, another male shinobi appears behind her and shoots a hand aimed at the pressure point of her neck, seemingly knocking her out cold. The girl falls to her knees and face first on the grass.
"What a brat," The ninja who threw the kunai tells his comrade. "I can't believe this is the person who's had us on edge for the last week."
The girl refrains from scowling as she feels herself being tied up with rope.
"She looks like a kid," The ninja who 'knocked' her out says as he picks her up. "But we don't know where she's from, why she's here, or what she's capable of. We better get back to the Third as fast as we can."
Wow, at least this one has common sense.
They start to travel swiftly through the trees, and soon the girl senses the presence of many people. She purposefully stirs, alerting the ninja who is carrying her that she's beginning to gain consciousness. This encourages them to pick up their pace and once she decides to open her eyes, she finds herself being thrown into a room.
She glares at the two ninja, now getting a better look at the both of them.
"Lord Hokage will be here shortly," The younger one who carried her says. "Keep quiet."
"I have yet to speak," The girl snaps. "And I think I have the right to ask questions. Lord Hokage? Do you mean-"
"Quiet!" The older one of the two orders angrily.
"Are Konoha ninja always so rude?" She huffs, irritated by their attitudes. Couldn't the Third have sent nicer guys to come fetch me? "I have a right to know. I was just enjoying the scenery in the forest and then suddenly you two show up out of nowhere, throwing kunai, like, what? I wasn't doing anything wrong or-"
"I said, quiet!"
"-suspicious, I was sitting by a tree!"
"You were wandering around Konohagakure territory," The calmer one states. "That's suspicious."
"I was planning to go to the village for a request," The girl argues. Which is not necessarily not true.
"Maybe so, but you've been in the surrounding forest for a week." He stares at her. "We were wondering what to do with you, to see if you were going to attack, visit, or if you would leave, but you didn't do anything. That's even more suspicious."
"Well," The girl's mind skims through different excuses. "If it wasn't for the fact that I was lost, I would have been here days ago."
"There's a dirt path that leads to the front gates of Konoha. You couldn't have missed it."
Just as she is about to retort, the Third Hokage enters, ending the conversation. The two shinobi straighten themselves upright and the older one bellows, "Lord Hokage! As requested, we've captured the intruder on the outskirts of the village forest."
The girl watches as the Third's eyes wander over to her. Recognition almost immediately flashes through his gruff expression and he refrains from laughing, "Well done, you two. But please do untie our guest."
Their eyes widen in disbelief but nonetheless comply with their leader's orders.
The girl stretches as soon as she is free from the ropes, "Thanks for that. I'm glad that not all Konoha ninja are as rude as these two are."
The Hokage's eyes twinkle with mischief, "I apologize for the harsh welcome, but we do take certain precautions to perceived threats. Might I ask for your name?"
A small smile begins to form on the young girl's lips.
"Sora. My name is Sora."