An Unexpected Love (Book 2 of the Unexpected Series)

Ch. 1 - First Meetings Suck

Summary: Kokoro makes it to Kirigakure and meets an interesting person. She starts to understand how different Kirigakure really is.

It took Kokoro longer than expected to get to Kirigakure. Kiri was located on a huge island separated from the rest of the elemental nation, so Kokoro had to take a boat. Once she was on the island, the trek to the village was rough and a bit rocky with differing land elevations. The land around the hidden village was thick with mist and made it hard to locate her destination. She tried using her other senses to find it, but even her slightly enhanced hearing and smelling was useless. After an hour of stumbling around, she caught sight of a silhouette. The person had their hands up in a show of peace and slowly walked towards her. Kokoro held her hand near her pouch, ready to defend herself in case the mysterious person tried to hurt her. When they came into view, she immediately looked at their hitai-ate to gauge their affiliations. She let out a small sigh of relief at the sight of four small squiggles.

"You are Kokoro Hatake, I presume," the person said. They were tall - taller than her dad was - with long, auburn hair weaved into a braid hanging down to their waist. Their eyes were sharp and brown in color, their lashes long and dark, their jawline sharp and boxy. They had wide shoulders that accentuated narrow hips, and they had quite a few piercings showing, including ones in their ears, eyebrows, nose, and belly button. They were masculine yet feminine at the same time. Kokoro had no idea how to gender them, and after a few minutes of taking in their appearance, she decided to wait until they introduced themself.

"I am," Kokoro confirmed. "Did the Mizukage send you to retrieve me?"

"She did," they said. "I am Masumi."

They turned around and gestured for Kokoro to follow them. Kokoro stood there and stared at them dumbly before she realized she was being left behind. She ran to catch up to them, making sure to always keep one step behind so as to allow them to lead. Kokoro felt a strong and confident aura permeating from Masumi's person. It filled the entire area around them, and it made Kokoro feel like she was safe, like no harm would come to her as long as she was by this person's side. She tilted her head to the side and discreetly analyzed her companion. What made them radiate such a feeling? Maybe they were just experienced? But even that logic was confusing as her dad had never radiated such an aura. He was a seasoned fighter, someone many people feared and envied across the elemental nation, yet he never made her feel one hundred percent comfortable while walking in an unfamiliar forest.

"Did that father of yours not teach you manners? It's rude to stare," they said as they glared down at Kokoro. Fear was instilled into the Hatake as she met steely eyes, and she visibly flinched at the intensity of the stare. "If there is something you want to say, say it."

"I - uh, no, I don't have anything to say," Kokoro stumbled out.

"Then pay attention to your surroundings. We're nearly at the village gates."

Sure enough, five minutes later, the village gates came into view. Kirigakure was not what Kokoro was expecting, to say the least. She knew there would be mist as it was common knowledge Kiri utilized mist techniques, but what she hadn't expected was the lackluster beauty the village held. It was dark and gloomy and a bit cold. The buildings were all cylindrical and plain, and the ones she could see were topped with greenery. It was nothing like Konoha or Suna. No sunshine or life. Even the people held no sunshine - no warmth. The guards at the gates greeted Masumi with a nod of their head and greeted Kokoro with sneers after glancing at her headband. She suddenly felt self-conscious and gingerly touched the metal adorning her upper arm.

"You should remove that as soon as possible," Masumi commented. "Preferably now."

"Is there something wrong with it?" Kokoro asked defensively.