But only a little piece of it, for now.
"Yuuhi Kin'aka! You get yourself back here right now!"
Konoha's central market district was large enough that outraged parents and runaway children were anything but unusual. there was usually a policeman fairly close by, though, so most ninja never took any notice of it. Blatant provocation of a security force intended to enforce order on a ninja population was something that all but the most foolish criminals were not willing to engage in, and and never had been, to the extent that Konoha's criminal community had come to take a sowrt of backwards pride in the fact taht an unescorted child could be as safe in the city's worst districts as they would have been in their own home.
on the other hand, the mission commander that the Genin of Team Seven had been waitin in this ramen stand to meet was named Yuuhi Kurenai, and hte Yuuhi were far from being the most populous of Konoha's traditional ninja clans.
Sakura set her almost emptied bowl down with a quiet tap. Sasuke didn't react past and acknowledging twitch of one hand - but that was almost coming to be expected from him - and Naruto's mouth was too full for him to manage more than a muffled grunt and a cheerful wave. Teammates thus reassured, she nodded to herself and dove into the crowd.
The waist-high black-and-white figure that ducked under on shopper's basket-laden arm with a giggle then pelted perilously close in front of the hissing hulk of a steam-riven delivery truc was certainly colored right, so Sakura twisted between a flock of chattering housewives to scoop the child up from behind.
Kin'aka - with those trademark Yuuhi blazing red eyes the child couldn't possibly be anyone else - proved to be a girl of about half her captor's age, with a white dress that suited her (also characteristicof the Yuuhi) pitch-black hair quite well, and would have made her looked devestatingly cute if she hadn't been coated head to toe in dirt, grime, and something sticky that smelled vaguely of plums. She regarded the older girl holding her easily off the ground solemnly and asked, "Are you a good ninja or a bad ninja?"
Sakura felt every hair on her body try to stand straight up. "Yes," purred a woman's voice from just outside her field of view. "Do tell - which are you?"
Fortunately, within the secure zone of Konoha's walls, a Jounin would be willing to talk and question for a moment, at least in a stable situation, rather than immediately taking whatever drastic action seemed called for. So she had time to turn and smile and offer an armful of increasingly dismayed little girl - with hands carefully placed to be both in full view and well away from any leverage points or vital spots. "I do my best, Kurenai-sensei."
"Ah," said the elder as the motion brought the sigil on her forehead protector into plain view, and no more. She took her daughter in one arm and settled the poiuting girl's weight easily onto one hip. She used the pause that produced in the conversation to give the younger ninja a long, searching look. "Thank you, Miss?"
"Haruno Sakura," and she bowed, "We were waiting at the meting point and heard you yelling... Sasuke-kun's hopeless with people, and Naruto's just hopeless, period, so they're still back there and probably settling the bill before they catch up."
Despite the harsh phrasing her face and tone were fond, and Kurenai smiled to see it. "Ah," she said again, more warmely. She had been concerned that the positive tenor of their teacher's reports ahd come from his irrational urge to be 'fair' and avoid anything even resembling a personal attack, but if anything he had been understating the case. That didn't neccessarily mean that he was also correct about their teamwork and individual skills, of course, but it wwas a good omen. "Well, I was going to have her and her sisters safely at their godfather's before I met you so we could leave, so"
"No!" Kin'aka interrupted, burying her face in her mother's shoulder and wrapping her in the fiercest grasp her immature body could manage. "Mama's staying here!"
Sakura reminded herself forcibly that it wasn't wise to giggle at Jounin. "We could help?" she offered. "And leave straight from there?"
Kurenai gave her a thankful smile and let the Genin slip her field pack off her shoulder without disturbing the crying child. "Please. If you could get your teammates and meet me at Yin'san's shop - he's watching the other two...?"
"Right!" she nodded. "On it!"
Ja, -n
===============================================
"Puripuri puripuri... Bang!"
"Yuuhi Kin'aka! You get yourself back here right now!"
Konoha's central market district was large enough that outraged parents and runaway children were anything but unusual. there was usually a policeman fairly close by, though, so most ninja never took any notice of it. Blatant provocation of a security force intended to enforce order on a ninja population was something that all but the most foolish criminals were not willing to engage in, and and never had been, to the extent that Konoha's criminal community had come to take a sowrt of backwards pride in the fact taht an unescorted child could be as safe in the city's worst districts as they would have been in their own home.
on the other hand, the mission commander that the Genin of Team Seven had been waitin in this ramen stand to meet was named Yuuhi Kurenai, and hte Yuuhi were far from being the most populous of Konoha's traditional ninja clans.
Sakura set her almost emptied bowl down with a quiet tap. Sasuke didn't react past and acknowledging twitch of one hand - but that was almost coming to be expected from him - and Naruto's mouth was too full for him to manage more than a muffled grunt and a cheerful wave. Teammates thus reassured, she nodded to herself and dove into the crowd.
The waist-high black-and-white figure that ducked under on shopper's basket-laden arm with a giggle then pelted perilously close in front of the hissing hulk of a steam-riven delivery truc was certainly colored right, so Sakura twisted between a flock of chattering housewives to scoop the child up from behind.
Kin'aka - with those trademark Yuuhi blazing red eyes the child couldn't possibly be anyone else - proved to be a girl of about half her captor's age, with a white dress that suited her (also characteristicof the Yuuhi) pitch-black hair quite well, and would have made her looked devestatingly cute if she hadn't been coated head to toe in dirt, grime, and something sticky that smelled vaguely of plums. She regarded the older girl holding her easily off the ground solemnly and asked, "Are you a good ninja or a bad ninja?"
Sakura felt every hair on her body try to stand straight up. "Yes," purred a woman's voice from just outside her field of view. "Do tell - which are you?"
Fortunately, within the secure zone of Konoha's walls, a Jounin would be willing to talk and question for a moment, at least in a stable situation, rather than immediately taking whatever drastic action seemed called for. So she had time to turn and smile and offer an armful of increasingly dismayed little girl - with hands carefully placed to be both in full view and well away from any leverage points or vital spots. "I do my best, Kurenai-sensei."
"Ah," said the elder as the motion brought the sigil on her forehead protector into plain view, and no more. She took her daughter in one arm and settled the poiuting girl's weight easily onto one hip. She used the pause that produced in the conversation to give the younger ninja a long, searching look. "Thank you, Miss?"
"Haruno Sakura," and she bowed, "We were waiting at the meting point and heard you yelling... Sasuke-kun's hopeless with people, and Naruto's just hopeless, period, so they're still back there and probably settling the bill before they catch up."
Despite the harsh phrasing her face and tone were fond, and Kurenai smiled to see it. "Ah," she said again, more warmely. She had been concerned that the positive tenor of their teacher's reports ahd come from his irrational urge to be 'fair' and avoid anything even resembling a personal attack, but if anything he had been understating the case. That didn't neccessarily mean that he was also correct about their teamwork and individual skills, of course, but it wwas a good omen. "Well, I was going to have her and her sisters safely at their godfather's before I met you so we could leave, so"
"No!" Kin'aka interrupted, burying her face in her mother's shoulder and wrapping her in the fiercest grasp her immature body could manage. "Mama's staying here!"
Sakura reminded herself forcibly that it wasn't wise to giggle at Jounin. "We could help?" she offered. "And leave straight from there?"
Kurenai gave her a thankful smile and let the Genin slip her field pack off her shoulder without disturbing the crying child. "Please. If you could get your teammates and meet me at Yin'san's shop - he's watching the other two...?"
"Right!" she nodded. "On it!"
Ja, -n
===============================================
"Puripuri puripuri... Bang!"