[Open] Er, this is mainly just a voicetest. Hi ^^

[elegantlymasked]

Uzuki Yuugao woke up. Without opening her eyes, she could tell that she’d been sleeping on hard earthen ground- somewhere unsheltered, judging by the harsh sunlight. She must’ve been more tired than she’d thought, to fall asleep in a cemetery. But when her eyes grew accustomed to the light, she didn’t see Hayate’s gravestone, or any of the familiar surroundings of Konoha. There was definitely no one around the.. park? that she was in. It was impossible to move her without noticing, and this wasn’t a genjutsu, so what had happened? A knot of worry formed just above her stomach.

Standing fluidly, she reached back to make sure her katana was still in place, and adjusted her kunai pouch. It took a second for her to decide to wear her ANBU mask- it’s a part of her uniform, and she might need it, whether she was in enemy territory or not.

It was still fairly early, but Yuugao was sure she could hear the sounds of a market to the right of a bunch of buildings. Taking a few deep breaths, she headed in that direction, where there had to be someone who could tell her what was going on. Her body was tense and ready to evade any surprise ambushes, her left hand constantly hovered above her kunai pouch. However, the few civilians that she passed seemed completely uninterested in her, nor did they react to her uniform.

She had no idea where she was, or how she got here, but she could deal with this. She was one of the best kunoichi in Konoha. All she needed to do was find out where she was, and then the direction that led to home. Easy. Even a genin could do it. Yuugao flexed her fingers and marched right into the market.


//Points if you know who this is from the picture? :P She probably has 5 minutes screen time across the whole anime. Here's her wiki page though, I'm taking her from the end of the timeskip.

Comments

[sarutobiskid]

He thought he recognized her as one of the ANBU running around Konoha, but he couldn't be sure. And calling out to someone you didn't really know wasn't his style. However, he made sure that he walked into her line of vision, his hitai-ate proudly stating that he was a Leaf shinobi. Besides, anyone in Konoha would recognize him. The Sandaime Hokage had only had the one son, after all.

[elegantlymasked]

She stopped immediately with a small frown- not that you could see it behind her mask- but nodded respectfully. What was he doing here? It seemed too lucky for her to run into someone from Konoha right away.

"Sarutobi.. Asuma, isn't it? Please excuse my memory, but where exactly are we?" Yuugao hadn't let down her guard yet, if anything, this coincidence made her more cautious.

[sarutobiskid]

He frowned at the voice, trying to put a face to it. "Yeah, I'm Sarutobi Asuma," he said cautiously. His experience with the ANBU outside of Kakashi and Hayate was limited and not very pleasant. "This place..."

He blew out a huge sigh. "This place is called Michi no Sato. It pulls shinobi associated with Konoha from any time or reality. There's no known reason. It's possible to leave and go back to your own time, which I've found out first hand, but you can return too. Don't know how or why. Sometimes a genjutsu keeps us trapped in here like rats, but if you intend to return, you can leave the village for a while."

He pulled out his pack of cigarettes and lit one, taking a long drag from it, before speaking again. "Sorry, that's just e condensed version. If you'd like to show me who you are, perhaps I can give you a more satisfying response."

[elegantlymasked]

She tilted her head slightly, as if indicating that she was paying attention. "But... how is that possible?" It sounded completely implausible, but so much so that it wouldn't make sense to say it as a lie.

While she's still not sure that he could be trusted, Yuugao doesn't think removing her mask would be detrimental, especially if he was telling the truth. She contemplated it for a few moments. Finally, she reached up to untie it, keeping it in her right hand as she bowed formally. "Uzuki Yuugao. We've never been introduced, but I believe we had a mission together a few years ago?"

[sarutobiskid]

Okay, beautiful women were his weakness. That was how he'd fallen for Kurenai when they were kids, not that she'd been the only woman he'd had in his thirty-one years of living.

"Hello, Uzuki-san," he said politely, keeping his tongue and drool in his mouth. "No, I think I would remember if I'd actually been introduced to someone as beautiful as you."

[elegantlymasked]

Well, that was unexpected. She wished she still had her mask on, even if she could stop herself from blushing after years of training.

"Uh.. I.. It's good to see a friendly face around then, if what you say is true," she murmured, trying to bring the subject back to something useful. "Are there many other shinobi from Konoha here?"

[sarutobiskid]

"Uzuki-san, nearly all of the shinobi you will meet in this village are from Konoha. I think it's just the sand siblings of Suna that are the exception. I haven't met anyone who isn't, but I'm sure that I'm wrong. There are...this place has a habit of picking multiple versions of some people. So, you might run into people who normally you would avoid many times over in the same day."

He shrugged, wishing he could help the woman more than this. "I guess it's best to sit back and observe until you're comfortable here. That's what I had to do when I first arrived."

[elegantlymasked]

"Please, Yuugao is just fine." 'Uzuki-san' really didn't suit her.

The multiple versions of people sounded incomprehensible to her, although the fact that most people were from Konoha was reassuring. "I see. Thank you for your advice, but I don't plan on staying here for long. There must be some way to leave this place, and I intend to find it." There had to be a way out, maybe the other people who tried looking had just missed it?

[sarutobiskid]

"Yuugao-san, then. I assure you that many people have tried to leave this village since Konoha shinobi started arriving here. I, myself, wasn't attempting to leave when I found myself back in Konoha. I wish you luck if you are still insistent upon leaving. However, if you find yourself still stuck here, you can find me at the flower shop that is run by one of my students."

[elegantlymasked]

She was taken aback by his kindness when she realised that this was the longest conversation she'd had with anyone- outside of interrogation- for months. And this made her question why she was so eager to get back outside of duty. She'd just be running back to her memories and pity from everyone who knew her.

Suddenly looking a lot more lost, Yuugao glances around the market again. "Oh, the Yamanaka girl? You're lucky you have people here who care about you." The last bit was quiet- you might not have heard it at all.

[sarutobiskid]

Really, he felt sorry for her. He remembered how out of sorts he'd felt when he first arrived. "Yes, Yamanaka Ino and Nara Shikamaru both managed to find their way to here, so I suppose I am lucky in that regard. But, hopefully you won't be disoriented for long."

He heard her, but it wasn't polite to really point out if she wished to keep it to herself.

[elegantlymasked]

The last thing she needed was more pity. Like Hayate had taught her to do before practising a kata, she released her breath along with her thoughts and emotions, until she was the picture of serenity.

"One last thing, senpai." Because even though she technically outranked him, everyone in Konoha had heard the rumours surrounding him. "Are there hostile shinobi outside of this village?"

[sarutobiskid]

He didn't pity her. She was a strong woman, as her membership in the ANBU forces signified, but even the strongest of people were thrown off upon arrival in this strange village. He sympathized with that.

He paused to think about what she asked. "Not that I've heard or met, but the locals outside of this village aren't that nice either. I vaguely remember something about kidnappings, murders and rapes of the travelers that were made necessary by a war to the east. You'd be better off asking Uchiha-sama about that, however. I've only been back a few days myself, but it seems quiet right now."

[elegantlymasked]

"Ah, I'll keep that in mind." Although she wasn't too worried about them, she'd just take a few extra precautions when resting.

Hang on, did he just say.. "Uchiha-sama? Who are you referring to?"

[sarutobiskid]

"That would be Uchiha Itachi. In his reality, he was named the Godaime to avoid the entire clan's demise. I've only had the pleasure of meeting him once, but he seems to be doing a good job at running this village."

[elegantlymasked]

Uchiha Itachi.. She's not sure she wanted to meet him, even if he was Godaime where he came from.

"I see. What's he like?" Just you know, out of curiosity.

[sarutobiskid]

"He's smart, respectful, levelheaded. He managed to win over Kakashi, and that's not really all that easy. While he and I will probably never be bosom buddies, I respect him. His plans for this village are sound and he's got enough people to help him fulfill them. Other than that, you'll have to decide yourself. I've never been a huge Uchiha fan, but he's alright."

[elegantlymasked]

She nodded- of course she'd reserve her final judgement until after she met him. It was, however, reassuring that someone like Asuma didn't think he was a complete psychopath.

But she's gonna head off now, after a short 'thank you for the information' and the reapplication of her mask. She'd quickly find a few supplies, then look for a way home.

[sarutobiskid]

He let her go, not sure what else he could say to her about what was going on. Either she would stay in the village and get used to things around here or she'd end up back in Konoha. He'd told her where to find him if she stayed. That was all that he could do at this point, right?