Naruto Another

Ayano Kaguya sat inside her carriage, shielded from the dreary rain and snow outside. Despite the freezing weather, it was humid and sweaty inside the carriage. Her pearly white hair stuck to her back like jelly. As she wiped her face, she could feel dirt and grime filling her nails.

"We'll get you cleaned up before long," a man said.

Ayano didn't say anything back; instead, she focused her attention out the window. Ayano carefully peeled the brown curtain back and looked outside. Carrying the carriage were two malnourished horses that hadn't eaten in quite some time. Ayano could've sworn they'd left Marshwood with more but she figured they were likely gutted for their meat.

Beyond them in front were giant stone walls in the distance. The entrance to Amegakure, Ayano suspected.

"It's cold," the man said, "the curtain, close it."

There was no anger or malice in his voice, but Ayano intrinsically felt compelled to obey him, so she did.

"Rubin is a better man than I," he spoke. The man had curly black hair, and a beard as thick as the outside brush.

"Good men don't own slaves," Ayano said with a hoarse whisper. She hadn't spoken in so long that she couldn't properly adjust the noise of her voice.

"There are no good men. Never have been, and there never will be."

Ayano met his gaze. "My brother was good."

"Your brother was a boy. Not a man – not yet."

"Not ever," Ayano said coldly.

"And who do you have to thank for that?"

Ayano relented and brought her knees up to her chest. She didn't want to think about that right now; instead, she had other things to consider like who this Rubin was, and why he wanted her as his slave.

Regardless, Ayano had planned to run away as soon as ownership was transferred. She couldn't stick around and put up with any more abuse. She'd promised Shiki that, and Alu too. It wasn't too long before the sounds of voices – men's voices grew nearer, and nearer.

'We must be getting close.'

It was Cayan this time who pulled the curtain back; though he seemed hesitant to do so. Ayano didn't catch much, but she did see large burly men in leather armor carrying shields, and other forms of weaponry. The sound of steel clanging against steel was potent, and despite being inside a carriage she could practically smell the rust.

Soon the carriage stopped and lowered. Ayano heard more footsteps; at least a dozen men surrounded her carriage alone, but Cayan didn't seem too worried about it.

Suddenly, a man poked his head inside the carriage startling Ayano.

"Ah, Roji, do you give every carriage heading into Ame this much attention?" Cayan said.

The man named Roji swung the doors to the carriage open, and it was then Ayano felt the full blast of cold weather. The fact that she was sweaty didn't help her either. She crossed her arms, and moments later she began to shiver.

Roji wore a thick fur coat, and his skin was as dark as ash. His hair was nonexistent except for the thick mustache above his lip.

"I just thought I'd check up on an old friend," his voice was deep, and rugged. If Ayano had to guess she'd say the man was in his forties.

"Ah, and who's this beauty keeping you company?" Roji said. Ayano caught his gaze; the man stared at her for a few moments. It made her quite uncomfortable. The man's teeth were rotted, and splintered, and the wrinkles in his skin were more than apparent.

"Merchandise."

Roji didn't have anything to say to that, but he kept his eyes on Ayano. When he finally turned his head, he seemed to groan.

"The gates to Ame don't open until first light; so, you might as well make peace with that, and spare me a few moments of your time," Roji said eagerly.

A few moments of silence had passed before Cayan looked at Ayano. But just as he was about to open his mouth Roji interrupted him.

"Oh, for fucks sake Cayan, the Onmyodo don't care about your slave or your business," he waved his hands, "one of our cooks already has a fire going. She can stay with him."

'The Onmyodo? A mercenary band perhaps?' Ayano thought.

Ayano, and Cayan both stepped out of the carriage. It wasn't just Roji's mercenaries that were out, there were also guards from Amegakure. That seemed to ease Cayan's worries a bit.

In the end Cayan left Ayano alone. It made her uncomfortable; why would he do that? What was stopping her from running away? She took in her surroundings.

Far out in front of her were the large gates leading into Amegakure. Aligned against the gate was a enormous wall that surrounded the village. It was so long she couldn't see where it curved. She decided she'd look again in the morning. Against the gate were a dozen or so carriages.

'Traders, or refugees?'

She didn't have a good look at them – it was dark out after all. Various torches were situated on the road, and against the wall. The bright lights flickered aimlessly in the cold snowy night.

'So, a whole city is behind those walls.' Ayano thought. It'd be the first shinobi village Ayano had ever been to.

'There might be others... like me here.'

Ayano decided to see the rest of her company; she'd arrived with Cayan after all – her master. From the few years Ayano spent as his slave she'd learned several things about him, and his business model. Around 100 people followed Cayan to Ame on foot, and about half of them were slaves. Those that fought for Cayan were marked with a small bright orange banner, and what weapon they wielded determined what would be engraved into that banner. They were known all throughout the Land of Water as "The Orange Men." Those that weren't fighters were simply laborers and were marked differently. Ayano placed her hand on the mark she was given. She could feel herself squirm thinking about the day she lost her freedom.

Feeling her fingers begin to numb, Ayano walked toward the fire Roji had pointed out before he left. She stepped to her right, and off the main road leading to the gate. Behind some brush covered in snow was a makeshift pavilion of sorts. It was tall, and circular, and warm, but most importantly it was sheltered. The ceiling was missing in the center, and that's where the fire was. It roared up, and into the night sky.

There were already a handful of orange men, and other slaves situated around the fire. As she went to find a seat a few of them gave her stern looks.

The cook Roji spoke of was a fat man clothed in brown tunic. He was clean shaven, and surprisingly well mannered. He approached Ayano with a bowl in his hand.

"You must be hungry m'lady." He said, handing Ayano the bowl.

The girl looked the man in the eyes intending to show him the mark that was on her face.

"I'm no lady," she said, taking the bowl.

"My mistake," the man said exaggeratedly, raising an eyebrow.

An odd mistake Ayano thought all things considered.

The smell of warm meat, and salt reached Ayano's nostrils. The steam from the bowl was quite apparent given the snow pouring down around them. The bowl was hot, and she liked holding it. Without thinking, Ayano brought the bowl to her chest and allowed the hot steam to pour over her face. It was refreshing.

The man sat next to Ayano and poured a drink of his own out of a hidden pocket in his tunic. Ayano couldn't tell what it was, but it was in a small flask.

"You're a long way from Marshwood," the man said, taking a sip.

Ayano nodded her head and then tipped the bowl into her mouth. It was a good five seconds or so before Ayano put the bowl down and spoke.

"Do you know Rubin?"

"Well..." the man said, "I know of him," he drank, "I usually try to stay away from those types of folks."

"What do you mean?"

'Is it because he owns slaves? Or is it something worse?'

"It's because he's a shinobi. One of the strong ones too. Though I hear Kuda could give him a run for his money, hehe," the man snorted.

"So, he knows ninjutsu then," Ayano said.

"Yep, but that's not all. He's also the lead Jonin of the village. The only person he hast to answer to is the Mizukage himself."

"Does Rubin have slaves?"

"Dunno, but I doubt it. From what I've heard he's the abolitionist type - all good and righteous like."

That eased Ayano's fears a bit, but it also made her more skeptical.

'Why would someone like Rubin want a slave?' She wondered.

"By The way," the man said, "You can call me Big Bowl. The famous cook of the Onmyodo, the men here call me that because I stuff their bowls full of meat, and greens. I make every bowl as fat and full as I can," he laughed heartily.

"Big Bowl," the girl repeated with a smile, "you can call me Ayano," She said looking up at him, "why are you being so nice to me?"

"Could be because you remind me of my daughter. Could be you're just another fella that needs their belly filled. Either way I am what I am."

That night Ayano slept in a cot not far from the wagon. There were numerous orange men around, but she hadn't seen Cayan since he left her. She gently ran her fingers down the right side of her face; she felt the single black tattoo that marked her as owned- that marked her as a slave. If tomorrow were to come, and things were to go as Cyan planned, she'd have two marks instead of one.

The long ride from Marshwood in that dingy carriage had Ayano weary from her travels; it wasn't long before sleep took her.

The following morning was met with urgency. Cayan had woken her at first light and had quickly guided her back to the carriage after gathering the Orange Men. Ayano would've liked to see Big Bowl again and to see if his breakfast was just as hearty as his dinner, but he was nowhere to be seen.

Outside the walls of the village were hundreds if not thousands of refugees begging to be let in. Numerous Amegakure guards kept the crowd back so the road would be clear for wagons and other trading carriages, but despite that they were in the carriage for most of the day. It wasn't until the late evening that they actually started to move.

Ayano's carriage situated itself back on the main road toward the gate leading into the village. On its sides walking besides the carriage were at least a dozen orange men whose duty was to protect herself and Cayan. Ayano suspected they wouldn't let Cayan bring all his men inside. In front and behind her wagon were numerous others.

Traders from Kirigakure, Shimogakure, and Takigakure, had all arrived, and were likely interested in visiting the Kage Gullet.

As Ayano's carriage began to move, she was able to peer outside the small window by pulling the curtain back. She could see the large iron gate that led inside the village begin to slowly open, and as it did the crowd surrounding it began to grow restless. Loud yells began to permeate the area, and before Ayano knew it a glass bottle of some kind smashed against her carriage sending shards onto the ground. One of the Orange men readied his spear, and seemed to thrust it into the crowd, but before Ayano could see anything Cayan and reeled her back in with a hard jerk.

"If you're going to throw your life away, do it after the transaction has completed."

Ayano didn't hear him. Instead, her ears were attuned to the loud painful moan from just outside the carriage. It seemed the orange man's spear had made a mark. Ayano didn't look out the window for the rest of the ride. She could tell when they were entering the village though as the noises grew quieter, and a brief darkness overtook them as the carriage entered under the gate.