My Name is Rei Tanabe. I'm fourteen years old, and I hate the colour pink. I know it's a weird thing to say at the start of an introduction but trust me, It leads to something... eventually.
I was born in the Village Hidden in the Sand and I never knew my father. He died when I was an infant but my mom said he was a good man and a respected shinobi so I always sort of looked up to him even though I didn't know much about him. Despite not knowing him, I will always be grateful to him because he was the one who made me strive to become a ninja. Thanks to him, I graduated from school five years early and became a chunin at age nine. I always wished I could meet him so I could thank him.
I had a pretty good childhood. No drama, no tragedy, just a normal life. I did well in my missions, I had lots of friends and my mom and I were always really close. Since life had usually always been so uneventful, I didn't really understand what had happened when my mom died. Despite being a chunin, I wasn't really fully mature because I was only ten at the time. They told me she had died of a brain hemorrhage but I didn't get it. I didn't understand the concept of death. Had I done something to upset someone? Or had my mom been a bad person? I didn't understand that it was nobody's fault, but when I actually did understand, I realized that I wanted to blame somebody. How could there be nobody to pay the price? No justice, no retribution. Nothing. It drove me crazy.
The real question was, why did I feel like someone needed to pay for her death? Maybe I subconsciously thought it would balance out the world.
After the Incident, I was shocked to find out that I had to move to the Village Hidden in the Leaves. It was the council's decision. "But why?" I asked desperately. "I'm a chunin I can take care of myself!"
I was staying at the Lord Kazekage's house at the time. Temari, Kankuro and Gaara had always been pretty close to me since they used to play at my house as little kids and our mothers were good friends as well. Well, Gaara didn't talk to me as much anymore. "Your Uncle and your Aunt are the only family you have left, it's important that you stay with them." Temari explained.
"But what'll happen to me? Will I still be a sand shinobi?"
"I... I don't think so."
"But- but what if I don't like them? What if they're mean to me?"
I felt tears form in my eyes. I whimpered as they trickled down my face. Kankuro shuffled over to me and put a hand on my shoulder. "Hey, don't worry about it!" He comforted. "You'll be fine. Those leaf shinobi will be as scared of you as everybody else is of Gaara!"
Gaara sat in the corner of the room. He acknowledged Kankuro's comment and gave a grunt. Kankuro laughed and I gave a slight smile. I couldn't deny that he had cheered me up a little, but Temari didn't look like she was laughing. "Not funny, Kankuro!" She yelled, whacking him on the back of the head.
"Besides, if they mess with you, I'll bust in there and make them wish they were never born!" He declared.
"Idiot, the Kohonagure is three days from here. How would you know if they were being mean to here?" Temari questioned him.
"Is the Leaf Village really that far?" I worried. "I'm not gonna see you guys again, am I?"
"Don't be stupid! We'll see each other again! If not soon, we'll be there for the chunin exams in a couple of years and we'll definitely meet then. You better be a jonin by the time we get there, you hear me, Blue?" Kankuro answered.
I smiled at the fact that he was calling me by the same nickname he had used since we were five. He called me Blue because of my almost navy coloured hair. I nodded and hugged him. I didn't know what I was going to do without these guys.
A couple of days later, my bags were packed and I was ready to leave. I waited with Temari, Kankuro and a member of the council at the entrance of the Sand Village for the Leaf Ninjas to arrive who would escort me. "I don't understand why I need people to look after me while I'm travelling." I told them.
"It's just a precaution," the council member informed me, "not everyone is happy about you going to Kohona. Leaf and Sand villagers alike."
A few minutes later, the Leaf ninja arrived and it was time to say goodbye. I turned to Kankuro and Temari, my best friends. I only wished my other best friend, Gaara, would have come. "Knock 'em dead, Blue." Kankuro said, pulling he in for a bear hug.
"I'll miss you, Puppet Boy." I mocked, putting up a brave front while trying to hold back tears.
Kankuro however, wasn't attempting any such thing. Tear droplets ran down his face, smearing his purple makeup. When he realized this he grinned, tears still falling. "God dammit," he complained jokingly, " look what you made me do, Blue."
"Sorry," I laughed. I then turned to address Temari who was facing away from us. "Temari, what's wrong?" I asked in concern.
"N-nothing, I'm f-f-fine!" She stammered groggily, still facing away.
"Temari, are you crying?" I gasped. I had never seen Temari cry. Not ever.
"Don't be stupid!" She sobbed angrily. It seemed like she didn't wan't to hid anymore because she turned round, revealing her tear stained face, and squeezed me tightly. "If you have any problems, tell us right away, okay? We'll force the council to let you back!"
"Okay," I promised. After a while Temari finally let go and I took a few steps out of the village. I then waved goodbye to the people I treasured most in this world before setting off on the journey to my new life, and my new adventure.
My journey to the Leaf Village was uneventful. In fact, the highlight of the three day journey was me finally getting a tanned, dark haired male ninja to stop smoking for the rest of the mission with help from his red eyed female companion. Apart from that, we didn't talk much. The two Jonin kept trying to make conversation by asking me questions about myself which I responded to with blunt abrupt answers that couldn't lead them to more questions. I didn't feel like talking to the leaf shinobi. I didn't feel like going to the leaf at all, but I had no choice. Maybe I shouldn't have been so dismissive with them. After all, it wasn't their fault, but at the same time, it didn't change the fact that they were sort of my jailers.
The council member I talked to earlier might have being giving me an honest reason to why I had to be escorted but that definitely wasn't the only one. Another reason they were there was to make sure I didn't run away and try to go back to the sand village.
After the long journey we finally reached Kohona. The vastness of the wooden entrance doors to the village was pretty daunting to me. Even though they entrance to the Leaf was about the same size as the one in the sand, it was still slightly scary. Maybe it was because every time I got to the entrance of the village hidden in the sand, I always knew I was home. I kept telling myself that I was a chunin level shinobi. That I shouldn't be scared over silly little things and I had to remember that this was my home now.
We entered into the village and it took my breath away as soon as we stepped inside. It wasn't at all like the sand village. It as lively and slightly overwhelming. The streets were lined with dozens of mismatched buildings painted in curious and random colours. The shop signs stood out among the array of buildings, drawing people into the establishments. The thing in the village that caught my eye the most that was an eyesore of a cliff that had four male faces made out rock sticking out of the side of it.
"You like it?" The red eyed shinobi asked.
"Yeah," I answered truthfully. I couldn't shake off this sense of childish wonder that was flowing through me. Even though I was still a kid, I cursed myself for being amazed by such simple things as colour and strange architecture.
The two jonin lead me into a large, official looking building where we entered a room with an old man who had a similar outfit to the Kazekage's, a middle aged couple and a younger man who had dark, tied back hair and a scar across his nose. I noticed a little figure peek out from behind the couple. It was a girl a little younger than me. She had pink hair, a long fringe that hung to her eyes that were the same colour as my green ones and had shy look about her. Little did I know it at the time, but this was my little cousin, Sakura Haruno, the girl who made me hate pink.