Chapter 1
It was a long walk from the market to home for Karasu, the shadow village was built and designed for defense making it impossible to ever walk around buildings or take shortcuts it was a straight shot all the way, with diverging paths that also were their own straight shots.
Her father had said it was based on a grid so soldiers could get to the areas as fast and efficiently as possible to hold back invaders, and the Shogun, Counts, Lords, and Jonin could give orders accurately and effectively. She could not jump from building to building making her walk shorter by cutting general traffic and by staying above normal pedestrians, because the roofs of the buildings were literally covered in explosive paralyzing kunai, the slightest pressure and the roof would explode and send chakra laced kunai into the unlucky soul who had stepped on it, killing and at the very least paralyzing his movement by stopping all chakra flow in his body. Then the roof would activate its inlaid chakra channels producing hundreds more kunai instantly. Her father told her it was much like a summoning jutsu except the house activated it.
She was a genin and did not have the rank or family influence to get herself the talisman that all chunin and higher had acquired enabling roof travel. She sighed and continued walking on the street like everyone else. She moved left down the west wing of the road; that her house lay on, the road was much less crowded then the large northbound road that led to the Shogun's castle and the Lord's village directly after the castle walls. This one was a minor street and it was turning dark she assumed it was past nine. Though she need not worry her family was only a minor house that held minor power no one would ever want to kidnap or attack her. At least that's what she kept telling herself as the street became even narrower.
Her house was still far and the lights were dim when she heard them, three big men. Moving slowly and bumping into things obviously they had just finished at the sake den that was near the old gnarled tree, the halfway point to her house. They were moving towards her, albeit slowly and meanderingly. She tried to get as far to the right as she was able no need to entice them to violence, they had no shill in nin-jutsu it was obvious yet they could still overpower her she was only 15 and was a slight and thin 5'8. She maybe weighed 130 soaking wet. These men were obviously inches taller than her and much, much heavier. As she drew closer and closer to them she realized how similar they looked to everyone else in the village, black hair and average features, she was no different other than the slight purplish tint she had to her long hair, which is why her mother had named her raven, for its wings had the same color to them.
Her favorite aspect of herself was her hair it fell to the small of her back and was straight and sleek like silk. All of these things paled in her mind to the predicament she found herself in the men were drawing ever closer. Her mind being in a state of paranoia looked and thought of escape routes the buildings were not an option and she could not simply disappear so she resigned herself to pressing against the buildings to her right and hoped that she would go unnoticed. Yet they came ever closer, she noticed one of the men seemed more sober than the rest he also seemed to be the leader of the little group. They were close enough now where she could see them very clearly and they could see her, she thought it best to continue walking acting as if nothing was bothering her, thought the tumult inside of her was clearly visible on her face.
She began to pseudo-hyperventilate, she was becoming more and more concerned as they drew so close to her that she could smell them. They smelled of cheap alcohol and sweat from the day's labors. They were right on top of her now she took one step, two, then, they passed her, and nothing had happened she breathed a sigh of relief. When suddenly she heard "hey you girl."
