Chapter 1: Origins

May 18th 1865

Sai ran as fast as his bare feet would carry him as the dark alleys around him blurred and he ran. The empty sky, covered with thick, heavy clouds was such a perfect omen for what had happened. His lungs were burning and he could barely feel his legs. He could still see images of his father, mother and worst of all, his older brother. The rough stone tore at his feet, they were a bloody mess. It was his older brother that, played with him, took him to the park and taught him to draw, his favourite past time much to his parents disappointment. He paused for breath before starting to run again, but that pause meant his thoughts could catch up.

He would never hear his father's laugh, feel his mother's arms around him or his brother teach him a new trick, they had died, killed by a stranger wrapped in bandages. Sai's seven year old brain couldn't cope with the pain and terror of his ordeal and so he focused on the pounding of his feet. In fact he was so concentrated on them that he didn't see the grey haired man in front of him until he ran slap bang into him. In the half dark all he could see was one single eye glinting in the dark, just like the man who stole his family, instinctively he shied away.

"Where are you running to young man?" the mysterious stranger asked in a kindly tone. He eye smiled until he saw the blood stains on the boy's tunic sleeve, his tear marked, terrified face and clan symbol on his sleeve. His eye grew cold making Sai back away even further but still to shocked to turn and run.

"So Danzo is back to his old tricks." He spat on the ground in disgust and then forced his eye smile back. "Well then young man since you obviously have nowhere else to go why don't you come with me and we'll see if we can't get you some hot coca." Sai didn't know what to do so he just nodded politely like his parents told him to do in front of adults and took the man's out stretched hand.

Over the next two years Sai was joined by more orphans. First there was Naruto, nobody knew his clan, he was one of the Kyubi victims apparently. He had an annoying habit of wearing orange and with his blond hair and brilliant blue eyes you could spot him a mile away. The scars, like whiskers on his face, were a mystery along with the way Kakashi was occasionally caught looking at him regretfully and muttering the name Minato under his breath. But he was nice to Sai, even if he seemed to find him a bit weird. Maybe that was because after he started calling Sai vampire he christened Naruto with the name, Dickless.

Then came Lee, in some ways he was like Sai, not good with normal humans. That was their only similarity, in all other aspects he was more like Naruto. He favoured another overly bright colour, green, had black hair that shined in pitch black room, no known clan and an attitude that annoyed everyone. But sadly for him while Naruto's annoyingness wore down into an incredibly likeable person Lee's never quite did. Their final likeness was by the tender age of nine they would both had huge crushes on Sakura.

Sakura drifted in and out, sometimes staying with them, other times with Tsunade head doctor of Konoha Hospital. Her parents were killed in a medical accident so Tsunade, her god mother, had to take her in but as a doctor couldn't always take care of a child so she stayed with the others. Her pink hair might have come from some chemical that her mother had tested on herself during pregnancy. She was awfully shy at first but when she got to know them she was nice. Unless a handsome, rich, preferably emo boy came by, then she became a grade S fan girl, but Tenten was trying to beat that out of her, with extreme vengeance.

Tenten was the daughter of a friend of Kakashi's who was a blacksmith. Because of this Tenten was skilled with most weapons, except rapiers. Her father was killed by one wielded by a man with snake eyes she said, she could no longer look at one. She had an easy going manner and was the same age Lee, a year older than the others. Her doe eyes deceived many, hiding the huge inner courage she held inside. She also had a compassionate side and though she was a tomboy (who couldn't be with always living the boys) she loved spending time with Sakura even though the aspiring doctor was annoying sometimes. She spent most of her time with Lee or Sakura.

The dog boy was the roughest of the lot, which was odd because he came from a reasonably well known clan. The reason for his fierceness was his belief in his failure to protect his mother when she was murdered before his eyes. This sight had snapped something inside him and he had ferocity in his eyes that never went away. But he was as loyal to his friends as the puppy Akamaru was to him. The dog and boy were both strays and they were never parted, they made a good team. Kiba's two scars on his face were the reason that Tsume leaping forward to die in the blade of the masked soldiers, he had been tortured. He, Naruto and Choji had built a close friendship.

Choji was the last of them to join, son of the once great (now dead) Akamichi clan. Choji had suffered a tummy bug the night of the genocide and so wasn't allowed to eat any of the rich food common of the Akimichi meals, he was the only survivor. He had run away from the orphanage he had been sent to because of the teasing and lack of food for someone of his build. Kakashi had picked him up with the same comment he used when he found Sai and Kiba. The plump boy was an amazing cook and had was just about kindest person alive. He brought balance to a firework group waiting to happen. He had only lost his temper once and that was when some boys were picking on Naruto, because of his scars, this had turned him into an incredible Hulk style fighter. His loyalty to his friends surpassed even Kiba's.

Through this group of mismatches Sai began to smile, his strongest bonds were with Naruto and Sakura but somehow even though he fitted in he never truly felt part of it.

June 1st 1868

It was a brilliant sunny day, filled with gentile ladies and gentlemen strolling through the park, only one person dared to break the atmosphere. Ino turned and ran as fast as she could from Ebisu. She giggled as the glanced over her shoulder and saw the look of shock on the stuffy man's face and his attempts to politely barge pass people, he soon fell behind but Ino continued to run weaving through people clutching tightly to her parasol.

She felt like she had lost him only to realise that she had also managed to lose herself. She must have slipped off one of the alleys that led away from the green meadow and was now thoroughly lost. She tried to retrace her steps, panicking she started to run again until she came to an abrupt stop when she fell over someone's foot.

"I'm sorry lady, I didn't mean to, I mean I shouldn't have..." the boy in front of Ino stumbled over his words his dark hair flopping over his eyes and his cap falling askew in such a cute way that the little girl couldn't help giggling. He was obviously put off by her fancy clothing and perfect hair.

"Don't worry about it, I'm Ino nice to meet." She stuck her hand out, while still on the ground and shook his still shocked one.

"You can sit down you know, you don't have to stay standing." Finally Sai sat back down again.

After that flurry of action Ino was instantly looking for something to say.

"What's your name?"

"Sai," he replied blushing under her brilliant blue eyed stare.

So she sat there with the puppy's head resting on her lap with her parasol over her shoulder watching as Sai picked up something off the ground and began to draw. For awhile Ino enjoyed the peace of the moment, the two of them sitting on the corner of the street. Finally the silence became too much for Ino and she had to say something.

"Do you do a lot of drawing then, because you're really good." She said in her usual brisk manner.

"When I can but paper is too expensive so often I draw on the walls with chalk from the fire." He smiled at her and showed her what he had drawn. It was Ino with all her skirts around her as she sat on the ground. Her eyes shone with joy and the brightened even more when he gave her the small scrap of paper.

"I really ought to be going home, but," she added with a small frown on her small face, "I don't know where to go."

"Where's your house, what does it look like" asked Sai.

"Well there is a big tree in the end of the street with a huge knothole in it and there are five houses on my side and one has a huge fountain with dolphins in it, another has ten different rose bushes and they all flower at different times and my house has two huge white pillars on either side of the gate and lots of grass and a gravel drive with thin white trees going up either side."

"I know which street that is," the young boy said a proud smile on his face, that he could help his new found (and pretty) friend, "Come on." He grabbed her by the hand and all but dragged her through the streets and some alleys with the puppy hot at their heels. Inos booted feet stumbled on the uneven ground which Sai's bare feet seemed fine to cope with.

Finally after what seemed like hours to Ino she was back on familiar ground. She pulled a head of Sai and sprinted as fast as her nine year old legs could through a gap in the fence and up to the huge front door. Panting she knocked hard against the old oak.

"I'm sorry we do not buy products off the streets thank you," came the clear crisp voice of the butler.

"It's me silly, I'm back," Ino cried out still filled with adrenalin from her run back home.

"Miss Ino," the butler replied with surprise as he opened the door and ushered the young girl in, "Where have you been? Don't you ever run off like that again, your father has been worried sick that was reckless and silly behaviour from a young lady to be."

"Oh don't worry, I was quite safe, I had Sai..." she turned around to point him out only to find that he had melted back into the darkness.

"What was that Miss Ino?" the butler asked as he led her up the grand, gilt stairway.

"Nothing, I am just very tired now and would like to bed now, thank you."

"Very well, I will inform your father of your safe return." The butler handed her over to a maid who led her off to bed. In all the rush Ino hadn't noticed that she had left her parasol behind.

The next day Ino woke up with a smile on her face, and pulled on her dress fumbling with the strings at the back, her father may be rich but he was not rich enough to have a maid constantly on call for the nine year old so, surprisingly for one of her class, she could dress herself. Ino ran downstairs eager to finish her lessons early so that she could try and find Sai. But as she brushed past the butler and skided at the bottom the stairs on the polished marble floor she saw something, her purple parasol, on the table. When she grabbed it a little note fluttered to the floor and on it were three tiny drawings. The first was a church, Ino went to church on a Sunday and yesterday was a Sunday. The second was a clock showing three and the third was a sketch of her and Sai sitting at the corner. Ino's cheeks dimpled in a smile as she scrunched the note up tightly in her hand and knew that the next week wasn't going to go fast enough.

A/N Yes there are plot holes, if you have any ideas please say in REVIEWS. Any ooc is (hopefully) because this is AU, they aren't going to be identical to their mange personalities. So long...