Name: Mitsa Hisshino
Birthplace: Kirigakure, Village Hidden in the Mist
I was sitting on a hill a few miles from the village, one of the few areas high enough for the mist surrounding the town to thin somewhat. Sitting alone and fighting the urge to cry as I remembered how I had failed yet again to pass the exams to become a proper Genin. It was such a simple thing, why couldn't I do it?
It wasn't fair. I was always the one to get chosen last, always the one who was laughed at, and for all my effort I couldn't even become a ninja? My brothers always had to look out for me because I couldn't do it myself! It's not fair! The only thing I could do really well was my kekkei genkai, but I wasn't even supposed to use that unless I absolutely had to. It didn't count anything towards the exam. It just wasn't fair!
I tugged in agitation at the black gloves I wore on my hands, the ones I always had to wear, as stubborn tears fought their way from my eyes to trail in warm rivulets down my face. I got so tired of these. They made the other children afraid to touch me sometimes, and I could only train so much by myself. But I couldn't ever take them off, just in case I triggered my bloodline ability without meaning to.
My kekkei genki was one that was thought to be useless by most not of my family. I had the ability to manipulate chakra through my hands as heat energy and could drastically change the temperature of whatever I was touching at the time. Few people saw the power of such an ability. I could create an energy so hot that, given enough time, I could melt metal beneath my fingers, or turn a persona's blood to ice. My hands could mean instant death for anyone unfortunate enough to come into contact with them.
Not a thought that inspired friends.
I bit my lip, looking furtively around to make sure no one was watching, and slipped off my gloves. I placed my hands on the ground in front of me, and closed my eyes to concentrate. I needed to do something, anything to show myself that I wasn't as pathetic as they thought I was. I needed to know that I had a power of some kind. Within a few seconds, the grass underneath my hands turned brown and brittle from the cold I was forcing into it, crackling beneath my fingers. I switched tactics, warming the ready-made kindling so rapidly that I nearly burned myself on the flames that billowed up in front of me. I calmly surveyed the glowing light in front of me, taking a small pleasure in seeing it eating away at the withered grass, scorching the earth beneath it in a vain attempt to get more fuel.
"Poor little fire. It's not fair to give up on you, either, I suppose." I murmered to myself, stretching my hands to rest on the ground on either side of my small conflagration, expanding my focus to create twin lines of withering grassland, catching into a V-shaped line of fire, its end pointing towards me. Singling me out, just like everyone else.
I couldn't say exactly why I thought that. As I watched the flames dwindle down, leaving only bare streaks of earth, I grew suddenly tired. I looked around at my bleak surroundings, the grey grasses that would never flourish into anythingg more, a chill wind cutting across the hill. Was this where I was to spend my entire life, with no future ahead of me? Never to leave on missions with my comrades, never to see other lands? Never to have a purpose, a use to anyone? At this thought, I felt an immense lonliness, a depression so deep it felt as though my soul was aching. My throat tightened suddenly, and I curled up on the frigid ground, curled up so tightly that I hoped no one would ever be able to find me.
Little had I known, someone had been watching me that day. And he saved me.
I ran down the hallway, eager to get to my master as quickly as possible. He called me so rarely, I wanted to answer him as quickly as I could. Once I arrived, I forced myself to open the door quietly instead of bursting in. I didn't want to disturb him, or have him think I didn't have proper control over myself. I hurridly stepped in and knelt down demurely, folding my knees beneath me and bowing my head until he acknowledged me.
"I've told you before, you don't have to bow for me, child." My lord's voice whispered softly and smoothly from across the room. I half-way looked up, just enough to see two golden eyes glowing from the darkness. Nevertheless, I could tell he was pleased.
"I'm sorry if I kept you waiting, Lord Orochimaru." I said softly.
"Nonsense, you made it in record-time. As always." He said lightly, creating a warm feeling of accomplishment within me. I owed everything to him, and saw him so rarely, that I treasured any small praise he gave me. "I can see you're excited, so I won't delay any longer in telling you your assignment. It's a small thing, really, but one I think you would be suited for. I simply need you to retrieve something for me. There is a stronghold of sorts located in the forest to the west of the Leaf Village. A number of ninja have gathered there, thinking they could band together and do more good than they could in their own villages. Somehow this group has acquired a very valuable scroll, and have it locked away in their little fortress. I need you to get that scroll for me."
I bowed my head again. "I won't disappoint you, my Lord."
He smiled faintly. "Good. I think you and Kabuto should be able to retreive it in a very timely fashion."
At this I temporarily forgot to maintain a subservient position, my eyes shooting up to the source of his voice. "K-Kabuto is going with me?"
He smiled again, golden orbs glittering in the darkness. "I see that pleases you, child."
I lowered my eyes again, blushing slightly. "I would be pleased with whomever you sent with me, my Lord."
"But you would rather go with Kabuto than anyone else, hm?"
A small smile broke out across my face, and I nodded quickly. I could never hide anything from him. Not that I would ever want to.
He chuckled slightly, amused by my reaction. "Go. He will meet you outside in one hour."
We'd been traveling for hours when Kabuto suddenly stopped in front of me. I had to jump to the side to avoid running into him entirely. The journey so far had been mostly silent, with me afraid to say something that sounded idiotic , and he seeming disinclined to idle conversation. Even so, he could have at least warned me before coming to a dead stop. I would never be able to live it down if I had bowled him over on our first and possibly only mission together.
"Why are we stopping?" I asked quietly. "We aren't there yet, are we?"
He shook his head and pulled a kunai from his weapons pouch. "No, but we can't be too close for the plan to work. If they see me, they'll get suspicious. We'll have to do it here."
I nodded reluctantly, eying the kunai in his hand. He had explained the plan to me on the way here, and though I wasn't exactly thrilled about it, I had to admit that it would work. These ninja had banded together to do more good than they could on their own, and were not known to have taken on a single selfish mission. However, their goodwill in no way undermined their abilities, and former attempts to break into their stronghold had failed. Therefore, the simplest method we could use to infiltrate long enough to steal the scroll would be to send me in, supposedly injured by a rogue ninja, so that I could clear the way for Kabuto to come behind me and do most of the major fighting. The only thing was, I had to have a very convincing injury for them to believe my story. Which is where the kunai came in.
Kabuto turned to me, his eyes thoughtfully roaming my body in search of the best place to put the wound. He finally settled on my right shoulder, looking to me for confirmation. I nodded, closing my eyes and turning my head away in an effort to keep myself from jerking away and worsening the wound, or creating the need to repeat the process. He tightly gripped my arm anyway, to keep me steady, and a moment later I felt the sharp bite of the blade piercing deep into my skin. My breath came in quick, shuddering gasps as I silenced the scream that naturally rose to my throat. I turned my head back, burying it into his chest to keep from making a noise. He held onto me for a moment longer, then in one quick motion withdrew the kunai and pulled me upright.
He cupped my face in his hands and held me to meet his gaze, managing to sedate me somewhat with his calm demeanor. A useful skill for a medical nin, I guess.
"I know it hurts, but the faster you get there, the faster this is done. Okay?"
I nodded, gritting my teeth, and pulled myself suddenly out of his grasp, racing off through the woods towards the stronghold. I needed to focus on the mission at hand, and not try to indulge in my own self-pity.
Once I got close enough to start encountering patrols I slowed down, crashing through the brush and running carelessly, as if in a panic rather than a ninja on a mission. Soon enough someone jumped down from the trees in front of me. Though I hadn't been caught completely unaware, I uttered a small scream and fell back in surprise, making sure to clutch my wounded shoulder. As expected, a ninja stood before me, looking down at me with a trace of suspicion in his eyes.
"What happened to you?" he asked, observing the blood flowing through my fingers.
I gulped and took a shuddering breath, trying to give myself over to the pain emanating from my shoulder to give my acting more credibility. "I-I don't know. I was going with my mother to visit my aunt in the Leaf Village, and-and these men just..ambushed us! I don't know why, we didn't have any money or anything! A-and I told them! Mother told me to run, and I didn't want to leave her, but-" I started speaking faster, giving off the appearance of near-hysteria. Though I had the story rehearsed perfectly, the less I told the less he would have to question.
It worked. Without another moment of indecision, the man crouched down to my level, pitying dark eyes meeting my own. "Hey, it's alright. I can take you somewhere to treat your wounds. You'll be safe there, and we'll send a patrol out to take care of those men. Come with me?"
I nodded, sniffling, and let him pick me up and begin to carry me off through the forest. I considered, as I rested lightly against his shoulder, that this was probably at the top of the list of romantic encounters. To be met in a crisis by a strong ninja, not bad to look at, and swept off to be saved and nurtured. So many girls probably dreamed about this, and to me it was nothing more than the means to an end, likely ending in my savior's death. Too bad for him I only had eyes for one dark-eyed ninja.
Kabuto had better be following us.
Once we arrived at the base, I could see why it would be a difficult place to get into. Several times the ninja had to put me down to get past a guarded entrance, and finally to release a large barrier disguising the main entrance to the compound. I knew the guards wouldn't be a problem for Kabuto, but that barrier would take too much time to get down again. The entire base would know he was there before he was even half-way to the scroll. Not a situation I'd have him in, if it was at all possible to avoid it.
The man put me down once we were inside, and turned to reform the barrier.
"W-wait." I called. I needed to give Kabuto a bit more time to get closer to the guards. "Are you sure they can't get in? Those men…they won't be able to find me here?"
He looked back over his shoulder and smiled reassuringly at me. "Don't worry, this barrier is strong enough to stop even the most powerful ninja. No common bandit could break through here. Believe me, they've tried."
"They've tried to break in here before?"
"Yes, we found a scroll of forbidden jutsu some time ago, and somehow word got out. They never had a chance, though. Even if they got past the barrier, we keep anything valuable underground, hidden underneath the central area of the base. So don't worry. We can protect you from anything that comes after you."
"Really?" I asked quietly, smiling softly. "You would do that?"
He nodded. "Of course."
Good. Now I knew where the scroll was, and Kabuto should be at the first line of guards by now. But I still couldn't let him from the barrier again. I would be trapped inside once I'd retrieved the scroll.
I glanced quickly around, and finding no one visible, resorted my only alternative. I threw myself forward and hugged the man around the neck, both of my palms splayed flat against his skin.
"Thank you so much." I whispered, channeling my power through my bare hands directly into his body.
"It's no prob-" He stopped suddenly as he felt my powers take effect. He jerked back in a futile attempt to free himself from my clutching grip as he felt the extreme cold travel through his system, first constricting his lungs and the permeate his bloodstream. The veins in his skin became visible, a spider web of light blue snaking its way along rapidly paling skin. His body shuddered violently once, and slumped lifeless to the ground. I stood for a moment, looking down with some regret on the man's body.
"But I needed to…for Lord Orochimaru." I whispered, that thought alone banishing any guilt from my mind. I placed my hands under the man's shoulders, lifting his body up and dragging it to a side-room immediately inside the hall. I heard footsteps running down the hall towards me, and hopped in myself. I peeked out, seeing a group of ninja rushing towards the main entrance. Kabuto must have arrived.
Once I was sure they were gone, I slipped out and stealthily made my way to the center of the base, luckily avoiding any major confrontations, though I did get into a few quick skirmishes as I progressed deeper into the stronghold. I reached a large, circular room with a giant rug covering the middle of the floor. I didn't even take the time to look around before pulling the rug up in a bunch against the far wall. Sure enough, there was a simple wooden trapdoor in the dead center of the room. It certainly wasn't secure, but then again no one had ever gotten past the barrier before.
So when Kabuto finally reached the room, I was sitting on the floor in the middle of the heaped rug, holding the canister containing the scroll in my hands. He stared at me for a minute, than shook his head and beckoned for me to follow him.
"I did good?" I asked hopefully.
"Yes, you did good. Once we get outside, I'll fix your shoulder, alright?" I nodded, clutching the canister to my body and rushing out after him.
He stopped suddenly again once we were a few miles from the base, and once again I nearly fell over on top of him.
"I really wish you'd quit doing that." I muttered, picking myself up off the ground. I'd had to jump aside again to keep from barreling into him.
He smirked. "You're right, I'm sorry." He set the canister down and crouched down in front of me, reaching out to slip my shirt sleeve off my shoulder.
Instinctively I jerked back, a slight blush forming on my face. "What are you doing?"
He sighed. "I need to heal your shoulder, remember? I'm amazed you've made it this far without tending to it."
"Oh." I sat and fought the urge to pull back as he reached out and tugged my sleeve again. He studied it for a moment before crossing his hands over the wound. A pale green light emanated from underneath his hands, and I felt a slight warmth cover my shoulder as the wound started to heal. I quickly looked away, not wanting to watch my skin regenerate itself. Even the thought unnerved me.
The glow faded away once he was done, and he looked curiously down at me. "You can't look?" he asked, a hint of mockery in his voice.
I looked back at him, pouting slightly. "I just don't like to see my own blood. I don't think it's that weird."
He smiled and leaned forward, closing his eyes and resting his forehead against mind. My eyes widened at this unexpected contact and I felt my face grow hot. I knew as close as he was, he could feel it, too.
"You're blushing." He murmured. "Why?"
"I'm not-I mean, no reason." I said hurriedly.
He smiled, opening his eyes to look into my own. "You know you're hopelessly easy to read, don't you?"
The blush on my face grew deeper and I looked down again. "Then why do you even ask?" I muttered, more embarrassed than I'd ever been in my entire life.
He chuckled and slowly traced his fingers along my jaw line before turning away to gather up the scroll again. He stood and started to walk away, back towards our home base.
"I just wanted to make sure I was reading you right."
I blinked rapidly a few times, trying to register what was happening. He was just going to leave, start off again like nothing weird had just happened? What, was he trying to toy with me?
When it became apparent that I hadn't gotten up yet, he turned back, looking expectantly at me.
"We should get back. Orochimaru is expecting us." He said calmly.
I shook myself back to reality and scrambled up to follow him. No matter what else happened, I'd hate to keep my Lord waiting.