Hello, everyone! I'm so excited to share this story I've been working on with you. Just a heads up, it's in the very beginning stages of being thought out. Any criticism is welcome, but please try to be kind. Also, another note, I don't know jack about honorifics. Please feel free to correct me when I'm wrong, so I can go back and fix it.
Anyway, please enjoy!
Disclaimer: I own nothing but Mei and her people
The sun was long gone, having set hours before. The night sky was blocked by the blur of tree tops as the masked ANBU raced through the forest. It was painfully quiet at this hour, and the rustling leaves due to the speed at which the ANBU traveled sounded like a blaring alarm compared to the silence all around. It made him twitchy, because all of his movements were very obviously audible to the trained ear. Be that as it may, he had made the choice earlier to give up stealth in favor of speed. This was a mission where speed was what would make or break the outcome. It was a deadly race to the finish line, and for now, he was winning.
He looked down briefly as the weight in his arms shifted on its own, seemingly burrowing itself closer to his vest.
The ANBU carried the toddler as tightly as he could without crushing the thing while jumping from tree branch to tree branch at top speed. His eyes watered as wind blasted through the holes of the mask. The rest of his team was about twenty kilometers behind, buying him as much time as they could. All he had to do was get the child to the team waiting to transport it to Konoha. At the speed he was traveling, he'd make it to the team within half an hour. He only had to survive for half an hour.
It was unclear to the ANBU who would be waiting at the rendezvous point, but it wasn't his job to ask questions. He was a shinobi first and foremost, and that meant he followed orders and shut his mouth. Right now, his only mission was to keep the kid alive and out of enemy arms until he could transfer it to the awaiting team. If he were to slow down even a fraction of a second, it was all over. He knew that even with his teammates keeping the enemy busy, they were much too dangerous for any lag.
The ANBU allowed himself to glance down at the toddler, if only for a second. It slept peacefully, unaware of the chaos around it. It was swaddled in a blue blanket in his arm, and even in the low light, the ANBU could make out the stark contrast of milky skin and the wine-colored hair on its head. The drying flecks of blood on its face were a sickening image - almost as if they were freckles, but he knew better. It was not something he had ever thought he'd see, and now that the image was burned in his mind, an urge to empty his stomach was present. Children and bloodshed were two things that should not mix. Unfortunately, the ANBU knew that in this world, they often do.
He didn't know what made this child so special, he didn't understand why they had been ordered to only protect the kid should things go south, and boy, had things gone south. They had left behind so many others, and the ANBU knew he'd have nightmares about the sound of dozens of people dying as he ran in the opposite direction. But that's what being a shinobi - especially ANBU Black Ops - was all about: following orders, doing what was hard in order to protect the village.
The mission had sounded easy. A simple extraction mission, nothing was meant to go too horribly wrong. They were sent to escort the child and its mother from Kirigakure due to rumors of an impending attack on the clan because of the fear the village held for their kekkie genkai. The Third Hokage had told the ANBU that the clan was an ally of theirs, one that they couldn't afford to lose. The child and its mother had been offered sanctuary in Konoha while the rest of the clan fought for their right to live.
There was something special about the child worth saving, according the mother.
"She's one of a kind," the mother had said, smiling softly at the child cradled in her arms. "And I'm not just saying that because she's my daughter," the woman laughed, tucking the blanket a little tighter around her child. "She will save us all. So much power in such a precious child -" And then her eyes went wide, a shocked gasp leaving her mouth. The mother had made a choked sound next, like there was something stuck in her throat, and then there was blood oozing out of her mouth. The ANBU's breath hitched when it began to drip down her chin, onto the sleeping child's face.
His team had sprung into action, trying to locate the attacker and check for more threats. The ANBU, however, maintained eye contact with the mother as her blue eyes began to glow - yes, glow - and she struggled to talk once again.
"He's here," she gurgled, blood bubbling in the back of her throat like mouthwash, "take her and run." The glow in her eyes - most likely a side effect of the kekkie genkai - started to fade at an alarming rate, transforming into a vacant, deathly gray color. She was dying.
The ANBU had finally sprang into action when she began to fall forward, arms outstretched in an unsteady attempt to hand her child over to safety. It had woken up at this point, crying loudly as droplets of blood fell of its forehead. Pulling the crying child into his arm, he caught the woman against his shoulder awkwardly, struggling to keep her limp form balanced on it. Looking over her shoulder, he had noticed two kunai embedded in her backside - one at her lower back, the other right in-between her shoulder blades. Her dress had been pure white when he had met her, as he looked at it then, it was like a canvas painted dark red
His teammate, Rat, grabbed the mother, lifting the weight off of him. Rat gently placed the woman on the ground and began checking for a pulse. The cacophony of grunts, screams, and flesh being torn open raged on. In the distance, the sound of the rest of the clan being attacked grew louder.
The ANBU turned suddenly, sensing someone right behind him. The child was cradled in his right arm, while his left hand wielded a kunai – ready to attack. The first thing he noticed was the enemy's smile - sharp enough to be a weapon. The man's hair had been the color of dark grapes, falling over his eyes, and casting distorted shadows on his face. The second thing he noticed was that the enemy wasn't looking at him. The enemy was looking at the child, and the ANBU felt something protective surge. He positioned the child out of view of the man, and held his kunai up protectively.
"I'm going to ask you once to hand over the child. I'll even say please," the man's smile grew into a full grin. "Please, ANBU-san, hand over the child." Without waiting for an answer, the man charged the ANBU. Before the ANBU had a chance to act, one of his teammates was there - Panda - taking on the enemy alone.
Panda deflected the man's attack and kicked his leg out in a sweeping motion faster than the ANBU's eye could track. The enemy dodge, jumping back and creating enough distance for Panda to address the ANBU.
"You need to go," Panda, the appointed captain, had said. His back was to the ANBU as he fought off the enemy, whose eyes had taken on a fiery glint. "Take the kid to the rendezvous point. We'll hold them off as long as we can." The ANBU hesitated. "Go now," Panda snarled, baring his teeth, "That's an order!"
He nodded, secured the crying mass against his vest, and ran like hell. The further he got, the more the noises of battle began to fuse together. Nothing specific stuck out any longer - it was all one roar of war. After that he had used his chakra to send the child into sleep. It would be easier for both of them that way. It's only a matter of time before they realize I took the child, the ANBU had thought to himself.
Snapping out of his memories, the ANBU realized he was approaching the meeting point. He could sense of the charka of a single person. But that didn't make sense. A mission of this importance required an entire team of shinobi. He hoped he was mistaken, that the Hokage was not ignorant enough to only send one ninja to transport the child, and that there were more allies scattered about the forest.
And then the ANBU saw who was waiting at the clearing, the moon lighting up his silhouette. The person's back was to him, but he didn't need to see his face to recognize who the yellow hair belonged to.
Minato Namikaze. One of Konoha's most elite, even at such a young age.
"Fox," Minato greeted, turning to face the ANBU, "what's your status?"
He shook his head, handing the kid over to Minato's awaiting arms. "I must go back to help. The situation has escalated. The attack happened sooner than we thought." The ANBU paused, watching as Minato awkwardly shifted the sleeping child in his arms. "The mother…. didn't make it. I used my chakra to put the child to sleep. You should be good for the trip -" And suddenly the ANBU felt pain blossom throughout his entire body, focused at a point in his lower back.
He remembered Minato looking at a point behind him, most likely where the enemy was. Minato looked like he was about the help the ANBU, but he shook his head and looked the yellow haired man in the eyes. He used his last bit of energy to speak his next words, the world closing in around him. "They're after the kid. S-save," he took a deep, shuddering breath, "save the child, Minato-san."
The last thing he remembered was dropping like a log, looking up at Minato, the grass damp under his cheek. There was a flash of yellow, and then the everything went black.
Minato flashed them using the Flying Thunder God jutsu multiple times, each one taking them closer and closer to Konoha. His chakra was dwindling with the long trip from Kiri to Konoha, but he couldn't afford to take it slow. When he had left the clearing - left Fox to die - the enemy was right fucking there. No - there wasn't a second to spare.
After what felt like a short lifetime, Minato flashed just inside the gates of Konoha, making one of the guard's shriek loudly and abruptly stand from his desk, accidentally knocking the chair behind him to the ground. He opened his mouth to yell about an intruder, realized it was Minato, and promptly shut his mouth in a tight, very unhappy line. Minato offered a brief, apologetic smile before flashing into the Third Hokage's office.
Minato took a moment to study the child in his arms. Its face was peaceful - most likely due to the deep, chakra induced sleep. How tragic, Minato thought to himself, this child will most likely be the sole survivor of its clan. He fought the urge to push its hair back from its forehead and scrub away all of the dried blood. The child couldn't be more than four years old, and it had lost its family in such a violent way. He wondered what its name was.
"Mei Baransu." Hiruzen Sarutobi, the Third Hokage, stood from his desk, pipe between his lips even during such a dire situation. Minato hadn't realized he spoke that aloud.
"Hokage-sama," Minato said, bowing slightly. The child fussed when he did this, and everyone in the room froze. They were shinobi - trained to kill and protect the village. A crying little girl, however, seemed like too much to handle for the God of Shinobi, Konoha's Yellow Flash, and all of the lethal ANBU Black Ops in the room.
The Hokage dismissed all but his most trusted ANBU from the room. He activated his privacy seals before taking a seat behind his desk again. Minato felt the seals dampen the room with chakra, making their conversation indiscernible from beyond this room. This was top secret - the most secure place in all of Konoha.
"Minato," the Hokage took a long drag of his pipe, before blowing the smoke out of his nose, "I need a report."
"Right, Hokage-sama." Minato looked at the sleeping toddler in his arms, wondering when she would wake up. He wondered who would tell her what happened. "I met Fox at the rendezvous location. He seemed panicked," Minato thought back on the way Fox's chakra moved through the forest. He had used it recklessly - overexerting it to the extreme, nearing chakra exhaustion when he found Minato. It was almost like he knew he wasn't going to make it out alive. "He told me that the attack on the clan happened sooner than we had anticipated. And the child's mother - well, she didn't make it." The Hokage nodded, urging Minato to go on. "After that… something attacked Fox, but I couldn't see who or what it was. I started flashing us towards Konoha as fast as I could," Minato continued, "none of the enemies managed to keep up. But…" He paused, eyes downcast as he shook his head, "Fox is dead, and I'm sure the rest of his team is too."
"What else?" The Hokage asked, knowing Minato well enough to know when he was holding something back.
Minato paused, adjusting the child into a more comfortable position. Her head rested on his shoulder now as he held the underneath of her legs. At least, he assumed it was a more comfortable position – as young as he was, his experience with children was minimal. And in this case, minimal meant zero experience. When the girl unconsciously moved her arms from her side to hook them around his neck and burrow her head closer to his shoulder, he took that as a good sign that she was comfy. "Fox said they were after the child."
"I see," the Hokage murmured thoughtfully.
"Lord Hokage, it seems to me like the attack was meant to wipe out the Baransu clan, but kidnap the child."
The Hokage nodded at this revelation, stroking his beard. "We have been allied with the Baransu since the Hidden Mist showed signs of aggression towards them." The Hokage finally spoke, voice somber. "They've fed us priceless information regarding Kiri, and we had many debts owed to them. It's unfortunate we couldn't save more of them, as I believe they would have been a powerful ally to Konoha. Their kekkie genkai is… breathtaking in use." The Hokage took another drag, before sighing. Minato watched the smoke dissipate throughout the room, before finally speaking.
"I'm not familiar with their bloodline limit, Hokage-sama. What exactly is it?"
"Well, it's quite hard to explain. Honestly, I don't really understand what it is myself. To put it as simply as possible, you could say they dabble in… chakra."
Minato hesitated briefly before asking, "Don't all shinobi technically dabble in chakra?"
The Hokage chuckled. "Yes, Minato, we do. What the Baransu clan has is an intimate connection with chakra. In general, they are extraordinary sensory types, because they are hyperaware of chakra. They can read it the way we read a book. How much a person has expended, chakra affinity - minute details that ordinary shinobi like us could never even dream of seeing. The different routes and specific skills they could choose to perfect are limitless." It was the first time Minato had heard the Hokage sound something akin to awestruck. "There are a few who have managed to unlock the Inochiryoku."
"The Inochiryoku, Hokage-sama?"
"A heightened state of chakra. From what I've read - which I admit, is not a lot - it is the highest state of power they can achieve. There have been superficial rumors about the capabilities when activated, but no one is positive what it can do. The clan was very secretive about that."
With enough training, the Baransu clan could have been an unstoppable force. However, they had to stop expanding their power when the threat of Kiri slaughter came about." The Hokage paused, allowing Minato a moment to let all of the information sink in. "It seems now that the secret of the Inochiryoku could die with them, unless young Mei is able to unlock it."
"If you don't mind me asking, Hokage-sama, but what makes this child so important? Why would they kill everyone, but spare her?"
The Hokage made a noise of acknowledgement, getting up from his chair to walk over to the window. He gazed at Konoha, quiet in the early hours of the morning. The shop owners would be waking soon, as the sun was shyly peeking out from the behind the mountains.
"Unsure about the future of their clan," the Hokage started, eyes still on the village below, "the Baransu reached out to a trusted prophet. The prophet said there was girl who would grow to be the most powerful wielder their clan had ever seen. It was said that she will have the power to turn the tides. But he warned them - with great power comes a great risk for an undesired outcome."
Hiruzen Sarutobi looked at the child in Minato's arms. She slept peacefully, completely unaware of the world around her. "This child has the potential for incredible power." The Hokage approached them, placing an aged hand on the child's head. Despite the situation – her clan was most likely gone, as were their men – Hiruzen found it in him to tenderly smile down at the child. "She needs to be trained. She needs to be aware of the power she holds."
Minato nodded, understanding what the Hokage was asking without it needing to be said.
"Take her to the orphanage. You start training her a week from today."
Well, here it is, folks.
Feedback is not only welcome, but it is ENCOURAGED. Let me know what you think.
Please, please keep in mind this is still in the very early stages. I'm testing something out here.
Thank you all for reading!