Near the land of Fire, there was a small village called the Land of Ashes, also known as the land of drought, by some. This was because the land of Ashes was constantly at war. The land of Fire's inner conflicts always took place in the Land of Ashes. Any terrorist organizations hid themselves there. Thus, the Land of Ashes, primarily an agricultural society, never could grow anything, due to the constant warfare. Hence the name, Land of Draught.
Mei-lee ran down the street. A girl her age could not be seen alone. She was young, about fourteen or fifteen years old, and she was very pretty. Locks of dark brown hair fell across her forehead and curled around her back, and her eyes were a teal blue. She was thin, almost too thin, on the brink of malnutrition. However, it was evening, and there was almost nobody on the streets. Those that saw her were mostly old, either homeless beggars or poor farmers that didn't have the energy to rape a young girl. They were too busy trying to get some food to eat. The Land of Ashes had no spunk. It was never a fiery country, but at least the farmers were always good folk, kind and compassionate, with warm hearts. That was until the Civil war in the Land of Fire. The terrorists had hidden in the land of Ashes, and thus, the war continued, ravaging the country.
Mei-lee worked at an old clothing store, where she helped create outfits for shinobi in the Hidden Villages. She dreamt about one day meeting a real ninja. The land of Ashes had no fighters, none whatsoever, except for occasional terrorists who demanded to be hidden. And they were always weak. Mei-lee had also seen a few "ninjas" from the Land of Fire. She scoffed, thinking of them. Ninjas? They were no better than ruffians. But, Mei-Lee had always dreamt of true ninjas. Shinobi that were honest, and proud, and were good fighters. She had spent hours fantasizing about them in her spare time. She even kept a list of all the famous ninja she dreamed of meeting.
As she was running, Mei-Lee tried to recompose her list in her head. There was, of course, the Hokages of the various villages. Then, the Three Legendary Sannin. Mei Lee suppressed a sigh of reverie. Oh, how she wished she could see them! And then, there were the Hidden Leaf Ninjas. The famous copycat Ninja Hatake Kakashi, and the Green Beast Mito Gai. Mei-Lee had also heard about a young upstart in the village, a "Naruto Uzumaki". Apparently, he had become quite skilled. They say he's super hot, too, she thought with a grin. Then, her mind turned to another group of Ninja.
The Akatsuki. She had also dreamed of meeting them. Especially a certain man called Hidan. Her friend always bragged that she had seen him, and had even made out with him. She was always telling Mei Lee about him, and how amazing he was. She scoffed. I doubt she is even telling the truth, Mei Lee thought, raising one eyebrow. She looked up at a small house, and found that she was close to her street. Almost home. She looked around her. There were many homeless people—way too many. They all stood around the towns, some leaning on broken down shacks, others sitting right in the middle of the street.
"Kyaa," she said aloud, sighing as her legs started to feel heavy. "I'll take a shortcut home. I'm really close to home anyways. Might as well make things a teensy bit faster." And, after a huff, she ran down an alleyway. As she ran, it started to grow dark She recognized the alleys less and less. She had never been here at night, and all the alleys had started to look the same to her. She took a left, and ran right into a brick wall.
"Crap, a dead end," she said aloud. Suddenly, Mei Lee jumped three feet into the air. A blob to her right had started moving. She looked closely in the dark, and saw that the blob was shifting. It was leaning against a dirty corner of the alley—she had no idea what it was. She took a step closer, and noticed the shape of a man, huddled up.
She suddenly felt sorry for the poor beggar. Out of the many homeless men she had seen, he seemed to be the most pathetic of the lot. The way he hid himself in a ball, one would think he was dying of some terminal illness. He's probably cold, and hungry, Mei Lee thought, with a pang of sympathy. That's the problem with this town. There's no life left in it. If only someone from the Akatsuki were here…then this town might get back al little of its old vigor. Why, all the people here have no spirit. Mei Lee went up to the blob of a man, huddled up in a corner. It was pitch black now, and she could barely see a foot in front of herself.
"Here's some spare change for you, beggar," she said haughtily. "Because I feel sorry for you. Don't thank me, please. If you wish to help me, tell me how to get to Sakurai Street." She dropped the two silver pieces on the floor next to the blob, put her hands on her hips, and waited. Can he even talk, she thought, noticing the man's absolute silence. Or is he dead. The man huddled in the corner looked up. Blood red eyes caught Mei Lee's blue ones. Shocked, she stared in awe, as the red eyes filled her very existence. There was so much life to those eyes. They were the most intense eyes she had ever seen in her life. Mei Lee started to shake, as the huddled man stood up, revealing a black cloak with red clouds on it. His hair hung like a shaggy mane down his back, and on his forehead was a band with the hidden leaf mark on it. And it was crossed out.
A deep soft voice rang in Mei Lee's ears. Two lefts, and a right. And thank you. Mei Lee didn't know if she had heard the voice, or if she had just imagined it in her mind. It was strong, and yet contained. The man started to walk away. Mai Lee stood, silent and stunned. Everything about this homeless man seemed to scream strength at her. His steady voice, his piercing eyes, his contained speech…even his walk was a strong walk, slow, steady, and fluid. Mei Lee blindly followed the man's directions. Bit her mind was still obsessing over those blood red eyes.