Chapter 1: Jade vs. The World

Encountering hundreds to thousands of people is to be expected as you make your way in life. At first they start off friendly of course, but it's only just a facade; one that will surely starts to dissolve as soon as they gauge your usefulness in their own lives.

'Everyone is special; everyone is unique.'

To Jade, that was a load of ox manure.

They were all the same – well mostly anyways – with some wanting money, some wanting fame, but most... Well most just wanted nothing more than to destroy you as soon as your 'usefulness' expires.

Distrust and abandonment was something everyone was familiar with, especially during these hash time; war was falling upon them.

A plethora of citizens disregarded the matter. Refusing to believe that the place they called home was corrupted. But no one would know better than Jade Li. For at the tender age of three; their country's most 'trusted' leader Kazahana, Doto had committed one of the worst crimes. He had commanded for the termination of all the weapons workers. And among the hundreds of unsuspecting innocent faces was her father.

Oh the ironically, when her family discovered that they were taken out by the same volley guns that his team had developed.

However, some are born lucky. Jade just had hope that there was a nicer place than the Land of the Snow. There just had to be. Somewhere nicer, or at least lest cruel. A place where there were good families, good homes, and where people just lived in blissful ignorance of the true nature of this world.

That was something Jade craved more than anything.

To be ignorant to the world once more.

But that was life. And it wasn't fair.

Most people were just cruel and shallow.

Especially in the horrible and communistic Land of Snow. Were money was power, and power was everything.

Though she had to laugh sometimes. She lived in the land where nothing could grow and most things were put to slaughter for consumption. Nothing really lived here for too long; and deaths were more common the births.

And yet, she would still have to count herself as lucky. Despite her father being a part of the working class, Jade and her family were still part of the small one percent that owned enough of anything to never have to struggle much in their lives. But that was all changing soon. With higher taxes due to the Daimyo's military; it was a matter of time before her family was left on the streets to rot like the rest of the country's citizens.

And Jade was sure as hell getting out of there before that time came; for her lazy mother was sure to use her as a stabilization token.

It was always going to be her vs. the world.

And that's just how she liked it.

XxXxX

"You want to be a what!?" Shrieking and a loud bang was heard from the dining room area as a women towered over the cloth covered table.

Were her ears deceiving her, or had her daughter gone insane.

"A Kunoichi."

All around the elongated table judgmental whispers could be heard as the elderly women tried to laugh it off.

There were guests over at her house today, and reacting in such a manner would be inappropriate. Especially when among their guests was also one the most important political figure in their land.

It was none other than the county's Daimyo: Kazahana Doto.

Adjusting her silk green dress she sighed and put on her best smile. All eyes around the table shifted from the young girl to the hostess. "Now, Jade-chan, that would be highly inappropriate." She hissed in a threatening manor, telling her to shut up.

Today was her turn to host the Yukigakure society's weekly dinner party. Which meant that it was also her time to shine by providing only best for well off friends. All day she had been shouting and ordering the staff to make sure tonight went off without a hitch. She even imported the wine!

And her baboon of a daughter was not going to ruined this!

Jade just rolled her eyes.

"And why's that mother?" Oh, Jade knew why. In her mother's eyes ninjas were considered dirty, brutish, and ugly. And Fuyu Li was not risking any disfigurements to her last shot of wealth. "-I have already decided that wedlock was not in my future," Oh, if only it were appropriate to grin right now.

However her comment only seemed to make her mother more anger as she ignored the furious look the woman was shooting her. Shifted her gaze onto Kazahana, she continued "- After all, it would be my honour to serve as one of the protectors of this country." This was one of the biggest lies Jade has ever told. She hated this man. But if he granted her permission to be free of this household, than she was willing to act the part of a loyalist.

'That little brat!' Jade's mother thought, wanting to do nothing but strangle her obnoxious child. She was deliberately trying to ruin her! Oh, the gossip that would derive from this night would be cringe worthy.'

At the other end of the table sat Kazahana. With his hair slicked back and dressed in his emperor like robes, his gaze landed on Jade; who had been sitting to the left of him but a few seats away.

"That's a wonderful ambition, Jade," A powerful voice stated, which successfully cancelled out the last few murmurs of disapproval from around the room. However, the Li family could still feel the tension in air. Two boys, no older then fifteen nodded their head, seeing as their ruler looked around for agreement. "An honour indeed." One stated. Dressed in black while looking across the table at his kid sister.

Just what was their sister doing?

A smirk made its way onto Daimyo lips as he nodded. Jade may not have the strength to fight, coming from an upscale family, but she could assist his men in other aspects when she got older. Looking down the mahogany table and at the raven hair child he made a mental note.

"Isn't that right, Lady Fuyu?"

Jade scoffed, 'Lady.'

Her mother giggled nervously, "Of course it is, what greater honour is there than defending the home you love so much!" Not one to be taken lightly she continued, "But Jade is still far too young to even begin thinking about that; she's only twelve and still very fragile."

'That witch!'

Her mother had no right to use that against her! Yes, she fell ill easily, but that was 'Majorly due to fatigue and lack of proper nourishment. Something that was rooted within her own mother's care-taking skills. Or lack of it for that matter.

"But now is the perfect time to think of it." She emphasized, hands starting to ball from underneath the table. "Most successful ninjas have been training since they could walk. If anything, I am late!"

Well, that was partly true. Unknown by her family, she had been sneaking out of her etiquette classes a tad bit early and have been taking short lessons from the boy next door who was entering the exams this year. Playing with the sleeves of her green kimono she tried to regain her composure.

The countries tyrannical ruler spoke up. "Jade-chan," she looked up, clutching the piece of cloth that draped over her knees in hope. "You are a beautiful young girl, and despite your health issues, I believe you would make a great Kunoichi." She smiled a bit. "But, perhaps you and your mother can discuss this later,"

No

"-I can send someone to come by and provide your family with more information at a later date,"

Hope was slowly dying "-if you decide that is indeed the path you wish to take."

"ye-"

However, right at that moment the door leading to their kitchen busted open, interrupting the emerald eyed girl, as the house workers all piled into the room with large bottles of wine and carts full of platters for the guest. Fuyu thanked Kami as both the ruler and the rest of the guest were distracted, "Perhaps later we can talk more," there wasn't a shooting chance in hell, "-but for now let's enjoy this fine meal that Asako, our new residential chief, had prepared for us."

Her mother was a menace.

All around agreement was confirmed as small talk and chatter filled the air. Away the tension went, and along with it, Jades hopes for escape.

A plate was placed in front of her as the smell of roasted pork, mashed potatoes, and fresh grains- a delicacy in her snowy village- entered her noise.

Looking around she caught the eye of her mother.

'I am so dead,' she thought, imagining the worst thing her mother could do.

Well, thinking about it. How much damage could she do?

Take away the dolls? She stopped playing with when she was five. Disallow her from hanging out with her older brothers at the park? They usually didn't allow her to follow and when she did it always ended up with her sitting in the snow by herself. Extend her time with Mizaki-sensei, her proper etiquette tutor, by an hour.

She paused.

Actually, that just might kill her.

'Well, this may be my last meal' She thought sarcastically rolling her eyes. But honestly nothing mattered now. Her main mission for tonight was to get some sort of insurance that she would be able to leave this household and do the one thing that she actually considered fun: training.

Grabbing her fork Jade started picking at her meat before cutting up into small pieces and stuffing it in her mouth. The only reason why she didn't fake sick tonight, unlike the rest of the previous dinners, was the fact that the Kazahana-dono was coming.

And that ended up horribly.

She didn't even know what in her crazy messed up mind made her think that some sort of guarantee would be ensured. Unlike most countries, where at the age of twelve, children would be able to make their own choices; in their village children weren't permitted a voice until they were fifteen. Just thinking about asking her mom permission till such a prime age killed her.

But there was a glimmer of hope. If Jade has learned one thing from her control-freak of a mother, it was to always have a plan B.

Chewing with her mouth open she examined the room. Most of the highly ranked individuals, or what her mother considered 'highly-ranked,' were with them tonight.

She caught the eye of the one and only, Akasuki Shouda. Oh boy.

Thanks to their society's love for parties, where they could talk about their influential presents and monetary gains, Jade has managed to be familiar with the usual guest. And the Shoudas were probably her second least favourites.

There was the Kinos with the twins Aya and Azuki. Both girls were pretty, with beautiful long silver hair and sky blue eyes; If they would stop blinking, they would looked just like the doll stuck in her attic. Yet, with that said, what made them so perfect was the fact that they were both fairly tamed: only speaking when spoken too, and eating small spoons full of food before claiming that they were too full for deserts.

Who could ever be too full for deserts!?

Yet, they were considered the perfect little girls in the eyes of their society; and Fuyu would be over the moon if her daughters were to act just like the twins. And by that she meant: A proper ladies who would one day find good husbands to increase their family wealth.

Bla, bla-bla, bla bla. Jade mocked taking a large spoonful peas and stuffed it into her mouth.

But that was never happening; Jade was stubborn and actually had a mind of her own. She would eat whatever amount of food that made her happy, and the idea of sitting still long enough to finish a full Bunraku without moving made her want to kick the people behind the screen.

But that was life.

Her mother wanted an Aya and Azuki; and Jade wanted to beat up bad guys with her fist.

Shifting her eyes she watched the people sitting to the left of the Kinos eat. Ah, the Midos. Now these people...These people were what her mother had been aiming for when she decide to marry her father. The Mido's were one of the wealthiest people in their village; with huge amounts of property and longhaired ox's tied to their name. They were regarded as important and the fact that they were very well known made them enviable; and everyone wanted to be envied.

However, Jade didn't care much. They were just as bad as the rest of the lot. Yet, unlike the rest, they unfortunately had one thing that made them stand out. They had one of the worst offspring since – well, since their son – Sota.

Oh, Kami, if Jade ever had the chance to harm the boy without being arrested for assault, she would have knocked the boy so far into the next country not even his parents could afford to find him! Sota was rude, cruel, and was spoiled beyond belief. With hair as dark as the color of his soul, and the eyes the same hues as demon blood, this boy was a menace to society!

Sota had a high sense of entitlement, and felt like he could properly bully and terrorize the younger kids with his family name.

Yeah, that boy could burn in the greatest depths of hell for all she cared.

And the list went on. There were the Dayani, Sichi, Michido, and Shouda (oh yay...). They all basically conglomerated into the same person in Jade's mind. The parents were all stuck up and the brats they bore where used as pawns to gain more political favors.

Hell, even her two older brothers, Sapphire and Diamond – yes her parents were that original- were nothing but blind pawns in this game of wealth.

And Jade couldn't stand it.

The fakery was too much.

"When I grow older I wish to be a good wife to my future husband."

'Oh, Just like Shouda to spoil her dinner with her existence.'

Jade scoffed and Fuyu glared at her.

Ladies and gentlemen may I introduce the twins' wannabe.

"Oh I'm sure you would make any man happy, child!"

"What a lovely girl, Aiko."

"Such an angel!"

False compliments were passed around as both adults smiled down at their devil- oh, she meant angel.

Tucking back a stay piece of green hair, Shouda pretend to shy away from the compliments.

"Akasuki-chan, you would make a beautiful bride." Two unison voices echoed. As more praise was now directed toward the Kino Twins. They knew what was going on; everyone knew. It was all part of the game. And soon enough every child will take the plate and they were prepared to put forth their best pitch.

"I've heard you sing, you will surely serenade him properly."

'What kind of compliment was that?'

"Your appetite is small; your future body will be flawless"

'And that was demeaning'

"I would even take you as my bride!"

'And that was just Sota.'

A few more children followed along, but soon enough it was Jades turn. 'Fuck.'

"Your.." she paused. Glancing over toward her family as they gave her encouraging glances. "You have very nice..."

Why was this so hard!?

"...eyebrows."

And here comes the awkward silence. These were one of the reasons why she hated these stupid parties. Lying was a big part of social acceptance and she just couldn't do it. Now, don't get her wrong, the ebony haired girl could lie, in fact she considers herself an expert after years of lying to her own mother. But the reality is; she just hated half these people. Actually scratch that. She hated everyone here, and couldn't think of one nice thing to say about them.

Her mother glared at her and her brothers slapped their foreheads.

When it came to the game of tyranny. She sucked.

A giggle was heard as attention fell upon Shichi, Etsu. The dark haired maiden placed a hand to her lips as she continued her fit. No one said a thing. To be honest, Shichi was probably the only child here Jade didn't detest.

"What a wonderful thing to say!" She was kind of weird. "To appreciate something that goes unnoticed by many is such a wonderful trait."

How the hell she managed to pulled that off and still get some sort of approval. Though given in an odd fashion. She'll take it.

From the start of dinner the fifteen year old girl had been silent. Judging with her dark blue eyes the same way Jade had been. And now she had spoken, no child nor adult would dare make fun of her.

The reason why? Well, it was simple. She was of foreign wealth, and because of that it made her special. Etsu brought money from other countries into the Yukigakure; who the hell would argue with her.

"Thank you Etsu-sama. You are too kind, and I am glad to be recognized by someone as beautiful as yourself." Jade spoke.

'Take that Shouda!'

"That's right, y-you are b-beautiful!" her idiot brother shouted, turning red as Jade and her other brother chuckled at the statement. "I-I mean personality – and you – but your personality is amazing too! I mean beautiful.. Beautifully-amazing!"

Oh this was too good.

The room filled with laughter as the girl just smiled at Diamond.

'That poor fool.'

It wasn't long before dinner wrapped up and people were making their way out of the manner. Thanks were given to the host and the family for a wonderful evening. Before directing their attention toward their Daimyo for his rare appearance at dinner. Why he was here in the first place still baffled Jade, but it seems like it was more for a meetings with adults then for intimidation.

"Good night Kazahana-Dono. I hope you had a pleasant night." Those etiquette classes weren't a total waste on Jade, as she bowed politely before her bothers followed a similar fashion.

The doors were closed and everyone was finally out.

Now to go up to her room and go to –

"JADE!"

A single thoughts popped into her mind: Run, fool, run.

Quickly darting up the stairs with her tiny little legs she by passed her two brothers and headed toward her room. Turning a few corners she slid against the wooden floors and through the threshold of her living space.

'Safe.' She thought as she slammed the door shut, locking it and placing her desk chair underneath the knob.

Loud bangs could be heard as she backed away slowly.

Bang

"YOU LITTLE BRAT!"

Bang

"HOW DARE YOU TRY TO RUIN MY DINNER!"

Bang

"YOU THINK YOU CAN RUN"

The jiggling of the door knob.

What do you mean by run? She had already ran. Up the stairs and into her room. Duh.

"You useless piece of – ugh!" Her voice was beginning to sound horse now. The Jiggling stopped but her verbal abuse continued.

"You so useless!" Wow, like she's never heard that one before. Walking toward her dresser she started her nightly routine: take off dress, brush her hair and teeth, and jump into her PJs.

"How dare you make a fool out of me!" Luckily she kept a stock pile of toothpaste and bottle water for just this occasion. After the sixth time, you learn to prepare for these things.

"You can't stay in the room forever!"

'Yes I can.' Jade thought, while scrubbing the back row of her teeth,

'I have a good month...or maybe two months of dry food to spare.'

That plus all her water, she was prepared to hibernate till her mother left the manor. If it wasn't for the fact that nature called so often, Jade would never leave her room. But still, Jade was prepared for the extreme outcome of her mother's bipolar-ness with a draw full of toilet tissues in the draw above.

"And how dare you get the Daimyo into this!"

Thank goodness the only people who knew about her pile were the manor workers, and the majority of them assisted in making sure her supplies never ran too low.

"We will be the latest family to be gossiped about! Do you want that!?"

To be honest she could care less. One day it will be them, the next it would be about Shouda's father 'doing it' with one of their maids. Whatever that meant.

"Oh and your brothers! Do you want to diminish Diamonds and Sapphires chances of finding good wives!?"

'One was an idiot, and the other was a bum. They have already reduce their chances to zero.'

Rolling her eyes for the hundredth time that night she tucked herself into bed. Her hair could be tamed tomorrow morning.

"Just like your father." There was a pause, "-Useless, pathetic, and a waste of life."

Clutching onto her blanket the girl curled up. That was a low blow. Her father was someone Jade never really had the chance to know. When she was younger he apparently was around a lot but she really couldn't distinguish any proper father-daughter moments; after all, most don't remember a lot at three. All she knew of him was the fact that he was a good man, according to many. But then again, at that time, she still couldn't distinguish the lies apart from honest answers.

All she knew was that he was the man gave her the green eyes. The only thing she got that her brother's didn't, and that fact made her feel special.

"At least he knew how to work and earn his keep." She thought spitefully. Yes, her mom came from old money, but after years of frivolous spending that was slowly dwindling down into nothing. And who did she relied on to support her horrid ways. Why none other then her father Rokuro Li, your basic welder for all things rustic and pointy.

The funny thing about the situation was the fact that Rokuro didn't own much when he married her mother and that his job only made enough to put enough clothes on their back and food on the table. Boy, how pissed off her mother must have been when she figured that out. Jade would pay good money to see the look on her face when she realized that heat and metal were only valuable in the crafting of rings. Yet, why would she would stay with him after discoing that? Who knows? Perhaps her mother was bipolar from the start and decided to date him on a whim?

She would never know, because even his name was forbidden in the household.

"I hope you have a good night sleep. Because tomorrow expect to repent for your sins!"

'Yeah, like that was going to happen.' Jade thought sarcastically.

Staring blankly at her ceiling she slowly started to drift to off. Her mother's words resonating within her head.

She didn't care what was going to happen to her family. She didn't care for her mother nor her brothers anymore. They never helped her nor showed their affection toward her in the past twelve years that she's been alive.

And although she was thankful for the maids that helped her when her mother locked her up.

She wanted out.

And tomorrow at the crack of dawn, the house would discover that she was missing and already on her way to Kami knows where. Her eyes fully closed with one last thought.

'Plan B: Escape from the snowy pits of hell.'

XxXxX

Hello, thank you for getting to the end of my story. This is my little summer project among other things and I hope you enjoyed it.

It's been a long time since I wrote in this format so if constructive criticism is always welcomed.

Thank you, and I hope to see you in the near future.

llgx