A/N: Hey guys! So, here it is. This is an original story by me, original characters, following closely behind the story of the Konoha 11, although they won't be making a direct appearance in this chapter. It won't be a retelling of everything exactly, but more of the perspective of an outsider in an AU. Everything happens essentially the same as far as major plot points go, but I wanted to add a new twist into the mix. I kept this chapter kind of short, I hope you enjoy it. And as always, please favorite and review!
Chapter One: A New Home
It's hard to tell someone what it's like to be by the ocean as there's just so much to describe. From the cool breeze coming from the water, to the taste of salt in the air and the laughing of birds above you and the sifting sands beneath you. These were the first things I felt when I came to shore in the Land of Fire with my brother, my sister, and my mother. She brought us here so we could go to a place called "The Village Hidden In The Leaves". She said that they would protect us and in this land there was no one better to do so. I believe her. She's never lied to us before and she's kept us safe for this long and besides, I've always heard the most extravagant tales about this place. It would be interesting to see it up close, to see the tales instead of just hearing about them.
We traveled in a caravan with hundreds of refugees all headed to different places. Some of them went north to the Land of Lightning, and others continued on west towards a huge desert. I don't know why anyone would ever go there. The Village Hidden In The Leaves, "Konoha", was a dazzling sight to take in once we finally got past all the thickly wooded forests. Sometimes you could hardly see the sky through all the green leaves. Great wooden gates stood to greet us as we walked weary and exhausted towards them. Two men in beige jackets armed to the teeth walked us in. They were friendly, despite their appearances, and their bright and welcoming smiles were second only to the city itself. A bustling plaza under a bright blue sky was the first thing we could see behind the gate. A beautiful fountain stood in the center spraying out water in three tiers as people sped by in all directions, busy with miscellaneous daily activities. Far beyond us were four faces carved into the mountain. They were intimidating giants, eternal guardians who stood ever watchful in the distance as a warning to anyone who may do the village harm - far enough away to be in the back of your mind, but close enough to never be forgotten.
"This place is huge." The star-struck voice of my sister Seramana. She's three years older than I am and two minutes older than our brother Hanidar, her twin. Sister was never one to stay clean, so it wasn't unusual to see her covered in dirt. Her short, matted brown hair coupled with her torn clothing really played the part of a homeless child at ten years old. Our brother, however, was a complete and total neat freak. He looked like an entirely different person than when we left home almost two months ago. Mother still looked the same as always; Tired, tall, and beautiful. Sera ran for the fountain in front of us immediately and mother ran after her so as not to lose her in the crowd. I stayed put with my brother hoping against hope that he wouldn't run off too. Every body passing by us was too busy to bother with a couple of children and no one spared even a single look in our direction. There was one man, however, that did stop when he walked by. He was tall with the same beige jacket as the two guards and a blue long sleeved shirt and blue pants underneath it. Pouches lined his legs and he carried a small bag of groceries in one hand with a small book in the other. Despite his best efforts to appear friendly, his mask scared me and I clung to my brother and stepped behind him when the man crouched down to speak to us.
"Are you two lost? I come by here at the same time everyday, never seen you here before." He said with what sounded like genuine concern.
"We're new." My brother said loudly, trying to be heard over the static noise of the crowd. "We're with our mom and sister." Han pointed to our mother who had a tight grip on our sisters hand as she begrudgingly followed in line back to us. He stood and bowed to mom, something I'm still not used to here. They talked for a quick moment about something I couldn't hear before he pointed in a direction past the fountain. Mom motioned for us to come over and I held a death grip on my brother's hand as we ran to her. She walked with her arm around my shoulders as we went past the fountain and deeper into the bustling city. When I turned around to wave goodbye to the white haired man, he was already gone.
"Mom, who was that man?" I asked.
"He's a shinobi." She answered.
"What's that?" I asked.
"It's a person who spends their life training to become a specialized warrior in order to defend their home, a home we all share now." She said.
"Are they strong?" I asked again, my mind drifting to the pouches on that mans leg and wondering what might have been inside them.
"Yes, Callion. They are."
"So we'll be safe here?"
Mom stopped walking and turned her head down towards me. The sun was angled perfectly behind her head so that a yellow halo took shape around her and the sky changed in gradients away. With a sincere and comforting smile she said, "We will be."
"And soon, we're gonna enroll in the Academy here and be just like them! No one will have to protect us other than us!" Sera yelled out boisterously. There was a sort of gravity that hung around on the back of her words. She smiled and looked forward with the fiery determination of hers that I felt would stay unrivaled here, but hidden in her eyes was something only I could see. A memory she never wanted to relive again. I subconsciously turned my head around to the shield that was hanging on my back. It's a memento of my father, something he gave me before we left to cross the ocean. It's still far too big for me to use and I just carry it on my back for the time being. Made of solid steel, this curved and sturdy shield had been in our family for generations. Our family crest of a wolf howling beneath a grand oak tree was still engraved in the back, although beaten and battered from use over time. Brother carried the swords and sister still had her bow, which she used occasionally along the way to score us some food, which mother cooked of course. None of us were near as proficient as her when it came to the fire. She had been a fine warrior once upon a time, but a serious injury left her crippled when she was young. Since then she's left the fighting up to father and took it upon herself to make sure we were all well fed. "No use in hiring a maid to do what I'm perfectly capable of." She'd always say. I think she just hated the thought of being useless.
We walked and walked for what felt like forever. Funny how we had been on the road for months, but now that we're finally where we're supposed to be I can't even stomach thirty more minutes of walking. Soon enough at least, mom finally motioned for us to stop.
"Okay, I think this is the place that kind man pointed us to." She said cheerily. We looked to where she was facing to see a large building. Gigantic, really. The yellow cracked wall facing the street was lined with windows and each one had green curtains inside. The black metal fence that lined the yard opened up to a red brick path that led directly into the center of the building.
"This is where we're staying?" Han asked. "It's not as big as our old place, but I think it looks okay."
"Okay?!" Sera asked in disgust. "This place looks awful! It's cheap and old and barely even holding together!"
"Sera's right, I don't like this house. Where's the front door supposed to be?" I asked, suspiciously eyeing the wide open hallway with nothing but doors and staircases.
Mom let out a long sigh and looked down at us with an exasperated smile. "The front door is five floors up, Callion. Hanidar, this isn't our house. This is what's called an apartment and many other people will be living here too."
"Whaaat?!" All three of us cried out at once.
"You mean this isn't just for us?" Han asked dejectedly.
"I'm not sharing my room with a stranger!" Sera yelled in outrage.
The walk upstairs was full of these objections as our mother patiently took them all. She unlocked the door using a key that hung on the doorknob with a sign that said "WELCOME TO KONOHA". The light flickered on to reveal a dusty room with old furniture against the walls. There was one couch, one chair, a small table and a kitchen across the way. All three of us became more depressed by the second as we trudged our way through the open door into a seemingly decrepit home. We had one bathroom to share, much to the chagrin of my sister, and the only bedroom in the place housed a bunk bed for my brother and me and a single bed for my sister. It slowly dawned on us that our mother would have nowhere to sleep at night other than the crusty couch in the living room and our dissatisfaction with where we were rapidly descended into abject misery. We put our few belongings on each of our respective beds before we walked slowly to our mother, the reality of what was happening hanging over our heads like storm clouds on the beach. All four of us sat in the living room for a make-shift family gathering and our mother tried to look as happy as she could be, but I could tell that she hated this new place too.
"Is this really where we're going to be living now?" Sera asked.
"Yes, dear. This is our home now." Mom affirmed. Sera didn't answer, but instead simply folded her arms across her legs and laid her head down quietly.
"How long do we have to stay here?" Han asked sadly.
"Just until we have enough money to live somewhere new. It won't be like before since we had to leave everything behind, but that's okay."
"Oh." Han said.
"Cheer up, dear. This won't last forever. And it's not all bad, is it? Things could have gone a lot worse. We're here together and we're going to make something of this life together aren't we? Isn't that what really matters?" Mother spoke in a pep filled tone as she reached out and placed her hand on mine with a reassuring smile. It was obvious that it wasn't working on us three siblings. "Life can only get better from here. Now everyone wash up, it's been a long journey here and you need to get a good nights rest for tomorrow!" Mom stood up swiftly and brushed her hands on her legs. "I'll have a nice big breakfast for you all in the morning, you need to be properly prepared for the Academy entrance exams!"
I have to say, I was anything but thrilled thinking about the exams coming up the next day. Sure, my parents had taught me how to fight from an early age and they even said I was relatively good with what I learned, but I never liked fighting. Never really liked the confrontation it entailed. I went to bed as my sister took the first shower. By the time my brother had taken his shower and came to let me know, I was already fast asleep.
"Wow, this place sure is big." Sera said as we walked into the courtyard in front of the Academy. It was a large building that seemed to be three stories high with trees all around as if they were a manually placed forest. The walls around the school blocked the view of everything except the towering red mansion in the near background and the stone faces even farther back. A large group of kids that looked to be around my age were lined up in the front of the door. They were stretching from the right side of us almost all the way to the wide open gates. Next to each one stood who I assumed to be their parents. Some of them were dressed in extravagant robes and looked to be like royalty, with family crests – sorry, clan crests – widely painted on their backs. One really stuck out to me, a tall man with short brown hair and broad shoulders with the image of a red and white fan on his back. Something about him just radiated a latent power, one that demanded respect and inspired a fear deep down inside of me. All from just looking at his back... I thought to myself. A woman with purple hued hair stood next to him holding the hand of a bouncing boy with spiky hair who seemed to display the exact opposite appearance of the man standing with them; open and unconditional kindness.
Off to the left side of us hung an old swing upon a tree which carried a lonely blonde boy. He sat with his legs on each side of the seat and his shoulders down low. His head seemed to be weighed down by something I couldn't see and his hands clung desperately above him as if to keep himself from crumbling to the floor. A crippling depression had taken hold of him, even I could see that. His eyes were glazed over and stared ahead at nothing in particular, straight through the line of happy families that marched so proudly through these doors. None of them noticed him, not a single one looked in his direction except for a few children who quickly had their heads turned away by their parents. With the occasional whisper I could hear them say "Do not look at that child." I wondered what he could have done to deserve such scorn in someone's voice.
After a time we finally managed to make it through the door, where we were greeted by great white pillars and a shiny wooden floor. Six shinobi sat behind a desk and the line split to meet each one. It seemed as if the visitors were being handed cards by the shinobi before being guided to other ninja who stood against the walls. They were then led out of the room through different hallways to what I assumed were testing locations. Every few minutes I would see a familiar face come back out and the ninja who led them in would lead another one back in. Some of the returning faces were happy, waving a white sheet of paper around like a victory flag. Others were stoic and proud, walking with grim expressions and fierce eyes. The few that were left seemed sad and almost ashamed, not wanting to look anyone in the eyes. When it was finally my turn I found myself riddled with anxiety. I had no idea what to even expect in this exam, no clue as to what was considered worthy of this academy. This village was entirely foreign to me and if it weren't for the classes I had been taking since as far as I could remember, I wouldn't even be able to speak the language here. What if I end up failing the exam and I'm not accepted? What if my brother and sister make it in and I'm the only one who failed?
"Mr. Callion, please." The voice of a dark haired woman broke me out of my trance. She had obviously been waiting for too long for me to break out of my trance and answer her.
"Sorry, thank you." I said sheepishly. She sat behind the desk and answered with a tired smile as she handed me a narrow, white card that held only the number 3 on it in a thick, black font. I looked down at it for a second before looking to my right at the ninjas standing against the wall. It wasn't until now that I noticed each one had a number on their shoulder and the "Number 3" ninja was missing. I stood in front of an empty wall as the two on my left and right greeted other people and walked away. It wasn't until both my brother and sister had gotten their cards and were guided away on the other side of the room that my missing nin came walking up to me as she sent a young girl crying away. Oh, great. That's exactly what I needed to see.
The ninja was a tall blonde with her hair tied in a ponytail that fell to her hips. She was dressed in the standard Konoha gear, flak jacket and all. I was led into a large classroom where the ceiling hung a dozen feet above us and a chalkboard stretched across almost the entire front wall. Four rows of desks cascaded upwards in tiers with four sets of stairs to walk up. The wall in front of me was comprised entirely of a large window. The shinobi stood behind the stand at the front and directed me in front of her into the open space on the tile floor.
"Your name?" Her question sounded more like a statement. She looked straight down at her desk with a pencil in hand as she waited for me to answer.
"Callion Stenhart."
"Alright, Callion." She looked up at me with fierce and seasoned eyes. It was clear that this village took everything seriously, even applications from children. "Tell me why you want to be a ninja here in Konoha." A hard question right off the bat. If I'm being honest, I never wanted to come to Konoha in the first place, let alone become a ninja. I just never had the choice. Once I was on my way and the arrival became inevitable however, I began to have a change of heart. I had always heard good things about Konoha, even from across the seas. I had heard of their massive charity works and their powerful military filled with incredible warriors called "ninja". Some of my friends even daydreamed about sailing over and becoming one some day. Mother always told me that unique people lived in Konoha and were well protected, which was the first thing to make me eager to arrive.
"I come from across the seas. My mother fled here with my sister, brother, and myself and told me that Konoha was a land of opportunity. She said this would be a place that we would all be accepted and safe with roads and paths to travel that weren't open anywhere else. I was hoping that this academy could lead me down one of these roads."
She wrote something on her paper and muttered something I couldn't quite understand before she addressed me again. "The Academy is only the beginning. Once you make it through here, every road will be open to you. However, The Academy is nothing you could call easy. Every day is filled with intense mental and physical work and your body will be pushed to limits you never knew you had. Could you handle this?" Her question hung in the air, waiting for an answer.
"Yes." I said.
"When you graduate you will be assigned to a four person team until you are deemed capable of working on your own. This team will be family to you, no different than your siblings or mother. Could you commit to them?"
"I could."
"As a shinobi of the Leaf, you are her first and last line of defense. Would you answer her call should we be threatened by a foreign power?"
"I would."
"If need be, would you lay down your life to ensure the safety, prosperity, and the future of this village?" I paused. Such a heavy question. My answer would implicate a terrible burden and a high price to pay for a village I had only lived in for one day. I wasn't sure if I was ready to give my life for a village I hardly knew, but I also knew that if I answered "no" I would most likely be denied entry. I mean, who in their right mind would train a soldier who didn't even want to fight for the village? I wondered what my sister and what my brother might say, then thought of what my mother might think if all three of us failed the exam because of one question.
This is our home now.
My mothers words echoed back to me. I hadn't thought of the village that way before, not as a home but just as a place to go. This was the place that stood with open arms to welcome four strangers in need of a home, this is where my family lives now and this is where my mother wanted to go. What reason had I been given not to love the village so far? I looked the woman straight in the eyes and gave her my most solid and determined answer yet. Would I lay down my life to protect this village?
"Absolutely."
She stared at me like she was trying to stare straight through me, as if there'd be an answer sign inside my head telling her whether or not I was lying. I straightened my back and made sure I didn't blink so as to look as sincere as possible and after a time, I guess I had convinced her.
"Good." She said. "Now, take a look at that wall for me, Callion." She motioned behind her and to her left. Against the wall stood a multitude of weapons, boxes, and other miscellaneous pieces of gear. "Select three items that you feel the most comfortable with." I slowly walked to the line up and looked carefully at every item. A long silver sword stuck out to me first and I grabbed the slender, black handle and held it level in front of me. A sword was the first weapon my father taught me how to fight with and nothing felt more natural to me than a long blade of steel. Unfortunately, I couldn't see any kind of shield laying around in this room. There was no hand guard on the sword as I was accustomed to, but instead the blade ran directly down and joined seamlessly with the hilt.
"A fine choice. That blade was built for speed and precision, there is no finer weapon with which to defeat an opponent in close quarters." The kunoichi said.
"It feels much lighter than what I'm used to." I said as I swung the blade in an effort to feel out its power.
"What kind of style have you been trained in?" She asked.
"Mostly defensively. I was taught to use a shield to deflect and parry blows, then to use my sword to deliver a powerful and finishing blow."
"Sounds like you don't have many options to fight with that style." The woman observed.
"It's mainly meant for duels and fights against one other at a time. Against multiple people the shield starts to become a liability, it's too heavy to let you react quickly enough when you start to get surrounded." I explained.
"What about hand to hand combat?" She asked.
"I was taught a variant meant to use your opponents momentum against them. Let them swing full force and instead of blocking the blow, you simply guide it away from you and add extra force to throw them off balance. It's meant to be as efficient as possible using as little energy as possible. Good for fighting multiple people, too. It let's you stay on your toes and you have a quick reaction time since you don't spend much effort defending."
"What happens when you get overwhelmed?" The kunoichi asked.
"That's when you start getting desperate, no more time or space to ask questions. I would carry a small dagger to use in that situation. Make things quick." I was speaking hypothetically, of course. I had never been in a real life battle before, and all the answers I was giving had been simulations taught to me by my father, word for word.
"Impressive. You hail from the east, correct? Across the seas?" She asked.
"Yes ma'am." I answered.
"What is your choice when it comes to ranged battles? Kunai? Shuriken?" She asked, probing for information.
"I've never used either of those weapons. I was trained to use a bow." I said.
"That would be hard to carry around on a battlefield." She said.
"It was never meant for that. It was meant for assassinations and to defend fortified positions." I explained.
"Interesting. Well, I must say Callion, you seem like an impressive young soldier with a lot of potential based on what you've learned so far. You'll have a very unique fighting style here at the Academy which will give you an advantage against the native shinobi of this land. You will be learning the standard arts of taijutsu here before progressing on to more advanced and different variants, but your style will be a unique one that no one else here knows. Consider yourself lucky."
I hardly think I could qualify as lucky after everything I've been through, but I do appreciate the sentiment.
She looked back down to her paper on the desk as I walked back in front of her. After writing a few more things down, she looked up and held out the paper to me. "Congratulations Callion. On behalf of Lord Hokage and the Village Hidden in the Leaves, I am proud to announce that you qualify for acceptance into the Academy. Please, accept our invitation." I took the paper from her hands and studied it carefully. There were three major sections divided out on the paper, "Loyalty, Mental Health, Physical Condition." The marks she had been making throughout the interview turned out to be notes on what she thought of me in each of these three aspects. She questioned my devotion to the village, but not my devotion to my family. It was her belief that if I spent enough time here then I would begin to love the village just the same. She had no doubts of my mental health seeing as I was strong enough to flee across the ocean and hold my composure in front of such stressful events. She believed I would have both the mental and the physical endurance to succeed here at the Academy. I bowed to her and said,
"Thank you very much for your invitation, I accept." She bowed back to me before motioning me out the door. I walked with quick steps and broad shoulders past the still long line into the courtyard, where I found the line had actually shortened considerably. I saw my brother and sister standing next to my mother underneath a grand tree directly across from the door next to an empty swing. Sera and Han held up their acceptance papers and waved them with bright, beaming smiles and I help up my own with a smile to match with theirs.
"Took you long enough! I was starting to think you didn't make it." My sister teased as she bounced up to greet me.
"Please, Callion was the last one of us I expected to fail." Han said matter of factly.
"I knew that all of you would make it, I never doubted that for a second." Mom said as she walked slowly up to us. We all smiled at her with weary and tired faces. Truth be told, this had been a very stressful thought for us for quite a long time. We felt as if we needed to make a good impression upon arriving in the village and the last thing we wanted to do was fail the entrance exams. Now that we had all passed, it felt like a great weight had been lifted from our shoulders and we were all very tired and ready to go home.
A/N: I gave a pretty vague explanation of what happened to Callion and his family before the story takes place, but see if you can guess what exactly happened to all of them and why they came to Konoha! Make sure to leave a review with your predictions!
P.S. Did you notice all the cameos? ;)