D.I. : Hi there and welcome! If you have come here from Hatred's Resolve, welcome back! If you're starting here, that's fine too. I hope you enjoy the story, please submit reviews, and remember to keep your hands and feet inside the ride at all times. Standard Disclaimer applied, see profile for the full blah blah of it. Kagome is MINE! My baby, get your own.
A desk is just that, a desk; various pieces of wood fashioned together to a serve a function. A desk can, however, have a memory; a history, marked into the wood as a link to those who have passed. This particular desk had a very powerful history, and a great memory. Multiple dents were testimony to the herculean strength of the Godaime Hokage. Tiny characters and motifs formed within the grain and bands of the wood, brought to life and immortalized by the Shodai Hokage. Water stains and various scratches from his legendary sword marked the legendary Nidaime Hokage. Small burn marks and ink stains were made by the professor and God of Shinobi, the Sandaime Hokage. There was even a half carved seal matrix left behind from the short term of the Yondaime Hokage.
The desks memory reached far back, to various other little happenstances with its previous owners, and now a small hand traced the legacies of Konohagakure. The Rokudaime, Haruno Sakura, was still filled with linger doubts about her ability to lead her village and its many people through this time of war and suffering. Even after the last few years, where she earned the respect and honour her position granted; after silencing the voices that cried out against the young woman, doubts lingered like a particularly bad odor.
She absently fingered the great dent caused by her master and mother figure, Tsunade, her thoughts tossed back to the day she was declared the Rokudaime, and her master's final breath. Sakura looked to the faces overlooking the village. Proud and regal the faces of her predecessors looked out, and next to them, her own. She still felt strange looking at her own face looking out over her village, equally proud and regal. A soft knock at the door brought her back to the present. She looked about her office as she centered herself with deep meditative breaths.
The painting was faded near the window, spider-webbed cracks around the window frame crawled up the walls to the ceiling. Old sagging furniture, placed about the otherwise bare room. Only the portraits of the village leaders adorned the wall. She sat back and opened the drawer of her desk pulling out an expensive bottle of sake. "Come in." She called.
The heavy, polished door swung in, silent on well oiled hinges. A man walked in, his Chuunin vest was well worn and his dark pants spotted chalk dust. His signature scare across his face had faded a bit over the years.
"Chuunin Umino Iruka, Academy Teacher, Hokage-sama!" He announced, snapping off a crisp salute before the great desk.
"Iruka, seventeen years ago you were my Sensei," she stated. "You started me down the path that led me to where I am today." She smiled kindly, and then her expression hardened. "I will make it an order if you cannot remember." Then she smiled, and Iruka visibly relaxed.
"Sorry Ho-Sakura, force of habit. Though, your current appearance makes it hard to call you by your title." His eyes snapped open in horror as his mind caught up with his statement. "No! I meant to say that you look so much like you did when you were in the academy! Not that you haven't changed, cause you have! NOT like that! I didn't-"
Laughter halted the scared mans panicked stumbling explanations. His leader gestured to the couch, sagging with age, leaking some fluff, and spotting a stain that looked suspiciously like blood on one arm.
Sakura contemplated his words as she rummage around in the drawer for her saucer. She did look similar to her academy, she mused. Thanks to the gem centered on her forehead. She was twenty nine years old, in the body of a twelve year old. She dressed similar, though without the black combat shorts, and her dress had a more adult cut about the throat and waist. Her hair was short, very short, falling more over her left eyebrow then the right. Two stud earrings, jade in colour, adorned her right ear. Her appearance was to through people off, and she was good at it. No one would suspect a twelve year old, one armed girl to be the village's leader and one of the strongest people in the village; a second generation Sanin.
She grinned as she located the chipped and stained sake saucer. She called out for her assistant and friend Shizune, who the years had been kind to. The woman entered the office, carrying two more dishes and taking a seat next to the scared man. Sakura walked over, and plopped herself on the floor before the others. Even now, her playfulness and demeanor belied her power and rank; a deadly charade for those who did not know her.
"Well, how does this year's turn out look Iruka?" she opened the bottle and poured for her friends then herself.
"Good. High graduation rate I believe. Many will excel at their duties and some may even make Chuunin before the upcoming exams." His smile glowed with pride for his students. He graciously accepted the saucer from his leader.
"Excellent." She held her saucer aloft, and the other two raised theirs as well. "To the next generation, and to the end of a long war!" They gently touched the dishes together, and drank.
"Good news the front I take it?" Shizune asked, holding her empty dish out for more. Sakura nodded and poured another round.
"That's right. As you know open fighting has all but died down over the six months." They both nodded, this was common knowledge amongst the military personnel. "Well, I have received reports that enemy troops have been steadily pulling out of Fire Country, and running skirmishes with the patrols are down by forty seven percent." She beamed, and they all drank to the good news.
Iruka sighed in content, it was a very good drink; far more expensive a luxury then he could ever afford on his salary, and it was a great honour to share drinks with the village leader and one of the new Sanin. "Looks like your reign will be graced with the ending of the war, congratulations are in order."
Sakura's smile was tight. "That may be, but this could also be a diversion." Shizune nodded and Iruka sighed again, looking to the floor. "Still, reports believe that they are indeed retreating for an extended period, perhaps with the intent for a temporary ceasefire at the least." The dark mood brightened as the girl smiled again. "Now Iruka, I want a list of potential graduates, their skills, possible teams, and Jounin Sensei."
Iruka snapped to attention, firing off a mocking salute. "Yes Ma'am!" Laughter filled the office, and they looked over the files the scared man had brought with him.
Kagome stood before the mirror in her small room. Hers was a Spartan existence. Sparse furnishing, a small desk, plain futon, a trunk of ninja apparel, and a small closet of civilian clothes were the features of her room. Wild, life blood red hair framed her face. Faint lines similar to her fathers, but much lighter gave her a feral look, with slightly longer canines and her different coloured eyes. She was small for her age, light and willow like; flexible would be an understatement.
She wore a form fitted black sleeveless under shirt, a mask covered the lower half of her face, much like Kakashi-san. Short shorts, probably too short she admitted to herself, clung to her thighs. A dark green button up shirt hid many weapons on her person; especially the two long dirks that sat at the small of her back. Wrappings on her forearms hid two more of the thin blades, and many senbon. She tied her hitai-ate about her waste as a belt of sorts, but could conceal the emblem on the plate if the need arose. A sleek weapon pouch hugged her left thigh.
She blinked, staring into her own eyes. Her left eye was the colour of amethyst, and the other, a brilliant cerulean. They marked her, as someone different from the rest of her class; from the rest of the village other than her father. But even then there was a difference. She shook the despairing thoughts from her mind. Today was the day she would meet her new team, her new sensei; she would be an adult of the village and she would forge a path for herself, with the help of Master and her family to nudge her if she strayed.
She walked to the Academy, remembering the last few years. She hadn't made very many friends, but not from lack of trying. Her father's childhood was painful, but he had made a name for himself, he was respected because he was feared. She was not so lucky. The villagers and lesser clans new that the Uzumaki clan was a sink or swim mentality towards their children. Thus, they were able to belittle her with little fear of retaliation; to a degree. She was the hell spawn of Naruto, follower of an obscure and frowned upon religion towards the eldritch being known as the Kyuubi, and considered a mix breed; a lesser human. And her feral features, small stature, and mismatched eyes did little to curb these thoughts. Not to mention she was the child of the woman who was considered to have betrayed her clan and for having lain with the village pariah.
Still she took it all with a grain of salt; never would she admit how much their words hurt, but if they said anything about her mother or father, she would explode with violence. She smirked at the memory of her assault on the damnable Yamanka twins. Finally she stood before the academy. She entered the old building and followed the familiar path to her classroom. She took her seat next to the most laid back individual she had ever meet, and one of her only friends, Nara Shiro. Shiro, true to that male Nara tradition, took lazy to the next level. The boy had short brown hair and coal black eyes. He was tall, with long limbs, and moved with a fluid grace that would not be expected of him.
"Hey shithead." She greeted, plopping down next to him. Shiro looked at her, possibly through her, but most likely just looked. Kagome folded the mask down around her neck baring her face to the world. She flashed him a feral grin, full of sharp white teeth. He winked at her.
"Think we'll be on the same team?" he inquired stifling a yawn and leaning back in the chair, rocking it on its back two legs.
"Maybe." She shrugged, but really, she really wanted the tall boy to be on her team. He was someone she keep trust, to watch her back when the shit hit the fan. "You gunna stay awake while Iruka reads off the team pairings?" Deep breathes of sleep was the answer. "Douche…" she mumbled.
"Heard that." She grinned at his seemingly closed eyes. Iruka walked into the room, motioning for silence as he stood before his small desk. He pulled out a file and began to read off teams and their Jounin Sensei. Kagome phased in and out, thinking about her future, about missions and the war. Hearing her friend's name she tuned back into the reading.
"Nara Shiro, Uzumaki Kagome, and Saito Rika are team 13. Your Jounin Sensei will be Mitarashi Anko."
"Oh shit…" Kagome gasped. She heard of the woman who had trained her father to be an assassin. She had heard of the woman's training methods, and while thrilled that such an exceptional teacher was going to be her Jounin Sensei, she was slightly anxious to partake in the training her father spoke so highly of and with a strange, somewhat pained expression.
"Hey Shiro, were on the same team." She grinned to the boy and he nodded back. Lowering her voice she leaned in to the tall boy, "Do you know who Rika is?" He raised a thin eyebrow, and then nodded again. "Well?" he shrugged, leaning back in his chair.
"Rika Saito, age twelve, from a civilian family. Shows an affinity for ninja wire, explosive tags, and setting traps and ambushes; has pale blue eyes, shoulder length black hair. She's fast." He seemed to hesitate, and then shrugged. "My family believes that she was adopted, and has traces of Kaguya blood. We're not sure though, so don't spread it around." He shifted in his seat, left foot tapping the ground. Kagome nodded and didn't push for more info.
Jounin sensei came and took their teams, and left. Three teams were left, Team 3, Team 5, and Team 13. As the class had started to clear out, Shiro pointed out Rika, and Kagome studied the girl. She was a quiet girl, at least in class. She couldn't remember any outbursts from her; neither insults or compliments; just another face in the crowd. Or maybe she was hiding something. Either way, Kagome wanted to know more about her new Teammate.
Rika wore loose fitted black pants that ended just below her knees. She wore a blue Chinese styled shirt with white trim, very similar to a style to a family friend, TenTen. She was fair skinned, and sat at the table quietly, hand folded before her.
The door swung in and Anko, unchanged by the passing years in appearance, placed hands on her hips. "Team 13." The three stood and turned to their new sensei. She grinned, "Time to die!" They were all grabbed from behind and then the classroom disappeared.
When her vision returned, Kagome realized she was laying face down in the grass. It tickled her nose, but otherwise was not uncomfortable. She propped herself up, looking around. She was in a forest, with huge trees, larger than anything she had seen before. To her left was Shiro, still crumpled in a ball. Rika groaned softly from the far side of the Nara boy. Kagome checked herself for weapons, they were all there. Softly she moved over to Shiro, he was sleeping, so she vindictively dug her elbow into his ribs. Before he could should a pale hand clamped over his mouth.
Rika leaned in, "We are being hunted." Her sky blue eyes darted between the trees, searching. Shiro nodded then slowly placed a hand into his weapons pouch. They were in an unknown location, most likely brought here by their new Sensei as a means of testing their skills first hand.
"We have to pass her expectations." He stated slowly, also scanning the trees. "It could be anything, so we should treat this as a prolonged campaign in a hostile territory with no backup." Kagome and Rika turned and leveled a stare at the boy. "What?"
"Let it lie…"
"No, I wanna know."
"No one ever thought you were smart…"
"…"
"…"
"…"
"Let it lie." Rika sighed. Kagome heard it; the slight whistling rush of air over sharp edges at high speed. She kicked Shiro flat to the ground, and dove to the side, rolling up and drawing her weapons, alert and ready. Rika, watching the red head explode into motion wiped about and tried to deflect the kunai. Red blood dripped from her shoulder onto the grass for her efforts. She gasped and yanked the weapon out, eyes moving, feet ready to move.
"Who will live, and who will die…" a singsong voice carried from the trees. "Who wants to see what your insides look like?" laughter echoed from all directions.
"Alright, let's see what we can do." Kagome nodded and Shiro leapt up, kunai in hand. "Rika, can you move?" She nodded, a hand over her wound stemming the flow of blood. "Alright let's get the fuck out of this area, she knows it, we don't."
A small crystalline orb sat upon the great desk. Within its depths images of massive trees, with sparse undergrowth dominated the view. A flash of red near the base of one tree was a person, a mop of black hair another, crawling on her belly under a shrub. The third could not be seen. Sunlight glinted just right off one of the many wires strewn across the clearing, slept dirt hinting at unseen dangers. The Rokudaime smiled, these children would survive their first test. She had a feeling that Anko would like this odd team.
'Well Kagome, how will you start your new life off?' The small clearing within the orb exploded, throwing clumps of dirt and wood every direction. Gouts of flame erupted within the dust and a few splashes of blood. There was a few shouts, a scream, then silence. Sakura waited for the scene to clear.
"Well then. Apparently you'll start it with Flames and Blood." She muttered dryly. "Fucking great." She grabbed her med bag and walked out of the tower towards the forest of death.
A/N: Rough start, but here it is. I have a beta on the wings, so next chapter will be longer, better worded, and overall more win. I do know the end of this chapter seemed to be rushed, I am aware of this. The reason for that was I needed to post this first chapter as soon as I had posted the last of Hatred's Resolve, and I didn't cause I'm stupid. So that's why this one was rushed near the end. Regardless, other chapters won't be fucked up like this, they'll be ideally a little longer, and updates will be twice a month, if not more often than that. NOTE: link on profile is what Sakura's hair looks like for my story; obviously pink and not blonde but whatever. Review please. Peace. D.I.