Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.
Hunger that is what she was feeling. Her stomach was bothering her. She tried to wake up her mommy, but the woman wouldn't wake up. After not waking up no matter how hard she tried to wake her mommy up, she decided to go out into the village and see if she can find something to eat herself. So she pushed away the hanging rags that made up the door and shivered as the icy air blew by.
There were white stuff on the ground today, and it was colder then it was outside. That didn't stop her though, she was hungry and she wanted food. Looking back, she called, "Mommy, I'm going to get food!" Her mother didn't respond, but that didn't stop her from going out.
It took her a while to reach the village with her tiny legs. The cold white stuff on the ground was deep, it made it difficult for her to move but she carried on, urged on by her own hunger. She wanted food, and living on the outskirts of the village will not stop her. Once she made it to a main road in the village, the white stuff was flattened down from the many villagers moving throughout the village. The flattened white stuff was much easier for her to move through.
As she came onto the main street, she noticed the hustle and bustle of the villagers passing through or sitting at stands being served some manner of service; whether they were eating or simply shopping she couldn't tell. Seeing this, she moved onto the street, looking for someone who would give her some food.
It didn't take long for her to find a place to get food. As she stood in front of the stand, and waved her hand just above the counter trying to catch the owners attention; she was soon scared off by the man, "Get out of here Demon Child, we don't sell to your kind here!"
Hearing this familiar name that some of the people of the village called her, she back away and left the stand; feeling smaller now as the other people around the stand were looking at her with scary eyes. As she fled from that stand, she looked for another, one not as busy as the last one. Seeing an open seat, she sat down on the stool after having some trouble climbing on top of it.
It was a ramen stand, the only other person in the stand was an older man wearing a dark grey yukata that looked a little bit better then the rags on her back and he was eating a bowl of the heavenly soup. The owner of the stand was busy cooking up another bowl for the man and didn't see her, but he heard her and asked, "What would you like?"
"Oji-san, I want miso," she chirped as she swung her legs back and forth with a smile. He glanced over his shoulder and nodded at her.
"Right on it," was his reply before diligently going back to work on the noddles. "So Bushi-sama, are you in the service of a daimyou or are you one of those vagabonds roaming the country side looking for glory?"
Hearing that the man was a warrior, she looked at him and saw his sword. It was huge! Easily three times long as she is tall! Seeing her gasp, the man smiled with a small chuckle. It was odd for her, normally people look at her and try to scare her off or look at her funny, but he didn't, he must be a nice person. As nice as her mommy!
"I am in the service of a lord," he answered carefully. "He gave me a quest to go out and explore the lands, to see how the people here are coping."
"Bah it's hard enough as it is with all these warring daimyous, but it's worse with the demons that lurk in the shadows of the land. The worst are the Satori and Juubi! Those monsters are laying whole countryside's to ruins!"
The warrior nodded with a grim smile in agreement. "They are, but Satori is the property of the Akamatsu clan. Lord Akamatsu controls where that demon strikes!" He finally sets his chopsticks down as he finished his bowl. "As for the Juubi, it's lost and confused. Unlike the Satori, its existence was an accident; one that wasn't touched by any deity. It's lost, confused, and looking for something."
"Do you know what it is looking for then Bushi-sama?"
The warrior soon reached into his yukata, and pulled out some coins, "I have an idea, I have dealt with others of his type before. Creatures whose existence was by chance, but it's hard to deal with him when people lash out at him in fear. Even the demons strike out at him because he isn't one of them." Tossing the coins onto the table, he stood to leave. "It will take either him learning find out on his own, or a great person to help him find what he is missing. Well Oji-san, the food has been great and this should cover my tab. So take care and may you have many more winters to come."
"And so do you Bushi-sama, may you live a long and glorious life in the service of your lord," the chef said as he finally finished her soup. He turned around and placed the bowl in front of her, finally getting a good look at her. He didn't scowl at her, but looked a bit annoyed. So as he pocketed the coins that the warrior left, he asked, "Girl, do you have money to pay?"
Feeling unsure of herself, and confused by the question, she stopped before breaking open her chopsticks. She didn't know what money was, her mommy always took care of her and always fed her. This was the first time that she was ever on her own doing this. She remembers seeing her mommy being given some shiny coins as her guests left their shack after a visit. She doesn't know much of what they do, all she knew was that mommy was doing adult things with her guests and that she wasn't allowed in shack when they were over. Boy adult stuff was loud, almost as loud as kid stuff. It sounded to her that they were playing…
"Kid, if you don't have money to pay, then you can't have a bowl," the chef said as he took the bowl back, leaving her upset because she was hungry. She really wanted one but the man shooed her away. "Come back when you have money and you can have a bowl."
If that was all she needed to get a nice warm bowl of delicious ramen then she will get money. How she will, she had no idea. It must be those shiny coins that the warrior had. Seeing that as a starting point, she jumped down and looked around for the man. It wasn't hard to spot him in the crowd with that huge sword; spotting stuff was normally easy for her, she can catch insects and frogs easily!
Running through the crowd she found him buying an umbrella hat. He gave the owner some of those coins and being given some back. It was odd though at that point; the owner placed the coins in one hand but two hands pocketed the coins. One of the two hands looked faded though and placed the coins in a different spot.
Before she had the chance to approach, something caught her eyes. Looking over at the spot, she saw a boy bump into a man before scurrying off. Once he was clear of the man, he pulled out a bag and then pulled out shiny coins from the bag. She saw the entire thing, as he bumped into the man; he reached into his yukata and pulled out the bag. Figuring that this is home one gets money, she finally ran off towards the warrior.
As she neared him, she did exactly what the boy did, but aimed for the spot where the real looking hand went to. She struck the warrior by surprise, and grabbed her target. As she apologized and attempted to leave, the warrior caught her by her small arm. "Stealing isn't nice young one," he said as he stared down at her, clearly upset about what she did, but she didn't know what was wrong about it.
"What's stealing," she said, not knowing what the word is but is driven by hunger.
"It is what you are doing," he answered as he studied her. "It is taking what does not belong to you. Tell me young one, how did you know where my coin purse was?"
"Isn't this how people get money?" She looked up this time up at his face, seeing an aged face with two sets of eyes. One was faded like the arm she saw before, however it was over the other eyes and she couldn't see what they actually looked like.
Shaking his head, he answered, "No, people earn money by doing work. Stealing is taking what others worked hard to earn. How would you like it if I stole your favorite toy?"
Thinking about it for a moment, she knew how she would feel, "I would be sad…"
"Yes, you would be sad," the man stated as he held his other arm out. "Now give me back my purse young one." Seeing that he soon released her arm, she nodded and handed back the bag with the coins clinking inside. "Now tell me, how did you know where my coin purse was… you have interesting eyes young one." He then bent down to look at her in the eyes. It made her nervous as he did this, looking as intensely as he was, it wasn't hard to not be. "They look like pin-wheels and that are moving…"
"Is everything all right here Bushi-sama," someone asked as they ran up to them. It was one of the men that carried spears around the village and visited her mommy. "Did the Demon Child do anything to you?"
Seeing the new man, the warrior stood up and waved the man off, "No, everything is fine sir, but why did you call her Demon Child? How is this child a demon? She is just as human as either you or me?"
Being caught off guard the question, the man looked unsure for a moment at her before straightening up. "Bushi-sama, her mother is one of the village's whores. She was once of the noble Hyuuga clan until the Demon Child was born. After the child was born, it was soon discovered that the father was not her husband so they disowned them both. Bushi-sama, she is the child of the Juubi!"
As she heard that, she shrank a bit behind the warrior, even more nervous then before because the man was speaking about both her and mommy. Telling the warrior that she was a demon child; he was nice to her before she did the bad thing to her and now he will surely be like everyone else but with a good reason now.
"There are no traces of a beast in her," the warrior stated as he defended the child. "She is as much human as both you and I are. She may be from that Clan, but the Juubi must have affected the mother somehow when it neared her at some point. It's chakra is very potent so there is no telling how exactly it would affect a pregnant woman."
"Bah she is still a demon child," the man said with a snarl. Throwing one last dirty look at her, she stormed away. "If there is no trouble at all, then I am off. Good day to you Bushi-sama!"
"And to you to," the warrior muttered before looking down at her. "Young one, are you all right?" When she was about to answer, her stomach growled. As it growled, a look of understanding came upon the mans face. "Your hungry aren't you? Well lets just go back to that stand and get you something then." Without a word, he took her hand and led her back to the food stand that had the ramen. "Oji-san, this young one needs some of your delicious ramen!"
Looking over at them, the man smirked and said, "I see that your ramen can now be paid for." Hearing this, she scampered back up the same stool as from before and eagerly awaited her bowl. As she waited, the warrior sat down next to her and smiled at how energetic she was.
"I see that you're happy," he stated as he rested his sword against the counter. "Tell me, where is your mother young one?"
"Mommy's back home," she honestly answered with a smile and a nod of her head. "She was sleeping and wouldn't wake up so I came here 'because I was hungry." As she said this, the man seemed a bit saddened by what he said but kept on smiling.
"Why don't I walk you home to make sure that you're mommy knows that you're safe and sound?"
"Sure Bushi-sama," she sheered as her bowl was finally settled in front of her. Breaking apart her chopsticks, she cheerfully shouted, "Itadakimasu!" And like a ravenous ogre, she quickly devoured the ramen; a testament to how hungry she was. Fortunately for her, the warrior ordered her a second bowl that was just ready for her to dig into as well. Once she had her filling of two bowls, she clapped her hands together and cheered, "Gochisoosama!"
"Are you better now young one?" She eagerly nodded back to the warrior as she swung her legs out and jumped off the stool. "Well let's get you home. You're mother must be worried sick about you." He stood up to follow her out but turned to the chef one last time. "Once again I must give you thanks Oji-san."
"Don't thank me, I sent her away because she had no money," the old man said with a frown. "As much as I appreciate your kindness, times are hard and I couldn't afford to feed a mouth that couldn't pay me for the service."
Smiling, the warrior placed some coins on the table, "Still you give them to you. You labored over those meals for her, and I appreciate it. May you live to see many more winters!"
"And you as well," the old man returned as both she and the warrior left the stand.
It was turning into night when they finally reached the shack that was her home. As she neared her home, she decided to run the rest of the way and into the shack, "Tadaima!" There was no response. Looking around the small shack in the waning light, she found her mom still lying down on the small mat that they shared as their bed. Moving over to her, she shook her mom, "Mommy I'm home. Please wake up, Bushi-sama would like to meet you!" Again and again she would shake her mommy and there would be no response.
"Is everything all right young one," the man asked as he pushed the hanging rags to the side and stuck his head in.
She couldn't help but shake her head from her spot on the ground next to her mom. "I'm sorry mister, but Mommy is still sleeping."
Hearing this, he seemed to become a bit saddened, the reason why though was lost to her. "Do you mind if I come in and take a look and see if I can wake her up?"
Her eyes opened up, and a smile was plastered across her face as he said that and energetically nodded. "Sure thing Bushi-sama!" She quickly moved to the side and allowed him some room to look at her mommy.
From the side, she studied the man in her home as he looked over her mommy. After he knelt down next to her, he placed his hand over her forehead. He muttered something but she couldn't hear anything that he said. He looked over her for a few minutes, placing his hand her neck and then at the rest of her body after he pulled the threadbare blanket off. Her mommy was skinny, pale skin, and messy raven black hair. The only thing that her mommy wore though was a ragged kimono that was so dirty that it was hard to tell what it once looked like; though to the girl it was all she ever saw her mother wear and it was always like that in her eyes.
Sighing, the warrior placed the blanket back over her mother, but made sure to cover her face as well before standing up. "I'm sorry young one, your mother has fallen into the big sleep."
"Big sleep?"
He reached down to her and picked her up. "Yes, the big sleep is where someone cannot wake up. They will stay asleep forever. Your mommy cannot take care of you anymore so you can't stay here anymore."
Those words cut deeply into her, she didn't know why, but the thought of her mommy never waking up again frightened her. What will she do, she loved her mommy dearly, so before the warrior could react she dove onto her mommy and cried, shouting to wake her up, wanting to be held in her loving arms once more. She doesn't know how long she stayed that way, crying over her mommy's sleeping body, but after awhile, she fell asleep.
The warrior let her be for a while, letting the girl get it out of her system before they left. He couldn't just leave her there with a corpse. It was wrong to do that to a child, leaving them in the cold embrace of a parent who has taken the big sleep. Once she fell asleep, he pulled out paper talisman and it to the side of the shack, and repeated it a few more times with each of the walls before picking up the sleeping child.
When he moved past the rags that were the entrance to the shack, he shifted her so that she rested in one arm while his other hand picked up his sword that rested against the outside wall of the shake. The movement woke child up, "Bushi-sama?"
"Go to sleep young one," he softly spoke to him as he began to walk away from the shack. "I'll be taking care of you from now on."
He glanced at her bright red eyes with the pin-wheels in them as they blearily looked back at him. "Really Bushi-sama?"
"Yes, I'll be taking care of you for your mommy," he stated as he continued walking, barely registering the orange glow behind him. "Why don't you tell me your name young one?"
"It's… Pimiko," she said as sleep seemed to take a greater hold over him.
He smiled at her as her arms seemed to snake their way around his neck. "What a beautiful name Pimiko-chan. Well my name is Kage. Now why don't you go back to sleep, you had a long day today, and tomorrow will be just as long."
She nodded before snuggling into the crook of his neck. "Okay Kage-ojisan…" With that she fell asleep.
After she fell asleep, he turned back to the shack and saw that it was engulfed in flames. It was his parting gift to the Pimiko's mother, a pyre to send her off into the Next Land where no mortal being can know until they experience the big sleep themselves. Once he was finished looking at the pyre, saying his goodbye to the woman who he never met in life, he continued on back to the village. "No normal child should have done what they did. You are an interesting child Pimiko-chan and life will only get more interesting with you."
Author's Note: I hope that you all enjoyed this. Its been on the back burner of my head for a while now. Took longer to be released then expected due to telling myself to continue Golden Eyes before I moved onto the next story. I'm not gonna move onto that story until I'm the mood to do it.
On a side note, this story is a standalone story but I will be referenced in other stories. So what is seen here will be the history of stories that place around cannon in Naruto. One such story is The Monk and if you're a faithful reader of that story then I'm sure that you picked up on this already. Very little if anything is known about the Rikudou Sennin. All that is known is that he 'created the moon,' 'possessed the Rinnegan,' and was the 'father of ninjutsu.' But there are holes in the story that I couldn't help but question. How was the created if it is the evolved form of the Sharingan? And how was the Sharingan created if it was supposed to be mutated from the Byakugan. These are some of the things that I'm going to explore here and see how life may have been like in the Dark Ages of Naruto before the Light appeared.