~A Flower Amongst Thorns~

Chapter One: Fated Meeting

All was silent in the village of Konoha that night. Hardly a soul could be seen wandering the darkened streets. For the most part, they were mainly people trying to make their way back to their homes from taverns and other such places. All they had on their minds was making it back home without incident and they didn't even notice the little girl ducking in and out of the alleyways.

The child was small and quiet, which made it easy for her to traverse the village without being seen or heard. This worked very well in her favor, as she needed to be as quiet as she possibly could so that she wouldn't get caught. If she were to be caught by the wrong person then she would most likely be sent back home, and she didn't want that. If anything, she wanted to be as far away from home as possible. She wanted to get away.

At the age of four, only two years ago, she was place in the care of a man named Yahiro Takashima after her foster parents died while defending the village during the Kyūbi's rampage. She hadn't expected anything to be different with him, but her expectations were shattered very quickly. Yahiro was a cruel and callous man and he treated the child very poorly. He despised having the child around and he made it very clear that he hated her. He would often beat the child for very minor reasons and he often neglected her, refusing to give her food for a few days at a time. Also…a few months after she had been placed in his care, Yahiro began taking her to a place that was located underneath the village. It was here where she was subjected to painful experiments. The experiments left her very weak. The child was left covered in bruises and she was constantly hungry. She was lucky that there were some people in the village that were actually willing to help her and give her some food. Other than those few people, the villagers didn't pay her any mind and ignored her.

After enduring this for two long years, she made up her mind to run away in hope of finding a new home and a chance at a better life.

Tonight was the perfect night for her to make her escape from the village. Yahiro was out for the night and he wouldn't be back until the next morning. Also, the village gates remained open until midnight, so if she left now then she would be in the clear. The only problem that she could see was if there was a person stationed at the gates in order to guard them. She would have to be extra careful if there was a guard present.

When she made it to the area near the village gates she ducked underneath a nearby bench and surveyed the area around her. The guard booth just inside the gates was empty, which gave her the perfect opening for an escape. She crawled out from underneath the bench and, without a second thought, she took off running towards the open gates. She ran as fast as her little legs could carry her and she kept running once she had crossed the border of the village.

She ran and ran until her legs gave out and she collapsed to the ground in a heap. She lay there for some time, catching her breath and resting for a little while before continuing on her journey. Once the pain in her legs had subsided, she got back on her feet and continued to walk down the road away from the village.

After walking down the main road for a while, she wandered off the road and into the surrounding forest. She needed a place to hide and sleep for the night and she knew that the forest would be a good place to hide. There shouldn't be anyone wandering around the forest this late at night. So, she weaved through the thick layer of bushes and trees while she searched for a well concealed hiding place. She found a small formation of rocks that had a space large enough for her to crawl into.

She dropped to her knees and she crawled into the small space between the rocks. She lay on the cold ground, curling up into a tight ball in order to keep herself warm as she slept. Her eyes soon began to grow heavy and she slowly drifted off to sleep.

The child was jolted out of her light sleep by the sound of crunching grass and leaves that indicated that someone was approaching her hiding place. She stayed quiet and still in order to determine which direction that the footsteps were coming from. However, she couldn't figure out where they were coming from as they seemed to be coming from all directions.

The child began to panic.

Had someone followed her here? Had someone seen her leave the village and had tracked her down? Had Yahiro found her?

All she could do was cower in fear as the unknown person drew closer to where she was hidden. Fear washed over her as she lay there, trembling and unable to move. As the footsteps drew ever closer, her heart began to beat faster and faster, and when the footsteps ceased her mind started screaming at her to run. But she was frozen in place; her body just wouldn't move. She clamped her eyes shut and the only thought that ran through her mind was, 'go away'.

'Go away…go away…go away!'

"You can come out, little one. I'm not going to hurt you."

The child slowly opened her eyes upon hearing the voice. It didn't sound like Yahiro's voice, which was a very good thing in the girl's mind. Whoever this person was, they sounded somewhat friendly; so, albeit a bit hesitantly, she crawled out from her hiding place between the rocks.

The person was a tall man, someone that she had never seen before. His skin was a pale white and it contrasted greatly against his black hair. But what stood out the most to the girl were his eyes. They were gold in color and they could easily be seen in the darkness that surrounded them.

"You shouldn't be out in the forest so late at night. Your family must be very worried about you." he said to her.

The girl cast her eyes to the ground, becoming upset upon hearing the comment about having a worried family.

"I don't got a family…" she muttered.

"Is that so?" the man questioned, sounding a bit surprised at this revelation.

The man knelt down in front of the girl so that he was at eye level with her. The girl, in turn, refused to move her gaze from the ground and kept her head down.

"Do you have a guardian? Or…do you live by yourself?" he asked.

"I have a guardian, but…he's really mean to me." she answered.

The girl's claim seemed to be corroborated by the various bruises on her face and arms. Her clothes were also very dirty and tattered. The man concluded that the girl had been both physically abused and neglected by her guardian and she had run away from home to escape the abuse. That was why she was out here in the forest by herself; she had nowhere else to go.

"I see… You've suffered quite a bit under his care, haven't you." he said.

The girl nodded silently and she rubbed her eyes with the back of her hand.

"Tell me little one, what is your name?" she asked her.

A quiet sniffle was her immediate reply. The tears that dripped onto her hand smeared the dirt that stained her skin.

"M-My name's Hana… Who're you?"

The man gave her a soft smile. Hana was still very tense and on edge as her trust in adults was very low. It wasn't his fault, though; Yahiro was the main cause of her fear. But, still, she didn't know if this man would take her back to Konoha or not. She would have to wait and see; if he was planning on taking her back, then she would take off running in the opposite direction.

"Hana…that's such a pretty name. As for me, my name is Orochimaru."

"It's n-nice to meet you, Orochimaru-san."

Despite her apparent nervousness and apprehension, she still had to be polite. She may have been an uneducated child, but she still had some semblance of manners. She may not have learned them from Yahiro, but she had learned some manners from some of Konoha's residents.

Orochimaru had noticed how timid and shy the child was. It was clear that she wasn't very trusting of adults due to the trauma that she had suffered.

He reached a hand out to her and gently placed it on her shoulder; he could feel her arm tense up at the unfamiliar touch.

"There's no need to be afraid child; I'm not going to hurt you. In fact, I want to help you." he told her.

Now Hana was confused. Why would he want to help her? She was just a dirty little street rat; Yahiro had said it himself. Why would he help someone like her?

"B-But…why?" she asked.

"I see great potential in you, Hana. I believe that you will accomplish great things in your life and I want to help you reach your full potential. If you come with me, then you will become strong." he answered.

Did he really mean it? Would she really accomplish such great things when she was older? She almost couldn't believe it; it almost sounded too good to be true. Yet she was still so hesitant. Her distrust of adults made it difficult for her to make a final decision. She was afraid of being hurt again.

Orochimaru picked up on her hesitance rather quickly. The poor thing was still so afraid of being hurt again and it weighed very heavily on her mind. But Orochimaru knew just how to put her mind at ease.

"Hana, if you come with me then you won't have to live in fear of being hurt anymore. You will have a home and you will be safe. You just have to trust me." he said.

All she had to do was trust him…

It sounded so simple, and yet it was so difficult. She had her trust betrayed so many times before. However, the option that he had given her was the best one. She had to face the facts; she wasn't going to survive out here on her own.

Maybe she should put her trust in him after all.

"Okay…I'll go with you." she muttered.

The smile on Orochimaru's face grew even more. After some convincing, the child had accepted his offer. He was very, very happy with how everything had turned out.

"I'm to hear that, Hana. Now, I suggest that we start heading home. It is rather late you know." he said.

Orochimaru stood to his feet once more and he held his hand out to her. Hana slipped her tiny hand into his and he held her hand tight. His hand felt very warm, a stark contrast to Yahiro's. For the first time in quite a while, she actually smiled. For once, she actually felt happy.

Maybe this wouldn't be so bad after all.

The two began their trek through the forest to make their way their way home. Along the way, Hana became very drowsy. Orochimaru offered to carry her the rest of the way and she accepted it without a second thought. Not long after, she fell into a somewhat peaceful sleep.

A smirk stretched across Orochimaru's pale features. He knew that this child would prove herself to be very useful to him in the future. She indeed had great potential and he had a feeling that she would become a powerful shinobi one day. Her training would be very difficult, but he knew that she would be able to make it through. If she had survived such harsh conditions before, then she would be able to survive the harsh training. She would succeed in whatever daunting task that she would be given.

He was absolutely sure of it.