Sorakage

AN: Hello All of my readers and to all who are reading my story for the first time. I have been busy these past few months and that is because I have a new story for you! Yeah! Huzzah! etc... Apparently, two of my readers, who contacted me, thought I was dead as a writer and though they are unnamed now, they are the reason that I am releasing my story...Before it is completed! That means that I'll have to write frantically to keep ahead of the game.

First, some things to note, if you are a new reader, I ask you to please read the first chapters and then decide how you feel about it. Positive comments are always welcome. If I am a terrible writer, that could be a good reason to stop, but you who respond to me help me edit further chapters that I would have left as they are and worse off than they could have been.

This story is to be one of my masterpieces on this site, and I hope that you all enjoy it. I had simply started plotting the idea and then went to work writing it out. Want to know how long it is? Guess! Go on...I will tell you in the next chapter!

So , in all... Read a few of the chapters, review, guess, and be glad that I am back to serve you great tidings after the days of christmas and wish you all a happy new year!

Timberwolfe Writer now presents:

Sorakage Arc 1

Chap 1: The Life of a Ninja

A young girl awoke to the sight of the sun shining intensely into her bedroom through her open window. She looked around her room, noticing that everything was as it should be; a desk which was covered in papers from a passed exam from a couple days ago, a couple kunai from her trajectory charts hanging on the wall, and below her on the ground were so many books that it could kill someone at the sheer size of it. Her mother had once replied that a messy girl was great in bed, but Sakura tried not to think about it too much, she being too young to really understand it.

The girl got up out of her bed, being careful to not trip over anything and made her way over to her closet. Slowly, the girl switched her pajamas out for a long red vest with a zipper zigzagging down the middle and some black shorts before covering them with a pink skirt that cover most of the shorts. As she finished, she looked at herself in the mirror and thought that she looked good before she walked out of her room and down the stairs to the kitchen for some breakfast.

"Sakura! Sweetheart! Breakfast is re-''

"Geez mom, I'm already here," Sakura groaned aloud as she covered her ears and turned the corner and walked into the dining area which was in the line of sight from the kitchen. As soon as she sat down in her usual chair, Sakura took the cereal box that was currently in front of her and shook it once for the tiniest bit of cereal to fall into her bowl.

"Sakura," Sakura's father chastised his only child and beloved daughter of thirteen years of age.

"But daddddd, my diet," Sakura tried to complain

"You're a ninja now; you'll burn off all of those calories." Sakura's father advised like a wise sage.

"Fine." Sakura conceded as she filled her bowl to the top with cereal and added in some milk before grabbing her spoon and starting to eat. As this happened, Sakura's mother entered the room with some cereal of her own.

"Sakura, sweetheart, do you really want to be a ninja? It's a dangerous life, and while I know that you're well trained, it pains me to see you off to see a dangerous life ahead of you."

"Mom, I've passed the gennin test with Sasuke-Kun. I wouldn't have been able to if I lacked in ability."

"Sayuki, our daughter simply wants a better life than that of a merchant family." Sakura's father tried to convince his wife in a whispered voice, but Sakura would have none of that.

"Dad! It's not that, I want to become a medical ninja. And in order to do that and get into their division in the hospital, I need to become a strong ninja."

"I know, Sakura." Her father conceded at the thought that his daughter would become a great ninja of legend.

"Well, I don't." Sayuki expressed with annoyance. "I don't want to get a ninja at my door telling me that my baby died in the field of service for her village."

"Mom, today's my first mission outside the village. It's a simple c-rank. That means that there won't be enemy ninja. Maybe bandits with no training at all and at best some trained wimps. Besides, I'm old enough to make my own decisions now."

"Sweetheart, you're thirteen. Just barely a teen in so many ways. I want to watch you grow into a beautiful woman and snag a man that's right for you right here in the village or on a merchant's travel with your father."

"And I will, mother. I promise, and I'm thirteen and a half."

"There Sayuki. You heard her promise. My Sakura never gives up after she promises something." Sakura father smiled as he rubbed the top of Sakura's head.

Sakura's pink hair flowed softly behind her as she walked to her team's meeting spot. Sakura looked up as she saw the red bridge over the river and saw Sasuke leaning on one side of the bridge. It really was a beautiful and relaxing place to meet with her team. Sakura quickly picked up her pace until she arrived next to Sasuke and sat on top the rail.

"Hey Sasuke-Kun." Sakura said in a chirpy voice

"Hm." Sasuke replied mutely

"Why hello mister grumpy."

"Hm"

"Well, no need to get all grumpy."

"I guess not."

The two chuckled at their little joke that they had started when they had first become a team. After a while, Sakura wanted to ask Sasuke a question, but she was a little nervous about how to go about it.

"Hey, Sasuke?"

Sasuke turned his head sideways to look towards Sakura's face. Now that they had come to actually know each other, when she didn't add the honorific to his name, he knew that she was being serious.

"Yeah?"

"Why are we a two-man team? I mean, sure the academy didn't have any extra students to spare, and that they don't advance academy ninja like they used to, but shouldn't we have had another teammate?"

"I'm as stumped as you are. Kakashi-sensei's test was harder because of that, but I'd say that it was due to my eyes."

"The Sharingan does help us Sasuke, but it doesn't see everything. That pride could kill you someday."

"I know, but once mine awakens, we won't need a third member at all."

"…you just want to pass your brother in his skill, don't you?" Sakura questioned knowingly

"Yeah, pretty much." Sasuke sighed lightly.

"Sasuke-Kun, I understand that you want to rebuild your clan and its reputation, but you have your whole life ahead of you in this world."

"Still, the sooner the better."

Sakura knew about Sasuke's mission to be recognized by his village once again and to restore the clan to its mighty glory as well as becoming as strong as his 'late' brother(as in no longer alive). But it was all due to them becoming fast friends in such a short amount of time that she knew so much in such a short amount of time.

Sakura sighed as she leaned back all the way until her fingers barely held onto the rail itself. Being a ninja had its perks, such as having grace and great balance. Unfortunately, it had some negative effects as well.

"Yo."

(Splash)

Sasuke smirked as his teammate had yet again fallen into the river. That happened almost every time that their sensei arrived on time, which according to the rumors of the other Jounin was rarely in and of itself.

"Kakashi-Sensei!" Sakura screamed as she rose out of the water, and jumped the ten feet back onto the rail, her hair in a mop around her as her clothes stuck to her body.

"Sorry, Sakura. But I keep telling you that you need to watch your surroundings better."

"For example," Sasuke started, "you look great right now."

"Really Sasuke-Kun? You…OH! I'll kill you!" Sakura screamed as she went to choke the life out of her laughing teammate after having looked down at herself and seen her wet attire. After a minute of laughing and strangulation, the two parted to look back at Kakashi.

"So, I presume that the two of you are all packed for the trip?"

"Hai Kakashi-Sensei!" The two voices in front of him yelled out in unison. Kakashi looked to their right and saw that their packs were indeed all set. He twisted his head back to the left and nodded his head. A man walked over to the team and bowed his head.

"Team 7, this is Tazuki; he is a messenger from the land of Waves. He has assigned this team to go to the Land of Waves and protect their bridge builders while they complete the bridge. For this mission, there is the slight possibility of ninja but mainly bandits and thugs. I trust that this team can combat against the weakest of criminals. We will now set off, any questions?"

None of them neither asked nor spoke any questions or comments, so soon the group known as squad 7 headed to the gates and headed out to the Land of Waves.

The team left the safety of the gates of Konoha and immediately jumped into the trees. Tree jumping was the way of the ninja and the fastest transportation with the lowest burning amount of chakra that even a green rookie such as Team 7 could master.

After a while though, the squad of three jumped down onto the road that had been next to them as they left the country of Fire. As they walked to conserve their energy and to restore what chakra they had lost, Sakura started to ask Kakashi some questions.

"Kakashi-Sensei, why are we going to the Land of Waves? Surely, their ninja can protect their own country from bandits." Sakura questioned as she had read about the land of Waves from a book that was dated ten years prior.

"Well Sakura, not all countries have ninja to protect them. There are smaller countries like the village of grass that have a number of ninja to protect them, and then you also have the land of Iron who instead of ninja have samurai. But still there are some countries that have minimal protection."

"Then is that why there are the five Kage nations?"

"That term is considered to be correct for the moment. There was once only one Kage, the strongest shinobi that defended his homeland. Where others arose, they too were considered to be Kages in their own right and in their own lands.

Since the First Great Ninja War, there have always been five Kage powers at work. But many smaller nations help out in those and many other wars to earn respect and to increase their potential to have a Kage."

"So other villages have Kages, but it's just that they are not recognized?" Sasuke asked as he joined in the conversation.

"Correct, a fully given title of Kage is given to those leaders that have under them at least ten thousand ninja, know of at least a thousand jutsu, and can prove that they can protect their own homeland; or else they are presumed to be a Jounin-Oyabun, a smaller version of a Kage."

"But aren't there other ways to get power?" Sasuke questioned

"Yes, there are a few. However, they are the most dangerous of ways. I can now tell you since you both are official ninja that there are demons that stalk the lands of this earth. One such beast is a fox with nine tails."

"How lethal is it? Is it huge?" Sakura questioned.

"The 'Kyuubii' as it is called, is not actually very large. It is maybe the size of the dogs that the Inuzuka clan have and care for. But… Kakashi paused and turned deathly serious, it is very deadly and extremely lethal. A simple swipe of its tails or its claws will kill without regret. However, the tails are only false tails, tails that are not always there. In actuality the foxes that contain more than one tail have chakra within them and can be used for various purposes."

"I thought you said that there was only the Kyuubii?" Sakura asked.

"No, there are demons foxes that range in tails from the simple one tail all the way to nine. But you won't be able to tell them apart from regular foxes unless they are using chakra. Their tails are made of the stuff and they heal incredibly fast."

"There was a master who, like the other original summoning sages, created a summoning contract with the foxes that these demons were known as of the time. They accepted on the condition that they be signed with and used with their wolf breathen who by the time the master came upon them had become fast friends."

"But their chakra was too much for most that signed that very contract, so the rare contract was lost to the ages and the demon foxes, up to the very Kyuubii, ran wild in the lands."

"Has anyone caught one?"

"No, they are fast and as I stated, lethal. If one should cross your path, you are to turn back and run away immediately."

"But I heard that Konoha had caught one in one of my history books in class." Sakura offered. Kakashi shook his head and chuckled at his student, knowing that she retained information like a sponge. He became solemn as he explained the next portion of the story, a rather reverent one at that.

"Yes, but that is not the case now. You see, once there was a boy, an orphan who had recently lost his parents, who came across a baby fox. He saw that the fox was hurt, with an arrow in its stomach. He picked it up and took it into the very walls of Konoha and took care of it. But that very fox, was a Kyuubii, and out of anguish, it nearly Destroyed Konoha. That is why we cast that boy off, to save the village from complete ruin."

As Kakashi finished his explanation, the team continued forward, passing a puddle that seemed out of place to Kakashi at least. After they passed that mysterious puddle, two figures emerged from the puddle and immediately they sprinted forward, a chain of metal between them.

As the group turned around to grasp the situation, the two figures wrapped that very chain around Kakashi, trapping him in the serrated edges that were on each chain link. The two now enemy ninja pulled the chains apart, and Sasuke and Sakura gasped as Kakashi's body was ripped into tiny chunks.

As soon as the pieces of their former teacher hit the ground, the two enemy ninja turned around and headed straight for Sasuke as they perceived the girl as the least amount of threat remaining. Sasuke took a quick glance at Sakura and confirmed what the enemy was thinking.

Sakura stood next to him, her eyes frozen in fear at the first sight of an actual kill. Her body shivered every other second and it seemed as if her hand was trying to move but it failed to do so. Sasuke focused on the enemy ninja and saw a piece of white cloth on the ground covered in blood. Sasuke smirked before charging at the enemy.

Kakashi appeared four hundred yards to his right from where he had been standing when those enemy ninja had tried and failed to kill him off early.

"So, the demon brothers…I can handle them, and I'm sure that the Gennin can hold them off until I get there." Kakashi whispered to himself before leaping into the trees.

Suddenly all around him exploded into many silver metallic stars, known in the ninja world as shuriken. Kakashi leaped downward to avoid them as they passed overhead and hit the trees in their original trajectories.

"Well thought out Kakashi of the Sharingan," Said one masked ninja in the exact same attire as the two demon brothers as he walked out into the clearing that Kakashi had landed in.

"We have been expecting your squad for a while now. And we knew that you would use your kawarimi to evade our brothers," another ninja said from the opposite side of the clearing.

As Kakashi's right eye visibly widened, the two ninja prepared to charge.

"The demon brothers…known for attacking as a pair, but what others fail to see are us as a four man team," and with that, the ninja charged.

Sasuke, Sakura…please hold out.

(Sakura's POV)

Sakura watched in horror as her sensei was ripped into shreds at the very start of the just now starting battle. Now, as Sakura just stood there, Sasuke was fighting what were obviously two chunnin on his own.

Sasuke had whipped out a kunai and caught their chain and hooked it high into a tree behind them. The dual ninja tag team had to simply separate the chain from their gauntlets and continued forward. Sasuke moved his hands to grab more kunai, but he wasn't fast enough as the enemy ninja to the right of him appeared in front of him and hit his chest with the blunt ring of the kunai is his hand.

Sakura watched all this happen in front of her and still, she couldn't do anything. She watched as Sasuke was thrown back into a tree somewhere off the road behind him with the ninja following after him. Sakura slowly looked forward and saw the lecherous look that the remaining ninja presented in his eyes.

"I guess I have you all to myself." The ninja said in a raspy and happy voice with his air filtration mask still covering his face.

Sakura retreated into her mind as she tried to do something, anything to save herself from this ninja standing in front of her.

Come on. Move. Dammit, body. Move. I need to save myself.

I need to save Sasuke. I need to avenge Kakashi-Sensei.

I promised Mom and Dad that I would get home safely.

I…I need to Live…right?

Why do I need to live? There's nothing going right in my life?

I have no one to protect…I have no one to inspire me…I have no one to protect…Me

Sakura's hand stopped shaking and with dead eyes, she looked towards her enemy, awaiting her approaching death.

The enemy ninja smirked as he saw the fight drain out of the girl and saw with annoyance that she had resolved herself to her death by his hand. The ninja threw the kunai in his hand, its trajectory aimed for her cranium.

So I hope you liked the first installment; Go ahead and tell me what you think and guess how long you think this story will be. I hope some of you are close, but then again, there are a lot of possible numbers out there in the world