Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto!
I got this idea from a manga I read, so the concept isn't really mine, but the terms are!
Here's chapter one!
Moonlight Tresses
"Get over here, ginpatsu!"
Feet worn with callouses and scrapes led the owner to a dark-haired woman who stood at the end of the field. No words escaped the chapped lips, not even when the poorly shorn hair was grasped and pulled up so eyes of the same color were shown.
"Why hasn't the field been planted yet? I told you to be done by noon! And now it's half past the hour!"
"Begging your pardon, my lady, but a field a kilometer square with only this person working thoroughly—"
The older woman kicked the face of the one who was apologizing. "SHUT YOUR MOUTH! WHAT DID I SAY ABOUT SUCH TALK?! YOU DO NOT KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT SUCH THINGS! YOU'RE JUST A DAMN GINPATSU!"
"But with the radishes planted three decimeters apart, it isn't possible for a single worker to complete the task within the time perimeters you have set, my lady. It takes five minutes to plant the seeds to perfection in a single spot, and at that pace—"
"FIFTEEN LASHES! AND I'LL MAKE IT THIRTY IF YOU KEEP IT UP!"
Fifteen lashes with a nine-tailed whip later, the punisher, a middle-aged man with dark hair also, dragged the limp form to a river. He pushed the head under the surface, bubbles floating to the surface.
"Milady won't miss a disobedient ginpatsu, so I'll make sure she never has to hear from you again."
The body went limp and he grunted. "Done in already? Well then…"
He lifted the form and tied the ankles to a large rock. He made sure the knots were tight before throwing it in. He smirked before waving. "Farewell, filthy ginpatsu."
Little did he know that the body was still quite alive as it drifted to the bottom. It untied the rope and swam with the current for who knew how long, saltiness tasted for quite a while then fresh water again, until the person was washed onto the shore. Water gushed from the lungs, before a mutter came from the pale lips.
"Hypothermia…infected wounds…near suffocation…must…get medical attention…"
With another heave, more water came out and the form began to shiver violently, cheeks pale and the entire back of the filthy, tattered garment stained in blood and shredded to almost nonexistence. Broken fingernails began to dig into the ground, dragging the rest of the body to what was presumed a drier and warmer place. One eye bled from an impact from a rock, while the other was closed and tearing.
Being near a river, mosquitoes and flies swarmed the exposed skin, biting and chewing, weakness settling in the limbs as time went on. When the sun rose, they relented, but much of the torn skin was eaten off, and bites upon bites marred the uninjured flesh.
"Further…infection…possible…disease… Require…rescue…treatment…"
With that, consciousness was lost.
"Is the person dead, Master Kakashi?"
"No, but we leave them alone, they will die soon. Looks like they've been here for hours, maybe even days."
"But the back skin is rotting! EWWW!"
"Could that be gangrene setting in?"
"Enough with being grossed out, you three. You're acting like little kids. Come on, we have to get back right away."
On pure reflex, the lips began to move and a hoarse whisper came from them.
"Open wounds…infected from river water, open air, various insects…hypothermia and near suffocation from almost drowning… minor blood loss…blunt trauma to the left eye…hemorrhaging…immediate treatment…required…"
"What the hell?!"
"Was that the body?!"
"It sounded like a medical assessment."
"Right. Perhaps this is a doctor from town hospital."
"But those are whip wounds and the hands and feet look like they've been worked to death, Kakashi-sensei. There's no way a doctor would suffer that. Looks more like a farmer or a slave."
"We'll find out from this person later, but now we have to go faster or this person won't make it."
"Many thanks…for caring…to rescue…ginpatsu…"
Hours of agony and treatments later, a cool hand came to the forehead.
"Where did you find this person?"
"At the edge of a river, about ten miles out."
"No identification?"
"None besides the ruined yukata."
"These back wounds, they're surrounded by scars of a similar type. This person's been through much, and I don't want any questions about it until they're healed."
"Is it a girl or boy?"
"A girl, a mere child from the size, and you say she was mumbling the assessment of her condition and injuries while she was unconscious? How could she do that if she looks like she's a slave or a field worker? And her hair, it's been cropped several times, and not all at once. Her eyebrows have been shaved so much they're hardly growing back anymore, as are the eyelashes, and any appearing pubic hair. Even though her eye has been cleared of all infection, I'm not sure if she'll ever see out of it again. She's so thin that she must've skipped whole days without meals yet had to work her hands to the bone. Whoever her parents or guardians were, it's outright cruelty and neglect. She looks much, much older than her age, just because of the emaciation. But for her to be smart like a doctor… What is she?"
The question awoke the near-comatose girl so she breathed, "Ginpatsu…"
"Young lady, are you awake?"
One eye opened, the other bandaged and unable to. It was unfocused, but cleared as cognitive functions began to arise in the brain from being so weak for a massive duration of time. The pale lips, which were still devoid of color, moved again.
"Consciousness is achieved."
A woman with long blonde hair in two low tails bent over her, her brown eyes that shone from her pretty face filled with concern. This woman had a large pair of breasts, larger than anyone the girl had seen. Would that mean that she had had a procedure done to enhance them? Or perhaps she was just well endowed? They blocked all view of her lower body, so all sight was kept on her face.
"Good. How are you feeling?"
"Internal temperature lower than normal, nervous system speed to body stunted from anesthesia and concussion, and discomfort ranging from minimal to moderate from healing wounds."
"She sounds like a dry medical essay, not a person," a man's voice from behind the prone form commented.
"Are you talking like that because of the concussion, young lady?" the woman asked.
"This person is…being precise, ma'am," the girl replied, blinking her eye a little. "Does the precision displease you?"
The woman's eyebrows pinched together and she frowned. "Now you switch to a beaten puppy tone, is there something wrong with you?"
"No, ma'am."
"What did you say just before you woke up?"
"A ginpatsu, ma'am."
" 'A' ginpatsu? You almost sound like you're a different species."
"Um…this person is."
"What do you mean?"
"The owner says this ginpatsu is not allowed to speak of it."
"Your 'owner' left you for dead and hasn't come looking for you. You're a free person now, so you can talk about whatever you want."
"Where this ginpatsu comes from, there are normal humans, then there are the ginpatsu. They can be born from humans, or other ginpatsu, which has been studied that says that it's a mutant gene in every human. Concentrated enough, a ginpatsu is born instead of a normal human baby, but only rarely, a percentage of twenty-two or smaller, can a ginpatsu birth a human baby because of the same gene.
"Ginpatsu are mainly identified from the silver hair and eyes at birth."
"That sounds more like a sneer term or insult than an actual species name," the same male voice murmured. "Why would someone call a species that?"
"It is, for anyone who births a ginpatsu will torture it, and everyone else in its life. How this ginpatsu was found is a common occurrence. Most aren't found in time to be healed."
"Are there other distinctions?" the woman prodded further, eyes fascinated.
"Ginpatsu are distinctly geniuses, and a low percentage are super geniuses. Also, ginpatsu are half avian."
"Half avian? You mean you have wings?"
"Hidden in the back, the scarring and wounds make it difficult for them to emerge. The bones are hollow, lungs are larger, back and chest muscles are more pronounced, the surface of the skin is almost feathery in feel where it isn't scarred and if allowed to reproduce, would lay eggs instead of birthing live young."
"Really? On the surface, you look one hundred percent human. Even the anesthesia worked properly."
"Normal human medicines make no difference to how a ginpatsu's body reacts. The genetic makeup might be a fusion of mammal and avian, but still close enough because both are animals."
"Does your species have a proper name?"
"Yes, harpy."
"Harpies? Aren't they only women?"
"In the past, but they evolved so male births became just as common as females."
"With how the word 'harpy' has become a term for a predatory person or shrewish woman, I think I would prefer to call her a ginpatsu, it sounds better, unless you can think of a better term, Tsunade-sama," the man murmured.
"Perhaps 'ginyoku' or 'ginme'," Tsunade answered without looking away from her patient. "What would you like?"
" 'Ginyoku' would be too conspicuous, but this ginpatsu likes 'ginme'," the girl decided, the corners of her mouth twitching.
"After all this chatting, shouldn't we know your name, young lady?" the hidden man questioned.
She closed her eye and heaved a sigh. "My honored mother called this person Mikadzuki."
"You don't refer to yourself naturally, like 'I, me, myself, my, mine'. Is there a reason you don't do that?"
"If it happens…it hurts too much," Mikadzuki murmured with a wince. "Ginme don't have identities, go to school, earn money, are seen not heard, or ever leave where they work unless in death."
"If you weren't allowed to go to school, how do you know so much about medicine?"
"My honored mother…taught…while still inside the egg… Ginme develop hearing and cognitive centers first, then the rest of the body. The shell is thin enough and the memory was good enough to recall everything. Not just medicine, mathematics, science, astronomy, anything and everything within the ten months it takes to hatch."
"Was your mother a teacher?"
"No…Dear Mother was a ginme…"
"How did she know so much?"
The girl on the brink of puberty shivered, so hard it seemed she was experiencing a seizure. She began babbling incoherently and her breathing turned ragged.
Tsunade grabbed her face and measured her wide pupils, before injecting a sedative into her system. "That triggered a dangerous mental breakdown. So that far into the past is taboo. I'll make a note of that and let her sleep for now."
Once again, consciousness was lost.
I'm rating this "T" for now, but with themes like this, should I make it "M"?
Please review!