Dance of the Hidden Leaves

Chapter One

a/n I own nothing. Nothing at all. Really.

Out of the night that covers me
Black as the pit from pole to pole
I thank whatever gods may be
For my unconquerable soul.

-Invictus by Henley

Amaru could usually tell how a mission was going. When things were boring and seemed exactly like the three other missions he did that month, things were going good. When things involved him getting ambushed, beat up, captured, and imprisoned, things were not going good. Things weren't going good for him this mission.

"Hey kid! We got company for you!" growled his captor as he threw Amaru into a cell. Two red dots on his forehead and a savage love of battle marked him as a Kaguya. "Heh. Maybe they'll end up eating each other."

"You didn't need to say that," Amaru muttered after he left. The Leaf shinobi a bit too far from home struggled around his bonds and bruises to look around. In the dim light he could see what looked like a human spine out carved of the stone wall and a decently carved face. The little kid who lived here apparently had a lot of time on his hands. That and a knife. "Hey, kid. Could you cut me loose?"

He looked back at him from his corner. Even in the darkness the child's eyes had an emerald glow to them, and none of the other Kaguya had white hair, but the red markings on his forehead and below his eyes identified his heritage. "Okay."

"Ah, thanks," he said, massaging his sore wrists. "How'd you get that knife?" They took all his weapons before they threw him in this prison cell.

"I made it."

Ha, kids. "I don't suppose you could make one for me," he joked.

"If you like." He shifted his shirt over his shoulder and focused on the bone in his arm. It grew, bulging out of his shoulder until it finally broke the skin. The calcium in his arm started warping rapidly to form a sharp blade. The man was bigger than he was, so he made his bigger too. When it was complete, he grabbed onto the protruding handle and—ripped it out.

Amaru took it gingerly, examining its weight and form. He saw something almost like that when he was ambushed. One of the Kaguya forced a three foot long bone spike out of the palm of his hand to fight with, but the spike was covered in his own blood, and this kid's sword just had some thin, clear juice on it. "Could you make me some kunai? Throwing knives?"

"How many do you need?" he asked, forming another knife.

"No more than nine." Amaru continued to watch in amazement. This guy is a one man graveyard armory! "Why'd they lock you up in here anyway?"

He paused to think about that, as if "why" was a foreign concept to him. "I believe…I believe they do not want me to get lost. I have a purpose for them. I am needed here."

"What do they need you for?"

"War." That made sense. The Kaguya clan cared about nothing else, and from what Amaru could see, the knives the boy made were lighter, sharper, and maybe even stronger than steel.

"I see, Amaru said. "They have you make weapons for them."

The child looked at him quizzically and shook his head. "They have me fight for them."

"You can fight?"

He nodded.

"How good are you?"

"They do not want me to get lost," he repeated.

Amaru gazed into the darkness as a plan began formulating. From what the kid said, he was treated as a weapon, and even thought of himself that way. He was locked away so the clan's "weapon" couldn't "get lost" instead of "escape." But as they say, a stolen knife is just as sharp as a bought one, and far less predictable.

"Hey, uh…"

"Kimimaro," he supplied.

"Kimimaro. That's enough kunai." He pushed a protruding bone back into his shoulder. "By the way, do you know what they want me for?"

Kimimaro thought for a moment. "Usually, when they bring someone here, it's for Rabbit."

"What's Rabbit?"

"It's a game. At sunrise, they let the rabbit out and see who can kill it before breakfast."

"And I suppose I'm the rabbit," he mused. He played a game like that once before, and that was three times too many. "Hey, Kimimaro. I'll make a deal with you. If you help me get out of here, I'll see to it that you become a free man, and you'll never have to live in this cell again. Or…" he paused for dramatic effect, "you could stay for breakfast."

Kimimaro's green eyes widened as though the prospect of absolute freedom overwhelmed him. Kimimaro couldn't possibly know what he would do should he be free, but that was precisely the point. Freedom by its nature was incomprehensible, providing limitless possibilities. To set a man free was like handing him a box of infinity.

Kimimaro let his breath out and nodded in agreement.

"Good," said Amaru. "Now, the first part of getting out of here is the long, tedious process of—sawing—our way—through these iron bars—"

"You can't," Kimimaro spoke up. Amaru looked back at him. "Those tags." He pointed at the chakra tags that decorated the cell bars.

"Ah! Yes, those pesky, little chakra tags. With those seals on this cage, the bars won't break at all, and those things can't be removed or burned off easily. We're fairly screwed in here." Kimimaro looked down sadly. "Unless," Amaru added deviously. "Unless we have the key."

"You have the key?"

"Yeah, sure, in a matter of speaking." He ran though a set of hand seals. "I'd love to explain my jutsu to you, but that would take all night." The paper tags melted off the bars like wax, forming a small puddle on the floor. "And I really, really, don't want to stay for breakfast." He laughed a little. "So that means that now we have the long, tedious process—" Kimimaro slashed his knife through the bars like butter. "Holy crap!" Amaru said with a jump. "What are those things made of!?"

Kimimaro looked from the bars to his knife, not sure which the older man was talking about. "What d-"

"Never mind," he interrupted quickly. "Let's get out of here."

WWW

Don't move until you see it. He could see it. Both of them. Members of the Kaguya clan, to make sure Amaru stayed for breakfast, oblivious to the armed shadow behind them. He jumped out of the door, stabbed the closer one through the heart, between the sixth and seventh ribs on the left side, and threw the knife at the other one. The first slumped over without a sound, but the bone weapon was weighted strangely, and the second wasn't going as easily. Sure, he fixed that before the guard hit the ground, but that was the sloppy kind of assassination that could get a guy killed.

He saw Kimimaro wandering out, squinting in the moonlight. That was probably fairly bright for him, compared to his stony cell. "You know the henge?" he whispered. Kimimaro looked at him and shook his head. Not good. He could disguise himself as a local, but Kimimaro, the actual local, with his white hair and pale skin, would stick out. He considered leaving him here, but there was something about abandoning a small child who just freed him from certain death and leaving him to a life of blood and murder in a genocidal village that just didn't seem quite right.

He settled for quietly hiding the corpses. The bloodstains would still be a problem so they would have to move fast. Fast and quiet. "Let's go."

WWW

Amaru couldn't keep going. His first fight with the Kaguya left him with a lot more bruises and cuts than necessary, and he was exhausted to begin with. Kimimaro was fine. He wasn't even breathing hard and just stood there watching him patiently waiting for a sign to keep going. Ha. And he thought that the kid was going to slow him down. But they managed to put some distance between themselves and the village. If they weren't already pursued, they probably wouldn't be. If they weren't already… Amaru looked back. "Oh crap." He looked at Kimimaro. "You mentioned that you can fight. Exactly how good are you?"

"I can be as good as you need me to be."

"Do you have anything against killing people from your clan?"

He hesitated. "Do you want me to?"

Amaru grinned. If only he had a little brother like him. It would make home life a lot more fun. "When we run into your relatives, don't hold back. Because they're going to attack us. Right about…"

"Kimimaro," said a voice. "Who let you out of your cage?"

"He did, Katiro-san," he said politely, pointing at Amaru.

Amaru forced himself to sound confident and relaxed. "So, Katiro, is it? I'll make a deal with you. You can go home and forget all about us, or you can try to get in our way." His eyes narrowed (he hoped) dangerously. "And all of you will die."

The Kaguya threw his head back and roared in laughter. The very trees seemed to cringe as the whole clan joined him. "We of the Kaguya clan always choose death!"

The man Katiro started toward Amaru when Kimimaro dove to intercept him. The older Kaguya grabbed him by the wrist and threw him aside. Kimimaro landed on his feet and dove again, grabbing the man in a deadly embrace as the boy's ribs burst outward like pale, gruesome thorns into the man's flesh.

Only in combat can the Kaguya clan find meaning. The rush of being able to feel the breath of Death himself defined their lives, and not even Death's returning grasp could dampen the thrill of it. That was what was written on Katiro's grinning corpse.

The rest of the clan returned the grin of their fallen leader. "Let's have some fun!"

WWW

Amaru felt like a coward lurking around in the shadows taking out a random foe who let his guard down when a little kid took the bulk of the fighting. He also felt kind of bad that the little kid was completely upstaging him. There was a message to be delivered to the Hokage, and according to regulations that was more important than one not of the Leaf, and he really wanted to not die, but he was no traitor.

He did what he could with his exhausted skills to help him out from a distance, but he was in no shape to fight anyone fair. Kimimaro stood in the middle of the melee, his skeleton contorting out of his skin, surrounded by savage warriors fighting with tooth, claw, flesh, bone, and sinew to bring him down. He couldn't last and he couldn't win, but he was determined to keep fighting. That was his purpose, the purpose Amaru had given him. But Amaru had no right to use him like that, and he knew it.

Amaru sighed in resignation. "You're going to regret this," he told himself. Yep. He raced out of the shadows, dodging people as best he could. All it took was for someone to grab an ankle and he'd be dead. He dove through an opening in the maelstrom and grabbed the bull by the horns, or rather the flower by the thorns, and ran toward heaven. Halfway there he turned around, faced the mass of bodies staring up at him and…

"Katon: Gokakyu no Jutsu!"

A burst of light and heat exploded out of his mouth, scorching man and earth alike. But the earth could handle it better than most. At least better than Amaru could. When the ground came up to him he hit it hard; he didn't bother trying to land, just collapsed in a heap. He closed his eyes but he couldn't block the smell. Burning flesh, it smelled like bacon. And he didn't want to think about people that way. Not now.

"Hey Ki…Kimimaro," he wheezed. "Get me out of here."

"Hai." He supported him with his shoulder and kept walking, with no sign of pain or pleasure about his clansmen he killed. Amaru wondered if he would respond any differently to his death, but he didn't want to think about that either. After all, his clan used him only as a weapon. Was he doing anything different?

"This…is far enough." Kimimaro sat him down gently by a tree. Surprisingly gently for such an easy killer. "I need you…to do something…for me." His green eyes flashed earnestly, intently, anxious to obey. Amaru felt awful for him. Someone that capable and willing to be used would certainly end up as a weapon. But maybe…He took a scroll out of his vest. His captors took his weapons but left everything else. "Keep going north until you find a road, turn left and follow the signs for two days until you reach Konoha. I want you to give this to the Hokage." He thought that was everything. Except…ANBU. "And if a bunch of people with funny masks cause you trouble, tell them Amaru sent you."

"Who's he?"

Amaru blinked. Oh, right. I never told you my name. "A friend of mine that keeps on trying to kill me." His hand went to a hole in his stomach, trying to stem the blood flow from when he managed to impale himself on a little kid. He didn't have much time left. "Can you do this?"

"Hai!" He left without looking back.

Amaru looked to the stars and wished for all the world he could see the moon. But there was nothing. It must have been on the other side of the tree.

A kid like Kimimaro was bound to become a weapon. But maybe…

Maybe…

In Konoha…

He'd find something more.

WWW

Another place, another night, Kimimaro found his way into the village. At least he hoped so. That was what that man had wanted him to do, that was his purpose. He followed the road and the signs, and now he was at the village. There even were the people with funny masks just like he said.

"What purpose do you have in Konoha?" They moved fast and quiet, like shadows, like that man did. Kimimaro tightened his grip on the scroll and reached for his knife.

"I need to give this scroll to the Hokage."

"What is it?"

"Amaru sent me." He moved into stance.

The masked men looked at each other and one nodded. "I'll take it."

He took a step back and gripped his knife. "Amaru sent me!" he repeated, with a tinge of panic in his voice.

Again, they looked at each other. "The Hokage is this way. Follow me."

WWW

The ANBU escorted him to the Hokage's office. Though he was only a child, they weren't about to take any chances and leave him with the village head, just in case. The Hokage's brow furrowed more and more as he read the scroll. Bad news. "Raijin, set Team 12 on Amaru's trail, and send in Ikaru," he ordered, and then he turned to the business at hand.

The boy was clearly a Kaguya, one of the many warring clans in the Country of Water. He looked awful, as though he had not eaten or slept much in days. He was young, too. He probably would not be able to find his way back home on his own, and even if he did he would just end up a sadistic killer like the rest of them. But if he wanted to go home, that was his choice. "You have my gratitude for delivering this scroll to me on Amaru's behalf. What do you wish to do now, now that you've completed your task?"

Kimimaro looked back at him, leaf green eyes in the village Hidden in the Leaves, with the look of a lost child looking for something to follow. "What do you want me to do?"

WWW

a/n I've never done this before, this is my first fanfic ever, but I noticed that everyone writes a note at the end and the last thing anyone looks for in a fanfic is originality, so…yeah. Um, you know, I really wasn't planning on making it so dang cheerful, I'll try to fix it in a chapter or two with some fluff(?) Oh, and if you're one of those obsessive freaks that looks up all those obscure facts in fansubs and wikipedia, well, it would be hypocritical of me to tell you to get a life, but pay no attention at all to the ages. Things will make more sense that way. For those history buffs out there, the character is original, but the name Amaru I stole from a Peruvian revolutionary war hero that ended up brutally murdered before getting a statue made after him. The poem at the top, I thought it really fit Kimimaro even before I found out it was written by a tuberculosis patient. And also, as of 2/22/10, I have edited this chapter to get rid of (most of) the typos.