Nobody but yourself
A bloodied figure stumbles down a dirt path. She has no idea where she is or where she's going, she just needs to get away. Two miles more; she collapses onto the hard ground. A small smile appears on her face as she whispers, "Its over."
Kakashi Hatake of the Village hidden in the Leaf is coming back from training. He jumps with an agile grace from tree to tree. He spots a figure lying on the road ahead of him. About ten meters ahead he estimates. Jumping from the tree he lands two feet from the figure. Quickly realizing that it was an injured young woman, he scoops her up in his arms and dashes off towards Konoha. His trip is short, as he makes it there in a mere five minutes. The guards at the gate let him in upon confirmation he was who he said he was. Quickly making his way to the hospital he bursts through the door. A nurse immediately rushes up to him and asks him to carry the girl to the emergency room. The healers start their work while the nurse asks him some questions.
"What happened?" was obviously the first thing she asked.
"I found her on my way back from training." He answers simply.
"So you have no clue who she is" the nurse states in an almost questioning way.
"She's wearing a Denkou Village headband."
"Weren't they attacked a week ago? I heard there were no survivors" She said, more to herself then anyone else. "Someone should inform the Hokage" she continues, never taking her gaze away from Kakashi.
He takes out his book and flips to the correct page before disappearing in a puff of smoke. "Lord Hokage" he greets politely upon entering the man's office.
"Yes Hatake-san?" the elderly man questions.
"A young woman was found outside the village gate wearing a Lightning Village headband. She is currently in the hospital with serious injuries." He responds never taking his eyes off of his book.
"Very well" the man sighs. "I hope she is going to be alright. Hatake-san, I want you stay with her until I can come and watch over her."
"But Hokage-sama I…"
"I should be able to come in about ten minutes, I'm sure if you can take the time to carry her here you can spend ten more minutes watching over her." He interrupts with a twinkle in his eye.
Nodding, Kakashi disappears from the office and reappears at the hospital. "He's going to be here in ten minutes." He tells the nurse he had previously spoken to.
"She's in room 22, her wounds have been bandaged so she should have a full recovery. She lost a lot of blood, and she's still unconscious but she should be fine after some rest."
Nodding, Kakashi heads off to her room. Sitting beside her bed, he continues to read his book. About five minutes later, he's giggling gaily until he hears a soft moan from the bed. He glances up from his book to see the girl groggily open her eyes.
She squeezes her hands into fists, glancing quickly around the room she realizes she must be in a hospital of some sort. "So close" she whispers to no one in particular. Sitting up she quickly grabs her stomach wincing in pain.
"You shouldn't move around so much. You'll reopen your wounds." the man beside her says.
She quickly shies away from the mysterious, masked man. Scooting so far away from him she accidentally falls off of the bed. "Who are you?" she asks through her obvious pain.
"I am Hatake Kakashi of Konoha, and you are?"
"Where am I?" she asks, completely ignoring his question.
"Konoha", he responds, returning his attention to his book.
After a couple seconds of her sitting on the ground, the young woman quickly picks herself up and gets back in the bed, albeit a few groans of pain. Pulling the blankets back over her, she glances up when, "Hokage-sama" a woman can be heard saying outside of the room. An elderly man walks into the room.
"So you're awake" he says kindly.
She wasn't sure what to say so she continued staring at him idly, pulling the blankets up to her chin.
He could see the obvious fear in her eyes but it was mixed with despair, and an overwhelming feeling of submission. Her eyes seemed to show that she was ready to give up. The need to comfort her washed over him, yet he knew there was little he could do when she didn't trust him. He moved closer to her bed. She pulled her knees up to her chest, hugging them tightly, she was still sitting up but she was pressed tightly against the headboard. "Are you feeling any better?"
She knew she had to respond this time, for some reason she couldn't form a single word so she simply nodded.
"Good" he responded with a smile. "What's your name?"
"Yuuki Lyra." She responds quietly. "Hokage-sama" she quickly adds to the end once she remembers who, exactly, she is talking to.
"What happened?" he asks, looking directly into her eyes.
She couldn't hold his gaze for long as she stared at her hands, suddenly very interested in them. "They're all gone" she whispers almost too quiet to be heard.
He places his hand gently on her shoulder trying to reassure her but she violently flinches away from his touch. He retracts his hand immediately. She glances up at his face and when he motions for her to continue she takes a deep breath and says, "I was sleeping and I heard a scream so I went downstairs. My mom was on the floor, covered in blood." She shudders from the memory. "I ran over to my brother's room and he had a kunai stuck in his chest. He was still alive." She closed her eyes and took another breath in, "I picked him up and I knew he was dying. He was in so much pain, he was terrified. He died a couple seconds later and I… I killed the men in our house. I couldn't control it. They killed my 5 year old brother for no reason. He never did anything to anyone. They were the ones who injured me. After that, I went outside and the houses around mine were on fire and the village was being destroyed. I didn't know what to do, I ran back in my house, grabbed my backpack and left. I didn't know where I was going so I just ran until I couldn't go any further." She glances up into his eyes waiting to see revulsion or hatred, yet all she sees is… compassion? Care? Worry?
Her eyes show something completely different. They hold a strong self-hatred, fear, and confusion. The Hokage immediately tries to console her. "It wasn't your fault. You did the right thing"
Yeah it was the right thing to run away like a coward when I could have helped fight for my village. That makes sense. She thinks, simply nodding instead of voicing her real opinion.
"How old are you?" he asks.
"I'm 12"
"So you are a Genin" he states.
"I was, Hokage-sama"
"You don't have to call me Hokage–sama, my name is Sarutobi but I'm quite fond of being called Ojii-chan." He said smiling.
"Ojii-chan, really?" she asks surprised.
He nods at her kindly before asking, "Would you like to become a ninja for our village?"
"Hai Hokage-sa… I mean Ojii-chan" she said excitedly with a small smile on her face.
"Great! You just have to take the exam. I'm sure Iruka wouldn't mind testing one more student."
She was about to get out of bed to take the exam immediately but the Hokage placed his hand on her shoulder again, forcing her to stay on the bed. "You still need rest. You need at least three days of bed rest until I'll even consider allowing you to take the exam."
"Hai Hokage-sama." She sighed.
After a couple minutes of the two strange ninjas conversing with each other at her bedside, she got tired of listening to them and started daydreaming, a favorite pastime of hers.
"Goodbye Lyra-chan" the Hokage said kindly.
"Oh, goodbye ojii-chan!" She responded enthusiastically.
Kakashi simply poofs away.
The three days pass quickly and she has only snuck out of the hospital twice. She wasn't caught either time and didn't run into anyone from the village. Now, she's lying in bed, fidgeting from not being able to move around freely the entire day. She didn't want to be caught on the day she was supposed to be getting out. The nurse comes in and she immediately asks if she can leave yet. After a couple minutes of the nurse checking to make sure the wounds were healed sufficiently for basic movement, she was allowed to leave. Humming a song foreign to any passerby's ears, she walks around the village trying to find the Hokage's office.
After thirty minutes of walking around aimlessly, she decides to ask directions and walks into Ichiraku's ramen stand. She immediately notices a blonde sitting at the counter, slurping down ramen very quickly. Looking behind the counter she sees a man making ramen.
"Excuse me sir, do you know the way to the Hokage's office?" she asks, after a polite bow.
"Oh, actually it's pretty close to here. You just have to turn right at… another left two blocks later and there you are." Is all she hears, completely confused by the lengthy explanation. He could see spirals in her eyes indicating her confusion.
"Arigatou gozaimasu." She said, bowing while she spoke.
"You still have no clue where it is, do you?" he asks kindly, with a smile on his face.
"Not really sir" she sighs dejectedly.
"I'm sure Naruto wouldn't mind showing you the way" he said, glancing over at the blonde she noticed upon entry to the establishment.
"Huh?" Naruto asks with ramen hanging out of his mouth.
"You wouldn't mind showing… uh… what's your name?" he asks looking at her.
"I'm Yuuki Lyra" she said with a smile.
"You wouldn't mind showing Yuuki-chan to the Hokage's office would you?"
"No problem" he said, quickly grabbing her wrist and dragging her down the block.
He let go of her wrist after they were far away from the ramen stand.
"What was that about?" she asked him, tilting her head to the side in a confused manner.
She's really cute. "Oh, uh… I didn't want to pay for all the ramen." He chuckled nervously, blushing.
"Ah, that explains it." She responded smiling. "So, which way to the Hokage's office?"
"Right over there" he said pointing to the tall building behind her.
"Arigatou gozaimashita" she responded, before jogging into the building.
She was led to the Hokage after about five minutes of waiting. He sent her to the ninja academy to talk to someone named Iruka-sensei so she could take the exam. Heading out of the building she quickly realized her mistake, I forgot to ask where the school is… great.
She decided to ask directions immediately this time, instead of walking around like a baka again. Spotting a friendly looking group of people, she decides to walk over and ask for help.
"Excuse me sir, could you point me in the direction of the ninja academy?" she asks politely.
"The flame of youth burns brightly in you! I am Gai-sensei, and these are my youthful students. Go ahead introduce yourselves." He says excitedly.
"I am Rock Lee, the beautiful green beast of Konoha!" The one dressed exactly like Gai responds eagerly.
"I'm Ten-ten" the only girl in the group responds, waving slightly.
After a moment of silence Lee butts in with, "and this is Hyuuga Neji" pointing at him.
"Uh… nice to meet you, I'm Yuuki Lyra." She says bowing slightly.
"What a beautiful name for a beautiful flower like yourself." Lee says.
"Uh… thanks" she says blushing slightly, staring at her feet.
"Why are you headed to the ninja academy anyway Lyra-chan?" Gai-sensei asks.
"Uh… I have to take the Genin exam." Seeing the confused looks on everybody's faces she continues with, "I'm from a different village and I just came here a few days ago. Ojii-chan said I could take it today."
"Your grandpa lives here?"
"Gomen nasai, I meant Hokage-sama." She responded quietly.
"Ah, well then, you're going to want to go straight ahead. It's at the end of this road; see that big building up there?" Gai-sensei asks.
"Hai"
"That's the one." He responds smiling.
"Arigatou gozaimasu" she responds, turning around and heading off for the building.
"Nice to meet you Lyra-chan!" Lee shouts after her.
"Nice to meet you too Lee-kun." She responds. Quickly followed by, "It was nice to meet you as well Ten-ten-chan, Neji-san, and Gai-sama." Bowing quickly at the end she takes her leave.
Arriving at the academy, she searches for Iruka-sensei. It wasn't too difficult to find him; he was in a class training the next group of Genin. The door was open so she peeked her head in, causing the door to open wider and the whole class's attention to be drawn to her.
"Gomen nasai" she apologizes immediately. "I was told to come here now to take my Genin exam but if you're busy I'll just…"
"So you're Lyra-chan huh? Hokage-sama told me to be expecting you. It's fine we can just go into the other room real quick and take the jutsu test, then you…"
"He was cut off by one of his students, "But Iruka-sensei! We want to see her perform a jutsu!"
An overall agreement could be heard throughout the room.
"No! The regular Genin exams do not require you to do the jutsu in front of others; it's not fair to expect her to…"
He was cut off again by the same child, "But Iruka-sensei!"
"I don't mind." She cut in quietly. She walks closer to his desk, "Maybe they could learn something" She says, smiling slightly.
"Are you sure?" He asks apprehensively.
"Positive" She replies.
"Alright then, you need to create three doppelgangers."
"Um… Iruka-sensei. Is it alright if I made a couple extra?" she asked innocently.
"That would be fine" he said.
After quickly performing the hand seal and whispering the jutsu, a huge puff of smoke appears and around fifteen doppelgangers can be seen sanding around the expectant ninja. "Is that alright Iruka-sensei?" she asked.
"That's great!" he said approvingly while the cheers of a few students could be heard in the background. "Now all you have to do is finish this written portion" he says handing it to you, "And you'll be finished"
"Arigatou gozaimasu" she says heading to an empty seat in the corner. Not long later she finishes, confident that she passed. Handing it in to Iruka-sensei she asks if she can stay for the rest of class to watch.
"H…Hai, if you want to, I suppose." He responds, confused as to why a young lady would want to stay in class when she didn't have to.
Sitting back in the seat she had previously sat in, she sits as an unbiased observer. Never actually having attended a class before, it all seems rather exciting compared to the home-schooling she had received at her village. After class, the students all quickly exit, running for freedom but Lyra stays in her seat.
"I should be able to finish grading your test in ten minutes if you want to come back…"
"I'll just stay in here if it's alright with you, Iruka-sama."
"There's no need to call me –Sama, but its fine if you want to stay." He said smiling slightly as he starts reading over her answers.
Exactly nine minutes later, he finishes grading it. "Well, you passed." He says handing Lyra a headband. "You only got two wrong"
"Thanks Iruka-sensei."
"Now, the only problem is which team you're going to join. I think it would be best if you joined team seven. Meet up with them at 8:00 am tomorrow at the bridge. A word of advice, you don't really need to show up until about 10." He said smiling.
"Thanks Iruka-sensei" she responds smiling. "Sayonara!"
Once outside she sees a lone swing a short distance from the school and heads over to it. Once there she takes off her backpack and puts it on her lap. Opening it, she counts her money. I only have enough for a couple of meals, I ate lunch today so I can hold out for tomorrow at breakfast and get money on our mission. I should be able to save up enough money for a place to stay quickly, we usually get pretty good money from missions. I can survive a couple days outdoors.
Swinging higher on the swing, she puts her backpack back on and swings higher and higher, enjoying the feeling of wind blowing through her hair.
"Hi, ano… can I go on when you're done please?" a little girl asks.
"Sure, you can go on now" Lyra responds jumping off of the swing and landing relatively far away.
"Wow!" the little girl says, "That was awesome!"
"Arigatou" Lyra responds giggling slightly.
After watching the little girl clumsily climb onto the swing and try and get herself swinging, Lyra walks over. "Do you want me to push you?"
"Hai! Please." She responds excitedly.
After a couple of pushes, Lyra asks, "So what's your name?"
"Miaka." She answers through her giggles.
"That's a very pretty name" Lyra responds pushing her higher.
"What's your name?" Miaka asks.
"Lyra."
"Your name is pretty too."
"Arigatou."
"Higher! Higher!" Miaka shouts through her giggles.
After a little while Miaka's mom comes and says it's time for her to go home.
"Goodbye Miaka-chan!"
"Bye Onee-san!"
Alone once again, Lyra heads off to search for a place to sleep for the night. Spotting a bench a little further up she decides that's as good of a place as any and heads for it. Placing her backpack on one end she lays down, using it as a pillow.
"Oyasuminasai" she whispers to the stars.
Denkou means lightning
Ojii-chan means grandpa
Arigatou gozaimasu means thank you in a formal manner.
Baka means idiot
Gomen nasai means I'm sorry
Hai means yes
Sayonara means goodbye
Ano means um…
Onee-san means Big sister
Oyasuminasai means goodnight