Hey, there! New story for y'all :D Unless italicized, all things in (parenthesis) are the narrating character's footnotes. If you've ever read the Bartimaues Trilogy, it's pretty much exactly like that.
The first time I faced death was when I was just twelve years old. And no, I didn't react flawlessly. I wasn't a straight-A genin. I slacked off. I had other concerns. I wasn't like my hotshot cousin Sasuke Uchiha. He was the straight-A student, perfect in looks, strategy, physical fitness, jutsu, and pretty much whatever else comes to your mind, any other ninja art. I, on the other hand, was incredibly smart and fit, I just didn't apply myself. Why bother? I was invincible(1. Psh, not really, but you can't argue with anyone from the ages 10-19.)
No, I froze in battle. My team and I were supposed to be escorting Tazuna the bridgebuilder to his home, but somehow we were duped into a mission way above our level. So suddenly appeared a man in a tree. He seemed to recognize Kakashi, my sensei. After a short exchange of words, the man was enveloped in a fog.
The only thing that told of his existence was his voice, resonating as he recited eight different ways to kill a person; throat, spinal column, lungs, liver, the jugular vein, the subclavian artery, kidney, and, of course, the heart.
I pretty much wet myself.
I don't care if Kakashi declared to protect us no matter the cost- this Zubuza guy was frickin' scary! And I can tell you I really stopped trusting Sensei when he got caught in Zubuza's water prison. Oh, crap. Three genin and an old decrepid man to fight a top-class criminal.
Naruto was the first to move. He attacked Zabuza. Sasuke soon followed and Sakura faithfully stayed by Tazuna's side. I couldn't move. So Sasuke and Naruto released Kakashi, he defeated Zabuza, blah, blah, blah. I'm kinda self-centered(2. Well, this is MY autobiography...) So we managed to get to Tazuna's house, and Sensei recovered enough to tell us that Zabuza was still alive.
I was scared, then. And Sasuke had pretty much disowned me and Tazuna was bashing the female race because of me, But, something had woken inside of me after facing Zabuza... It wasn't some beast, like Naruto, but a kind of excitement. Not a bloodthirst, but a readiness. Not a want to prove myself nor an adrenaline junkie, but calmness and acceptance that I was going to be fighting. And it happended just a few days later.
We had been on the bridge when a fog surrounded us, and Zabuza and a new friend of his appeared. Sakura and I immediately surrounded Tazuna, ready to defend him to the last. Soon enough, Kakashi was disbaled from moving to help Sasuke and Naruto, and Sasuke was soon down.
That's when it happened. It was a joint thing- Naruto snapped, and I felt power tear through me. Black fur erupted from my skin, muscles expanded, fingers and teeth sharpened, lengthened and stregnthened. My eyesight became insanely acute- Oh, the transform felt amazing. And I can gurantee Tazuna would never insult me again.
I roared and took down Zabuza with a tackle, pinning him down with claws and snapping at him. Oh, yes. I was a werewolf.
My name is Zero, and this is my life.