EDITED ON: 11th January 2013
A/N: Hi there dear reader's, here's the first chapter that I promised would be edited, it flows together better than the original, though I've kept it mostly the same just with some changes to grammar/spelling and sentence structure. I am aware that Tobi isn't Madara, but if you remember, no one-aside from Zetsu and eventually Kisame knew of his real identity. So everyone just assumed he was Madara Uchiha. Ok? So please don't be confused by that minor detail, haha!
WARNINGS FOR THIS STORY: This is mostly a family, adventure, action, friendship and angst fic. Though I haven't ruled out the possibility of romance in the future, we shall just see where it takes us :)
DISCLAIMER: If I owned it, Akatsuki would rule and everyone else would die.
CHAPTER ONE:
The bittersweet tinge of blood was thick in the air, the dark room was now plastered in the stuff, and the lifeless bodies that were once people, remained no more than ominous flesh lain in chopped pieces everywhere, decorating this invisible scene with scarlet.
But that was what they'd deserved; they hadn't paid and therefore died because of it. Allowing the Akatsuki to claim all the money and disappear without a trace, leaving no clues as to who'd done such a terrible thing in a rather secluded small town in the middle of the Sound country.
In fact it was better that they had killed them, for they went away with more money than they would have otherwise been paid, it was a lucky break for them.
And one that they would gloat about later.
Three figures stood on a hill watching over the Sound village, the night dark, the moon high; almost full, the stars shining, all-in-all a wondrous night, tinged with the smell of blood and murder.
As far as their knowledge went, it appeared the whole town was sleeping, no one would possibly know of the horror that'd taken place in that room, until…perhaps a day or so more?
If anyone cared to stop by and look, though the smell would surely repulse them.
It had been a good night, that much was certain, they'd gotten rid of some pests that they were sure would've spilled information that they'd been involved with the Akatsuki to one of the five nations eventually. And then the hunt for them would begin once more.
All those years of planning and silencing others that they were sure they couldn't trust would have all been in vain.
But this was their lucky strike, for certainly if they hadn't killed them, then they would've sent word to their neighbouring country-the Fire country (one the larger nations), and they already had enough trouble from them as it was.
"You don't think we should've burnt the building?" a feminine voice spoke quietly to the two men, all of them were clad in dark cloaks adorned with red clouds.
An unusual style.
But a recognisable one, many would quake in fear at the mere sight of the pattern. It only set to warn others of impending doom and destruction.
"Come now, Konan, if we were to set alight to that building just think how boring it would be, no one would actually find the lovely picture we've painted." A shining red eye struck out from the darkness, and from his tall figure a cackle rose, it almost sent shivers down her spine.
"Who knew you could be artistic-Madara." The other male spoke up with a hint of amusement in his voice, his own grey eyes now meeting those bearing the red. For a minute or two silence remained round the three figures, it set to create tension and not of the good kind.
"Do not mock me, Pein, must I remind you? Who was it that helped you become global icons of terror? It was I that took you both from the bottom of the pits you were merely scraping against and brought you all the way to the top. In the big leagues, so to speak!" Madara scoffed.
"From what I remember, we are business partners, that means my ideas and commands hold equal standing like your own." Pein challenged, feeling rather brave.
"You're challenging me? How amusing! I am the true leader to 'your' organization, you handed that very right over to me as soon as you agreed to my aid and that doesn't come cheap, partner."
Pein's hands curled into fists, wishing for nothing more than to punch that smug prick in the face...or rather his bright orange mask. Even that vile abomination seemed to be mocking him.
"Anyway, I don't find this little act committed tonight very serious, not at all, it was rather amusing to watch them squirm, to hear the blood cough up and flow from their mouths." Madara cackled once more, of course only he was allowed to be amused by his actions-no one else was allowed to laugh with him, or show any hint of amusement in his presence, for he would take it as a great offence.
The man known as Pein, ground his teeth together in annoyance, but re-composed himself, as usual Madara misread his words and it had been at the cost of his pride. No one would usually have the balls to dare insult Pein, but Madara could.
Subdued for the moment, he nodded his head towards the 'real' leader of the Akatsuki and muttered almost forcibly "Very well."
Konan waited with bated breath at what Madara's reaction would be.
But there was none, instead Madara faced the village once more, his smirk rang clear in the air, and she let out a sigh of relief. The tension completely gone from her body, but came back when she saw in the corner of her eye Madara staring coldly at her with that Sharingan eye of his.
"What's wrong Konan?" Pein spoke up, before Madara could utter a word, asking a question that Madara was most undoubtedly waiting to hear the answer from.
Konan looked up at the face of her once-dead friend, and answered in a slightly bored tone "I'm feeling rather tired…"
"Having fun is rather draining, but it's not a problem when one is immortal." Madara spoke up for himself, he turned and walked slowly from the scene of the village, Pein and Konan following behind him by a few steps, Madara chuckled to himself.
And without turning he stated "Very well, you may return back. I shall come to you soon with a new mission, so don't get too comfy."
On a loud smirk, Madara disappeared, using one of his many abilities to shift out of focus and into his world.
Once the remaining members felt his presence disappear, they each let out a sigh of relief.
"How long are we going to have to play by his rules?" Konan asked angered, she knew that they were being used and didn't like it; he was just as bad as Orochimaru.
Pein looked at Konan, then back to where Madara was stood and answered calmly whilst scowling "I have no idea, we'll just have to wait and see, but I personally, don't like being told what to do!"
It was two days later, the sun was shining, the heat was just bearable and there were very few clouds in the sky.
A figure flew through the sky with what appeared to be huge white wings, it swooped around in small circles until it came closer and closer to the ground, after a minute the figure with beautiful soft wings stood on the dusty road before an old man stood outside his tea shop.
He was gaping at the figure and was even more surprised when he realised it was a young girl stood across from him.
She lifted a hand up to her face and pulled up the yellow goggles from her eyes and rested them upon her head.
She smiled at him and waved innocently, before she walked calmly towards the old man with greying hair, making sure to not make any sudden movements that would startle him. She was well-aware that people like her were uncommon in this world.
His back was pressed against his small tea shop, his mouth hung open, his eyes staring in 'awe' and shock, and the fact that she carried a huge axe over her backpack didn't go unnoticed by him.
She stopped in front of him; her loose, deep blue hair blew in the slight breeze, her bright orange eyes looking around herself.
"Morning! Can I have…hmm…some green tea and sweet dumplings please?" She smiled warmly eyeing a bench next to him, she went over and took a seat, she glanced up at him and waited for him to move, her expression totally innocent.
"Who…what are you?" His voice held fear, and her face immediately fell.
It changed from a pleasant expression to that off deep pain and sadness.
She lowered her head and knew that she should've gone elsewhere, humans could never be trusted, she'd learned that long ago.
"D-dear, come out and look at this!" The man called to someone inside the small tea shop, this made the girl's head shoot up, she suddenly became weary.
What would they do to her?
She'd never underestimate anyone, not even a young child, although she's not powerful like a Jounin, she certainly had some talents and a good sense of direction as well as aim.
But even those, she was not willing to show off, due to her being rather scared of others. She certainly wasn't used to making much contact with humans, wasn't it just this morning that she was chased by some children wanting to 'play' with the Angel?
Although they were children, she didn't want to 'play' with any of them, and there had been so many…and they were rather fast.
Just as she stood up an old woman came out, placing her rounded glasses on the bridge of her nose, she peered at the young girl in front of her, and gasped.
"Oh my! I'd never thought I'd see the day! An Angel! A real Angel!" The woman cried, she smiled happily, walking over cautiously to the girl, her arms stretched out towards her a little as if daring herself to touch the girl.
The girl didn't move, she noticed that the way the woman moved and spoke with that croaky throat of hers, gave the definite impression that the woman couldn't even defend herself possibly from the lowest ranked Ninja.
She let the woman place a hand upon her should, her orange eyes staring intently at what this old woman planned to do to her.
The old lady gasped at feeling the girl was real, before she was suddenly overcome with emotion, memories of her childhood dreams resurfaced and she pulled the girl into a gentle hug.
Though the Angel felt extremely uncomfortable, she didn't reject the older woman, whose hair was tied into a tight grey bun at the top of her head, wore a baggy brown dress, with an apron tied over and smelled of oranges.
The old man coughed, interrupting the spectacle and in hopes of ceasing his wife's blubbering.
The old woman pulled away slowly, wiping the corner of her eyes, she exclaimed "Oh! Keichi, she must stay with us!"
The young girl waved her arms in front of her and cried "Oh no! I'm alright, but thank you for your offer; you see…well, I'm searching for someone…"
The old woman must have detected the sad note in the young Angel's voice, for the old woman said "Well, you can at least stay with us for a few hours, you must be tired?"
The Angel sighed, knowing she wouldn't hear the end of it if she didn't stay for a little while, clearly they were lacking in company since there was no one else around for over a mile. She gave in and muttered "Okay, I'll stay for a little while."
The old woman squealed in delight, she went over to the old man and introduced him "This is my husband; Keichi and I am Satu, what is your name, dear?"
"I'm Kaida; it's nice to meet you both." The Angel replied swiftly, bowing her head a little in respect.
"Meaning; Little Dragon…hmm…doesn't suit you physically does it…ah well. It's still a lovely name." Satu replied with an eager smile, before she went back inside the tea shop stating "Have no fear, hun, I'll whip you something yummy to eat!"
"W-wait, I already...ordered..." Kaida's voice trailed off as she realised the woman had left out of ear-shot.
Kaida cleared her throat from where she was sat on the bench that was placed next to Keichi.
He seemed somewhat more relaxed and calm now-which made her feel a little more safe and secure, she now knew that they wouldn't try anything funny, they were just a harmless old couple, running a small tea shop, on the border between the Grass country and Fire country.
They seemed to have a nice life out here, with little worry of other's bothering them aside from the odd travelling customer and being submersed in nature. It sounded wonderful.
But extremely lonely...which reminded her of her own personal mission.
She sighed heavily feeling a little depressed, how long was it going to take?
How long would it take to search for and find her mother?
Of course she had a picture of her mother; the only thing she had that remained of the only being she once loved and lost. But she couldn't ask just anyone where her mother was or if they'd seen her around anywhere.
Who knew what sort of people there were around nowadays?
Being what she is, she'd often been on the run from other's trying to capture her or 'play' with her. The last thing she needed was to allow herself to walk straight into a trap.
Her white wings; as pure as the moon often caught attention and sometimes she wishes she knew how to at least hide them from others' sights. At least that way, she could blend into her surroundings a bit more easily.
The man brushed his trousers, picked up the broom leaning against the wall next to him and started sweeping along the ground.
"Where are you from missy?" he asked, it appeared that he too, was now interested.
Kaida didn't answer straight away; instead she sat there staring at the floor for some seconds, before she answered "I don't know."
He turned to face her slowly, his expression sceptical and his eyes shone with disbelief.
"Well, I can't remember, it was such a long time ago; I've been travelling ever since I can remember." She relented and answered almost truthfully.
It was only after she turned eight that her mother had abandoned her-no! Her mother didn't abandon her-she was just…busy elsewhere, she must've gotten injured on a mission all that time ago and couldn't return to help her daughter live comfortably.
It happened to many children a lot these days, there were plenty of orphans roaming streets; begging. Even so, the way her mother hadn't returned even after a year of being alone, it made her heart break and the sudden well of tears threatened to spill out again at the painful memory.
She was eventually found by an old ex-priest who-at the time, had to retire from his work after he'd gotten rheumatism in his hands and wrists, so he couldn't hold anything-let alone a bible properly in his hands when the pain was so bad.
He took her under his care, looking after her and feeding her, even going so far to continue to help her with her studies of learning to read and write.
Although she didn't see him as family, they'd both seen each other as companions and friends. Kaida had never had a friend aside from her mother before him.
But he died when she turned eleven, ever since then she'd travelled across many lands, through the skies, she'd learned how to defend herself, she trained relentlessly, hunted for food by herself, kept her hygiene at a reasonable standard and managed to keep dry and warm every night without little fuss.
Kaida felt mighty proud of herself, she'd managed to gather that independence and turn herself into someone mature and strong-willed, and had survived against the elements for almost six years on her own.
That child that'd been so helpless and useless was long-gone, though the same shyness and constant uncertainty still remained. It seemed some parts of her were difficult to shift even after so many years on her own.
"I see…and why do you travel?" Keichi asked as he continued sweeping, and just as Kaida was about to answer his question, Satu came out carrying a small tray with a cup of green tea and a small plate with sweet dumplings, biscuits and chocolates.
Satu placed the tray on the bench next to Kaida without hesitation, and she sat down on the end of the same bench, smiling at the Angel.
Kaida ate and drank in silence, it didn't bother her that the old couple were being very friendly, or were probably too curious for their own good. She guessed that they just wanted to speak to other people, instead of being stuck out in the middle of the road like they were, with no neighbours; it would be terrible if one of them took ill.
Where would they go?
"Why do you travel? Kaida-was it? Is it alright if I call you Angel?" Satu asked almost embarrassed for asking such a question, no doubt the Angel got enough grief from having those lovely pure wings of hers.
"Travelling is what I've been used to for a long time, it's also rewarding, I get to learn different cultures, see different festivals and meet different humans-"
"So you are an Angel!" The woman exclaimed whilst clapping her hands together in excitement.
Kaida bit her lip, then hesitantly she nodded her head slowly, oh how she hated it when humans got excited and jump around her, stating how much they've always wanted to fly, she hoped that Satu wouldn't ask if she could go flying.
That was the last thing she wanted to hear.
"I've always wanted to meet a real Angel," Satu mused aloud "I used to think when I was a child, that if I wished hard enough and I was good enough an Angel would come and visit me. That never happened obviously, but I never stopped believing…I always knew there was something like you out there, after all, this is a big world."
Satu smiled warmly at Kaida, making her feel rather uncomfortable again and slightly bad, but knew this was the human trick-first they'd bring out a sob story and then they'd get you to do what they want you to do.
Kaida finished her food, feeling relatively full; she decided it was time to leave and head onwards. She stood up and stated "I can't thank you enough for your kindness, but I have to leave now."
Satu stood up rather quickly, tears filling up in her eyes, she asked sadly "Must…must you really go so soon?"
"Satu! We can't keep her here, for one thing we don't have the room, and her wings are too big, because our shop is small. She'll knock things over, besides with all the strangers we get round here, it'll only be a matter of time before someone will come and want to steal her away! And we're too old to defend ourselves. We've worked hard to keep this place going and I don't mean any disrespect to you, missy, but I'm not prepared to have it thrown away to nothing." Keichi growled, he stood up straight, hands on his hips, determined to show he wasn't backing down.
Kaida smirked a little at the rather pathetic display of dominance, for one thing, he was old and a little flabby, what would have no doubt been a muscled and broad chest in his youth was nothing more than extra-fat. Of course, she didn't dare speak of such things aloud.
"He's right! Please don't put yourselves out for me, I can't stay here forever. But-ah!"
That caught their attention; they looked at her with curious looks, wondering what she was up too.
Kaida took her backpack off and started rummaging through it, searching for something, she smiled brightly when she finally got hold of it, and she pulled it out to show them a picture of her mother.
"Have you ever seen this woman?" She asked with a heavy heart, really hoping that they'd seen her recently or had just seen her period. She'd had very little luck in the last six years.
They both peered at the picture closely, their eyes squinting, but they both shook their heads and Satu answered "I'm sorry, Angel, but we haven't seen this woman at all, if we did it definitely wasn't recently, I can assure you of that."
Kaida's face fell considerably and she sighed heavily, placing the picture gently back in her bag.
Satu noticed this and murmured "But she is very beautiful, who is she? Your sister?"
Kaida blushed at such an assumption, feeling a little stung that they would think she was that old, but reminded herself that her mother had been quite young when she'd given birth to her and the picture had been taken almost eight years ago.
It wasn't their fault that they didn't know who the woman in the photo was.
"No, she's my mother." Kaida decided that sharing this one little bit of information couldn't hurt anybody. After all, the old couple had no one to tell being so far away from civilization.
She watched in mild amusement as their expressions returned to ones of shock.
Deciding her stay was now well overdue, she forced a smile and muttered "Thank you for your help anyway. I might see you both again someday."
Secretly, she didn't plan on it, she travelled around so much that she didn't have time to make friends.
Satu placed a hand up to her chest and felt her broach, with shaky hands she undid the broach and gave it to Kaida, smiling softly she said "Please, never forget us; I pray you will find what you are looking for Kaida-Angel. May we meet again once more before I pass on."
Kaida stared at the lovely broach in the shape of a tulip, it was the colour of the sun, and reminded Kaida of warmth, and home.
It reminded her of her mother.
Her mother loved flowers, especially making them out of paper.
Kaida nodded, her throat suddenly constricted at such a touching gift, it looked expensive and brought back many memories of the woman she was searching for.
Thanking Satu for the present, she placed her goggles over her eyes and before turning away from the old couple she waved a few times, then launched off into the air once they'd returned the waves.
She knew that finding her mother wasn't going to be easy, even after all this time, but she knew-she had a feeling deep inside herself that she knew her mother was safe and well.
And Kaida was going to find her no matter what it took.
A/N: So there you have it for the edited first chapter, if you're new to this story then WELCOME! If not and are just re-reading it again, then WELCOME BACK! Anywho, please let me know of what you think of this version as I said, there isn't too much difference to the original, but it's more detailed.
PLEASE REVIEW!