Disclaimer: I own nothing of Naruto except the original concepts within the story.
This story takes place three years before Naruto's birth. It has some slight familiar canon characters, though most are OCs because of the time it takes place in. All OCs are mine, except Sosuke Ochina, who belongs to Cross the Bloodstained (pen name Highlord Cross the Bloody).
Reviews of all kinds would be greatly accepted and appreciated.
Kagegakure no Sato, the village hidden within the shadows. This was a minor shinobi village that resided east of Kaze no Kuni, and west of Hi no Kuni. The country in which its located in, is Kawa no Kuni, the Land of Rivers. A largely forested swamp surrounded the village. The village itself is in the center of the forest, a large open clearing allowed sunlight to shine onto this shinobi territory. The village was built a long while ago, originally as a home for exiles and refugees. It was founded by two men named Daitsu Kito, and Tsukoji Ochina.
Kagegakure had been having disputes with their neighbor village, Sunagakure no Sato, the village hidden within the sand. Sunagakure felt the need to expand its land and military status. Battling a minor country would be a warm-up and an excellent way to find victory. Yondaime Kazekage felt that a minor country like this would have no chance against his own. Thus, war was broken out among these two armies.
The war began months ago. The people of both villages couldn't get any relief from all the commotion. Casualties were made on both sides, though Sunagakure had an advantage of power. Kagegakure had no choice but to call in reinforcements from an allied country, Getsu no Kuni, the Land of the Moon. With the help of their allies, they may have enough strength to win the war.
A chûnin ranked shinobi tore across the village of Kagegakure. He was frantically trying to pace himself as he directed himself towards the offices of the village's leader. He had an important oral message to deliver. It would be too risky to carry around a hand written message with this brutal war going about. The blur of his quick advancement told the civilians of the village the urgency of this information. His speed was rivaling that of a tornado.
"Shit!" he shouted inside his head. "I have to get this message to dad! If I don't, the village could be in serious trouble... and then well, dad would pretty much kick my ass if that happens."
A horrible chill fell down his spine at the thought.
He reached his destination, hoping that no one followed him. If so, he would want it to be one of his comrades. He couldn't let anyone other than a comrade follow him, not even a civilian. Though, even in these times of war, it was hard to know who to trust anymore. Even your closest friend could become your most formidable enemy. Not a single person would want that to happen to them.
He stepped up to the large building looming before him. Two black ops were standing outside the entrance to the facility. He made note of that and pushed it to the back of his mind with all of his less important thoughts. This was no time to pay attention to small details.
Making it safely to the offices of the village head and its elders was a huge load off his shoulders. Now all he had to do was get the information to his father. He hurriedly stepped into the building and towards the village leader's office. He slapped his hand onto the hard wooden door to the main office and opened it forcefully.
He stepped inside and shut the door behind him. Once inside he saw his father and a group of others. Among them was his older twin brother, his younger sister and the village's leader. He noticed that the village leader was concealed within the shadows of the room. Just another minor detail to forget about.
"Dad! I've got an important message sent by the leader of the third platoon. It's about the reinforcements that were called in."
A tokubetsu jônin looked at the young shinobi. This particular person was a large, muscular man with black hair and blue eyes. "Well, what is it Sosuke? Spit it out, I don't have all day!" the man demanded with his deep voice.
"The platoon was given a message by a messenger hawk! It said that the Getsugakure reinforcements are still en route by ship. They won't be here for another day and half." Sosuke informed his father and the others in the room. "They'll be taking post at the southern shore of Kawa no Kuni and advance north until they reach the village. After that, they'll do what they can to assist us."
"Damn!" the large man abruptly exclaimed. "We don't have that amount of time. By then the Sunagakure forces could move up and advance in on the village at this point." He jerked around to a lower ranked jônin in the room. "Tell the next two platoons to advance towards the current battle field! I won't allow them to break our line of defense!"
"Right away! I'll inform them to-!" the jônin started to confirm before he was cut off by the village leader.
"Now, now Yoshi. Don't get worked up over something we know could possibly be prevented." The village leader was speaking to Sosuke's father. She settled herself in her chair and made a few solemn hand gestures as she spoke. "We'll hold out as long as we can. If all fails, we'll send in reinforcements at the front line."
"Lady Reiyumi!" Yoshi bellowed in a severe tone. "Milady, we won't be able to afford such a dangerous risk. We've allowed enough causalities as is! We can not allow the enemy to get anywhere near the village!" His argument was contradicting the words of village leader's. That was a very bold thing to do.
The village leader only chuckled enthusiastically in response. She tried to keep herself from bursting out into laughter. "You're not undermining my authority as the head of this village, are you Yoshi?" she quirked sarcastically.
"Your grandfather Tsukoji and his best friend were the two men to establish a foundation for this village. I understand that your clan is respected by a lot of the more important people in this village. Though you are disrespected by those who are jealous of your clan's status. I respect your decision and I suppose I shall shift to your side of the argument. Though, I'll only allow one more platoon to to be sent into battle! That is my final decision as our leader."
Yoshi found himself at a loss of words. He attempted to speak, alas, he was dumbfounded. He stood erect and saluted. "I'll prepare a platoon right away and send them out to the battlefield straight after formation!" he stated. This amount of diligence showed his loyalty to the village and its leader. Yoshi then turned to his son, Kazuo.
Kazuo was the elder of Yoshi's three children. Despite the fact that they are identical twins, Kazuo and Sosuke are easy to differentiate between because of their opposing hairstyles. Both of them were sixteen years old and had their father's black hair and blue eyes. It was a dominant trait within the Ochina main branch. The two brothers were sixteen year old chûnin that operated at an efficient level.
"Kazuo." Yoshi said sternly to his oldest child. "I want you to lead this platoon. Gather who you believe will aid you effectively. This is an extremely important task, and I know you can accomplish it well. So don't screw up!"
Kazuo proudly straightened his posture as he nodded to his father. "I'll do my best. I promise that by my own life! You can count on me dad!" Kazuo almost felt a deep feeling of success about such a major assignment.
Mie, Yoshi's youngest and most precious child was the next to make the slightest comment. "You can do it Kazuo onii-san. Just as long as you don't die! Isn't that right Sosuke onii-san?" Mie directed her last statement towards Sosuke.
Mie was only a young thirteen year old genin with a Kagegakure hitai-ate sharply tied and positioned across her right leg. She had jet black hair that hung loosely to her shoulders. Her eyes were blue, the same gentle hue as her elder siblings. Her torso was dressed in a gray shirt that proudly bore the insignia of the Ochina clan, and a soft pink scarf neatly tucked around her throat. The last noticeable thing about her appearance was a pair of dull green shorts.
Mie was spunky for age. She loved to torture her older brothers in whatever ways she could. No matter what she did or what colorful lies she told, she was always the favorite in her father's eyes. Nothing she did was ever wrong, and if it was, it was her brothers' fault. She could get away with anything.
"You're not cutting him any slack are you? His job isn't easy enough. If anything, you're making it worse..." Sosuke lightly snarled at his sister.
"Well, duh! That's the point!" Mie snapped sarcastically. "No, really Sosuke onii-san... would I really do anything to make your and Kazuo's lives any worse?" she claimed meekly and innocently.
"Yes... yes you would. You little brat..."
Yoshi's brows furrowed into a glare as he harshly smacked Sosuke upside the back of his head with a quick and open palm. "Stop being mean to your sister!" he barked furiously. "I should make you sleep outside for such insolence! Anyway..." he drew his hand back to his side. "Sosuke, you'll be working on evacuating civilians to safety. Your job is as equally important as your brother's, so perform well. Take your sister and drop her off at the rendezvous point before you make your second trip."
Kazuo slipped out a short burst of laughter. "You're stuck with the little demon while I go out to do the real action. Sucks to be you!" he mocked his younger brother.
Mie snarled lightly and folded her arms over her chest as she whined. "Daddy! That's not fair. Why can't I do anything fun or important? I don't want to be stuck with all the civilians and jônin. I want to do something fun and fight the bad guys like Kazuo!"
Yoshi knelt down and gently pat his daughter on the head. His lip pursed into a soft smile while he rubbed his bulbous hand along her hair. "I'm sorry, I can't let you go out into battle just yet. But when this is all over, I'll make your brothers spend a day to play and do whatever you want. Alright?"
The little girl pouted and slammed her eyes shut. She released a heavy sigh. "Fine... I'll be good." She giggled a bit as she threw her arms behind her back and crossed her fingers. She smiled back at her father and stepped near Sosuke.
Yoshi stood back, looming over his children with his stature. "Alright. You both know your jobs, perform them efficiently. Now move out; immediately!"
The three children stood straight and gave their father stern salutes. "Yes sir!" they chimed in unison. They turned and left the room before they split separately. The twins set off to perform their orders, while Mie had plans of her own in mind.
Yoshi huffed a bit and shook his head profusely. "Those boys may be high spirited, but that won't get them far. They can't just run around like chickens with their heads cut off, expecting to accomplish something. Let's just hope they can survive out there."
Reiyumi laughed once more. She seemed rather excited, almost as if her blood was burning with friction from the speed of her heart's racing speed. "Just like a father of your kind. You worry too much and think more of your pride. Settle and let your boys perform their tasks. Each shinobi in this village is doing their best, and they're who we can count on to achieve victory in this mess. Even that spunky daughter of yours. We have nothing to worry about, so we'll wait and see how the battle unfolds. Until then, we'll let those who've worked hard enough to become what they are today show us the fruit of their training."