Kindred Spirits
Chapter One: Left Alone
Kakashi said goodbye to their client as Sakura, Sasuke, and Naruto waited at the entrance to the village. It had been another escort of some noble and this time everything went by pretty smoothly. All Naruto could do as they waited was complain how uneventful the trip had been.
"How am I supposed to show off my skills, if there aren't any ninja attacking us?" The energetic genin whined as he placed his hands behind his head with a pout.
"Naruto, you shouldn't talk like that. We should be thankful the mission was successful. Keep saying things like that and you'll jinx us!" Sakura berated.
Sasuke as usual, remained quiet, leaning up against a pole, but on the inside he too wished for a little more action during the mission. He had to get stronger if he was to defeat and kill the man responsible for the destruction of his village.
Kakashi walked over and joined his squad. "Well, now to start the three day long trip back home."
The three genins nodded and took off back towards Konoha.
In a small wooden house near the edge of a forest, a woman bent over a stream doing the laundry as her daughter walked out of the house holding an empty basket. "I'll be back soon." She said as she walked into the forest to gather herbs.
The forest was dark and foreboding, but the girl didn't seem distracted in the slightest. She walked along the memorized path humming a cheerful tune. Tonight her mother was going to teach her how to make her favorite soup and the herbs she went to gather were the key ingredient.
She was quite a ways in when a man dropped down in front of her path. The outfit he wore suggested he was a ninja. Narrowing her eyes, she glared at the intruder. "You caught me at a bad time. Leave now while you still have your life." She made the threat in hopes of deterring him, for at the moment she didn't have a weapon on her.
The ninja laughed behind his facemask and the girl could see his headband had once been of the Hidden Village of Mist, but now had a deep strike mark through it – signifying him as a traitor. "I think you'll want to listen to what we have to say." He motioned with his head and two more ninja jumped down out of the trees.
Gasping, the basket fell from the girl's arm as she called out to her captive mother – who now had a kunai aimed across her neck. "You bastards, let her go."
"Give us what we want first! Or don't you care about your mother's…fragile life?" The third ninja sneered in claimed victory.
The girl balled his hands into fists and was about to comply when her mother freed her mouth from her captive's gloved hand. "Don't Miyuki! Don't give it to them!"
Angered, the second ninja savagely slashed across the woman's throat and dropped her body on the forest floor.
"You idiot! That was our leverage!" The first ninja scolded.
The girl stared at her mother, her voice locked in her throat. She could neither scream nor run to the now dead woman. Her body froze and the tears fell down her cheeks without conscious thought.
Where once life sparkled brightly, only dead cold eyes stared blankly back. The girl's body shook with fear and shock. In an instant, everything that was her life was taken away. The sound of the forest's wind ceased and the insistent laughter of the killer fell upon deaf ears. Everything grew silent and all the girl could hear was the beat of her own heart. Again…why did this have to happen, again?
"Dammit, we'll have to make her give it to us by force."
All at once, the shaking stopped and the girl glared at the three ninja. Boar, Rabbit, Monkey, Ox. The seals came and flowed within her as her chakra manifested itself and struck each of her opponents in the chest in the form of condensed air bullets. The first one struck the tree right when she formed the last seal of her second jutsu, striking the ground beneath her. "Iron Maiden of Wood!" The once gentle blue eyes quickly turned to shards of ice as she cruelly called upon the fatal jutsu.
The ninja spasmed and screamed when eight spikes grew from the tree and punctured through him from behind. His fate was sealed when eight more grew from the sides of the trunk and closed in around him. His blood dripped from his feet onto the previously untainted grass below.
The second ninja recovered and formed four seals before punching the ground in front of him. The girl barely had time to turn to him before the earth beneath her rose up in the form of a giant fist – smacking her yards away.
Her eyes went wide as she struck the ground hard and kept rolling. The jutsu racked her entire body with pain and blood dripped from a cut on her face. She tried to breath but the wind was sufficiently knocked out of her.
The ninja wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth and smirked as his third comrade walked up next to her. He too was exiled from the Hidden Village of Mist and quickly formed a water prison around her, raising her from the ground. "You're going to have to tell us now, little girl, or else you're gonna run out of air real soon."
The girl coughed and withstood the urge to inhale – the previous attack still making breathing hard anyway. Her vision looked around for the body of her mother, but couldn't find any sign of her. Mother… She knew her mother wouldn't want the ninjas to win and if she was willing to die to keep that secret, then they were both fated to die here. As her vision blurred, all the girl could think about was painless bliss that awaited her on the other side.
When they saw the girl pass out, the ninja recalled his jutsu and she fell to the ground in an unconscious heap. Her raven black hair clung to her face in wet clumps. "I guess we can take her to them and they can find out where it is."
"At least this won't be a complete failure and we can still get paid." His partner said.
The exiled mist ninja slung the girl over his shoulder and was about to leave when he noticed a bright orange dressed youth standing in the tree above. "Who the hell are you."
"The name's Uzumaki Naruto and if you don't put down the girl, I'm gonna have to beat your ass." The blond boy replied confidently.
"Like we'd give up our catch so easily!" The second ninja repeated his earth attack except this time his target flipped out of the way and threw three shurikens in his direction. Hmph, amateurs. Jumping back, the ninja expected to easily dodge the counterstrike, but instead he caught the presence of someone behind him and turned around to see black, soulless eyes glaring back.
A kick to his back lifted the ninja into the air where the boy met him with a smirk. "You should've left when you had the chance." The boy brought one arm down on the man's neck and a second punch to his chest, slamming him back towards the ground. Before he even reached the forest floor, the boy rammed a kick down finishing off the combo with a shout. "Lion combo!"
The third ninja was unconscious when Sasuke and Naruto joined their comrades and Sakura was already examining the girl. "She's alive but barely. What do we do with them, Kakashi-sensei?"
The jounin sighed. "Well we can't leave her here especially since there are other ninja nearby."
"Eh? More? Where?" Naruto looked around with paranoia – not being as adept in sensing the enemy as his comrades.
"And these?" Sasuke motioned to the unconscious exiled ninja.
"Leave them. We don't have enough strength to get them all back to the village. We'll send others to get them later." Kneeling down he picked up the girl and the group was off once more.
The girl slept with images of times with her mother, the two of them living out a quiet life every now and then. Times of bloodshed and battle raged in between and at the end of every nightmare, the girl witnessed her mother's death at the hands of the exiled ninja.
Jolting from her sleep, her eyes flashed back and forth and instantly didn't recognize where she was. If she hadn't been killed then she was captured and if they were stupid enough to leave her unguarded, then this would be her only chance to escape.
She threw her legs over the side of the bed and quickly felt the jolt of pain originate from her ribs. They must be only bruised if I'm able to move this much.
Hearing voices from outside the door, the girl cursed silently and jumped out the open window, maneuvering to the ledge outside. She wouldn't be able to last long in a fight, but if she could make them think she'd already left she would have more time to find a disguise and walk her way out of the village.
She heard the door open and the voices sounded surprised. Quickly looking around, she had to find her next landing point and get out of there.
"You know, it's dangerous up here like this." A voice said casually from her left.
Gasping, she quickly turned and saw a white haired ninja with the same facemask as the ones that attacked her. Leaping before she could estimate the distance, she landed with a roll on the next rooftop and took off across the buildings.
Kakashi sighed once more. "Go after her. She'll get hurt worse if she gets into a battle. Her chakra's been all but used up."
Sasuke, Sakura, and Naruto nodded and jumped out the window after her.
Knowing they were probably right behind her, the girl look around and decided to drop down in between the next buildings – hoping to loose her pursuers in the crowd.
No such luck because just as she landed, Naruto and Sasuke blocked her in from both sides. "You don't have to be afraid of us! We ain't gonna hurt you!" Naruto shouted angrily.
"Naruto!" Sakura berated once more from the rooftop above.
Forming the same four seals as before, the girl struck all three ninja with blasts of air before dashing past Sasuke and into the shrouded forest.
Sasuke winced as he got to his feet, watching carefully which direction she disappeared in. The attack could've been more devastating – had the girl more chakra to incorporate.
"Naruto! Why do you have to be so insensitive all the time!" Sakura punched Naruto over the head. "This is all your fault!"
Kakashi jumped down next to Sasuke and crossed his arms. "Maybe we need to take a different approach. Sasuke, follow her. She doesn't recognize us and probably thinks we're the ones that attacked her. Talk to her and try to bring her back here."
Sasuke nodded and leapt into the nearest tree before dashing into the forest.
"Hey, Kakashi-sensei! Why can't I go?" Naruto complained once more.
Sakura shook her head. "Because, moron, your people skills aren't exactly the best in the village." Inside Sakura: But even so, if she hurts one hair on Sasuke-kun's head, I'll kill her myself!
The girl raced through the forest, using the landscape and natural monuments to guide her back home. She didn't care how long it took, she'd go nonstop if she had to. Gathering wind with her remaining chakra, she used it to speed up her travel.
She made it home the next day and cautiously glanced around for any sign of additional ninja. If they had been able to get her mom, then they knew where she lived. Ambush or not, she had to get inside and see if it was still there. Leaping higher into one of the nearby trees, she found her backup weapons – some shurikens and a few kunai – and crept into the house below.
Everything inside was either smashed or broken – including the front door. Obviously the ninja had returned and tried desperately to find what it was they were after. Hopefully, they hadn't found it yet. Going into her mother's room, she knelt down in the corner and raised her hands in front of her. Horse, Tiger. "Dispel!"
The barrier around the secret spot lifted and punching through the floor, she brought up the two scrolls that everyone had been after. Holding them close, the image of her mother's dying face resurfaced. Don't worry, mom. I'll protect these with my life. She carefully placed them in her waist pack, along with her mother's headband, and went back outside.
In the beginning, there had been three. When it was just her and her mom, you could still call that an existence. Now, with everyone she cared for gone, she existed for only one purpose…
Revenge.
For years she had been chased and sought after. Well she was tired of running. If it came down to a final battle – she was going to win.
No sooner had she stepped into the open than three more ninja reveal themselves. "Only a fool would return here." One said.
"Thank you for finding them for us. We wouldn't have been able to retrieve them otherwise. Now hand 'em over."
Gritting her teeth, she knew it had been foolish to return, but there was no other way to ensure someone else didn't accidentally find them. "You'll have to kill me first." She replied darkly as she took out one of her kunai.
"I was looking forward to it…what?" Already the girl was in front of him, and he leaped back in surprise. She struck with her kunai and landed a hit to his stomach, before kicking him away.
She flipped into the open and quickly looked around for his friends. She found one smirking with his kunai in hand, but he didn't move to attack. Shit, a decoy! But it was too late, because the third ninja emerged from the ground and jammed a kunai deep into her right thigh.
Crying out she rolled away and clutched her injury. More earth users, huh? Both ninja stood now side by side, slowly closing in on her. "Taking those scrolls will be easy now that she can't get away."
Unable to move, she knew she was going to have to fight. Forming the seals in her hand, she prayed she had enough chakra to execute the jutsu. Tiger, Snake, Tiger…
"Just how many shinobi does it take to capture one injured girl?"
The new voice alerted the exiled ninja to the newcomer and both looked up in alarm at a boy who appeared no more than 15 years of age, but wore the mark of Konoha proudly across his forehead. "The scrolls are just within our grasp! Take care of him, quickly! I'll watch the girl."
"Got it." The larger of the two ninja took two steps forward and smirked up at Sasuke. "You're gonna regret sticking your nose where it doesn't belong, brat."
"Is that so?" Sasuke said casually from behind him.
He's fast! She thought.
Before the ninja could react, Sasuke elbowed him hard in the back of the head, sending him reeling.
Rat, Horse, Dragon, Ox, Tiger. The girl watched the boy perform the seals faster than she had ever seen. But he's only about my age! Where did he receive such training?
"Katon: Fire Dragon Flame Missile!" From Sasuke's mouth a rain of fire poured out and struck the mid air ninja. Crying out, the man's singed body disappeared into the brush. Turning to the second ninja, Sasuke smirked. He took one step towards him and the ninja took one unsettling step back.
Suddenly, a kunai came flying and landed deep in the ninja's eye – puncturing the skull and sending him to a quick and painful death. Sasuke was surprise and looked at the girl responsible. She had sweat pouring down her face, but she had enough strength to savagely rip the kunai from her leg and take a defensive knelt stance towards Sasuke.
With her bared teeth and blood-smeared face, she looked more like an animal now than a human. "Hey, we're on the same side." He tried to coax.
She doesn't recognize us and probably thinks we're the ones that attacked her. Kakashi-sensei's words came back to him.
"I am on no one's side! I exist alone!" She snarled. Even though she tried to keep up a brave front, the tears of exhaustion still shown in her eyes. I'm not going to die here. I cannot die until I make them pay!
"Look you can barely stand let alone fight with that leg. You move anymore and you're going to bleed to death." He explained. "We can tend to your wound back at the village. You'll be safe there."
"There is no place where I am safe. I have lived like this my whole life. I do not trust them and I surely don't trust you. Take one more step and I won't be the only one bleeding to death." She promised.
Sasuke put his hands up in a non-threatening manner and step back. "Fine. I won't come any closer, but please listen to what I have to say. We came across you and the other ninja by accident. If we hadn't shown up, you would've been killed for sure. You have to understand, we mean you no harm."
"I do not intend to explain myself to the enemy." She used a bit of her chakra and back flipped into the nearest tree that placed her safely away from Sasuke. The added weight on her leg made her stumble and she began to fall off the limb.
A strong hand steadied her and when she turned around, she was face to face with her supposed savior. "You see? Now before you run off again, you must know that if you return to the village it'll be as our guest, not captive. You can leave as soon as you're well."
The strain she had been putting on her body began taking its toll and she felt less and less like arguing with him. It was true that she wasn't in any condition to fight, but on the other hand once they had her where they wanted her – they also had the scrolls.
"You have my word."
"Eh?" The sound of his voice was so gentle – quite opposite from what she'd heard from him in battle. Who is this person? Looking down, she quietly nodded. She didn't trust him, but it was the lesser of two evils at this point.
"Alright, first let's tend to your wound." Sasuke bent down and took out some gauze from his pack. The girl wore a tight black body suit with a midnight blue vest on top. The wound easily tore through the fabric, which made Sasuke wonder why she went into battle with so little armor.
After he dressed the wound, the girl stood up and prepared to follow him back to the village. She winced slightly as she placed a hand against the trunk of the tree for balance yet said nothing.
Even after all that, she's still not complaining. Maybe she could teach that baka a thing or two. Thinking of only one solution, Sasuke turned his back towards her and tilted his head to glance at her. "Hop on."
The girl looked over and saw to what he referred but blushed and shook her head. "I-I'm fine."
"You can't travel in your condition and this way it'll be faster." He replied logically.
"B-but I'm too heavy, you couldn't possibly…"
"Hmph, I'm stronger than I look." He smirked confidently. "Trust me."
Swallowing her nervousness, the girl slowly climbed onto his back. Her heart beat loudly in her ears and she tried to fight off the strange feelings.
"Yosh, hang on." Sasuke stood up easily and actually noticed how light she was. She's lighter than even Sakura. How is she able to handle herself in combat with so little weight to throw around? He remembered how she'd gotten the jump on that first ninja. There had to be a trick to it. Deciding he'd have to wait to get his answer, Sasuke took aim at the next tree and took off back towards Konoha.
The girl felt the wind brush past her, easing her anxiety. No matter how high he jumped, she didn't once feel any fear that he'd let her fall. She felt completely safe in his arms where once she said she didn't feel safe anywhere. This boy… Before she knew it, the lack of chakra and energy finally got the better of her and she fell asleep on his shoulder.
Glancing back he casually noticed her sleeping face and smirked. I knew it. That battle was tough on her. But still, I have to admit…she did pretty well…