Two jonin entered a deathly quiet village. Their mission was to search for survivors and, if possible, capture the missing ninja that had destroyed the village.
As they walked through the village all they could smell was the overpowering stench of burnt and decaying bodies. No sounds were heard as they continued through the village until one of the jonin stepped on a long beam, sending debris into what was left of a small house.
A sharp cry was heard, one of a very young child or infant.
They followed the noise until they cane upon a box labeled Atropa Belladonna, Deadly Nightshade. A small child was wrapped in a blanket inside of it.
One of the two picked up the box and signaled for the other to continue checking for survivors.
None were found.
The Hokage stared at the child, no older than one, as it stared up at him with the pale blue wesyes of an infant. Nightshade was a valuable and rare import, as it came from the other side of the continent. Perhaps, he mused, this child could be just as valuable.
Belladonna stood in line on the academy grounds. At seven years old, she had been in the academy for six months.
Konoha was at war. And because of this a new procedure was put into place at the academy. Every six months there was a basic chakra control test. Depending on how you did, you were either moved up a class, or made a genin.
This time the test was to walk up a tree by channeling chakra into our feet. We were giving a single demonstration before one by one, having to try it ourselves.
As her turn came bella took a deep breath. If she added too much chakra, she'd fly off and break the bark, to little, and gravity would pull her down. She'd yearned to be a ninja for years, to get out of the rundown orphanage, and wouldn't fail here.
Concentrating on how much chakra she channeled to her feet, she put one foot onto the tree, and then the other. She was stable. She began to walk, unsteady at first as the angle was strange, but slowly she went quicker and with more confidence. She stopped at the top branch, crouching on it, and then looked down at her examiners.
They had seemed surprised before turning to each other and whispering quickly as the one with the clipboard wrote frantically. Then they stopped and motioned for her to come down.
Walking down was more awkward than up. And just as she seemed to get the hang of it, she fell. Luckily, an examiner caught her before she hit the ground. The examiners gestured for her to leave, and she went home like the other kids before her.
Belladonna was alone In her dorm, a rare occurrence as she shared it with seven other girls. But, it was only four pm, so it made sense that they were playing around the village instead.
Bella was half way asleep when she heard her name yelled and footsteps ascending the stairs. She sat up and rubbed her eyes. Mrs. Hibiku.
She was the matron of the orphanage, and she was as kind and compassionate as she was strict, meaning very. But she had to be, she looked after almost fifty children. In a world of kill or be killed there were orphans everywhere.
Mrs. Hibiku knocked before opening the door. She always knocked, although she never awaited an answer. She smiled at Belladonna when she saw her.
"Bella, dear, a letter from the academy came for you." She held it out for her, the seal unbroken. That was another thing Mrs. Hibiku did. She never opened her charges' mail. She would give it to them and wait for them to read it and either say thank you or tell them what it is.
Belladonna opened the letter and quickly scanned it, her face breaking into a grin.
"I was moved into the class that graduates next year." She told the woman.
"That's amazing dear, I'll make sure you get an extra serving at dinner to celebrate."
Belladonna looked through the library shelves for new studying material, just like she did every Sunday. As she pulled out an advanced chakra theory text book another book fell down. It was dusty, and defiantly shouldn't of been there.
Spirit of a Shinobi
Thumbing through the pages and sneezing at the dust, she decided it looked interesting, and decided to add it to the pile she was checking out.
When she got back to the orphanage she read the first part before going to bed.
Humble beginnings, to violent end,
A shinobi's life is spent.
Through brilliant battles for the side they defend,
Their minds and views are bent.
Allies are lost,
And enemies gained,
As they learn the cost,
Of being tossed,
From one fray to the next.
As they fight valiantly,
And try their best,
Their gallantry,
Or lack there of,
Effects all that they meet.
Their career begins with a shove,
And they rack up feats.
And those to war they send,
Have no way for their emotions to vent
Humble beginnings, to violent end,
a shinobi's life is spent.
Authors note:
I used to write poetry all the time, and I was pretty good at it. That skill is gone now. Also, the story will get less jumpcut-y as it progresses.