Enter Kira

Enter Kira

Name: Kira. Just Kira, I've thrown my last name away forever.

Age: 13

Height: A little taller than Naruto but shorter than Sasuke.

Hair: Red, not orange, razor cut at chin short bangs at front.

Eyes: Amber or gold, unless wearing colored contacts.

Family: Deceased.

Ninja Ranking: Genin.

Clothes: Large baggy hat worn on head at all times around people unknown (even when sleeping); red collar around neck with small coin-shaped tag; black skin-tight body suit that stops middle of neck, right below elbow, and right below the knee; a red jacket that stops just under the bust, with short sleeves, and two buttons fastened at the bottom; thick black fingerless gloves that end at middle of fore arm; a red skirt fastened at hip with a thin strip of fabric, slits up both sides to the hip, ends at middle of shin, worn when not in combat (when in combat a shorter skirt is used); wooden clog-sandals of fashionable style with red straps across toes and heel when not in combat, traditional shinobi shoes in black when in combat.

Weapons: Shuriken and kunai in pouches on both legs and hidden on other various parts of body; a kusari-gama or scythe-with-chain (think Kohaku from InuYasha) worn with the chain wrapped around waist and the blade tucked into it; two wave swords fastened in an 'X' across back with the handles hanging down (the straps run across chest and form an 'X' between her breasts over her jacket); also long nails and fangs can be used in emergency.

Secrets: There are many, involving almost every aspect. See "Other".

Other: Will be revealed in the story.

With Kira

The day was warm and the sun shone brightly. Kira paused from her trek to adjust the large duffel bag strap digging into her shoulder. She also had a large backpack sitting over her double wave swords. Having repositioned the strap to a less sore spot on her shoulder where she could still reach a weapon unhindered if the situation arose, she reached into the duffel to grab one of her favorite manga, leaving the bag unzipped, before moving forward once more.

After a couple of chapters, she heard a slight disturbance in the woods to the side of the path. It sounded like several people were shouting and crashing through the undergrowth. Towards her!

Quickly she grabbed a kunai and held it ready to throw if they weren't friendly. The bushes to her left shook violently before a large brown cat with a huge pink bow on its right ear leapt out and scrambled, yowling piteously, up her leg. Having gained the relative safety of her chest, it buried its face in her shoulder, trembling in fear.

Feeling sympathy for the poor creature, she began soothing it with her hand after replacing her manga in the bag. She wondered who was chasing it, still holding her kunai at the ready. But she didn't have to wonder long as the perpetrators bounded out of the undergrowth.

In front was a blonde boy in an orange jumpsuit. There were three whisker marks on each of his cheeks. Next was a girl with pink hair and a redish pink version of the traditional kunoichi-in-training outfit. Last was a raven-haired boy in a blue shirt and white shorts. Their forehead protectors proclaimed them to be of the Village Hidden in the Leaves. They were Konoha genin since they didn't wear the chunin vest. They screeched to a halt staring. She raised an eyebrow before replacing the kunai.

"Hey! How'd you do that?" yelled the blonde kid.

"Do what?" Kira asked startled by his outburst.

"Catch that stupid cat. It's evil, believe it!" he yelled some more.

"Naruto!" screamed the pink-haired girl, hitting him over the head with her fist. He screamed in pain, holding the offending appendage. Kira sweatdropped as the boy with black hair just grunted and looked at his teammates fighting.

"Jeez, Sakura, that hurt!" whined the blonde.

"Well don't be so stupid!" was her reply.

"You guys don't get along well, do you?" Kira asked hesitantly.

"Huh?" Sakura paused in mid-punch.

"Hey, team, what's going on? Did you apprehend the target?" the voice of an older male coming from the three genin's headpieces said.

"Well…No, a girl on the path to Konoha got it first," said the pink-haired girl.

"Roger that. I'll be there-" A puff of smoke appeared on the path next to the three Konoha ninja. "-in a second."

The smoke cleared and a spiky silver-haired jonin stood on the path. He wore the traditional ninja garb and a cloth mask over the lower half of his face. His forehead protector was slanted over his left eye. In his hand was—her eye started twitching when she read the title—a Make-out Paradise porno book.

"Hm," he muttered, staring at Kira holding the targeted cat. "Who are you?"

She sweatdropped at how laid back he was. "My name's Kira."

"Last name?"

"I don't have one."

"Orphan?" he asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Yes, recently." The straightforwardness of that simple statement shocked them.

"I'm sorry."

"It's not your fault they were killed."

That really got his attention. "Where are you from?" His attention was, for the first time, completely removed from his book.

She shrugged. "I'm not from anywhere in particular, but I graduated from the Ninja Academy in the Leaf Village." She shrugged again. "Now that my parents are gone, there's no reason to stay in my house. There's not a house anymore." She looked around, particularly at their protectors. "I suppose since genin are out here, I must be close." She sighed. "Time to commit myself."

The jonin and three genin didn't know what to think about that last sentence. She made a few unidentifiable sounds with her tongue, seemingly toward her bag. They were now very confused. What was she doing?

A small, black, furry head popped out of her duffel, a Konoha headband in its mouth. A lithe feline body followed and the small cat dropped it in Kira's hand. The group's mouths dropped. Or rather, Naruto's and Sakura's mouths dropped open and the other two settled for raised eyebrows and widened eyes.

She coaxed the brown cat onto her shoulders, where it sprawled. Then she drew out a kunai slashing two holes in the front of her jacket, sliding the ends of the fabric of the headband through the slits and tied the forehead protector in place so the metal showed above her left breast with the knot on the inside of her jacket.

"Thank you, Miko," she said petting the black kitten's silky ears. He meowed and purred, batting at her hand. "Alright, up you go." She picked him up in both hands and raised him level with her hat. He padded happily onto the squashy hat and settled himself in the center.

"Wow," Naruto gasped.

"Sasuke, did you see?" squeaked Sakura, "She talked with an animal, like Kiba and his dog, except with a cat."

"Hn," he grunted.

When she got no better answer, she turned to the jonin. "Kakashi-sensei, she-"

"I know, Sakura. Both Sasuke and I were here," he explained calmly. This made her blush.

Kira chuckled lightly. "I take it you're out on a mission."

"You bet we are! We're supposed to catch that stupid cat." He pointed to the one draped over her shoulders, which promptly bit his finger. Naruto howled in pain swinging his finger around vigorously to get the cat off. Kira eventually rescued him and put the cat back on her shoulders.

"It's no wonder you were having so much trouble," she said rummaging in her duffel. "Cats don't like being sneaked up on or treated less than human." She found what she was looking for and pulled out a box of cat treats. "The best way to catch a cat is to befriend him." She dug out two treats and gave one to each of the felines on her person. Both immediately began purring and gobbled down the fish shaped morsels.

"Wow. I didn't know any of that stuff," Sakura looked excited. "Can I pet your cat? What was his name? Miko?"

"Yeah, that's right. As for petting him, it's up to him. How about it? Going to let the nice girl pet you?" she said, directing the last two questions to the kitten on her head. Miko appeared to think about it before purring again. "And, that's a yes."

Sakura gratefully reached up and stroked his soft fur.

"Wow, he's so soft."

"Sorry to interrupt, but we need to get that cat back to its owner," Kakashi said in his lazy manner.
"Oh, right, sorry. Uh, here." She tried to pick up the brown feline but he dug his claws into her jacket, hissing when the others tried to help. "Sorry, but he doesn't want to let go."

"I guess you'll just have to go with us," Kakashi suggested.

"That's fine. I need to see the Hokage anyway."

"You know the Hokage?" Naruto asked, incredulous.

"We've met a couple of times." She started walking down the path and the others fell in step beside or behind her.

"Wow, that's amazing. I never would have thought someone our age would know the Hokage."

"I said we'd met a couple of times. That doesn't mean that we're best friends."

"Oh."

The talking dissolved into silence for a few paces during which time, the others observed their new friend. Her gait was smooth, unhurried, and utterly effortless despite the bulk of the load she carried. She almost appeared to float over the ground in long graceful strides. It was obvious she was a skilled ninja by the wide array of weapons strapped about her muscled body, and she held herself like a warrior.

They might have taken the time to discover more but the blonde suddenly exclaimed, "Wait a minute. We never introduced ourselves."

"Oh, you're right. I'm Haruno Sakura," said the girl.

"And I'm Uzumaki Naruto, the next Hokage," the blonde said and posed dramatically. Kira smiled in recognition of his name and looked to the other boy but the look he gave her said he wasn't going to say anything.

"Kakashi Hatake. And that's Uchiha Sasuke," the jonin said from his book.

"Does Uchiha Sasuke know how to talk?" Kira asked sarcastically.

He glared.

"Well?" She lifted an eyebrow.

"Hn."

For some reason, that set her off. She was usually a laid back person who didn't get angry often. Something about him just got under her skin though.

"Oh, that's intelligent." Her voice dripped sarcasm. "I'm so impressed. No wonder you're so famous. Phft, yeah right."

"Hey! Stop making fun of me." He was scowling at her now.

"Finally, he speaks."

"Are you looking for a fight?" His fists were clenched.

"Why? Are you advertising?" Kira's eyes were smoldering with anger and Sasuke was just as angry. The two were standing rigid, noses an inch apart, their stances aggressive. The picture was amplified slightly by the raised hair and growling of the cats on Kira's person.

"Now, now. Play nice you two," Kakashi scolded them.

Both huffed and turned away from each other with arms crossed before moving forward again. The cats immediately calmed down once the threat of a fight was minimized.

"Er…Kira, didn't you say you graduated from the Konoha Academy?" Sakura changed the subject.

"Yes, I did."
"O-okay. But, how's that possible? I didn't see you in any of the classes this year."

"That's because I took the test two years before. I didn't actually go to the Academy. My parents trained me and on one of their visits here thought it would be a good idea to let me take the exam."

"But, that means you're a really good ninja if you passed two years ahead of us without classes," Sakura stated amazed. Naruto was staring openly and even Kakashi and Sasuke were giving her a calculating glance, taking in all the weapons again.

"My parents were really good teachers," Kira shrugged. "They taught me everything I know. I've been training even before I could walk. I kind of had to," she muttered the last bit as her eyes clouded in sadness but she shrugged it off and smiled before the others could get a good look.

"Hmm, my question is: why haven't I heard about you or your parents before if they were so good?" Kakashi asked her.

"You have. You just don't know it." Kira took pity on them when she saw the looks of confusion and explained further. "My name's caused nothing but trouble, so I buried it with my parents."

The darkness in her voice unnerved them. Kakashi in particular was looking at her oddly. The stares were digging into her back. Then, to her relief and embarrassment, her stomach growled hungrily, breaking the moment.

"Er…I guess it's breakfast time. It's probably way past due, I haven't eaten anything since dinner last night."

"What? But it's gotta be five o'clock at least," exclaimed Naruto.

"Meh," she replied, shrugging. "I've got food with me so no big." Even as she spoke, she pulled out a pack of onigiri (rice balls).

"What don't you have in that bag?" Sakura joked.

"Erm…how 'bout a house?" answered Kira around a mouthful of riceball. "Want one?"

Sakura, Naruto, and Kakashi each grabbed one and started eating, Kakashi hiding his face behind his book. She offered the open pack to Sasuke. He just stared at her.

"Come on, eat one. They're not poisoned and I know you're hungry."

As if to prove her statement, his stomach grumbled loudly. She smirked knowingly as he blushed lightly and reluctantly took one. She ate the last one and fished through her bag for some of the dried fish. She gave a piece to each of the cats and warned them that there had better not be any on her clothes.

"You really do treat your cats like people," Sakura noticed.

"I wasn't joking with you. The best way to catch a cat is to befriend him…or her."

The rest of the walk to Konoha was uneventful. The guards at the gate let the group through immediately, one even bowing to Kira as she passed. She bowed back embarrassed by the sign of respect.

"I guess you weren't joking about being famous."

"He probably just remembers me from my last trip here," she replied, flustered and avoiding everyone's eyes.

They shared a glance. It was painfully obvious that she was lying, but none of them mentioned it. It wasn't their place.

They were silent the rest of the way to the building where they were to return the missing cat. Kira was lost in thought, her pensive mood transmitting to the cats which began squirming in discomfort. Kira absentmindedly handed the brown cat to Naruto which promptly began shredding him with its claws. She didn't even notice Naruto's screams of pain. Nor did she notice that she was leading them to their designated building completely unaided.

Sakura dropped back and quietly asked, "Have you noticed? She's leading us around like she knows where she's going, but she said herself she's only been here a few times."

"Has she? Maybe she's been this way before. The village isn't very complicated."

"Maybe not, but still, shouldn't she at least be looking where she's going or asking to make sure this is the right way?"

Kakashi just shrugged and Sakura huffed before moving back to her previous spot next to Kira. None of the others noticed, but Kakashi glanced up from his book more often after that, watching Kira's back thoughtfully.

When they reached the building, Kira sped up. The ninja behind her were nearly running to keep up.

"Hey, what's the rush?" Naruto asked, panting while trying to hold onto the cat.

"Huh? Oh sorry," she said, slowing down to a relaxed walk.

"Is something wrong?" Kakashi said from behind his book.

"No, just thinking."

"About what?"

"Oh, you know, just thinking about how I'm going to convince Hokage to let me stay." She shrugged and smiled lopsidedly. "Just wondering if I'll have to move on."

"Why wouldn't he let you stay?" Sakura asked, puzzled.

Kira sighed. "Because my presence here could be a danger to your village."

"Huh?"

She sighed again. "If he lets me stay, I'll explain it to you. Maybe."

They didn't look too happy, but had to let is go as they walked through the doors to the mission room. The Hokage and a few other ninja were sitting at a table on one end of the room. Kira recognized Iruka sitting next to the Hokage. At another table were some less high-ranking ninja with bags for exchanging money and papers for writing down missions, mission ranks, and the ninja squads completing them.

Kakashi led his team to that table and Naruto handed the cat to his ecstatic owner. Kira stood in the back while her friends took care of getting their next mission. The Hokage read off a list of babysitting, errands, and gardening before Naruto had a fit about doing unimportant things. Iruka and the Hokage in turn lectured him about the way rankings are determined, how are missions assigned, and the importance of completed mission fees to the continuation of the village.

At the end of his rather long-winded speech, he found that Naruto was talking about ramen having completely ignored everything he'd said. Kira had to hold in a laugh.

"I…I'm sorry," Kakashi apologized through his embarrassment.

"I don't want to hear it! All the old fart ever does is apologize and then give me a lecture," shouted Naruto.

Kira had to try very hard to hold in her laughter. Kakashi an old fart?

"But it's not fair. There's more to me than the trouble-making screw-up the old man thinks I am!"

Having finished his tirade, Naruto turned his back to them and pouted. He looked a lot like a little kid throwing a tantrum. Kira smiled when she saw that the Hokage and Iruka were also smiling. They had a soft spot for Naruto. It was confirmed by the Hokage's next words.

"Very well."

The group looked up in shock.

"Since you put it that way I will permit you to attempt a C grade task—usually reserved for shinobi of the journeyman level—the protection of a certain individual…"

"All right!" yelled Naruto as his teammates just stared in shock. "Who is it? Some great lord? A princess?"

This time Kira did laugh.

"Whoa, take it easy, Naruto. Someone of that stature would be classified higher than a C rank. You're not going to get that kind of mission no matter how much the Hokage likes you without more experience."

She walked out of the shadows to stand next to her friends as she spoke. The Hokage and Iruka jumped slightly and then recognized her, their eyes going wide.

"N-" Iruka started.

"No!" she interrupted harshly, her amusement gone. "That name is gone forever." Her voice was softer now as she continued, "Its Kira, now. Just Kira."

She looked at the young genin and jonin near her who were staring at her. Probably because she just yelled at the Hokage and their old sensei from the academy.

"Don't let me stop you giving them their assignment."

The Hokage nodded and nodded to a ninja guarding the door to his right.

"I'll begin introductions. Let him in."

The doors opened and a large, gray-haired, spectacled old man walked in. There were scars all along his arms and he wore a dark sleeveless shirt over plaid pants. His shins were bare until the straps of his dark sandals covered his ankles. His pants were held up with bandages over his shirt in a makeshift belt and there was a rope knotted around his forehead. He slouched against the doorframe, disturbing his large backpack, and took a swig from the sake bottle clutched in his hand.

"What's going on here?" he growled. "They look like a bunch of wet-nosed brats. Especially the midget. He's got the face of an imbecile. Is this a joke? You kids aren't really ninja, are you?"

Part of his speech was slurred, as if he'd had too much to drink, but Kira found her fur bristling, so to speak, at the insult even if it wasn't directed exactly at her.

Naruto, ever the clown, looked around trying to figure out who the 'midget' was. Though seeing as everyone was taller than him, there was no other choice. When he finally figured it out, he tried to attack the old man. He was saved by Kakashi's restricting hand on Naruto's shoulder.

Kira ignored the commotion as team seven and their new assignment got to know each other, and walked straight for the Hokage, stopping right in front of him. Everyone paused, even Naruto, to look from Kira to the Hokage as they stared at each other.

Suddenly, Kira's hands balled into fists and she slammed them together in front of her, bowing low at the waist. Miko scrambled onto the back of her neck before he was dumped from his perch and bowed as well.

"Ah tulendanai renisa'ana fumnikoigado, Sisaybai," she chanted respectfully in a language no one in the group behind her had ever heard before. "It is good to see you again, honorable…Grandfather."

Her lips twisted into a smile at the shared joke before she turned to Iruka and included him in the greeting.

"And you as well, Iruka-sensei."

Hokage chuckled around his pipe while Iruka nodded his head.

"It is quite an honor to be greeted in such a secret language. I have been expecting you ever since your messenger arrived two days ago."

"I am glad the messenger bird got through to you," she said as she straightened.

Miko moved to her left shoulder.

"We have much to discuss if what you wrote to me is true," he said as his eyes softened just a tiny bit.

"It is true. He killed them. And my brother..."

She looked at her hands clenched in front of her.

"Ah, I am sorry N-"

"That name is dead! I am called: Kira."

She spoke harshly, looking into his eyes with fire burning in her own.

"Mmm," he nodded. "Then the reason you are here is to join my village though your presence may put them in great danger."

"My parents thought highly of you, higher than the other Kages. They told me should ever something happen to them, I was to come to you. That is why they made me take the exam here and not in another village."

"Still, I am not sure I should take you in. The other villages are likely to become jealous and angry should I do so."

He folded his hands in front of his face.

In a move faster than the eye could follow, Kira drew her right wave sword, flipped in around in her hand so the dull side rested on top of her forearm, and offered the hilt to the Hokage.

"If it is such a bother, kill me now and end your dilemma!"