Chapter One
Old Scars Reappear
The stench of blood is hanging in the air as I continue to sprint down the dark hallway. The open door at the end of this eternal passage is the only source of light however it feels as if the distance between us is only growing. My heart is leaping against my ribcage as I push my limbs harder.
'I am almost there', keeps chanting in my mind as I pull the small bundle in my arms closer to my chest. Suddenly an ear-splitting scream tears through the hallway causing my feet to skid to a sudden halt as I turn around in the direction of where I knew the voice came from. I am greeted with nothing but darkness. A look of uncertainty quickly flickers across my face but it is soon replaced with barely concealed rage and a new-found determination. I continue sprinting towards the light. Only a few steps now...
With a sudden jolt, the pink-haired kunoichi awoke from her light slumber. Slowly opening her tired eye-lids to reveal emerald jewels, she quickly scans her surroundings only to discover herself sitting on the shower floor with her legs pulled up to her chest being held tightly in place by her pale arms. Faint shivers racked her small frame as the now-cool water trails down her bare back. Shaking her head with a scowl held firmly upon her lips, she slowly lifts her tired body from the slippery tiled floor. She soon emerges from the cold shower with a big, fluffy towel firmly wrapped around her figure. Approaching the small wash basin, she barely took a glance at her reflection in the mirror. She had certainly changed from the young, naive, little genin everyone remembered but being a kunoichi would do that to any small girl who once believed in the fairytales that usually pulled them into a world filled with brave knights and generous kings as they slept soundly. There was nothing further from the truth.
Her soaking wet hair clung to her porcelain-like face and pale neck. But what was most striking about her was not her abnormal hair colour or her emerald-like orbs, but rather the dark rings that were forming around her cat-like eyes. The Sandman once again avoided her small, humble house leaving her to suffer another night of insomnia. A heavy sigh escaped from her rosy-red lips as she turned away from her reflection. Slowly making her way to her dark-wooden wardrobe, she towel-dried her hair in an almost fierce manner before narrowly avoiding tripping over a few medical scrolls scattered across the wooden floor. She picks them up hastily before dumping them on her barely touched futon. Stalking over to her wardrobe once again, her towel is quickly disposed of only to be replaced by black, lacy undergarments. Since there were no missions for her today, she decided to forgo her usual ninja attire and instead wear civilian clothes. A few senbon and kunai were safely tucked away into her weapon pouch just in case. A kunoichi must always be ready for anything, even if it is her day off.
After securing a few more weapons on her body and tying her black headband around her slim neck, she makes her way over to Mai's beautiful antique dresser where she lightly applies make-up to hide her troubles from the world. Looking over her shoulder at the big clock that adorns her crimson coloured wall, she realised that the village will not awake for another few hours. Perhaps a walk would do for there are many things that plague her mind. Quickly grabbing her black trench coat (a gift from the ever delirious Anko-sensei) and a juicy apple, she makes her leave but not before strapping on her knee-length black boots. She silently secured all the buckles and zips before heading out of the small house and into the still dark forest. After re-adjusting the traps and adding some more well placed kunai that promise a painful death, the little house was secure. Taking off into the surrounding trees, the small figure was nothing but a pink and black blur to the forest's inhabitants.
_________________________________________________________
A slight breeze entered through the open window and gently rolled the empty sake bottles before gravity sent one of them crashing to the hard, wooden floor below. The loud crash jolted the unsuspecting Hokage from her alcohol-induced slumber. After frantically looking around her less than tidy office for the source of her awakening, her honey-coloured eyes landed on the broken pieces of glass scattered across the wooden floor. Scowling in annoyance, she quickly rubbed the sleep from her eyes before gazing at the mountainous piles of paperwork with a look of pure disgust and loathing. Stumbling out of her chair, the Hokage made her way towards the cabinet after slamming the window closed, in the hopes of having alcohol to keep her company. She summoned her first apprentice with a quick shout of panic after not finding any sake bottles in her messy office. The Hokage began to hyperventilate and all but pounced on her black-haired apprentice when she entered the office. After prying her mentor's hands off, the black-haired kunoichi calmly assessed the situation before coming to a conclusion. In the Hokage's frantic state to find her precious sake, she had not realised what the date was today. After calmly pointing to the calendar, the black-haired kunoichi began to sweep up the broken bits of glass with the ever-faithful pig by her side. The office was soon flooded with very colourful language by the Hokage herself when she managed to focus her bloodshot eyes on the circled block. "Annual Spring Festival" was written in big, bold letters in the block marked the 28th of March. The same day a certain kunoichi was born.
_________________________________________________________
A pink-haired kunoichi walked around the deserted street aimlessly while munching on her juicy apple. The sun was still hidden behind the trees surrounding the sleeping village. She took the peaceful moment to allow her restricted thoughts to run wild. It was fortunate that everyone was still asleep otherwise many would question her sanity as her emotionless mask cracked and a flurry of emotions were released. As quickly as it came, it was gone. Soon her worries and fears were forced back and her emotionless mask repaired. Perhaps allowing herself to dwell on such things was not such a good idea. She looked up to find herself standing on Team 7's old, red bridge. Her feet must have carried her here unconsciously while she was deep in thought. She stared forlornly at the bridge where many happy memories were made during her childhood. It was also the place where she realised she was the child who would forever be looking in through the glass while the other children scoured through the numerous treats that filled the candy store. She is the Great Pretender after all.
A sudden movement awoke her from her musings, her body tensed in apprehension as her hand slowly snaked its way towards a kunai strapped to her thigh. When she sensed the chakra of the intruder, she released her breath that she was unconsciously holding and dropped her hand to her side. Seconds later, a fellow silver-eyed ANBU appeared beside her. She nodded her head in greeting before silently making her way towards the training grounds. When they reached the training ground near the Memorial Stone, the kunoichi jumped away from the dark chocolate-haired shinobi until there was a good distance between them. She fell into her fighting stance gracefully while assessing her opponent standing before her. The shinobi silently observed the kunoichi before him. He fought the urge to smirk when his silver eyes caught the determination burning in her emerald-like eyes. He soon followed suit, standing in the well-known stance that shows his true heritage and activated his bloodline limit causing the veins lateral to his now gleaming eyes to bulge. They nodded their heads simultaneously signalling the beginning of another routine sparring session.
The kunoichi disappeared, shortly followed by her opponent. Her cat-like eyes scanned the battle field from her hiding place amongst the leaves in a big, thick tree. With her senses on high alert, she could hear a pin drop on the dew-kissed grass. She was forced to move to the branch above her as she heard a few kunai piercing the air before landing where she was crouched down a split-second before. Her eyes followed where she presumed the kunai came from before dashing deeper into the surrounding forest. Knowing she could not hide from the all-seeing eyes of her opponent, the kunoichi began to think about her options while constantly on the move. She halted her movements when she reached a clearing in the forest. A small smirk formed its way on her lips before she began to put her plan into motion.
Her opponent soon walked into the clearing at a slow but still intimidating pace that spoke volumes of his confidence in him being the victor of this little sparring match. Before he could scan his surroundings, a small rustle caught his attention. He quickly threw a few kunai into the now-still bush only for a scared squirrel to scurry away. He stared at the squirrel in annoyance before turning around only to find his opponent in the air with her fist raised.
He quickly took to the air as he was all too familiar with her chakra-enhanced punches. Only she didn't punch the ground as expected but rather turned in mid-air so she could push off the ground. She quickly threw a few kunai before she caught up with her opponent who was still in mid-air. Her opponent had no choice but to throw kunai to reflect the oncoming knives. He landed on a branch but was forced to take flight once again as he had set off a few well placed exploding tags. His body was thrust forward due to the explosion and right into the awaiting leg of his opponent's kick which sent him crashing into a nearby tree. She quickly pinned her opponent to the tree with a few kunai only for her opponent to be replaced with a log. She narrowly dodged the palm aimed at her right shoulder. She quickly ducked down and tried to sweep his feet out from under him but her opponent leaped away from her and landed on the trunk of a tree before pushing himself off with his fist ready.
The kunoichi sidestepped at the last moment but did not expect her opponent to turn in mid-air and follow through with a kick. She could only raise her arms to block the oncoming hit but was still sent crashing into a tree before her body slid to the ground. Annoyance flashed across her pale features before she tried to lift herself from the still-damp grass only to find her body not responding.
Confusion flashed in her eyes before they narrowed. Her body was forced into a standing position as if she was a marionette and she had a pretty good idea who the puppeteer was, pulling the strings. She looked out the corner of her narrowed eyes as a figure emerged from the shadows. She would have scowled in annoyance with herself for being caught so easily but her features failed her commands as did the rest of her body while she's under his spell.
Her opponent gave a nod in greeting to the intruder as he approached him, which was returned. Both shinobi turned to face her before she was released from the intruder's hold. Noticing the dark aura that surrounded the kunoichi, the intruder's stance straightened a little from its normal lazy slouch. The kunoichi launched herself at her two opponents before the intruder even had time to mutter his favourite phrase at his misfortune. Gazing into her blazing eyes, the shinobi both feared for their lives but they would rather die before admitting that to any soul.
_________________________________________________________
The trees were slowly healing from the harsh winter winds. A few creatures were slowly being awoken from their long slumber as the sunlight peeked through the small holes into their burrows. A hawk was soaring in the sky high above the tall standing trees with a message safely secured to its back. It seems to be heading towards Konohagakure, noted a sandy-blonde haired kunoichi who was one of the many deadly and armed nin travelling on the road in the same direction. Hearing a dragged out sigh, the kunoichi turned her attention towards her travelling partner, who had three giant scrolls strapped to his back. The shinobi was currently glaring daggers at the powerful nin in front of them but before any words could come from his open mouth, a thin layer of sand quickly snapped his jaws shut. This only caused the glaring to intensify as the shinobi struggled with the iron grip the sand seemed to have over his mouth. Moving her attention towards the nin responsible for her travelling companion's silence, the kunoichi took note of the small smile of satisfaction barely forming on the shinobi's usually stoic face.
Her eyes softened for a moment before returning to her now gagging travelling companion who was thrashing his arms around in a panicked state. One quick blow to the head with a fan that mysteriously appeared out of nowhere and the flailing ceased though a few muffled cursed words could barely be heard coming from the red-faced shinobi. Even though she could not see past the masks the ANBU wore, the kunoichi knew the dangerous nin were silently laughing at her brother's misfortune. Glancing back up, through squinted eyes, she could just make out the Konohagakure main gate in the far off distance. She suddenly had a craving for dango. Her stomach let loose a nearly inaudible growl in anticipation. Cursing Anko silently in her head, the kunoichi began to move at a more rapid pace.
_________________________________________________________
The three shinobi left the training grounds... or what was left of them at least, with their heads held up high and a noticeable limp in their tired stride as they continued to nurse their newly-acquired wounds. The silver-eyed shinobi continued to glare at the kunoichi that was struggling a little between himself and the other shinobi whose hair had fallen from its usual pineapple-shaped style. The kunoichi had not offered to nurse their wounds after their usual spar, causing the shinobi to have to deal with their injuries on their own or be forced to deal with the hordes of fan girls that surprisingly make up most of the hospital staff. Unfortunately for the shinobi, their pride would not allow them to ask her for assistance, causing them a lot of discomfort. The silver-eyed shinobi believed that their other opponent was to blame for her foul mood, having caught her in one of his traps. Unfortunately with the damage his two opponents managed to inflict on his left leg, it would be much harder for the ever-stoic ANBU captain to flee from his mob of fan girls.
His attention was moved from silently grumbling at his misfortune to a puny, weak genin who seemed to be having difficulty keeping his eyes levelled with the kunoichi's striking emerald-jewelled eyes. He noticed that he was not the only one infuriated with the now drooling genin in front of them (if the deadly aura surrounding the other shinobi was any indication). Unfortunately, the pink-haired kunoichi's wrath was enough to keep any army in line as these two shinobi have learnt from past incidents. Of course this did not stop the shinobi from wishing death on the poor soul who was now fidgeting and sweating profusely under the heavy glares of the two ANBU nin. Naturally, this all went unnoticed by the ever-oblivious kunoichi who was listening intently to the stuttering genin who was trying to deliver a message, but failing miserably. Once the terrified genin was convinced the kunoichi understood, he fled at an almost inhuman speed. Once the unfortunate genin was out of their eyesight (or their glaring range), the two shinobi focused their attention on the kunoichi who seemed very excited about something. Raking through his mind, the nin tried to remember what the runt was trying to say while he was attempting to inflict a painful death on the poor soul, unfortunately his legendary eyes did not possess the power to make people suddenly drop dead. He was quite certain "Kazekage-sama" was mentioned along with "Main Gate". He quickly summed up that the Kazekage of Sunagakure will be arriving soon and the kunoichi beside him was to meet the man and his guards at the main gate (being the Hokage's apprentice and one of her advisors). They don't call him a prodigy for nothing after all. The ANBU captain decided to escort her to the main gates - for her protection of course, he told himself - and if she offered to heal him after seeing them suffer enough, then who is he to stop her? Looking over her head (which is not very hard considering her height barely reaches their shoulders), the nin noticed the same idea forming in the ever-lazy ANBU member's mind. A silent agreement was made over the pink-haired kunoichi's head and so, without asking for consent, the two males began to hobble towards the main gate with as much pride as their battered bodies could muster.
_________________________________________________________
Soaring majestically through the clear blue sky, the hawk kept its sharp eyes trained on the ground below. Catching sight of its target, the hawk hurtled down. Swerving from its swift dive just a few inches from the hard ground below and landed gracefully on the window sill situated outside the Hokage's office. It rapped its beak impatiently against the glass, catching the attention of the office's sole occupant. Recognition shone in her honey-coloured eyes. The voluptuous woman leapt from her chair and dashed towards the closed window.
She promptly lifted the window - almost tearing it out of the wall in the process – and made a grab for the message tied securely to the hawk's back. The canister was practically ripped from its back in the woman's haste. Throwing herself into a chair, the woman began working on decoding the message. The hawk observed her with semi-interest as she worked, waiting to be dismissed. The woman was digging through the piles of paperwork that occupied her desk. She finally pulled out a folder and continued to scan its contents.
A shriek erupted from the woman, either of excitement or outrage. The hawk did not stay to find out and instead took off towards the bird tower for some much needed rest.
_________________________________________________________