-1"Mama, how come we have to wear bandages over our markings?" asked a young girl through the bandages over her mouth
"Honey, it's a cruel world out there. We, the members of the Kekkei Genkai, are hated in this world. We are feared because we are not like others. Our powers allow us to do special things, remarkably powerful things when we know how to use them. Because of this, the other humans fear us because we are stronger than them. We must keep our markings a secret because if anyone found out that we where Kekkei Genkai, they would try to kill us." Said the child's mother
"Why can't they just accept us? Why can't we be free? I hate these stupid things!" cried the little girl, tears forming and soaking her bandages
"Maybe they do somewhere."
Nokura's eyes snapped open from her dream
"Mama!" she shouted, still not completely awake as just shot up in her bed, "it was just a dream. It's still nighttime."
Nokura looked over at the picture by her sleeping bag, at the picture of her mother and father and pulled it to her as she stared at it, tears forming in her eyes.
I miss you mama she thought as she fell back to sleep, the picture of her family clutched against her chest. Once again, her dreams where flooded with memories of her childhood, this time, of the day the villagers living around her realized that she and her mother where Kekkei Genkai and tried to kill them both.
Her mother screamed her name, telling her to run
"Mama!" screamed Nokura
"Go, baby, I will catch up, keep running and never look back." Said her mother, clutching her daughter's face to hers as the Ninja of their village closed in upon them
Nokura ran, she ran for her life, never stopping, just like her mother told her. It was past midnight when she finally stopped. She sat down for a moment, to catch her breath. Then, fearing something happened to her mother, she turned around and walked back. What she saw, she would never forget.
The blood. It was everywhere, including on her fallen mother. She quickly ran over to her. Her mother had killed all the ninja, but sacrificed her own life to do so.
"moma." Cried the girl, sitting next to her
"Sh, baby, I'm here." Whispered her mother
"Moma, you can't die, I can't survive without you!" screamed the little girl
"P…Promise me…one thing."
"Yes, mama, anything." Said Nokura, wiping away a few tears, but only more followed
"Promise me that, when you grow up, promise me that you will never let someone take advantage of you because of your power, or kill you because of it. Keep it forever hidden. For me." Said her mother, taking her lasts breaths
"Yes mama, I promise." She said, sobbing into her mothers chest
"Good bye, my little Kekkei Genkai." Said her mother, dying in front of her
"Mama! Mama!" screamed the Nokura, shaking her mother slightly "Please, don't leave me mama, don't leave me!"
She heard a small alarm go off, which woke her from her nightmare. Looking at the clock through the darkness, she saw that it was 5:30 in the morning. Perfect timing. Sighing, she slowly rose from her sleeping bag and pulled on her clothes over her bandages. Suddenly, she sensed four chakra sources, one more powerful than the others and she cursed under her breath.
Ninja. Don't tell me they found me already? She thought, running out of her tent and toward the pathway, hiding in the bushes. In front of her walked four ninja, one jounin and three genin. They seemed to have not sensed or spotted her. She breathed a sigh of relief that they where not the same ninja that had been hunting her for days. Suddenly, she heard a twig snap behind her and she spun around, accidentally alerting the ninja she had just been spying on that she was there. One of them threw a kunai at her through the bushes, but she was too distracted to block it. The people that had caused the snapping twigs where the ninja that had been hunting her. She was surrounded. She napped back to her senses as she felt the kunai thrown by the unknown ninja pierce her back.
"So, looks like we found our little bounty." Said the hunting ninja
"Why won't you just leave me alone? I have never hurt anyone!" she shouted, sensing the other ninja approach from behind
"Because, you where to be killed with your mother, you brat, but instead you escaped and we have been paid to destroy you, also destroying that last of your clan." Laughed one of them
"I'm not even a ninja, how could I possibly harm anyone?" she shouted, "And why does everyone have a problem with my clan?"
"Shut up, brat. We don't care if you're innocent or not, we where hired to kill you, so that's what we're going to do." Another laughed, pulling out a kunai and throwing it at her
Nokura didn't have time to dodge, she was completely surrounded, no matter what she did, dodged or stayed, she was dead. So she just closed her eyes and waiting patiently for it to hit her. But the blow never came.
Standing about her was the jounin she had been spying on earlier. He was staring at the other ninja and holding the throw kunai in his hand.
"Get out of here, ninja, she's ours." said one of the ninja
"Why do you want her? Are you rogue ninja?" asked the silver haired jounin
"No, we are not rogues, our Hokage sent us to kill this girl because of her blood." a man sneered
CHAPTER 2
She is strong, and angry, but why doesn't she have a forehead protector, I sense that she has much chakra. Thought Kakashi, glancing back at her for a moment.
Suddenly, Nokura stood up, an angry look on her face. "What the Hell did I ever do to you to deserve this? I have more Chakra than either than you, and I have never hurt anyone. Yet you kill people with your power and no one hunts you down!" she screamed, tears running from her eyes
"We don't care, we're just doing what the Hokage ordered. Now come here." he said, throwing a kunai knife at her, which missed except sliced the bandages on her arm slightly
As the bandage fell away, Kakashi gasped, her arm was covered by tattoos. She was a Kekkei Genkai! But what was her clan? What power did she wield? The tattoo's where familiar but he couldn't place just what clan they where from. The young girl gasped and quickly hid the tattoos. She must have grown up like that.
"Leave her alone." said Kakashi
i Why is he defending me? He must have figured out what I am, so why doesn't he just leave me to my fate like everyone else? /I thought Nakura
"This is my battle. I'm sick of these ninja following me around everywhere." Nakura said, standing in front of the silver haired jounin, who let her have her way, though he continued to watch
Nokura quickly did a few jutzu and shouted "Mystical Fire jutzu!" Sending fire at the opponents. When that didn't work, she decided to stop messing around and get straight to the point. She quickly pulled out three acupuncture needles and threw them at the ninja, hitting each of them in the neck as they fell unconscious. She immediately put a hand over her arm and started walking away.
"Aren't you even going to check if they're dead?" asked a pink haired girl
"No, I know what I'm doing, I know that they're only unconscious." Nokura said, still walking away
"Where are you going?" asked the blond boy
"To find somewhere where I can be free." she whispered , staring up through the canopy and at the clouds.
"Why can't you be free here?" he asked
"Someone like me is never free, always hunted, always feared." she said
"Haku said something like that. That Kekkei Genkai where always hunted." said the blond
"Yes. We are."
"Well, why don't you come to our village?" he asked
"I can never be free in a village. I can be free no where, except in death." she said, suddenly disappearing
CHAPTER 3
"What did she mean, Kakashi-sensei?" asked Sakura
"The Kekkei Genkai is what they call a person who belongs to a clan with special powers. At one time, in most lands, there where many wars. After the wars, the Kekkei Genkai where all hunted down because of their power, people feared them. Even innocent children where killed. The sharingan is one of those powers. The only way to survive was to hide your power. To be discovered meant certain death. By the looks of it, that's how she grew up." said Kakashi
"That must be hard." said Sakura
"Yeah" agreed Naruto
"Yes, it would be, that's probably why she does not have a head band even though she obviously knows a lot about being a ninja." said Kakashi, "Come on, let's go."
They soon entered their village. The first thing Naruto did was headed for the Ramen booth on the other end of the village. When he reached it, he immediately sat down and ordered beef ramen. As he looked to his right, he noticed her.
I It's the ninja from earlier! The one Kakashi-sensei helped! /I he thought, I and she's eating ramen! /I he slid over to her
"Hi! My name's Naruto, what's yours?" he asked, smiling at her
She looked at him and smiled, though you couldn't tell through her mask "My name's Nokura."
"Do you remember me? We met in the forest!" asked Naruto
"Yes, I remember." she said, "So, this is the village you where talking about?"
"Yeah, Konoha. The Hidden Village of the Leaf." he said, smiling at her
"So, Naruto, was it?" she asked, after he nodded she continued, "Can you tell me where your Hokage is?"
"Um, yeah, follow me." he said, getting up and walking away
They walked for a while, talking about simple things. Naruto learned that Nokura was a very kind girl who hated to hurt anyone, which was why she was a master at using acupuncture needles as weapons, she could knock someone unconscious without actually hurting them. He also learned that since birth, she had been trained in different ninja arts, and had mastered most of them. She could even use jutzus from all the different Hidden Village techniques. When they where almost there, Naruto decided to ask her one last thing.
"Umm, Nokura? If you don't mind my asking…Where do your bandages cover until?" he asked
"My whole body except for the tips of my toes and my eyes. It's kind of annoying but it's the only way for me to survive." she said somberly, but she quickly got back into her old mood, "My turn…Do you like Sakura? That other girl from your team?"
"Yeah.. I.I do." he said, looking at her and blushing slightly
"I KNEW IT!" she shouted, getting looks from people
"Shut up!" he begged
"Hmm…Okay" she said
"Besides, were here anyway." said Naruto
"Okay, I'll see you later" said Nokura, walking up the steps and into the large building.
b CHAPTER 4 /b
"What is your purpose here, child?" the Hokage asked of me
"I would like to train here, sir, become one of the ninja of this village." I said, bowing to him slightly
"I'm sorry, child, but you are far too old to start training now." he said
"My name is Nokura, sir, and I do not need to train to be a ninja, my parents taught me from birth the ways of the ninja." she said
"I will allow you access into the village, but I am afraid that I do not trust you enough yet to prove to me that you will not harm the other ninja. You may live here, but you may never be a ninja here." he said
"Yes sir." I said, anger washing over me as I bowed and walked out of the building, where Naruto sat waiting for me
"So, Nokura, how'd it go?" he asked when he spotted me
"It went alright." I said distractedly
"Why did you have to talk to him?" he asked
He made me smile, he was so curious, just like I had been before I realized the horrors in this world. And he was determined, if people let it happen, he would be a great Hokage.
"I asked him if I could live here and become a ninja here. He agreed to letting me stay here, but he said he would never allow me to be a ninja." I said
"Oh, I'm sorry." he said, only making me smile more
"Don't worry about it." I said
"Hey, I have to go meet my team soon, want to come? You can watch, if you want." he asked
"Okay, sure, I'll come with you." I said, he grabbed my hand and led me to a bridge where the other members of his team sat waiting
"Hi guys!" he shouted, still holding my hand as I trailed behind him, "You remember Nokura, don't you?"
"Hi!" said the pink haired one while the raven haired one just glared at me
"Hi." I said, smiling
"My name's Sakura, and that's Sasuke." she said, smiling brightly at me
"hi! So, where's your jounin sensei?" I asked
"He's late, as usual. I don't think he even knows the meaning of on time." said Naruto, glaring slightly at the thought of it
"Hey, that's not very nice." said a voice and I looked over my shoulder at the silver-haired jounin
"Kakashi-sensei, this is Nokura, she's the girl we met earlier today in the forest." said Naruto
"Please to meet you, Kakashi, Sir." I said, bowing to him
"You too" he said
"Can she watch while we train, Kakashi-sensei?" asked Naruto
"Why not?" stated Kakashi, leading us to a forest
I followed them, thinking about Kakashi. I I wonder if…what if he was also assigned to kill Kekkei Genkai such as myself? /I
They stopped after a while and Kakashi told them their assignment, breaking trees with chakra. None of them could do it, not even Sakura. While they where practicing, Kakashi approached her and sat next to her.
"So Nokura, what clan are you from?" he asked
"Umm…I'm not sure I should tell you that." I stammered, fearing that if he found out, he would kill me
"I already know that you're a Kekkei Genkai, so don't worry. Plus, I have a sharingan and Sasuke is also of a Kekkei Genkia ancestry." he said
"Really?" I asked
"Yep."
"I'm from…the Dojimo clan. I'm the last one." I said, pulling my knees to my chest and resting my head on my knees
"Really?" he asked, eyes wide in surprise
"Yup." I answered
"Would you like to train with them?" he asked
"No, I already asked the Hokage, I will never be allowed to become a ninja in this village, though I have been given permission to live here." I said
"Hm…Okay, Naruto, Sasuke, Sakura, time's up, class is over." he said, "See you all tomorrow, same time. And Nokura, I expect to see you here as well."
"Okay." I smiled, as he left
"So, Nokura, why don't you train with us?" sneered Sasuke
"I'm not allowed." I said, not letting him get to me
"Well, why don't you do it anyway, I mean, come on, you'll have to move soon incase one of us tells." he said
"How dare you!" screamed Naruto
"Forget it, Naruto, let's go. I have no reason to talk to jerks who think they're better than everyone else, even if I am stronger than him." I said, grabbing Naruto's hand and walking away
"Bye Sakura!" he shouted, following after me
"Naruto? Want to play 20-question?" I asked after a moment
"Uh, sure, how do you play?" he asked
"It's easy, you ask me a question, then I ask you a question, but each person can only ask a total of 20, if you accidentally go over, you get pinched." I said, smiling at him
"Sure. I'll go first," he said, thinking for a moment, "what's your favorite color?"
"Blue, what's your?"
"Orange." he said
"What color are your eyes?" he asked
"Blue and black." I stated
"Seriously?" he yelled
"My turn!" I said, pinching him lightly, "what's your dream?"
"To be the best Hokage! Believe it!" he shouted, "Are your eyes really different color?"
"Yup." I said, brushing the hair away from my right eye, showing a bright blue eye while the other was black
"Cool." He said
We continued to ask each other questions, some of them really pointless. By the end of the day, we concluded that we where best friends. I then left him at his house and proceeded back to the forest, where I had decided to sleep that night. As I lay in the trees, I thought about my first friend, Naruto Umuzaki.
CHAPTER 5
The next day, Nokura woke up to the sound voices around her. She opened her eyes, only to see Naruto, Sasuke and Sakura trying to break tree with chakra under the watchful eye of Master Kakashi who was, of course, not using his watchful eyes but was instead reading one of his perverted books.
She yawned and continued to watch them. By the look f it, none of them had noticed she was there. Then, she slowly walked down the tree. Focusing her chakra at her feet as she walked. sideways down the tree. Still, only Master Kakashi noticed her.
I So she can use and control chakra? /I He thought, looking up from his book as she walked over to him
"Hey." she said, sitting down beside him
"So that's where you where."
"Yup." Nokura said, "So what's with Naruto, he seems distracted"
"He is. Today, when we where to meet here, I arrived late and he wasn't even there yet. When we found him, he told us he had been looking for you."
"Really?"
"Yeah."
"Well, I'm surprised e hasn't noticed me yet" Nokura said to Kakashi
"Nokura!" shouted a voice
"I guess I spoke too soon!" she said, smiling
"How'd you find us?" he asked
"I didn't, I was here the entire time" She said
I why didn't I sense her chakra earlier? /I thought Sasuke, surprised that she could hide her chakra so well
"Nokura Dojimo?" asked a masculine voice
"Yes?" asked Nokura, turning to see a messenger
"Master Hokage would like to speak with you, ma'am" he said, bowing to her slightly
"Okay, I'll be right with him." she said, turning and bowing to Master Kakashi, "Well, bye"
I She's fast. /I Thought Kakashi, his eyes unable to keep up with her
"Bye Nokura!" shouted Naruto
CHAPTER 6
As I approached the Hokage, four ninja surrounded me. I quickly jumped into a defensive position as they just stood there.
"What have I done to displease you, Master Hokage?" I asked, never taking my eyes off the surrounding ninja
'I am told that you have become friends with Naruto and his team mater." he answered, ignoring my question
"Aye."
"Well, then I must ask you to leave the village. Leave, and never return." he said
"But, why? What is so wrong with my being friends with Naruto?" I asked angrily, making the ninja around me stiffen
"You endanger my village, so I must ask you to leave now, or I will have my ninja escort you out."
"Can I at least say good bye?" I asked
"Yes, you may, these ninja will follow you to make sure you do not try anything." he answered
"This is because of my blood, isn't it?" I asked, but he just looked away and I stormed out of the building
I walked back to where my friends where training and waited for them to notice me.
"Nokura! You're back!" shouted Naruto
"I'm sorry, Naruto, I must leave." I told him with a sad look on my face
"Okay, I'll meet up with you after practice." he said
"No, Naruto. Master Hokage has asked me to leave the village, forever."
"You're leaving? But what have you done wrong?" he asked, sad at the thought of never seeing me again
"I don't know, he would not tell me. Good bye." I said, turning around and running away from them, tears in my eyes
Does no one want me happy? Naruto, Sakura, Sasuke, Master Kakashi, the first people to ever talk to me without trying to kill me in nearly five years. Will I never be free?
CHAPTER 7
After Nokura left, Kakashi immediately went to the Hokage
"Why did you tell Nokura to leave?"
"She is a threat to the village. She has not yet discovered her power, if she awakens, and does not know how to control it, she could kill everyone." he answered
"She's just a child, she could never do that!" said Kakashi
"You don't know the whole story about her clan. They could all summon up creatures from Hell that would destroy anything it was ordered to kill. No matter how strong the opponent, it could kill everyone. They where named the most powerful of all the Kekkei Genkai clan for that reason. Even the sharingan's power is considered useless and weak compared to these creatures." he said
"You're serious?"
"Very, oh, and when you're done, bring your team here, I have a mission for you."
"Yes sir." he said, going back to his class
Half an hour later, they arrived. The Hokage then gave them their new mission.
"Your mission is to collect the daughter of one of Konoha's richest men and bring her back from the country of sound. You have the rest of the day to prepare, you leave in the morning." he said
They left, and Kakashi was surprised by Naruto's actions. He seemed depressed about not seeing Nokura again for a very long time. He was quiet all the way until they split up, with Naruto going back to his home.
I I wish that Nokura didn't have to leave. /I he thought as he walked to his apartment and fell asleep, always thinking about Nokura and how close they had come to each other during the short time they had been together.
CHAPTER 8
The next day they left the village, heading out through the gates. Kakashi sensed they where being followed, but recognized the chakra surrounding the unknown figure and ignored it. They walked all day in silence, Naruto still depressed about the loss of his friend. He didn't speak until spoken to and never lifted his eyes off the ground in front of him. Soon, it was nightfall and the group decided to stop for the might. They set up their tents and fell asleep inside of them while Kakashi sat outside and watched the starts. Soon, he sensed someone approaching and looked to his left. There stood Nokura.
"Hello." She said, laying down on the grass beside him ad gazing at the stars.
"Hey." He said, looking at her for a moment, "Nokura, could you tell me something?"
"Sure" she smiled
"If you can't stay in our village, why don't you go back to your own parents?" he asked
"My parents are dead. I watched my mother die at the hands of the villagers." she said, remembering a part of her past
"Well, I'm sure you did all you could to help her." said Kakashi
"No I didn't" she said, "I didn't do anything to help her. It's my fault she died, if I'd have been stronger, I could have helped her. All I did was run away like a coward."
"How old where you?"
"Nine, a weak child. I'm still weak, I can't even use my special abilities." She said
"You where young, there is nothing you could have done" said Kakashi,
"No, I should have done something, I shouldn't have run away." She said
"Nokura? Is that you?" asked Naruto, walking up behind her
She spun around, wiping the tears from her face
"Is she crying? How pathetic." Said Sasuke, appearing from his tent
"How dare you!" yelled Nokura, walking up to him, "You have no clue what I've been through in my life! At least you have somewhere you belong! At least you have people who care about you. You have a home! I have none of that! I have every right to cry!"
"Nokura?" asked Naruto sadly
"I'm sorry Naruto, you should go to bed, all of you, I'll keep watch." She said, wiping even more tears from her eyes as they walked away to their tents, Kakashi included
Everyone fell asleep, that is except for Nokura. She stayed up all night, keeping watch for enemies and reliving the memories of her childhood.
Suddenly, a dart rushed through the air and hit her shoulder. She snapped out of her thoughts and pulled it out.
I Shit, it was filled with fast-acting poison… /I "Master Kakashi! Wake up!" she shouted, seeing the enemies surrounding her as she held her shoulder
"Sasuke! Sakura! Naruto! WAKE UP!" she screamed, finally getting their attention and waking them up while feeling the effects of the poison start taking it's toll
"Nokura, are you alright?" asked Naruto
"Yes, I'm fine, it was just a dart." She said, leaving the poison part out
There where three enemies, they all looked the same, triplets. On their forehead protector was the mark of the Hidden Village of Sound. They where rogues, by the look of it.
"What do you want?" asked Kakashi
"That little girl there…The one we just poisoned with our little dart. You can feel it, can't you, girl?" one of them hissed
"Of course I can, what do you take me for? A normal civilian?" Nokura answered
"Why do you want her?" yelled Naruto
"She's not a ninja, so this does not concern your little ninja group. Just hand her over." Another one sneered
"Like Hell." Shouted Nokura, shooting a needle at him, hitting him in the neck
A I thud /I could be heard as his paralyzed body hit the ground. The other two ninja quickly gathered up his body and ran away.
"Nokura, let me see where the dart hit you." Said Kakashi, walking towards her
"No, it's nothing. Besides, I would have to take my bandages off…always a dangerous thing to do." She said, walking back to the campfire and sitting down
"Alright, Nokura, you use my tent, I'll take watch for the rest of the night." Said Kakashi, sitting down beside her
"Thank you, Master Kakashi." She said, walking to his tent and quickly falling asleep
CHAPTER 9
The next day woke up early, Nokura waking up slightly later than everyone else. Kakashi had checked up on her earlier and discovered, while she was still sleeping, that she had a very high fever. But she acted as normal, not letting on that she was in pain and weakening by the second. Even Sasuke was surprised that she had not broken down yet
"Nokura, why don't you just give up?" asked Sakura, the fourth argument over staying to wait until Nokura was better all morning.
"Because, you have a mission to do and I personally don't want to stay here by myself." She answered tiredly
"Okay, since that's settled, let's go." said Kakashi
"Kakashi-sensei! Nokura's not feeling well! Can't you do anything to stop her?" begged Sakura
"No, I can't. She's not one of my apprentices and she's not my daughter, I can't tell her to do anything." Said Kakashi, walking away with is pack over his shoulder
Nokura quickly ran after him and walked beside him, followed by Naruto. They walked for the rest of the day, Nokura stumbling every once and a while.
I She should have collapsed by now. Maybe I don' t give her enough credit. /I thought Sasuke
Soon, they neared the town where the girl they where supposed to collect was when suddenly, the same three ninja's appeared all around them, with backup. There where about twenty of them. In the middle of the crowd stood a young woman with tears rolling down her face and a frightened look on her face. She was the girl they where supposed to collect.
"Give us the girl, and we give you our hostage." Said one of the triplets
"No way!" shouted Naruto
Nokura wasn't paying attention to her fried though, and took a step forward.
"You promise? Bring her out from the crowd." She said
"Of course." Said another triplet, dragging the girl out from the crowd
"Okay, run towards these ninja when I start walking, okay? They will bring you back to your father." said Nokura to the girl
She nodded and waited for the signal, Nokura walked towards the enemy ninja while the girl ran to Kakashi.
"Nokura! Come back here!" shouted Naruto
"No, Naruto, there are too many of them, please, just let me go." Said Nokura, tears starting in her eyes
"Nokura!" shouted Naruto, not wanting to lose his one friend
"Don't worry, Naruto, I will always be with you. Go back to your village, become Hokage. I know you can do it, you will be a great leader some day." Said Nokura, turning and facing him as the triplets tied her up and stabbed her to death, right in front of Naruto and her first friends.
"No" whimpered Naruto, unable to do anything to help his friend but watch her die at the hands of cowards
Soon, the enemies left, leaving Nokura's torn up body in the dirt. Her eyes here clouded over and bloody as they sat open in her death. Kakashi kneeled beside her and took something out of his pack, a forehead protector from the Hidden Village of Leaves, Naruto's village.
"She always wanted to be a shinobi and to be free." Said Kakashi
Sakura had tears running down her eyes as she stared at her dead friend. Naruto just stared at her, unable to grasp that his friend, who had been so full of life until a moment ago, was now dead. Kakashi picked up her body, and they carried her back to their village. Naruto went straight to his appartment, where a miracle happened. As he walked in the door, he noticed something written on his wall in bright red letters.
Finally, I am free