Hey there, Fire15dsgirl here, here is the second chapter of the story, note to those who care, this chapter takes place one year after the prologue. feel free to R/R before you go, this chapter introduces one of the main charactors,and leave your thoughts behind.

P.S. I own nothing, sadly.


"Mama, please…!"

"No, Cory. I will not hear of this. You are my daughter, a child of a merchant. If you were from a more powerful family, maybe, if you were a boy, maybe, otherwise you are not going, and that is final. Right now you should be worrying about dresses and dolls. I will not tolerate my eight year old daughter heading off to Konoha, ALONE, to become a SHINOBI!"

Infuriated at what my mama was telling me, I stared into her face. When I saw that she meant it, I turned on heal, and ran out the building. I was down the street before she could tell me I couldn't run either. I hated my life here. It was quiet and proper. Nothing ever happened. I didn't want to be married off to some person I didn't even know when I grew up. I didn't want to sit in my house, in a pretty dress, and let others die to keep me safe.

Mama always told me that shinobi were a crucial part of life, especially now, what with the war, or at least that is what the grownups called it. Years ago, when the Leaf first began to decline, many villages tried to help, especially the Sand. But now, most were taking advantage of its weakened state and were attacking the borders. The shinobi were the only ones who kept the civilians safe. They protected everyone. But shinobi numbers were dropping. Because of the added attacks, more shinobi were dying, and because more shinobi were dying, fewer people were signing up.

I never told anyone, but this is why I want to become a kunoichi. I want to protect people like mama, who didn't want to fight. I want to stand in front of the people who would dare to threaten my home, and stop them. I want to prove to everyone in my village that Konoha was not dying. I want to fight, to live, to learn, and so much more. I want to prove that I'm not just some stupid girl; that I can help…

That is why I want more that anything to be a kunoichi… so I can help.

I didn't come home that night. I slept outside, on our roof. It was warm, so I wasn't uncomfortable or anything. But, the next morning, I was starving. Still angry, I walked into the kitchen to find my mama there. She was asleep, but there were still tears on her face. She must have stayed up all night waiting for me. Sad I had worried her, I picked up a blanket that had fallen off her shoulders, and rewrapped it around her. Then I left the kitchen, no longer hungry, yet, feeling emptier that ever.

I walked into my room and got dressed for the day. Quietly I pulled o my favorite kimono. It was dark red with blue and purple embroidery on the edges. It was short and loose, so Mama let me wear pants with it. Sighing a little, I pulled my long curly black hair into a low ponytail. Before I left the room, I looked in the mirror Mama had given me for my birthday that year. I looked very little like my mama. She was tan, plump, and over all, looked like a mother aught, except her eyes were silver, and her short blond hair was curly.

I must look more like my dad, because I have black hair, porcelain skin, and am over all, very small. In fact, the only things I share with my mama are my curly hair and silver eyes. However, I don't know for sure.

I never met my dad. In fact, the only thing I know about him is that my mama loved him dearly. I don't know what he looks like or sounds like. I don't even know his name. Every now and then I will ask my mama about him, but she says that the less I know the safer both he and I are. On my eight birthday I asked why my dad wasn't at the party, but she said that he was always there for me, I just could not see him.

Feeling bored I ran out of the house into the marketplace to look for something fun to do. Soon after I arrived I entered the main court yard. Shops lined the walls and people filled the spacious clearing with noise. Standing in the entering I saw something that caught my eye. Light glinted off the head band of a shinobi standing outside the local inn. Shortly after I saw him, he turned and left, talking about how he had to go train. Waving he turned and headed in the direction of the forest. Keeping a ways behind him I followed. When we were both well on the way to the thick of the forest, and no one was around, I ran up to him.

"You're a shinobi, aren't you?" I asked pointing to the leaf on his head band. He nodded but did not say anything. "What's your name?"

He looked at me and a small frown formed on his face. "Konohamaru" he said, his frown deepening.

Smiling I said, "My name is Cory. I live here. I want to become a shinobi too, but my mama says I cannot because I'm just a poor merchant girl." I paused and looked at him. " will you take me to Konoha to go to the ninja academy there?" while I had been speaking, his eyes had grown wide, as though I had surprised him, but when I finished, he look angry; far angrier that Mama ever had.

"No!" he practically shouted at me. Stung and confused, I did what any defiant little girl would do. I stomped up to him, kicked him in the shin as hard I could, stuck my tongue out at him, then turned on heal and ran into the forest.

Konohamaru watched stunned as the little black haired girl ran in to the forest, his shin throbbing; that girl could kick. Honestly he hadn't meant to be so harsh. It was just that she had reminded Konohamaru, disturbingly, of "him." Muttering darkly, unhappy, pissed thoughts ruing through his mind. After a while he slowly began to walk to the nearby forest. The villagers told him that it would probably be the best place to train.

He was aware of the eyes that followed his every movement. They appeared the moment he entered the forest. For a time, he was comfortable ignoring the eyes of the little girl who had kicked him, but after walking miles into the forest, and still sensing those eyes, he grew distracted. Finally, he gave up on pretending she wasn't there, and began to look for her. He looked at all the obvious hiding places along the paths, and even looked into the bushes. However after looking at all the places she could possibly be, he hadn't found her. Just as he was beginning to wonder if perhaps it wasn't the little girl, he heard the faint sound of metal gently striking metal. Looking for the sound, he looked directly up and saw her.

She was forty feet over him, watching as he looked for her. He looked at her perch, a small branch, and the grace she commanded even while sitting still. At that precise moment, a strong gust of wind pushed through the trees. The wind hit him first, making him stumble in its strength. Then a moment before the wind hit the girl, Konohamaru remembered the thin branch the girl crouched on. He remembered feeling panic shoot through him with the thought, my god, she'll fall. Frozen he watched as the wind hit her, making her long curly hair stream. But, rather than falling from the force of the wind, she looked almost untouched by it, her hair, cloths, and the tinkling earrings the only proof that she had felt the wind at all. Even more than that, when the thin branch began to writhe under her, strained by her weight and the forceful gust, she remained perched, not only keeping her balance, but looking graceful as she rode the tree. This whole time she had kept her eyes locked on his. At first her eyes had shown shock, and Konohamaru wondered if she was rarely caught when hiding. Then her eyes narrowed. Her face took on a wild and unearthly quality. Her eyes looked like those of a cat, as she refused to look away from him, and he stared, caught in her gaze. A few moments after the wind stopped, she finally broke the mystifying spell and looked away.

Without looking back at him, she jumped off the branch she was perched on, to an even smaller on, then continued to jump to another. In a minute, he could no longer see her. She had never jumped as far as a shinobi could, only a few feet at a time, but still. She had managed to easily navigate branches that could give trouble to any shinobi, even if they were using chakra to hold themselves to the branches, and the girl was using absolutely no chakra; that he was sure of. She was navigating those branches with pure grace, balance, and an instinct Konohamaru was sure he didn't have.

I don't know how I confused her with him.

Shaking his head he headed off to a clearing to train. Shortly after he began walking again, he felt the eyes return, but this time, they didn't bother him. Unknowingly, he smiled and shook his head. If she wanted to watch so badly, who was he to deny her? He didn't practice for long, only an hour. But he stuck to the basics. He felt from the intensity of the gaze, that she would remember, and, his heart of hearts told him, she would practice, often. After an hour, he had worked up enough of a sweat to say it was worth the effort, and had also managed to demonstrate all the moves a young girl like that should know.

As he was leaving the forest he felt the eyes follow him out. Shorty before he exited the forest he stopped. He felt her caution, but he didn't look for her. Instead he took a kunai out of the pack strapped to his waist, and before he could think about it, slammed it into the tree, then walked away.

Someone so much like him needs a weapon; anyway, she'll need one to practice. With a grin much akin to one an elder brother would wear, Konahamaru walked out the forest feeling almost proud of himself for the first time in years.


i have no clue when the next chapter will be up but it is in progress. see you soon.