A/N: I should warn those of you who plan to continue reading this fic (and hopefully review it) that the theme is going to be rather angsty. And dark. And horrifying. And tragic. There will be many mature themes and some readers may not appreciate that. I do promise to go about this in a mature and sensible manner, being aware that the themes could be offensive in nature. I want to show that there is a way through the horrors the characters will face and have a "moral of the story" type of thing. Violence will be common and I have often been told that my best stories were the extremely descriptive ones. (This will be noticeable in my next fic). So I apologize in advance if any of my stories make anyone vomit. (Though I'm quite sure most of you have strong stomachs, since you have to deal with so many poorly written and poorly edited fics on such a regular basis lol).
Also please note that I changed the rating to suit the mature themes and violence level. Language wont be much of a problem, but I may end up writing a vague lemon or two for upcoming chapters. Warnings will be givin accordingly.
Part 1
Birds chirped happily as the glowing red sun peeked over the treetops and signaled the new day. Sunlight flickered between the leaves of an enormous willow tree, its branches stretched out over a still pond like stiff fingers, allowing the longer vines to trail over the water's surface, teasing the carp and goldfish swimming lazily about. Basking in the chilled shadows of the ancient tree was a young girl named Sage Tuzori. She was fast asleep, and the birds and squirrels gazed curiously at the strange being.
Suddenly, for a second, the girl's peaceful face changed and an expression of sadness marred her exquisite features. Then it was replaced by peace once again. She lay on her side, curled up in a ball with her bandaged hands tucked comfortably under her cheek, strands of straight black and red hair splayed over her face. She was barefoot and wore a small black halter top with a corset over it, a pair of short black shorts with fishnet stockings covering her legs from the knees up, and black open-toed boots that reached mid calf, were lying abandoned near the trunk of the willow. Flung beside her on the grass was an ornately decorated katana, an over-shirt made only from some black fishnet, and two black & red wristbands. A deep green band with the Leaf Village symbol etched in the metal plate in the center was tied around her waist.
Suddenly, a shadow flickered over Sage's head for a moment before cautiously slipping away. Then just as quickly, a kunai was pressed against the smooth skin of the girl's throat. However, the figure could only blink as a small, delicate hand wrapped around his wrist, and the sleeping girl's left leg shot up, hooking a knee around the back of his neck and flipping him over her body and onto his back with a thud. Sage's other knee was held back against his throat, trapping him in a headlock. His arm was then twisted so the kunai was now pressed to the base of his skull. The subdued ninja chuckled, which wasn't easy considering the young girl was cutting off his air supply. Sage smirked down at her prey and gave him a hard noogie before releasing him. Kakashi Hatake remained on his back, grinning up at her through his mask.
"Yo." Kakashi sighed wistfully. "Well, I suppose there's nothing else I can teach you my dear. No one else your age has ever managed to subdue me like that, especially while still half asleep and by only using taijutsu."
Sage smirked again. "So the student surpassed the teacher, huh Kakashi-kun?"
The older shinobi stood, brushing himself off, and then turned to his student. He sighed again. "I suppose you have, just slightly. But that doesn't mean you can get cocky. And your abilities are still to remain a secret, understand?"
Sage flipped some black hair over her shoulder and glared at the silver haired ninja. "Whatever."
Kakashi frowned. She had shut down again. It happened every time she was ordered to suppress her skills. He knew that the Hokage, as well as several ANBU squads were aware of this young prodigy. She could've been a jounin by now, but it was just too risky. The Sondaime-sama had made it clear that Sage would have to be held back, for her own good of course. Perhaps his announcement would cheer her up a bit.
"Tuzori-chan." The girl scowled at the use of her last name that way. Kakashi only grinned.
"Sarutobi-sama gave me some good news today. Concerning you of course." Kakashi had to bite his lip to keep from blurting it, which was quite out of character for him in the first place. Sage did that to him. She made him human and slightly less perverted.
Sage's face lit up. "You mean I can participate in the Chuunin Exams?"
Kakashi swallowed hard. 'Uh-oh. She's been hoping for that all along, but I don't think Hokage-sama is going to even consider letting her fight a fellow ninja in front of hundreds of people.' He cleared his throat. "Umm. . . no. I-I mean, I don't know about that. I found out this morning that all the gennin squads are full, so you'll be switching regularly. You'll actually be able to work with each team every few missions. You get a chance to make friends. Isn't that great?"
The small spark in Sage's dove gray eyes fizzled out, and she stared at him. All emotion was wiped instantly from her face, but not before Kakashi had seen the flicker of hurt flash across it. "Oh. That's. . . . great," she replied.
"So tomorrow you'll start with Gay-er. . . Gai-sensei." The older ninja smiled encouragingly. It didn't work. Sage stared at him a moment, then turned away.
"Sayonara sensei," she murmured. Then she left, as silent as a shadow. Kakashi watched her leave, feeling like a jerk even though the whole problem technically wasn't his fault.
To be continued...
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Blood Zephyr out.
