The Unwanted Curse
According to my clans' legends I should have never been born. It was written that seventeen years ago, on the first day of the golden dragon, a saviour would be born and drive our enemies away with the fury and grace in his deadly blows and then deliver us to the Promised Land that the angels pledged to us long ago. But instead I was born, cursing and screaming the war driven world I was delivered into. That night, my mother died and my people wept. Because I was born with strange red eyes and I was female. They claimed I was a portal of doom and I used to think they were right; until I met Kakashi. Anju snapped out of her dark thoughts and shifted her eyes to the group leader with gravity defying hair. She examined him carefully; well, the part where his headband covered his left eye. Despite the circumstances Anju was still having a hard time believing what he had told her. Apparently her eyes were a bloodline technique from the Uchiha clan that had been swiped out by one of its own. Now only two other members of this clan exist. Sasuke Uchiha (who Naruto had mistaken her for) who had turned traitor to the village hidden in the leaves and Madara Uchiha - who somehow survived five generations - now had this plan to take over the world. Kakashi asked if he could meet her clan leader, which Anju was dead set against at first because outsiders were not allowed inside clan grounds and other clan members would not be happy if she broke that rule. But then she thought the clan members can go to hell themselves since the clan hated Anju anyway and she wanted answers. So here she was, leading a group of total strangers to her clan campsite with no reason to trust them and no evidence. Anju was certain she would be thrown over the cliffs when her clan found out about this; literally. The sudden sharp snap of a twig caught Anju's attention, signalling the group to halt. Crouching low, she watched for movements in the shadows. A sudden movement caught her eye. Pulling a jewelled clip from her hair she threw the clip in the movement's direction, the only sound in the forest was the hair pin hitting a random tree in the distance, until a person walked out of the darkness; holding her clip in his hand.
"(Anju! What are you doing with this group of invaders)" The taller guard asked in a language that the Konoha ninja did not understand, chucking the clip back at her like it was poisonous to hold. However, the hidden leaf ninja could tell by the angry expression on the patrolman's face that they were not welcome.
"(What I do with strangers is none of your concern? I have brought them back for questioning)"Anju calmly answered. However, her reply only infuriated the guard even more.
"(How dare you talk to me like that, you're nothing but curse to this clan?)" He hissed at her but Anju wasn't taking any of his crap, especially today.
"(And you are nothing but a hypocrite, sneaking merchants into our camp to sell off your jewellery. At least my intentions are honourable and not behind the clans back.)" Anju spat back, earning herself a look of utter hatred as he glared kunais at her. Thankfully, Anju was use to these stares and as a result was unfazed by it. "(Continued your watch soldier, I have business to attend to.)" Anju commanded and signalled for the outsiders to continue forward. He gradually nodded and sank back into the shadows after he shot Anju another dirty look.
"He seems nice." Kakashi sarcastically commented, earning a small smile spread on Anju's face.
"Trust me when I say he's just the icing on top of the cake." Anju tried to joke but a bit of bitterness broke through her attempt to try and lighten the mood, causing the rest of the journey to continue in silence.
Naruto was using all of his might not to snap at the people that gave him and his team evil glares once they had entered the village. However, as time went past he began to realise that the glares were not directly on his team but on the girl; Anju. I know those looks, Naruto thought but he was not allowed to ponder on any longer because he noticed Anju indicating them into a giant white tent. The room consisted of a large table surrounded by a group of armed men looking at what looked like a map. The men were arguing, so loudly that he was surprised when Anju did a small cough that suddenly eight pairs of eyes were on them. At first their expressions were a mixer of shock but it quickly turned to anger. One of the men (who looked like he was the clan leader) spat foreign words that sounded similar to what they had heard the guard had said to Anju, who steadily answered. He could only understood part of the situation when Anju made gestures' at them and then at Kakashi's covered eye. As soon as she pointed to it a huge up roar erupted, the people around them started arguing and cursing at her until the clan leader shut them all up and calmly asked Anju something.
"He wishes to see your eye to know what I say is true." Anju asked Kakashi. Swiftly Naruto's sensei lifted up the head band protector, revealing a spinning sharingan. A moment of silence collapsed on to the council, until the clan leader sat back in his chair and rested his head in his hands in a thoughtful matter. Naruto's patience was beginning to reach the boiling point when the man finally said something to Anju. "My father wishes to speak to you tomorrow, he is very tired and has much to think about." Anju pleaded. Seeing the tiredness that was clearly displayed on Anju face and her faces; Naruto couldn't help but feel tired himself. Kakashi also saw this and decided it was a good idea since his team needed a rest. The leader suddenly barked something at Anju before sending orders to the man that stood near the door, which Anju was kind enough to translate. "Isas and Hiroshi will take you to your sleeping quarters, I will meet you later." Before anyone had a chance to protest the Konohagakure were swept away to their sleeping quarters.
Anju sat peacefully in her chair, as she watched her father pace back and forth mumbling to himself. She couldn't help but wonder if her father was going a little senile but there were times when brilliance would shine through, when he was able to come up with a brilliant idea in difficult situations –barely saving the skin of their teeth, looking at him now Anju ever wonder if anyone would replace the clan leader. The two main contestants were Tadashi and Surin. Tadashi was the best bet in her eyes because he was a strong warrior and when it came to making tough decisions he had always made the right ones. However, the clan would never accept him because when the council order him to kill Anju he refused, when Anju asked him years later he had reply 'I couldn't kill my baby sister; cursed or not." In fact he practically raised her –since no one else wanted to raise the child of doom- and taught her everything she knew. It had been hard for Tadashi for the first couple of months after her birth, since he had lost his second mother and had to raise an infant all by himself. But somehow they had both survived the physical and mental hardship they had faced. Surin on the other hand was a completely different story. Yes, Anju had to admit he was a good warrior (nothing compared to Tadashi's level) but he was arrogant, aggressive and narrow minded but he was the only blood relation to the clan leader that the clan liked; since Tadashi and Anju had been disowned – for reasons that were completely stupid and un-rational. Surin had always been jealous of Tadashi's natural born talents and even swore he would finish off the duty he was too weak to complete but two facts stood in his way: first was the fact that despite fallen out of his father's graces, he would never let anyone harm his first born and secondly, he was nowhere in Tadashi's league. Despite these factors Surin still held his threat to wipe Anju off the face of the planet, so one night when the whole campsite had been asleep, Surin snuck up to Anju homemade cradle one night when she was only a few weeks old and would of stabbed her in the heart. Thankfully, Tadashi had seen this plan coming and had set booby traps around the cot. When he had raised his sword above his head, Surin accidently set off one of the traps and ended up with a kunai going through his eye. Later on he would explain that he had been attacked by bandits to cover up his humiliation. He stayed away after that but his threat was never forgotten. A first slamming on the table broke Anju out of her deep thinking. Looking up she saw it was her father who had made the loud noise and was shaking with rage.
"How could you do this to me?" Her father suddenly yelled, unable to control his anger any further. Why was he so angry? Anju did not know. But then again she seemed to upset everyone just by breathing. Despite every nerve in her body to stop, Anju asked,
"What did I do to offend you?"Apart from being born, she thought. Before Anju had a chance to register what had happen, she felt something hard slam against her face; she didn't need a mirror to see she had blood dripping down her face. Staring back at her father Anju saw he was just as he was just as shocked as she was. It was not uncommon knowledge that he hated her but never once had he ever struck her. Shaking herself free of her shock, she bowed and left before any more communication could be past between them. He may have been a great leader but he was no good father. Hiding the bleeding cut behind her hand, Anju did not keep her promise to visit the team when she left the tent. Instead she tried to find solitude in her own made up camp for the night. It was nothing much since she had given her tent for Tadashi to use, since he was on a mission for the clan. The clan was poor but Anju group was the poorest since they had to share a tent between them. Her campsite consisted of a small camp bed and a tiny camp fire that consisted of a pot hanging over it. It wasn't until she saw the bed roll that she was reminded of how tired she was. Ducking behind a tree Anju changed into baggy t-shirt and shorts before stuffing her clothes into a rucksack and threw it at the end of the bed but kept her katana out and ready just in case. However, before she went to sleep she pulled out a mirror but instead of looking at her reflection she looked past it. Relaxing herself, Anju watched and waited as colours start to spin around the glass; forming new shapes and surroundings. The mirror now showed her a campsite with a young looking man with gentle grey eyes and raven black hair sitting as watchmen, while his comrades slept. He looked more like he was day dreaming then staying alert but his head slowly turned towards her direction and shot her a small salute and sleepy smile. Knowing that her brother was safe she let the vision disappear; turning back to her own reflection. She was also glad to see that her eyes had returned back to their usual dark violet. She had no control over her sharing-thingy and sometimes it would take days to disappear; leaving her exhausted. Pulling the covers high over her neck she snuggled into her little bed and fell asleep.
