I finally caught up to the first part of the series. Hurray! It's another Nari centered chapter though. Sorry. :/

As I had expected, my time with Orochimaru was short lived. Only a year after we had begun (which was actually longer than I had had any other sensei), I left him. Orochimaru was about to set his plan of destroying the HiddenLeafVillage in motion. He had wanted me to do some special mission but I refused and that's when he realized I wasn't there for him. He sent me off, not wanting to fight me anymore than I wanted to fight him. I was sure I could win but it'd be a long, arduous fight that just wasn't worth it. Someone else would take care of Orochimaru. I was sure of it.

Still, I wasn't going to pass up my chance to finally earn the trust and respect of the village that I really wanted to accept me. I set out for the Village Hidden in the Leaves, thinking that when Orochimaru attacked, I could fight alongside their ninja. That way they'd know, at the very least, I was an ally.

It took me a little over a month to reach the village because of all the distractions I encountered. I stared up at what should've been my childhood home, at the huge walls, and grinned. I could already tell that it'd take more than Orochimaru to defeat this village. I was in the trees above the road to the entrance to the village. Other foreign ninja were entering as well, and I saw them take out passports to show they had the right to be there. I frowned. I didn't have a passport, nor did I have a way to get one. It didn't take me long to devise a plan to get around that issue.

I went a ways away from the entrance and started to use my staff as a cane. I leaned on it heavily and limped towards the entrance. The foreign ninja that passed by didn't say a word as they saw me hobbling along. A few of them had the desire to help "such a poor kid," but they resisted for fear of criticism from their teammates. I didn't care. It'd be better for me to enter the village by myself, not accompanied by potential enemy ninja to the Village Hidden in the Leaves.

I didn't slow as I approached the gates (mostly because slowing at my pace meant stopping). I tried to walk straight through and nearly did it, too, until one of the two guards spotted the headband at my waist. "Hey, you. Halt," he ordered. I fumbled as I stopped and stared at him in a faked surprise. He thought it was real. How is this kid a ninja? I heard him think, studying how I rested on my staff. "Where's your passport?" he demanded.

"P-Passport?" I cried out in shrill confusion. "What – What do you mean? Why – Why do I – I need a passport? I – I – I l-live here." The two guards were shocked.

"You're a ninja here?" the second guard asked incredulously.

"N-Ninja? I'm not a n-ninja." That makes a lot more sense, the second ninja decided. Poor kid probably can't even do ninjutsu.

"Then why are you wearing that headband?" the first ninja demanded. I glanced down at my headband as if I had forgotten all about it.

"This?" I replied, holding it up. "My – My dad gave it t-to me. I – I – I always wanted t-to be a n-ninja but I – I – I always got s-sick, so the a-academy didn't want me. My – My dad gave it t-to me t-to make me feel bet-better." I bet the girl hasn't been out of the hospital more than a few times in her life, the first ninja assumed.

"What's the symbol then?" he demanded anyway.

"Oh, come on, Veske. Let the kid pass. She's obviously not a threat," the second guard argued. I smiled gratefully at him. I tried to look exhausted and it worked.

"Well, alright then," the first one answered hesitantly. "I'll let her go but I still want to know what that symbol is. I've never seen the likes of it before."

"Oh. It's the s-symbol of the nine – nine-tailed f-fox because it – it healed really quickly. My – my dad wants me t-to heal really quickly too." This girl's dad fought the nine-tailed fox? the second wondered.

"Who's your dad?" he asked, curiosity getting the best of him.

"I thought you said to stop giving her a hard time, Chiruaya," Veske intervened. Chiruaya blushed and nodded. "Go on through, kid. And tell your dad that we didn't mean to give you a hard time."

"O – Okay," I stuttered as I hobbled into the village. I kept up my act until I was well away from the gate. Then I stretched, my muscles having cramped leaning on the staff. I sighed and looked around. I was in the shopping section of town. In truth, it was the first time since I had gone to such a place. I never had any money so I usually didn't bother with shops, but now my curiosity was getting the best of me. I walked around, peeking at all the strange objects they were selling.

There were necklaces, ribbons, bracelets, ink, blank scrolls, and so much more. There were a ton of food venders but I didn't so much as look at those shops. I was always hungry and I knew the possibility of smelling one of the uncooked slabs of meat they had in the back was too much of a risk to take. I was getting better control over my transformation but it still depended heavily on the scent of fresh blood.

"Hey, you there," someone called to me after a few hours in the shopping plaza. I looked towards the source of the sound and was surprised to see Veske coming after me. It was too late to try and act weak now. I placed my hand on top of my staff and waited for him to come to me. I knew there was something wrong with this girl, I heard him scold himself. I should've never let her in. "Feeling better already?"

"Don't play with me, Veske. Yes, you caught me. Now get on with it. What do you want?" He was shocked by the newfound strength in my voice.

"I want to now under which Kage you serve."

"I don't serve under any Kage. No village has ever taken me nor claimed me. I am a lone ninja. Not a rogue. Simply alone. I have no one to serve."

"So that act at the gate; that was so you could get in without a passport? Are you here for the Chuunin Exams?" Chuunin Exams? I wouldn't mind becoming a chuunin, I thought.

"Yeah. I was hoping to find a way in."

"Well, now I'm taking you to the Hokage."

"Whatever." He glared at me but said nothing as he led me through the village. I stopped suddenly, a strange scent catching my attention. It smelled like… It smelled like another nine-tailed fox! I immediately sent my mind searching for its conscious so that I might verify my belief. Instead, I couldn't find a single slip of a conscious. I growled in frustration and instead looked for a mind nearby to the one of my focus. I found one; whose name I soon discovered was SasukeUchiha.

Sasuke was perched up in a tree, staring down at… Could it truly be? Staring at who I immediately recognized as Gaara. Gaara had grown so much. He was no longer a scared little boy. He was strong and impossibly cold-hearted. I again tried to reach his mind, as I once attempted so many years ago, but there was nothing.

Reluctantly, I pushed away thoughts of Gaara, despite that that was who Sasuke was focused on. Instead, I picked through Sasuke's memory to find out about the mysterious blonde haired boy that was obviously emanating the scent of a nine-tailed fox. I discovered, with a mixture of surprise and horror, that the boy had a nine-tailed fox sealed inside of him.

Veske cleared his throat loudly, snapping me out of Sasuke's mind. I vowed to myself that I'd find both Gaara and the blonde haired boy after I finished my business with the Hokage. "Yes?" I asked coolly, as though nothing had transpired. This kid has issues, he assumed.

"You just stopped randomly."

"I thought I heard something but it was nothing. Let us continue." He nodded sharply and kept walking. It was a good half hour before we reached the Hokage.

"Veske, who is this?" the old man demanded, staring at me while smoking a pipe. The red outfit gave away his powerful position.

"Lord Hokage, this girl snuck into this village acting like a sick and weak civilian. She fooled both Chiruaya and I. I discovered her over a half hour ago in the shopping plaza. She claims to be a lone ninja, saying that no village has ever claimed her."

"Ah, but who is she?"

"NariNinetails," I answered for Veske. The Hokage glared at me with disbelief. I discovered in his mind that he knew about nine-tailed ninjas and the pact that had been made with the nine-tailed foxes long ago. He also realized, that if no village had ever claimed me, then the Village Hidden in the Leaves must have broken that pact. What is your age? he asked in a silent matter, already knowing that I could read minds. "Fourteen," I replied. Cursed. That is two years before the nine-tailed fox attacked us.

"Sir?" Veske asked, already lost.

"Leave us," the Hokage ordered. Veske hesitated but did as he was bid. "It seems I finally know why the nine-tailed fox attacked us," he assumed.

"It's doubtful that any nine-tailed fox would've attacked you because the Village Hidden in the Leaves refused to accept me in their ranks. My people abandoned me afterwards. They seemed more disappointed with me than angry at the village. Besides, we would have never allowed one of our own to be sealed within a child unless they were a rogue."

"How does one tell when a nine-tailed fox is a rogue?"

"Did he have long ears?"

"Yes."

"Then he was a rogue." The Hokage pondered this for a few minutes.

"Still, we broke the peace treaty with your people first."

"Yeah, but that was only the fault of some ill-informed jounin. I never actually won an audience with the Hokage the last time I came." He sighed inwardly.

"What are your demands?" he asked. I stepped back, not expecting that. My demands? "You do have demands, don't you?" he said, noting my hesitance.

"Actually, I didn't expect to meet you so no, not really."

"Then why are you in my village?"

"Um… The Chuunin Exams. I came to watch the Chuunin Exams and try to sneak my way in." The Hokage saw through my lie but said nothing. I saw in his mind that there was no way I could possibly get into the Chuunin Exams but he was, surprisingly, willing to make me a ninja of his village after all. He'd want me tested but I could handle that. I was a strong kid with some extreme abilities. "I'd be honored to accept your offer," I said, almost to tears. This was my biggest dream. To just have one place to call home, one government to follow, one culture to learn. I loved it!

"I thought you might be," he muttered. "I'm sending you to one of my most gifted jounin to test your strength." I nodded in understanding. "Let Veske in." I did as I was bid and Veske came in prepared to fight. He hadn't anticipated that we might actually get along. "Take Nari to Kakashi," the Hokage ordered.

"Yes, sir," Veske agreed without question. He told me to follow him and we were off. Veske had a hard time out pacing me, though I could tell he was trying desperately. Because of our breakneck speed, we reached a large, black sundial within a matter of minutes. "Kakashi," Veske said, demanding the attention of a white haired ninja who was paying his respect to the strange sundial. I could see carvings on the pointer rock and realized it was a tombstone of sorts.

"Yes, Veske?" the ninja asked, sounding slightly irked.

"The Hokage wants you to test my strength," I interrupted. The ninja turned around and stared at me. He had a blue mask over the bottom of his face and his headband was covering up one eye. The ninja glanced at Veske to see if what I said was true. Veske nodded, albeit a little uncertainly.

"What's your name, child?" he asked.

"NariNinetails," I informed him with a low bow. I heard his inward exclamation. He knew about nine-tailed ninja too. Why hadn't I met him thirteen years ago? "It's a pleasure to meet you KakashiHatake."

"As it is to meet you, NariNinetails. You can leave us now, Veske. I can handle this one." Don't be so sure, I warned, despite the fact he couldn't hear me. Kakashi was extremely curious to who and what I was. He was pleased that the Third Hokage (for I discerned for Kakashi's mind that's who he was) had assigned the job of testing me to him. "Are you a fighter, NariNinetails?"

"Please, just Nari," I assured him, seeing in his mind that he feared offending me. Until he knew the max of my strength, he wasn't willing to pick a fight with a demon. "Yes, I am a fighter. And yes I know taijutsu," I muttered, anticipating his next question. Kakashi nodded, not knowing that I also had the ability to read his mind. This would be a short lived fight, I could already tell.

Kakashi attacked first, throwing five shuriken at me. I blocked them all with staff and even bounced one back towards him. That didn't even slow him. He came at me faster, attacking with great strength and speed but the match played out similar to the one I shared with Orochimaru. When it came to hand-to-hand combat, I was the ultimate winner. I knew of no one who could beat me in it.

"Alright, I'm convinced," Kakashi said coolly although he was doubled over, panting. "You know taijutsu. But what about chakra control? What can you do with that?" I cocked my head to the side. I knew chakra control was important for me but was it really so important to every other ninja. I shrugged and walked over to the nearest tree and then walked up the trunk without fear. I would've liked to show him that I could walk on air but I was still practicing that trick. I could only stand about an inch of the ground. It wasn't very impressive.

"Is this decent?" I asked as if I couldn't already hear his approval in the deep recesses of his mind.

"Can you walk on water?"

"Yes."

"Can you walk on air?" It was a joke and he expected the answer to be no. I jumped down to the ground.

"I'm not very good at it yet, but yes." This took Kakashi by surprise. He turned towards me, eye wide open.

"Show me," he demanded. I focused my chakra to the bottoms of my feet and then took a step into the air. Then another. I stood there, hovering an inch of the ground as the ninja gawked at me. "Can you go any higher?" I grimaced but tried to take another step up. It took me a full minute to feel that my foot was stable, then I tried to move the other. For a few seconds I was okay, but as I tried to station the second foot, I lost my balance and fell. I've never seen… What else is she capable of? I heard him think.

"That's the best I got," I admitted.

"That's alright. You've already proven yourself beyond my greatest expectations. Onto the next jutsu; ninjutsu." I sighed inwardly. I had slept the night before and I hard barely broken a sweat fighting Kakashi. The reason why my taijutsu was so good was because I tried to rely on it. Even Orochimaru feared me using my ninjutsu when my teammates were around. Because of my excess chakra, I was just as likely to hurt/kill them as I was to hurt/kill the enemy. I tried to keep myself exhausted so that I didn't have so much chakra, but even I needed to sleep once in a while.

"If we're going to do that then we best get away from here." Kakashi raised an eyebrow in surprise but didn't argue. I led him deep into the forest and warned, "If you want me to perform an ninjutsu, it's best if you're a good distance away or have some way of shielding yourself. You'll soon understand why I work so hard to master chakra control." This really shocked Kakashi. What is this girl talking about? the jounin wondered. "Anyway, what do you want me to show you?"

"Can you produce shadow clones?" Shadow clones, huh? Does he expect me to be at a genin level? Of course, I can produce shadow clones. I can probably produce a hundred of the damned things without scratching the surface of my chakra reserves.

"Remember you asked for it," I stated and then performed the shadow clone jutsu. The explosion was thankfully small for me having slept the night before. It only knocked over the trees in close vicinity of me, but Kakashi had been sent flying. He lay on the ground and I ordered one of my shadow clones to help him up. He accepted the hand and then looked around with a short gasp. There were at least two hundred clones around, some of them busy fixing the trees I had injured.

"You have a blessing and a curse," he muttered, noting that I didn't even look slightly tired, and that I wasn't injured in any way.

"Yeah… It makes life interesting; that's for sure."

Thanks for reading! Please review. Next one's a Gaara centered chapter. I promise.