REBORN

When I woke up, I opened my eyes to see the Anbu team and an old man staring at me lying on a bed. I sat up and one of the Anbu held a knife to my neck.

I knew that I must be in Konoha now, catching sight of the village through the window. My head ached as I remembered everything that happened with my father.

From what I could tell, Orochimaru must have killed many Konoha ninjas so they definitely wouldn't treat me as a nice guest.

A part of my mind suggested, "A quick death might not be a bad idea. At least I won't be in the same world as Orochimaru and be with mother."

I stared at the ninja who had the blade directed at my main artery and moved my neck to touch the cold metal, pleading softly, "Do it. Kill me."

The man's expression couldn't be seen through his Anbu mask, but I felt his hand shake slightly.

The other Anbu grabbed his teammate's arm and pulled the weapon away from me, scolding him, "Kira, you can't point a knife towards a child!"

Kira reminded, "Kakashi, She's no normal child. Look at her grey eyes, the mark of Spirit Clan's pure-blood. She may be Orochimaru's child."

Kakashi looked at the silent old man in the room and argued, "It's only Sandaime's guess."

I stared at the white bed sheets and said solemnly, "That's true. I am Orochimaru's daughter."

The pain of my father's betrayal caused my insides to boil with anger. I had enough of this world. I had enough of Orochimaru's lies. Tears fell from my eyes, wetting the sheets.

I clutched the sheets tightly and cried, "Just kill me! End this! Please."

The Anbu called Kakashi, whose head protector covered one of his eyes, took off his Anbu mask and moved towards me slowly.

I muttered repeatedly through my sobs, "Kill me."

He asked softly, "What's your name?"

I replied between sobs, "Himeko."

Kakashi placed his hand on my head comfortingly and spoke to the old man, "Sandaime-sama, as you can see, this child is troubled and harmless."

After a few moments of silence, the old man finally concluded, "She is to be kept in the Hokage Tower at all times under constant surveillance of the Anbu until I see fit." The 5 Anbu ninjas saluted the Hokage as he left the room. Kakashi continued to stroke my hair soothingly as I wept. It seems hours till I fell asleep from the stress.

The next morning, I was escorted out of bed to the washroom for a bath. I turned on the tap for the water to fill the tub and sat in the corner of the room with my head on my knees. The memory of Orochimaru confessing to my mother's murder kept replaying in my mind. The fact that the murderer's blood was within me disgusted me. I clawed at my wrist as I felt the traitor's blood flowing through my veins.

After 30 minutes, the Anbu kicked open the door as they thought I had escaped. They were surprised to find me sprawled on the ground in a huge pool of blood.

When I regained my consciousness, I found myself on the bed in my room with bandages around my wrists.

Someone immediately slapped my face hard. I looked up to see Kakashi glaring at me without his Anbu mask.

I apologised, "I am sorry for making you go through all the trouble to heal me. I wanted to be gone before you found me."

He grabbed my shoulders violently and scolded, "Himeko! You can't do that to yourself!"

I asked nonchalantly, "Why? Your teammates all want me dead anyways."

One of the Anbu members in a corner of the room snorted and said, "It's because you're a monster. The Spirit Clan's pure-blood are abominations especially your mother."

I repeated, "Mother?"

He replied darkly, "That's right. Your mother transformed into the Kyuubi and killed hundreds in the village, including Yondaime-sama."

My mind went blank and said softly, "So my mother is a murderer too."

Kakashi took my chin and forced me to look into his one eye, saying, "Listen to me. Your mother was poisoned and lost control of her powers out of rage unintentionally. According to Sandaime, the Kyuubi's initial target wasn't Konoha."

"My fat...Orochimaru said that he killed Mother. She must have been targeting him." There was silence and I asked, "Why do you want me to live? My mother destroyed Konoha and my father is an evil mastermind."

He smiled through his mask and replied, "I do not believe that suicide is a a solution. You're not evil, just misunderstood."

Big fat tears fell from my eyes uncontrollably as I said, "Thank you."

He patted my head and joked, "You're welcome, crybaby."

From then on, I began to eat regularly again, regaining my strength. I had Kakashi who believed in me and that gave me the will to live on.

After a few days, the Hokage requested to see me. I was escorted by 5 Anbu ninjas to the room. As they closed the door behind me, Sandaime gestured for them to leave. The old man wore a red hat with the symbol of the Hokage on it and matching robes.

He too examined me from head to toe which unnerved me slightly. He moved towards me and knelt down to my height.

He commented out of the blue, "You have Mitsuki-san's eyes."

I looked into his black eyes and asked, "You knew my mother?"

He nodded and replied, "She had the gentlest soul I have ever seen. She hated the ninja world because there were constant fights and wars."

"Gentle? I heard that she destroyed Konoha."

His expression turned sad and he corrected, "It was Orochimaru who destroyed Konoha. She was merely his victim."

I frowned and questioned, "Aren't you scared of what she could do and what I can do?"

He smiled warmly and said apologetically, "I used to and I am ashamed of my fear. I was so scared of what your clan was capable of and allowed the villagers to destroy your clan. I know your forgiveness is a lot to ask for, but please know that I am sorry for what I did."

"You killed my people?"

He bowed his head in shame and said, "I am sorry. I will make a lifetime of amends for what I did. For starters, I need to present you as a respected member of Konoha, not to be feared or hated." I frowned and stared at him in confusion.

He grinned and announced, "I shall present you as my granddaughter, Asuma's daughter."

"Asuma?"

"He's my second son. You shall live with him." My heart sank slightly.

I bowed politely and said, "Sandaime-sama, I am really grateful for the arrangement."

He beamed at me and reminded, "It's Grandpa! Himeko-chan! Before I forget, I need to give you this. This was your mother's." He handed a ruby necklace with a word "spirit" carved onto it. I put it around my neck and tucked it under my clothes.

There was a knock on the door and in came a ninja with a black beard. He stared at me and at the Hokage. "So this is the child."

Sandaime nodded and requested, "Asuma, please take good care of her as your daughter."

I bowed quickly and greeted, "It's an honour to meet you, Asuma-sama!"

He lifted my chin up and reminded, "You don't need to be so formal with me since I am going to be your father."

He smiled at me and stretched out his hand. I stared at it and stayed still.

He seemed slightly hurt and laughed, joking, "Sorry about that. I guess you need time to adjust. Shall we go home now, Himeko-chan?"