Chapter Six: Sanctuary

The Third believes that I am of no ill will to the Village, and wishes to test me as to what rank to place me under.

He did not even question if I wanted to rejoin the shinobi world, which leads me to question whether or not I even have a choice in the matter.

My battle will be against Kakashi Hatake tomorrow at noon.

As grateful as I am for acceptance, I cannot help but wonder why.

Everything comes at a price.

Two Years AM

Shin slung her bag over her shoulder and headed out the door.

If she had been a sentimental person, she would have lingered outside the cabin that had become her home for the past two years. However, she was ready to forget that place altogether. Sure, the cabin in the woods made her what she was, but she was ready to be someone else.

She needed to return to Kohana. Needed to start over.

Needed to forget.

She let her hand rest over her chest, the same spot where her former best friend had tried to take her life. Though she healed instantly, the sport still ached every now and then. Sharp pains would shoot through her body rapidly, almost paralyzing her each time. They only lasted a few seconds each time, but it felt like an eternity in her eyes.

With a sigh, she turned towards Kirin, who had been resting on the same rock her father had grown accustom to watching her from.

Returning to Kohana had not been so simple.

The year that followed the demon's departure was not one of hope and promise as she had tried to expect. That her father had been so sentimental as to give her his gift had instilled a false hope inside her that made her believe that things might finally be okay. That thought left her as soon as she saw him.

She had been heading towards Kohana's gate when she was stopped by a rather tall, lanky man with a crooked smile.

"My, my. What do we have here?"

Shin said nothing to the man whose skin was pale as snow. He had long, unruly black hair, golden eyes, and was almost as skinny as she was. Shin glanced at Kirin, still perched on her shoulder.

"Are you lost?"

Shin shook her head. She knew where she was going.

"You look lost," the man said, beginning to step closer to her. She noticed his posture, and how he walked with a slight limp. "Do you need help?"

"No," she replied, her voice barely audible. "I don't.

"Well," he said, a small smirk edging it's way onto his lips. "You do now."

He disappeared out of sight, and Shin quickly grabbed the sword from her back. Stand your ground, she reminded herself, positioning the sword in front of her. Be prepared from all angles.

The man appeared behind her, but not quickly enough. She ducked just in time for his kick to miss her head, instead swinging her legs out from underneath her and kicking him right in the ankles. The man tumbled down, and she was on him in an instant with her legs straddling his hips and her sword blade up to his throat.

Kirin landed on her shoulder, staring down at the man.

"Who are you?" Shin growled, her eyes glowing a bright red. The man chuckled and grabbed her wrist, flipping her over him and onto the ground. She got up quick - maybe too quick, for the man seemed more intrigued than before.

"Fast than any ninja I've ever seen," he said, his head hanging down so that his black locks covered his face. "You just got very interesting."

Shin disappeared from sight, running behind him and aiming a kick for his back. He turned just in time to grab her ankle and send her crashing into the nearest tree.

He was in front of her when she got up, blood trickling down her face. His still wore the same sadistic grin, his golden eyes shining as he looked at her.

"Now," he said, reaching for the collar of her shirt. He was too slow - she had already disappeared.

"Come here, little girl," the man cackled, looking around the trees. "I'm just here to help you."

He was preparing for an attack, but he was mistaken in thinking Shin was a natural fighter. She had left the area without a trace.

Shin placed the sticks she had gathered into a small pile. She could have just lit the fire the normal way, but the effort it would have taken to do it was more than she wanted to handle. Instead, she simply closed her eyes and willed it there.

All she wanted to do was go home, yet she couldn't risk running into that man again. She knew she could easily kill him, all she would have to do was blink and he would go up in a pit of fire. But she didn't want to - she didn't want to be a demon, didn't want to use her powers - and besides, she wasn't a killer. If an unnecessary death could be avoided, she would do all that was in her power to do so.

It may have been naive, but it was the only way she could keep her humanity. At least for the time being.

"Kirin, how far off are we?"

"Fifteen miles," the raven spoke. "I calculated as you were fighting Orocohimaru."

"Orochimaru?"

"Yes," Kirin replied, nodding her back head. "He is apart of Akatsuki."

Shin only stared.

"Akatsuki?"

"Yes. From what I've gathered over the years, Itachi is apart of them now, too."

Shin closed her eyes. "That's..." she paused, re-opening them. Kirin took note of how they regained their dull black color. "Interesting."

With that, the young girl fell asleep, praying that the next day would be the day she returned home.

However, she could never be that lucky.

Three Years AM

"Who are you running from?" The old man asked. In reality, he wanted to ask her who in the hell was strong enough to have her running for the hills? He knew she knew who she was, what she could do. She didn't spend three years soul searching, that was for sure. She could change her eyes on whim, not to mention the fact that she wasn't bursting in flames without any trace of a seal. Shin had found out the truth, and she had learned to control it.

Which meant one of the strongest shinobi in the world was standing in front of him, asking for protection.

It was Kirin who answered.

"Orochimaru."

Shin was walking through the village, a piece of pocky sticking slightly out of her mouth as she did so. The villagers would stop and stare as she passed, pulling their kids aside with hushed tones and worried looks. They would mumble words barely audible to the human ear, but perfectly clear to the girl's enhanced senses.

It's her, they would whisper. The monster's girlfriend.

If she had been any other citizen, she would have tried to defend herself. He was never my boyfriend, she would scream. I didn't love him. You know nothing.

She had thankfully learned to control her emotions long ago. Emotion was a petty, human trait, that only caused trouble.

Finishing off her food, the girl cleared her surroundings before doing what she knew best - disappearing.

Tomorrow was the day Sasuke Uchiha would become a ninja.

The boy had spent the last few hours in the training grounds, simply staring at the post in front of him and trying to will himself to move. It had been three years since everything was taken from him, three years of being completely alone, and three years since he swore to himself that he would kill his brother with his own hands.

Tomorrow he would receive his forehead protector and begin his journey as a ninja.

The young boy sensed the disturbing presence as soon as it arrived, but dared not to look up at the tree from which it came. Normally, he would be alert, assessing whichever person decided to walk upon the training grounds before giving him the go ahead to continue. But this person's chakra was different. It wasn't friendly, but it wasn't threatening either.

It actually felt a little familiar.

Shin looked down on the young man . He looked so much like Itachi it could have sent her running for the hills had she kept any ounce of compassion. She knew he had noticed her - he was a Uchiha, after all - but he would not acknowledge that fact.

Where was Kirin? She thought. The bird had not returned since her first night back home, which only led her to wonder where her father could have ran off to in the year she had detached from both him and her village. As much as she did not want to admit it, she needed his guidance. She was not suited for a world of people. She could only survive in a world that consisted only of herself.

Shin continued to wait for Sasuke to do something. She didn't necessarily want him to confront her, or even see her for that manner, but she hadn't wanted to hide from him either. If she had just wanted to watch him without being noticed, she could have concealed her chakra easily.

"You can come out now," he spoke after what felt like hours. Shin glanced down at him, black eyes at work.

The girl dropped from the trees, landing directly in front of him.

"It's been a while, Sasuke."

The boy only stared. Could this really be...? He thought, trying not to look too surprised but the look on his face was obvious. Flashbacks of the red haired child started to flood his brain. She looked too well kept to be Itachi's friend. The girl from before looked wild and unsanitary, but the woman standing in front of him was very put together.

"What are you doing here?" He asked. The statement sounded more like an accusation than a question, his eyes narrowing all the same. "I thought you left after him."

"I did," Shin replied, the blank look on her face never faltering. "I left the village after Itachi, but not to go after him."

Sasuke nodded slightly, but he was not convinced.

"What do you want?"

The girl only shrugged before turning her back to him.

"You look well," she responded, before leaving the training ground completely.

For the first time in three years, Sasuke Uchiha was speechless.

Present time.

"Wake up."

The man turned from his spot on the bed to face the window in which the black bird perched.

"Your quest is meaningless," the man responded. "I do not care to play her games anymore."

It was at this point that Kirin let out a loud, high-pitched laugh that caused Itachi to sit up in his bed and immediately prepared for attack. The bird sounded absolutely menacing.

"It's not a game," the bird responded, its voice becoming deeper than ever before and it's normally beady black eyes glowing a back red. "She wanted you to know who she was. So you shall. It was her dying wish."

"What are you?"

"I am the one who created her. From my own flesh and blood."

The raven disappeared in a cloud of smoke, and Itachi Uchiha got up immediately. He didn't bother informing his partner of his departure, instead making his way out of the old motel and toward's Kohana.

He needed to find what she had sent him for in the first place.