"My body is my journal, and my tattoos are my story."

― Johnny Depp

"I want a tattoo over my heart that reads TRY HARDER YOU LAZY PARAMEDIC SHITBAG OR I WILL HAUNT YOUR BEDROOM FOREVER"

― Warren Ellis

"What did you say you little twerp?" the one who was name Kiba practically screamed. He made a move to step towards me and the wolves growled. He shuffled back, startled by the two large wolves.

"I said, 'what's up'." I might as well stop messing with these guys. I don't want them to give Naruto a bad time in class. The boys all looked at me with dislike, but shrugged it off a moment later. They didn't seem like the ones to hold grudges. That's good, because if they were they might take it out on poor Naruto.

"Whatever," the one who slouched, Shikamaru, muttered, "this is just too troublesome."

"Hey who are you anyway? You're Naruto's friend, but you don't go to the academy." The chubby one—named Choji I think—was pretty observant. He began eating his chips once again.

"I didn't go to the academy." The three boys now had a puzzled look on their faces. Were all shinobi children supposed to go to the academy?

"But you're a ninja, because you have a hitai-ate." Kiba got back some of his spunk back and glared at me. He most certainly had a hot-temper. Easy to bait, therefore not much of a challenge.

"Yah. Your—our—Hokage wanted me to become a shinobi here. I took my assessment two days ago and got my hitai-ate today." I was starting to get bored. The wolves made their way to flank me on my sides while Naruto stood to my right. The three boys looked amazed at me—well that Shikamaru could hardly waste his energy on facial expressions, but I could tell he was amazed.

"So you weren't born in the village." That Shikamaru seems lazy, even the way he speaks is sluggish. But something about him tells me that he isn't showing what he is actually. Maybe he is extremely judgmental or even smart, though looking at him he's nothing but lazy.

"Naw." I began to look to Naruto who was starting to pick up my wanting to leave.

"Then where were you born? In a town outside the village?" Choji said this with his mouth full, crumbles dropping on his shirt.

"Over the hills and through the woods," I said waving my hand in an off manner.

"To grandmother's house we go" Arawn finished, having taken a liking to nursery rhymes.

"What is that supposed to mean?" Kiba asked angry at my not being clear. I might as well ignore him and his stupid temper. I turned to Naruto and raised one eyebrow. He laughed and was going to say that we had to leave, but was interrupted.

"What rank are you?" Shikamaru asked, suspicious to who I was.

"I'm going to pick up my stuff at ANBU headquarters tomorrow." I took pride that I was stronger than them.

"Whaaaaa? Seriously Morrigan? You're an ANBU?" Naruto screamed, so the world would be privy to my life.

"Yes Naruto. Now if you would excuse us boys, I have to go look for houses to buy." I yanked Naruto and dragged him out of the Academy gates. The other three boys were still there gaping when we reached the street. The street itself wasn't that filled, everyone having left while we were talking. I pulled out the listings and handed them to Naruto.

"These aren't apartments Morrigan." Naruto looking at me like I just wasted precious minutes of my time.

"I know Naruto. I don't want an apartment, I want a house."

"But all these are expensive and the ones you have circled are really big. How are you going to afford the payment on them?" Naruto asked, in a tone that meant he was trying to teach me. He didn't think I knew how to buy a house. Antonio and Akane made sure I knew how to live on my own, so I wasn't going about this lost.

"Dude, I know how to buy a house. I have a lot of money saved up from my previous jobs." I began walking in the direction of my first circled house. Naruto walked in front of me going backwards. He still had the listings in his hand, and was looking at them. He looked up to me and seemed confused.

"What did you used to do?" Naruto asked, eager to know how he could make money. I was a little hesitant, but his warm smile gave me the courage to continue.

"I was a bounty hunter. I have enough money for the most expensive on there, but I don't want to waste that much. I was saving up to buy myself a katana, when the Hokage forced me to stay here." Naruto stopped suddenly and I bumped into him. My face was in his chest and I took a step back.

"You were a bounty hunter? What did you hunt?" Naruto asked in a quiet voice. I was starting to get afraid that he would abandon me. It's not like I couldn't handle being by myself, but he was my friend and I somehow trusted him.

"I hunted missing-Nin over in Mist. Mostly S-ranked, though I did take on one or two A-ranked." I had to tell him the truth. Looking into his chest, I could feel the knot of pain in my chest. He was going to reject me.

"Oh." I couldn't bear to look into his eyes. There would be fear and disgust filled in his blue orbs.

"He probably thinks I'm a monster." I didn't realize I muttered the words until Naruto reached out and put a hand on my shoulder. Only then did I look at his face. He was smiling a sad smile. He wasn't disgusted?

"I could never think you're a monster Morrigan. What kind of a friend would I be if I turned my back on you now? What kind of a friend would I be to turn my back on you ever?" Naruto said, squeezing my shoulder. He let go and with his right hand grabbed my left arm, dragging me through the streets. He then started to lead me to the first house and smiled at me brightly.

"Thank you," I said, so quietly that no one would ever know the words were said.

"You are my friend. Just like you said you wouldn't leave me, I won't leave you. Besides those were bad guys you were hunting. They needed to be killed before they could hurt anyone else." Naruto beamed at me and I smiled back. Inside I was overjoyed. He was my friend and he said he would never leave me. But somewhere in the back of my mind, a small voice reminded me that he would be scared if he knew what I was. I shook my head and made the thoughts go away.

"Okay." I called the wolves back in and went on with our house hunt. It was dark when we found the perfect one. We looked at a couple of houses, but this one was the one I wanted. When we walked up to it, it screamed, 'buy me Morrigan'.

The house was near the hospital like I wanted, but it had its back to the forest. Naruto informed me, it wasn't too far from some ramen shop he liked. It was secluded, but was still in the village. What really made it great was that it had a nearby training area and wasn't far from the ANBU headquarters. The main entrance was on the other side of town, but I didn't really want to be near the entrance so it was okay. There wasn't really any neighbors so I didn't have to worry about privacy. The front yard had a short white picket fence and a weeping willow tree. But what really screamed Morrigan was that it was a Log home.

"Wow. This is so beautiful, Naruto." I was standing under the weeping willow and looking at the house. There were two large windows on either end of the red painted door.

"It looks pretty cool Morrigan." Naruto didn't really care about the house. He was merely here as a guide. The old man who was showing us the house was kind. He didn't glare at Naruto and even smiled at the boy. This was the fourth house we were getting to actually see, but we had been turned away from a couple of others. I didn't care. If they didn't like Naruto then get out of my way.

"How old is the house?" I asked the old man. He smiled at me and led the way to the door. Naruto and I followed him and gaped at the inside.

"The house is as old as I am. It's been here since the village was founded." Wow that is pretty old. But somehow the house didn't show that age. Inside the ceilings were vaulted and the inside was completely log. The whole house was very open and you could see all the way into the backyard, down a hallway to the bedrooms. The kitchen itself was huge and already had a steel refrigerator and dishwasher.

"How many bedrooms and bathrooms is it again?" I asked just to fill the silence of our awe. Naruto was looking out one of the side windows in the living room, as I went through the formal dining area to the kitchen.

"There are four bedrooms and four baths. When I was younger, my friends rented some rooms from me. So it is set up for everyone to have their own space." The old man went through the house and opened up the bedrooms for us to see. The bedrooms were all spacious and came with a full bathroom.

"Oh, I would love to have this bedroom. Hey Morrigan, look you can see the Hokage Monument from here!" Naruto was so excited about this house. I went into the bedroom and looked through the large window and indeed you could see the Hokage's heads. The trees actually had a made a path to the actually monument.

"That is a great view." I didn't care much for this room, but loved the other bedroom overlooking the weeping willow and fence.

"I wish I could wake up to this every day." Naruto looked awed at the view.

"You could live with me if you wanted." What the fuck did I just say? I was doing that whole say before we think thing too much lately. Naruto turned to me quickly, his face bright as the sun. There's no going back now.

"You really mean it Morrigan?" Naruto asked overjoyed with the idea of living here. The bedroom was almost as big as his apartment and I had to admit, it would get lonely here by myself.

"Yah, but you have to help out with chores and buying food. I'll pay for the utilities and stuff like that." Naruto was jumping up and down, the old man coming into the room and smiling at him.

"Yahoo. Thanks so much Morrigan. I'll be the best housemate ever! Believe it!" The boy was just too loud sometimes. I could feel a migraine coming on and realized I was hungry. I turned to the old man.

"So, can we buy it now? I can run the paperwork over to the Hokage tomorrow, though there won't be a lot of it."

"Why not young lady?" the old man asked still smiling at Naruto and myself. I smiled back and took out a sealing scroll from my weapons pouch.

"Because I'm going to pay you the full amount now. So since I assume you own the property in full, I'll just give you the whole amount and you give me the deed." The old man reached into his coat pocket and took out a yellow paper.

"Here you are young lady. You are now the proud owner of this home." I gave the old man the full balance and he handed over the deed. We signed a couple of papers in the kitchen and the old man said he would take them to the Hokage. I asked him if he wanted me to do it, but he simply refused. Taking the keys out of his pocket, he handed a pair to me. Naruto was jumping up and down when the old man handed him the second set of keys.

"Look Morrigan! We own a house!" Since when did he pay for the house? The deed was mine, and I was the only one who signed paperwork. Oh well, he was just too happy. I checked my wallet after the old man left and found we would have enough money to completely furnish the place.

"Okay, tomorrow after you're done with school, we'll go buy furniture. We gotta stay in your fucking small apartment for now, but by the end of the week we could move in. We should go eat right now and then head home. I gotta fix this hitai-ate and get up early for tomorrow." I have to go to ANBU headquarters early, so I should at least get some sleep tonight. Walking around today, I found that the hitai-ate at my neck was a bad idea. It kept bouncing around and I noticed it was an easy target for an attacker.

"Oh can we go to Ichiraku's place? It's near my apartment." Naruto exited our house and I locked up. Thinking better than leaving it unarmed, I quickly took out a protection seal. The seal should activate if anyone enters the house. I followed an eager Naruto we made our way to get dinner. Naruto entered a little ramen bar. I followed through the curtain to see and older man and a young girl working behind the counter.

"Hey Naruto. Do you want the usual?" the girl asked Naruto as he took a stool. When she saw me she asked, "Naruto is that a friend of yours? Does she want the usual too?"

"Yah, two Miso ramens to start Ayame. Thank you." I made my way to the stool next to Naruto and sat down. Immediately two bowls were placed in front of us. They were steaming hot and looked quite delicious.

"Itadakimasu!" Naruto nearly screams. He picks up his chopsticks and begins to eat the ramen.

"Yah, thanks." I get my chopsticks and turn to Naruto who is done with his first bowl and starting another. Where the fuck did that second bowl come from?

"Naruto are you even going to fucking breath?" I ask beginning to slurp my noodles. It is really delicious. Naruto doesn't seem to hear me and continues eating his ramen. I smile to the young girl and she smiles back. Naruto is done with his fourth and going on a fifth when I'm finally done. I wait until Naruto is done and pay the tab. It didn't hurt the budget too badly, but man could he eat a lot of ramen.

"So tomorrow are you going to go to ANBU headquarters?" Naruto asked, having been suspiciously quiet after leaving the ramen bar.

"Yah. I gotta get my stuff. Hokage said I would probably get a mission next week, so we can get the house situated before I leave. The furniture if we order it tomorrow would probably be in by Saturday." Today was Wednesday, so ordering it tomorrow would give them plenty of time to order it in.

"Are you going to be okay?" Naruto asked quietly when we reached his apartment door. He was worried about my safety wasn't he?

"I'll be fine Naruto. I promise I won't die before you." I would never die, but if I told him that, he would freak. I wasn't ready for that.

"I know. How are you always so sure?" Naruto asked while we entered the apartment. I let the wolves out and they went to the corner of the room and laid down. Going to my pack I opened a scroll and got a bunch of comforters. Carrying them I made a nest next to Naruto's bed.

"Because everything will be fine in the end. Right now, the world isn't alright. It's full of turmoil and evil. When the world is free, everything will be fine, the end will come. Till then I will go on living." I took out a t-shirt and shorts and went to the bathroom to change. When I came out I saw that Naruto was already lying in bed.

"But when will the world be free?" Naruto asked yawning. I kinda hoped he wouldn't continue on with this conversation.

"The world will never be free."

"So you won't ever die?" Sometimes Naruto could be smarter than he should be. I looked at his sleepy face and smiled. The wolves had climbed into the bed with him and had fallen asleep.

"Go to sleep Naruto. I'll explain everything another time, okay?" I said to him. He looked like he was going to open his mouth, but I gave him a reassuring smile and he stopped. He closed his eyes and was asleep in the next moment.

I wasn't very tired yet, so I figured I would fix my hitai-ate. Where should I put it? My mask already took the place on my forehead, and the neck was a no go. Maybe was a waist band it would work. No then I have to find a longer cloth. My arm? I put the hitai-ate to my arm and figured I would make the metal smaller. I cut the metal, made the hitai-ate fit comfortable on my right arm. That night I got three hours of sleep, but it was totally worth it.

Naruto was asleep when I got ready to go to the ANBU headquarters. I showered, using Naruto's shampoo, conditioner and soap, then dressed in my regular shinobi outfit. My mask was always last and I took it off to clean it. I sat in my nest of blankets and repainted the seal on the inside of the mask. The seal was mainly so my mask wouldn't fall off. It caused it to suction onto my face and not let go without a lot of brute force.

Naruto stirred in his bed and I quickly covered my face with my dried mask. He sat up and rubbed his eyes wearily. The wolves were still in the bed with him. They would stay here, not really wanting to go to the ANBU headquarters. I got up and ruffled Naruto's hair before opening the window and jumping out. My feet hit the ground with ease. Sometimes I thought I should buy shinobi sandals, but I knew I wouldn't give up my converse. They were actually quite helpful, making my kicks slightly more powerful thanks to the rubber sole.

I make my way to ANBU headquarters which is not far from Naruto's apartment. It's probably around seven and the sun has already risen. Some people are in the streets and most look at me strangely. They probably wonder when I moved in here. I finally find the headquarters, after getting lost for some time and walk in. There was some regular paperwork to fill out and then they lead me to the supply room. The ANBU leading me was surprised the Hokage let me join without training.

"This is your armor and mask. You can look on that table to find two pairs of standard uniform to fit your size. Probably only have two your size anyway." I take the armor which includes a chest plate and arm guards a light golden color instead of silver. Probably because I'm a hunter-Nin and they want me to be signified differently. My mask is that of a wolf. It's similar to Kakashi's in the ears and overall features, but is sharper. It also has red rectangles starting at the brow of the wolf to the cheek. The rectangles are two inches wide and make the eyes of wearer pop at the victims. After admiring my mask I search the table and find three uniforms for me to wear. Sealing them all in a scroll I turn back to the white masked ANBU.

"You're going to have to get the tattoo on your arm now." He leads me to a back room where needles and tattooing machines are left.

"There's going to be a problem with the placement," I say calmly when he signals me to sit on a chair.

"Don't tell me you're scared of needles and tattoos." He said this with an annoyed tone.

"Quite the opposite." I take off my tube top and armor, having wrapped myself beforehand, and show him my arms full of tattooed seals. He whistles at the entirety of my arms.

"Maybe we should do it on your leg?" he asks quite unsure of where to place the tattoo.

"The back of my neck is still visible since I plan to never have long hair." I offer hoping he won't offer to see more of my body and scars. As it is, my stomach scar from where the Okinawa heir stabbed me, is clear as day. The scars on my legs are more prominent than the ones on my upper body, most covered by tattoos.

"That'll do fine. Sit down and I'll get started." I sit as he asks and wait for him to get started. I look at my arm seals and realize I might have to re-seal some of them.

Most of my arm seals are insignificant little seals. The one at the top of my left arm slows down my hair growth, so I won't have to cut it very often. The one below it, before my elbow, is to keep my balance level and my landings quiet. On the right arm at the top is a seal to keep the bugs away from me. Below that, before my right elbow, is the seal which allows me to mask my scent.

The seals to keep my wolves out, span on both arms from elbow to wrist. My palms were my specialized genjutsu, which needed to be re-tattooed soon. But the ones on the top of my hands were the most important. I put those one after the incident four years ago. Those needed to be re-tattooed every six months, or else my real form would come out. The man started to tattoo my neck when I remembered why people wanted to kill me.

Around the time I turned eight, I became known of a different side of me. Boss always knew that bonding Soubi with my soul would have repercussions. One of those repercussions was that my soul was inherently that of a demon wolf. When I turned eight, my demonic instincts took over and controlled me, turning me into an actual demon wolf. When in that form, I have no understanding of who I am or who my friends are. The only thing I want to do, is kill. That day I lost control, I attacked my family and a Shinigami friend who had been visiting.

I had a bullet put in my head, just so I would calm down and change back. Akane sealed me that first time, but after the incident I made the blood tattoos I have now. They were the only things protecting everyone around me from getting hurt. The friend was the one who actually killed me, and put me in a coma for three weeks. When he came back to visit a month later, he spit in my face calling me a monster, and an abomination. He said I wasn't really supposed to be alive and that my scar, a five-pointed star, showed I was doomed for hell.

Of course the others told me not to believe him, but some small part of me did. Balancers and Shinigami never looked at me the same, never looked at my scar the same really after that. That's also why I wear the mask. I know here no one would ever see the scar as demonic, but I learned to hate my face and my scar. Hiding it, I got to pretend that I wasn't some psychotic demon who was scarred and doomed to hell. But I was always afraid that non-Shinigami would want to kill me. Shinigami were ordered not to kill me, but here they could go ahead and try.

I don't trust people because they would try and kill me, just like that day. Or worse, I would kill them if I lost control. Of course I haven't lost control in four years, but there was a first for everything. I looked down at my hands again and made a note to tattoo them when I got to the apartment later. The ANBU was finishing up my tattoo when he broke the eerie silence.

"So you're the new hunter-Nin. How old are you anyways?" he asked. I didn't think ANBU were supposed to hold causal conversations, but didn't really read into it.

"Twelve. How about you old man?" I asked cheekily. I could tell he wasn't older than twenty-five, but I was trying to cheer myself up. Having thought back to the incident, I got depressed.

"Twenty-two. So how did you even become an ANBU without training?" he asked wiping my neck down. It hurt like hell when he touched it, but I was used to this kind of pain.

"Made a bet with the silly Hokage."

"Seriously?" he asked, chuckling lightly.

"Yah," I replied getting up from the chair and putting my clothes on.

"The silly Hokage?" he asked confused.

"He's forcing me to stay here. Though it is nice and I don't want to leave now, but I'd appreciate it if I wasn't fucking bound and gagged into something." I turned to face the white masked ANBU, who I realized was watching me.

"Well that wasn't very nice. What else do you think of him?" he asked prying into thoughts. What the hell was he trying to get at? Did he want me to bad mouth the Hokage and report it back to the old man? What was his agenda?

"I haven't known him for very long, so I don't know exactly. Now, if you excuse me, I have to go redo some of my tattoos."

I looked at the white masked ANBU and then teleported to Naruto's apartment. The wolves looked at me and I wondered what that ANBU's motives were. Looking to the wolves for some answer they looked just as confused as I was. I went to my pack in the corner of the apartment and took out my tattooing stuff. The wolves watched me as I got my stuff and laid it out gently. It was around noon, so I had plenty of time to tattoo and then go get something to eat, before I went to the Academy.

"Wait I almost forgot." I turned my back to the wolves. "How does my tattoo look?"

"It is very nice, and the neck is a good place to have it since your arms are taken," Soubi said in his casual mentor-like way.

"I like the color. Blood red is a good color," Arawn said happily. Sometimes he was just too concerned with blood.

That crazy moment where bold doesn't want to work. Tired. Good night. (I don't own Naruto)