The Land Where A Hero Once Lived,


I woke up early and grabbed an energy bar from my satchel. I was the first of my team to wake up, so I decided to enjoy the quiet and meditate by the ocean until my dad woke up.

I sat at the edge of the dock and crossed my legs and inhaled deeply, then exhaled. After a few breaths, a sharp pain came from my left hip, which is where Zabuza had hit me during our last battle.

"What is this pain?" I asked myself, placing my hand over my hip.

I heard a dark chuckle, but couldn't place where it was coming from.

"Down here sweetie." said the voice.

I looked down at my reflection, and saw her. Helena, the spirit deep within my subconscious mind.

"What do you want?" I asked her, bluntly.

"Just thought I should let you know that, if you want to stand a chance at surviving your next encounter with the Demon of the Mist, you're gonna need my help." she said. "If you don't, you and the rest of your squad will be killed."

I scoffed. "I wouldn't be so sure." I rebuked. "We've been training our assess off, so we can get stronger and defeat Zabuza once and for all."

Helena chuckled. "Yeah, sweetie I've been around a while. I know things you wouldn't even think of." she said, coldly. "And the little bit of training you all are doing, isn't going to be enough."

"Wanna bet?" I challenged.

"I'm no fool." Helena said. "I just know these things."

"Forget it." I snapped. "I will not use your power, I will fight my own battles myself."

Helena rolled her deep blue eyes and smirked. "Fine, but if you want to live, you'll see that I'm your only choice."

I took a pebble and tossed it in the water, dissipating the reflection. "Not likely."


"Kristin?" came my dad's voice.

I turned and smiled at him. "Morning daddy." he was still using crutches to get around with, but he did look better than yesterday.

"You okay?" dad asked.

I nodded. "Yeah, I'm ready to learn walking on water now." I told him, smiling.

Dad sighed. "Alright, I suppose it's time, since you finished the tree climbing exercise already."

"Yes!" I giggled.

"Okay, now this training is tougher than the previous exercise because now you're dealing with a surface that is constantly in motion, not stationary." Dad began. "Not only do you have to maintain your chakra flow, but you have to control how much you use. With each step, you have to disperse a different amount."

I nodded. I sighed and took my tank-top off, revealing the bandages around my chest and stomach. The only part of my upper body that was revealed was my upper back. The bandages around me connected at the base of my lower back.

"Now, this is a useful technique to learn when fighting, but it's extremely difficult to keep the chakra maintained at your feet when you're fighting an enemy shinobi."

"Got it." I said. I placed my hands together and focused my chakra, sending it to the bottom of my feet.

Once that was done, I carefully stepped on the water's surface. It gently moved under me, but I carefully maintained the chakra flow as I steadied myself.

"I think I got it." I said, trying to keep my balance.

"Now try to take a few steps across the surface of the water." Dad called out to me.

I nodded and carefully walked across the water. It was way harder than it looked. I refocused my chakra to my feet and carefully changed the flow with each step.

"Now come back here." Dad called.

I turned around and ran back to my father, and sensei.

"How was that?" I asked.

"You have the focus down, but you hesitated when walking." Dad pointed out. "You have to be confident, or else you'll either fall into the water, or be killed."

"Well don't sugar coat it for me." I said, folding my arms over my chest.

"You're a genin now Kristin, I'm just giving you the reality of what will happen." Dad said. "I want you to be as strong as you can be, there's gonna be a time where I won't be around to protect you."

"I know daddy." I admitted. I turned back to the water and refocused my chakra. "Here we go." I said and jumped off the dock and landed perfectly on the water.

"Nice one Kristin." Sakura complemented, walking down the dock.

"Thanks." I smiled as I moved across the water's surface.

Tazuna joined Sakura and dad on the docks and watched me also. "So are the girls my escorts today?" he asked.

I shook my head. "I'm gonna be training here for a while." I informed. "Sakura, you can guard him by yourself, you're more than capable."

"That settles it." dad said.

Sakura and Tazuna headed towards the bridge, while I stayed and continued my own training. As for Sasuke and Naruto, those two headed to back to the forest for more training on the tree climbing.


As I trained, time flew by and soon Sakura and Tazuna came back for a lunch break.

"Come on inside and eat Kristin." Tsunami called.

I braced myself against the water. I was getting better at maneuvering and dodging and still keeping balance.

"Coming!" I called.

I ran and jumped onto the dock, landing perfectly. I slipped my tank-top back on and went inside. We had a nice lunch and I accompanied Sakura and Tazuna back to the bridge.


The sun began to set and we headed to the market.

"Where are we going?" Sakura asked.

"You want to eat tonight, don't ya?" Tazuna asked. "I have to pick up some things for dinner."

I looked around the market and noticed that a bunch of the people wore rags. And from the looks of their bodies, it looked like they hadn't had a decent meal in a while.

"This is awful." I sighed.

"This is poverty." Tazuna told me.

I looked up at him and sighed. "Mr. Tazuna," I said.

"Yeah?" he asked.

"Is there an herb shop around here by chance?" I asked, looking up at him.

"Why would you need to go to an herb shop?" Tazuna raised an eyebrow.

I clutched my satchel, "So I can pick some ingredients up for a tea that my mom always used to make." I answered. "It'll help Sasuke and Naruto when they get back from training, and it'll help Kakashi-sensei get back on his feet."

Tazuna nodded as if he understood. "You can try down there, but I wouldn't get your hopes up on finding all the things you need."

"Thank you." I said, "I'll come find you when I'm finished." I ran ahead in the direction Tazuna pointed.


As I walked the streets, I saw more groups of people. I even caught a few of them digging for scraps out of the garbage in the alleyways.

"This is so horrible." I sighed.

I found a small hut that had small amounts of herbs.

"Can I help you, young lady?" asked the shop owner. He was a medium-aged man with graying hair and brown eyes.

"Just looking for some herbs is all." I answered, smiling.

I found a few of the ones I needed. They were in small amounts, but it would have to do for now. I placed them in a small bag and went up to pay the shop owner.

"Thank you very much." I said, smiling again as I walked out. "Now, time to head back to Sakura and Tazuna."


I walked a few steps when suddenly, someone blocked my path. He was a tall, muscular man, and he looked very mean.

"Where do you think you're going, little girl?" he asked, bearing his teeth.

I backed away, but found myself surrounded.

"Judging from what she's wearing, I would guess she isn't from around here." said another thug, younger than the other two, but yet a few years older than me.

I slowly backed away from the three thugs, who cornered me. The leader looked down at my waist, "Look at that, she's a little ninja." he snickered.

"You're a long ways from home, girlie." said the youngest one. As he got closer, I could tell he had dark blue hair, and dark eyes.

"I don't want any trouble." I told them, trying not to sound as scared as I was.

"We don't want any trouble either." said the second thug. "We just want some of your money, then we'll let you go."

I gripped my satchel strap and backed up a few more steps. I took a kunai from my holster on my leg and held it up defensively.

"Aww, little girl has some guts." taunted the youngest thug.

"Hand over the bag!" ordered the leader.

He lunged at me and I dodged his hand. I managed to get away but was soon cornered again by them.

I turned and faced them, gripping my kunai. Just as one of them was about to hit me, someone stepped in between us and grabbed his arm.

"How dare you." spat the newcomer. "Attacking an innocent girl? That's what a coward dose."

"Let go of the boss' arm now!" ordered the youngest thug.

The new boy glared at him and punched him in the gut with his free hand. The second thug growled and went to attack him, only for him to be kicked back to his friend.

"Who are you?" asked the leader, his voice trembling.

I looked up and saw only the back of the man who saved me. He had long, dark hair and wore a dark colored outfit. "I'm no one you need to concern yourself with." he said. Then in a quick motion, he snapped the lead thugs arm, breaking it.

I gasped and covered my mouth with my hands, dropping my kunai.

"Now leave now or the next thing I'm gonna break is your neck." threatened the boy who saved me.

He released the thugs arm and the three ran off down the street, as fast as they could.

I sighed in relief. "Thanks so much." I said.

"Not a problem at all." he said, his voice softer now. He turned his head towards me and I saw he had dark eyes that matched his hair. "Are you alright?"

I caught my breath and nodded. "I am now." I replied.

The boy handed me the kunai I dropped and I put it back in my holster. He looked down and noticed my headband around my waist.

"You're a shinobi?" he asked, extending his hand to help me.

"Yeah." I answered, taking his hand. "I come from the Hidden Leaf Village, about a two days' journey from here."

He helped me stand up and smiled at me. "What's your name?"

"Kristin." I replied.

But before I could ask him his name, he asked about the herbs I bought. "Who are they for?"

"The rest of my team." I answered. "The boys have been training since this morning, and my sensei is still a bit weak from our last fight."

"It must've been intense." said my rescuer. "So you must really care about your team to have bought all those herbs."

I nodded, and blushed slightly. "Well one the guys is one of my best friends. The other two members are becoming friends, and my sensei is, well, he's practically a father."

"Well your team is in good hands with you around." complemented my rescuer.

I looked away and chuckled, "I guess so." I looked at his face and smiled. "I should get going, thanks again for saving me from those thugs."

"It was my pleasure." he said, smiling back. "Farewell Kristin."

I waved goodbye and headed towards where I last left Tazuna and Sakura. I cast a glance back, but my rescuer was already gone. "Whoever he was, he was so cute." I giggled internally.


I found Sakura and Tazuna and we headed back to the house.

"Did you find the herbs you needed?" Sakura asked me.

I nodded. "Yeah, I did. I'll brew the tea once Sasuke and Naruto get back."

"Sounds like a good plan." Sakura said.


We went back to the house and waited around while Tsunami started on dinner. I took a little bit of time to practice more of my water walking training, so I returned to the dock and picked up where I left off.

I focused on my chakra and the water, trying to balance them perfectly in my mind. In a swift motion, I jumped from the dock and landed on the water, and didn't stumble once. I then decided to test out how far I've come. I created five water clones of myself and had them all stand scattered on the water.

I took out one kunai and lunged for them. I dodged the ones aiming for me, and attacked whichever one I could. Soon, all of them were gone, and it was only me.


"Kristin!" Naruto called.

I spun around and saw him and Sasuke approach the house.

"What the hell are you doing Kris?" Sasuke asked me.

"What does it look like?" I asked back, folding my arms over my chest. "I'm training."

"You're standing on the water!" Naruto exclaimed, pointing to my sandal-clad feet planted firmly on the water's surface.

"Very perceptive genius." I scoffed. "Since I finished the tree climbing exercise, I decided this was the appropriate next step."

I turned back around and prepared my hands. "Now what was that sequence again?" I asked myself. I thought back to dad's battle with Zabuza, when they created those two dragons. I recalled the sequence and positioned my hands, preparing the sign for Ox. "Ushi-Saru-U-Ne-I-Tori-Ushi-"

"Come inside Kristin!" my dad called.

I groaned. "Oh come on!" I stomped the water.

"You can pick up training later, right now it's dinner time." dad called again.

I surrendered and ran across the water and jumped back on the docks. I put my tank-top on and went inside, with Sasuke and Naruto right behind me.


When dinner was served to all of us, Sasuke and Naruto dug in immediately. Sakura and I glanced at each other from across the table, disgusted by how the boys were acting.

"And I thought Choji had a massive appetite." I sighed, taking a small bite of rice and fish.

"Well they are growing boys." Dad chided next to me.

I rolled my eyes in disgust. Sakura mirrored my action.

Sasuke and Naruto scarfed down their helpings and stood up. "I want some more!" they yelled. A second later, they each turned to the side and threw up what they just ate.

I twitched my eyebrows in disgust.

"Don't eat so much if you're gonna puke it up!" Sakura scolded.

Sasuke wiped his mouth, "I have to eat." he said.

"And I have to eat more than him." Naruto added. "It's the only way I'll get strong enough to beat him."

"That is true." said Dad. "But puking won't help you."

"All puking is going to do is land you both in the hospital." I added, glaring at both of the boys.


After dinner, I helped Tsunami clean up and prepared the tea. I poured eight glasses and passed them around to the others.

I could tell by the looks on their faces that the boys had eaten way to much.

"Here." I said, placing a glass of tea in front of Sasuke. "Drink this, it'll make you feel better." I placed another glass in front of Naruto. "Drink up."

"Thanks Kris." Sakura said, taking the glass I handed her.

"No problem, my mom used to make it all the time and it always helped me." I smiled at my teammate and handed my father his glass. "It will also help you get back on your feet, sensei." I giggled.

"That's my girl." dad said, patting my shoulder. "Thank you."

I sat down next to him and sipped my tea.

Sakura walked over to the wall and examined a torn photograph. "Is there a reason for this picture being torn?" she asked. "Inari, you kept glancing at it all through dinner. It looks like someone was in the picture but they got torn out, it's kinda strange, isn't it?"

After a few seconds of silence, Tsunami spoke up. "It's my husband."

Tazuna looked down, "They used to call him a hero in this land."

I looked across the table at Inari, who had his head down. He then stood up and walked out the front door.

"Inari where are you going?" Tsunami asked, but Inari didn't answer. Tsunami followed him out, "Father you can't talk about him like that in front of Inari, you know that."


"Inari's so…" I began. "I mean, what happened to him?" I asked, looking down at my tea glass.

"Is there a story behind this?" dad asked, looking at Tazuna.

"He wasn't his real father, he came into our family later." Tazuna began. "He brought so much joy and happiness into Inari's life."

That peeked my interest and I looked up.

"In those days, Inari used to laugh and smile all the time." Tazuna added, then his fists tightened and a few tears fell. "But that all changed. Inari doesn't laugh or smile anymore. That's when everything changed. Courage was stolen from this island and Inari suffered the most, ever since it happened."

I took another sip of tea and exchanged glances with the rest of my team.

"Tell us." dad urged. "What happened to Inari."

"First you need to know about his father, the man who taught us the word 'courage'. He was a hero in this land." Tazuna wiped away the tears that were forming in his eyes.

"A hero, really?" Naruto asked, intrigued.

"You can decide that for yourself." Tazuna told us.

"So who exactly was he?" I asked. "I mean, he must've been a great man to have such an influence over Inari like that. And to have had an impact on the island." I leaned in closer to hear what Tazuna had to say.

"He came here about three years ago." said Tazuna. "A couple of bullies were picking on Inari, who was out playing with Pooch, the family dog."

Tazuna then went on to say that the bullies were fed up and threw the dog in the water, then pushed Inari in after him. He had also mentioned that Inari didn't know how to swim.

"But interestingly enough, at that exact moment, Pooch figured out how to dog paddle." Tazuna added. "That's when he came into Inari's life. It was that very day." Tazuna glanced at the photograph then back at us. "His name was Kaiza, a simple fishermen who came to our land to follow his dream." he added. "Inari never knew his real father so it was important to him to have Kaiza in his life. Soon Inari began to follow in his footsteps like a real father and son. Kaiza spent more and more time with us until he naturally became part of the family."

"That sounds really nice." I smiled and laid my head on my arms.

"It was. Eventually Kaiza married my daughter and treated Inari as his own son, which made him so very happy." Tazuna said. "Then when this town needed him, he became something much more."

"He became a hero?" I asked.

Tazuna nodded. He told us that one night a huge storm came by and nearly flooded the lower district of their village. Kaiza had been the man who volunteered to swim out and pull the flood gate closed, basically saving the village. "From that day on Kaiza was named our hero and Inari was so proud to be his son." Tazuna said. "It wasn't long after that, when Gatō and his thugs took over. Kaiza was the only one who stood up to them." he went on. "Gatō couldn't have a local hero standing in his way. It took his entire gang to stop one man."

"Damn." Sasuke breathed.

"Then what Mr. Tazuna?" I asked.

"After his gang beat down Kaiza, Gatō used it as a public display to scare the villagers." Tazuna answered. "In front of all the villagers, Gatō had Kaiza executed, as his punishment for standing against him." he froze a few seconds, then went on. "That day changed Inari. It also changed Tsunami and all our people. We lost our hope."

I wiped away the tears that were forming, "That's so awful." I sighed.


We were all silent after that. Suddenly Naruto stood up, but ended up falling flat on his face.

"What are you doing down there Naruto?" Sakura asked.

"I think you better take the day off, no more training." advised our sensei. "You've used up way too much chakra."

"If you push any harder it could kill you." I added, taking another sip of tea.

"I'm gonna prove it." Naruto said, standing up.

"Prove what?" asked Sakura.

"That in this world, there are real heroes." Naruto answered.

We all stared at him.