Notes:
Sorry I have been mia for awhile. A lot of things have happened in my life that have made it hard for me to write. But I think I should be able to go back to updating once a month from now on. Let me know what you think. Thank you for reading!
Chapter eight: Twist of fate
Juzo's hand jerks me across Kirigakure. My heals dig into the road as I try to twist my wrist out of his bruising hold.
"Kid, if you don't stop fighting I will rip your arm out of its socket." He warns a growl of annoyance in his voice. Gritting my teeth I relent and follow after him, my eyes talking in every detail of where he drags me. The large building that holds shop fronts and apartment builds soon turn into the shinobi barracks. His snort fills the air as his dark eyes turn to me.
"Your smart kid. So think about your little brats before you act." He says causing me to flinch and look up at him with wide eyes.
"Yeah we know about your little rag-tag group. Pretty impressive for one so young to whip orphans into a small army. The only reason what's left of those kids and you are still alive is because you all show promise." He mutters stopping in front of a large building. Sliding open the door he pushes me inside before following me. Closing the door behind him he motions to follow him through the dark. My shoes clink against a wooden floor as I watch this murderer's back as he leads me to another door. Reaching out he slides open the door to reveal a tiny room that's big enough for a futon and a dresser and not much else.
"This will be your room from now on. I'll be stuck with you until you prove yourself." He says grabbing my shoulder and pushing me into the doorway of the room.
"Starting tomorrow you will train with all of the other genin. Get some sleep, kid, you're gonna need it." He says grabbing the door and closes it halfway before pausing.
"Also I wouldn't try anything if you want your brats to keep breathing." With that he shuts the door and walks away. Anger fills me along with worry as I walk over to the folded up futon and push it against the wall across from the door. Sitting down I flip my left forearm over before biting into the pointer finger of my right hand. Smearing some blood over a small black dot that looks like a mole by my wrist I watch as it turns red before I write in english with my blood down my forearm.
'Hostage. Status.' I watch as my blood absorbers into my skin before it fades into my arm. After what feels like hours I watch as english words start to appear. It's blurry and hard to read at first until it gradually becomes clear.
'Safe. Fire Sea.' Then a symbol that my Kaa-san painted just once to show Rinku, Nariko, and I what clan she belonged to appeared at the bottom of his note. A circle with a spiral in the center, the symbol of Uzushiogakure, the uzumaki clan's home. A smile tugs at me lips as the words and symbol fades only for new words to take its place.
'Mission. Coals.' reading the message I drop my forearm to my side allowing the jutsu to fade as I cut off my chakra to the seal. Leaning my head back against the damp wood behind me, I thank my foresight to teach my boys the english language from my past life just for this occasion.
The next morning is hell. Jizu wakes me with a kick to my foot before dragging me behind him to a training ground full of seven children near my age and six other adults. Throwing me to the children, he stands back as four of them start to swarm me like sharks to blood in water. Growling, I bare my fangs as my eyes turn amber. Taking a step I place my feet shoulder width apart. Both of my hands are apart over my chest, left hand on the bottom and right on the top with palms facing each other. In seconds the first kid that stands a head taller than me takes a swing at my face. My left hand comes up over the right to shoulder lever, right hand going under my armpit palm flat with my back. My left hand swings out and hits the kid in the throat with the side of my hand. Swinging my hands back to my center my right leg steps out widening my stants, straightening my left leg my knee faces the ground as my right leg bends into a ninety degree angle. My left arm bends making a triangle as my palm faces the sky pointing down to my hip. My right hand swings out and hits another kid around my height in the face with my palm breaking his nose and knocking him to the ground. Swinging my body back around my knees almost touch as I squat close to the ground hands coming up to block a kick to my back. Pushing the foot away I push off with my back leg and step forward with my front standing up as I move. My left hand moves up to palm strike the kid behind me in the face before my right hand makes a fist and hits the kid in the center of his chest. My left hand comes back to rest my fingers on my right forearm. Spinning back around I drop my fist and swing my left arm around to hit the last kid in the throat with the side of my hand. Looking at the four kids on the ground trying to catch their breaths or holding their broken noses I drop my stance and look over at Juzo with a glare.
"What in the fucking hell?!" Ringo yells, hitting Juzo's arm.
"You never said the girl could fight like that!" Turning away from the adults I walked past the kids on the ground and to the three that stayed off to the side and watched the fight. Snow white hair catches my eyes drawing them to the boy I haven't seen in months. The corner of my mouth twitches as I meet Mangetsu's eyes. He sits on top of a wooden training post that is almost six foot tall, his sandaled feet dangled down the side. A piece of squid jerky is hanging out of his mouth. Next to him a lanky kid that stands a head taller than me leans against the post. His dark brown hair is spiked up like he just got out of bed, his head band tied around his forehead. Off-white bandages wrap around his face and down his neck with a weird gray and black striped scarf wrapped around his shoulders. A black sleeveless form fitting top along with matching black pants and standard ninja sandals complete his look. Dark brown eyes look at me with intrigue and something else that makes a chill run down my spine.
'So this is a young Zabuza Momochi.' I think before my eyes move from him to the tallest kid I have ever seen. He stands almost as tall as Jizu with pale almost gray blue skin, his outfit looks similar to Zabuza's just without the ugly scarf. He has small round white eyes with dark centers and three curved facial markings under his eyes giving him the look of having gills. Sharp triangular teeth glint deadly in the light as he smirks at me. His blue hair is styled up into what looks like a sharks fin.
'Kisame Hosigaki! One of the baddest swordsmen to leave the mist!' I think coming to a stop in front of him. Looking up to meet his dark eyes I hold out my hand and pull back my lips into a smirk.
"I'm Mika Okami." I state waiting to see what this kid that will become one of the most dangerous ninja in the world will do. His cool hand grabs mine in a firm hold as an amused smile pulls at his lips.
"You got balls kid." He laughs out in a gruff voice, shaking my hand and looking me dead in the eyes.
"Most people shake at the mere sight of me yet you go in for a hand shake." He laughs as Mangetsu drops down from the post to his side.
"This here is Mangetsu Hozuki, and the small brat is Zabuza Momochi." He says before pausing.
"Well I guess you're now the small brat." He laughs letting go of my hand. The corner of my lips twitch at his amusement.
"What was that?" Zabuza asks in a growl taking a step forward. Pulling my hand back I cover my mouth to keep my amusement from seeping out.
"I think I like you three." I chuckle out watching as Kisame and Zabuza get a little pink in the cheeks before turning their heads away.
Days turn into weeks, then months with me not being able to leave the seven swordsmen's barracks without a babysitter until finally after eight months I'm allowed to leave without a babysitter. Walking through the trading district I hide myself in the crowd before using a hinge to change my looks and disappear down a side street. Taking off down the alleys I blend in with my surroundings until I find my home. Ducking into the rundown warehouse I run over to the fire pit off to the side. Digging through the dead coals and ashes my fingers hit a hard cylindrical tub buried at the bottom. Pulling it free of the ashes, I walked over to one of the crates left behind when the others left. Pulling out a torn piece of stained fabric that has seen better days I wipe the soot off the case and my hands onto it before tucking the fabric back into place. Looking over the case I take in the common wood that has no carvings of any kind to give away what it is. Twisting off the cap I dump its continents into my hand. Two small yellowed paper scrolls greets me. Unrolling it I read over its contents only to feel a small amount of amusement and read it again.
'Hello Mika-Chan,
Uzushiogakure is alive, thriving, and gathering its survivors. Danger lurks in the mist with sharingan eyes. Gain their loyalty and report everything you can. You are now an Anbu of Uzushiogakure, Kitsune. Your mask is sealed on the next page. That paper is a special type of paper we used in Uzushiogakure. If you put it to your skin and put your chakra into it will copy that seal onto your skin so you can hold your headband and mask away from prying eyes.
Be safe,
Your Oji-san,
Uzukage Ashina Uzumaki'
After reading over the message I crumble up the first note and place it in the fire pit lighting it on fire I watch as it burns away to nothing before following my orders and looking over the seal. The seal is a work of art, its design is simple with all the kanji written in a circle as the base. The compression part along with the storage components to hold my Anbu items are written as a whirlpool that spirals from the outside in words. Making a face I think of a place I can hide a seal away from prying eyes. Growling in frustration I place it on my right hip, pumping some chakra into the paper I watch in amazement as the paper burns away before a stinging pain like a brand burns into my skin. Hissing between my teeth I wait until the pain subsides before looking over the seal. Running my fingers over the black skin I watch as it shrinks into a small circle that looks nothing more than a freckle on my hip not much bigger than the tip of my finger. A snort escapes me as I think about my anbu title.
'A fucking kitsune. A trickster. The universe has a sick sense of humor.' I muse to myself before turning back to the door and heading back to the main street.