New Years has arrived. My birthday has passed and I was now twelve years old. But things were different. I was on my way to complete my first mission for Tobi. Or was it for the Akatsuki? I didn't know. Plus, I didn't care. Tobi was with me, leading the way to Konohagakure. The location of my mission.
As we got closer, I felt myself get tenser. I knew that this mission was dangerous. It was an infiltration mission that would last me for a long, long time. I was to gain the trust of Konohagakure, become a shinobi of the village, and locate the host of the nine tailed fox. Some boy named Uzumaki Naruto. He was – allegedly – my age, so we should be in the Academy together. That is, assuming, that the village lets me in and that I even get the chance to become a shinobi.
We were half an hour away from the village when Tobi stopped. I stopped and met his gaze through the mask. "It's time."
I nodded and Tobi attacked me. I let him hit me with almost full-powered hit, destroying my clothes and causing bruises to start to form all over my body. I grunted when he stopped and he nodded, I shot off towards the village as a group of bandits, hired by the Akatsuki chased after me.
I ran towards Konohagakure, going the speed of an average Academy student. I crashed into things, making loud noised and causing more wounds to appear. My waist length hair was falling out of its braid, but I didn't stop as the bandits attacked me with the intent to capture me. They had been given false orders and didn't know this was all fake. They thought that I escaped a slave trader and had orders to return me to him.
I could see Konohagakure's gates up ahead and slowed down, faking panting as I noticed some men sitting at the booth, both looking bored. Once I was close enough, I shouted for them to help me. They looked up, startled but when they saw me, and the bandits behind me, they raised the alarm and shinobi shot forward from around the gate as the gates were quickly shut.
I fake tripped onto the ground, letting the bandits catch up. Just as they were about to get me, the Konohagakure shinobi arrived and all hell broke loose. A female wearing a lower-face mask grabbed me and shot towards the village, two males guarding her back as I whimpered and clutched to her chest.
Quickly the bandits were either killed or captured and the gates were opened, letting us in as I was rushed towards the hospital. The medics were ready for me and they led us straight to a bed where they started to patch me up. The woman and two male shinobi that brought me here stayed and watched me wearily as I pretended to be scared of everything and everyone.
After an hour the medics left and the woman whispered something to the two men who nodded and left the room. I could still sense them standing outside my door, but I just sat in the hospital bed, tears dripping down my cheeks. To make it as realistic as possible, I was thinking of Ena's death. It was painful, but it worked and I kept sobbing in – what the shinobi thought was – fear.
Another hour passed before the door opened and I stared in awe as a man wearing the Hokage robes walked in. I figured he was the Third Hokage. I quickly ran through what I knew of him in my mind before pushing the thoughts aside. I whimpered as he came closer. He held up his hand in an attempt to comfort me and I pretended to relax just a little bit.
"Hello there. I'm the Third Hokage, Sarutobi Hiruzen," the Third greeted me and I whimpered. "Do you have a name?"
"T-Takara," I stuttered out, gathering up memories of when I first arrived in Amegakure.
"No surname?"
I shook my head.
"The men that were chasing you, they were told that you escaped a slave ring. Is that correct?" he questioned as another man, this one with long blond hair, entered.
Now was the time to tell the lie that Tobi came up with for me. "I-is that w-what t-they s-said?" I whimpered and the Third tilted his head.
"Is that not what happened?" the blond-haired man questioned.
I shook my head. "I d-don't know. I g-guess it could b-be a s-slave ring. Do they t-teach slaves jutsu?" I questioned and the adults in the room all stiffened.
"Not generally, no," the Third replied and I frowned.
"I-I was experimented o-on. I never saw t-the person who d-did it. I was a-always blindfolded unless I-I was being trained to c-control my eyes," I stuttered out and this time the adults looked at each other in worry.
"Your eyes? What's wrong with them?" the blond man questioned and I bit my lip.
I looked around wearily before closing my eyes and sending chakra up to them. I activated my Sharingan and opened my eyes. The woman dropped the glass she had been sipping from, and the Hokage stared at me as if he'd seen a ghost as the blond-haired man stared at me in something akin to fear.
"She has the Sharingan. But she's not an Uchiha. Do you think she's one of His experiments?" the blond-haired man questioned and the Hokage nodded.
"Is there anything else you can do?" the Hokage asked me and I shook my head as I deactivated my Sharingan. "How much of your life do you remember?"
"I was f-from Amegakure. I'm twelve. My birthday is the 1st of January. I had a best f-friend named E-Ena. He w-was k-killed r-right in front of me," I replied.
"This is Yamanaka Inoichi. He wants to go into your mind to confirm what you said. Is that alright?" the Hokage questioned and I nodded, praying that the mental training I had been through will work like Tobi hoped.
The blond-haired man – Yamanaka-san – walked up and did a jutsu. I didn't fight it and let him in, thinking back to Ena's death and my life on the streets of Amegakure and then the day I was taken by Tobi and experimented on, leaving out Pein-sama and Konan-sensei. I also thought of my training with Tobi. Yamanaka-san pulled out of my mind and nodded to the Hokage.
"She's been trained as a shinobi, but she's not officially a shinobi. What she said is true. She appears to have been from Amegakure. There are blanks in her memories. I suspect they are trauma blocks. No signs of Him though, just a masked man. Maybe one of his lackeys?" Yamanaka-san explained to the Hokage who nodded.
"We will discuss what to do with you later, Takara-chan. How about you rest up for now? You're safe here," the Hokage explained and I nodded, leaning against the pillow of my bed and letting sleep take me, knowing that – for once in many years – I was free from Tobi's grasp.
A week later I was still in the hospital under guard. The Hokage visited every other day, along with Yamanaka-san just to make sure I was handling things well as the Hokage figured out what to do with me. It was exactly one week when the Hokage entered my room with a grandfatherly smile. He took a seat on the chair next to my bed before speaking.
"We have sorted things out. If you would like, we are happy to offer you a home here in the village. But there are conditions to your stay," the Hokage stated and I nodded, gesturing for him to keep going. "You will be under twenty-four-hour surveillance for the first year of being here. We have to make sure you're trustworthy and – in the long run – loyal to the village. Another thing is you will be living in a small apartment with a monthly allowance. Lastly, you will enter the Academy. When you graduate, you will lose your monthly allowance, and some of what you earn from your missions will go straight back to the village as a way to pay off what you spend before graduation."
I nodded in understanding. "That sounds fair."
The Hokage smiled then reached into his robes. I tensed up for a second, something that didn't go unnoticed by the elderly man, but he didn't do anything as he pulled out a sack and handed it to me. "This is your monthly allowance for this month. One of your guards will lead you to your apartment when you're ready to go. I've already signed you out of the hospital, so you can leave whenever."
I shot him a shy smile and nodded, standing up off the bed. "Will there be enough in there for me to get some fresh clothes?"
The Hokage grinned. "I put a little extra in just for this month to get you off the ground. If you have free time, you can take odd jobs around the village to earn extra money that won't have to go back to the village."
I smiled and nodded as he stood up.
"I'll be taking my leave now. If you ever need anything, my office is open," the Hokage offered and left.
I exited the room and saw an ANBU standing there waiting for me. I shot the ANBU a small smile. "Are you going to show me to my apartment?" I asked her and she nodded, turning and walking down the hall.
I followed her out of the hospital and through the village and to an apartment building. Inside, I could sense a strong chakra, making me frown. There was something wrong with the chakra. Did I already find my target? Tobi did say he would have a large amount of chakra and it would feel wrong.
The ANBU led me to a room on the third floor and handed me a key. I unlocked the door and entered the apartment, surprised at what I saw. There was a small genkan right as I walked in. I slipped my shoes off, setting them neatly before going further into the apartment to see a living area with a couch and empty bookshelf. At one end of the living room was a kitchen with a small wooden table big enough to sit four people. I moved further into the apartment, and down a hall to find a bathroom and then one bedroom that had a single bed with plain, cream-coloured sheets.
I was excited for the bed, as it wasn't a futon that I was used to, but one of those beds that were raised up off the ground a little bit. There was also a built-in wardrobe, a chest of drawers, and a desk. Nodding, I made my way back through my apartment, putting my shoes back on and leaving.
I could sense the ANBU following me as I made my way through the village, searching for a clothing store. Once I found one, I entered and quickly went about buying some clothes. I went with some everyday yukata for everyday use, some training clothes for when I go to the Academy and for when I train and – ultimately – ruin the clothing, and some underwear.
Once I paid for everything I went to a nearby bookstore and bought a cookbook. It was one thing I never learnt how to do. Now that I was living alone, I had to learn to cook to survive. I flipped through the book upon leaving, settling on an easy recipe for teriyaki chicken and decided that will be my dinner for the night. I made my way to the grocery store where I bought the needed ingredients, plus some instant ramen and breakfast foods, before heading home.
Once home I set everything up, putting the food and clothes away. I had a shower and then rested in the bath for a half an hour before getting dressed in a yukata and heading back into the living room. It wasn't time for dinner yet, but I had to marinade the chicken so, following the recipe, I made the marinade and cut up the chicken before putting it all in a bowl and covering it with cling wrap, putting it in the fridge to marinade for a few hours.
I contemplated what I was going to do now when there was a knock on my door. I frowned but made my way to the door, opening it to see a nervous looking blond boy with bright blue eyes and whisker-like markings on his cheeks.
"Can I help you?" I questioned, noting that he was the source of the chakra I could sense.
"Ah, h-hi. Old man Hokage told me you'd be moving in next to me, and suggested I offer to help you to the Academy for the first few days. I t-thought I should introduce myself first," the boy explained and I tilted my head.
Old man Hokage? "Ah, that's very thoughtful of both him and you. I am Takara. And you are?"
The boy blushed as he met my gaze. "Uzumaki Naruto."
I stopped a smirk from flittering across my lips. So, this was the nine tails container? Not what I was expecting. I gave him a shy smile. "Nice to meet you, Naruto-san. Would you like to come in? I would love to get to know you if we are neighbours."
Naruto blushed but nodded as he entered my apartment. He took his shoes off, setting them neatly next to mine and walked in. He looked around briefly before taking a seat at the table. I shot him a small smile.
"Would you like a drink, Naruto-san?" I offered and he shook his head.
"N-no, that's fine," he replied and I nodded, sitting across from him.
"What's the Academy like?" I asked him before the silence in the room could become anymore awkward.
"'Tis alright. You'll be in my class, and Iruka-sensei is alright. The others in the class are also alright. But the schoolwork is a pain," Naruto explained and I nodded.
"I've never been to a ninja Academy. I was captured by a masked man at a young age, and trained by him to be a weapon," I explained and Naruto stared at me in surprise. I shot him a sad smile. "I only ever had one friend. It would be nice to have another one day."
"Um, if you want, you could be my friend. I've never had a friend at all, and, well..." he trailed off and I gave him a kind smile.
"I would like that, Naruto-san."
"A-ah, please, call me Naruto! San seems to formal," Naruto stuttered out, blushing madly and I giggled.
"Then you can call me just Takara. How does that sound?"
Naruto smiled and nodded as I stood up.
"Would you like to stay for dinner? I'm making too much. I can't say if the food will be any good, as I've never cooked before, but it should be edible at least," I offered and Naruto laughed and nodded.
"That would be great. Thank you, Takara."
That night, Naruto and I chatted and I learnt that he was a prankster and that – like me – he was an orphan. His favourite food was ramen – something I didn't care much for but still ate – and that he loved watering plants. That surprised me, but when I asked him why he just shrugged with a shy smile and said he wasn't sure, that it just relaxed him.
"So, is ramen all you eat?" I asked him as he pushed the vegetables around on his plate.
"I also like red bean soup," Naruto added but then scrunched his face up. "But I hate vegetables."
"Well I ask that you at least try to eat some of them. I don't like my food going to waste," I stated and Naruto pouted but nodded in agreement and picked up some broccoli with his chopsticks. He made a face before putting it in his mouth, chewing quickly before swallowing.
"Arg! So gross!" he whined and I giggled at his childish behaviour.
"I know they're not the best, but they're good for you," I stated, trying to make him feel better about the food.
Naruto scoffed. "Don't know how something so disgusting can be good for you."
I just shrugged. "I can't say I disagree. I hate eating fish. I find that particularly disgusting."
Naruto grinned. "So then don't eat it! I won't eat vegetables and you won't eat fish!"
"Life's not that simple," I replied, thinking back to all the times Tobi and Konan had to force me to consume fish because it was part of a healthy diet. I shuddered at the thought of those torturous hours and being tied to a chair.
"Sure, it is," Naruto replied to my statement as he picked up a snow bean and quickly ate it. Frowning in thought. "Ok, snow beans aren't that bad."
"Personally, my favourite is broccoli," I stated with a grin and Naruto scrunched up his face.
"How you can eat that is beyond me," he replied as he pushed the rest of his food away.
I frowned at the waste of food but said nothing as I finished the last of my rice. I stood up and grabbed the dirty dishes, taking them to the sink and starting to wash them as Naruto watched me. Soon, the dishes were drying on the drying rack and I faced Naruto with a small smile.
"Thank you for having dinner with me. I've been so alone since I got here, it's nice to meet someone my own age," I stated and Naruto blushed, rubbing the back of his spikey hair.
"S-stop it. I didn't do anything," Naruto stuttered out, embarrassed.
I smiled softly. "Trust me, you've done more than you think."