Grey

Chapter 3

I collapsed, worn and starving, on the sodden path. The terrain had changed drastically since I left my homeland, and although I had traveled on horseback up to the border, the journey before me was still long and arduous. Moreover, hungry beasts and poisonous plants yet unknown to me lurked along the roads I took, making my journey all the more treacherous and challenging. Even though I had known long ago that every mission I undertook could result in death, I always took it for granted that Death itself would never come knocking on my door.

I struggled to stand, but my arms and legs were completely useless, and it was with a heavy heart that I realised that I could not go on anymore.

As I lay limply on the ground, I fought to remain conscious and felt for my precious water bottle--it was empty. Robbed of all hope, I lay on the ground, and felt myself fall into the deep chasm of darkness.

*****

I awoke in a strange bed in an unfamiliarly bare room. The mask I had been wearing earlier on had been removed, and was lying on the bedside table to my right. The room was sparsely decorated, and the paint on the cream coloured walls was peeling in many places. A young man with blonde, spiky hair sat in a battered wicker chair, asleep and snoring. Not knowing where I was, I began to cry.

The young man in the chair--he looked no more than eighteen years old--started out of his chair the moment he heard me sobbing pitifully. He ran about the room and tried to dig out toys which he didn't have, and even sang a ditty in an effort to lull me to sleep. However, all this was in vain, for I was reminded of 'kaasan when he started singing her favourite song, and started bawling immediately.

Eventually, he gave me some cup ramen and tried to feed me in order to pacify and silence me. I gave in to his cooing and let him deliver the half-cooked noodles into my mouth.

After I had finally stopped sobbing, and was silently savouring the salty aftertaste of the ramen, he finally asked, as gently as he could, "Kid, where're you from? Where are your parents?"

I let a wave of homesickness wash over me again, and once again, tears rolled down my grimy cheeks. I sobbed uncontrollably, and was unable to speak for quite a while. Meanwhile, the young man was staring at me sadly, with sky blue eyes that seemed to empathise with my unspoken past. He seemed to be at a loss as to how to handle the situation, but still tried his best to comfort me, patting my back as gently as he could.

After I had calmed down somewhat, and my sobbing had subsided to the occasional sniffle, he attempted asking me again, "What's your name, kid? And where do you come from?"

I sniffled, and managed to choke out, "I'm Hatake Kakashi from a small farm in the north. It was raided by Anbu from Hidden Cloud Village... They killed Kenji-niichan, and... and... Otousan and Okaasan... "

The man didn't say anything, but drew me into a hug. I suppressed the urge to smirk at his gullibility, and instead opened the floodgates once more. It wasn't easy to play the part of a poor, lost and innocent boy, and it was vital that he didn't see through my act.

*****

I woke up, screaming and crying, in the middle of the night, and the man--Uzumaki Hayato, was by my side in an instant to comfort me, to reassure me that everything was all right, that it was only a dream. He was rather unsure of how to console me, but tried his best anyway.

Cooing gently to lull me to sleep, he began telling me a tale about a king and his dragon, and I listened drowsily as I slipped into a deep slumber.

*****

Weeks passed, and it was finally time for Hayato-niichan and I to leave the shabby hut that served to house him while he trained in the depths of the forest.

I'd learnt quite a good deal about him during that short span of time I'd known him. He was 18, and had recently passed the jounin exam. He also helped me get over my 'trauma' pretty well, since he'd witnessed the brutal murder of his cousin by a street gang while he watched, terrified and helpless.

He never asked any more questions about my past, and learnt only what I volunteered, for fear of evoking the pain that supposedly flowed through me at the very mention of my parents. On the other hand, I, knowing my place as a child, did not venture to ask him any personal questions for fear of offending my newfound guardian.

Surprisingly, Hayato-niichan let me watch him train, thinking that it would probably distract me from thinking about the brutal tragedy that had stricken my family because of a simple act of goodwill. In any case, it gave me a good excuse to join the Konoha ninja school, if there was one.

"Hayato-niichan... I'd like to become a shinobi when I grow up." My voice was muffled by the fabric of the mask. Moreover, since he was leaping from branch to branch in the treetops with me on his back, the wind very nearly blew my words away, but he heard me surely enough.

"Hm, really? That's great! But why?"

"The power you showed when you were training was awesome. I'd like to become a shinobi as strong as you are so that I can take revenge." I gritted my teeth in determination.

"No, actually I was showing off... Haha..." Hayato-niichan chuckled, in a bid to lighten the mood. But I knew that he sensed my determination, and was quite sure that he would take me to the Konoha ninja school later.

As expected, Hayato-niichan took me to a block of flats, which he introduced as the Konoha Ninja Academy. It was evidently break time, since there were many children running about in the grassy yard in the school grounds. When they saw me enter the grounds, clutching Hayato-niichan's hand, they stopped to stare at me, and I clung to Hayato-niichan, being unused to such an awkward situation. I was more used to being ignored than being paid attention to, even in my own village.

The children greeted Hayato-niichan half-heartedly, distracted by my presence. He grinned at them cheerily, but continued to lead me into the school building.

He introduced me to an amiable old man, whom he said was the Sandaime Hokage. The Hokage then asked me a few things about myself, including the reason behind my desire to become a ninja, then led me to a room where a diagnostic test would be held.

I gulped. Would I be able to pass the test, and yet not reveal anything about the training I had received prior to this?

*****

The test was over in a flash, and soon I was standing in front of all my new classmates. Thankfully, the test was simply a fistfight with one of the chuunins, so I managed to cover up pretty well by punching around quite senselessly while trying to bring out my apparent determination. However, the Hokage commented on my 'astounding speed', and I feared for an instant that he would smell a rat. Thankfully, he only said that I had a lot of potential as a ninja, and let Hayato-niichan take me to my classroom.

There was a collective murmuring when I entered the classroom with Hayato-niichan, who had inevitably become my self-appointed guardian. I recognised several faces from earlier on, but avoided making eye contact with anyone. I drew a circle on the dusty floor using the toe of my left sandal, while I nervously introduced myself to the class. I had never been asked to speak before so many people before. After all, I was largely ignored in my village, and hence never had to deal with being the centre of attention.

I was asked to take a seat, and naturally, I went to the back of class, not wanting to feel many pairs of eyes boring into the back of my head. The other occupant of the long bench was a boy wearing a pair of snorkel goggles. He smiled at me and said, "Hey I'm Sarutobi Asuma. I guess we'll be bench mates for a long while, ne Kakashi? Yoroshiku ne." He grinned at me, and I smiled back at him through my mask, which covered half my face.

I sighed, and looked out the window, as the teacher launched into a lengthy speech on the importance of chakra control. Perhaps it was good to have come to Konoha after all...

A/n: Once again, I'd like to thank all you reviewers! It is very encouraging to see that my fic has been appreciated XD

Bronze Eagle Sorry for taking so long to reply XP The Raikage is the head of Hidden Cloud Village.

Bishiehuggler Thanks for the suggestion, but we still need a separate site because that will be our end product for our project. ^^

Blinkie The Raikage is the narrator's father. And " 'tousan " is short for Otousan, which means "Father"