Chapter one: Darkness
It was the middle of the night. A young girl, no older than thirteen, was dashing through a dark forest, pursued by several ANBU.
"Hatake Kayatakarai! Surrender now! You can't run from us forever!" one of them shouted.
The girl smirked and turned her head, her brilliantly crimson eyes gleaming as they locked on her pursuers.
"Heh. Never say "can't", fools!" she called back, and leapt upwards from the tree branch she had landed on. As she flew skyward, she suddenly vanished.
The ANBU stopped dead in their tracks. "W – where did she go?" one cried, looking fearfully around.
"Keep on your tracks, and don't let your guard down for an instant!" another said, gritting her teeth as she took a kunai from her pouch and held it at the ready. "She isn't any ordinary criminal – she is the Legacy of the Starlight Crest!"
"She's one of the most feared members of the Akatsuki – even more feared than Itachi…" the medic of the group muttered.
All of a sudden, one of the ANBU gave a choked yell and staggered forward, his eyes rolling up into the back of his head. He collapsed, a kunai impaled deep into his back. A shadowy figure loomed over the corpse, resplendent red eyes glaring out at them all from the darkness.
"You hit the nail right on the head there, ladies and gentleman," the figure whispered, grinning and revealing white fangs. "But let me show you what happens when you sniff around in the affairs of the Akatsuki!"
From a steel hilt attached to her belt, she withdrew a large sword, the handle fashioned in the shape of a dragon's head and encrusted with gleaming jewels. The blade was unusual; rather than a pointed tip, it split into three cutting edges at the end, with the outer blades wickedly curving outwards. The metal was as black as the night itself, and seemed to radiate strangely.
The ANBU gasped. "I – it's her Honor Blade!"
The girl gave a haunting laugh, which resounded through the trees and sent a chill down her opponent's spines. Then, with a movement as quick as lightning, she drove the black blade into the earth with immense strength.
"Crushing Earth!"
All was completely silent for a moment, as the girl's piercing red eyes shook the hearts of the ANBU with their knife-like glare. Then, suddenly, the ground began to shake.
"What's happening?"
"Quick! Get off the ground!"
"I can't move!"
The frantic cries of the ANBU were drowned out by an ear-splitting roar, as the ground ripped open in pocket-holes all around. Thick roots lashed out from the earth and seized their legs, preventing them from moving. The power of the attack was such that the ground waves could be seen, making everything a dark blur.
Then, in the blink of an eye, the massive roots spun and weaved upwards with tremendous speed, coiling themselves around their prisoners and completely encasing them.
A moment later, a sickening crushing sound could be heard as they constricted tightly together.
"Heh…" the girl sneered as she watched pools of blood expand from the masses of twisting roots. It was a scene she found most satisfying.
"You pathetic ANBU never seem to learn, do you?" Kayatakarai murmured, sheathing her sword and walking away.
A while later, she settled herself down at the foot of a large oak tree and began to tie up her hair. She was surely a sight to see – she had turned the heads of boys many a time. Poised with elegance, she had waist length raven black hair, which was the envy of all girls for its silkiness and glossiness. Her face was one of flawlessness; feminine features were laid out across smooth, tan skin, and displayed an air of cold uncaring. Protruding from the top of her head was a pair of midnight-black wolf ears, corresponding to her sleek black wolf tail. She was clothed in a sleeveless, dark blue button-up shirt with a jagged white bolt streaking across the chest. Under this she wore a fish net vest, which reached down past the elbows, and her forearms were wrapped up tightly in bandages. Her hands were clad in leather fingerless gloves. Around her waist was a long purple sash tipped with gold, and over that a thick steel belt from which her hilt and sword were hung, along with several little velvet bags and a hitayate. She had three-quarter length baggy grey cargo shorts, which had a long silver chain leading from the waist to the lower pocket, and black boots. But what was most piercing were her eyes. A deep crimson, they burned with a ferocity that spurred fear in the hearts of all who gazed upon her lovely face. But sadness also revelled within the red depths… the angst from long ago still haunted and flickered in her memories…
Sighing, she gazed up through the trees to the waxing moon. Three more nights, she thought. And then "it" will happen.
Before that time, she would accomplish her mission for the Akatsuki. It would be very easy – the village of Konoha knew nothing of her existence as a member of the Akatsuki – it was only her home village who knew… so the ANBU from her village had chased her relentlessly this far.
The task would be easy. She would go to the village, trying to look inconspicuous, and mingle with the people, settling in. Tomorrow, she would catch her target.
And that target was Naruto.