Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, the characters, concepts, names and related indicia. They are copyright (c) Masashi Kishimoto... Why do we even need to add that thing? Eh, anyways, enjoy:
Kumori crouched in complete silence, her presence still unnoticed by the two men who ran the small bread stand. They were speaking loudly to each other, one of them with his back to her, and she decided to take the chance to reach up. He hand touched on a larger bag of bread and she slid it off the table, accidentally dropping another on the ground.
The sound of the bread hitting the dirt road below caused the two men to look over in curiosity. Kumori was huddled back in her hiding spot, hoping they wouldn't find her. Her hopes were crushed, however, as one of the men came to pick up the bread. He bent down, grabbing the bag, his head inches from where she was crouched. It was too much for her.
She suddenly burst out of her hiding spot, clutching the bag protectively to her body. There were a few moments of silence as she darted down the street until it was shattered.
"Thief! Thief! Get back here you little brat!"
Chancing a look over her shoulder, she saw them dashing after her quickly, gaining easily. There was no way she could possibly make it in time. She would have to face them.
Skidding to a halt, she spun around to face them, still clutching the bread. They stopped running a few feet away from her, facing her as well.
"Give it back, kid," said the one closest to her, taking a step forwards.
"Don't come any closer!"
The man grinned and stepped forwards further, invading her personal space. She dropped the bread and held out her hands, stopping him in his tracks.
"Move!" he barked.
"I said don't come any closer! Stay back!"
The man took another step forwards and she charged at him, anger flashing through her eyes. The skin on the palm of her hand bulged slightly, before the skin broke painfully, a long white bone shooting out. The man stopped suddenly, jerking his head back as the sharp bone pressed into his neck, drawing a slight amount of blood.
In the moment of silence that followed, there was a deep roll of thunder directly overhead, followed by a few raindrops. Another storm. The man pulled back shakily, taking a few small steps back before turning and running.
"Demon! She has a bloodline!"
He was soon joined by the other man, and they vanished back down the street. Kumori drew the bone back into her hand, wincing in pain as blood trickled down her fingers. She lifted the bread from the ground and dashed along the road, turning down a dark alleyway and falling into a walk.
It had started to rain now, and it stung her eyes as she squinted into the darkness. A shadow passed in front of her, scaring her, until she recognized it.
"Akisu!" she hissed, crouching down to stroke the large cat. It's glossy, well-kept fur was deep tan in colour, with small brown speckles dotting it. The warmth returned to her fingers as the cat arched its back, stretching luxuriously. She stood again, walking beside it into the shadows.
"Akame, are you awake?"
Something shifted slightly, coughing a few times in the darkness. She stepped forwards, oblivious to the darkness, until she found herself staring into a pair of blood red eyes.
"Kumori?"
"Yeah, I got some food," she whispered, opening the bag of bread. She handed one to the dark figure and pulled out the other for herself. The figure tore the bread in half, feeding it to the large cat.
As she began tearing away at her own bread, her eyes adjusted to the darkness. The boy in front of her, Akame, was quite possibly thinner than herself. He had unnerving red eyes with slits for pupils to match his cats. His black hair was messy and constantly hung in his eyes, but did not stop them from almost glowing in the dark.
She heard a soft jingling and her eyes fell upon a long, thick chain. The chain had one end locked to the chain-link fence that he rested on, and the other end attached to a doubled up leather collar around his neck. They had each tried numerous times to break it, but it was no use.
Kumori looked down at her own body. It was hopelessly thin; she hardly ever ate a proper meal. She wore a pair of torn black pants and a dirty black tank top. Her arms were slightly scarred because of overuse of her bloodline, and her hands were dirty. She had striking green eyes and black hair which she kept tied back in a messy bun. Across her shoulders, stretching across her small back was a large tattoo of a snake, the symbol of her clan.
Her clan had been caught in the middle of a war which had been started by them. The Kaguya clan had been feared among other clans because of its ultimate bloodline of bone manipulation. Other clans had started to fight, eventually killing off every member of their clan except for her and one other. The other person was the reason she had taken to the streets in the first place. Kaguya Kimimaro, the successor to the clan's head, the one who she would have been forced to marry. She hated him. He had too much talent for a child only a year older than herself; he had mastered the five dances of their clan easily. She also hated his attitude. He was cold and dark, only caring about himself and no one else.
Another roll of thunder snapped her out of her thoughts. It was pouring rain now, a common thing in the Hidden Cloud. She stood, wiping water out of her face and brushing a few sodden strands of hair from her eyes.
"I'm going to go now. Maybe there's still time to find more food, but I doubt it."
Akame looked up at her, his hair flattened from the rainwater. His cat jumped into his lap and curled up, out of the rain.
"Alright. See you later then."
Before turning away, she bent down and kissed him lightly on the cheek, wishing they could get out of this hellhole and live normally. She turned and walked slowly out of the alleyway, back into the storm.
As she walked, she felt the pressure of the dark clouds above suffocating her. It was Autumn and the air was cold, biting her skin ruthlessly and whipping rain into her eyes. She shivered, her lungs screaming as she sucked in another breath of icy air.
A moment later, she found herself on the ground, shivering in a small puddle. Her muscles had given out from lack of energy. She lay still for a few moments, before pushing herself up against a cold stone wall, clutching her knees to her chest.
Akisu suddenly appeared in front of her, hissing and spitting, the hair on his back raised. She lifted her head and found herself looking into the masks of three Anbu. She knew about the Anbu from her short-lived shinobi days, from her time spent in the Hidden Cloud's ninja academy.
She sat in silence, looking up emotionlessly at the three dark figures. The cat in front of her ceased hissing, and backed up until it was beside her. There was another roll of thunder, followed by a flash of lightning.
The one in the middle removed his mask and crouched down in front of her, his brown eyes meeting her green orbs as the rain pounded down harder.
"You're going to die out here kid. You should find somewhere to stay," he said. She blinked away a few raindrops.
"I don't have anywhere to go."
The Anbu eyed her for a moment, before another member of his team placed a hand on his shoulder.
"We have to get back to Konoha and report back to the Hokage-sama."
The Anbu in front of her said nothing as his companions turned away slightly. Kumori looked back at him in silence, thinking hard.
Konoha? They're from the Leaf? What are they doing here? Is there going to be another war?
She decided to voice some of her thoughts. "What are shinobi from another village doing here? Is there going to be another war?"
The two Anbu who were walking away suddenly stopped and turned around. The one who had last spoken received a whack over his head. The one in front of her shifted slightly and sighed.
"Kill her. She'll tell someone."
Kumori's blood froze as she looked up into one of the Anbu's masks. She pulled her legs up closer to her protectively.
"She's just a kid. She doesn't deserve to be killed at such a young age."
"Then what should we do? If she knows, we can't just leave her here."
"We can take her with us; she could train as a shinobi of the Leaf."
Go to the Leaf? But what about Akame? I don't want to be killed though…
She reached into her pocket and pulled out a small necklace, slipping it to her side and giving it to Akisu. He took it in his mouth, looking up at her.
"Get up kid; you have to come with us."
"I can't move," she said, hoping they might just leave her. But the Anbu in front of her replaced his mask and lifted her out of the muddy puddle she had been sitting in. He pulled her arms over his shoulders and carried her away on his back. She turned her head to see Akisu staring after her in confusion, the small necklace dangling from his mouth.
I'm sorry, Akame… But I promise, I will get stronger and come back for you. Promise.