"Your last words will be recorded as 'what does a name matter anyway! A name is nothing more than a label for the deeds one has accomplished! And I hope that my death this day can teach you this. That all of your deeds are implanted forever in the thing you use everyday.' Prisoner 26228. Is this what you wish to have recorded as your last words?" A fox masked ANBU Member said nonchalantly as he scribbled the words down.
"Yes...and make sure it says my prisoner number, not my name" Said the prisoner tied by many lengths of rope to a wooden pole.
The ANBU raised an eyebrow. "Isn't that a little hypocratic? Don't you want the people who read your tombstone to recognise your deeds?" He asked, in an honest, curious tone.
The Prisoner laughed. "No, my deeds are nothing special. Besides, there is a certain person I don't want to know...putting a name on my tombstone would ruin it." He said, his amber eyes slowly tearing up. "I've said my peace...do your duty..."
00000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000
Chapter one: Meeting, Greeting, and Powdered Orange Juice
Once upon a time, there was a small, little known village just outside of the Nano Country. In this village, there were two clans, who had been feuding since the village was formed. In one hand you have the Kegare clan. In the other, you have the Dekkichea Clan. Now, these two clans didn't wage war on the street, they waged polital war. With the leader of the village dead (under suspicous circumstances) both clans were vying for the throne. The Kegare Clan eventually won the race for the throne. They placed all of their clan leaders in the highest city positions and enacted the worst punishment for their rivals they could muster: The Dekkichea clan was to be disbanned, banished, and given one of the signurature seals of the village. Every villager was branded with the Mark of the Wanderer. This forbidden punishment seal is similar to the one employed by the Hyuuga Clan, but with some major differences. The Mark of the Wanderer couldn't be removed, and it could kill the person it is used on. The difference is the way that the victim dies, and why they die. This seal causes the muscles in the body to bind up, causing immense pain when the person with the seal attempted to move. Then, the muscles in the lungs bind, and the oxygen supply is cut, causeing suffocation. The seal activates when the user has spent more than seven days in the same five mile radius. Then the user has to wait a year before returning to the same location. If the user returns, they will recieve a shock to the entire right side of their body, indicating that they need to get out of there. One hour later, if they are still in the same place, the killing trigger will go off, and the Wanderer will die.
Now we rejoin this clan as they wander around, seven years after the seal's were made.
"Mommy, where are we now?" A young boy asked a woman who looked to be in her late thirties. He was eleven years old, and had been on the road for all of the years of his life that he could remember. He didn't posess the same bitterness the rest of the clan, possibly because he never knew about the ranks his fellow wanderer's held, or even their clan-name's that they had been stripped of when the clan was disbarred. He was simply know an Kakaru-kun.
"We are in the Fire Country. This village is called...Konaha I belive. Now honey, we need to go to the market to trade for supplies. Can you be a good little boy and play in that field over there until we get back?" She asked sweetly, pinching his face as mother's often do.
"Mo-om! I'm not little anymore!" he said, pulling her hand off of his face.
"Ok, well you be good for mommy?" she said, ruffling his hair.
"..Hai!" Kakaru said, running out into the field as the other Wanderer's went to the market.
Kakaru ran through the field, laughing as he flopped down in the tall grass. "Finally...another village! This means we won't have to leave for another week!" He said happily. He sat up and frowned as he looked at where he had sat. He had accidentally crushed a beautiful white flower. The petals hadn't fallen off yet, so he attempted to make it stand up.
"there we...aww" he said, truimph turning into a sigh as the flower fell. He attempted three more times before a young girl walked up behind him.
"Its poinless to continue...it won't stand again" the blonde haired girl said, plucking the crushed flower.
"Hey! Why'd you do that! Now the flower's going to die..." he said, looking at the flower and then at the blonde girl.
"Yes...but without plucking it..." she said, pulling some of the petals off, revealing some seeds. "you couldn't get to these..." she smiled, offering the seeds to the boy.
"Ooh...I see...Oh!" he said, standing up and bowing deeply "Where are my manners, I am Kakaru, at your service" His words were more or less sincere, but were very rehersed. It came from the countess times he had introduced himself by grabbing a stranger's hand and shaking it violently, only to have the youth recieve a very hard knock on the head from his mother.
"I'm...Ino Yamanaka, nice to meet you?" she said in a confused tone.
"Did I do something wrong Miss Yamanaka?" He asked politely.
"N-no...I'm just wondering why you are being so formal. No one else in this village is so polite when introducing themselves." Ino said, tilting her head to one side, as if examing a difficult math equation.
"Does it bother you Miss Yamanaka?" He asked, blushing as he smiled shyly at her.
"No...but you don't have to do it" she said, blushing a little also. "And please, call me Ino!"
Kakaru sighed and relaxed his formerly stiff posture. "Thank goodness for that! To tell you the truth Ino-chan (you don't mind if I call you Ino-chan do you?) I can't stand acting like that!" He said, smiling brightly.
"Yes..its fine..." Ino said, blushing a little deeper. Wow...he's almost as cute as Saskue-kun! Wait...what am I thinking... She shook her head, freeing herself of the thought.
"So Ino-chan, where did you learn so much about flowers?" he asked, sitting down on the same patch of long grass he had been before. He started weaving the grass together into a crown, looking up at her with a warm smile. She's nice...
"Well Kakaru-kun, my parents run a flower shop in town. I've just picked up some stuff from helping out my Mom." Ino said, picking some nearby flowers and weaving them with expert skill.
"Ahh...I see" He said, instantly jealous that she got to stay all the time in a city. "What does your Dad do?" he added, frowning as he tried to tuck in some loose blades.
"My Dad's a Shinobi for this great village!" Ino said proudly.
"No way! Really?" Kakatu exclaimed, dropping his crown.
"Really! And I'm going to be a shinobi too! Better than even him!" She said, winking and sticking her tongue out at him.
"Na un!"
"Ya huh! Im in the Academy and everything!"
"Wow, really! Your amazing Ino-chan!" Kakaru said, blushing after he realized what had slipped.
"T-thanks Kakaru-kun...I'm really not that amazing...I'm just a student" Ino said, turning a soft shade of scarlet.
"No! I mean it!' he said, turning bright red as he moved closer to her. "I would give anything to be in an Academy!"
"R-really? Umm...its not that great...I mean its a lot better than anything else I could have done..." She said, moving away, now fully scarlet. "I-if you like...I can have my dad talk to the Hokage about you enrolling...if your parents think its ok...I'm sure you'll make lots of friends Kakaru-kun!"
Kakaru's heart fell. He looked away from her to the poorly made crown. "I'd...love to...but..." he said in a somber, lifeless tone that did not match him at all.
"Why don't you? It doesn't matter if you weren't born here! If my dad reccommends you, Hokage won't deny you!" Ino said, placing her hand over his. She removed it abruptly and blushed again.
"Its...not that...I'm not going to be around long enough...Ino-chan...see this?" He said, pulling up his sleeve, revealing a swirly shaped seal, The Wanderer's Mark.
"Eew! Is that a tatoo? My parents say that they are icky and unnatural" Ino said, tenatively poking it.
"No its a seal. I can't stay here" He said, covering up the seal. He explained what he had been told it was, although he didn't know why he had it, or who gave it to his clan.
"I see...I'm so sorry Kakaru...when will you be leaving m-Us!" She said, turning a deep shade of red and laughing awkwardly.
"Umm...I have seven days..." Kakaru said, looking down. "But that doesn't mean I can't spend time with you now! I mean...if you want...Ino-chan" He turned dark red and looked up at her, catching her eye for a moment, then looking down again, waiting for an answer.
Ino smiled. "Of couse Kakaru-kun! Come one! I've got so much to show you!" she said, still blushing as she grabbed his hand again and pulled him up, running with him to the town. She took him to Ichiraku ramen, introduced him to the Hokage and her family (a pleasent expierence, except for the harsh grilling he got from her father. His questions varied from if he wanted to marry Ino, to if he had any desire to dethrone a kage, destroy a village, or if he has ever had a relative with such desires.)
In what seemed to be no time at all, his seven days were up. Using the techniques she had taught him, he gave her seven flower tiara's to remember him by. She blushed and accepted them, giving him some of his favorite beef flavored instant ramen. He was about to depart, when she threw her arms around him and said "Will you come back Karu-kun?" she asked tearfully, using the pet name she had made for him.
Kakaru returned the hug tightly and looked to his elder's. "Can we mom? I really like this place! A lot!" He asked desperately.
"Well...I don't see why not! You sure seem to have made a friend." His mother said, smiling. "Now come on...we've gotta be out of here by ten o clock!"
"Good bye Ino-chan...I'll miss you! Good luck with your Shinobi training!" He said, regretfully letting go and running off with his clan.