Of Obligation and Honor:

A Ninja's Tale

(Hotaru: the Academy Years, Story 1)

I was four years old the first time a ninja came to our home. "Our home," the Yoruhana family farm, lay on the warmer and more fertile land to the South of Snow Country, and at that time had only recently been incorporated into its boundaries. We had not been aware of the great battles fought for control of our region; one day a messenger simply showed up at our door to inform us that we had officially become a part of Blizzard Country, and were henceforth under protection of the ninjas of the Hidden Village of Snow.

At first, Otoosan was overjoyed, but we had seen nothing of those rumored "ninjas" for months, and he had begun to wonder if they really existed. Still, hearing tales of their valor was enough to spark the imagination of my older brother, Ryuro. Four years his junior, I wanted to be just like him. For that matter, he was the only child within miles, and my only friend. So when he asked, I joined him in his imagined glory; we spent many hours in the nearby forest after our morning chores, playing invented ninja games.

During one of those games, when it was my turn to hide and be found, I hid myself in the lower branches of a tree. While waiting quietly, something caught my eye. Silver and blue, glinting in the sun and snagged on the end of the branch.

Curious, I shimmied as far as I could out on the branch; my four-year-old arm was too short to reach. Stretching as far as I could, I heard a snapping sound behind me- the branch was too thin to hold me. It cracked and the branch, the mystery object, and I all went crashing to the ground.

Luckily the ground wasn't far. I removed myself from the tangle of leaves and moved over to the shiny object.

"Hotaru, I found you, I found you!" My brother Ryuro came bursting through a nearby bush, pelting me with cardboard shurikens. "You shouldn't be so noisy. Ninjas have to be quiet when they're hiding!"

I shrugged. The concept of being a good ninja didn't interest me.

"Who cares? Look what I found!" I picked up the mysterious object and discovered it to be a blue cloth headband with a shiny metal plate attached. There was a snowflake engraved in the center.

"Oh yeah? Well look what I've got!" he said without even looking at my discovery. He held up a white mask shaped like a tiger's face, with blue stripes.

The animal mask intrigued me more than the headband. Meanwhile, my brother finally bothered to look at what I had found, and his eyes grew wide.

"A real ninja head protector?"

"I'll trade ya!"

"Deal!" He grinned. He tied the headband around his forehead and ran off as fast as he could, calling over his shoulder, "I'm a super fast ninja! Bet you can't catch me!"

I put on the mask. It was a bit large for me, but I didn't care. I held it to my face as I ran after him, yelling, "Yeah? Well I'm a tiger, and tigers are more faster than ninjas!"

We were out in those woods for what felt like hours, chasing each other in circles, until finally Ryuro grew weary and led the chase back home. We ran through the door of the house screeching and laughing, then came to a quick halt. We had a visitor.

My mother and father had been seated at the table for afternoon tea, so the strange man was obviously unexpected. He had short, spiky brown hair and wore over his clothes a thick silver vest with too many pockets. His long black cloak lay over a chair back. Though he was tall and intimidating to me at my young age, he wore an inexplicably embarrassed expression and was laughing nervously.

"Eheh, well really, I can't imagine how I've lost them again…heh heh, third time this month, Yukikage's going to have my head…well, eheh, it's funny you know…say, you're certain you haven't seen them?" He scratched the back of his head self-consciously, then turned to face my brother and I as he finally noticed our presence.

"Ah! You've found my mask and head protector!" he said with happy astonishment. "Why, thank you!" He crouched down on his knees to be level with us. "You little helpers think I could have those back?"

Ryuro gave up the head protector reverently, but I clung to my new blue and white mask and shook my head. "I found it. It's mine. And you're a ninja; you don't need my mask."

The ninja laughed nervously again as he tied his forehead protector back in its rightful place. "Well, actually…"

Bit it was my father who knew how to deal with me best. "Hotaru, that is an ANBU mask. It is very special. Do you know what an ANBU is?"

I didn't, but it sounded magical. My ears perked up even as I shook my head.

"Well, the ANBU are the elite forces of a ninja village," Otoosan continued.

"What does that mean?"

"It means they are the very best at what they do. And they all wear special masks like that one," he nodded at the tiger mask I held, "for protection." He gestured open-palmed toward the ninja. "Sutiibu-sama here is one of the ANBU. That is his mask."

The ninja and I spoke at the same time.

"I guess he can have it…"

"Oh, heh, really sir, the '-sama' is unnecessary. Save that for the Yukikage…" he protested.

"Nonsense," my father said as he slipped the mask from my outstretched hands and returned it to its true owner. "You are a Hidden Snow ANBU, not to mention the first ninja to bother visiting our part of the country."

Sutiibu-san stood again, and grew serious. "Ah, well, about that, please understand. Our village has not been in existence for long and we are quite small still, rather short-handed. It is difficult for us to have ninjas posted in every corner of the country at all times; we would be spread too thin to do any good. Rest assured, however; even if you do not see us, we are here when we are needed. You are well protected." He had found his confidence again as he spoke, standing taller, seeming every inch the protector he claimed to be. Even at my young age, I knew: this was what it meant to be a ninja.

My brother soaked up every word.

The ninja noticed. "Speaking of being short-handed…we are looking for young children to fill the ranks of our Ninja Academy." He looked toward my brother. "What is your name, young one?"

"Ryuro!"

"A good, strong name." My brother beamed. "And how old are you, Ryuro-san?"

"I'm eight years old."

Sutiibu-san turned back to my parents. "I know there is much to be done on a farm such as yours and it troubles me to ask you to give up such a valuable young worker. However, as I've said, the village is in dire need of new recruits. Without them, we will not be able to maintain our protection of you in the future. Your son is a perfect candidate."

My parents looked at each other, then to my brother. "Ryuro, would you like to go with Sutiibu-sama and learn to be a real ninja?" Okaasan asked.

"Yeah!" Was the enthusiastic, and expected, reply.

"In that case, we would be honored to have a son serving our country," Otoosan told the ninja.

Alarmed suddenly as I realized I would be left alone once my brother left, I asked, "Can I go too?"

The ninja looked down on me with kind eyes. "You're a bit too young still, I think. Besides, little lady, your parents need you here. Especially with your brother gone."

I sniffed. "I don't want to be alone. I want to go with oniisan!"

The ninja smiled at me. "Don't worry. Your brother will still be able to visit you here. And, who knows?" He winked at me. "Maybe some day it will be your turn."

He looked to my parents again as he pulled on his long black cloak. "The new school year begins soon. I'll be back for Ryuro-chan tomorrow. Snow village is greatly indebted to your family."

With that, he fixed his mask over his face and swept away from the house at top speed.

And so my brother became a student of Snow Village's Ninja Academy. Snow Village was far enough away from our farm that my brother was given room and board by a family in town. He was only able to visit us on holidays. I tried my best to forget I was alone, and took up the slack for my missing brother, spending much of my time doing chores around the farm and helping my parents however possible.

But I never forgot the day the ninja visited our home, nor the small amount of awe towards ninjas in general that was instilled in me that day. And the awe grew within me every time my brother returned home. I watched him turn from naïve farm boy to capable young ninja.

Whenever he returned home, he would practice in the nearby woods. He wanted to be alone, but I always snuck after him to watch from the bushes. Taijutsu and shuriken target practice early on evolved to more complicated ninjutsu and genjutsu as the months and years passed, and he learned to control chakra.

Genjutsu- Ryuro had quite a talent for those. Or perhaps he just practiced those the most. Genjustu were the only techniques that Ryuro could practice for any length of time. Anything else would bore him soon, becoming tedious and frustrating, but something about genjutsu could hold his interest endlessly. I never asked him what that was, but I have a guess: My brother had lived his entire life in a small, isolated area of the world. With genjutsu, he could alter reality in any way he wished. He could transport himself places he had never been, if only in his mind; he could make things happen that never had before. I think he enjoyed the control, and the imagination.

Because of that, his genjutsu were his best techniques, and my favorite to watch. However, at the time, I did not understand what they were, only that I saw things which were not real. One midday when my brother was 11 and less than a year from graduating the Academy, I was watching from the bushes as he formed the hand symbols, calling out the name of a technique I did not know.

Suddenly, the trees disappeared and there was darkness all around. Alone, as far as my eyes could tell, I stood up and looked around me. Stars began to appear, covering the "night" with a blanket of shimmering light. I stared upwards, watching impossibly large shooting stars streak across the sky, enthralled and entranced.

Then, there was a knife at my neck, and the forest as I knew it disappeared.

"I knew you'd been watching me," came the voice from behind me. The knife-holding arm relaxed its grip and released me.

I turned, amazed, to see my brother standing behind me. "Oniisan…"

He grinned. "Don't worry. I won't hurt you; I only meant to startle you."

"How long have you known?" I asked, amazed.

"Since we began our Tracking studies," he commented lazily. "It was incredibly easy to find you, of course."

"Oniisan…where was I?"

"Right here, Hotaru-chan. I used a ninja technique which made you think you were somewhere else."

"Like a dream?"

"A little bit, I guess." He shrugged. "It's hard to explain, if you don't know about chakra…"

"If I knew about…charuka…could I do that?" I asked eagerly.

He shrugged again. "That's the idea. But it takes a lot of practice."

But I wasn't listening anymore. The moment I heard "that's the idea," I was off and running to the house, leaving my brother standing behind in the clearing, stumped.

I scurried into the house. Okaasan was cooking on the stove. I moved up beside her and pulled her skirt.

"Okaasan?"

She looked down at me. "What it is, Hotaru-chan?"

"I've decided I want to be a ninja," I proclaimed.

My mother's face fell. "Hotaru-chan…I know you want to be like your brother, but you know we need you on the farm. Without you, we would never get everything done. There would be no way to support ourselves. You know that."

I did know that. But I was disheartened nonetheless. I wanted to make magic like Ryuro's. From that moment, I held on to that secret dream. Even as I served my parents with devotion, my mind wandered to the place where the impossible became reality: Snow Village.

Genjutsu set aside, my brother possessed shockingly average skills. I suppose he would have passed the Genin Exam with little difficulty, and become a ninja at twelve along with every other child on track for an average but successful ninja career. But with his short attention span and peaceful ideals, my brother was never cut out to be a ninja. Looking back now, I see that clearly; at the time, neither my parents nor I noticed, until the day, four years into his training, when he suddenly showed up at our door, breathless and afraid.

He clung to the door, completely winded. "Please…please let me come home…" he said, voice as ragged as his clothing. He must have run the distance between the village and our farm, I supposed, astonishingly a three-day journey by foot under normal circumstances.

My parents were shocked beyond comprehension to see Ryuro at home, and in such a state, especially so close to the Academy examinations. They sent me off to my bedroom and closed the door, but the paper wall was thin and I lay awake, listening. Apparently the young Genin candidates had been assigned a job-shadow of sorts, following a Jounin on a mission to observe what life in the field was truly like. The missions were supposed to be simple and straightforward so the future Genin would not be placed in any danger.

Ryuro, from the sound of it, never was in any danger, as he was in the capable hands of his ex-ANBU instructor. But there was an attack. The enemy ninja ended up dead in a short amount of time. And the death was too much for my peaceful brother to handle. Realizing what being a ninja truly entailed, he made a run for it…and so he appeared on our doorstep.

Only moments after his story concluded, a knock on our door alerted my parents to the presence of a visitor. I could make out only a tall, solid shape from his silhouette on the paper door to my room, but I could feel his presence; he was a powerful ninja.

I heard my brother's voice repeatedly: "Sumimasen, Sensei! Gomen nasai! Please forgive me…"

The ninja and my parents spoke in low, serious voices and were more difficult to make out. What became clear to me was that my brother was in trouble.

"Of course I understand his reaction, and I wish there was something I could do. But this late in his training, he knows far too much. I know he would not turn on us, nor hurt even a fly, apparently; however, policy is policy. Technically, he qualifies as a Missing Nin. If he does not return with me, not only will we be short one valuable young ninja, but his life will be in danger. The ANBU will have come for him by morning. Snow Village's secrets must be kept safe…"

My parents were so overtaken by the shock of it all that they barely had the energy to protest. My brother simply wept…not for himself, I felt, but because he had somehow disappointed everyone with a single blow.

It was up to me.

I pulled open the paper door and stood in its opening. Faces devoid of happiness or meaning turned to face me.

"Hotaru-chan, I thought I told you to go to sleep…" my father began, but I cut him off.

"Take me, instead."

My parents' faces remained blank. The ninja's face was covered by a mask and a dark hood- he was likely breaking all rules by speaking with my brother- but I could sense his interest rise.

"Take me," I said again. "I think…I think you don't want Ryuro to hurt the village, and you think he can now that he is not a ninja. But if I am a ninja of the Snow, Ryuro would never hurt the Village. He would never hurt me."

The ninja made a noise indicating surprise.

"Anyway…it will be a trade," I said. "Ryuro doesn't have to be a ninja anymore, because you will have me. That way, my parents will have him here to help. And you will have me there to help you."

The ninja considered it. "In a normal village, it would never work…but our village is small and new. I have served both the First and Second Yukikages, since the conception of our village. The Second trusts my word. And what the young one says is right; I trust Ryuro-san, especially if he had a sibling in the village. Mostly…I want what is best for him. Clearly, that is not the life of a ninja."

He looked at me. "How old are you?"

"I'm nine, ninja-sama. Almost ten."

"That's a little old to be starting at the Academy. However…you show much intelligence in the way you handle this situation. Perhaps…"

"I promise I'll work really hard!" I begged — for my brother's sake, yes, but for my own as well. I admit it; it may have been selfish, but I knew it was the only way for me to realize my own dream.

The cloaked ninja left the house swiftly, stating as he left, "I will speak with Yukikage. If no ANBU arrive in the morning, assume the deal has been made, and have the child make her way to the city immediately. Ryuro can tell her the way."

As expected, no ANBU came to our home the next morning. Elated, I packed a few items of clothing quickly, and bid my parents farewell. My brother walked with me to the end of the property, describing the road I must follow to reach Snow Village and the Academy. At the edge of the property, he stopped me. I saw tears in his eyes, though he fought them back.

"Hotaru-chan…thank you."

I smiled. "No, Ryoro-oniisan. I need to say that. If you hadn't come back, I'd never have this chance. Take care of the farm, OK? Otoosan and Okaasan need a really good farmer to be their helper."

"I'll do my best."

"Me too."

With that, I was off on my own. The going was easy; I simply had to follow a long dirt road made for travelers on horseback, which I was told would lead straight to the village. I rested in small village inns along the roadside for the first two nights, proudly telling everyone who would listen that I was going to be a ninja.

However, by the third day my enthusiasm had waned somewhat, as I realized the full effect of my actions. I was alone…completely alone. And I would still be alone when I reached the village.

I knew no one in Snow Village. I would be older than all my classmates and would have more to learn to keep up. I had never had any friends aside from my brother…

It shivered and realized how cold was becoming. I remembered that I didn't even know what the weather was like in Snow Village.

I sniffed, really more afraid than sad, but I wouldn't cry. I had my brother to think about; I couldn't turn around any more.

"Hey. You. Are you okay?" came a voice from a treetop above me.

I looked up. A small boy with dark brown hair and a green hooded sweatshirt sat on a tree limb above me, swinging his legs back and forth lazily and watching me with interest.

"I'm alright," I said. "What are you doing up there?"

He jumped the long distance to the road and surprised me by landing on his feet. "I was resting," he said. "I'm going to Snow Village, but it's kind of a long walk."

"I'm going to Snow Village, too. Want to walk with me?"

"Sure." He picked up a small pack, which had been hiding at the base of the tree, and we began moving along the path toward the village.

"I'm going to be a ninja," said the boy. "There was a just a big test, and a lot of kids graduated, so now Yukikage is looking for new kids for the Ninja Academy. Grandma told me."

"I know. I'm doing that too. Hey, why do you want to be a ninja?" I asked him.

"I like jumping over things."

I frowned. "So?"

"So, have you seen how high ninjas can jump? It's super neat!"

I laughed.

"How about you?"

"Well, my brother was going to be a ninja, and I always wanted to be just like him…" I began.

I'm not sure what it was about the boy. We never even told each other our names; yet, I felt I could trust him. I told him the whole story. By the time I finished explaining, the gates of Yuki, Village of Snow, were visible just ahead.

I was relieved by the thought that I would not be entering them alone.

Thus began my own ninja journey…