Her mother was only 17 years old when she gave birth to her first and only child. A mewling infant fighting against its mother's distaste for only 8 months before being spat prematurely into a world that had no need or want for her. She was a gift from the heavens to a family that couldn't have been more undeserving.

"She's awake…."

A rugged tone came from the corner of the room, speaking these words as fact. There was no sentimentality, only a simple acknowledgement that the new child ticked off every box. It was indeed sentient, even with how early it had come into the world.

To reiterate – her mother was only 17 years old when she gave birth to her first and only child. She was also 17 when she saw her child for the first and last time.

A sharp intake of breath preceded a blood-curdling scream, a desperate cling for something tangible to keep herself grounded in this god-forsaken "hospital" room. The childbirth had been completed, and the mother had finished what she had come to do. Why, then, did the pain continue? It was becoming more and more apparent that the complications that came with this pregnancy were only growing worse now that the child was born.

A burning sensation had developed over her entire body, starting at the bottoms of her feet and reaching up towards her bosom. As though a firm hand slowly reached towards her throat, digging and scratching every morsel of skin that it travelled across along the way. She wanted it to stop. She wanted to make it stop more than anything else in the world. She wanted to contain this discomfort even more than she wanted to breathe, more than she even wanted to keep hold of the tiny infant beneath her. That same child had remained untouched by anyone in the room as though it carried a vicious sickness.

"Somebody do something!"

She didn't know who her outburst was directed at and didn't know what anyone could have done to help her. For a single moment, she had forgotten her place, and a single moment was all she could afford. The pain reached a fever pitch only a millisecond before her vision darkened. She felt a thick shadow waver her now comatose form.

The shadow reached the woman's face, a slight hiss escaping its lips as it gently caressed the cheek of the lifeless figure below. A deep frown engulfed its face as it reached below the chin, releasing its grip on the kunai buried deep within the new mother's neck. A reverberated metallic clinking sound enveloped the room, mixing with the screaming cries of the child to create a genuinely morbid symphony. A singular attempt at an intake of breath was all the mother could manage before succumbing to the sullen embrace of death.

"take the child to its mother's quarters." The shadow hissed, turning away from the life it had just taken and leaving the room without another sound.

The figures left surrounding the bed gave each other inquisitive glances. They all hoped for a brave someone to volunteer to pick up the child. Unsurprisingly, no single step was taken by anyone in the room. With a collective shrug, the room slowly emptied, and the task left for them remained incomplete.

The child was left sobbing hysterically on the floor, knowing not the touch of another human being.


"Shikamaru! Slow down, would ya?"

Kiba's incessant complaining had finally gotten the best of Shikamaru. Shikamaru stopped at the next fork in the road, not because he felt fatigued but because his eardrums were one complaint away from bursting.

It was early morning, and the team of three Konoha ninja were only a few hours away from their destination, a stronghold buried deep within the Konoha forest. Tsunade told them that the place was inhabited by, in the simplest of terms, 'weirdos'. They were given only bits of information about why they were being deployed to the stronghold, but asking questions wasn't part of the mission objective.

Hinata and Kiba stopped behind Shikamaru, both taking the opportunity to catch their breaths. Hinata was obviously in worse-looking shape than Kiba. Still, Shikamaru noted that Kiba was the one making all of the complaints. He buried his face in his palm with an exasperated sigh. "What a drag…."

"Hey, wise guy!" Kiba waved his fist in the air and let out a soft hiss, a frustrated and angered scowl covering his face, "WE are the ones that got pulled mid-training for this mission! So don't think you're cool just because you got to sleep in and we didn't!"

"K-Kiba, please…" Hinata retook the mediator role, satisfied enough to accept her discomfort in silence.

"Me getting to sleep in is PRECISELY the reason I want to get this over with as quickly as possible." Shikamaru clicked his tongue, "today was supposed to be my day off. But, instead of enjoying it, I get to spend my day babysitting the person who might be in first place for the most annoying person in the village."

"Hey, don't talk about Hinata that way!"

Swoosh. Right over his head.

"I-I would a-appreciate a break for m-myself…." For some reason, Shikamaru didn't feel guilty until it was Hinata that was complaining. On the other hand, maybe he was pushing his team a little far, which was more than unprofessional by Chuunin's standards.

"Fine, we can quickly regroup." Shikamaru relented, to the noticeable relief of his companions, "Ten minutes, tops."

Shikamaru withdrew a map of the forests surrounding Konoha and knelt on the ground, Hinata and Kiba quickly following suit. They listened intently, having yet to be briefed themselves before departing. Everything about this mission seemed very last minute, from the lack of information to the team lineup.

"Tsunade didn't say much, but from what I understand…." Shikamaru began, "There's a group of travelling ninja that have temporarily set up camp somewhere around here. They aren't sovereign to any one village, so their business is to sell products among all the villages equally. They don't warn anyone about where they're going, hence why this mission is so abrupt. Tsunade wanted us to see what they were selling and see if there was anything of use. She also wanted us to… scope the place out. Keep an eye out for anything suspicious."

"So basically, we're going on a glorified shopping trip." Kiba deadpanned.

"An important one. An essential one. These guys are famous for the rare herbs, medicines, and poisons that they can get. It even goes as far as some villages getting suspicious about HOW they can find these things. Of course, Orochimaru's name comes up a lot, but that might just be everyone using him as a scapegoat for anything that might be 'too good to be true'."

Hinata listened intently. She turned her head inquisitively, "Why haven't we heard of them? Seems like they can be pretty useful…."

"You didn't hear this from me, but everyone thought they had been wiped out. This is the first time they've been spotted by any village in over 10 years."

"So these guys just pop up out of nowhere and get special treatment from us?"

"Exactly."

Shikamaru cut off Kiba's contempt, standing from his crouch and replacing the map from his bag. Hinata and Kiba followed suit. It hadn't been ten minutes, but neither of Shikamaru's companions cared to voice this aloud. "We should be close. Keep an eye out."

Their pace may have slowed, but it only took a few moments before the image of a large tent appeared in the distance. A sense of relief washed over Shikamaru, content to find out that he hadn't been sent on a wild goose chase. Knowing exactly where they were going, the rest of the trip passed by in the blink of an eye. The next thing any of them knew, the three Konoha ninja were standing in front of a large gate that surrounded a mass of maybe a dozen tents.

A moment passed, then another. Not a single sign of life had yet presented itself. The three of them looked around with a mixture of confusion and weariness. Kiba was the first to speak up.

"HEY!" Kiba announced his presence as delicately as he always had, with a scream and a loud whistle, "We're here to shop if any- OW!"

A stone no larger than the tip of a kunai grazed past Kiba's cheek. The edges were sharper than a blade, leaving a precise, clean cut along his jaw. Kiba's hollering had come less from the pain and more from the surprise. It was no exaggeration to say that the entire forest was silent; it still was. And with the naked eye, it was still unclear just where the stone had been thrown. Kiba flung himself around wildly in search of whoever was responsible.

"It's early. Too early."

The ground underneath their feet moulded and shifted its shape in unnatural ways before entirely opening up. The three Konoha ninja leapt backwards as the dirt rose. Then, cleanly and without being dirtied, three figures rose from the ground to address their visitors.

Their skin was pale, and their eyes were a bright yellow, brighter even than the reflection of light from their bald heads. All three figures were indistinguishable from one another, even in the loincloths they all wore.

The figure closest to Shikamaru seemed to be the leader, as the other two lingered a few inches behind. They both held slingshots aimed precariously at Shikamaru's head. Even from only the minor scrape that Kiba had been left with, Shikamaru knew that he wanted to avoid being hit in the face with one of those stones at point blank. But as soon as the dangerous atmosphere had appeared, It had vanished. The two slingshots were lowered to their sides, their grip on them safely loosened.

"But for our new guests: we open our doors early."

With a demented smile, the strangers parted down the middle. Behind them, a large gate opened with a loud creaking that pained Shikamaru's ears to listen to, like nails scratching a chalkboard. The three Konoha ninja cast a worrying signal to one another before nodding their heads and apprehensively taking a step forward.

"Thanks, I guess…."

The inside of the fort looked exactly as Shikamaru had imagined it would, a bunch of tents surrounding a bunch of tables. There were a few empty spaces around the outer edges for things such as bonfires and cooking, but even that wasn't entirely unexpected. What had surprised him, though, were the villagers themselves. They were all indistinguishable from one another; no way to tell the old from the young or the men from the women. They were all the same, from their bald heads and yellow eyes to their loincloths. Hinata tried to listen as they spoke alongside them as they walked, but they used a language she had never heard before.

The three ninja stayed close together, unconsciously maintaining an unnatural air of normalcy to hide their readiness for self-defence. Kiba's claws were showing, Hinata prepared her Byakugan, and Shikamaru was ready to let his teammates do all the work.

Even in their precautious state, they could not help being smitten with the vast array of colours strewn out on the tables to either side of them. This was a wider variety of items than Shikamaru had ever seen at Konoha's farmer's market.

Wordlessly and unnaturally silent, a figure approached them as they browsed. A dignified atmosphere surrounding the new guest was the only thing differentiating them from any other villager.

"This is the Trala root, found only atop the mountains of Fuju." The figure motioned towards a blue flower in front of them; their tone could almost be described as welcoming. Shikamaru tried to follow along as if it didn't sound like the stranger was making up words, "They send natural adrenaline through the chakra vessels. A most euphoric relaxation for ninja as busy as yourselves."

"So what, do I just eat it?" Kiba's interest was piqued.

"It is a suppository most effective in pill form." The figure clarified. Kiba gagged.

"You want me to shove something up my ass just so I can trip ba- OW!"

Hinata sent a jab to Kiba's side, cutting him off before Shikamaru could do the same. If there was one thing Shikamaru was learning so far in this mission, it was that Kiba needed to stop trying to talk.

Ignoring Kiba's strange exchange, it was easy for all three ninja to see that the quality of products offered here were far higher than anything Konoha could produce for themselves. These items were of the rarest breeds Shikamaru had ever seen, recognizing only a select few because of his poison guide's glossary. Some of these plants were even supposed to be extinct. With each moment that passed, Shikamaru realized more and more just how unique and essential this mission was turning out to be.

"We're from Konoha. My name is Shikamaru, and these are Hinata and Kiba." Shikamaru finally introduced them all, bowing politely alongside his companions to the stranger in front of them. "Excuse Kiba, he doesn't have a… filter."

The person, presumedly a woman given her voice, waved her hand. "We are well aware of where you all reside; we have spent centuries memorizing these lands down to each blade of grass. We are also keen on the peculiarities of the Inuzuka clan. Therefore, we have preemptively forgiven any unintentional offence.

So she was aware of who they were, which made things easier. If not a bit creepy.

"We appreciate it, but…." Shikamaru was about to continue when he felt a sharp tug at his sleeve. Turning his head, Shikamaru immediately noticed that Hinata's posture was straight as an arrow. Her Byakugan was activated, and the arm she had used to pull on Shikamaru's sleeve shook slightly. "Hinata?"

"Is that…"

"Ah, a sophisticated eye we have caught," The woman addressed Hinata pleasantly, making it clear that she had noticed the now-activated Byakugan. "It is indeed the coveted Bufula."

"Bufula?" Kiba's interest was again piqued as he turned to Hinata for clarification.

"It's supposed to be magic…."

"Remove 'supposed to be' from that sentence. It is magic." The woman reached forward, gingerly removing the brown, inconspicuous feather from its casing. "A rare breed of bird long since thought to be hunted to extinction and otherwise bred out of practical use. Compound structure never having been adequately documented, a single brisk touch of this feather is said to have more tremendous healing potential than Katsuyu herself and the legendary Sannin combined."

As though just looking at the feather diminished its use, the woman tucked it back into its casing. "Able to bring a soul back from the confines of death itself. Slight exaggeration on that note, though there is finite proof of it bringing back to life the freshly passed. Somewhat convoluted instruction and limited in purpose, valuable nonetheless."

"And how much would something like this cost?" Shikamaru inquired, steeling himself and hiding his amazement. He couldn't forget that this was a market. He had to be sure he wouldn't be upsold or taken advantage of for being ignorant.

50 million Ryo for the potential buyer.

Shikamaru could not withhold a deep cough.

50 million? For a feather?

"I believe we should keep browsing before committing to such a purchase." Shikamaru played it off, hoping the woman would overlook Kiba's comically flabbergasted expression. Tsunade had given them maybe fifty thousand Ryo to spend, which was not a lot in hindsight. Hinata continued staring at the feather for a long second. When the Byakugan finally vanished from her face, it seemed as though Hinata had to violently force herself to look away.

"As any sensible buyer should," the woman agreed, though peculiarly scratched her chin in what appeared to be deep thought. Contemplatively deciding something inside of her head, Shikamaru maintained his composure. There were no holds barred from this point on.

"There is one other item that I believe would make a more… sensible investment, if you will." The woman finally decided, bringing her gaze to match Shikamaru's. It was as if he were being challenged. Shikamaru did not relent.

"Let's see it."


Their journey through the sidewalks was hasty, a sense of hurry exacerbated by being inspected by every figure they passed as if they were aliens. Although, to be fair, the three of them were probably examining these same people the same way. At least the three of them didn't look as creepy while doing it, Shikamaru excused himself.

They followed their chaperone into the most sizeable tent in the whole camp, a structural anomaly that Shikamaru had difficulty comprehending the physics of. It reached hundreds of feet into the air but had been erected overnight. It covered enough mass to look like a single gust of wind would rip it from the stakes and send it flying off into the distance. Yet, at the same time, it had the structural integrity to remain as motionless as a tower made of brick. Of the peculiarities they had run into thus far, this had to be the least of his concerns.

A faint waft of smoke exited the entrance flap as it was held open for them, giving way to a sizeable bonfire that sat in the middle of the room. Flames billowed into the sky, a coat of fumes painting the whole inside with a dark hue. Of course, the first lesson that any ninja had to learn was to not make a fire inside a tent. Although, for some reason, the one wafting before them showed no signs of potential danger. Still, Shikamaru was sure it would become difficult to breathe if they stayed inside for too long.

Behind the flames, flickering in the reddened light of the smoke-filled room, a throne. Built upon the darkest of woods and polished to near-perfect glossiness, a chair rose at least twenty feet above them. A stairway reached towards the seat, fogginess veneering a sharp layer that made it difficult to see. Shikamaru had to clench his eyes to effectively see what was being hidden. He then saw it.

A woman.

Beautiful beyond words, fancied in garb that looked more expensive than the Bufula they had perused only a few minutes earlier. She was thin to an almost unhealthy extent, watching over her surroundings with a sullen, practically expressionless contemplation. At the sight of the three Konoha ninja, there was a start to her vision. A silent excitement drowned in a lake of anxiety. This was a prisoner if they had ever seen one. Given, a rich one.

"I present to you the Pulse of a Dragon."

A long quiet followed. None of the three ninja knew precisely how to respond. Then, like always, Kiba was the first to open his mouth.

"What am I supposed to be looking at? That girl?" Kiba waves his hand dismissively, "Are you trying to sell us a slave or a princess?"

"Wrong on all accounts."

The chaperone bellowed, curtly dismissing Kiba's interjection. She might have said that she had forgiven all preemptive disrespect from the Inuzuka before he stepped foot into the camp, but that didn't seem to be the case anymore.

"This is… a god."

Shikamaru's heart sunk to the bottom of his chest, and he could tell by Hinata's mannerisms that the same was true for her. She ran her fingers along her arm uncomfortably, inspecting each goosebump on her skin.

"Skin as soft as silk yet as painful to the touch as a thousand degrees of fire." The chaperon motioned to the woman atop the throne, who stood from her seat without a word. She briskly walked down the narrow stairs, her skirt resting just above her knees and a soft, crystal-embedded tunic waving back and forth with the nonexistent breeze. It took a moment for the small form to approach a point hardly a yard in front of the group. "See for yourself."

Shikamaru was captivated, only now getting a clear look at the woman's pale skin and sparkly silver eyes. She was a few inches shorter than him, hardly reaching his forehead if she were standing on the tips of her toes. She had to have been the same age as them, no older than 17. She seemed… scared, almost. Shikamaru reached out his fingers almost unconsciously.

The faintest touch along the woman's forearm sent a shockwave of discomfort across his entire body. The tips of his fingers stung like they were stabbed incessantly by a thousand needles. As soon as the hurt appeared and Shikamaru scowled in irritation, the sensation melted away only a second later as if it had never happened.

"Raised in the cavern of ice and stone, she is why we have disappeared for nearly a decade. Cultivating her in the image of higher powers took longer than any one man could suffer through." The chaperone caressed the woman's arm delicately, lustfully, "and growing accustomed to her touch took just as long. The pain remains, but our people have become resistant."

The Pulse of a Dragon scowled at the woman's touch, pulling away as soon as the point was made. Something about this yellow eyes creature made her uncomfortable. That much was certain. The 'God' let out an aggressive grunt before seething, "Don't. Touch. Me."

And yet the chaperone did not acknowledge the resistance, nor did anyone else in the room.

"How much for her?"

"500 million Ryo, but only for a certain class of buyer."

At that point, any number could have been offered. A billion, a trillion Ryo. It didn't matter. Shikamaru had already made up his mind.

"And what can she do? Other than burning your fingers, I mean."

A hearty laugh, "What does any mortal ask of a God to do? Of what could we, with our so limited imaginations, possibly ask of a God?"

"I don't believe this at all." Kiba sneered, clearly agitated.

"Then you are not of the certain class."

With a whisp of the chaperone's wrist, the woman retook her spot atop the throne, not bothering to take a second glance behind her. But there was a second's hesitation as she climbed the stairs, a plea that Shikamaru could have blinked and missed.

"Worry not, though, my friend! The market stands have plenty of products you will surely find useful. Tsunade could only dream of these marvels, and it would be an absolute crime for you not to adequately inspect them!"


The rest of the visit was much less exciting, especially after seeing something that could 'cure' death and a 'God'. With that being said, Shikamaru fully believed everything being said about the properties and effects of the products. Some of him even thought that the woman from before was a 'God', for lack of a better term. Nonetheless, they exited the camp an hour later with as much product as their measly 50 thousand Ryo could afford them. It wasn't a small amount if not buying anything costly.

"Thanks for having us," was Shikamaru's simple, if not unceremonious, farewell as the gates shut behind them. However, once they had travelled a decent distance away, there was no ignoring the dark cloud that hung over their heads.

"That girl…" Kiba broke the ice, bringing up the topic on everyone's mind.

"She looked so miserable," Hinata muttered, almost to herself. "I wish there was something we could do for her, but she's so expensive."

Kiba turned to Shikamaru expectantly, "Was it true what that lady said about her 'burning to the touch' or whatever?"

Shikamaru took a moment, reflecting on the needles that had pierced his fingers upon brushing them against her. He looked down at his hand, a lingering solemness still coating his skin.

"Yea, it's true," Shikamaru spoke plainly, refocusing on his team for a moment. "I barely touched her and felt like I was being burned."

"I bet if you gave her a hug you'd have to go to the hospital or something," Kiba reiterated.

"How is something like that even possible?"

There was a second of silence as they all pondered Hinata's question. How exactly was it possible that just touching someone's skin could hurt so badly? Was it some kind of Jutsu? Shikamaru had no way of really knowing. He knew that if it were a Jutsu, it wasn't a Jutsu that any of them had ever heard of. They conceded their ignorance.

"Well, we have to do something." Kiba shut his eyes, trying to come up with an idea. He knew he had one foolproof plan that had never failed him before. Still, he wasn't sure if the notoriously covert Shikamaru would agree to an outright assault. To his surprise, Shikamaru nodded his head before Kiba even had the chance to speak up.

"It isn't technically part of the mission, but…." Shikamaru smiled, "I'm sure Tsunade wouldn't mind if we randomly stopped someone from being trafficked."


Hey guys :)

I made a pretty significant move and have a ton more free time than I used to have, so I wanted to keep writing. But no matter how many times I tried to start a new story, the premise of this one kept popping back up into my head. I just have fun writing this story. So I've decided to rework the first 4 chapters and keep writing from there! Hopefully everyone is still interested in this fic even after taking such a long hiatus (I think over a year?)

Anyway, hope the old readers enjoy the reworking and hope the new ones like it so far!

As always: leaving a favorite, following, and reviewing a story help us out a ton! So if you like it and want to stay in the loop, make sure to do all those things before you leave :)

-Kommli