Chapter Two

Four and half years later

I ran lightly on the well-worn road, raising light puffs of sand with each step. And with each plume of dust that billowed around my feet, one memory rose unbidden to my mind.

The red sun was just starting to set as I woke from a quiet slumber. I sat up on the soft, lush grass and saw once again the corpses of my friends, mentors, teachers. My family. My home. Gone. I remembered the body of my mother still lying in a shaded clearing. I ran there, but the body was not to be found, only a small mound with a few twigs burning in front of it. As soon as I saw it, I knew that that man had buried my mother. The man with the pretty red eyes.

I headed back over to the remains of the camp. I cremated each and every one of the bodies, hoping to find at least one survivor. But it was useless. The Spirit Nomads had been extinguished – save for me. I was the last one with our unique chakra. Spirit chakra. The energy, no, more of a life force, that was capable of manipulating anything. I watched the last of the flames die out. As I raised my arm to shield my eyes from the bloody rays of the sun, I noticed something written on my arm. The characters spelled Konoha, the Hidden Village of the Leaf. I was sure that it was the man with the pretty red eyes who had put them there.

Yes, I would go to Konoha. But not now. I was a girl with a purpose now. I didn't want to be raised and protected in a village. No, I wanted to explore the real world. I would survive on my own, learn on my own, and become stronger on my own. And I would gather information. The man with the pretty red eyes wore a black cloak with crimson clouds on them. Before my mother had run from camp with me, I had seen men with the same cloaks on. They were the ones who had killed my family, but why had he not killed me?

I needed answers.

And I still did. Four years had not been enough to answer my questions; on the contrary, information about that man, whom I now knew to be named Uchiha Itachi, and Akatsuki, the organization he was a part of, spurred more questions. If the members of Akatsuki were as ruthless and cold-blooded as I heard them to be, why had Itachi spared my life? What had motivated him to protect me – for I knew, somehow, that he had protected me from his companions – if he was capable of killing his entire clan? And what was this band of outlaws going to do with the energy of the tailed beasts?

God, I was getting so dehydrated just thinking about these things. The Land of Fire sure deserved its name. It had been a cool and misty morning when I set out from the Waterfall Village, yet the heat here was stifling. I took a sip of water from my canteen, glad that I had filled it up before I'd decided to run nonstop to Konoha. I eyed the trees lining the sides of the sandy path. Taking to the shady woods seemed like a better idea than sprinting like an idiot – at noon – below the glaring sun. I was right. The forest provided a cool solace from the heat and also refuge from any unfriendly passerby. Rapists and rogue ninjas were abundant these days, and after straight running for seven miles, I wasn't in top shape for defending myself.

After a few miles, I spotted a gray wall looming ahead of me. Hopefully, my sense of direction hadn't failed me as it usually did, and the wall encircled the Leaf Village. Gathering speed, I shot out of the forest canopy and landed (well, fell would be a better word here) ungracefully just inside of the village gates. I lay on my back with my eyes closed and panting, not caring what people passing me by thought of me. As my breath finally sowed down to a normal rate, I opened my eyes and found two guards peering down at me. They were both chuckling, and one reached out to help me up. I gratefully took his hand and thanked him.

I dashed off, immensely glad that they had not asked for my purpose in Konoha. How could I just tell them that a man – who, by the way, was named Uchiha Itachi, like that wasn't not a big deal since he only killed his entire clan – left the kanji for Konoha on my arm with his blood about four years ago? One, they would never believe me, and two, they would immediately suspect me for something criminal at the very mention of Uchiha Itachi. For that, I would undoubtedly be placed under first class surveillance and interrogation. No, that would not do. My purpose in this village was none other than to gain information and strength.

I trotted along the straight path leading to the huge red building with the kanji for "fire" on it. Surely, that place was where the Hokage resided.

A sign just inside the building stated that the Hokage's office was on the third floor. There were no elevators in here. A discreet move to prevent any surprise attacks; the lone flight of stairs was the only way intruders could come in – either that or break down the walls of the building. As I clambered up the stairs, my mind was whirling with excuses to give, should the Hokage inquire a background of my family. I hated to lie, but the secret of Sky Nomads needed to be kept just that – a secret. Furthermore, there was the danger of exposing the man I was indebted to, even if he was an S-class criminal. Mulling these things over in my head, I didn't pay attention to the other people also on the stairs.

And that resulted in a very painful consequence.

I slammed into someone on the stairs. I looked up to find a man who had also tumbled onto the stair steps, rubbing his forehead. Like me, he had hair the color of snow. He also wore a forehead protector with a leaf carved into the metal plate on him. He wore his forehead protector at an angle; it slanted so that his left eye was covered. I wondered if he did that out of vanity or if he had something special – something powerful – hidden under it. His mouth was also covered by a dark mask.

Once again, I was offered a hand to help me up. And once more, I accepted it while apologizing profusely. His one visible eye smiled at me, and I was sure that the corners of his mouth turned up. I flashed him a quick smile and continued on my way, hating myself for allowing it to be. After a few flights, I stopped in my tracks and slammed a fist against the wall.

Because that was the second time in one day that I had let myself be helped by others.

And I never relied on anyone other than myself.

I was alone, and I would always be alone.

Yes… That was right, wasn't it?

I was alone.