Dear Ikko, Day 110

I now know that I am very close to the Village Hidden in the Leaves. This came to me when I met some people yesterday afternoon. There were three of them—all ninja, all Genin, just like me.

It started when I was resting in wolf form under a big tree. A blonde-haired boy with sharp, blue eyes was the first to see me. I awoke to the sound of his foot against a twig. The glint from his ninja hitai-ate said he was from the Village Hidden in the Leaves. When I opened my eyes and sat up, at first I thought he looked ready to attack me. A fire in his eyes told me he was on the hunt. But his expression quickly softened and he smiled at me. He motioned towards what seemed like two other shinobi.

"What is it, Naruto? This better not be another one of your jokes!"

"No, Sakura, look—" the yellow-haired by pointed down to me. From behind him the two other Genin appeared—both taller than he was. One was a girl with pink hair and aqua-blue eyes. The other was a boy with black hair and dark, mysterious eyes. There was definitely something about the dark one that intrigued me.

The pink-haired girl gasped, "A-a wolf?"

"That's strange. Aren't wolves supposed to stay together in packs?" the second boy pointed out.

"Woah, he looks really beat up. Should we take him to the Hokage?" said Blondie.

"Why would we do that, Naruto? It's not like he can do anything about it."

Then, something rather unexpected happened. The dark-haired boy slowly started to approach me. I cringed back. In my head I knew I should have run, but something else was telling me to stay.

"Sasuke, wait! What are you doing?" said worried Sakura.

The mysterious Sasuke knelt down maybe five feet in front of me. He looked me over for a moment and I almost saw him wince when he scanned over the wound on my thigh. It's pretty swollen and infected now. I still question how I'm still alive.

Sasuke lifted his head and looked me in the eyes. Now this was a very weird sensation. Those dark eyes seemed to look right through me. Right through my mind and soul. It almost made me feel as though he could see what I really was. This made mixed emotions rise in my chest. I finally came to my senses. I stood up painfully and ran off deeper into the woods. For a while after I could still hear their voices echoing in my mind and their names bouncing back and fourth between my ears—Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura.

-Ippiki Ookami