Chapter 3

Shikaku and crew returned periodically over the next couple months as they had been doing up until my birth (or so I heard, as I wasn't actually there, obviously) before something prevented them from coming as regularly during the early years of my life, though no one seemed to know what, as they just accepted the Shinobi's (rather lame) "we were busy" excuse. Everyone in the village was just so delighted that the visits had recommenced that they really didn't bother to care about why the visits had ever stopped.

I had my suspicions but I didn't have much proof.

Since it was pretty obvious that the trio weren't dropping by for fun, and they didn't seem to actually do any missions when they came, but after their arrival my village (which, after a 'duh-why-didn't-I-notice' moment, I realized was the Crater City, a village that Naruto and Jiraya visited in their search for Tsunade) suddenly started exporting way more goods in the direction of Konoha. I quickly put two and two together: The village must be selling them the products for cheaper in exchange for VIP attention from Konoha.

So what would cause Konoha to stop buttering up a rich trading village that supplied them with a lot of cheap products?

Only one thing came to mind: The Kyubi attack.

After doing some math, and some digging, I found out that the visits had suddenly stopped a little over two years ago, though they had passed through briefly on a mission. So, two years ago there was the Kyubi attack, and therefore the birth of Naruto, and I was four… Oh my god, I'm only two years older than Naruto!

No no no no no! Not good!

Now I had to live through all that crazy, earth nearly being destroyed mayhem!

I should have realized this, but secretly I'd been hoping I had been born way before or after the storyline. The most I'd ever pondered the possibility was when I filled my notebooks, of which I was infinitely grateful for now. At least I knew how best to avoid the craziness.

While I felt like there should have been some earth-shaking event to accompany my epiphany, nothing changed; The villagers did their thing and I studied my library books, which I had borrowed for an indefinite period of time (*ahem* stolen). The Ino-Shika-Cho trio came and were fawned over while I, on the other hand, avoided them like the plague. Normal life continued on.

Whenever the nosy ninja were in the village I would be in the forest, living off of the land thanks to some foresting and hunting books I'd found lying around (on a store shelf with a price tag, but that's beside the point).

Luckily, whenever the Ino-Shika-Cho trio did show up everyone was too busy waving and smiling at the amazing "Inoichi-sama", praising the genius of "Shikaku-sama" and offering food to the radiantly rotund "Chouza-sama" to notice my extended absences.

I chose to sneak away only after letting the trio catch a glimpse of me, making a point to show that I noticed them, since I didn't want them to realize I was avoiding them thanks to my special ability. Who knows, they did they could decide that a young and malleable kenkai-genkai user would be useful to Konoha and I had absolutely no desire to go down that road.

If they did try to follow me though, I would just run through the forest and around the village till they got tired and left me alone, which, if they asked any villagers, I did everyday anyway.

During one of their visits I left my Michiyo-san and Keiji-san's house for good.

It was a particularly annoying time for them to arrive, as it was close to dinner time and so I was crouched on the front porch, awaiting my share. I didn't always receive it as Michiyo seemed to go through erratic periods of generosity and disgust towards me, but I waited today because it was a very special day.

Michiyo-san made homemade tempura.

Say what you will about the woman, but her tempura was heavenly. Crispy and just the right amount of batter, cooked just right and served with her delicious sauce that had the infamous "secret ingredient".

Oh Kami, I dreamed about this tempura.

So I waited, crouched at the door despite the fact that my pride took a huge blow when I had to wait outside like a dog – no, like a pig – awaiting scraps.

But it would be all worth it when I got my tempura, which I was going to get one way or another.

My plans spiraled out of control when I felt my Uncle came home, drunk as a fish. He was swinging his legs and shuffling around in that odd way drunks do, while his arms flopped around and sake sloshed out of the bottle in his grimy hand. I felt a pang of sympathy for just how wretched he looked, like his heart had been torn out and he was scrambling around trying to patch up the wound – or at least disinfect it with copious amounts of alcohol. I didn't move, as there was plenty of room to get around me and I didn't think he had enough hand eye coordination to get a hit on me at them moment.

That was a big mistake.

Just as he was about to pass me, his hand shot out and grabbed my wrist in a vice grip that ground my bones together painfully. I let out a cry in shock as he dragged me up and threw me against the railing of the porch.

"Why'de she leave…" He was growling.

"She"? Who's that? I wondered as I tried to twist my wrist out of his grasp. The move backfired, as the squirming just made him tighten his fingers. I felt something snap, and then waves of pure agony shot down my arm. Tears sprung to my eyes and I let out a chocked sob.

My wrist, he'd broken my wrist, and he was still holding on to it, squeezing the broken bone.

I couldn't do anything, I couldn't move. For the first time in years I felt weak and helpless.

"Wit that fuckn' Shnobi," he slurred, continuing on as if nothing had happened, "she went wit him and gave birth ta you."

"Keiji-sa–" I whispered, pleading for him to stop. It just hurt so much.

Instead he threw me over the railing.

There was a brief moment of weightlessness and confusion before I figured out what had happened. Quickly, I rolled my body on instinct to soften the fall, but my wrist twinged in pain and caused me to fumble the landing. I ended up rolling across the road, my wounded arm held protectively to my chest, before eventually slamming my uninjured palm to the ground to stop myself.

Gasping from the pain and adrenalin, I peered fearfully back up at Keiji, who was continuing his monologue.

"Today waz the day…" He said mournfully, but his face twisted in fury a second later and he started to wind up to throw the sake bottle at me.

"WHYYYYY?" He screamed as he threw the liquor bottle towards me.

I don't know if it was just luck or Keiji really was that good, but the bottle almost hit me smack in the head. I avoided it by a hair, causing it to smash against the ground and send pieces flying everywhere. A few scrapped my skin, but lucking my baggy clothing and bandages protected the majority of my body.

Tears burned my eyes as I fled from the house.

I was never going to go back there.

I didn't need them anyway.

I didn't need anyone.

That was the night I left the village for good.

My feet had taken me directly to the shrine because despite my fervent denial of needing anyone I still had a broken wrist and no idea how to splint it (the part of me that wasn't raving mad pointed out that because I didn't actually know that Ossan knew how to fix broken bones so that definitely was not why I went to him… but I ignored it). It turns out Ossan knew some medical ninjutsu, which he claimed to have "picked up" in his travels (I didn't believe him, but I didn't care enough to pry).

As I sat underneath the stars while Ossan treated me I thought of what life would be like for me if I had been reborn into an animal. Wasn't it odd that, of all the creatures my soul had been stuffed into, it had been a human? And a female one at that. Why not a wolf, a bird or a cat? If I had been a bird, I could have been free to do and live how I wanted and never had to worry about anything more than my next meal or the occasional predator. I would have lived easily, especially with my intelligence. I would bird so smart it could live easily and fly freely. It would have been amazing. So why, of all things, did it have to be trapped in this body? Trapped in this village and society? Why couldn't I just fly free…

I frowned at that thought. Hold on… I was missing something here.

Why couldn't I just get up and leave? No one is forcing me to stay, so if there is no real reason for me to stay in Crater City, why should I? Was there really anything in this village worth staying for?

Ossan was the only one I cared about, but while I cared for him was he reason enough to live here? The "bad" in this village seriously outweighed the "good", AKA, "Ossan" for me. It wasn't enough for me.

I was no Naruto. I couldn't smile while other beat me down and I couldn't continue to fight for acceptance when I was so obviously not wanted. I mean I stole for a living… I stole, even though in my previous life I would never have done so. I could never have taken what another human could have needed simply because I wanted it. I told myself I stole to live but did I really? Did I really need a dumpling or a snack, did I really need 3 notebooks? Well, maybe a little, but I didn't even think twice about the thievery nowadays.

There was no doubt that this village was changing me, and I wasn't sure it was for the better.

I could survive on my own too; I knew that from my impromptu camping trips I could survive off the land and it was unlikely anyone would attack me, a poor little child, while on the road. Humans may not be perfect but 99.9% of the population would rather not hurt a child, and 99% wouldn't attack me if I had nothing of value to offer. I was willing to risk it with those odds.

So, should I stay?

No.

The answer was easy, almost too easy. I had decided something life changing the world was still spinning. Nothing had really changed, even now. We always feel like time delicate and change is so huge, but time is the sturdiest most consistent thing in the world, while change is miniscule when you compare it to everything else in the world.

Ossan took his hands off my arm and I was started out of my thoughts. I looked up at him and down at my arm again, flexing my fingers on instinct.

"How's it feel?"

"Not bad. It twinges a bit but doesn't hurt anymore," I responded as I examined my arm closely. It looked fine too.

"The bone's mended, but it'll be sore for a day or two," He continued.

I nodded to show my understanding and, after a pause, looked into his eyes.

"Thanks, Ossan, for everything," I said, conveying everything I had decided just moments before through nothing more than my tone of voice.

He didn't say anything for a while, just sat there with his typical scowl, like he was debating whether or not to stop me.

He finally decided and said, "Anytime, Akira."

I smiled at that. He was letting me go, but was offering me a home here. Maybe not a home in the literal sense, with four walls and a roof, but a home base, somewhere to sink my anchor while navigated this wild, chaotic world. And I knew, instantly, that I would return. Maybe not anytime soon, but someday I would come back here to rest.

But not tonight.

I leaned over and gave a brief hug to Ossan, who accepted it graciously considering I'd never done something like that before, before straitening my spine and walking back to the village to get my things.

I had most of my essential stuff with me already, which consisted of my survival kit complete with fist aid supplies, an all purpose seax knife, a lighter and kindling stashed in a small fanny-pack like bag around my waist (another idea stolen from Shinobi), but my Notebook, books, water bottle and changes of clothes were in the old bag my aunt gave me. The bag was large and made me a bigger target (literally, there was more of me to hit when I wore it) so occasionally I stashed it somewhere instead of carrying it around. Currently, it was on the roof of Toketsu Shira's house in the middle of town, so I headed there first. Getting up and down in the dark wasn't too easy, but I managed well enough and was on way out of the village when I thought of the other notebooks.

Should I leave them or take them? It was a hard decision, as I wasn't sure which one would be safer. By now grass and shrubs had grown over the one I'd buried in the forest, so it was extremely unlikely anyone but me could ever find it, but the one in the electrical box was easy to find, though it was unlikely anyone would look there or even know what the package was if they found it.

Decisions, decisions.

I took the easy way out and I compromised: I'd leave the one that was harder to get the one in the easier to take.

I changed course and picked up my little package then paused, pulling out my map (courtesy of Crater City Public Library), and trying to decide where to go.

My first reaction was to go in any direction but towards Konoha, but maybe that wasn't the best idea.

In the opposite direction from Konoha there was the Land of Earth, with the Lands of Waterfalls, Grass and Rain in between, all of which were not ideal places to explore. Directly east there was a series of small countries that I could travel through, but that wouldn't work for multiple reasons. First off, I'd have to travel through the Land of Rain first, which as I said before was a big "No No", secondly I didn't want to cross too many borders as there would obviously be security to get through which could be tricky, and thirdly these little countries were sandwiched between the Land of Wind and the Land of Earth, neither of which were too fond of the Land of Fire and would also mean I was likely to run into Shinobi from Suna or Iwa.

So North/Northeast and East were all a big fat no.

Southeast wasn't ideal either, because while the Land of Fire's border was with the Land of Rivers, the Land of wind was right next to that and I didn't fancy being smack in the middle of Konoha and Suna.

But the South and Southwest meant getting closer to Konoha…

Then again the Land of Sound, and therefore Orochimaru, was to the West and there was no way in HELL I was going anywhere remotely close to that pedo. It didn't matter that I could go to neighboring countries that were completely unrelated to the enormous Plot I was avoiding, there was no way I'd ever walk in that direction willingly.

Taking that all into account, the South or Southwest was probably the best option even if it was closer to Konoha.

But if I was going to walk near Konoha, I wasn't going to stay nearby; I would initially walk to the to the Southwest to get to the strip of land that connected to the Land of Noodles and the Land of Tea, then head sharply south and cross the border to the Land of Tea, as it was farther away from the Hidden Mist Village. The Hidden Mist Village was in the Land of Water, which was a group Island, but I'm willing to bet they also had some influence on other countries close to them like the other Hidden Villages. Guess what country was incredibly close to them? The Land of Noodles. So despite it's delicious name I should probably go to the Land of Tea, and maybe even cross the sea to the one of the Islands off the coast if I found I was still to close to the Plot. Actually, I was still a little iffy about where I wanted to end up.

It wasn't a perfect plan, not by a long shot, but it was solid enough. Plus, it would take me months of non-stop walking to even reach the Land of Tea's border, so I had plenty of time to change my mind and learn more about the land and politics of the world. It was a flexible plan that would be easy to improvise and change, and so maybe it was the perfect plan for the situation.

So, Southwest it was.

I cut through the edges of the town to the road that ultimately led in that direction, according to my handy dandy map, passing near my aunt and uncle's house. I left a note with paper from my non-plot Notebook that read:

"Sayonara dumbasses ~

- Saito Akira"

But, in a brief moment of sentimentality, I left a note for Ryuji in his not-so-secret candy stash that said:

"Bye-bye, Ryuji-Nii,

I wish you a long and happy life. I'll always remember you as the kid that tried to stand up for me. You were brave, braver than you realize, and you still are. Don't loose that, OK?

Take care,

- Akira"

I tried to draw butterflies and hearts on the note, because Ryuji was still a kid and liked cute things, but my hand slipped and the first butterfly and it came out a little wonky, with an a huge body and little wings, and decided against decorating.

I couldn't just leave the decrepit butterfly on my last message to my cousin ever, so I tried to salvage it by coloring the tip with a lime green colored pencil, one of the few colors I had, to make it into a firefly. There, much better.

It was well past midnight by the time I got to the sign that read "Thank you for visiting Crater City" with jolly designs surrounding the letters.

I stared at it for a moment, then turned around and looked over the city I had spent the first four and a half years living in.

Crater City was an apt description for the town, as the entirety fit into the crater whose edge I was currently standing on, which should have been an amazing sight but I all I could feel was mild disgust for the town and excitement towards my future.

It was an amazing feeling really. It took me four years a lot of hardship, but I was finally excited to be alive. I was ready to move on, past my previous life and past my dysfunctional family, and despite the trauma of earlier that night I was truly happy to be alive.

Flipping my middle fingers up in the air, I spun around and yelled, "SAYONARA CRATER CITY!"

Time to start a new, happier, chapter in my life. I would live alone, without responsibility of taking care of others and without relying on anyone else, and be truly happy.

I felt a bit like a true lone wolf yelling up at the moon like that and, energized by that thought, ran off into the night.

Author's Note:

Sorry for the wait!

I actually had to rewrite this chapter because the old one went down a dark and angsty path, and I wasn't quite sure if I liked it. In the end, I decided to go a slightly different road.

If you've read my other story, "This Wasn't Part of the Plan", you'll know that my life is currently pretty complicated (and that I won't bore you with the details because this story is not my personal soap opera) so updates will be slow.

Reviews make the world go round (and inflate my ego)!