' "Mommy?", said a little girl walking out of her bedroom. She looked to be only 5 years old since she was wearing baby blue teddy bear pajamas and was holding her favorite stuffed animal Kyla, an orange tiger with bright green eyes. She had woken up when she heard a loud bang coming from either downstairs or outside. She also felt a growing emptiness in her heart as if something was missing and that something evil was going on. Slowly she walked toward the top of the steps and whispered down the stairs, "Mommy, are you down there?" There was no answer only an eerie silence. The little girl decided to go down the steps to see if maybe her mom was down there. Almost every step she took the stair groaned a little so she tried stepping down softer just in case if something was wrong. When she reached the bottom of the stairs she nearly dropped Kyla. To her right where the living room was, all of the furniture was lying around the room in pieces and lamps laid broken on the floor. There was a large amount of blood soaking in to the carpet and splattered all over the walls. The little girl was in such a state of shock that she couldn't even scream, never the less even breathe. All she could do was go around the horror scene to go into the kitchen.
Or what should have been the kitchen.
There was a huge hole in the wall of the back of the house. Most of the appliances were destroyed and her mother's favorite dishes were scattered and broken all over the hardwood floor. In the middle of the room, where a table used to be, was her mother's faithful partner and best friend, Nakia. She was a full grown adult female wolf, although larger than most, and she was practically her aunt. Her lifeless blue eyes stared into the nothingness while small rivers of blood still poured over her smoky-colored fur and out of her mouth. The little girl dropped Kyla and ran to Nakia and started to shake her body.
"Come on wake up aunt Ki-Ki we have to find my mom! Why won't you wake up?", yelled the little girl as she sobbed. Ever since she could remember Nakia had always been there with her, whenever her mother had to leave Nakia would be the one to watch over her like a second mom. Whenever she would have a nightmare or wanted someone to play with her Nakia was always there to do the job. Now she was dead and she wasn't coming back.
Suddenly there was an explosion coming from the backyard, along with other noises that she couldn't place. Again she felt the emptiness in her heart grow stronger and she was con fused as to why she felt so heart-broken and lonely from the emptiness. The girl got up, wiped away the tears, grabbed Kyla and then ran outside thinking that her mom was still alive fighting whoever did this to Aunt Ki-Ki. As she ran into the dark night she could still hear the noises and they sounded as if they were coming from the forest that lived behind her house, but they weren't as loud as before. Still in her thoughts the little girl suddenly tripped on something, while at the same time dropping Kyla, and nearly threw up when she turned to see what she tripped on. Lying in the grass was her Aunt Ki-Ki's mate, Naruke. His body had deep cuts all over his body making the blood stain his tan fur as his once piercing golden eyes held the same lifelessness as Nakia. Naruke lived next door to her with his partner Nanu. Nanu was a close friend to her mother and would often hang out with her to play and teach her things whether it involved training or life skills. He was always gentle with her but always made sure that she knew the difference between right and wrong. He was like the dad she had always wanted. She hoped he was still alive but when she looked at his house she only saw the back door hanging on its hinges and their yard soaked with blood.
'Maybe Nanu and Naruke was trying to help my mom and Aunt Ki-Ki.' , she thought as she ran in the forest forgetting all about Kyla. Mist was starting to settle in around the forest making it harder to see but luckily she had good hearing to guide her to the noise. As she ran there were tree roots sticking out of the ground making her trip occasionally but it didn't stop her from making it to the clearing where the origin of the noises were coming from. Fortunately the mist was clearer here so she could see more clearly.
Unfortunately the mist allowed her to see the blood, a lot of blood. Her family's blood, her mother's blood.
All around the clearing were the corpses of her clan, The Yukito Clan. She saw the people she has known since birth lifeless on the cold blood soaked ground, their eyes showing the emptiness of life. Her aunts, uncles, and friends were all gone. Out of the couple of hundreds of the clan, only two remained; her and her mother. She could see her mother and another figure standing in the middle of the clearing surrounded by the bodies. Her mother was crouching on one knee wounded and the unknown figure was standing across from her, looking unharmed. The girl and her mother looked almost exactly the same. They both had the same face structure, same caramel-colored skin, and the same purple eyes except her mother's eyes were a lighter shade. The only difference was the fact that her mother had rich dark-brown curly hair while the little girl had midnight black straight hair.
Her mother's name was Mayuri Yukito, mother to Akina Yukito. Mayuri was the strongest of the clan so she became the Alpha Female of the Yukito Clan. The Yukito Clan was known for their natural companionship to wolves and they were even stronger than the Inuzuka Clan in the Leaf Village. Mayuri was once an Anbu Caption for nearly 15 years and hardly ever failed a mission. Everyone admired her not only because of her strength but because she was kind-hearted, serious when needed, made the best decisions for everyone, and was the role model of every kid's dream. Now she looked seriously wounded, exhausted, and on the brink of death.
"MOMMY!", Akina yelled as she ran towards her mother. Mayuri whipped her head towards Akina, with fear in her eyes that was hardly ever present, and yelled, "Akina sweetie stop! Run away from here and don't look back!''The figure also turned towards Akina and she thought she could see his mouth turn into a smirk through his mask. He mumbled something that Akina couldn't hear but her mother's eyes widened and then suddenly they became lifeless orbs. The emptiness swallowed her whole as she realized she was the only one left.'
She was alone.
DREAM END…
"NO!", I screamed to my empty room. I was sweating like crazy, which was weird since I was only wearing a plain black t-shirt and green bootie shorts, and my breathing was labored. To my left where my neon purple clock sat on my nightstand it read 3:00 a.m. I sat up to get out of bed and went into the kitchen to get a cold glass of water. My kitchen is small but not too small so I was able to fit a medium-sized table and a couple of chairs in it. I sat down in one of the chairs and laid my head in my hands, my glass cup sitting in front of me.
'Why does this dream always come back? I just want some peace once in awhile.', I thought. This dream has haunted me since the day it happened and it just likes to randomly to pop up in my dreams whenever it feels like it. I kept sipping my class of water hoping it would calm me down but I was still too anxious from the dream, so I got up to grab a sweater and walked towards my window that faced the street. From there I climbed on to the roof of my apartment building since my apartment is at the top. The stars where still out though the sun was going to start to rise in maybe an hour or so. Even so they helped to calm my nerves as I sat there staring at them and I allowed the cool early morning breeze to wash over me making the moment even more peaceful.
"Hey what are you doing up this late?" Somewhat startled I quickly whipped my head towards the source of the unknown voice. Standing to the right of me was boy who had red upside down triangles on his cheeks, messy brown hair, and his eyes had this playful animalistic glint in them. He was wearing a grey jacket that had fur around the hood and black sweatpants. I now recognized him from my class when I had asked Naruto about who our classmates were on my first day at lunchtime.
'Good thing I put sweatpants on before leaving.', I thought.
"I could ask you the same question.", I replied which only made him chuckle.
"My dogs were making too much noise so I had to go for a walk and as I was walking I saw you sitting up here all by your lonesome. By the way my name is Kiba Inuzuka.", he said while extending his hand. I extended my hand as well and said, "Akina Yukito. I was too restless because I want to see who my teammates will be."
'He doesn't need to know about my personal issues, no one needs those images in their head.'
"Don't worry about it I'm sure you'll get great teammates and I might be one of them.", he said with a smirk. Kiba sat down next to me but not too close that he invaded my personal space, which I was thankful for. We both sat there for at least 30 minutes and I learned a lot about Kiba. Since he was a part of the Inuzuka clan he always had dogs around him his whole life, has a mother and sister, and his playful personality reminded me of a puppy. I did tell him things about me as well but I didn't tell a lot since I just met him but I thought we were getting along just fine and that we could become good friends in the future. Although sadly we had to part ways so we could get some more shut-eye.
"Thanks Kiba, it was greet to meet you and getting to know you.", I said while giving him a hand to get up.
"No problem Akina. I hope that maybe we'll be on the same team to do this more often.", he said with hope in his eyes.
"We'll see Kiba." He then jumped to the ground and started his walk home but gave me a wave good-bye and then he was gone. I waved back as well and then climbed back into my apartment. Talking to Kiba had made me forget all about the dream so I was able to sleep peacefully for the next 2 hours.
The Exam….
"Remember everyone today is the day where many of you will become Genin, the first step of many to become a true Shinobi of The Leaf Village. First we will start with a written exam and then I will call one student out at a time to go into the other room for the second part of the exam." Iruka-sensei was passing out the exam as he told everyone what they're going to do. Everyone looked at least a little bit nervous but the way Naruto was chewing down his nails into stubs, and almost tried to get mine, made him look like he was going to lose it. I gave him a good pat on the shoulder hoping to reassure him that it was going to be okay. He gave me an appreciative look but he still looked very nervous and pale. When I received my test I looked at it and saw that there were only ten questions to answer and they didn't look that long. Although they were a little difficult I had them done in about 25-30 minutes, which was only a few minutes before Sasuke finished, so I felt accomplished. They asked questions like; if your enemy is at point A 50 yards from where you are which is point B and you are 20 feet above their position what angle would you have to measure to make sure your kunai will wound them. As for the rest of the time that we had I just stared out the window hoping that everyone wouldn't take too long.
About 15-30 minutes later everyone was finished with their exam and was waiting for their name to be called. Iruka came in and called Kiba's name first, although as he was walking towards the door something white popped out of his jacket and landed at my feet. It was a cute white puppy that looked to be young and was begging for attention. Of course my weak will towards everything cute caved in as I picked him up and sat him on my lap to scratch his back and his ears. The little guy was practically purring from all of the attention.
"Wow I've never seen Akamaru do this to somebody he never met before.", Kiba said with a shocked face.
"I don't mind I love canines.", I said while giving Akamaru a belly rub.
"Since it looks like he's in good hands I'll let him stay with you until I come back okay."
"Alright I'll take good care of him." Akamaru looked like a really happy puppy since he seemed to really like it when I scratched behind his left ear. Even when Kiba came back with his new headband Akamaru refused to leave my lap which left Kiba in total confusion. One after the other kids went into the other room and came back with their new headbands either on their forehead or around their neck. Luckily I remembered to leave the headband Hokage-sama gave to me at home since the day I got it. Soon it was my turn to go in the room which made Akamaru whine a little bit when I gave him back to Kiba. When I went in Iruka-sensei and another man I have never seen before was sitting behind a wooden table in an otherwise empty room.
"Alright Akina I read in the files from your home village that you are really good but all we want to see is the Clone Jutsu and that will determine if you pass. Also this is Mizuki-sensei.", Iruka-sensei said pointing to the guy sitting next to him. Mizuki looked to be a few years older than Iruka-sensei and he had nearly pure white hair but something seemed wrong about him. I don't know what it is he just seems suspicious.
"Okay sensei. Clone Jutsu!" Soon I was surrounded by 5 copies of myself and they looked really good.
"Wow she made 5 perfect clones when everyone else only managed 3, you really are impressive.", said Mizuki. I thanked him and made the clones go away.
"Akina you passed and even though the Hokage-sama gave you a headband already we have to give you another one. Also can you tell Naruto to come here please, he is the last one.", said Iruka-sensei. I grabbed my headband and tied it around my neck like I did with the first one and nodded to Iruka-sensei. As I walked back into the classroom I stood in the doorway seeing that Naruto was the only one left. Knowing it was finally his turn he got up out of his seat and walked towards the door stopping next to me.
"Congratulations on passing Akina hopefully I'll pass as well and maybe we'll be on the same team.", he said sounding very excited yet nervous.
"Don't worry Naruto you'll pass with flying colors. I'll be outside waiting for you.", I said and gave him a good luck hug. Outside everyone that had passed was showing their parents their new headbands and some of the parents were crying. A small pain entered my heart as I watched all of the mothers tell their son/daughter how proud they were and that they'll be the greatest ninja ever. Then I heard something that made my skin boil.
"Did you hear they're still letting that Naruto try to pass.", said a parent.
"I know, how can they let that monster pass and maybe get stronger and take over the village."' said another. Hearing these things made me want to kick all of their asses for talking about Naruto that way, because Naruto is a human being he isn't a monster. Suddenly I realized Naruto has been inside for awhile.
'Maybe he came outside and is looking for me.' I scanned the crowd looking for a bright orange jump suit. I found him sitting on a swing in the shade with his head hung forward. Immediately I knew Naruto didn't pass. I walked over to him and patted his back. He only looked up at me with so much sadness and disappointment and hung his head back down. Not only that but the parents were still giving him the evil eye but when they caught my eye they quickly looked away.
"Why is it I can never do anything right? Why do they always look at me like I'm some kind of monster? Do I look like a monster Akina?", Naruto asked me. I looked straight into his dull blue eyes and said, "Naruto you are anything but a monster. You are bright, energetic, and the most original person I have ever met." With that his eyes brightened up and he got off the swing.
"Thanks Akina, what would I do without you?", he asked. I only shrugged and asked, "Do you want some ramen from Ichiraku's, my treat?"
" WOOHOO! What are we waiting for?", he yelled into the air and he started to run towards his beloved ramen. Eventually when I got there Naruto was already on his third bowl and he didn't look like he was going to stop anytime soon. I just sat down and ordered my bowl of chicken ramen and talked to Naruto. We sat there for about an hour or two until it was time to head home. When I walked into my apartment the first thing I did was head to my couch, laid down, and fell asleep.
An hour or two later I woke up with a bad feeling in my gut that something was wrong with Naruto. I quickly ran down the street to his apartment and jumped up to his window but I didn't see him lying in bed. 'Where are you Naruto?' I ran to the ramen shop to see if he was there but the people who worked there said they haven't seen him since we left earlier. I ran around the village streets looking for that orange jumpsuit until I decided that maybe he went into the forest to train or something. Luckily the Hokage-sama told me they had designated training areas but when I checked them all no one was there. Suddenly I heard rustling through the trees as if somebody was running. Using what I learned in my old school, I found their chakra signature and started to follow them thinking it could be Naruto. I followed this person for about 5 minutes when they stopped just a few feet ahead of where I was. Slowly I crept forward trying to keep my chakra low so that they wouldn't sense me.
"Oh man I hate the Clone Jutsu!", yelled an all too familiar voice. 'Naruto what are you doing?' I didn't want Naruto to see me yet so I slowly crept to the edge of what was a clearing and hid behind some bushes. Naruto was sitting on the ground against a shed reading a really big scroll and was trying to practice something. I tried to get a look at what the scroll was called but Naruto's hand was in the way. Suddenly Iruka-sensei appeared in front of Naruto with a very disappointed and angry look on his face.
"Naruto, do you know what you've done? That scroll contains things that if they get into the wrong hands it could put the entire village in danger.", Iruka said.
"But now I can show you my new technique and then you would have to graduate me because Mizuki-sensei said that if I learned a technique from the scroll then you would have to graduate me. Also he told me how to find it and this place and…" Naruto's words dropped off as he realized he had been used by Mizuki. Iruka's face showed that he was confused that Mizuki had betrayed everyone. 'I knew there was a reason why I didn't like Mizuki when I first met him.' Suddenly kunai fly out of nowhere at Iruka-sensei and becomes pinned against the shed by multiple kunai and one of them had pierced his right leg.
"Hello Iruka, so you found our little hideaway.", Mizuki said as he appeared on a branch in front of Naruto and Iruka. "Naruto I need you to give me the scroll now."
"Don't do it Naruto, Mizuki just wants to use the scroll for his own power and he used you to get it.", Iruka yelled as some blood poured out of his mouth.
"Iruka is lying to you Naruto. He just doesn't want you to have the scroll.", Mizuki said.
"Wait what are you guys talking about?", Naruto yelled confused at who is lying and who was telling the truth.
"Mizuki stop lying to him." Mizuki then got a wicked smirk on his face, "Oh I'm lying to him everyone has been lying to him since the day he was born. Everyone knows that on the day of his birth was day the Hokage gave out the decree, but Naruto is the only one that doesn't know about it."
"What decree? How come I'm the only one that doesn't know about it?," Naruto was becoming frustrated that there was something everyone knew about his entire life but he was the only one that didn't know. I laid in the bushes surprised and confused as well, not knowing what they were talking about.
"Mizuki it's forbidden to tell him!", Iruka yelled trying to persuade Mizuki to stop. Mizuki only ignored Iruka and continued, "The decree is that no one is to tell you that the Nine-Tailed Fox is inside of you Naruto." Naruto froze at what he just heard not wanting to believe what he was just told, but Mizuki continued to taunt him, "The beast that nearly destroyed our village 12 years ago and killed Iruka's parents now rests in you, you are the Nine-Tailed Fox! I mean haven't you ever wondered why everyone avoided you and looked at you as if they despised the thought of you even breathing. Even your beloved sensei thinks you're a monster."
"NO! It can't be true!", Naruto screamed with pain and sadness in his voice. Mizuki then pulled something from off his back and opened it until four curved knifes showed and were connected at the end of the handle. 'A windmill shuriken? Oh no, Naruto!'
"Say goodbye Naruto.", Mizuki yelled as he threw the weapon directly at Naruto. Naruto was trying to crawl away but he wasn't going to make it.
"NARUTO!" Naruto opened his eyes and saw Iruka-sensei hovering over him protecting him from his death but Iruka was confused. The shuriken didn't pierce his back. Iruka turned around and his eyes widened as he saw me standing in front of him holding the shuriken in my right hand.
"Akina what are you doing here? You need to get away Mizuki is very dangerous.", Iruka said trying to warn me. I only smirked and said, "Don't worry I can handle him just fine and besides I have to protect you guys." I threw the shuriken right back at Mizuki when he didn't expect it but he was still able to move out of the way and landed on the ground. He drew out his other shuriken and threw it at me but I also caught this one and instead of throwing it back at him I ran at him with it. He quickly pulled out a kunai as our weapons clashed into each other. We pushed at each other to get the upper hand but he was bigger and a little stronger than me so he was able to push me back. He pushed me back again but this time he quickly punched me in the stomach when I tried to get my balance. The wind was knocked out of me and I fell on one knee trying to get catch my breath, the asshole punches hard.
"HEY you big moron leave my friend alone! Shadow Clone Jutsu!" all around the clearing there were small pops of smoke and when the smoke cleared there were so many Naruto copies, standing in a fighting position or crouching in the trees. They weren't illusions either they were solid clones.
' So this is what Naruto learned from the scroll. I'm impressed; I heard this was a very advanced technique to master.' Mizuki was definitely worried now as he turned around looking at all of the clones.
"Well since you're not gonna come to us then we'll just have to come to you!", a clone yelled as they all proceeded to beat Mizuki to a bloody pulp. The sun was starting to rise as Mizuki was now laying on the ground unconscious with a grinning Naruto standing.
"Looks like I got carried away, sorry.", he said while sheepishly rubbing the back of his neck. "So are you okay Akina and Iruka-sensei?"
"I'm fine over here.", I said with a smile as I wrapped a bandage around Iruka-sensei's leg. Iruka-sensei had a smile on his face as well as he said, "Naruto come here for a minute I have something here that I think you deserve."
"Oh really what is it?", Naruto asked as he came over very excited.
"First I need you to close your eyes."
"Okay." Iruka-sensei then took off Naruto's goggles and replaced it with his own headband, "Alright now open your eyes." Naruto opened his eyes and didn't see anything until he noticed Iruka wasn't wearing his headband and I held his goggles in my hand. "Congratulations Naruto Uzumaki, you passed.", Iruka announced. Naruto stared into space for a minute until I was suddenly crushed into a big bear hug. "Yeah Akina look at me I'm a ninja! Whoohoo YAY!", he screamed as he continued to pour his excitement into our hug and make the air pour out of my lungs.
"Hey Naruto how about I treat us all to ramen tonight?", I asked which only caused Naruto to hug me even tighter which meant no more air for me.
"This is the best day ever!"
"Naruto let go she can't breathe!", Iruka yelled.
"Oh no Akina!", he screamed as he finally let me go.
"Air *gasp* oh precious *gasp* air."