Fiery Flower of Steel: Two

Hit by Bricks

I walked through the market, a hood hung up to my head suspiciously. Looking up at the sky, I see a faint figure of a bird flying past, and I knew all too well who it was. I sprinted to the nearest desolate place, finding myself in a forest deep within a clearing. I stop when I know I'm alone, and whistle loudly, the high pitched noise echoing through the empty forest.

"Hoo hoo hoo!" I extend an arm out, and from the sky, lands an orange at the palm of my hand. I extend my other arm for Kyokan to land on, and from out of nowhere she lands, my arm turning its metallic luster. I pocket the orange, and stroke Kyokan's soft feathers gently.

"Good girl." I coo, still rubbing its white feathers. Kyo gives an owlish purr.

I lower my hand to the ground, Kyokan jumping off to stand on the moist soil. I myself sit down, to Kyokan's level, peeling my orange slowly. The owl started to crane its neck, turning her head in all directions, before suddenly bolting out into the sky, returning moments later with a small rabbit at its claws. She positioned herself beside me, and both of us ate happily under the forest's shadows.

It was a fairly clear day, for this rainy village. It was cloudy, but hints of light blue could be seen underneath thick layers of cotton colored clouds. Rays of sunlight shone through these clouds, seeping through. Chirps of birds were the only sound in the desolate forest.

I loved it here.

Away from the loud voices of people, away from the bustling crowds of the village, and away from the jeering laughs of children as they played. It was so peaceful, silent, and serene. I now didn't mind the fact the only company I would ever have is Kyokan, I was actually very satisfied with it, but I was missing something.

There was an unfilled hole in my heart that wanted to be filled. A missing piece of the puzzle, and without it, I couldn't be complete. I was like a painting that had a blank space on the corner waiting to be painted with any color, but no one ever knew what to do with it. It was just there, in need of something. Perhaps a splat of color? More grass? Some flowers? I didn't know what this feeling was, the growing feeling of longing, that would one day pull me into the void if it wasn't satisfied. It seemed almost impossible to satisfy.

I sighed irritably, the feeling now weighed on my shoulders like an invisible brick, and my shoulders slumped tiredly. I stood up, finishing my meal, and by now, even Kyokan was finished, now staring at me, almost impatiently. But her large, soot-colored eyes were always so blank, it was hard to tell.

When I finally stood, her wings burst open, bolting up to the sky with great speed. I ran back into the village, keeping a watchful eye up above. What was I doing you ask? Everything and anything is what. Even if it was just sprinting around the village, or stealing even more oranges, I was up for anything. By now, running was like second nature, long distances, sprinting, you name it. The constant feeling of getting chased always pushed me to my limits, and even though I was small, I ran like the wind.

I was five now, or at least, my made up birthday said so. I could have been born on any month, but I was fond of the month April, and the number nineteen. I made it my birthday- and well, actually, in my previous life, I was born on April 19. I just chose to keep it.

Though, strolling around the town, I came to realize that there was indeed a school in the corner of an unexplored part of the rain. It was fascinating to see children my age learn about completely different things from what used to learn. Well for starters, when I was standing on a tree's branch watching one of the classes with older students, I… saw something I couldn't believe.

Two identical students standing beside each other.

And after a few seconds, the other student just suddenly disappeared. I looked around for signs of shocked reactions, or just really, any reaction. Even the teacher, just stared at him with the same gaze, unchanging. He even nodded at the student, and the boy took his seat. I rubbed my eyes in disbelief. Was I imagining things? Maybe I was seeing double. I mean, in my previous life, I wore glasses, so maybe I needed glasses in this life too.

The teacher called out someone's name, and now a girl stood up, walking to the front confidently. I stared at the scene, eyes never blinking. I watched as the girl put her hands together, and suddenly, in a puff of smoke, was another student identical the girl. My jaw slacked,and, leaning back, I blanched, almost falling from the tree.

I watched as other student came up to the front of the class, clasping their hands together, and making another copy of themselves. There was this wave of deja vu that overcame me each time they went in front of the classroom. I've seen this before. Where have I seen this before?

Suddenly, I remembered. Deep in my mind was a corner of unopened boxes from my previous world, and digging into it came my realization.

This village I grew up in was called Rain! As in Amegakure, Village Hidden under the Rain! This was no ordinary school, it was a school where little children were taught to be ninja, soldiers of war at their young age, trained to kill and assassinate. And this place is not Japan. I was in a completely different universe.

I was literally born in Naruto.

Not only that, but I was born with a skill that many shinobi would kill to have. I had an indestructible metal shell (or at least indestructible to an extent) or goodness sakes! If people knew what I could do, I would be turned into a killing machine, or forced to join ANBU. I was extremely lucky to not have been born in Konoha, the center of all the shit that's about to happen. In fact, the timeline could just stay as it is for all I care! But the truth was, I felt that Konoha would have treated me better than Ame did.

I jumped down the tree, having enough of the sight. The students were seated, and the teacher began his lecture. It was normal class from then on.

Kyo let out a small screech, swooping down to perch herself on my shoulder. We walked across streets, through the bustling crowds and buildings. I sighed at the loud chatter and resounding footsteps, pounding down the ground like rain crashing down on lakes. I didn't really have a good reputation around these parts. The second they see me, they see a thief.

But it's not like I had a choice. I didn't. I needed to survive, and stealing was the only way I could achieve that. But nobody understood.

While all these people had a home and families, I did not. I didn't have a bed to rest my head on, I didn't have a roof over my head, I didn't have food provided for me, and no one to take care of me. I was an orphan, on the streets with no money. And I liked it that way.

I kept walking aimlessly. Sighing at the few glares I received from the people I stole fruit from. Ever since that orange incident with the silver skin thingy, I relied on Kyokan to steal my food for me so I don't have to physically be there when I steal things, but walking around with Kyokan gave the message that I was the one who told her to steal it.

And really, who was gonna ignore a girl with a bird on her shoulder?

I hadn't been one of politics, but the government here was just awful, taking note that this was a world of war and fighting, the fact that this village is led by one man, without council or any other leader, is very unnerving. And just plain stupid. What type of government was that? It was like the people here were happy to have a dictator, someone who could potentially be the new and improved Hitler, with chakra, strong powers and everything.

And there was also the problem of manipulation. What if someone guised as the Kage? Then what would happen? Chaos.

But that was just politics and my smart-ass self, so disregard my opinion- or take it seriously, it won't matter.

I wasn't really focused on watching Naruto in my previous life, so I have yet to know the person leading this village, nor do I wish to. I just wanted to survive, make money, and live a peaceful life, possibly making friends on the way would be nice. It's funny how uncontent I was with the responsibilities I had in my previous life, and now look at me! No responsibilities, no expectations, perfectly independent-but I was being treated like crap.

Haven't I just emphasized the point so much? Well yeah, I was treated like crap if you haven't already noticed.

But then I thought of the opportunities.

Wouldn't I get payed for becoming a ninja as well? Maybe it was something that I should consider. But I had to weigh in my options. What would I gain from being a ninja?

Well, I would get paid. I could get myself a house and decent food asides from stealing fruit from the shopkeepers and stands.. I would learn to defend myself in case I get attacked by ninja-and there was a high probability I would get attacked, ninja or not. Being a ninja also had the word comrades connected to it, which meant I would gain the friends that I wanted, and a teacher to guide me to my path.

But on the other hand, I would get attention, something I did not want. My silver skin will attract many enemies and rivals. There was also this slight chance that they would send me back to an orphanage as soon as I enter the Academy, and the fact that the teachers there wouldn't allow me to attend because of my parents- or lack thereof- and not having a legal guardian will be a problem in the future. I would probably get bullied because of my skin, and being a ninja also increased my chances of dying young, which didn't really appeal to me at the moment.

And most of the downsides included how I got into the Academy, how I would be treated, and really didn't concern what would happen while I'm genin-well, the silver skin, which I now proceeded to call ginhada in an attempt to make this special ability sound cool. Ginhada literally meant silver skin, and I had the pleasure of naming it myself.

Back to the issue!

I whistled loudly, calling Kyokan's attention.

She settled herself down on my shoulders, and gave me a questioning hoot, as if to ask me what was wrong. Of course, my loud whistle drew the attention of many people, so we quickly ran to a more secluded area. I spoke once I was sure I was alone:

"Hey Kyokan, what do you think I should do?"

I knew fairly well that owls can't talk, which was fine by me, but as my first and only friend, she was the only one I could really rely on.

"Well on one hand I can get a bunch of friends, and I could be all badass and stuff, but on the other hand: ginhada." I muttered.

Kyokan stared at me, still as a statue, her eyes wide and curious. Wondering why she was being sucked up into my problems.

"Flap your left wing of you want me to be a ninja, and flap your right wing of you don't." I said.

She was still, making me wait in sheer painstaking agony. But after a few moments, she craned her neck to the wall on my right, and oddly enough the graffiti couldn't have been more conveniently placed.

There in bold artsy characters spelled the word "shinobi" in faded red. It was odd how conveniently placed it was. It was like life was giving me a sign, which really seldom happened at all in my previous life, because you know, I didn't believe in it, therefore I didn't notice. But now that life was basically throwing rocks with messages, I think I'll listen to it.

I really didn't waste any time signing up the Academy. I went straight there after reaching my decision. I was five now, which meant I should already have been in school. The last thing I wanted was to be behind in class, and get picked on for my low grades. Kyokan left to fly in the skies, and I envied her ability to just take off whenever and wherever she wanted.

The walk there went slow. I only assumed it was around four already, and students were being dismissed to go home because of the crowded streets filled with parents holding children's hands. I ignored them and made it to the registrations desk.

The woman behind the counter didn't see me.

God, I hated being short.

"Excuse me." I said quietly. The woman behind the counter looked at me in surprise, before asking, rather rudely:

"What do you want, brat?"

"I was wondering if I could get registration form to join the Academy late in the year, my parents told me to go to the Academy, and then someone could get me my forms." I said as a five year-old, trying my best to say it as cutely as any kid would. She merely rolled her eyes, handing me a form without question.

"Bring it back tomorrow. The list of materials you need is at the back, and school will start after the teachers evaluate your form." she said, rather quickly, getting the point across like she didn't want to talk to me. Though I was glad she was like that. She didn't question where my parents were, and she so badly wanted me gone that the encounter was brief and there were no problems.

And that so happened to be the turning point of my life, because it was utter pandemonium after that.

7S: (Looks around frantically) I think I lost them.

Kyokan: SKEEEEK!

7S: AAAAHHHHHH! OH GOD! NOT THE EYES! NOT THE EYES!

Mirako: Kyokan! What did I tell you about clawing the author's eyes?

Kyokan: (indignantly) Hoot.

7S hides behind Mirako

Mirako: Wasn't two spares enough for you? I don't think we need four.

Kyokan: Hoot. Hoot.

Mirako: The ones on the other studio were already complaining about the jar in the fridge.

7S: Wait. But I told ML NOT to put it in the fridge.

Mirako: We're short on time. Anyway- Review, favorite, do whatever. Bye!

7S: Wait, but I wasn't done ye-

Screen turns black.

TV: And now for the news.

TV plays weather forecast