Tora (12 years)

3…2...1...

"My beautiful apples! Stop the thief!" The merchant's yell rang through the alleys of Konohagakure. A wide grin crept onto my face as I ran across the rooftops at top speed. Invisible, of course. Otherwise, I would sic my suicide squad on myself. This time it had taken him a little longer to notice the theft. From a safe hiding place, I had been able to observe how the eyes of the fat merchant had wandered over his stand.

Daichi was a wealthy merchant who often came to Konoha to sell his fruits. Which were really delicious. Especially the freshly stolen ones. With him it was the most fun to steal something. The guy was not only stingy, but also had money like hay. So, to compensate, it was only fair to relieve the good man a little of his goods. Especially for his apples, the good guy was charging way too much. Eight Ryou for a single apple was a little exaggerated. Well, to pay him back ... that was my responsibility.

Even if I only took what I needed to live. And that was really not much. I didn't want to risk my own safety too often, just to steal once more. And to be honest, I didn't really enjoy it either. The good thing was that no one had ever caught me. Well, that was probably also due to the jutsu that I had mastered or rather had to master. Because without this ability, I would be quite lost on the road.

Quietly and secretly, I could sneak up on the stalls and steal one or the other thing. And the most important thing was: Watch out that no shinobi were around. The very first time I stole something, I almost got caught because I forgot to pay attention to my surroundings.

Two days after I had fled from home and from my father, hunger had driven me to the center of Konoha. It had been a rainy day and most people had sought refuge in their homes. Using the jutsu of invisibility, I had walked freezing through the alleys, looking for something to eat. My clothes had stuck to my body like a second, wet skin, while my stomach had kept squeezing painfully. Then I had discovered Daichi's stall, with its fresh apples, oranges, bananas...

I can still clearly remember how my mouth watered at the sight. Despite my invisibility, I had crept up to the stall slowly and crouched down. At that time, I had not really trusted my ability and was accordingly uncertain in the application, but that had settled from time to time.

Since the apples were rather in the back area and not directly in front of the eyes of the dealer, I had also chosen this fresh fruit. Carefully, I had reached for the first apple and let it disappear into my small pocket. When nothing had happened, I had become bolder and ended up with six apples in my bag. Deciding that would be enough, I had set off again to look for a safe hiding place and ran into an obstacle.

Too well I remember how horrified I had looked up at the man above me. It had been a Jonin. The sight of him had frightened me very much. For to my little ten-year-old self, he had seemed simply huge and dark. With his dark clothes and the black mask that covered his face up to under his eyes. Mine had widened in horror and I had taken a step back. Except that there behind me, had been the rack of apples. There had been a loud crash and all the beautiful apples had fallen into the dirt. Nevertheless, I had not dared to turn around. Knowing well that the merchant would soon drive around and start screaming. And then I had turned on my heel in a flash, dodged the man's groping hand and run away. Even today, I kept my distance from him. For now, I knew how lucky I had been to have escaped him. He was not only a trained Jonin, but was also sometimes known as the Kopierninja.

Kakashi Hatake.

Another reason to keep me away from him. Because he had already seen me. Not directly at least. But he knew that I existed. And I was one of the most wanted thieves in Konoha. "The intangible" they called me. I grimaced. If people knew that a twelve-year-old street girl was hiding behind that name. They had already tried to catch me several times. But by now I knew Konohagakure really well. All secret ways, paths and alleys were stored in my head. In addition, I lived outside of Konohagakure in the forest. And up to my hiding place, I had built more than enough traps.

But so far, no one had managed to track me to my hiding place. Fortunately. Because then it would not look good for me. I had trained myself a lot in fighting techniques, but still, if a trained Jonin would confront me... I did not even want to imagine it.

Because I had not enough weapons in my pocket to be able to fight. Two small shuriken, a wire rope and a knife. Not really much. In my hiding place I still had a bow, including arrows. I always needed it when I went hunting. I had taught myself to shoot and by now I was quite good at it. So I could shoot a rabbit once in a while. And if that didn't work, I could always steal. Because I only did that when I had no other choice.

Especially in winter when many animals were hibernating. It was always particularly bad then. Often at night I would sneak into the village and stay near restaurants so that I wouldn't freeze to death. Life as a homeless thief was hard, but the only thing I had left at the moment. Who would even want me? Life as a homeless thief was hard, but the only thing I had left at the moment. who would want me? My father? He certainly didn't. He hadn't even sent out a search for me when I had run away from home. The only thing he cared about was himself. I had no siblings, and my grandparents were long dead. So, I had to put up with myself and see that I survived somehow.

As a child, I had always had the dream of one day becoming a great ninja warrior who fought bravely, together with her friends, for her village. True, I possessed certain skills that could be nurtured. But I had no money. So, who would pay for my attendance at the academy? No one. Who cared about a dirty street girl who had gotten herself into debt by stealing?

With an annoyed growl, I brushed all these thoughts aside. I should finally stop feeling so sorry for myself. I was Tora, after all. The intangible thief from Konohagakure.