Making your own place

After finding refuge for the night at a temple and eating whatever she could scrape together, she did a small job for a farmer which funded her next journey. She began walking towards the village hidden in the stone. It was a week's journey away. So she would make some stops. Allowing her to study up a lot, and get some training in. She still loved her shadow madra, it felt like she could still feel the ghost of it in her soul. So she would try everything to get a form of it again. She knew how she needed to do it. But it was hard.

She would have to separate the chakra into yin and yang. This yin chakra is what she was feeling, so she would use that to eventually make shadows. She just didn't know how yet. As she was thinking, she felt a few presences in the treeline, about 100 meters to her right. They were stronger than she felt before. She stretched her perception to try and further her knowledge. One of them felt angry as a boulder, cold and steadfast. The other, he felt like mud, fluid yet heavy. She got a better view as she crept closer.

They were two men, with stone headbands. She recognized those. They were pressed up against a cart, where a scared woman stood behind. She listened intently as they spoke, "I said you have to give us the money" He was loudly yelling, one hand gripping the woman's collar. She looked like she was crying "I gave you everything I have, please I need to feed my family". She started sobbing. Mercy clenched her fist. She wished she could, but she just wasn't in the position to step in, and what is that? Shinobi publicly acting like this, what does that say about the village. How despicable, she should report that to the stone villa- "I don't care, the village needs funds" he pushed her back and raised a fist.

Mercy's body worked on its own.

The tight grip she had been holding on her chakra core slipped. Releasing a breath she didn't know she was holding. The sudden burst caused the shinobi's head's to turn. Where they were met with cold, purple eyes and an ocean of pure power. Inwards, she was terrified and regretting everything. But outwardly…. The ninja dropped their hold on the collar, and one even looked scared. She could work with that… the presences felt decently strong, but not overly. They were likely lower ranked shinobi. So she spoke with calculations taught to her by the imperial family, "What are you guys doing?". The words seemed innocent, but they were laced with controlled yet undisguised emotion.

They looked at her like she was crazy, but there was a twinkle in the back of their eyes "this is village bus-siness, scram kid". She noticed every part of his sentence, even the tiniest stutter. He doesn't know, he doesn't know that she doesn't have any real control over her power, all he knows is an ocean of chakra is standing in front of him.

So she shook more, she channeled chakra to a hand for a moment and released it, testing their reactions. "Hmm, I don't think I will. But I would start thinking of something smart to say. And say it fast." She got confident now, having realized what was happening, she was so glad she picked up that book.

"Who do you think you are?" the other screeched.

"Good question, just know I have control here. And this doesn't need to get loud.." She looked down at them with sharp purple eyes. "But… I could make it loud". It was all a façade, a well placed one.

"Yes.. eh, don't think this is over" one said reluctantly with slight fear etched into their faces.

They ran off and down the road, carrying their bags and items. "Ma'am, are you okay?" Mercy comforted her. Long since crying. She put a hand on her back. "So um. those boys, they were just Genin"

The woman turned her head as if paying attention. "It seems to me like they were impersonating village collectors"

the woman, still upset. Said "how can you be so sure?"

Mercy scratched the back of her head, "Well first I was just pissed, running on hopes and dreams…. But then I realized the emblem they had were made of plastic. Not metal. I read about Iwa's government in a book. I'll report them, they shouldn't bother you in the future." She gave her best smile, causing the woman to let out a huge breath.

This was a good thing mercy did today.

Mercy had always prided herself on being a calm person. But walking out of the report office, she was the least bit so. She stomped down the street like an unstoppable storm. The nerve–they just denied it. They just flat out refuted what she told them, the shinobi didn't even care to investigate. She was leaving, heading somewhere else. A village's job was to protect and ensure care for its people, and she didn't want to be somewhere that didn't. It took half an hour of walking to cool off. Just breathing, just thinking. It was gonna be alright, maybe she was being too harsh? Maybe she didn't know enough about the situation. Either way, she was well on her way.

Mercy wasn't sure where she wanted to go. But as she walked and trained she started to be able to control small parts of shadows. She walked south feeling the humidity rise and air warm. Everyday, her control got a little tighter. She understood it a little better. But most of all, everyday, she just missed home. Missed the familiar smells and people. She missed walking without guessing her destination.

Did her mom miss her? How was her cousin? There wasn't a day she didn't think about them. But she was reminded every time, she didn't have her book of eternal night. There wasn't a way to go back. She would have to resolve those emotions one day. But for now she pushed them back, into the shade of her mind and kept smiling. Kept working and making do with what she had.

She made it to the fire nation. She didn't think she wanted to go to the leaf village because of all the bad things she had heard. But why take everyone's word for it. If you're a little insane in an insane world, maybe your doing something right. She walked through the vast humid forests, saw waterfalls and beautiful streams. The wildlife was unique, interesting animals.

But as she walked through, something strange started happening. When she was in the land of stone, there was a certain…. Vibe, to the conversations. It reminded her of cradle. People were self reliant and toughened by years of hard work. But every interaction she saw near fire country so far had been kind. Now closing in on the leaf village, she thought back to a few moments she found on her journey.

In a small town she had been walking through streets, seeing some people in poverty but still smiling. It was very different to that of the stone village. They were just so… Happy. The first thing she noticed was all the children playing, some looked malnourished. Some looked hurt. But all of them had smiles on their faces. Despite circumstances it seemed like they were living how kids should. In this train of thought, she heard the roughend voice of a man. He said "Here I'll take this, and it's really no problem."

Curious, she stole a glance in that direction. She saw three shinobi, all gathering up groceries that had spilled from plastic bags. Two of them had their arms wholly full. The other picked an older woman up and began walking with her. Mercy noted a large scrape on the woman's knee. She must have fallen. The old woman spoke next "You are such gentlemen, but I really don't wish to be a burden….".

"No this is no problem at all, we trained for this". One shinobi smiled. Another spoke in kind "Yea this is mainly what we trained for." their voices were rough as if they had all seen war. But they still joked, and their words were layered with goodwill. It was…. Kinda adorable. They carried the woman all the way home, Mercy wore a notably larger smile for the rest of the day.

Along a path, many miles north of Konoha. She had spotted a group of shinobi. Two of them leaned against a tree, two more were standing above.

One of the shinobi against the tree had tears in his eye. A woman stood with a hand on his shoulder. Looking into his eyes with absolute focus. None of them spoke except the one against the tree. It was tender, and honest. Like a family. For a few minutes. It continued like that.

Until eventually, she hadn't known how long shed been watching. And they were laughing, and they were smiling. It was beautiful.

She wished she had a family like that.

Finally, on the Northern central road just outside of Konoha. Mercy had taken a small detour in order to find a lake marked on her map. She was planning on setting up camp. As she was walking through the dense foliage, trees towering above like titans with gnarled branches and swinging vines. The sound of people came to her ear.

Two men, both clad in green jumpsuits and orange leg warmers. She hardly saw them, they were sprinting and yelling. She caught a few words, "Youth", "Challenge", "1000 pushups". Honestly. She didn't know what to say. She found a stump and sat. For a while….

Okay so maybe most of them were good experiences. But the point was, all these men and women were wearing leaf headbands. Despite all apprehensions, she might want to check out the leaf village.

-o-

Wooden logs stacked high and thick created a boundary that separated those in the leaf village from the outside. Mercy had finally made it. The way her perceptions stretched over the village making her feel many of the presence's that lived within, it ] was daunting and scary. For the first time she knew there were truly strong people near her. What if they could sense something wrong with her? She just hoped they'd be friends…

The gate of konoha stretched higher and wider than almost any tree. It had two guards who sat at a reception by its bottom. While they were guards, it was clear they weren't the only line of protection here. She walked up making sure to not make any sudden movements.

"Hello there" they smiled, surprisingly friendly. So she returned it "Hi!"

"Before you can gain entrance to the village we just need some information including name, height, age, and then you'll just tap this seal. It just allows us to make sure you are who you say you are.". One of them, clearly brothers, spoke this as if reading the same old page for the thousandth time.

Mercy nods before speaking "okay.. I'm Mercy Akura, 14 years old, 5 '5, and I'm traveling to konoha for the time being.". she didn't really have much to hide, so she pushed her hand on the tablet. It lit a purple light, and with slight glances at each other they let her in.

As she walked away, the two turned to each other. "The tablet usually doesn't glow that much."Her presence was very different. they didn't know exactly what it meant. But, it certainly was interesting.

Mercy first needed to rest, so she used some saved money to book a room for the night in a inn on the southwestern part of konoha, hardly a patrol hotspot she noticed. So she opened the door to her room and placed her things down. It was the first time in so long she had a warm bed, a shower, and a place to relax and she was happy.

The people she met today felt different too. But she didn't know what to do. They were still shinobi, would they see her as a threat? What would Malice do, Pride, Fury, Charity? No, no, no she was thinking all wrong. What would she do. She would deal with it, she would take the hand shes delt, stay honest as her arrow, man did she miss her bow…

But either way, it was high time to shower. She resolved while looking in the mirror. She had time to freshen up in her travels. In rivers… And with leaves, and old towels. But nothing like this. Her hair had been matted down, her normally spotless pale complexion had some dirt on it. Her robes were messy and everything looked less put together. The only thing that remained in bright color was her eyes.

She hopped in and let out a sigh as pressure released from her body. She felt like a new person after, her thoughts more clear, and her body less sore. And practiced her shadow manipulation once more. She could move the darkness around. She envisioned it as an extension of her spirit. And using her unique power she segmented the energy through a cycling process she developed, she found the most constant flow she could produce occurred when she drew power in this circular motion aligning with her breaths. She then took that yin energy… and that's when it got a little fuzzy.

She didn't know how to describe it in this world's terms. But it was something similar to harvesting natural aura on Cradle… But she wasn't taking it in here. But she was giving it life. She brought the shadows up and down, side and side. Like they were tangible things instead of simple shades.

She experimented like this for a few nights, while going out and exploring during the day. She had been totally wrong about this village; the books contained extreme bias's. While it was certainly a shinobi village. The people here were amazing. In Iwa, friends might greet each other with a nod or a few words. Here they would slap each other on the back and laugh together. It was like the village had harmony. It was just what she wanted. She gained some more confidence and eventually resolved to find a training ground to practice at. This allowed her to train more freely and use a little more power. She did so for two days until an interruption came on the third.

Mercy was just training like she normally did when she felt a presence behind her and whipped her head back. She was met with two white eyes behind a mask. She panicked in her head. Those eyes bored into her. Was she being attacked. Was this some sort of-

"Lord hokage would like to meet you," the voice said.

Dammit she cursed mentally.

She was hoping a conversation like this would wait until she was better adjusted, she didn't what she had done to draw the Hokage's attention in just a few days. I mean she trained but she stayed out of people's ways. But now she stood in front of a man she has only recently read about.

He was known as the god of shinobi, and for good reason. The feeling she had right now made it hard to think. He was sweeping his senses through her and scanning everything he could. It was like being watched by a dragon. But she pushed out a smile and sat down. He spoke first, as was customary "hmm very interesting" Hiruzen, the third hokage says with clear intrigue.

"I presume you don't know why I called you here?" he asks his hands to fold the pressure lower now.

Mercy swallowed a breath "You, uh. You presume correctly"

"Well. Your training field was close to the Hyuuga clan's quarters. They your noticed chakra, and reported its most unusual nature to me."

Mercy nodded at him "okay.. So what do I do."

The hokage spoke, "well I'd like to know why you have so much chakra, and that, is that a bloodline?"

Should she tell him, was it an okay time. Was it better to just be honest at first? Would they try to take her power? Dissect her? She needed to respond, she didn't wanna pause to long. But she was worried she already did, so she just blurted out whatever came to mind.

"My uh. Bloodline? Well, I've just been traveling. And was hoping to join a village. Which is why I came here. I want to learn more about shinobi. And I'm mercy which you know but i realized I didn't introduce myself. So basically I just really real-yy wan.. wanna.." heat rose to her face as mercy stopped rambling.

To her surprise the hokage only chuckled. He reached under his desk and grabbed a tan file. It had her name on it. "The hidden leaf oftentimes is known for facing adversaries by simply having more information than them." He flipped the file open when he talked and turned it towards her.

"You were on our radar as soon as you got close to the village. Multiple people noticed your chakra, so I investigated. Our spy network found out you traveled from iwa, but was never allied with them." He laid his hand on the wooden desk corner.

"Before that, it's like you didn't exist." He eyed her.

"Well I've come from far away" mercy started to explain. He stated "that I know, but you don't even have a solid grasp on all that power. Yet you create shadows. I can't just let you be here without further investigation. You have too much power, any Kage would see that." he stated matter of factly.

Mercy gulped and spoke. "Yes lord hokage, I'll leave right away" she lowered her head. She had really liked it here. His aged voice once again caught her attention.

"However…" she looked up "I am not most kage. I've taught for many years the vision I have for the leaf. And despite what my predecessors may find reasonable, I will not reject the unknown. I will not reject out of fear, because I can see that same will within you."

Mercy was shocked. She was braced for rejection, she knew how outsiders were usually treated. But instead she was accepted.

The hokage suddenly seemed less menacing. "Although, mercy, your stay in the leaf does not mean you do as you please. You are expected to train as a leaf ninja, and will be under supervision for an undisclosed period of time. That will be your reality until we know without a fragment of a doubt you mean no harm. Do not make me regret this. Understood?"

Mercy nodded frantically "of course! I mean, I just want somewhere that can be my home. Y'know?"

Hiruzen let out a exhale having expected that "you can either go under a Jonin instructor now. Or you can have some mild training for the next month until the graduating Genin class is ready. Where you will join a team. Which sounds appealing to you."

Her eyes widened "so I could really become one of your shinobi?"

"Well for now you would just be a student. In time, whether you rise and become a true shinobi of the leaf is up to you."

She stood and bowed at the waist "thank you, thank youuu, lord hokage I won't let you down!"

"I look forward to seeing what you can do, that will be all for now." he said with a chuckle.

She made her way out of the office. Allowing Hiruzen to decompress slightly. Leaning back in his chair he couldn't help but wonder if he made the right choice. But all he knew of the girl was that she had something he almost never sees in this world. Yes he felt her power, And no it wasn't a new bloodline he was after. He had to nurture it before anyone would take advantage of it. She was kind.

And that was enough for him.

You might notice that despite Mercy's power and her upbringing. She's a little immature. She is 14 years old and doesn't have as much experience as she would have originally. She always stays positive. That will never change. Hope you enjoyed this chapter. Would love some reveiws. If not, thats fine! thank you for reading.