Bluefangfighter

    First person perspective

            Kakashi

    I sigh as I appear on the ground outside the ninja academy and rub my visible absently. I turn to walk towards my home when I suddenly stop dead and take a couple of steps back to keep myself from falling over. The girl with the sky blue hair looks up at me with her glacier blue eyes. I see her backpack is now on her back and in her arms is a blue kitten that matches her hair. Its yellow eyes look up at me suspiciously as I stare back at it. Her kittens not blue, I think subconsciously then reach up to rub the back of my head and wonder where that idea had come from. I push the weird thought away as I look down at the small girl.

    As I open my mouth to ask her what she is doing in front of me, she suddenly tilts her head and her eyes glaze over for a moment before she blinks and looks up at me. “Mr. Iruka Sensei is coming,” Kanna says in a small voice. I blink in confusion when I do hear my name being called. I glance over my shoulder to see Iruka running towards me.

          He catches his breath as he hands me a piece of paper. “The Hokage has found a place for Kanna to stay. He asked if you would take her sense it’s only a little ways past your own home,” Iruka says looking up at me. I pause thinking about refusing before I glance to my side to see the little girl standing by his side and reach out to put her hand in his, squeezing gently. He looks down at her and gives her a warm smile.

          I suddenly feel jealous as I see Iruka looking at her like that. I wanted her to become comfortable with me where she would hold my hand when she was afraid instead of his… I mean I was her sensei after all. “Alright,” I say making Iruka look up at me. “I’ll take her home. Thanks Iruka.”

          “No problem,” he says giving me a closed eyes smile before gently touch the top of the blue-haired girl’s head. “Be safe Kanna,” Iruka says ruffling her hair gently before letting go of her hand and turning to leave.

          “Thank you Mr. Iruka Sensei,” the child whispers in a small voice. He pauses before turning around and giving her another closed-eyed smile and a wave as he starts walking away.

          “You’re welcome Kanna and thank you,” he says over his shoulder as he leaves. I scowl at his back before sighing and looking down at the girl again. She was watching Iruka before she looked up at me with wide eyes. I swallow and shove down my stupid jealousy as I take the child’s hand and lead her towards her home.

          I say nothing as we walk and it doesn’t take us long before we get there. I unfold the paper and let the key fall into my hand before I turn and hand it to the child. She takes it gently into one hand while still holding the blue cat to her chest. I watch as she looks at the yellow house before she slowly walks over to it and slides her key in the lock and unlocking it. She steps inside and I follow slowly as she stands in the living room and looks around.

          I glance around myself at the simple furnishing as I see her set her cat down and take her backpack off her shoulders. “Do you have any more clothes,” I ask as she looks at me once more. She shakes her head and looks at the ground as I turn to go. “Alright, I’ll get you some and some food for your kitchen so you can have things to eat and other clothes to wear. Don’t worry about paying me back. The Hokage will do so.”

          I take one foot out the door and suddenly a tiny hand grabs onto my sleeve; I glance over my shoulder to see Kanna looking at the ground as she says, “Thank you Mr. Kakashi.” I almost glare at her as she doesn’t add on the sensei. I know I haven’t known her long, but neither had Iruka and he was called sensei. As I open my mouth to reply I look at her and realize there are tears falling to the floor.

          Crying? Why is she crying, I think as I quickly kneel down and look the small girl in the face. “Kanna,” I ask tentatively when she unexpectedly jumps into my arms, wrapping her arms around my neck and crying. My eyes widen as I feel her tears fall onto my shoulder.

          I hurriedly grab her up and go back into the house, kicking the door close behind me. I sit on the couch rubbing her back and realizing its cold in the house. When I try to get up however, tiny hands grip the back of my shirt and a small voice whispers, “don’t le…leave me a-a-alone.” I nod and hold her as I go to the only bedroom, yank the blanket off the premade bed, and carry her back to the couch, covering the two of us with the blanket. I held that child all night as she cried onto my shoulder. It took several hours before her crying turned to small sounds of whimpering and then quieting completely as she fell asleep in my arms.

          I didn’t move even though it was two in the morning by the time she was in a deep enough sleep I could have left her. Instead, I held Kanna all night, falling asleep myself while rubbing my hands up and down her small back. The last thought I had that night was if I ever met the people that made this girl that was in my arms cry, I would give them a slow painful death that they would carry with them into the afterlife.

(Kakashi is worried for Kanna’s wellbeing, but the question is, what set her off? And did anyone else notice that Kanna has no idea who Kakashi is? Final questions of the day: who all is Kanna running from and why do you think she gave up her memories? Was it because of Itachi or because of her family’s death?

Aaaaaaaaaand who is Kanna’s father? Can anyone guess??)

7 years later

                First Person Perspective

                Kanna

          I stroll quietly through the grass, trees on either side of me, my feet making no sound as I walk because of the ninja training I had been doing sense I took my first few steps that helped me stay silent. My backpack was on my back as I glance wearily around me yet giving off the outward appearance as if I simply was on a stroll through an unknown forest. I suddenly stop dead as I realized I was out of the trees and was staring at a giant archway with open gates. I could see from where I stood that the village inside was barely waking up, indicated by the few people that were up.

          I moved forward slowly and just as I was about to step a foot into the village, two ninja appeared at my side with one quickly yanking my hands behind my back and the other quickly wrapping rope around them to bind them together. I flinch as he tightens the rope and they lead me into the village. We walk until we arrive at a huge tower then make our way inside and go slowly up the steps. I slowly feel myself start to tremble as we go higher and higher. I had been running for a reason and now I was caught. Would they take me to the Akatsuki? Would they lock me away until one of them arrived to take me back to be punished? The man with a hat that held his hair down slowly knocked on a door and entered when a deep voice told him to do so.

          My fear increased as I was forced inside by the man with the bandage over his nose. I whimpered as a man wearing white robes with some red symbol on his hat looked up and raised an eyebrow at me before glancing at the two men. “Who is this,” he asked in a gentle voice, flicking his gaze to me once more. I shrank back from him and tried to pull myself out the door only for the man with the spiky hair and white bandaged nose to hold me in place while the old man in white robes stared at me in silence, waiting for his question to be answered.

          “Lord Hokage, we didn’t sense this girl until she was right under the gates and about to step into the village,” the one with the hat covering his hair said. The Hokage’s gaze never wavered from mine and for some reason I slowly began to relax as he looked at me in an unthreatening way. “It looked like she was sneaking in at the way she was hiding her chakra so well that we didn’t sense her.”

          The Hokage looked up at him and said in a stern voice, “Release the child, Kotetsu.” The man holding me prisoner immediately obliges as the hat man looks at the older one in surprise. As he opens his mouth to speak, the Hokage raises his hand and stares at me as Kotetsu undoes the ropes. I grip my wrists and rub them warily, looking at this old man suspiciously. Why did he let me go, I wondered as we looked at one another. He slowly smiled and said, “Better?” I nodded once and he waved his hand. I glanced to the side to see both men leave in a hurry, closing the door behind them. The Hokage gestures to a seat and I follow suit, sitting down in it quietly on the edge of the seat.

          “What’s your name Child,” He asks in a quiet voice after a period of silence. I flinch and glance at him before I quietly replied, “Kanna Usami Lord Hokage.” I watched as he smiled at me for copying what the ni9nja had called him. “Kanna, hm? Do you have a home child? It doesn’t really make sense to me for a girl at your age to be out alone.” I shook my head at the question about me having a home. Not anymore at least. I had to keep running so they wouldn’t catch me.

          “You have to run before your memories come back and Itachi figures out the reason why you continually shiver when he is around. If he finds out, he will kill you. Go before it’s too late.” I swallowed rubbing my arms up and down remembering the kind old ladies granddaughter telling me to leave the Akatsuki and run for my life. I looked up at the Hokage as he continued, my eyes widening in surprise at every word.

          “Well if you have no home you can live here. We have plenty of room and a girl your age can become a ninja even if you are a little bit young. However, if you were able to hide your chakra signature from Kotetsu and Izumo, then you must have had a lot of ninja training already.”

          “I can’t live here off of you and your people out of pity my lord,” I whisper in a small voice waiting for him to demand I stay. I freeze as I hear his low, amused chuckle and look up as he speaks.

          “You didn’t let me finish. I was going to say once you’re in a ninja squad, you and your team will go on missions and will be able to raise money for your living. I know we can’t provide you much but I can give you a home and a bed to sleep in at night.” I shake my head vigorously at his hospitality, making him chuckle once more. He leaned forward on his desk and crossed his hands in front of his mouth before he spoke again after a pause. “How about you stay for a month and if you don’t feel at home, you can leave with no questions from me?” I opened my mouth to reply no once more before I paused.

          I could leave whenever I wanted and only had to stay for a month. I looked up at the Hokage and realized I trusted him. Before I knew what I was doing I had nodded and shook hands with the older man before me to seal the deal. He smiled as he sat back in his chair, looking at me with kind eyes.

          “Alright then. Iruka,” He suddenly shouted making me flinch in fear. A man suddenly appeared beside my chair and smiled up at the Hokage.

          “Yes my lord,” he said in an even voice as he looked at the man in white.

          “Take my young friend Kanna here to get a change of clothes while I think of what squad leader to put her under,” he says before turning his gaze to me. “He will help you put on something clean while I decide which ninja squad you will join.” As I rise to follow the man Iruka out of the door, the Hokage called me back. He smiled as I turned to look at him. “Welcome to the Leaf Village Kanna,” he says as I disappear out the door behind the man with the spiky ponytail.

          Third Person Perspective

                Lord Hokage’s office

          He sighed as he leaned back in his chair, staring at the ceiling and wondering if the child was alright. He could see her fear the moment she walked into his office. Heck, he could feel it in the air as she tried to get out of the stupid, oblivious ninjas grasp. He slide his hand down his face and tugged at his beard thinking on which genin team the small child would best fit in. he thought of Asuma then changed his mind thinking the man’s bland gaze would scare the child more than help her.

          His thoughts turned to Kurenai, the women sensei currently training three genin of her own. He sighed again and shook his head at the thought of her. Her red eyes were intimidating and the child needed someone who would see her fear and help her fight through it. He smiled as he thought of a silver-haired ninja. Perfect, he thought and sat back with a smile on his face. The jonin would see the child’s fear and with his kind nature that he rarely showed would come out and he would protect her. He smiled at the thought of how annoyed Kakashi would see the new student as until he realized how fearful she was of the people around her.

          He quickly sent out a messenger bird and it was only a few minutes later when the jonin he had just been thinking of appeared in his office in a puff of smoke.

          “Hokage,” he said by way of greeting as he stood with one hand in his pocket looking at him. He held back his laughter as he looked at the silver haired jonin that was wearing his signature black mask and had his headband tilted to the side to hide one of his eyes.

          “Kakashi,” he replied crossing his hands in front of his mouth and staring at the jonin. “I need you to do something for me.” The jonin raised an eyebrow as he looked at me and gave me his full attention. “A new child has arrived in the village. By the look of her sizes she is about ten, but short for her age. She has nowhere to go yet where ever she came from taught her excellent ninja skills to where my ninja guarding the gate was unable to sense her, but had to physically see her as she was about to enter the village. I need you to take this girl into your genin squad.”

          Kakashi sighs as he turns his gaze to the Hokage. “Hokage I already have three genin who already don’t really get along. I don’t need nor want another troublesome one,” he says. The Hokage nods, understanding his jonin’s perspective.

          “I made a promise to her that if she didn’t like life here for a month, then she could leave the village without a questioning word from me. Train her until then Kakashi,” he said has he heard a light knock on his door. He called for them to enter just as he whispered, “You might change your mind once you see her.” Kakashi gives his Hokage a suspicious look before they both look at the door to see Iruka open it a crack then all the way as he steps in

          “Kakashi is the one you chose,” Iruka asks as he comes in. the Hokage nods as Iruka turns and looks sadly out the door. “A Moment,” he tells them before he goes back outside the door. It is minutes later before he returns with one hand behind his back. Kakashi raises an eyebrow as he stares at Iruka questioningly, yet the man with a scar across his nose looks over his shoulder and smiles at the child behind him that his hidden from Kakashi’s view. “It’s alright. He won’t hurt you,” Iruka says.

          It takes about a minute and a half before a ten year old girl peeks out from behind Iruka with one eye visible. Kakashi can see her sky blue hair as it is in two long braids that still reach past her waist. His visible eye widens as he sees the terrified look in her glacier blue eyes. He glances at the Hokage who nods then turns his gaze back to the small child hiding behind the chunin. He slowly walks forward and kneels by the side of Iruka. The child quickly had hide back behind the taller man as soon as he had moved.

          “What’s your name,” Kakashi asks in a gentle voice. It takes several heartbeats before a small voice answers him.

          “Kanna Usami,” she replies, peeking around Iruka once more. He gives her a kind smile while in his mind he thinks that’s not the girl’s name. He didn’t know how he knew that it wasn’t her name, but he just did. He stuffed the thought down to examine later as he opened his eye to look back at her.

          “Well Kanna, Lord Hokage has told me I am to be your sensei for your trial month to see if you’re staying in our village. Is that all right with you,” he asks as he looks at her. She simply stares at him for so long he thought that the scared child would reject him. Finally he can see her give a small nod which makes him give her another closed eyed-smile. The Hokage meanwhile thinks that Kakashi Hatake was the right choice for the small child. He smiles as he sees her give Kakashi a nod and the man straightens to his full height before he nods to the Hokage then Iruka as he leaves out the door. He is halfway down the stairs before he pauses and turns back around to see the child is still in the Hokage’s office, clinging to Iruka’s hand.

          She flinches as Kakashi appears back in the doorway and looks down at her. Finally he kneels once more and holds out his hand in a kind gesture. “I promise I won’t let anything bad happen to you as long as you’re with me or in the Leaf Village. If I can’t keep my promise then you can hate me and never trust me again for as long as I live. How’s that for a promise,” he asks as he gives her a closed eye smile. The child in question looks up at Iruka as he nods encouragingly.

          The small ten year old girl gently puts her hand in Kakashi’s and he gently closes it in both of his, giving it a gently squeeze before he straightens up and stands. He gives Iruka and the Hokage a wave with his free hand before he leads the small girl out of the Hokage tower and back to the Ninja academy where he had been heading before. She follows him silently, not saying a word as they walk. As he reaches for the door he pauses and looks at her from the corner of his eye.

          The child was wearing a dark green dress that flowed to her ankles and kept her blue ninja sandals visible. Around her mid-section was a matching dark blue belt that went with her ninja sandals and on her left side it held a weapon pouch. The girl tilts her head slightly as she looks at the door then up at him just as he goes to slide it open.

          “Don’t open it,” She says in a small voice. He raises an eyebrow as he opens it and sticks his head inside only to be hit on the head by an eraser. He looks at his three genin inside as the blonde in the bright orange jacket and pants bursts out laughing and pointing at him.

          “I got him! He totally fell for it,” he says obnoxiously.

    “I’m sorry sensei, I told him not to do it, but he wouldn’t listen. I’d never do anything like that,” the pink haired girl says with her hands under her chin as she looks at him. The blue-haired boy says nothing, but blinks down at the desk in front of him. Kakashi himself says nothing as he bends down to pick up the eraser thinking that next time the child said not to do something, he would pay more attention.

    He leaves the child outside as he straightens and looks at the three genin inside. He puts his hand under his chin as he says, “Hmm how can I put this? My first impression of this group… your a bunch of idiots.” They deadpan as they feel guilty for the stunt that Kakashi had assumed the blonde had pulled. The silver haired Jonin stares at the three of them before he motions for them to follow him out the door. He once again takes the child’s hand and leads them all to the roof and he lets go of it as he leans against the railing and watches as the four ninja take a seat in front of him on the steps.

    “Alright, why don’t you all introduce yourselves, one at a time,” he says looking mainly at the three genin, but keeping a close eye on the blue-haired girl sitting not so subtly as far from the blonde boy as she can get without trying to look like she’s running. She holds her backpack in her hands as she looks down at it in her lap.

    “Introduce ourselves? Well, what are we supposed to say,” the pink-haired girl asks. He glances back at her looking at her red dress that has a zipper down the front then curves to the side.

    “Things you like... things you hate… dreams for the future…hobbies, things like that,” he says crossing and uncrossing his arms as he says it slowly as if she was deaf... or stupid.

    “Why not tell us stuff first? I mean, before we talk tell us about you so we can see how it’s supposed to work,” the blonde boy says making Kakashi look at him. He was wearing orange and blue Jacket and pants that just screamed ‘kill me first.’

    Kakashi points to himself and says, “Me,” in a questioning voice. Then he continues saying, “I’m Kakashi Hatake. Things I like and things I hate… I don’t feel like telling you that,” he says in a bland tone. The pink girl and blonde boy both say ‘huh?’ and look at Kakashi in confusion. “My dreams for the future... never really thought about it. As for my hobbies… I have lots of hobbies.” He says looking up at the sky. The blonde and pick head look at each other frowning in annoyance.

    “That was totally useless. All he told us was his name,” the pink head says.

    “huhuh,” says the blonde in reply.

    “Ok your turn,” Kakashi says crossing his arms again. “You on the right, you first.”

    First Person Perspective

            Kanna

              I ignore the introductions as Sakura Haruno, Naruto Uzumaki, and Finally Sasuke Uchiha all give information about themselves. I stare up at the sky feeling Ren, the now blue furred cat and ordinary looking feline purrs without making a sound inside my backpack. I think about Grandmother, the old women who sealed away my memories as I look up at the blue sky that reminds me of her gentleness.

    “I can’t take it anymore! I look at him and I know he did it! I know he killed my uncle, my family! Please Grandmother, please….. Get rid of my fear,” I say as I get down on my knees in front of her. She looks down at me fearfully before she walks away and starts examining her kunai, making sure each one is sharp and perfect.

    “You know I cannot. I already do not like the Akatsuki, except for you and it would do you good to kill that man,” she replies in a quiet voice, but I can feel and hear her uncertainty. I stand up and move behind her, resting a hand softly on her back.

    “I’m only five, Grandmother. I may sound like I’m older but I’m not. I am not strong and he would kill me like he tried to do back at my clan’s home. Please…. I beg of you…” I felt her shoulders slump as she turned around to look at me.

    “Alright child,” she says as her green eyes gaze into my blue. “I will help you, but you must promise me that you will only fight for your heart once I let it free,” she says seriously. I nod once as she raises her hands into an unknown hand sign and the process began…

    I suddenly stiffen, getting jarred from my own thoughts as I feel people staring at me. Slowly I blink and turn my head to see four pairs of eyes looking at me. I swallow my fear as my heartbeat accelerates quickly as my gaze travels to each person in turn. “Yes,” I say in a small voice. The blonde’s eyes widen before he blushes and looks away.

    “It’s your turn,” the pink-haired girl says as she flicks an annoyed look at the blonde called Naruto.

    “Oh… My name is Kanna Usami… I just moved here so I don’t really have any likes, hates, or hobbies… my dreams for the future… to pay back a promise I made a long time ago,” I finish, thinking of the necklace I have hidden under my dress. My eyes flick to the blonde as he suddenly leans toward me, eyes wide.

    “You just moved here!? So that means you don’t have any friends,” he exclaims staring at me. I feel my fear being to grow as he looks at me with large blue eyes.

    “That’s right… you probably don’t have friends, but why did you move here then,” the pink head girl, Sakura, says looking at me closely as well. I swallow hard, feeling my terror grow stronger as they both look at me with blue and green eyes. I think about leaping away and running like the rabbit one of the Akatsuki had once called me as I had always jumped in fear the last year or so of my time with them.

    “Leave her alone,” Kakashi and Sasuke both shout out at the same time with Sasuke continuing on in an annoyed voice. “She’s scared enough without the two of you trying to terrify her even more. Back off.”

    The two both stare at Sasuke before Kakashi speaks up. “He’s right. She’s your teammate now, but she barely knows us or the leaf village. Give her a chance to get to know all of us and maybe if you all get along, she might give us an insight on her past.” Naruto and Sakura stare at each other before looking down at their feet guiltily. I blink and look up at Kakashi as he speaks again.

    “Good, your each unique and you have your own ideas. You’ll have your first mission tomorrow.”

    Naruto sits up and salutes as he looks at Kakashi in a closed eyed smile and says, “yuuup, what kind of mission are we going to have?”

    “It’s a task that the five of us will do together,” he replies.

    “What, what, what, whaaat!?!?”

    “A survival exercise.”

    “Huh? Survival exercise?”

    “I thought we were supposed to have a real mission, not more practice,” Sakura speaks up. “We already did this stuff at the academy. That’s how we got here.”

    “This is not like your previous training,” Kakashi says.

    “So uhh... so uhh what kind of training is it then,” Naruto asks. I look up at Kakashi, wondering the exact same thing. Kakashi suddenly chuckles to himself, his body shaking as he laughs.

    “Hey hold on. That’s a normal question. What’s so funny,” Sakura says with her arms on her legs while Sasuke stares straight ahead with his hands interlinked in front of him.

    Kakashi laughs again as he says, “Well if I tell you the Answer, you’re not going to like it.”

    “Huh,” Naruto says confused.

    “Of the 27 graduates that just came here, only three teams will be accepted as genin. The other 18 will be weeded out and sent back to the academy. In other words, this is a make it or break it pass fail test and the chances are that you will at least fail is 66%.” Naruto and Sakura give him shocked looks as Sasuke and I simply look at him. “See? Didn’t I tell you, you wouldn’t like it?”

    “That’s crazy, we worked hard to get here, believe it,” Naruto shouts. I look at him and tilt my head in confusion. How many times had he said Believe it today?  “What was that Graduation test for anyway?!”

    “Oh that, that was to select candidates that might become genin… or not.”

    “Whaaat?!?!”

    “That’s how it is. I decide whether you pass or fail. Be at the designated training spot at five am and bring your ninja gear.” The three ninja seem to all put on a determined face at Kakashi’s words. “That’s it. You’re dismissed… oh you better skip breakfast tomorrow or... you’ll puke.” The four ninja give him a serious look as he disappears in a puff of smoke.

    First person perspective

            <

7 years later

                First Person Perspective

                Kanna

          I stroll quietly through the grass, trees on either side of me, my feet making no sound as I walk because of the ninja training I had been doing sense I took my first few steps that helped me stay silent. My backpack was on my back as I glance wearily around me yet giving off the outward appearance as if I simply was on a stroll through an unknown forest. I suddenly stop dead as I realized I was out of the trees and was staring at a giant archway with open gates. I could see from where I stood that the village inside was barely waking up, indicated by the few people that were up.

          I moved forward slowly and just as I was about to step a foot into the village, two ninja appeared at my side with one quickly yanking my hands behind my back and the other quickly wrapping rope around them to bind them together. I flinch as he tightens the rope and they lead me into the village. We walk until we arrive at a huge tower then make our way inside and go slowly up the steps. I slowly feel myself start to tremble as we go higher and higher. I had been running for a reason and now I was caught. Would they take me to the Akatsuki? Would they lock me away until one of them arrived to take me back to be punished? The man with a hat that held his hair down slowly knocked on a door and entered when a deep voice told him to do so.

          My fear increased as I was forced inside by the man with the bandage over his nose. I whimpered as a man wearing white robes with some red symbol on his hat looked up and raised an eyebrow at me before glancing at the two men. “Who is this,” he asked in a gentle voice, flicking his gaze to me once more. I shrank back from him and tried to pull myself out the door only for the man with the spiky hair and white bandaged nose to hold me in place while the old man in white robes stared at me in silence, waiting for his question to be answered.

          “Lord Hokage, we didn’t sense this girl until she was right under the gates and about to step into the village,” the one with the hat covering his hair said. The Hokage’s gaze never wavered from mine and for some reason I slowly began to relax as he looked at me in an unthreatening way. “It looked like she was sneaking in at the way she was hiding her chakra so well that we didn’t sense her.”

          The Hokage looked up at him and said in a stern voice, “Release the child, Kotetsu.” The man holding me prisoner immediately obliges as the hat man looks at the older one in surprise. As he opens his mouth to speak, the Hokage raises his hand and stares at me as Kotetsu undoes the ropes. I grip my wrists and rub them warily, looking at this old man suspiciously. Why did he let me go, I wondered as we looked at one another. He slowly smiled and said, “Better?” I nodded once and he waved his hand. I glanced to the side to see both men leave in a hurry, closing the door behind them. The Hokage gestures to a seat and I follow suit, sitting down in it quietly on the edge of the seat.

          “What’s your name Child,” He asks in a quiet voice after a period of silence. I flinch and glance at him before I quietly replied, “Kanna Usami Lord Hokage.” I watched as he smiled at me for copying what the ni9nja had called him. “Kanna, hm? Do you have a home child? It doesn’t really make sense to me for a girl at your age to be out alone.” I shook my head at the question about me having a home. Not anymore at least. I had to keep running so they wouldn’t catch me.

          “You have to run before your memories come back and Itachi figures out the reason why you continually shiver when he is around. If he finds out, he will kill you. Go before it’s too late.” I swallowed rubbing my arms up and down remembering the kind old ladies granddaughter telling me to leave the Akatsuki and run for my life. I looked up at the Hokage as he continued, my eyes widening in surprise at every word.

          “Well if you have no home you can live here. We have plenty of room and a girl your age can become a ninja even if you are a little bit young. However, if you were able to hide your chakra signature from Kotetsu and Izumo, then you must have had a lot of ninja training already.”

          “I can’t live here off of you and your people out of pity my lord,” I whisper in a small voice waiting for him to demand I stay. I freeze as I hear his low, amused chuckle and look up as he speaks.

          “You didn’t let me finish. I was going to say once you’re in a ninja squad, you and your team will go on missions and will be able to raise money for your living. I know we can’t provide you much but I can give you a home and a bed to sleep in at night.” I shake my head vigorously at his hospitality, making him chuckle once more. He leaned forward on his desk and crossed his hands in front of his mouth before he spoke again after a pause. “How about you stay for a month and if you don’t feel at home, you can leave with no questions from me?” I opened my mouth to reply no once more before I paused.

          I could leave whenever I wanted and only had to stay for a month. I looked up at the Hokage and realized I trusted him. Before I knew what I was doing I had nodded and shook hands with the older man before me to seal the deal. He smiled as he sat back in his chair, looking at me with kind eyes.

          “Alright then. Iruka,” He suddenly shouted making me flinch in fear. A man suddenly appeared beside my chair and smiled up at the Hokage.

          “Yes my lord,” he said in an even voice as he looked at the man in white.

          “Take my young friend Kanna here to get a change of clothes while I think of what squad leader to put her under,” he says before turning his gaze to me. “He will help you put on something clean while I decide which ninja squad you will join.” As I rise to follow the man Iruka out of the door, the Hokage called me back. He smiled as I turned to look at him. “Welcome to the Leaf Village Kanna,” he says as I disappear out the door behind the man with the spiky ponytail.

          Third Person Perspective

                Lord Hokage’s office

          He sighed as he leaned back in his chair, staring at the ceiling and wondering if the child was alright. He could see her fear the moment she walked into his office. Heck, he could feel it in the air as she tried to get out of the stupid, oblivious ninjas grasp. He slide his hand down his face and tugged at his beard thinking on which genin team the small child would best fit in. he thought of Asuma then changed his mind thinking the man’s bland gaze would scare the child more than help her.

          His thoughts turned to Kurenai, the women sensei currently training three genin of her own. He sighed again and shook his head at the thought of her. Her red eyes were intimidating and the child needed someone who would see her fear and help her fight through it. He smiled as he thought of a silver-haired ninja. Perfect, he thought and sat back with a smile on his face. The jonin would see the child’s fear and with his kind nature that he rarely showed would come out and he would protect her. He smiled at the thought of how annoyed Kakashi would see the new student as until he realized how fearful she was of the people around her.

          He quickly sent out a messenger bird and it was only a few minutes later when the jonin he had just been thinking of appeared in his office in a puff of smoke.

          “Hokage,” he said by way of greeting as he stood with one hand in his pocket looking at him. He held back his laughter as he looked at the silver haired jonin that was wearing his signature black mask and had his headband tilted to the side to hide one of his eyes.

          “Kakashi,” he replied crossing his hands in front of his mouth and staring at the jonin. “I need you to do something for me.” The jonin raised an eyebrow as he looked at me and gave me his full attention. “A new child has arrived in the village. By the look of her sizes she is about ten, but short for her age. She has nowhere to go yet where ever she came from taught her excellent ninja skills to where my ninja guarding the gate was unable to sense her, but had to physically see her as she was about to enter the village. I need you to take this girl into your genin squad.”

          Kakashi sighs as he turns his gaze to the Hokage. “Hokage I already have three genin who already don’t really get along. I don’t need nor want another troublesome one,” he says. The Hokage nods, understanding his jonin’s perspective.

          “I made a promise to her that if she didn’t like life here for a month, then she could leave the village without a questioning word from me. Train her until then Kakashi,” he said has he heard a light knock on his door. He called for them to enter just as he whispered, “You might change your mind once you see her.” Kakashi gives his Hokage a suspicious look before they both look at the door to see Iruka open it a crack then all the way as he steps in

          “Kakashi is the one you chose,” Iruka asks as he comes in. the Hokage nods as Iruka turns and looks sadly out the door. “A Moment,” he tells them before he goes back outside the door. It is minutes later before he returns with one hand behind his back. Kakashi raises an eyebrow as he stares at Iruka questioningly, yet the man with a scar across his nose looks over his shoulder and smiles at the child behind him that his hidden from Kakashi’s view. “It’s alright. He won’t hurt you,” Iruka says.

          It takes about a minute and a half before a ten year old girl peeks out from behind Iruka with one eye visible. Kakashi can see her sky blue hair as it is in two long braids that still reach past her waist. His visible eye widens as he sees the terrified look in her glacier blue eyes. He glances at the Hokage who nods then turns his gaze back to the small child hiding behind the chunin. He slowly walks forward and kneels by the side of Iruka. The child quickly had hide back behind the taller man as soon as he had moved.

          “What’s your name,” Kakashi asks in a gentle voice. It takes several heartbeats before a small voice answers him.

          “Kanna Usami,” she replies, peeking around Iruka once more. He gives her a kind smile while in his mind he thinks that’s not the girl’s name. He didn’t know how he knew that it wasn’t her name, but he just did. He stuffed the thought down to examine later as he opened his eye to look back at her.

          “Well Kanna, Lord Hokage has told me I am to be your sensei for your trial month to see if you’re staying in our village. Is that all right with you,” he asks as he looks at her. She simply stares at him for so long he thought that the scared child would reject him. Finally he can see her give a small nod which makes him give her another closed eyed-smile. The Hokage meanwhile thinks that Kakashi Hatake was the right choice for the small child. He smiles as he sees her give Kakashi a nod and the man straightens to his full height before he nods to the Hokage then Iruka as he leaves out the door. He is halfway down the stairs before he pauses and turns back around to see the child is still in the Hokage’s office, clinging to Iruka’s hand.

          She flinches as Kakashi appears back in the doorway and looks down at her. Finally he kneels once more and holds out his hand in a kind gesture. “I promise I won’t let anything bad happen to you as long as you’re with me or in the Leaf Village. If I can’t keep my promise then you can hate me and never trust me again for as long as I live. How’s that for a promise,” he asks as he gives her a closed eye smile. The child in question looks up at Iruka as he nods encouragingly.

          The small ten year old girl gently puts her hand in Kakashi’s and he gently closes it in both of his, giving it a gently squeeze before he straightens up and stands. He gives Iruka and the Hokage a wave with his free hand before he leads the small girl out of the Hokage tower and back to the Ninja academy where he had been heading before. She follows him silently, not saying a word as they walk. As he reaches for the door he pauses and looks at her from the corner of his eye.

          The child was wearing a dark green dress that flowed to her ankles and kept her blue ninja sandals visible. Around her mid-section was a matching dark blue belt that went with her ninja sandals and on her left side it held a weapon pouch. The girl tilts her head slightly as she looks at the door then up at him just as he goes to slide it open.

          “Don’t open it,” She says in a small voice. He raises an eyebrow as he opens it and sticks his head inside only to be hit on the head by an eraser. He looks at his three genin inside as the blonde in the bright orange jacket and pants bursts out laughing and pointing at him.

          “I got him! He totally fell for it,” he says obnoxiously.

    “I’m sorry sensei, I told him not to do it, but he wouldn’t listen. I’d never do anything like that,” the pink haired girl says with her hands under her chin as she looks at him. The blue-haired boy says nothing, but blinks down at the desk in front of him. Kakashi himself says nothing as he bends down to pick up the eraser thinking that next time the child said not to do something, he would pay more attention.

    He leaves the child outside as he straightens and looks at the three genin inside. He puts his hand under his chin as he says, “Hmm how can I put this? My first impression of this group… your a bunch of idiots.” They deadpan as they feel guilty for the stunt that Kakashi had assumed the blonde had pulled. The silver haired Jonin stares at the three of them before he motions for them to follow him out the door. He once again takes the child’s hand and leads them all to the roof and he lets go of it as he leans against the railing and watches as the four ninja take a seat in front of him on the steps.

    “Alright, why don’t you all introduce yourselves, one at a time,” he says looking mainly at the three genin, but keeping a close eye on the blue-haired girl sitting not so subtly as far from the blonde boy as she can get without trying to look like she’s running. She holds her backpack in her hands as she looks down at it in her lap.

    “Introduce ourselves? Well, what are we supposed to say,” the pink-haired girl asks. He glances back at her looking at her red dress that has a zipper down the front then curves to the side.

    “Things you like... things you hate… dreams for the future…hobbies, things like that,” he says crossing and uncrossing his arms as he says it slowly as if she was deaf... or stupid.

    “Why not tell us stuff first? I mean, before we talk tell us about you so we can see how it’s supposed to work,” the blonde boy says making Kakashi look at him. He was wearing orange and blue Jacket and pants that just screamed ‘kill me first.’

    Kakashi points to himself and says, “Me,” in a questioning voice. Then he continues saying, “I’m Kakashi Hatake. Things I like and things I hate… I don’t feel like telling you that,” he says in a bland tone. The pink girl and blonde boy both say ‘huh?’ and look at Kakashi in confusion. “My dreams for the future... never really thought about it. As for my hobbies… I have lots of hobbies.” He says looking up at the sky. The blonde and pick head look at each other frowning in annoyance.

    “That was totally useless. All he told us was his name,” the pink head says.

    “huhuh,” says the blonde in reply.

    “Ok your turn,” Kakashi says crossing his arms again. “You on the right, you first.”

    First Person Perspective

            Kanna

              I ignore the introductions as Sakura Haruno, Naruto Uzumaki, and Finally Sasuke Uchiha all give information about themselves. I stare up at the sky feeling Ren, the now blue furred cat and ordinary looking feline purrs without making a sound inside my backpack. I think about Grandmother, the old women who sealed away my memories as I look up at the blue sky that reminds me of her gentleness.

    “I can’t take it anymore! I look at him and I know he did it! I know he killed my uncle, my family! Please Grandmother, please….. Get rid of my fear,” I say as I get down on my knees in front of her. She looks down at me fearfully before she walks away and starts examining her kunai, making sure each one is sharp and perfect.

    “You know I cannot. I already do not like the Akatsuki, except for you and it would do you good to kill that man,” she replies in a quiet voice, but I can feel and hear her uncertainty. I stand up and move behind her, resting a hand softly on her back.

    “I’m only five, Grandmother. I may sound like I’m older but I’m not. I am not strong and he would kill me like he tried to do back at my clan’s home. Please…. I beg of you…” I felt her shoulders slump as she turned around to look at me.

    “Alright child,” she says as her green eyes gaze into my blue. “I will help you, but you must promise me that you will only fight for your heart once I let it free,” she says seriously. I nod once as she raises her hands into an unknown hand sign and the process began…

    I suddenly stiffen, getting jarred from my own thoughts as I feel people staring at me. Slowly I blink and turn my head to see four pairs of eyes looking at me. I swallow my fear as my heartbeat accelerates quickly as my gaze travels to each person in turn. “Yes,” I say in a small voice. The blonde’s eyes widen before he blushes and looks away.

    “It’s your turn,” the pink-haired girl says as she flicks an annoyed look at the blonde called Naruto.

    “Oh… My name is Kanna Usami… I just moved here so I don’t really have any likes, hates, or hobbies… my dreams for the future… to pay back a promise I made a long time ago,” I finish, thinking of the necklace I have hidden under my dress. My eyes flick to the blonde as he suddenly leans toward me, eyes wide.

    “You just moved here!? So that means you don’t have any friends,” he exclaims staring at me. I feel my fear being to grow as he looks at me with large blue eyes.

    “That’s right… you probably don’t have friends, but why did you move here then,” the pink head girl, Sakura, says looking at me closely as well. I swallow hard, feeling my terror grow stronger as they both look at me with blue and green eyes. I think about leaping away and running like the rabbit one of the Akatsuki had once called me as I had always jumped in fear the last year or so of my time with them.

    “Leave her alone,” Kakashi and Sasuke both shout out at the same time with Sasuke continuing on in an annoyed voice. “She’s scared enough without the two of you trying to terrify her even more. Back off.”

    The two both stare at Sasuke before Kakashi speaks up. “He’s right. She’s your teammate now, but she barely knows us or the leaf village. Give her a chance to get to know all of us and maybe if you all get along, she might give us an insight on her past.” Naruto and Sakura stare at each other before looking down at their feet guiltily. I blink and look up at Kakashi as he speaks again.

    “Good, your each unique and you have your own ideas. You’ll have your first mission tomorrow.”

    Naruto sits up and salutes as he looks at Kakashi in a closed eyed smile and says, “yuuup, what kind of mission are we going to have?”

    “It’s a task that the five of us will do together,” he replies.

    “What, what, what, whaaat!?!?”

    “A survival exercise.”

    “Huh? Survival exercise?”

    “I thought we were supposed to have a real mission, not more practice,” Sakura speaks up. “We already did this stuff at the academy. That’s how we got here.”

    “This is not like your previous training,” Kakashi says.

    “So uhh... so uhh what kind of training is it then,” Naruto asks. I look up at Kakashi, wondering the exact same thing. Kakashi suddenly chuckles to himself, his body shaking as he laughs.

    “Hey hold on. That’s a normal question. What’s so funny,” Sakura says with her arms on her legs while Sasuke stares straight ahead with his hands interlinked in front of him.

    Kakashi laughs again as he says, “Well if I tell you the Answer, you’re not going to like it.”

    “Huh,” Naruto says confused.

    “Of the 27 graduates that just came here, only three teams will be accepted as genin. The other 18 will be weeded out and sent back to the academy. In other words, this is a make it or break it pass fail test and the chances are that you will at least fail is 66%.” Naruto and Sakura give him shocked looks as Sasuke and I simply look at him. “See? Didn’t I tell you, you wouldn’t like it?”

    “That’s crazy, we worked hard to get here, believe it,” Naruto shouts. I look at him and tilt my head in confusion. How many times had he said Believe it today?  “What was that Graduation test for anyway?!”

    “Oh that, that was to select candidates that might become genin… or not.”

    “Whaaat?!?!”

    “That’s how it is. I decide whether you pass or fail. Be at the designated training spot at five am and bring your ninja gear.” The three ninja seem to all put on a determined face at Kakashi’s words. “That’s it. You’re dismissed… oh you better skip breakfast tomorrow or... you’ll puke.” The four ninja give him a serious look as he disappears in a puff of smoke.

    First person perspective

            <

    7 years prior

    Third Person Perspective

            Child

    The small girl with blue hair that flowed to the back of her knees, moved farther back in the closet, her eyes shut tight as her fingers curled in her straight hair while her knees were drawn up close against her chest as she shook with fear. Her uncle had commanded her to hide as the screams were becoming louder as well as fewer as the monster drew closer towards her father’s home. Her uncle promised she would be alright as long as she stayed hidden and didn’t come out until he, or another adult, had commanded her too.

          The child flinches as she hears the front door of her precious uncles home slam open and she can make out the slow footsteps as they enter his home. She opens an eye a crack as her uncle stands in front of the closet she had been told to hide in, brandishing a kunai knife in his right hand. She can’t make out the shadow as her uncle lunges toward it. In seconds he is cut down and he collapses backward, his blood spraying out. She holds in her gasp as some makes it through the crack in the door and splashes across her cheek. Her eyes widen in horror as her trembling grows stronger; she stares at the black shadow standing over her now dead uncle.

          She sits trembling terribly until the monster she cannot make out in the darkness walk away and back out the front door, closing it softly behind him as he exits. She waits still as she hears fewer screams coming from the villagers in her home. She wipes the tears out of her glacier blue eyes and crawls from the closet easily because of her small three year old size. She was smart for a three year old as well as very intelligent. She knew not to make a sound as she stood on her small bare feet. Her eyes stared at her uncle for a moment before she leaned down and closed his eyes sadly.

          She turned her back and walked on silent feet as any ninja would and made her way to her room that her uncle kept for her in his home. Silent still, she grabbed her backpack and stuffed two changes of clothes in it as well as her ninja sandals and a small weapon pouch that her aunt had made just in case she would need it before she was able to go to the ninja academy. She grabbed a mask and a hat, stuffing them down into the backpack as well. Tiny hands grabbed onto the bed as the small child pulled herself up onto it and quietly moved her hands along the wall her bed was pressed against.

          Finally her fingers slide over a very small crack and she presses her fingers against it, making the hidden door open under her touch. The small hands reach in and pull out food as well as water to sustain her for a while, until she can escape the monster that was killing all the people in her home. As silent as possible, she closes the door, making it disappear as if it wasn’t there, and she climbs off her bed and puts the precious items inside her bag before zipping it up.

          Quietly she pulls on socks out of a drawer and puts them on before sliding into her boots that were for traveling as well as keeping her feet warm as her uncle had explained on a number of occasions. The small girl swallows, pushes back the memories, and was about to sling the backpack onto her shoulders when a small figure slides out from under her bed, its five tails waving in the air quietly in a greeting to the child. Small hands picks up the strange cat and places it inside the backpack as well before she zips it almost close, but keeps it open just enough for the cat to get air.

    The child slides the backpack onto her small shoulders before moving quietly, even in her heavy boots, down the stairs and too the front door. Gently, as to not make noise, the child sets her backpack down and reaches up for the doorknob. Her hands barely scrap the underside of it as she stands on tip toe to try and open the door. She pauses for a moment before trying again just when she feels a dark presence at her back. She feels the monster she had been hiding from move closer, his legs against her back as she rocks back down on to her feet.

    Her breathing picks up fearfully as the monster she feared stood behind her silently. Her heart pounds as the monster goes down onto one knee and leans close to whisper into her ear. She feels his hot breath against her skin as he quietly whispers, “Found you,” in a bland voice. She opens her mouth to cry out, only for it to be cut off as she feels a sharp pain in her mid-section. Her eyes widen as she stares at the door, her only escape to freedom.

    Slowly, she looks down at her stomach to see a kunai knife all the way through her small body as the hand belonging to the monster and now killer, presses against her back to hold it in place as well as hold her small body up, for her legs can no longer do so.

    “You can never run from me, no matter how hard you try,” the monster whispers in her ear as he finally lets go of the kunai. Her knees cave out from under her as she falls forward onto them and then collapses down completely onto the floor. She can say nothing nor make any sound as the knife slides back the way it a come slightly as her chest lays against the floor. Her eyes are wide as the monster walks away on silent feet, the vibrations the floor makes as he leaves the only way she knows he is leaving her to bleed out.

          She breathes quickly as she lies there, struggling to pull enough air into her chest. She wants to cry as she realizes she had failed her uncle in staying alive to fight another day. She stares at nothing, her blue eyes wide as she breathes in and out painfully, the kunai knife slowly sliding back out of her body as she breathes to get air. She can just make out the edge of her backpack as the cat creature sticks its head out and looks at her. Slowly it climbs out of her bag and walks over to her.

          It makes no sound as it presses a paw against her face gently in its own show of affection. The child feels its purr rumbling through its paw yet there is no sound in the still house except her labored breathing. The cat licks her cheek once before reaching up and yanking the kunai out the rest of the way, making the dying child catch her breath for a moment before continuing to breath hard, struggling to survive.

          The cat walks over to the backpack, taping it with a paw twice. It instantly shrinks to a size where the cat slides it over her neck and wears it like the collar that is already around its neck. Silently, it grabs the child she cares for dress hem and starts dragging her backward towards the back door. Even though the child’s eyes are open, all she can see is darkness as the cat drags her out the back door and towards the forest.

          The cat wanted the child to survive. She did not know if the child could, but she would try to help this girl that had saved her from death. She continues dragging the child as her own body grows weaker. Finally unable to drag the child any farther, she drops down beside the small girl and puts a paw on her cheek, purring freely as tears fall and leak into her fur as she feels the girl losing the fight to survive. She can’t help feeling helpless as the child’s breath grows weaker and less labored as her body grows colder. She silently keeps her paw on the child’s face and purrs as loud as possible, wanting desperately for someone to save this child that is so very precious to her. Survive, she thinks as the tears splash onto the dirt beneath her. Survive for me.

          Three days later: Kakashi Hatake

                First Person Perspective

          I can’t help sighing and looking sadly at my friend’s precious home being destroyed. I push my ANBU mask up and slide my hand down my face letting out another tired sigh. Bodies are everywhere in the Uchiha clan village, all dead and rotting, even after we had started to clean up and bury them two days ago. All of them are dead except for one small child called Sasuke.

          I start to walk forward, opening the door I had been avoiding for a while now sense it was my job to get the bodies out of the homes.it had only been my second year as an ANBU and I was slightly feeling bad about it as we all struggled to figure out why Itachi Uchiha had killed all of the Uchiha clan three days prior of today. I shake my head and tell myself to forget about it for now as I step inside and onto a pile of blood. I pause and crouch down slowly following the smear marks of the blood as they disappear around a corner.

          “Maybe all isn’t lost,” I think as I straighten and pick up a bloody kunai just in case and I follow the blood trail around the corner. My eyes widen as I see an open door gently banging against the wall as it is unable to close due to the top lock being out. I silently move to the door and out it, seeing paw marks as well as the blood trail continuing out into the forest. I glance over my shoulder in wonder as I see dried paw marks are two on the floor. “Taji! I think someone needs help,” I call as I move out into the open, the sun up in the sky. Taji appears by my side, her mask in place as I move my own back in place.

          “What’s wrong,” she asks in a curious voice until she looks down and follows the blood trail with her eyes. She kneels down and gently touches the blood first in the drag marks then on the paw prints. She shakes her head as she moves to being on the balls of her feet and looks up at me. “She bloods cold Kakashi. And depending how much is already out here and I’m betting there is more inside, there is no way whoever this belongs is alive.”

          I shake my head as I move into the trees following the drag marks and the paw prints as they go deeper into the forest. “I know who ever it is, is alive,” I say out loud as I glance at the bloody kunai in my hand. Itachi must have tried to kill someone and thinking they were dead, had left, and only had some small animal as company as they dragged themselves away and into the forest to live. I swallow and continue on when suddenly a black cat with five long tails leaps out from the bushes ahead of me and hisses, arching its back up warningly with its lips pulled back to expose sharp teeth. Its black, bottomless eyes glare at me as I stand still and look back at the small animal

          Taji glances down at the paw prints then at the cat before she looks at me. I can tell she had come to the same conclusion that I have. We both know that the cat is protecting something and we both think it is another surviving member of the Uchiha clan. “I slowly kneel down until I’m on the balls of my feet and speak slowly as my gaze is locked with the cat’s. “I won’t hurt them. I promise. I just want to make sure they are alright,” I whisper and receive a look from Taji from within her mask as she stands still. I know I must sound like a lunatic taking to a cat, but for some reason, I know it can understand me.

          “Taji here will heal them and I can protect them. I promise you we will not hurt anyone that you are protecting.” The cat had slowly let its fur lay flat as I talked and it had slowly turned from black to white before my eyes. I watched as its black eyes turned to a light purple color with no pupils as its tails flicked back and forth as if the creature was uncertain. I don’t move as it seems to think my proposition over.

          After what seems like hours instead of seconds, the cat turns its back and leaps back into the bushes it had jumped out of. I straightened and followed with Taji on my heels as we walk through the bushes to see a small girl in a muddy dress and boots lying face down on the ground. Her face is turned towards us and I can see her eyes are closed as her long blue locks cover part of her face as she lays still.

          The cat walks over to her and sits by her head, giving me a suspicious look as I walk towards the small child. The girl looks about three or four as she lays there on the ground. Taji, seeing her potential patient, rushes past me, crouches on the balls of her feet besides the child and reaches out slowly to touch her. I can see her shoulders slump as if she sees what I am thinking. The child had lost too much blood to still be alive if the blood stain on her back is any indication to where the blood has come from.

          She reaches out gently and brushes some of the child’s long her back from her face and behind her ear as she lets out a sigh. I look at the grass in sadness as I realize that Sasuke is the only Uchiha left. Taji suddenly gasps and my eyes flash to her as I see the small child has her hand griping the ANBU ninja’s wrist in a vise like grip. Her eyes flash open and her ice blue eyes look at Taji and widen in fear as her small grip tightens.

          “Don’t kill me,” she child whispers so softly I can barely hear her from where I’m standing. I rush to Taji’s side and kneel beside her on one knee, unsure of what to do as my gaze travels quickly from the girl to her and back again. Her eyes flash to me and they widen until I can see the whites of her eyes. “Move,” she commands in a small voice just as I feel something being flung toward me. I grab Taji and jump out of the way just was something explodes just where we had been crouched beside the girl. Taji coughs as the smoke clears and a man in a black cloak with red clouds on it gently bends down and picks the girl up as well as a backpack I hadn’t seen was behind the girl.

          The cat that was beside the girl is nowhere to be seen as the man turns to us with a smile, part of his blonde hair covering one of his eyes. “Thank you for finding our little toy while she was hidden. We couldn’t find her anywhere hm. See you,” the man says with a smile and jumps up just as a white bird flies under him and lifts him up into the sky. I release my hold on Taji as we both watch the man take the girl away into the sky, wondering what would possibly become of the known Uchiha child.

    Third person Perspective

                Several hours later with Deidara

          The blonde man and his flying clay bird, gently land on the ground outside their hideout. He walks towards the entrance, the small child held like a ball in one arm and her now normal sized backpack slung over his other shoulder as he strolled causally forward alone. He glanced down to see her long hair was dragging across the ground in the dirt, yet never seeming to catch any of the filth into her light blue locks. Shrugging his shoulder uncaringly, he continues on as a man with long black hair down his back appears in front of him with a sadistic smirk on his face as he looks from the blonde to the child in his grip.

          “Yes,” the blonde man asks, smiling back at the dark-haired man. The man’s smirk turns into a hungry smile as the sun reflects off his pale skin and his snake colored yellow eyes flick back to the girl then back to his face.

          “Oh nothing, Deidara. Just simply wondering what you have there,” the pale man says his eyes once more going to the blue-haired girl. Deidara sniffs with annoyance, feeling unnoticed, before pushing past him and continuing on inside.

          “Nothing really. Something the boss had noticed and thought was interesting for me to go and pick up,” he replies and moves inside. The black-haired man chuckled softly as he followed his blonde companion inside, wondering just what exactly the “boss” wanted with a small, blue-haired child.

I remembered there had been fourteen of them not including myself. Where were the others that were a part of the original pack? Suddenly on the far side of the clearing in the opposite direction of the river walked in four wolves. They all looked slightly familiar like the other ten that I knew belonged here did. The last wolf to walk in had his head low to the ground, his nose almost touching the grass, yet he was the biggest, except for the wolf in the lead who was of equal height, and oldest looking of all of them. He dropped a rabbit on to a pile of food that was in a different position than I remembered. His nose twitched as if catching a scent and he closed his eyes razing his nose to the sky and it slowly dropped to level with me as he opened his eyes and his gaze met mine. My heart started to beat faster and longing went through my body from the tips of my ears to the tips of my toes. I knew that wolf as I knew the fur on my own pelt. I knew the snow white fur and the beautiful green eyes that could spark with anger or kindness at a moments notice. I suddenly could remember everyone that was semi familiar in the clearing.

          The name, his name, Whitefang went through me and I knew instantly that was him; the wolf I loved and called my mate. My tail wagged of its own accord as our gazes stayed locked together. “Blue,” the wolf shouted and charged at me. His body rammed into mine and I tumbled on to the ground with his tongue licking frantically over my muzzle. I felt all the others freeze as he licked and nuzzled into me and I returned his welcome as fearfully as he did. After a moment, he slid off me and sat as I stood to see everyone looking at me with surprise in their eyes.

          “Blue? is that really you,” Healing whispered stepping forward. I wagged joyously as I remembered everyone like I had before I had been taken by the dogs a full moon cycle and then a few moon rises ago. I nodded at Healing and she cried out with joy, pressing against my fur lovingly. I looked at the other familiar faces as they watched with awe. Earheart and Prettyeye came up to me next after Healing’s outburst laughing and smiling like usual, but with tears flowing down their cheeks. Then Teeth and Toes came wagging their tails and happy to see I was back with them. Happytail and Whitespots approached and licked me gently and whispered their joy to see me back home with their own eyes full of unshed tears. Paws and Paw came and even Fightingfeet came up and touched my nose and whispered his thanks to the Wolfyas for helping me come home, trying to fight off his own tears. A pup that was a lot bigger than the last time I saw it, hurled itself at me and licked me over with joy. Face, the pup that no long seemed to be one, then trotted over to Earheart and Prettyeye to sit between them.

          I then looked at the two wolves that would really make me feel like I was truly home. I sat staring at my brothers, waiting patiently. Finally Brownstripe ran to press his body against mine, whispering his love to me as unchecked tears slide down his cheeks on to mine as my own eyes filled. After he moved aside, Swiftfeet walked forward to see me his eyes bright with love and tears. “I am glad your home sister,” he whispered in my ear as he rubbed his cheek against mine making my tears spill over. He pulled away and looked in my eyes and I knew he had forgiven Whitefang and me for being mates and knew all he had wanted to do was protect me from what he had seen as a threat. I butted my head against his chest to let him know he was also forgiven and he stood to the side to say with a sweep of his tail, “These three wolves that did not walk forward because they don’t know that you are pack leader sister. Come Water, Rain and Snow.” I looked at the three unfamiliar wolves as they stepped forward. They nodded respectfully then stood still as I looked them over with an examining gaze of curiosity.

          Water was a blue wolf with shiny blue eyes. They did look like fresh water from the stream that was at our backs. Next was the gray wolf with black spots on his pelt called Rain. He was an Eyereke and had gray and blue eyes and was missing the very tips of his ears. Lastly there was Snow with her white pelt and amber eyes that glowed with wonder back into mine. I knew why two normal wolves had stayed with an Eyereke because my brothers had done the same for me. They were a family and were sticking together when their brother needed his sisters most. I smiled kindly and bowed my head respectfully, showing my own respect for the family. They smiled and gave a wag of their tails to see they appreciated my gesture and walked to sit with the others. Rain, about to sit beside his sister Snow, suddenly stopped and sniffed the air. I knew immediately that he had caught the scent of the dogs crouching behind me.

           The wolves felt his hostility and as a unit, growled themselves, glaring in the direction of the dogs crouching in the bushes. Rain leaped towards the bushes but I leaped in his path and knocked him out of the way. “Stop it. The dogs are friendly,” I said getting between Rain and my adopted pack.

          “Dogs,” Rain asked, his lips still curled away from his teeth, but with a paw against his shoulder from Brownstripe, he relaxed just enough to quiet his growling. Just as he opened his mouth to voice another challenge, the group of dogs stepped from out behind the bushes and the pack gasped in astonishment. The thirty-five dogs stood behind me, some holding their tails high, others with their ears back and tails between their legs in fear. Even though there were more of them, they didn’t want to see how good wolves could fight when outnumbered. The pack looked at them mouths wide open, staring in complete surprise at what stood before them.

          “Yes, dogs Rain. They kidnapped me and took me away from my home. At first I fought knowing I had a pack to lead but soon I realized they needed my help more than my pack needed me at that moment. They needed me to help them win a race in a place called Alaska. They trained me and turned me into a wolf fit enough for the race. I ran in it and we won. Unfortunately a man attacked their owner and killed him.” I paused running my paw over my collar and medal feelings of Matt wanting to invade my mind, but I shoved them aside to focus on my wolves. “In revenge, we killed him as well and his dogs. Then we came back here to where I belong and where they hope to. Every one of them deserves to join the pack and be here like the rest of us. They are just like Eyerekes trying to prove themselves in a world that wants to deny them. They can and will if given the chance. I’ve seen what they can do and know that they can belong here like any wolf given the chance.” I said all of it holding my head high in front of the pack I once knew like my own name and still did, partly at least. They looked at me and at each other uncertain of what to do.

          Finally, Whitefang stepped forward and hesitantly sniffed the closest dog to me, which gratefully was Small. Small sniffed him back politely in return and soon, they were both wagging tails in greeting. Others from the pack and the dog’s sled team stepped forward to sniff each other. I relaxed as the wolves and dogs got acquainted with each other with little argument. But one wolf caught my eye especially as she spoke kindly to Giant: Whitespots. I tilted my head as my eyes narrowed and really looked at her. Her scent was the same but oddly different, yet familiar from past experience. Suddenly, I knew what the difference was. Brownstripe’s scent was on her fur and also something more that I had smelled on my mother and Black’s mother. She had pups coming! I stared at her swollen belly in astonishment and looked at Brownstripe as he was giving Blood a good sniff and the bigger wolf sniffed him in return. I laughed at the surprise and could feel a shadow falling over me. I looked up from my wolf watching and turned my head to collide my nose with Whitefang’s.

          He snorted and shook his head smiling down at me. I smiled back and touched my nose to his, this time gently. “What are you doing,” he asked flicking his ear toward Whitespots as Giant smiled at what she said.

          “She’s bearing pups,” I stated more than asked. He nodded looking over at her again thoughtfully, his eyes full of wonder. I looked at her to and whispered, “More for the pack.” He smiled nudging my flank gently. I looked at him seeing the same love I remembered shining in his eyes for me stronger than before. I smiled nuzzling against his neck fur and he licked my ear softly in return. He wanted pups. I saw it in the way he looked so thoughtfully at Whitespots. He wanted a family. My gaze slowly traveled over to Blood. He was talking to Healing and was nodding at everything she was telling him. Suddenly his eyes flicked to mine and he smiled. I smiled back and looked away. He wanted the same thing. I sighed pressing my body against Whitefang, trying to taken in is warm to ward of the sudden chill I was getting.

          He licked my ear then padded away to talk to Small and taking his warmth with him. Why did everyone want what I couldn’t or didn’t feel I could provide? I turned slowly, head down, and walked slowly away from the merging pack. What could I do? I could not have all of them as my mate. I sighed and with a heavy heart continued walking on and on, my mind swirling with images of all of the dogs and wolves that wanted me to be their mate: Blood, Kill, Chocolate and Whitefang. I looked up as my paws touched water and gravel and realized I was at the lake. Suddenly my senses came back to me and I could feel the wind moving my fur and smell the water as it was lapping at my paws. I sniffed and could also smell the scents the wind brought to my nose.

          I sighed and sat down feeling the water lap over my fur. I couldn’t help them get what they desired. I was pack leader for Wolfyas sake and needed to care for my pack before I got tangled in things like that. I stared up at the sky, feeling the sun on my pelt. Wolfyas, what was I supposed to do? Unexpectedly I heard voices whispering quietly in my ears. I looked around but saw no one around me. I stranded my ears but the voices stayed just out of reach and never rose in volume. I heard the mumbles but I couldn’t catch what was being said. Without warning when I tried to rise, my body wouldn’t respond to me. Of my body’s own accord, it lay down in the water and my eyes closed without me asking them too. I couldn’t fight the force that took over my body and forced me to sleep without my consent.