Tale of the Nine-Tailed Ninja

The Village Hidden in the Leaves

"Oh, come on, Veske. Let the kid pass. She's obviously not a threat," the second guard argued. I smiled gratefully at him. I tried to look exhausted and it worked.

"Well, alright then," the first one answered hesitantly. "I'll let her go but I still want to know what that symbol is. I've never seen the likes of it before."

"Oh. It's the s-symbol of the nine – nine-tailed f-fox because it – it healed really quickly. My – my dad wants me t-to heal really quickly too." This girl's dad fought the nine-tailed fox? the second wondered.

"Who's your dad?" he asked, curiosity getting the best of him.

"I thought you said to stop giving her a hard time, Chiruaya," Veske intervened. Chiruaya blushed and nodded. "Go on through, kid. And tell your dad that we didn't mean to give you a hard time."

"O – Okay," I stuttered as I hobbled into the village. I kept up my act until I was well away from the gate. Then I stretched, my muscles having cramped leaning on the staff. I sighed and looked around. I was in the shopping section of town. In truth, it was the first time since I had gone to such a place. I never had any money so I usually didn't bother with shops, but now my curiosity was getting the best of me. I walked around, peeking at all the strange objects they were selling.

There were necklaces, ribbons, bracelets, ink, blank scrolls, and so much more. There were a ton of food venders but I didn't so much as look at those shops. I was always hungry and I knew the possibility of smelling one of the uncooked slabs of meat they had in the back was too much of a risk to take. I was getting better control over my transformation but it still depended heavily on the scent of fresh blood.

"Hey, you there," someone called to me after a few hours in the shopping plaza. I looked towards the source of the sound and was surprised to see Veske coming after me. It was too late to try and act weak now. I placed my hand on top of my staff and waited for him to come to me. I knew there was something wrong with this girl, I heard him scold himself. I should've never let her in. "Feeling better already?"

"Don't play with me, Veske. Yes, you caught me. Now get on with it. What do you want?" He was shocked by the newfound strength in my voice.

"I want to now under which Kage you serve."

"I don't serve under any Kage. No village has ever taken me nor claimed me. I am a lone ninja. Not a rogue. Simply alone. I have no one to serve."

"So that act at the gate; that was so you could get in without a passport? Are you here for the Chuunin Exams?" Chuunin Exams? I wouldn't mind becoming a chuunin, I thought.

"Yeah. I was hoping to find a way in."

"Well, now I'm taking you to the Hokage."

"Whatever." He glared at me but said nothing as he led me through the village. I stopped suddenly, a strange scent catching my attention. It smelled like... It smelled like another nine-tailed fox! I immediately sent my mind searching for its conscious so that I might verify my belief. Instead, I couldn't find a single slip of a conscious. I growled in frustration and instead looked for a mind nearby to the one of my focus. I found one; whose name I soon discovered was Sasuke Uchiha.