Beautiful Remains

chapter 5 - Ditch this place

"I am glad that you feel strong enough to risk death in order to prevent the death of so many. Its an encouraging thought. I wanted you stay here and train for a year on a squad as a ninja. I sense something is coming, and I want the extra protection of you in our village." He sounded honest as he looked at me with hope and wisdom.

Once again my mouth hangs open. Protect the village? From what?

The fact he had said he wanted me to protect his people was laughable, and I actually did laugh a little, earning a tightening on my wrist from Kakashi. I shake my head in disbelief.

"That is the first time anyone has asked me to protect anything let alone an entire village. Do you not see what a monster I am?" My voice tightens on the last line and instinctively my right hands grips the branding on my arm, covering the scars there.

He gives me a wiry smile. "Monster you say, all I see is a girl.'' He smiles at me kindly and I feel my self soften alittle. But I can't help protesting.

"Did you not see how I get around blood? I can't help it. I go crazy, and normally slaughter any who get in the way. There's no stopping me, I'm surprised he held me back alone!" I point towards Kakashi before continuing.

"I've killed some many people in my life, and you want me to protect people? I'm a monster, a demon." I turn my head away, spitting the awful words. It was not in my nature to hate myself, yet I did.

Most of my kind are stuck up, its in our genes I suppose, but not me. I hate myself, and I wish I could take back the deal from long ago.

"I believe everyone can turn over a new leaf, and that most who say they are demons are actually just very powerful people." He says softly, lifting my chin with a soft hand. He looked into my eyes and my will broke at the kindness there.

"What do I need to do?"

* * *

My eyes narrowed as I looked down from my vantage point on top of the face of a Hokage carved into a mountain. I was crouching on the nose of the second Hokage.

Beside me was a pile of books and a few scrolls. In my hand was a leather bound red book that was pretty thick. It was my homework. Which was easy because I never slept.

My race, we can sleep, but we can survive without it. Most of us slept in the day time. I couldn't sleep. I always ended up waking up in odd places screaming my head off. I went to bed in a locked room once, and woke up near dawn on top of the empire state building, leaned against the very top of it while the wind howled around me.

I had night terrors. I could never remember what I dreamed about, but the screaming... It left my throat raw and my voice a thin whisper.

The moon was full above me, illuminating the village brightly. Earlier I had noticed some boy cleaning the faces with what appeared to be a older ninja watching. There was paint all over the faces, mustaches and everything.

Class clown, I had thought.

My night vision allowed me the ability to read, and so far I was half way through The History Of Ninja and Their Ways. So far I had learned that there were actual demons with tails, one being the Kitsune from Japanese folk lore. It made me feel better that somewhere there were other people with real demons in them.

I had also learned that there were jutsu's. Taijutsu was the physical part. It was karate and martial arts basically. Its what Kakashi had beat me in. Then there was Ninjutsu and Genjutsu. Ninjutsu was the use of chakra to do what I had called magic.

The clone of Kakashi that had distracted me while I attempted to running was a Shadow Clone, a jutsu in Ninjutsu. Reading about it made my brain hurt, so I skimmed through it quickly. Genjutsu interested me though.