A New Opportunity
Long ago, when the world was thrown into chaos, a new beast emerged from the fire. This beast wreaked destruction wherever it laid its eyes and to control the strength of the beast, a curse was placed. The beast was locked away from the world and the only way it could return was through the bond created with a host. For many, they thought the beast would be locked away forever so that their children's grandchildren would never have to face the wrath of the beast, but for the few, they knew that a wild beast can never be tamed forever.
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It was a late afternoon when they finally succumbed to their illness. There was a nasty plague spreading around the rural village. This plague had claimed the lives of most of the poor villagers. The only people that were left were either holding onto the last bit of life they had or were slowly weakening.
A young girl of nothing but seven years old sat in front of her parent's dull corpses. Her puffy (e/c) eyes didn't dare look away. Her lips quiver at the sight of her parents. She had also fallen ill, however, she had been recovering, unlike her family and the rest of the village.
Their last words to her were that God had given her another chance at life and to not throw it away in his name. She had laughed inwardly, never really believing in things like God and religion. Salty tears flow down her (s/t) cheeks, missing the warmth of her mother's hugs.
Soon night falls upon the eerie shack. The only thing she could hear was the crickets outside. She closes her eyes, letting her face sink into her knees when something wraps around her leg, slithering upwards. She glances down at the vibrant blue snake that had its crimson eyes glued onto her. She softly smiles as she pets the snake.
"At least I still have you, Aoi" she mumbles, and the snake slithers up her arm to wrap its body around her neck. He places his head down to rest on her shoulder, closing his eyes. She sadly sighs and closes her eyes once more, letting sleep overtake her body.
The burning sun was the only thing I could feel on my skin. It was another boring, summer day that was filled with chores. Sweat slides down my face, dripping onto the dirt as I sweep the leaves. Aoi stayed wrapped around my neck.
Mother had said that they had found him wrapped around me when I was a baby. She had told me how when father tried to pull him away from my body, Aoi had hissed and tried to bite him. At first, she was scared for my life, but she then understood that Aoi was just trying to protect me.
Since then Aoi had been with me through everything. Always wrapped around my neck making sure I didn't stray far away from my home. Making sure that I didn't get myself lost or in trouble. He was always looking out for me.
✦✧✦✧
He couldn't handle the stench of death as he walks into the broken shack. He brings his left palm to cover his nose, hoping it would somehow block out the smell of the rotting corpses. He cautiously walks into a moldy living room where two corpses lay beside each other. Insects covered every inch of their skeletal faces and he knew that if he were to remove the blankets covering the bottom half of the bodies, then he would see insects crawl all over.
He scans the room with his black eyes until he spots a small, frail body. The child had tangled, oily (h/c) hair and a baggy, grey kimono shirt with matching pants full of holes. He notices the way the child's thin frame made their bones protrude in a sickly manner. He slowly steps forward, trying not to frighten the child.
He stops when the child looks up at him with sunken eyes and lips bent downwards. Their (e/c) eyes devoid of any emotions. He notices a blue snake around their neck, staring at him warily. He crouches down to be at eye level with the child, "My name is Jiraiya, what's yours?"
"(Y/n)" the child weakly replies back and lifts a bony finger to point at the blue snake, "And this is Aoi, my friend."
He nods at her, "How long have they been dead for?"
"Four days" she mumbles, and her head drops down, but she pushes her head back up to look at the white-haired man.
Her head falls once again and she tries to keep it up, but her body falls forward and hits the cold wooden floor. She couldn't keep her eyes open. She had nothing to eat or drink for the past four days and her body was malnourished. The last thing she saw was the man picking up her body, carrying her away from her parents' corpses.
Jiraiya didn't care if the child in his arms gave him whatever illness was being spread around. He simply walks outside into the streets full of corpses. He was on a journey to write the next part of his novel when he had stumbled upon the rural village for a break.
He didn't know the situation they were in until he saw the corpses lined on the dirt path. He would have quickly left if he hadn't sensed a faint chakra source. He took pity on the child and so he decided to get her out of that situation. He slowly walks down the dirt path making his way to the nearest hospital.
He glances down at the snake still curled up around her neck, "Please don't bite me."
The snake flicks its tongue as if saying 'no promises' and Jiraiya sighs. He wasn't a fan of snakes because they reminded him of his old friend. He finally arrives in front of the familiar, large green gates. He really didn't want to come back so early to his home, but he had no other choice. The gates open at his announcement.
He ignores the questions about the girls and walks towards the hospital. Once he's in the hospital he explains the details of his founding's and a nurse lead him quickly to a quarantine section of the hospital. He lays the sleeping child on the bed and the nurses get to work with inserting an IV to nourish the child.
"She's heavily dehydrated and extremely frail, she might not make it in this state," one of them says and another nurse rests her hands on the child's chest. A green aura forms around the hands.
"Then try your best to save her life, I leave it to you both" Jiraiya states and a figure appears at the door. He wore a long red kimono with a white robe over it. He also wore a white and red hat, signaling his importance in the village.
"Why have you returned to Konohagakure?" the old man asks as he inhales from his smoking pipe.
"I came across this young girl in a village outside of here. I found her sitting next to the corpses of her parents," Jiraiya informs him and he crosses his arms over his chest with sadness, "She has nothing."
The old man takes a closer look at the girl. Her skin was so thin that her bones were heavily defined. If he had found her himself, he would have thought that she was a corpse. He takes in a drag from his smoking pipe, "Alert me when she awakens, for now, save her life."
✦✧✦✧
Bright rays of sunshine land on her eyelids causing her to open her eyes slowly. She glances around the room and her eyes widen. She was in an unfamiliar room. She brings her hand up to her neck to pet her friend, however, he wasn't there. She panics as she leans her body to the side to push herself up.
She sits in the bed, frantically looking around for the blue snake. She brings her hands to her eyes sobbing at the thought of losing him.
"Why are you crying?" a man's voice asks and she uncovers her eyes to look at the man. Jiraiya stood at the doorway with a cute, blue snake in his hand. He moves over to her bed and places the snake beside her.
She lets out a choked sob as she brings the snake up to her face feeling relieved that her friend was fine. Jiraiya smiles down at the girl, his heart touched by the sight. He knew what it felt like to lose someone close.
"She's awake?" a woman's voice says and (Y/n) glances at the nurse whose face expressed astonishment. Jiraiya nods and she brings her hands to her face, "I'll alert the Third Hokage."
She runs away into the halls, her shoes clacking. (Y/n) glances at Jiraiya with a questioning look and he smiles at her, "I had to get you to the nearest hospital, and it was here in Konoha. The Third Hokage wants to speak with you, most likely about your living arrangement here."
"Living arrangement?" she mumbles weakly, and he nods.
"You're going to be staying here and he's going to give you a new opportunity," he informs her, and an old man walks into the room. Her (e/c) eyes gaze at him cautiously. She brings Aoi closer to her small body.
The old man smiles down at her warmly, his face wrinkling even more, "I'm the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi. I'm aware of your current situation and I would like for you to stay here in the village. I'll arrange everything you need to live here."
"What would I do?" (Y/n) asks him shyly.
"You can join our ninja academy; you still have time before you can enroll. So, would you like to stay?" he kindly asks with his hands behind his back.
"Can Aoi stay too?" she asks him, and he smiles widely at her as if she had just said the cutest thing in the world.
"Yes, of course, he can."
✦✧✦✧
Jiraiya stood at the green gates with a (h/c) haired child standing behind him. It had been a week since she had started living in the village and she no longer looked like a corpse. She had grown a bit of fat around her body. She wore a simple graphic tee shirt with Konoha's symbol on it and shorts.
"Are you sure you have to go?" she asks the white-haired man and he pats her head.
"I have to go on a few missions before I can come back, so it might take a while. In the meantime, try your best to get along with the kids on the block. Don't scare them off with Aoi" he lectures her.
"Not my fault they made fun of his name!" she huffs with a pout and he ruffles her hair.
"I'll be going, take care," he says, and she gives him a small smile. His heart warms at the smile. He had only seen her smile at things like flowers and Aoi, so it was new for her to smile at him.
"Take care and bring me back chocolate," she says, and he ruffles her hair one last time.
Jiraiya crosses the gates and stands in the forest. He grips onto the bags he carries on his back, his lips trembling. He was trying so hard to hold back a sob. Tears escape his eyes as he walks through the door, leaving his foster daughter.
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Hope you guys enjoy the prologue! I have so many exciting ideas for this fanfic.
~toffy59