About

The moon’s soft rays pierced through breaks in the trees, giving light to those in need of it. A warm gentle breeze told of rains soon to come. Tall, dark clouds slowly formed over the seemingly peaceful forest. The only sound that could be heard was the faint rustling of leaves in the wind. Suddenly, an explosion shattered the calm night air.
“We’ve got her.” A man crouched high in a tree announced over his radio.
“Roger that.” Came the static filled reply. “We’re closing in on her now.”
Twenty yards away, a young girl lay sprawled across the leaf covered ground. A small crater showed where she had stepped on an explosive tag and had been thrown a great distance and onto the spot where she now appeared to be either unconscious or dead. Five men stepped out from various bushes and surrounded her, poised for attack. The leader of the group motioned one of his troops forward. The man cautiously stepped toward the girl. Just when he was close enough to touch, her skin began to melt away.
“What the hell?” the man exclaimed as the girl slowly dissipated. He turned toward his leader in confusion.
“It was a damn substitution jutsu!” he yelled, rage clearly written on his face. “Keep searching for her!” Nobody moved. “Well, what are you waiting for?” He glared at his troops who still remained unmoving. He was about to yell again when something stopped him. Their faces were deathly pale and blank, sightless eyes stared back at him. “Damn!” the leader mumbled as each of his men fell lifelessly to the ground. His eyes darted back and forth, looking for the source that killed the highly trained shinobi. Gazing downward, he noticed an object where the girl’s body had once been. It was a little wooden panda whose red marble eyes sparkled in the moonlight. The figure looked to be a small child’s toy but the exceedingly skilled shinobi knew better. Jumping back a few yards, he drew out a kunai and scanned the forest for the owner of this dangerous weapon. “I know you’re nearby!” he shouted. “Come on out and play!”
In the blink of an eye, a girl appeared, poised gracefully beside her panda. Long, silver hair shimmered like starlight in the zephyr. Her startling snow-white kimono seemed to illuminate the dark forest. Bright, icy blue eyes stared out from beneath a pure white mask. There was a long silence as each opponent waited for the other to attack. The girl glanced down at her rival’s leg as it tensed up to charge. It was only a millisecond later when he came rushing down upon her with surprising speed. She slowly lifted her left arm and extended it towards the wooden bear. She waited till he was about four feet away before bursting forth chakra strings from her hand to the little puppet by her side. Long, spindly arms shot out from the panda’s back and struck at the oncoming man. Predicting what would happen; he quickly threw himself away from the deadly arms and flung a kunai in the girl’s direction. She didn’t even flinch as it narrowly missed her face. The panda then opened its mouth, allowing hundreds of tiny poisonous needles to race towards its opponent.
“s**t!” the man mumbled, landing in the direct route of the lethal weapons. Knowing he didn’t have enough time to dart out of their path, he held up his arms for protection. He gritted his teeth as the needles hit their mark and pain seared through his body. Looking up, he saw that the girl was unscathed. “You little wench!” He began to walk forward when a piercing pain in his arms and legs made him cry out and fall to the ground.
“I wouldn’t move too much if I were you.” A voice as gentle as the wind spoke. “Those needles were dipped in a special poison that will slowly run through your bloodstream until it reaches your heart, and at that point you will be dead in a matter of seconds. The less you move, the slower it travels.” She walked closer to him and stood in front of his now convulsing body. He looked up at her with fear and hate. “If you wish to live you will do me one simple favor.” Crouching down, she lifted up his chin so that he was looking into her eyes. “Leave me at peace.”
The man glared at her. “Never wench!” He suddenly pulled out a concealed katana and jabbed it directly through the middle of her abdomen. The girl’s eyes widened in shock as blood spurted from her mouth and began to pour out of her wound. The man laughed wickedly. “That’ll teach you to mess with me and my men!” Wheezing, he drew out the weapon and dropped it on the ground beside him. His breathing became heavier and heavier until finally, it shuddered to a stop.
The girl clutched the bloody hole in her gut and slowly stood up. She began walking deeper into the woods, leaving the panda puppet and a trail of blood behind her. Soon, the trees gradually began to disperse until there were none at all. Noticing that the texture of the ground had changed, she looked down to discover that she was now traveling on sand. Wincing, she stumbled further into the desert. Dawn’s first light began to creep over the edge of the horizon. A vast rocky wall soon came into view. It grew larger and larger as she approached. “This must be Sunagakure.” She thought. “Finally.”
As she reached the gates, last night’s sentries woke from accidental slumbers and advanced towards her. Noticing that she was severely injured, they rushed to her just as she lost her footing and fell to the ground exhausted. One of them lifted her up and carried her into the village. She gazed up in wonder at the tall rocky buildings and slowly began to close her eyes.
“Hey now, don’t go to sleep!” the guard that was carrying her said. “If you do, you might not ever wake.” The girl moaned and forced her eyes open. “So, what’s your name?”
“K-Kazumei Kamura.” She managed to say before her vision went black.

“W-Where am I?” Kazumei thought, blinking at the bright light shining in her eyes. “Ohh my stomach!” Wincing slightly, she raised herself into a sitting position and took a look at her whereabouts. She immediately knew that she was in a hospital for the smell of antiseptics and sickness hit her like a wave. Glancing to her right, she saw an IV drip attached to her arm.
“Well look who’s awake!” A young doctor walked into the room and took her chart from the end of the bed. “Good morning Ms. Kamura, I’m glad to see you’re doing much better. You gave us all quite a scare yesterday! Anywho, I’m Dr. Chou. Would you mind telling me how you got into such a predicament?”
Kazumei cocked her head to the side and gave the doctor a curious look. “Where am I and who brought me here?” she asked.
“You are in the Sunagakure medical center and a young shinobi by the name of Kankuro brought you in.” Dr. Chou replied.
There was a moments silence as Kazumei made a mental note to thank her savior before heading on to another village. She looked up at the doctor who was curiously staring at her. “Am I allowed to leave?”
“Uh, sure, you’ll have to fill out some discharge forms first.” He then left to get the papers. Moments later, he came back and handed them to her. “Just give them to the front desk when you’re done. Your clothes are in a package over there. One of our nurses washed them and sewed up the hole. Oh, and one more thing, I’d suggest not doing much activity for the next three weeks or else your stitches might pop.”
“Thank you for helping me.” Kazumei bowed.
“Just doing my job.” Dr. Chou smiled and left, remembering to close the door so Kazumei could change. She waited a few minutes before jumping out of bed and quickly changing into her kimono. Also finding that her mask was with her clothing, she slipped that on as well. Glancing at the paper work, she quickly filled it out and rushed out the room. Before leaving, she dropped the forms on the front desk and headed out the double doors.
“Hello there.” Kazumei swiftly turned around and poised herself for attack. “Whoah, whoah, whoah! I’m not going to hurt you!” A young man of about seventeen walked up to her. He had on a large black jumpsuit and traditional Kabuki puppeteer markings ran along his face. A hood that reminded Kazumei of a cat was perched upon his head. “Hi, I’m Kankuro.”
“You’re the shinobi who saved me? I remember someone else carrying me into this village.” Her cold eyes looked him up and down.
“Yeah, well a guard took you in past the gates and I took you to the hospital.” He said. “Might I know your name?”
There was a short silence as she contemplated on telling him the truth. “Kazumei Kamura.” She finally replied, turning to walk away. “Thank you for saving me.” She called over her shoulder.
Kankuro blinked. “Hey now! Wait a minute!” He ran to catch up to her. “Don’t you want to stay awhile; to like rest or something?”
“No, I must be on my way.” came the cold response.
“Where are you going?”
“I am not obliged to answer.” Kankuro stopped, a little taken aback by her icy answers.
“Well could you at least stay one night? Please?” He continued walking with her.
“Why do you wish me to stay so badly?” Kazumei asked.
“I want to be sure that you’re okay.”
“Why?” The girl was now thoroughly confused. Never had anyone ever cared for her health.
“Because it’s the right thing to do.” Kankuro looked up to see that Kazumei had stopped.
“Okay, I’ll stay one night. But one night only! I will be leaving tomorrow.” The young man grinned joyously. Grabbing her arm he began to pull her through the sandy streets of Suna.
“My house is this way. I should warn you that two other people live there with me, my younger brother, Gaara, and older sister, Temari. Gaara happens to be the Kazekage of Suna!” he explained while leading her to his accommodation. “Here we are!”
Looking up, Kazumei saw the largest house she had ever seen. The mansion looked much like every other building but more so. It was three stories high and had twenty windows on the front side. Great oak doors made for the entrance. One of those huge wooden planks swung open to reveal a tall blonde girl who appeared to be really pissed.
“Where have you been?!” she yelled. “And who is this?!”
“Calm down Temari. This is Kazumei Kamura and she’ll be staying with us for the night. A guard brought her into the village wounded and I took her to the hospital where I stayed to make sure that she’d get out okay.” Kankuro explained.
“Why didn’t you call or something instead of having your poor sister worry about you all night?!” Temari scowled.
“I didn’t think it’d matter much if I was gone one night without you knowing where I was.” Her younger brother sighed.
“Well, next time tell me where you are.” Temari turned to Kazumei who had been quietly observing the scene the whole time. “Hello Kazumei. My name is Temari and I’m this dope’s sister. Please come in.”
“Thank you.” Kazumei bowed and walked into the mansion, Kankuro closely followed.
“She can use the second guest bedroom.” Temari said, walking away to some unknown room. “The first one is being used for storage.”
Kankuro mumbled something and looked at Kazumei. “Follow me.” He led her up the winding stairs and down a long hallway. Stopping at a door, he grabbed the handle and pushed it open. “This is your room. Mines down the hall, last one on the right, if you need anything just tell me.” With that, he turned away and went back to the first level.
Kazumei walked into her new temporary room and glimpsed at the wide space. Her gaze stopped on the huge lush bed. She slowly made her way to it and sat down on its edge. Sighing, she threw herself onto the bed and closed her eyes. Weariness from many days travels set themselves on her and in a matter of seconds, she was fast asleep.

Hours later, Kazumei woke to voices outside her door. “Kankuro, why is she staying here?” One of them asked, obviously Temari’s.
“I wanted to be sure that she was okay.” came the reply.
“Real reason.”
“Well, I dunno. It’s just that, from the first time I saw her I began to have this strange feeling. I don’t know what it is. It’s just like, I want to be with her and protect her all my life.”
“So what, is this like love at first sight or something?”
Kazumei gasped. Love? It was something she’d never dealt with before but that she’d heard much about. That love kept you strong and invincible. Could it be possible that she had finally found what her heart had been searching for? The love that she was never given to as a child but what she had yearned for all her life? There was only one way to find out. She’d have to stay here and give this Kankuro guy a chance. She soon discovered that all talking had ceased, so she closed her eyes and strained her ears to here any sign of movement. The door slowly creaked open and a tiny ray of light shot in. Someone quietly walked into the room and came up to bed.
“Wow, she’s beautiful.” Kankuro whispered, staring at Kazumei’s unveiled face. During the night, her mask had rolled off her head and onto the pillow beside her. Hesitating, he reached down and removed a piece of hair that was covering her eye. He watched her for another moment before turning and leaving the room. Kazumei waited to hear the door close before opening her eyes and sitting up.
“This could be the end of my journey, the end of the road. If I can make it work with this guy then I will finally be able to settle down and live in one village. Never again will I have to sleep in some random cave or tree. Never again will I starve to the point of hallucination!” Smiling for the first time in years, she swung her legs over the side of the bed and made her way to the door. Out in the hallway, she turned to the stairway only to bump into someone.
“How much of our conversation did you hear?” they asked. Kazumei slowly looked up to meet the gaze of the one who had given her so much hope in so short a time. “Well?”
“I heard the majority of it.” She confessed. Kankuro sighed and looked away from her. “And I’d just like to say thank you so much for helping me find what I have been looking for all my life.”
“Huh?” The young man looked up in confusion.
“I’d like to learn to love you, as you do me.” She said.
“Oh, umm, so uhh, does that mean you’re staying?”
“Yes.” She looked up at him and smiled. Kankuro’s heart skipped a beat as Kazumei clasped her hands onto his. “So when do you want to start being a couple?”
“How about right now?” Kankuro grinned. Kazumei nodded in agreement and stood up on her tiptoes to kiss his cheek.
“Good night, my savior.” She whispered.
“Good night, my love.” He returned.