Chapter 1: "I have come to ask for your help."
She was a monster; a failed experiment. He had no use for her anymore. No one did. Everyone had thought she was a nuisance to their life. Shunned by all, she lived in fear, cowering in the safe shelters of the forest. Surving purely on will and undefined skill, she had managed to live two horribly lonely years. The townspeople had tolerated her coming monthly to get the necessary food, and trade the game she had managed to catch, but that was it. Had she come to town for any other reasons, she was to be caught, thrown into the cells, or hanged. The only reason they had tolerated with her was because of their mayor's son had taken a liking to her, and he, in turn, had learned to not mind her.
All of that changed when the mayor had been overthrown by another man, who was sadistic as hell. The first thing he had decreed was that she was to leave the premises of the town and its surrounding forest, or she would be tracked down and killed.
She had taken no time at all in leaving. But now, on the road, she regretted leaving so early. If only she had paused to gather all her supplies; she wouldn't be in such a squeeze right now. All she had left was a loaf of bread and two arrows. Not very much to live off of. Hopefully, it was enough to reach where she had planned; where someone who could cure her lived. Or so the rumors said. But it was the only small bit of hope she could cling onto, and she wasn't about to let go. She would give up anything, if only to turn back to the way she had been before.
It was when she accidentally bumped into a traveling merchant, that she realized how close she was to her destination. Of course, she hadn't asked him if she was near. He had been definitely spooked by her appearance and ran away, leaving some of his stuff behind, including a stop list. Konoha No Gakure had been the last to be crossed out, and the town under it had been one she had already passed.
She understood why he had been scared of her. Truthfully, she would be too, if she had met someone that had looked like her in the dead of night. She looked a bit like a gargoyle, with her smooth, stone-like skin, large horns that protruded from just above her ears as well as smaller ones coming from her jaw line, sharp teeth, talon like claws rather than nails, a tail, and large, bat-like wings. The way she towered over people her own age and a bit older didn't help. There had been a reason she always wore a large cloak-slash-jacket. It usually helped her hide her scary looks.
Shuffling through the forest with only the moonlight that was able to creep through the thick foliage and the path trailing on one side to lead her, she breathed a sigh of relief when seeing the wall surrounding the large city came into her sight. Well, she didn't see it, per say. It was more...sensing it. Ever since she had become like this, her senses had sharped so much more. All, except for her eyesight. It actually seemed a bit worse. But so much time had passed, she really couldn't tell or care, for that matter. She had managed to hone in on her other senses, and learn how to use them. Sort of. Every so often, she did make a mistake.
When reaching the edge of the forest, and where the wall was just an arm's length away, she cursed inwardly. She had forgotten about the ninjas that patrolled the walls, and was now stuck. There was no way she was going to risk raising an uproar by just swooping in. Nor was she going to just walk in when the gates were open. Scowling, she decided the best way to get in and talk to the Hokage was to go all the way around until she met the large mountainside where the Hokage's heads were carved in. Joy. Letting out an annoyed groan, she started following the wall to her right. Hopefully, it would be the shorter way to the mountain. It took forever, but she made it. Konoha was a lot larger than one would think, and by the time she had managed to reach the rocky wall, the rising sun was starting to paint the sky a pale orange. Slowly, she climbed it, up onto the wall, and slowly down.
Not-so-gracefully, she landed on the ground, being careful not to let her cloak flutter or move to show her dull, blue-grey skin. Thankfully, where she had managed to end up was the more older edge of the village, and it was deserted. Not feeling a bit of fear at all (her relief seemed to overpower it), she slowly followed the wall, able to see the large Hokage Mansion towering over all the other buildings. As she neared it, though, she started to hear people and their waking up. She could sense the villagers starting to awaken and get active. It took all the skills she had developed, but she managed to reach the back of the large, dome-like building without being seen or caught. But now, she had met the hardest part of all. Second hardest, at least:
Getting inside.
Sighing, she looked over the tall building, unable to walk around it like she wanted to. The walls of the building were smooth and probably hard to climb, even with her talons--she didn't want to leave any mark that she had been there, just in case. There were no back entrances, except for the roof and a small doorway on the floor under it. The only way she could think of was to fly up and into the building. Unless she felt like maybe getting caught. She stepped back a bit, getting ready to jump up and fly. Cautiously, she unfolded her large wings, causing the cloak to fly back in the process.
One..
Two...
THREE!
Pushing off hard with her back legs, she swooped into the air and quickly landed on the small balcony protruding from the doorway she had been aiming for. Quickly, she folded back her wings and flattened her back against the wall, listening hard. No footsteps. No voices. It seemed safe enough.
Without a sound, she quickly glided into the hallway and followed it, watching for what seemed like the largest and most important door. After passing about six doors, she came upon what she deemed looked important. Her claws clicked when hitting the doorknob as she grasped it, and to her surprise, it had been open. She stepped into the room slowly, awed by the business-like-ness of it. There were papers stacked in large piles on and around the desk, but aside from that, the room was very clean. Remembering why she was there, she quickly closed the door and stood in a corner, waiting for someone to come by.
She didn't have to wait long. Soon, she could hear footsteps and a faint conversation.
"Shizune, which teams have returned?"
"Tsunade-sama, it's early in the morning. We haven't heard of any teams returning. I don't think all of them are even awake."
Voices and footsteps grew louder.
"I know, I know. I just... it feels so quiet without Naruto around. Especially since it's been three years..."
A sigh.
Then silence.
The footsteps grew louder, until they stoped, right in front of the door. She could hear the doorknob jiggling, then suddenly, the door opened with a thrust. "Strange. I don't think I left the door open," she heard, as a tall blond woman walked in, followed by a younger, black haired one. The blonde woman froze, and she turned around to stare at the stranger standing in the corner.
"Who are you? And what are you doing in my office?"
The harsh and coldness was obvious in her voice, as in her narrowed hazel eyes. She watched carefully as the figure bowed her head, and took off her hood to reveal herself. Even Tsunade had to flinch--she had never seen anyone like this.
"My name is Fuujo Mikomi. I have come to ask for your help."
AN: Mikomi means Hope, just so all you who were wondering out there.
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Chapter notes: I don't on Naruto.
I do own this story.
I do own my OC.
This chapter is a bit confusing, since I don't reveal the name until the very end, and it's a little boring too. :/
Promise to try and make it more interesting in the coming chapters. :3