New Friends (Akai, Ember)

Fear. Confusion. Anger. Pain. These were just a few of the things fourteen year old Kanaria was feeling as she ran for her young life from the villagers of Takigakure. Not a single day passed for the young girl that she did not find herself running from some form of abuse or another. Now Kana was by no means stupid, so the fact that she had the Nanabi no Kabutomushi sealed inside of her was not unknown to her. It was the final wish of her mother, after all, and her father had made sure that she knew this. That did not mean however, that she understood why the villagers wanted to hurt her. She was not the Nanabi, merely its jailer. If she could understand this at age six year, why couldn't the adult civilians of the village?

"Please…" Kanaria whimpered as she pressed herself up against the wall of the alley she had run into. "Don't hurt me… I'm sorry if I did something wrong! I promise I won't do it again!" She pleaded, her blue-green eyes wide with fear as the villagers closed in on her.

"Forget it you little demon bitch!" One villager said as he proceeded to stab the girl with a knife he had brought. "Now scream!"

Scream she did. A horrible air piercing scream which floated through the village.

A flock of black birds jolted into the sky with some frightened caws when the girl screamed. There was some startled villagers whispering and murmering amongst themselves, and mother`s holding their children close. Ember`s eyes narrowed and peirced at the birds, watching from where they came from. There will be none of this voilence in the village she was trying to protect. She sprinted to the dark alleyway, then stepped into the shadows, her bright yellow eyes landing on the scene, figuring out what was going on. In a mere second, she dissapeared, then re-appeared in a whisk of black, smoky chakra, then caught the guy`s arm with a iron-tight fist. "What a pity." She muttered, then ripped the guy away from the bloody girl, throwing him to the ground.

Whimpering at the sight of the new arrival, Kanaria curled herself into a ball in a fetal position, her green-blue hair matted with dirt and sweat as she attempted to further protect herself. Her clothes were in ruins, her mint-green shirt was practically falling off her from the damage it had sustained and covered practically nothing. Her light pink pants were stained with dirt and blood with several large holes in them. "Please." She moaned. "Kana is a good girl!" Tears began to well up in her eyes. "Kana is a good girl, she swears!" The fear and panic in her voice was evident.

Ember took the knife and slashed the man with it, then he ended up whimpering and running away, then being taken to jail of course. Ember dropped the knife and turned to the girl, bending down."I won't hurt you. Im here to help." She whispered.

Lies... A voice echoed in the girl's mind. She just wants to hurt you herself. She is just like all the others...

'Just like the others...' Kana repeated in her mind, her physically and emotionally drained state allowing the Nanabi to influence the girl's mind easier than usual.

Curling tighter into her ball in an effort to avoid more pain at the hands of this stranger, the young girl just kept whispering the same thing over and over. "Kana is a good girl."

Ember blinked a few times, then sided and called for a medic. She looked to the girl, then did the best she could to soothe her with calming words. She didnt know how to do this very well, because when she was scared, when she needed someone the most, no one was there to help her. No one bothered to lend a hand.

Even as Kana lay there crying, this new girl made no hostile movements towards her. She just sat there, running a hand through her matted hair trying to comfort her. Slowly but surely, Kana began to calm down and she leaned into the elder girl for comfort until the medics arrived. Among them was a boy a few years older than Kana herself with Purple hair and blue-purple eyes. Scanning the scene, he punched the wall of a nearby building, causing a rather large impact. Shaking his fist, one of the medics sighed before healing it. "Kye-Sama, you should not be so reckless. A ninja knows how to keep his temper under control."

Kye glared at the medic for a moment before speaking through clenched teeth. "Do you fools not realize that is my baby sister lying on the ground bleeding?!" Letting out a feral roar, he bent down next to his sister and the girl. "You have my most sincere thanks, Miss. I have no doubt you saved my sister's life." That said, he scooped the girl up who immediatley clung to him, sobbing her heart out. "Kye!" She sobbed.

Kissing his sister lightly on the head, he motioned for the girl and the medics to follow. No doubt his father would wish to speak to his sister's saviour.

Ember nodded, standing up. The first person who had ever said thank you to her, was a boy with purple hair. She brushed herself off, watching the girl being taken away, then Ember sighed and looked back at all the blood, shaking her head.

Once at the hospital, the medic nin immediatley placed Kana on a stretcher and moved her into one of the rooms to begin healing her, leaving Kye and Ember outside in the waiting room. "With all due respect, Miss, may I ask what motivated you to save Kanaria-chan?"

Ember raised her eyebrow, then she sighed and stuffed her hands in her pockets."I couldn't just stand there and watch someone be stabbed to death. The least I could do was help."

"The Hidden Leaf this isn't." Kye chuckled. "In fact, you're rather far from there. This is the Hidden Waterfall village." He sighed. "Alas, not everyone here respects Kanaria like they should as our leader's daughter. I can't go into details but they blame her for something that isn't her fault."

"Oh? Yeah, I know how that feels." She said, nodding her head and staying silent. She looked around the waiting room, feeling slightly uncomfortable."So, whats your name?" She asked, trying to be as friendly as she could.

"My name is Kye. Kanaria's elder brother and the son of this village's leader." He said, bowing slightly. His eyes continued to scan the room, waiting for his father or at least one of the ANBU assigned to him.

She was waiting for at least someone to come that he knew, so she wouldn't have to stay long and feel all weird. She nodded towards him, keeping her hands in her lap.

Kye gave Ember a reassuring smile. "You need not worry, Miss. No doubt my father will wish to thank you, perhaps even offer you residence here in Taki." He explained.

A few minutes later, an older man with dark brown hair and a blue kimono walked in followed by masked shinobi guards. Walking to Kye, the elder man whispered in his ear to which Kye whispered back, gesturing to Ember. "You are the young woman to whom I owe my daughter's life?"

Ember blinked a few times, and she stood to him, not minding to bow since she was never taught manners."I wouldn't quite say that, but I did give the man that was beating her quite a scare, yes. It really wasn't much." She brushed the bangs from her face and shifted her weight from one foot to another, showing her strong front.