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Chapter 1


"Ookami! Hurry up, your dinner is getting cold!" Six years had passed since his mother and father had been
killed, and Ookami had settled in with his new parents.

"Alright dad, lemme just finish the last of my practice and I'll be there."

"Fine, fine. See you inside son." With that, Ookami's adopted father turned and stepped back into the house. He had
an odd feeling, like the air was thicker than usual. Pushing his worries to the back of his mind, he made his way
into the dinning room and sat down, his wife setting out the last of the plates."Wheres Ookami?"
"Hes still outside, practicing. I honsetly dont know whats gotten into him, though I don't mind the fact that he's
trying to do better."

His wife smiled at that. "Well you never know. He just might turn out a very fine Shinobi after all. Still, its not
like him to do this, normally he's out playing with his freinds. I wonder what could have happened..."
With that,she took her own seat at the table, finally relaxing to a good dinner. After several minutes, Ookami
came in as well, he had token the time to change and wash-up before coming to the table, just as his mother and
father had taught him. Sitting down, he took a gulp of the tea, then dug into his food, oblivious to the curious
stares of his parent's.

"Ookami, is everything alright? you seem... agitated." His father spoke the words levely and calmly.
It was one of the things he liked about his father, whenever he had a question, or was trying to show him something,
he never raised his voice, and he always thought every word out before he spoke. Knowing that he couldn't avoid it
any longer, he finally let it out.

"Earlier today... one of the kids... well, he called me a Mud-Born. I didn't understand what he meant so I
asked one of the other kids. He said that it was a name for people like me, and that I was just another mist
failure. It hurt for awhile, but in the end it only mad me angry. I wanna prove to them that I'm not a failure,
that i'm just as good as they are!" Even though that was true, he had also had a strange feeling all day, as
though someone was following him, watching him. But every time he got close to what he thought it was, it disappeared.
He knew he should probably tell his dad, but he felt that he would only dismiss it as parionia.

His father smiled inwardly. Instead of acting on his anger and attacking the boys, Ookami had done the smart thing
and used what they had said against him as fuel to get himself going. He knew that Ookami would probably train hard
to prove his worth, though he worried weather or not he would show it off or not.

"Well son, what they said is wrong, and I know, just by being around you. You have a strength they could never match,
so don't let what they said get to you. I'll help you become stronger though, but you must promise me one thing."

This caught Ookami's attention, and he watched his father intently."Anything dad, you know that."

His father took a deep breath then spoke,"Just because you have strentgh, doesnt mean you should abuse it. A true
ninja knows that misdirection is their greatest strength. So don't show off your strength, and try not to harm the
weak."

Ookami thought on this for several minutes. In part, what his father said made sense, to show off would only draw
opponents attention. And he had also been on the receiving end of the stronger showing off. You let it get to your
head, and you turn into a bully, something he detested. Finally, he nodded,"As you wish father, I promise."

"Well, now that thats done, lets eat, shall we?" His mother spoke with a smile on her face, but Ookami got th4 feeling
something was bothering her. Shaking off the feeling, Ookami consentrated on eatting his supper, as did his father.

As he ate, the feeling that he was being watched returned, this time stronger then before, and shivers went up and
down his spine. Something was seriously wrong, Ookami realized this now, that what he was feeling was the sense of
danger, that something was about to happen.

"Dad... t-theres something happening. I don't know whats going on but i'm getting a very bad fe-"

"I sense it too son." The words came out harsh, and Ookami could see that his father was extreamly tense."Ookami,
I want you to go to your room and hide in "The Room". Don't come out, no matter what you hear, understand? Don't move
unless its me or your mother coming to get you, or you see one of the other Konaho ninja, I'm sure that
they are aware of whats happening."

Ookami nodded his head, then ran from the kitchen, turned the corner and pulled open his bedroom door. Closing it
behind him, he ran to the floor mat and pulled it back, revealing the hidden door leading under their house. As
Ookami reached for the latch, the feeling returned, just as strong as before, and he pulled back. His sense's
haden't lead him astray so far, and he knew he should trust them. Turning, he looked around the room quickly, then
spotted what he was looking for.
****

Five minutes later, the first Mist ninja that Ookami had ever seen stepped into his room. The man was covered in
blood, and he wore a mask, something Ookami had never seen before. Ookami was still shaking, though he had stiffled
his tears the moment the door slid open. He had heard his mother and father scream, the clash of metal reverberating
through out the house. On seeing the man, Ookami's fears were confirmed, his parents were dead, though his didn't
understand what these ninja were doing here.

"Shi, I found the boys room, no sign of him though." The man spoke into a hidden com, and waited for a reply. They
were looking for him? What in the world was going on?

"Understood." With that, the man started pulling open the closets, pulling out the clothes and checking the walls
behind them. Stepping back, he turned, then noticed that the corner of the floor mat was pulled back. Ookami drew in
a deep breath as the man threw back the mat, and grabbed hold of the latch. Pulling open the trap door, he looked
inside for a moment, then was obliterated as Ookami's trap activated, flinging kunai up from the room below and into
the mans mask. He grunted as the knives collided, then he fell back, dead.
After a moment, another bloodied hand grabbed onto the bedroom door, and pulled itself into Ookami's view, and his
heart stopped in its tracks. Ookami's dad looked around the room weirily, one hand clutching his stomach, blood seeping
through his fingers.

"Ookami?" His father spoke tiredly, and Ookami knew that the wound was draining him of his strength. Pulling back
the trap door in the wall, he knocked aside the picture hanging infront of it and ran to his father's side.

"Dad! Dad are you alright? What happened? Wheres mom?" All the questions buzzed through his mind, even though he
knew it was hard for his dad to talk.

"I-I'll be fine son... your mother... s-she didn't make it. We have to get out of here, they set fire to the Kitchen
and I don't have the strength to put it out."

Ookami nodded, pushing aside the knowledge that his mother was dead and focused on the now. His father needed his help
to escape, and he would do what he could. He slid under his fathers arm, and did his best to support him, then started
towards the front door. As they passed the kitchen something drew his attention, and he glanced into the room out of
the corner of his eye. He spotted the body of his mother, along with one of the enemy ninja. A slight sob escaped his
lips, but then his eyes caught sight of something that startled him. His fathers body lie slumped against the floor.

How could that be, if he was helping him through the house?! Unless... the thoughts coalessed and he realized his
mistake. The man next to him was not his father but was one of the assualting ninja. His first instinct told him to
attack or try to flee, but he knew he couldn't do that. Any sign that Ookami knew what was happening would get him
killed.

He slowed down though, his father said that Konaho ninja would be here soon. If that was true, he would need to delay
these ninja as much as possible to give his allies time to get here.As they made their way through the house,Ookami
Noticed a small end table, and faked a stumble, letting go of the man and purposely falling to the ground.

The man stumbled as well, but caught himself on the wall,"Son of a- I mean, son, are you alright?"

"Yeah, i'm ok, I just lost my balance." glancing under the table, Ookami spotted a Kunai straped to the leg. He thanked
his father inwardly, he had been sure to prepare for anything. To bad it haden't saved him... Shaking the thoughts out,
he grabbed the leg of the table and pulled himself up, pulling the kunai lose of the stap as he stood.
He slipped it under his sleeve, then slid back under the mans arm, helping him outside finally.

As they got outside, the fire found the gas tanks, and the evening sky was lit by red and orange flames as the house
erupted into the sky, and Ookami was thrown to the ground, along with the man. Even as the shock of the explosion racked
his brain, his ears ringing to the point that he couldnt hear anything, he fought to stay concsious, fought to stand up.
As he pushed himself off the ground, he turned to see what had happeded to the man,and realized he was still in disguise.
The man rolled over, and coughed up blood then glanced at the blaze. the sockwaves were obviously racking him as well,
and he waved Ookami over, stretching his hand out to the boy. At the sight, his rage finally boiled over, this man and
the people with him had stolen everything from him, his house, his childhood, and now they had token his mother and
father for the secound time. And even worse the man still disgraced his fathers memory.

Ookami stepped up to the man, and took his hand, pulling him into an embrace, his fury driving him insane as he grabbed
hold of the kunai under his sleeve and pulled it free, then rammed it up into the mans chest, piercing his heart. The man
roared out in pain and fell back, looking down at the knife lodged in his chest, then coughed and the ninjutsu finally
failed, a cracked mask revealing itself,the same one as the ninja who had entered his room, as the disguise fell away.

"Y-you little bissssshhh..." Finally the man slumped to one side, dead for good now. Ookami stumbled for a moment, then
fell flat on his behind, tears welling in his eyes. His mother and father were dead, and he had no home. Burying his face
in his arms he balled himself up and started crying, the pain racking his body and nerves. As such, he never heard the
other two ninja approach behind him until it was to late.

"Why you little b***h!! You Killed Uri!!" The woman screached as she drew her sword and swung at Ookami. He barely rolled
out of the way in time to dodge death, but her sword did catch his back quite well, and he screamed out in pain. Rolling
over, he slowly backed away from her, terror filling his entire body.

"The Kage didn't specify weather we needed you alive or dead, and now that Uri's dead, your life is forfeit little one.
You can try to run, but you will die today, and it will be by my blade!" The woman roared as she charged him again, this
time there would be no escape. he had run out of room to maneuver, and even if he did, she would keep coming. He closed
his eyes and waited, knowing he would die.

Instead, her swing was cut short as three shurikun tore through the night air and slashed open her arm, two of them
hooking into her and pulling her swing off course. She screamed as she dropped the sword and clutched her wounded arm
to her chest, then turned to face her attacker. Before she could finish her turn, one of the Konaho ninja sliced through
the night air, his sword tearing her in two. He coughed for a moment, then turned to face the other Ninja. The final
mist ninja reached for his kunai, but before he could get to it, one was rammed up against his throat.

"You move, and I can't promise that that pretty blood of yours wont spill out on the ground, understand?" The woman
purred softly, as if nothing in the world was wrong. The ninja nodded, and stood completely still. The first ninja,
stood at a solid 5'6", with brown hair and full Konaho Jounin gear. Turning back to Ookami, he coughed again then spoke,"Hey kid, you ok? Looks like your bleedin pretty badly. We'll get you to the doctor soon, so don't worry." He looked past the boy, and noticed the other ninja slumped on its side with a kunai lodged in his chest. Holy crap, Ryu thought, he killed that guy? Hes no older the six, and already he's seen so much bloodshed... its just not right. Shaking his head, he stepped over to Ookami, formed three quick seals then placed his hand on Ookami's shoulder.

"Rest now little guy, you'll be alright."

As he spoke, Ookami's eyes got heavy, and he quickly fell asleep. Slumping forward, he fell into Ryu's arms, and Ryu hefted
him up, cradling him in his arms. Turning around, he coughed again, harder this time, then finally looked the ninja straight
in the eyes, a snear covering his face. Looking at the woman, he nodded, and she pulled her kunai away from his throat
quickly, then brought the round end of it down on the base of his skull. The man groaned on impact, then fell forward,
unconsious."Night night, Idiot."

"Anko, we don't have much time. That blade cut pretty deeply and he's losing blood fast. You get this little guy to the
hospital, I'll take that one to the holding cells."

Anko nodded,"Alright, later then, Ryu." Stepping up to him, she gently took Ookami from Ryu,then turned and rushed through the trees towards the hospital. Anko had barely made Jounin, and already she was progressing so quickly...
it startled him. Shaking his head, and letting out another cough, he turned to the unconsious ninja. This was going to get
messy soon... he just knew it.

Chapter 2

And that it did. In the following weeks the Mizukage, and Hokage met many times, talk of war soon started, but it died off
quickly. In the end it was settled that Ookami was a full fledged citizen of the land of fire, the village of Konaho, and as
such was under their protection. This also meant that he was not to be considered a traitor to the village hidden in the mist
and was not to be pursued by their ninja. The last member of the squad was also released back to them, altough he was soon
exiled for failure. Ookami spent nearly a month in the hospital, recovering his strength. In that time, he did alot of
thinking. He had no home, no family, and no freinds, save maybe the hokage. During his stay, the Hokage visted him, and
offered to have him put in another home, with a new family. He turned him down, and instead asked for a apartment of his own.
He didn't want to put anyone elses lives at jeporady, even though his was no longer in any. Still, the thought of someone new trying to replace his mother and father again... he hated it.

The Hokage agreed, and Ookami spent the next week contemplating many things. Finally, he was released from the hospital, and
on his first day of freedom, he went to see the Hokage.

"Hokage sir, are you there? Its Ookami." He spoke through the door, knocking lightly and wincing at the pain in his shoulders.
He still haden't fully recovered, so any upper body movement hurt him. Still he planed to push himself alot harder than this
in the coming months, and knew that if he was going to make it, pain was soon going to be his freind.

A minute later the elderly man pulled open the door and looked down at Ookami, a smile on his face. Reaching up he took his
pipe out of his mouth and grinned brightly, then placed his other hand on Ookami's head gently."Ookami-san, good to see you.
Your looking well. Hows your back?"

"Its doing better now, though it still hurts at times. Might I come in for a bit?"

"Yes, of course, would you like some tea?"The Hokage stepped back, allowing Ookami to enter, then shut the door behind him.
Ookami nodded as he stepped inside,"Yes, that sounds wonderful."Continuing inside, he made his way to a table, taking a
seat,a tea glass already infront of him. Moments later, the Hokage stepped in carrying a teapot, and set it down on the
table, after pouring himself and Ookami some tea.

"I take it your here about your apartment key?" The Hokage spoke softly as he seated himself, then took his cup and drank
from it soundlessly.
"Yes, although I was wondering about a few other things." The Hokage nodded as Ookami took a sip of his tea, then watched
him for a moment more,"What would you like to know?"

Ookami had thought on this for awhile now, and had planned out what he would say, yet as he sat there, all his planning
dissapeared into thin air. So instead he spoke calmly, but bluntly."I want to grow stronger then ever before. I want to
do everything in my power to become better, so that should they come again for some unknown reason, I'll be ready. But
beyond that... it was a promise I made to my father, that I would become strong. Its one I intend to keep."

The old man considered this for a minute, took another sip of his tea, then set it down and smiled, looking at Ookami.

"Continue."

"I've learned a good deal in the Acadamey, alot about chakra and jutsu's, and alot of other things. But I've also noticed
other things, things that I can do, but the others cant, or at least arent as strongly inclined to do. I was wondering If
you could tell me more about my father and mother. My real parents."

Taking a long sip of his tea, the Hokage considered this for quite awhile, then finally stood up."Wait here, Ookami."
Turning he left the room, then returned minutes later with a long blue sash. Setting it down on the table infront of Ookami
he took his seat again,"Open it."

Unsure for a moment, Ookami finally stretched out his hand and pulled back the blue satin sash, a long, engraved case lied
within. Opening it he stared in silence at the sword before him. "This sword belonged to your father before he died, and
he wished it be passed on to you when you were old enough. He wanted something of him to always remain with you, to always
protect you."

Gently, Ookami lifted the Wazaski out of its case, admiring the beautifully carved jade dragon that served as the grip.
taking hold of it, he slowly pulled the sword free of its scabbard, the folded steel gleaming in the morning sunlight.

The Hokage let him admire this for some time, then finally spoke."The sword is yours, take care of it, and it will serve
you well. Now then, you spoke of jutsu's, know this, once you start down that road, theres no turning back. If you wish
to become strong as a ninja, you must devote yourself to its path. Are you sure this is what you want? You are only six
years old."

Sliding the sword back into its scabbard he set it back into it case gently, then looked up at the Hokage."Yes sir. I've
thought long and hard on this, and this is what I want. I want to make my fathers proud."

The Hokage nodded at this,"Then finish your tea, and come with me."

****

Twenty minutes later, the Hokage and Ookami arrived at a small stream near the outskirts of the village. "Ookami,
you probably already know this, but did you know that your mother and father were from the Village Hidden in the Mist?"

"Aye, Hokage-sama, I knew." and Ookami was starting to think it was the reason he had been attacked before.

"Good then, let me ask you this, have you ever stopped to wonder why it is named 'Hidden in the Mist'?"

Ookami arched an eyebrow at the question and pondered it for a minute. "No sir, not really. I simply thought it discribed
the region."

"well that it does, my young freind, but it also discribes their fighting style. You see, most mist ninja rely on some form
of water to perform their jutsu's. It is because, as you said, they are surrounded by water. As such what better way to
fight then to use your surrounding to your advantage? Also, they feel a strong affinity attaching them to it, and this also
contributes to it. Now, you have heard of the Bunshin-no-jutsu, correct? It should have been taught to you by now in the
acadamey."

"Sir, yes sir. Its where you use your chakra to form several afterimages, clones."

"Correct. But the downside to this jutsu is that that is all they are, afterimages. Incapable of real pyshical combat.
Simply put, they are used to distract an opponent, nothing more."

"Mm, I understand that sir."

"Well the jutsu I'm about to teach you is a more advanced version of that same techniuqe, one that is normally unique to the
ninja of the mist. Watch closly." Quietly, the Hokage stepped out onto the water. turning, he formed a quick sequance of
seals."Mizu-Bunsin-no-jutsu!" Moments later, the water churned, then gathered into three water clones, all perfect replica's
of the Hokage.
"Woow!!" Ookami stared in absolute disbeleif at the clones. He knew there many jutsu's he didn't know, many things that he
could do with his chakra, but this... he had had no idea. The clones each stepped off the surface of the water, and
surrounded Ookami. One stretched out his hand, and placed it solidly on Ookami's head.

"Now, do you notice the differance?" As he spoke, the clones vanished, one by one, until only the one with his hand on Ookami's head remained. Stepping off the water, he came to stand next to Ookami.

He thought it over a moment then realized what it was,"The clone, it can touch me. If it where a Bunshin the secound it made
contact with me, it would dissapate."

"Correct. This jutsu utilizes the water to form a solid body, which is then capable of facing an enemy in combat. The downside is that it only retains a tenth of its creators strength, although sometimes, thats all you need. Would you
like to practice it yourself?"

Ookami looked at the clone, then to the Hokage, then back again." Aye, I would love to."
****
Ookami spent the next 4 years perfecting not only the mizu-bunshin no jutsu, but the simpler, Bunshin no jutsu. After seeing the Hokage step out onto the water, Ookami also set that as a goal, to understand how to perform such a feat. It wasent easy, as Ookami soon found out. but these new Jutsu's drove him hard to master them, to the point that he had become a recluse, although it wasent a chosen exile. In truth, there were times where he longed for companionship, but could never find a single person beyound the Hokage to be with, and the Hokage already had little free time. So, instead he dove head first into his training, mastering the few Techniqes as quickly as possible. This also drove him to study the amount of chakra it took to perform the different jutsu's, and quickly learned how to channel his chakra to perfection, not wasteing any.
As he practiced the Water walking jutsu, or tried to understand how it worked, he discovered he could also channel his chakra to different parts of his body, tempererialy enhancing or granting him new abilities. Soon, he learned to climb a tree using only his palms, then his feet. This also soon lead into water-walking, and soon he had the two mastered. Even so, this also drove him to test out what focusing his chakra could result in. As he focused, he migrated a even amount into his ears, and the resulting effect was extreamly painful. Every sound and vibration within a 1 mile radius was as crystal clear to his ears as though it was taking place inside his eardrum. He quickly forced the chakra out of his ears, Collapsing into unconsiousness as the pain overwhelmed him, and his ears bled slightly.

It was three days before he tried it again, this time with a much smaller amount of chakra, but still, it nearly rendered him unconsious again, but he was just barely able to hold out until the side effects wore off. The abilitly had its ups and downs,obviously. For one thing, it made each sound around him extreamly distinct, such as his own heartbeat, and that of every movement one made. The downside tho was that if he used it to long, it could easily knock him out cold, the stress it put on his senses nearly unbearable.

He also practiced continuously with his shurikun and kunai, setting up targets all around him and striking each of them at a distance. Once he had his aim down, he also started using smaller targets, and soon also used throwing discs, launching them from the trees and trying to hit them mid-flight. It was challenging, extreamly so, but he soon learned that if he threw ahead of the disc, and moved in the oppisite direction as the disc was traveling, it gave him better leverage to throw from and, when throwing with shurikun, he would put his whole body into a turn, flinging the Shurikun at the apex of the spin. This granted a stronger spin to the shurikun, and soon he threw with such strength during a spin that the shurikun would tear straight through the disc, spliting it in two. He also practiced combining shurikun and kunai throws, throwing a shurikun, then following it with a kunai to change the course of the Shurikun, although the reverse never worked.

Also, once he had mastered the water clone teqhnique, he would create the clones and practice fighting with them, practicing hand to hand, knife fighting, and swordfighting, although the final he had a difficult time with. After awhile, he turned to the Hokage, who found him a trainer willing to work with one so young.

"No, no, your swinging to hard Ookami. You don't always need to swing from the shoulder, its much slower." Ritska scolded, dodging Ookami's swing easily. "Listen, if your going to use a sword, you need to understand some of its principles. One of the first things you need to remember is that if an opponent gets to close,it can very well be the end for you. As a sword weilder, you have a longer reach then say, a knife fighter, but you also have a much larger opening. See if you overextend, an opponent can easily get inside your swing, and at that point your as good as dead, unless you move quick enough. Every action, every movement has to be fluid, yet fast as lightning. You cannot afford to give your opponent even a single opening, otherwise you will die."
flicking her sword around she smiled slightly as Ookami turned back to her, his eyes focused compeletely on her. Quietly, he readied himself for the next round, falling into a stance he had watched her start from. He had guts, and he deffinately had the will."Alright kid, lets try again shall we?" With that, she lunged for him, driving her practice sword straight at him.

Focusing on what she had said, he quickly spun to the left, going against her arm, and striking the tip of his sword against hers to knock it off course, if only slightly. Then, using the momentum of the spin to complete the turn, he put as much force as he could into the swing, only to have miss Ritska by mere inches as she rolled forward, dodging under the swing. Spinning as she came out of th roll, she reversed momentum, and charged him again, this time swinging up from the ground.