My Roots [A Naruto Short Story]

My Roots <1>

Blood.

It was everywhere. The streets of Uzushiogakure, the Village of Hidden Whirlpools, was littered by the corpses of the dead citizens. Civilian and Shinobi alike lay dead on the streets, and now all that remained of the once powerful Uzumaki clan was nothing but loose ends and powerless exiles. The leader of the attack looked into the shadows, giving a brief nod to an unknown asset to the fall of the village.

15 Years Later,
~¤~    Konohagakure,   ~¤~
ROOT Headquarters

A young girl stood before Danzo. Only fifteen years of age and already a cold-hearted killer. Thus was agent 2081, the captain of the ROOT ANBU. "You have your mission. Disperse." The red haired teen leapt off, heading to complete her mission. She wore an entirely black version of the Village ANBU'S uniform, obviously lacking the animal mask. Instead, a black mask that covered the lower half of her face was in place. All that could be seen was a set of indigo coloured eyes and shoulder-length choppy red hair. The young girl leapt to the torture and Interogation section of Konohagakure's Shinobi Prison. Ducking inside she frowned in brief nervousness.  If she was caught, she'd be sent to a cell to 'play' with the newest interogator, 19 year old Ibiki Morino. She'd heard talk from Shinobi in the village that he was ruthless and sadistic, said to be the hopeful successor of Inoichi Yamanaka himself. Him, she had heard about. Inoichi Yamanaka. Head of the Yamanaka clan and near thirty years old. He'd been Head Interogator for years, and Danzo-sama had warned them against being caught. Shaking the thoughts of nervousness from her head, agent 2081 searched for her target; a man currently being forced to give information to Inoichi. The man had information on the enigma that was ROOT, and Lord Danzo had ordered she remove his threat to their system. Crawling through the air vents, the fifteen year old ROOT Captain quickly found the room where the informant was. Readying her Katana for a quick kill, she was unprepared when the ceiling vent collapsed beneath her, sending her sprawling on the floor with her Katana out of reach. Looking up with dread, agent 2081 found herself staring directly into the pale blue eyes of Inoichi Yamanaka.

Shoot.

~¤~

"Who are you?" The question had been asked repeatedly for over an hour and Inoichi hadn't gotten anymore of an answer.  "2081." He felt like pulling his hair out while looking at the face of the clearly Danzo trained Kunoichi.  This had his name written all over it in large bold kanji. "What's your name?" He would ask. No answer.  Staring into the indigo eyes of the now weaponless red haired teen. "Your name?" He repeated. The same response. Finally having enough, he grabbed a chair and sat across from her, pulling his hands into a single hand sign like a window. 'MIND WALK JUTSU!' He chanted in his mind, his own body falling into a state of unconsciousness as the red haired girl suddenly slumped forward in her hair.

~¤~

Inoichi found himself inside a blank, white, cubic room. Next to him stood the ROOT ANBU. He couldn't help but wonder how her mindspace was so empty. "I'm unsure." She answered his unasked question. "It's been like this my entire life. Nothing memorable enough has happened, so it remains blank." Inoichi had never seen anything like this before. "And you have no name?" He asked suspiciously. "2081. It's the only one  I've ever known." Inoichi sighed. "That's a ninja identification number, usually you have a..." He trailed off seeing her head shaking back and forward softly. "I don't remember anything before turning nine... It's like they were just erased." That sent warning bells all through Inoichi thoughts; she sounded so sure yet unsure and he didn't know what to do about it. "Perhaps not erased; only sealed." He stated. The girl shrugged. Inside her mindscape he could truly see her without the mask. She wore a simple white formal kimono, and her hair was tied back, revealing freckled cheeks and a soft face. She truly was beautiful, but not attractive to Inoichi due to her age. She held herself with pride and confidance, something clearly drilled into her quite young. Walking slowly through the white room to a white door, locked. But instead of a lock on the door, there was a pattern; a seal. The thought seamed to echo off the walls of the empty mindspace. Inoichi  Yamanaka crouched before the door in curiosity, his hands resting on the seal and his mind deep in thought. Suddenly he pumped his chakra through the seal as though a lock pick. He guided it around obsicals only to find himself all the way through and when he stepped back,  the door creaked open slowly. The young ROOT girl stepped forward,  using her arm to shove the door open the rest of the way, stepping through the doorframe.