Blood of a Lost Girl (Book 1, Naruto)

Chapter 2

I opened my eyes only to see a glinting knife right in front of me. I stared at it, confused on why it was nearing my throat. I should've been scared – freaking out even – but for some reason I wasn't. I scanned my eyes over the blade, moving my eyes up the arm that connected to the hand holding the knife, all the way up to the face of an unfamiliar person. I blinked and stared into his strange pale orange eyes. He stared back at me, almost curiously. Finally I opened my mouth. "What are you doing?"

The stranger pulled the knife back, shaking his head and stood up from the ground. Did he just...attempt to kill me? I sat up, looking around and frowned in confusion. I was in a forest. I stood up and pinched myself. It was no dream – the pain was real. "How did I get in a forest?" I mumbled to myself. The last thing I remember was... I couldn't remember anything. Not even where I was before I landed in this forest or even who I was. I knew I had memories, but they were all a blur. The memories were just out of my reach. There was one thing I could remember clearly, though; the torture and experimentation. Other than that I could remember jack squat – nothing. The crunching of dried leaves broke through my thoughts and I looked up. The stranger was leaving. I hurriedly followed behind him – like a lost puppy. I had no idea where I was and this strange person might know where we are. I walked beside him and started questioning him about my whereabouts. "-and who are you anyway?"

He glanced down at me, his tied-back auburn hair giving me a clear view of his strange orange eyes. "My name is Zuko." His was voice loud, low-toned, husky and he stretched the words a little more than necessary. "I am from Otogakure (Village hidden in the Sound) and, as for your whereabouts, you are in the Land of Rivers." When he finished speaking, I felt confused.

"You mean to tell me that you're from the Village hidden in the Sound?" Did such a place exist? He nodded and I frowned. The Land of Rivers... The Village Hidden in the Sound... These places sounded made-up. Exactly where was I and what was going on? "I don't understand. Where am I exactly? Better yet, who am I?" I muttered to myself, feeling too confused for my own health.

"I see. You have amnesia." He said, having heard me. "How strange... In most cases the person at least remembers the lands." I stared at Zuko, scrutinizing him. This boy was a little more than a year older than me. He had auburn hair with a wolf-tail haircut with two bangs framing his thin face. He had two peculiar orange eyes – the pupil too was orange, but much darker than his irises. The thing that intrigued me the most about him was his scars. Two scars crossed over his left cheek and a bad-looking burn mark marked the right side of his face. The burn mark was right over his right eye. I wonder what happened. He wore a tight V-neck, long sleeved, mesh shirt – revealing a necklace shaped similarly to a dog-tag. It piqued my curiosity. He also wore what resembled black baggy jeans and black open-heeled shoes. "What?" He asked.

"You can't, by any chance, take me to the nearest village or town or somewhere with lots of people, can you?" I asked. I needed to know where I was.

"Yeah, sure. It's on my way, anyway." I thanked him with a smile and a nod. "But before I do..." Without warning he was behind me, holding a knife against my throat. I could tell by the thing, sharp metallic feel of it. I froze. I couldn't even swallow for fear of getting cut. My eyes were wide and my heart beat fast. He was astonishingly fast! "How do I know you're not an assassin sent to kill me?"

I blinked at the strange question. Me? An assassin? "I'm only 13, there's no way I could be an assassin."

"Age does not make a difference here."

I raised a questioning eyebrow. This guy was paranoid. Knowing this I had calmed down some. "I can think of a few reasons why I am not an assassin. 1- If I were an assassin sent to kill you, I'd have known who you were. 2- I would've had weapons, and last but not least: 3- I would've killed you when you turned your back on me." I pointed out.