All rights for Naruto belong to Kishimoto, Uzumaki Shiki was running as fast as her tiny five-year old

legs could take her. Unfortunately, when the mob chasing her included some of the elite shinobi of Konohagakure no Sato, the fact that Shiki was running faster than most children twice her age counted for little. It had been a week since she had be kicked out of the orphanage, to stop contaminating the other children as the matron put it. Her legs, devoid of any baby fat, devoid of anything indicating a healthy child started to give way, as cries of Kill the demon and Save the village came ever closer. Shiki was worn out, her legs gave out under her as the rags she was wearing got caught in the edge of the garbage can. Her figure was shocking, clearly revealing the outline of her bones, especially the ribs, along with the abdominal protrusion indicating a mal-nourished little girl. There were several stains of blood on the few rags that she did have, dried into a permanent design. Her bright blonde hair was uneven, missing in places and stained with dirt and blood in others. In the pale moonlight, one could just make out the bright blue eyes that fit a hardened soldier more than the little girl. The girl gasping in between wheezing coughs, too drained to even think about the hatred she experienced since the day she was born. Hey, I found the demon! came a voice from a few meters behind Shiki, serving as the catalyst for the build-up of a mob. With demonic howls of instinct, the mob began to beat the girl with the assortment of weapons they had. The nailed bat bit into her skin as the butt of a pipe smashed into her head. Then one of the shinobi in the crowd began skinning her with a kunai he had on him, the blood from the multitude of wounds pooling at her feet. But the worst was yet to come. As the screams had turned to whimpers, so the whimpers turned to screams again, as some of the men jerked apart her legs and began to rape her in her own blood. Enough, let us finish this once and for all, said one of the men, a man with vertical silver hair, blue overalls covered by the green vest full of pockets, most of his face covered with a blue cloth mask and a blue headband covering his left eye, the forehead protector symbolising his position as a shinobi. He quickly made some hand signs and shouted Chidori before walking up to the girl and staring coldly into the fearful blue eye that was not overrun by blood. This is for my sensei and Rin, you demon before thrusting the hand clad in lightning into the chest of the girl. The foul deed done the mob dispersed, eager to spread the news and bring out the sake. At long last, five years to the day after it attacked, The demon was dead.

Shiki woke up, and stood up, before the events of last night began to swirl around in her mind. The stench of blood and other bodily substances was overpowering, and Shiki began to run with a limping gait, her broken legs burning with each step she took. She found in hard to breathe, but needed to get away from the dreadful back of the alley. The sun was well up in the sky, and hurt Shikis eyes immensely. Wheezing again, Shiki began to hyperventilate and gasp for breath. To right herself, she put her bloody hand against the wall, and vanished. Shiki found herself of a path that she had never seen before, surprising for one who had run around in between the entire village during the short span of her life. Soon enough, she found herself in front of a quaint little house. Normally she wouldnt dare go into a dwelling, but a combination of

fatigue and impulse egged her into walking past the swinging gate up to the door of the house unsure of what to do, she placed her hand against the strange pattern on the door, when suddenly the pattern glowed for a moment before the door swung open. Unsure of what to do, Shiki walked into the dwelling to see several books lying on the table, along with scrolls and writing equipment, some of them still in their shopping bags. There was a layer of dust indicating that the dwelling was currently unoccupied. Spying a small staircase tucked into the back of the house, Shiki deciding to explore the top floor as well. Shiki decided to go into a door decorated with pink flowers and sat stopped dumbfounded as the door swung to reveal more and more of the room. The walls were a mixture of red and blue, with flowers and butterflies adorning a small corner of the room. The room had a small bed and a crib, a few toy ninja tools and a small desk perfect of a child. There was a crimson carpet covering the floor and a couple of empty photo frames of the dresser. The most astounding thing however was the legend on the walls For our dear Shiki, At seeing this, the girl moved the bed, tears overwhelming her eyes as she cried herself to sleep.

Waking up, Shiki lay in her bed before a determined look flashed across her face. She decided to explore the rest of the house, looking for something, anything that could relate her to the people who used to live in this house, people who she was sure were her parents. She found may things, there jutsu scrolls, general supply queries, baby books and spare money. Looking over, she decided that she was going to live here and learn. There was enough spare instant ramen to last for a while, and by then Shiki would have learnt how to disguise herself to be able to buy proper food and supplies. But, before enacting her plans, Shiki went to the family shrine, and like some dramas she heard about, cut her finger and vowed by her blood to bathe Konoha in flames for her revenge.

Two years passed relatively quietly. With the death of the village jinchuriki, celebrations erupted that lasted for well over a fortnight. Everyone from the Hokage and his council down celebrated, not knowing that the betrayal was closely watched and noted by one hidden in the shadows. That was until Danzo noted that Konoha was the only great village without a Jinchuriki, while their greatest enemies Iwa and Kuna were rumoured to have two apiece. This, coupled with the fact that Konoha was recovering from the Kyuubi attack left the power of balance precarious. While there was no open warfare, tensions were high, but peace survived. About a year after the incident, a young no-name orphan appeared on the edge of the walls of Konoha and was