The Forest

Alex blinks, and in the time it takes him to reopen his eyes, his surroundings have changed, instead of the dark, cold laboratory, he was in just moments ago, he is now surrounded by tall trees and stood atop a dirt path.

"So, this is the forest outside the Leaf village?" Alex ponders to himself whilst gazing around. "That person said I should head to the village, but I don't really know if that's my best option...."

Alex continues to look around, thinking to himself what his best option would be. Alex thinks for quite a while, eventually concluding that he would try and find a settlement, perhaps a smaller village away from the shinobi village of Konoha, to stay until he decides what his next course of action should be.

Alex starts to walk away from the bustling village of Konoha, along a path leading northeast, he has no particular reason to head in this direction, he knew little of the geography in the area.

Alex walked for the whole rest of the day, stopping only when the sun had set and he could no longer see far in front of him.

Alex decided to set up camp a little off the beaten dirt road and inside the cover of the forest. He had no possessions and was starting to feel his hunger, but water wasn't an issue as there were a plentiful number of rivers and lakes in and near the forest.

As Alex sat and waited to eventually be taken by his sleep he hears a loud crashing noise, followed by a high-pitched scream, coming from further in the forest.

Alex jumps to his feet, startled by the scream, but unable to see due to the dark of night, stands facing in the direction of the noise, waiting to see what would happen.

As he waits, nothing comes, no noise or movement. The air was still and silent.

The following morning, Alex stood again, startled from the noise of crashing and screams the night had left fresh in his memory, he slept very little, waiting for morning when he could go and see what the commotion was about.

Alex ventured further into the forest, moving branches from his face as he walks towards where he heard the noise from yesterday.

As he approaches an opening in the forest, he sees nothing but a pool of blood, only just having started to congeal, Alex assumed it to be somewhat fresh, and possibly having to do with the noises of the night.

As Alex gazes around the forest clearing he stood in, he notices pieces of torn, pink cloth scattered around on certain branches, seemingly from someone's clothes as they tried to run from something getting caught and torn by the branches.

The cloth seemed to be going in a certain direction through the forest. Alex contemplated following the trail for a while before ultimately deciding to do so, following the cloth and collecting pieces as he goes.

Alex follows the trail for a while until eventually reaching a much larger opening in the forest, this time with several buildings within.

There were about 10 buildings or so in the clearing, all made of wood and raised from the ground on platforms of stone. Anyone looking at them could see that they were made with some skill but were suffering from some wear and tear.

Seeing the settlement, Alex was at first excited, wondering if they could help him, but then remembered his severe lack of knowledge of his situation; he knew nothing of what time period he was in.

Alex cautiously approaches the small village, however, before he gets even close to a single building he is stopped by a tall man, his bald head shining in the light making its way in through the leaves above, a headband bearing the symbol of Konoha covering his forehead.

"What business do you have here, stranger?" The man asked calmly, his tone was not threatening, but it demanded respect.

"I apologize, sir!" Alex replied, stuttering slightly, "I am extremely lost, I found this cloth scattered around the forest, it led me here."

"Ah, I see." The man said, nodding slightly, "Well this town isn't anything you want to be near, it was attacked by a large group of missing-nin, I suggest you get away from here as soon as you can."

"Ah, that's unfortunate." Alex starts, "truth is, I actually have very little memory at all, I just woke up on a road and had walked for all of yesterday, I have no idea what to do, is there any way you could help me?" Alex said, knowing telling him the truth would do little in his favour but wanting his assistance.

"Oh, I see, that's really unfortunate for you sir," The Ninja starts, "okay, stick around with me for a little while, I'll take you to Konoha once this mission is over."

"Understood sir, thank you," Alex replied, bowing his head slightly.

The following few hours were uneventful, with Alex just following the Ninja, who he now knew was named Kenji, as he checked for survivors, which there were none.

As the sun started to set, Alex and Kenji, as well as the 3 other shinobi who worked under Kenji, set of towards Konoha.