A Sister and Greed.

Oh yeah she protested like a chicken about to be slaughtered.

She wanted to stay in her own village, and she flung about her arms real bad. So bad that I was afraid they might fall out anytime. ( no pun intended. )

Much argument was needed, and her reluctance and hesitance could not be measured by any scale. Down as she was, I carried her back to the Village Hidden in the Clouds, back to my small but untidily cozy house.

A home. A home for my sister.

I was going to take care of her as such. As my own sister.

Eh, it was hard, not gonna lie. Wandering about throwing tantrums every other hour, and breaking a vase or a plate almost everyday, she was an ideal mischievous little sister.

She had no chakra, so she couldn't become a kunoichi too.

So I decided to admit her in a part-time phrontistery, outside Kumogakure, at the foothills.

She would leave at 9 O'clock , and return at 1.

As the years ran by, my love and affection for her ever increased.

I did have small doubts rarely as to why I had adopted a stranger kid as my sister, but I had no doubt as to should I have done it. I know. It's weird.

As the years passed, the cost of us living increased.

And then came the third great ninja war. A little past 15 years, I joined the battle against the other Villages. Again, Kumogakure fought against all other Great Villages. It was an all out war, which was fought against all not aligned with Kumogakure. I was commanded and given orders to fight against Konohagakure in the borders of the Land of Frost, which was just fine by me. Sad, that land. It was small, and got utterly devastated post-war.

I was a jōnin then, just promoted, at that.

A great many things happened in that war, things I do not want to recall. But I will one thing.

I saw the kunoichi who killed my father. Tsunade Senju.

Rage boiled like molten iron at a thousand degrees inside my veins, and I rushed to kill her.

Unfortunately,I was unable to do it. Instead, the regret and fury was subdued inside my heart, which increased day to day. When the war ended, I was so struck by anger that I rampaged around the whole encampment. Anger falsely directed, when it should have been at Senju. And thus, I quit from being a jōnin of Kumogakure, and transformed rogue.

A rogue ninja, yearning for the destruction of the Sannin, Tsunade senju, and the entirety of the Village Hidden in the Leaves.

And thus I roamed about the Lands, searching for her. I heard that she was no longer aligned to the Leaf, so chances of her staying in Konoha was very low.

I took Shinju with me. And that was the worst decision I made in my entire life.

She did not like this side of me. She tried to keep me away from all the bloodlust. She hated all that and just wanted to live a happy life. I should've at least let her stay in her old village. Surely Akane or some other person whose loyalties lay to the Kazehaya and the Gushiken would accommodate her for a month.

But no. My head clouded by rage, it led to rash decisions. Although on the outside it may seem like a minor thing, my decision to take Shinju with me was one of the worst, in my opinion.

And so did I drag her with me, forcing her to take part in my pilgrimage of revenge. Ugh, my folly. I spoilt her. I threw mud in pure milk. Her heart of silver degraded, the distilled silver blackened.

Her personality grew bitter, and she began to get colder with me. She would distance herself with me, in both length and spirit. It would sometimes seem as if she were a thousand miles away from me, in the other side of the world. But still, I was too dispassionate and insensitive.

There was nothing but wrath. The wrath that was lost among ambition more than twenty years back, and even more unrecalled after I started providing affection. Suddenly it started resurfacing, after a bloody war.

One day, when I was inquiring about my prey's location as always in a town's market, a man came to me. A tall man, with tanned coppery skin, he wore a formal suit and a blazer atop it. His face was squarely, and his raven black hair was combed back with oil.

" Amiable greetings to you, Raiden. It is you, isn't it? The famous Kageyama Raiden of Kumogakure, said to be able to take on a hundred shinobi. A pity that you had to resign. A pity for Kumogakure, and an opportunity for us."

" Ugh, what do you want? I don't have no interest in seeing your brochures on flamin' bank schemes."

" It seems that we are on different pages now, Raiden. I, we, are not a banking industry. In fact, I am here today, to fulfil all of your longings and desires."

"Huh? Don't talk trash. Just get straight to the point or get lost."

" Patience is a good trait, my lad. Never mind , i'll get to it. I can help you to get your revenge. Yes, I can tell you where she is. Tsunade Senju. I know where she is, and you can kill her or do whatever you want."

I was flabbergasted. For a moment, I had nothing to say. No words came into my mind, much less out of my mouth. My goal had finally came into reach. It was so long since I had set the goal that it took a while for me to digest the information. Sweat oozed out from my pores, and I replied. "What proves that ye aren't making all this shit up?"

" Oh it's all right if you refuse… I don't lose anything if you do. Of course, it's your choice to trust me or not."

Perspiration took place heavily, and my mind went blank. I was utterly desperate at this point. I was searching for her by years then. A hasty decision, but one that I would not have regretted in my period of rage.

" Y-Yeah… Yes. Fine, i'll accept your offer."

" Yes i'll give you your information. But first, there lies a condition."

" Uh, okay what is it?"

" You have to sign a permanent contract in our company. You will be doing mission for us. Of course you will be awarded money for accomplishing the missions. I'm afraid that the signing should be taken care of first, and then you can rampage all that you want."

" Ugh 'right. Gimme those papers."

" Yes, about that. For signing them, you have to come to our nearest incognito branch, just a few miles away from here."

" Do the conditions and dragging just get longer and longer? Anyways, I gotta get back to the inn and tell Shinju about this. I bet she'll feel ecstatic after hearing about this. And I gotta hurry. Where is this 'secret hideout' of yours?"

" Now now, don't go about calling it that, Raiden. And, our ' incognito branch' is located just northwest of here, at approximately some thirteen miles."

" Oh fine. I'll meet ya in about two hours from now."

I bade him well and returned to the inn, where Shinju lay sprawled across the mattress, sewing.

As i spilt out the news, her expression became quite different from what I had imagined.

While in my head it had been joy, and excitement, her face turned dark. She was worried.

I tried to comfort her, but my mind was too occupied with the info about my revenge to even give a small half-hearted consolation.

Me, being the heartless knucklehead I was, ignored her stares and proceeded on to the building.

Ok, now imma skip all the description 'bout the hideout thingy, cuz it wasn't flashy, and my body doesn't have much more time before it falls into unconsciousness.

I went inside, when two large iron-wrought doors opened. Creaking from the hinges, it's bulk seemed to be able to take even the strongest hits.

Inside was a large passageway, leading to a room, with it's dome ceiling more than twenty feet tall. The moment I entered the dome, I saw the computers. Some computer monitors were as large as a TV, and all seemed to be the most advanced ever made.

Not that I know anything about technology and wires and stuff. I'm just a man made for brawls.

Some thirty men sat there computing, and a few others handling paperworks. It was a dark room, lighted by few dim yellow lights. I had a damp feeling about this place, as if it were right beneath the sewers.

I looked around to find the man who was speaking to me, in vain. But after probing 'round the place for a while, waiting, another man came up to me and started , " Warm greetings, Raiden. I seem my co-worker has already briefed you about the contract. Now, if you will be kind enough to sign these documents, I will be more than glad to disclose the information you wish for."

" Yeah alright just hand over the papers already… I've head enough with all your fancy talks."

I took the papers, and signed them. Simple as that. Not even bothering to read what was written inside.

Tanzaku, a small town in the Land of Fire. A small enough town to evade the eyes of any. And I also heard that she moves between towns to remain concealed from the eyes of the prying.

I set at at that moment, not even bidding good-bye to Shinju. Travelling day and night, without rest and with darkened eye-circles, I waded on among swamps and dense forests, small villages and large towns. And then I reached Tanzaku. Since I was evidently broke by that time, I saw an abandoned warehouse and settled in there for the night.

Next morning, I picked up some cheap food along the way and started investigating. Surprisingly, she wasn't that hard to find. A lot of ruckus, and she was almost at the center of it. A gambling room, with a built-in bar inside it.

I decided to have some fun with her. I decided to kidnap one of her loved ones. A kid of an early teenage age, with blond hair and striking blue eyes.

And that lil' son of a bitch thwarted me.

Such are the events that led me to my loss to a genin. And as much as i hate to admit it, my eyes were opened by a child. If not for him, i would still be delusional with that idiotic anger of mine. And now, it's exhausted. My rage reserves are empty, and so are my energy reserves.

A darn tootin' kid made me realise my revenge was a crack-brained ridiculous idea.

With those being the last thoughts thought of by the ninja Raiden Kageyama, he collapsed.