Out with the old, in with the new!

I was alone in my room, enjoying the darkness and silence. I was sitting on the floor, with my legs crossed, meditating. Improving my chakra control was necessary in order to become stronger. I was so close to the supreme calmness; I was almost one with the environment...

"Oi, Mikura-san!" I heard Ren's loud mouth screaming behind my door.

He barged in, ruining my concentration and my mood.

"Baka! Don't you know how to knock?" I asked angrily while lighting some candles.

He stood still, lost in thoughts, scratching the back of his head.

"Did you swallow your tongue? What is it?" I asked angrily.

"Oh, um... Yes! Kabuto-san wants to see you. Something about your medical exam."

"OK. I'll take a quick shower, and I'll come."

"Sure. I'll be outside."

"You'll better be..." I mumbled while I was lazily walking towards the bathroom.

I sighed. It's been six months already? Time was running so fast... With all the training and learning, it was no wonder. Every day was the same thing. Waking up early in the morning for breakfast, then the first training - which included warm-up, exercises for strength and stamina, taijutsu, basic ninjutsu, and weapons - then I had a break for two hours. In that break, I was allowed to do whatever I wanted, as long as I stayed inside the hideout. It was forbidden to go outside without permission, which left me with few choices. I used that free time to draw, read, meditate, rest, or to spend time with Ren-kun. After the break, it was lunchtime, and then the theoretical lessons. It was sort of... boring. Not all the time, but most of it. I was taught about history, biology, and ninja tactics. After that, there was another training - based on chakra control, balance, and genjutsu - the dinner, and the day was over. But after eight years, I was used to it. And at least, Ren was in the same situation, so I was not alone. He, Yuri-sensei, Hayato-sensei, and Kabuto-san, were the only people I knew since I started to grow up and to understand the things around me. I have been raised in the Eastern Hideout, without knowing anything about my family, where I was coming from... or at least who I was. Nothing. But when Yuri-sensei considered that I became mature enough, she told me that my parents died in the Third Great Ninja War, and if Orochimaru-sama had not found me, I would have been dead too. And that was all. Well, at least I knew that Orochimaru-sama saved my life, gave me a place that I could call home and the chance to become a ninja. It was enough and better than living on the streets, so I owed him my loyalty. Even if I never met him in person. I knew only a few things about him. I knew that he was an ex-Konoha nin, and he was one of the Sannins. I knew that he was gifted and powerful. Nothing detailed. So the situation I was in, left me with a lot of unanswered questions. Why couldn't I get out of that hideout? Why were they hiding things from me? What was behind those doors that we weren't allowed to open? Why was I learning only basic ninjutsu? I was so confused. And I was wondering if they will let me free as an adult...

"Mikura-san? Are you done?"

"I'm coming."

I put my sandals on and went to him. We walked in silence through the infinite hallways, which were lit only by a few candles. That wasn't the usual way. We stopped in front of a large door, made of stone. That was the exit, not the examination room.

"Mm, Ren? I think this is not..."

He pushed the door, allowing a dazzling light to come in, hurting my eyes.

"Come, Miku-san." He said getting out.

"Wait, but..."

I went after him in panic, but I suddenly stopped, looking around in awe. The landscape was stunning. Green grass, a lot of trees with their rich crown, blue sky with a few fluffy clouds here and there... and the sun was shining bright, sharing his warm rays. It was amazing. I went out so rare, that I forgot how nature looked like. I almost missed the fact that I came out from a snake's mouth. Made of stone, of course. And next to us, was Kabuto-san with his arms crossed, looking impatient.

"Kabuto-san," I said, bowing.

"Finally, what took you so long?" He asked, glaring at Ren.

"Actually, it's my fault. Sorry."

"OK. Ren, you're dismissed. Mikura, let's go."

"Bye, Miku-san." He said hurrying back inside with a sad expression.

"B-bye..." I said confused.

"Come," Kabuto said, running towards the forest.

"Where are we going, Kabuto-san?" I asked, trying to keep up with him.

"We are going to the Kusagakure Hideout. I want to examine you with my new equipment, from my new lab. And Orochimaru-sama wants to see you."

I looked at him with wide eyes. Orochimaru-sama wants to see... ME? I followed Kabuto-san confused. It was hard to keep up with him because I was distracted by everything that caught my eyes - trees, flowers, insects, and animals. It was beautiful. The fresh air was filling my lungs, the sunlight was warming up my always frozen body, birds chirping pleased my hearing and the variety of colors fascinated me in a way I didn't understand. But I wasn't distracted with those for long, because I got worried, thinking about what Kabuto-san told me.

"Kabuto-san, have I done something bad?"

"No, why?" He asked confused.

"Why does Orochimaru-sama want to see me?"

"Oh, don't worry about that." He said laughing. "You'll see when we arrive."

"OK."

So it wasn't something bad, after all. Huh, thank Kami.

On our way, we went through some villages, and I got distracted again. I've never seen a village before. Or I couldn't remember. The beautiful architecture, the crowded streets, the delicious smells... it was so fascinating. It looked like the war never existed. Everybody seemed so happy, doing their activities. A lot of children running and laughing, people chatting with smiles on their faces... A peaceful life that I'll never have. But I was satisfied that I had at least this much.

It didn't take long until another forest appeared in our sight. After a while, when I was pretty exhausted and sick of running, Kabuto-san stopped in front of a rock formation and weaved some signs. When he was done, I could see some sort of entrance behind those rocks. So it had a genjutsu barrier.

"We'll do your medical exam first, OK?"

I nodded and followed him inside. Wow, that hideout was just as sinister as the Eastern one. As we advanced, we were "welcomed" by two tall men, dressed in a grey tunic, black pants, and black masks on their faces. They bowed, looking at me with dangerous dark-colored eyes. Both of them had forehead protectors with the sound symbol on them, just like Kabuto-san. However, Kabuto-san told me that it wasn't because they belonged to a village, it showed that they were loyal to Orochimaru-sama.

I sighed in relief when we went forward. That hallway looked almost the same as the ones in the Eastern Hideout. Every two meters, there were snake statues on the walls, holding a light in their opened mouths. Hm, Orochimaru-sama really liked snakes. Or he wanted to scare the visitors.

Kabuto-san stopped in front of a door, and I almost collided with him. He opened the door and made me a sign to follow. We entered a huge room, which was at least three times bigger than the older exam room. There were a lot of utensils and fancy medical equipment, but I couldn't name them. The only one I knew was the examination table.

"Sit on the table, please."

Said and done. He took a green scroll and wrote something on it.

"You turned fourteen recently."

"Yes."

"Did your first period come?"

"Yes. Four months ago."

"Good. Any kind of discomfort in your body since the last exam?"

"No."

"Colds?"

"No."

"Have you been hurt during your training?"

"No, except for some scratches and bruises."

"Excellent. Lay down."

I did as he told me, closing my eyes. He will tickle me with his green chakra again. I already felt his hands next to my temples, and he began. He checked my entire body, writing down the results. He tested my reflexes, my eyesight, and took some blood samples.

"Good, we're done. You seem perfectly healthy."

I stood up, following him to the next location. We turned left, right, and then left again. There were so many hallways and doors. At the end of the current hallway, was a huge double door, with long, toothy snakes carved on it. Kabuto-san opened it, gripping my forearm and pulling me inside because I remained there like a statue. I was scared, and it got worse when I saw a giant stone-made snake at the end of that humongous room. Kami, what in the world was up with all the snakes? I mean, not only the statues but Yuri-sensei and Ren-kun had some weird snake jutsu too. I just hoped that it wouldn't be the case for me.

"It was about the time for you to show up, Ka-bu-to." I heard a hoarse voice saying.

From a dark corner of the room, a tall man came towards us, walking gracefully. He wore plain grey garbs with a black polo and pants underneath. A thick purple rope belt was tied around his waist. He had classic shinobi sandals, with bandages around his calves. As he came closer, I could see some blue tomoe-shaped earrings. He had quite beautiful features, excepting the snake-like ones. He had very pale skin, golden eyes with slitted pupils, purple markings around his eyes, pronounced cheekbones, and thin lips. He had black, straight, waist-length hair with some locks covering and framing his face.

"Orochimaru-sama," I said bowing.

"Mikura-chan, I'm glad to see that you became such a fine young lady." He said with a thrilling wide smile, showing a pair of fangs.

I flinched, stepping back without realizing it. He laughed amused.

"Kabuto, leave us alone. I'll summon you if I need you."

No, no, no! Kabuto-san, don't leave me! Kami, he bowed and left me alone with Orochimaru-sama, scared to death.

"You seem frightened, Mikura-chan."

"I..."

I didn't know what to say.

"I can't blame you. I'm not the most soothing presence." He said amused.

"I'm sorry, Orochimaru-sama," I said with my eyes on the ground.

"It's fine. I will go straight to the point. I think you matured and trained enough with the basics to start a complex training. After it, you should be able to become a full-fledged shinobi."

"R-Really?"

"Indeed. I think you have a lot of questions, but you'll know everything at the right time. All you have to know, for now, is that I will start to train you tomorrow."

"You will train me?" I asked in awe.

"Yes. To be honest, I'm very interested in your skills, Mikura-chan. You possess a Kekkei-Genkai which I would like to develop."

"Kekkei-Genkai? I had no idea..."

"Exactly. And I will tell you everything about it later. From now on, you will live in this hideout. Tomorrow morning, I will test your actual abilities, and after that, we'll start your training."

I'll stay there? And I will be trained by Orochimaru-sama? And a Kekkei-Genkai? I didn't know if I was happy or afraid. I didn't know anyone there, excepting Kabuto-san. What will I do without Ren? He was my only friend. Will I see him or my senseis again? They were the only persons that I could call a family. I grew up with them and now I didn't have a proper chance to say goodbye.

"You're confused." He said, interrupting my thoughts. "I know it's all of a sudden, but don't worry. Everything will settle soon."

"Thank you, Orochimaru-sama."

"You're welcome. Now let me introduce someone to you. Kimimaro-kun?"

Another man, well... a young one, came next to Orochimaru-sama. He had pale skin, vivid green eyes, and masculine facial features. He had two scarlet dots on his forehead and shoulder-length white hair, which was divided down the middle on his head, with two separate partings on either side of his face. His outfit resembled Orochimaru's, but it was colored differently. Only white and light purple.

"Kimimaro-kun, this young lady is Mikura. Lead the girl to her room, and make sure that she has everything she needs."

"Yes, Orochimaru-sama." He said with a subtle smile.

"Mikura-chan, you can count on him for everything you need. I will go now."

I and Kimimaro bowed at the same time. When Orochimaru-sama was gone, Kimimaro showed me the way. We walked in silence through the hallways, and from time to time I looked at him from the corner of my eye. He seemed nice, but I couldn't decipher his expression.

"Here's your room, Mikura-san." He said, stopping next to a wooden door. "I'll bring you some clothes. If there's something that you need, my room is over there." He said, showing me a door at the end of the hallway.

"Thank you, Kimimaro-san."

"You're welcome. Try to rest. You'll have a hard day tomorrow."

I nodded and went to my room. It was a small room, with basic furniture. I had a single bed, a nightstand, a small table with a few candles burning on it, a wooden chair, and a wardrobe. On my left, there was another door, which probably led to the bathroom. It looked almost like my old room.

I took my shoes off and sat on the bed. I was caught in a mixture of feelings. I was afraid, confused, excited, all at the same time. Somehow, this sudden change was taking me closer to know some answers and it's going to help me to develop my skills. I will become a real ninja and I promised myself that I would be a worthy one. But on the other hand, I didn't know what to expect. I had no friends there and Kami knows what will happen. I had no one to talk to about what was going on inside of me, and no one to comfort me. I missed Ren already. He was the biggest baka in the entire world, but he was my friend.

A knock on the door interrupted thoughts.

"Yes?"

Kimimaro-san entered with a stack of folded clothes. He left them on the edge of my bed, smiling.

"I hope they fit."

"Thank you."

"I'll bring you some food in an hour." He said, leaving.

Well, that was nice. I took the clothes, searching through them curiously. I found a basic black ninja outfit, a purple long-sleeved crop top, with cherry blossoms on it. I found a fitted skirt that matched it. There was a net shirt too, a pair of black shorts and black thigh-length socking. I thanked Kami I found some underwear too.

I put the clothes in my wardrobe and went to take a shower. I was ready just in time because Kimimaro-san came in with a tray full of food. It had a steaming bowl of soup, a bowl of rice with some good-looking sauce, a peach and a glass of water.

Well, itadakimasu! It was delicious! The food was way better here.

After I had finished, I went under the sheets trying to get some rest, even though I was so nervous.