Chapter 2 Awakening

Rapidly, her memories echoed through her mind…

* * *

It was gently snowing that day, as she recalled…

On the winding veranda of a home overlooking the small snowy village, she was with her mother – an elegant, yet melancholic woman with eyes that longed for something she could not grasp. Clothed in a flowing and simple kimono, its red cotton fabric and her long golden hair stood out from the white exterior of the snowfall. Comfortably, the young child lay on her mother's nurturing lap. With a loving gaze from her lilac coloured eyes, the silent woman ran her porcelain fingers through her daughter's golden strands. Sharing the same golden hair and gentle purple eyes, the child was her complete splitting image.

"Mom, why are we treated different than the others?" Surprised by her child's question, her hand flinched. "Why are they afraid of us?"

Gently, her mother smiled at her. "Because you and I have a special power they don't understand," She replied, softly. "It's only human nature to fear such things."

"Are there others with that power, too?" The child asked, her expression saddening.

Her mother looked up at the snowy sky, gazing at the falling snowflakes. "I'm not sure," She said. "But I believe there are, somewhere out there…"

"Are people afraid of them, too?"

Her mother sighed, comfortingly, as she continued to run her fingers through her child's hair. "Nomasaki, the Kekkei Genkai you possess is special." She cooed. "They fear it because it's strange to them, and they don't know of our clan."

With big lilac eyes, Nomasaki looked up at her from the sound of her gentle voice.

"And remember that no matter what," Her mother spoke, smiling warmly. "I will always love you."

Smiling in secure comfort, Nomasaki closed her eyes and laid her head back down on her mother's lap. There, she felt safe. She didn't want it to ever change…

* * *

Years later… When Nomasaki reached the age of ten…

"I'm home!" She said, walking through the sliding doors, closing them behind her to stop the cold from entering. The house was unusually quiet, not a single sound could be heard except her footsteps on the tatami floor. "Mom?"

There was no answer - her mother was nowhere to be seen or heard. Frantic, she walked down the hallway. "M-Mom?!"

As she searched the house near the living room, she froze in her steps. To her horror, she found her mother collapsed on the floor, unconscious and grey-eyed. "Mom!"

Almost as if by night, her mother had became gravely ill by an unknown ailment. For nearly three weeks of agony, she was bedridden – her daughter by her side at all times, attempting to nurse her back to health by bringing her food and water. From her worsening condition, her once silky gold hair turned to straw, her ivory face turned pale and gaunt, and her lungs could no longer accept the native mountain air which she yearned. Unfortunately, her disease took a dire turn for the worst on one winter evening…

Desperate, after much pleading and begging, the village's only doctor came to examine her mother's illness. Patiently, Nomasaki watched him observe her mother's vital signs, his green aura of chakra emitting over her chest in an attempt to find a solution. Narrowing his aged eyes behind his glasses, the doctor frustratedly scoffed to himself. "Not once in my practice at Yama have I witnessed something like this…" He muttered, his head hung low in regret. "Surely a rare case… your cells are dying by the thousands…"

Weakly, her mother looked up at the ceiling above, her once vibrant lilac eyes now devoid of life and determination. Accepting her impending fate as she could feel her body weaken by each passing breath.

"I'm sorry." The doctor spoke, his medical jutsu disappearing from his hands. "There's nothing I can do."

Shocked, Nomasaki turned to him, watching him solemnly pack up his medical equipment and departing into the snowy night outside. Her eyes filled with sadness, she faced her dying mother as she lay on her imminent deathbed, tears forming in her lilac eyes.

"Nomasaki…" Her mother pleaded, weakly. "Please… don't cry…"

"But… But you're dying!" Nomasaki argued, tears streaming down her face. "You're dying! I can't be left all alone!" Silently, she sobbed at her bedside, burying her face into the blankets before her. Her mother was the only family she had left - if she lost her, she would have no one. When asked about her father, her mother always remained silent on the subject – never sharing any details aside from that he was from an outside village. As for her father himself, no one knew what became of him, and she had no memory of his existence at all.

"Nomasaki," Her mother said, handing her a scroll. On its frail binding was the inscription: 'wolf'. "This scroll contains someone… who will help you… use and master our clan's… Kekkei Genkai…" Her mother explained, weakly. With surprised and tearstained eyes, Nomasaki hesitantly took the scroll from her mother's frail grasp. Life fading from her lilac eyes, her mother gazed at her for a final time. "Use it wisely…" She said, almost whisper-like. "And when he speaks… listen to him…"

"Mom…!"

And she was gone...

Days after her passing, Nomasaki traveled to a secluded meadow on the snowy mountaintop - her mother's gifted scroll in hand. As she knelt down on the snow-covered ground, she opened the scroll in front of her - laying on the frozen earth as she began to read the inscriptions. A summoning contract - had her mother been aware of her fate? From her current studies at the Yamagakure Ninja Academy, she knew very little of summoning jutsu - but she did remember the hand-sign formula. Nervously, she bit her finger and painted her name on the next blank slot - signing her name in her blood. Performing the hand-signs carefully, she mouthed each part as she remembered . "I... Inu... Tori... Saru... Hitsuji..." Hoping the jutsu would work, she pressed her palm into the snow. "Summoning jutsu!"

A huge cloud suddenly appeared where she pressed her palm - startling her. Once the cloud cleared, her eyes widened from the sight - a large white wolf was standing before her, its eyes closed as it stood on its strong limbs. Ruffling its snow-white fur, it slowly opened its slanted yellow eyes. "You…!" It spoke, in a deep, beast-like voice. Its voice jolted her. "You summoned me… It's been more than ten long years since I was last summoned... during the Third Shinobi War… Who are you?"

Gulping, she stood up on her feet, staring into the wolf's eyes as she tried to contain her fear and nervousness. "M-My name is Yamamori Nomasaki." She stammered. "I-I was told to summon you... by my mom."

"Mikomi?"

"Y-Yes." She nodded, her nervousness slowly dissipating. "Who are you?"

"Hanone." He spoke, less threatening. Startling her, the large white wolf drew closer to her, sniffing the air in front of her - twice. Once he had sniffed a certain scent, he became silent, realizing the circumstance. "Yes, you definitely are Mikomi's child. You possess the same chakra... no question about it."

Sadly, she looked down at the snow below her. "My mother… is dead." She explained. "She told me to summon you, before she died of an illness..."

"Is that so?"

Watching her nod with her glance averting his, he could sense the sorrow and despair she held within - her eyes conveying her pain for her loss. The wolf's eyes closed in sympathy for the girl who stood before him in the snowy meadow - no parents, no clan, and no future. He was all the girl had left. "Very well. I will take you under my wing." Surprised, she looked into the wolf's feral eyes - seeing her reflection emitting from its gleam. "From this day forward, I will be your mentor... and you will become a wolf."

Living her life as an orphan under Hanone's teachings, she spent her days trying to survive as best as she could - learning how to manage the aging hillside home by all herself as her wolf sat idly by on guard outside - cleaning the floors, doing the wash, and other housekeeping tasks. When she was not studying at the small and cramped Yamagakure Ninja Academy, she ventured off into the forest with Hanone, learning how to awaken her Kekkei Genkai that lay reluctantly dormant in her blood. The first step in her training was teaching her how to properly hunt - hunting rabbits, boar, and deer equipped with nothing but her instincts and a kunai. Luckily when food was scarce, there were some instances where villagers would leave leftover bread and crops to her doorstep - either through fear of the wolf who guarded her, or for pity of her being orphaned after the loss of her mother. Regardless, she appreciated the gesture.

* * *

One year later as the never-ending winter entered its annual storm season, she was just shy of turning twelve years old...

As the cold winds shook the frosted trees along their path, Hanone guided her towards the clearing located further up the snow-covered mountain - before a great and winding forest of towering fir trees. Sliding down the wolf's back as his large paws crunched in the snow, she stood in absolute marvel at the frosted trees around her.

"This is where we go our separate ways."

Shocked, she turned to him - her eyes wide with fear from his unsuspecting words. "W-What do you mean?" She stammered. Closing his eyes in silence, the wolf turned his body around and started down the path for the village - abandoning her in the cold. "But Hanone!" She shouted. "I can't become a wolf yet!"

"That's the very reason why we're here," He grunted, pausing his steps in the snow. Glancing towards her, he gestured his head towards what lay before her at the forest's edge. "Take a look at this shrine." Her gaze following his, she noticed the tiny stone monument erected before a snow-covered altar. Nature slowing taking back the last remnant of her clan. "This place is sacred to your people. The wolves of your clan would pray at this shrine... and it might be the key to unlocking your Kekkei Genkai."

"But what if it doesn't work?" She asked. "What if... I'm not strong enough?"

"It will." He answered through his jaws. "It may take time, but it's in your future. No mistake about it." Turning his large body and stance towards her in the snow, his paws crunched the icy earth beneath - the beast's eyes stern and feral. "You're going to survive in this forest by yourself... no kunai, no food, no water. To survive, you must take matters into your own hands."

Her eyes widened as she gulped, swallowing her fear for the unknown and unpredictable mountain lands. As the unforgiving ice-ridden winds swept by, the wolf was gone from her view - leaving her alone to fend for herself...

Miraculously, without the Kekkei Genkai of her forgotten clan, she managed to pull through for a month within the cold mountain forest - fending off bears and the like, hunting for food with her bare hands and drinking from the mountain lakes, and using what little she knew of wind release jutsu to survive. Although her training was successful, she did not awaken her power that lay within - much to Hanone's dismay. Despite her failure and committing to his promise, Hanone continued to guard her and teach what he knew about her people...

* * *

Vibrantly, her scattered recollections of the last few days flashed within her mind – as her panicked memory struggled to process what happened…

Standing outside of her burning home, she stood frightened and trembling as she scanned the sight before her – her entire village up in flames, the sounds of blades clashing filling the night air around her, and the once pure white snow stained with the bloody evidence of battle.

"Get out of here, now!" Hanone growled in her memory - her vision going blank and her mind echoed her mother's parting words…

"When he speaks… listen to him…"

* * *

Jolting, her vision was filled with the memory of the harshly falling snow and the icy winds that accompanied. As she struggled scaling down the treacherous mountain, she stumbled in her weakened and shivering state – her body shaking from panic. Muffling her silent sobs in the snow, she tried to lift herself up from the deep snow – falling in her weak attempt. Gritting her teeth, she tried to lift herself up once more with the last of her strength – her upper body exerting every last drop of energy that remained. "Come on, body… move… move…!"

Suddenly, a feeling of warm adrenaline flowed through her veins – as if a burst of hidden strength she never thought she had. As the pain burned through her, she cried out - her teeth becoming fanged as her weakened body began to take shape. An agonizing wave of change rumbled through her – shaking off her human skin in the favour of something hidden in her blood. With a snarling howl, the newly awakened beast dashed through the mountain forest – leaving their past life in Yamagakure behind in a desperate bid for survival…

Her memory suddenly turned black – her vision flickering weakly to the blinding desert sun above as she collapsed from her aimless journey of escape. While her vision began to darken, there was a small glimmer of light through her exhausted and drained lilac eyes. Faintly, she saw a figure dressed in burgundy with red hair that swayed in the winds of the impending storm. Their ringed eyes gazed down at her as she lay collapsed, reminding her of a tanuki – a creature of fables. She could feel their strong pulsating chakra as they came closer, her vision soon darkening…

* * *

Slowly, her eyes opened from her prolonged rest. Awakening, she jolted up from her flashes of fire and snow – feeling the panic rise up into her chest instantly. Realizing she was not in immediate danger, she paced her breathing – suddenly feeling the sting of her strained muscles from her desert travels. Weakly, she stood up from the stretcher and stepped towards the door of the stucco room she awoke in – sensing the presence of two people outside in the hall. Opening the door slightly, she peered through the crack – eavesdropping on the conversation.

"So, is it true?"

"Yes, sir."

Flinching back into the room, her finger lightly grazed the doorframe - silently listening to the Sand ninja who conversed in the tiled hallway.

"The squads we've sent to Yamagakure just returned… they haven't found any survivors as of yet." One of the Sand ninja explained. "The whole village was completely destroyed."

"And the cause of this?" The other asked – a stern-faced upper ninja wearing a turban-like face covering. A jōnin, she suspected – she could sense the skill from his chakra, but how?

"Bandits, Baki-sama. Hailing from Ishigakure of the Land of Claws, it seems."

"I see," Baki nodded, dismayed. "So their rogue groups have once again terrorized another village in our midst… and Yama, out of all of them. I didn't think the settlement was still occupied."

Her eyes growing heavy from sadness, she silently closed the door - refusing to hear any more. Were there truly no more survivors of her village? Deep down, she desperately wanted to hang onto hope but could not bring herself to be optimistic. Yamagakure was gone – forgotten by the other villages, just as its nation disappeared from authority shortly after the formation of the Five Great Nations. The Land of Mountains was only a distant memory to her now.

Feeling the strong sunlight and the great masses of chakra congregating around her, she walked towards the window in curious urgency – where was she? Surprised beyond her imagination, she stared at the sight before her wide-eyed. Unbeknownst to her at first, she found herself within a large desert village – surrounded by a fortified valley of rock formations, shielding the settlement from the scourge of the encompassing desert. All around her were buildings made of sand and stucco, appearing as though they were touching the sky – all in a form of pure art. This mysterious place was unlike anything she had ever witnessed before, heavily dwarfing her tiny homeland in the north.

"What is this place?"