Fleeing the Leaf. First steps into the open world.

If he had to do it. He was going to do it at night.

Hikaru was stalking through the remains of the leaf village. With all the political turmoil going on…it just didn’t seem like the place for him to be. He would probably be hated for leaving like this, but he didn’t care. He had packed up his white robe and a pair of clothes, along with roughly a basket worth of fruit in a back pack. For now he was dressed in black, tying up his hair in a ponytail before rolling it into a bun on his head. A black hood covered his white hair, now he could blend in with the night if someone happened to spot him. The only thing marring his complete black disguise was the sheath of his blade Eri, the white ash wood standing out in the darkness.

Shuffling through semi empty streets, hiding behind building when he needed to, the male made his way towards the exit of the village. He had a few fond memories here in the leaf, but all of those were meaningless if the village was spiraling out of control. For now…he hoped…he would flee to the Hidder Cloud village. Word had gone around that an Uchiha was spotted there, maybe If he found this other Uchiha he could learn alittle more about his bloodline. He was too caught up in his thinking that he almost ran into a patrol of leaf shinobi. Thinking quickly, he dashed into the safety of a nearby shadow cast by a tall home.

Luckily the patrol passed him by, walking down the pathway before rounding a corner and disappearing from his sight. A small relieved sigh came from the male and after looking around for any more patrols he made a dash for the exit, making it past the open door with no incident…or so he thought. He didn’t think about patrolmen on the outside of the village. That little mishap almost cost him dearly. Had it not been for the fact that they had their backs to him, chatting with each other instead of patrolling as they should have been. Hikaru’s breath hitched in his chest, almost making him gasp. He clamped down on the breath however, keeping up his silence as the gaurds, probably fresh chunin, continued to talk.

He creeped as quietly as he could, ducking behind a tree, shuffling behind another tree until he made his way out of earshot of the two novice gaurds. With a relieved sigh he was now on his way, finding a trail leading away from the village. He turned back to bid a silent farewell to his birth place before turning back forward with his eyes focused on the horizon.

Kamoku looked around the rubble. Several patrolmen were around, but that didn't bother him much. their selective hearing and lack of night vision made them sitting ducks. He continued to stand on the large rock and watched as a boy with a bag jump around the rubble to the direction of the closest border. He smiled. The boy had a bit of talent for lurking.

Kamoku hopped from the rubble and landed on another solid rock, his wrapped feet not making a sound. As he walked towards the boy, the boy turned to face him. Kamoku was a bit surprised until he caught how unfocused the boy was. The boy couldn't see him because of the darkness. Excellent.

He continued to follow the boy until they reached the border trail. It was still clearly dark and Kam couldn't make contact or attack the boy when they were so far from the border itself. So he had to just sit, wait, and follow. Kamoku remained in the darkness as he did so. Analyzing the head of the boy. Concentrating on that time bomb within. He had to get him to a major hospital before anything happened to give him a high blood pressure. Having high adrenalin and blood pressure would speed up the process. Escaping was no walk in the park.

Kamoku then walked to the boy's left flank just in case anyone attacked. He ad much better vision than the boy, though the only thing he couldn't control was the glowing of his yellow eyes. If the boy turned completely to the left, he would see those eerie floating eyes.

Hikaru was freaked out. It was all nice and easy getting away from the village, but out here in the open he felt extremely vulnerable. His ears flicked slightly and he turned around quickly, peering in the shadows behind him. No one could have noticed he was gone, he had made sure to be as careful as possible. So why was he getting this extremely weird feeling like he was being watched. It made his skin crawl and he shivered in the cool night air. Reaching up towards his head, he pulled off his black hood, letting his braided length of hair uncoil and fall down his back.

He sighed as he trodded onward, stopping at a clearing in the woods with the village disappearing in the distance. He set his pack down and reached inside of it, pulling out a pouch of kunai and strapping it to the left side on his hip. All of his studying taught him that he had to be prepared when facing the outside world. Next he pulled out a small map, setting it down on a rock as he reached for a piece of fruit as well. His current objective was to get to the hidden Cloud village in one piece.

Once he had the destination in mind he rolled up the map and put it back in his pack, tugging the baggage back over his shoulder as he began to walk onward. That prickling feeling never left him, if he focused hard enough he was sure he could see something silhouetted on his peripheral. Slowly, he turned to face the right, then the left side, his hand reaching up to clasp the hilt of his blade.” Who’s out there?”

There was a manic laugh right on the boys left side, as if it was right next to him. It was a crazy laugh as if that person was slightly mentally ill. Kam sighed inwardly, he wished that his pointed teeth wouldn't distort his voice. Though he guess that not everybody was happy with themselves, whether it was a laugh or a body part.

Kamoku opened his eyes wider so the boy could see that there was someone standing next to him. " Vell it looks like umans may not be vell at teir five senses, but are very adapt at teir sixt. Especially ven tey are in igh-end situations." His laugh wasn't the only thing that was distorted. His english was terrible and was hard to decipher. If the boy thrusted his flashlight at kam, he would see a white haired skinny man with bandaged legs that threw weird shapes, as if there were claws under there. Kam was wearing thick gloves that were weighted with scraps of metal he found and fashioned together. His wayward hair looked as if he had a fight with a barber, either that or he never even heard of the word 'hairbrush'.

Kam sighed. " Don't get me vrong, I don't usually stalk people like this. I only do so if they need me for a..certian reason. If you go over to a different village without stopping at a ospital, you vill die before you reach your destination."

Hikaru jumped as he heard the laugh, drawing his blade out of pure reflex, bringing it to a ready position. His Nodachi glinted slightly in the moonlight, the blade held in front of the boy’s body. His eyes were wide as he stared around, finally locking onto a pair of large yellow orbs right next to him. He shuffled back a few feet, putting a bit of speaking distance between himself and the new arrival. “Who are you!?” he said, wincing as he realized he was shouting. He looked around, then faced the person once again. “Who are you?” He asked, narrowing his eyes at his new found stalker.

He had no idea what the male had said but something definitely got through the boy’s head. “What do you mean I’ll die?!” He whispered fiercely, glaring at the person who stood before him. How was this man supposed to know anything about him, especially if he was going to die. Hikaru felt perfectly fine, but this news was starting to trouble him. Doubt began to set in almost instantly. “Well….are there any hospitals nearby?” He asked, a bit of hope in his voice. He didn’t want to die right after he had escaped from the leaf village…that all seemed like a huge waste.

Kamoku grinned and walked into the moonlight. His short figure made him less threatening and was almost considered a dwarf to human standards. Though unlike dwarfs, he was extremely thin.Too thin to be walking or even standing up. " Tere is a opsital in te next village. Don't worry, I am a doctor." (curse you family guy)

Kamoku ignored the knife and waited for him to walk down the dirt road. " Don't get too vorried. It vill get vorse if you do." The black night continued to lighten up. The witching hour was gone and the early birds were starting to rise. The sun wasn't up yet but the boy could see the glow. A morning mist began to creep at their feet and he saw kamoku as he was.

Kamoku's yellow eyes had mutliple pupils; at least twelve that was visible. His pale skin made him look like a ghost and his white hair was spatterd with dried human blood. His outfit was unusuall and his feet were too long to be human. He was a beast. one of kamoku's toes were showing. Though the toe was actually a black claw digging into the earth. He also had a 3 inch spurr on the back of his heel which was also showing. " Let us go to the vard, i ave all the tools i need close to tat village. A vonderful iron and coal deposit it tere." He laughed wildly again.

Hikaru blinked a few times as he finally got a look at the male. With a sigh he sheathed his sword and folded his arms. The guy was small…and so far he didn’t give off any type of hidden malice. Maybe he could trust this person…for a bit. “So I take it you’re gonna cure me just because you feel like it? “He asked, growing suspicious once again. “What are you hoping to gain from curing me of this…whatever it is I have that’s going on.” He continued, taking a glance to the side to look at the slowly rolling mist. The sun was about to rise soon.

He turned back to the apparent doctor, his eyes widening in surprise as he got an actual good look at who…what he was talking to. “You’re…” He began before cutting himself off. Here this guy told him he was about to die from some unknown force…and he was about to say something possibly rude about his appearance. No way was that going to happen. “So I guess you lead the way?” He continued, hoping he didn’t catch his beginning sentence

Kamoku laughed. " No, there will be a small question after I cure you, but the choice is yours to make." Kamoku walked down the misty trail. He wasn't running because he didn't want to raise the boy's blood pressure nor did he want to dirty his bandages. " So vat's your name? Mine is Kamoku Villov. I'm a Sand shinobi. I know that you are a gennin from the leaf."

Kamoku grinned at the reaction. " Yes, I'm not uman. Tough if you vant to ask questions, I don't mind. In order for your kind to advance, questions need to be answers. No?" Kamoku laughed at the thought while walking. They were close to the border. They could see a few guards at the end. Kamoku smiled and stopped. " ere, put tis as a apazard sling and vrap te oters around your face." Kamoku unwrapped his legs. His claws streached out and his black pointed ends dug into the earth immediately. He then undid his pant ends so they could drape over his feet. "Give me your band and I vill get you across."

“Um…alright then.” Hikaru nodded, following the non human down the trail. He had all kinds of questions pertaining to the figure’s body. Why did he have a giant claw on his foot? Why was he so small? Why did he talk so funny? But all of these were held in check. He didn’t want to appear rude in front of the male, who later gave his name as Kamoku…he could take a rough guess that his last name was Willow. “My name is….Hikaru…” Here he paused, not knowing if his clan name wasn’t allowed to be spoken or something of the sort. “Hikaru Uchiha.” He continued, finding the small man trustworthy for now…if push came to shove and he was ambushed or something because of a trap…he would high tail it out of there as fast as he could.

Once they arrived at what looked like the border of another village Hikaru stopped as soon as Kamoku did. Once the male had pulled out some bandages and told Hikaru to wrap himself up with them he did as he was told. When it came to remove his band he was rather hesitant for some reason, but after a few moments that had come off and he handed it to the small man. “There…” He said once he was all wrapped up, waiting for Kamoku to take up the lead once again.

Kamoku smiled. " An Ucia, eh? Never liked teir lifestyle muc. Teir always getting into messes, like you." Kam laughed as he pocketed the headband. " Don't vorry, I'll give it back." He continued to walk to the border, his eyes boring into the Chunnin guards. He smiled, the men jumping back. While Hikaru wasn't watching, he had pasted blood over his teeth. " ello, I am the Scientist of te Sand. I ave come to help the Leaf vit teir recovery, since all of my equipment is in the next village I need to transport this young one tere." Kam's eyes glinted as he usually did when he hunted. " So please step aside, friends."

The men stumbled backwards and one fell over as the short man walked by. Laughing slightly at their reactions. People were so preoccupied with appearances. They didn't even notice that his stance was passive. As soon as they were out of earshot, Kam spat out the blood and rubbed his mouth with his sleeve, uttering foul curses. " bloody frogs taste vorse tan a cats ass. Next time I ever go near one ill fucking eat te man vho made ten into a jacking delecacy...." The curses went on for a good half-hour going in and out to different languages. The ones he could spot was japanese, french, hindu, and mandrin. The others were strange and confusing.

Hikaru turned to face Kamoku, about to ask him about his clan but he stopped himself, they were already approaching the border guards. Once the smaller man told them to step aside, and the fact that they quickly did so, made him think that this small man had more power and influence than the boy had guessed. He quietly followed Kamoku, staring ahead until they were out of earshot of the guards. “What did you mean by their life style. Can you tell me more about the Uchiha clan?” He whispered, eager to know more.

His question however may have been lost on the male’s violent stream of curses. Had Hikaru known even half the languages Kamoku was speaking in the foul words he was saying would have probably turned the boy’s ears pink. Once the male had quieted down to a conversational level he repeated his question to him, “And where is this hospital you’re taking me too?” He added, looking around as they walked.

Kamoku looked over his shoulder and sighed. " Ucia's were te police force in te leaf. Teir emblem was te same as te clans. Te vas eld in igh regard and vas respected vitout earning it. teir attractive cildren got into plenty of trouble, but vas excused and given igh marks due to teir good training at ome. I once vas a friend of one of te ucias and sav vot tey do. te tramp around te streets as if te needed more respect. vile my clan protected te entire race from dying off. picking off the uselless umans as if tey were dead brances, ten feeding tem to our ovn cildren so tey knov tat tey vill end up like tat if tey dont protect te good umans. Te ucias was the most developed umans tat we ave encountered, but teir foolisness led tem to die. Ve cannot protect ucias from oter ucias." He grumbled. Slightly ranting.

Kamoku was walking to The Valley of the end where there was a small area. A few villagers were cleaning medical supplies. " I tend to travel a lot so i bring some of my assistants wit me. Due to te fact tat most of tem ave to do wit re-atacing limbs an bypass surguries to te eart. Brains are one of te more common of my operations." Kamoku went to a basin and took off his gloves. there were black claws at the ends of his hands, making them look menacing. He scrubbed hard with what smelled like cactus soap.

Hikaru stayed silent as Kamoku told him the bit of history on the Uchiha. “Were they…I mean we…really that…snobby?” he ventured, not really able to find a correct word. So far it sounded like the Uchiha we’re pretty lazy. “Well…I’m not going to be like that.” He vowed, nodding his head as he walked along with Kamoku. “I’ll earn my respect.” He went on, making all sorts of mental promises to be a better person. “Is that all you know about the Uchiha?” He asked, thinking that there was more to the history than the little bit the male had told him.

When they reached the valley Hikaru recognized it almost instantly. It was one of the landmarks that he had studied in a text book. He had to keep his mouth shut from going off and ahhh like a new tourist in the place and instead just stared around, making sure to follow Kamoku. Once the male was getting himself prepared Hikaru just stood there. “Is there somewhere you want me to sit or something?” He asked, looking around for an operating table or some other medical bed…thing.

Kamoku sighed as he placed thick latex gloves over his hands and a surgical mask. " Te surgical cair is best, you vill need to stay awake during the operation or i wont knov vheter you vent brain dead." kamoku chuckled a bit. " concerning the ucia bloodline, i knov 300 years of is development. Do you vant to knov all of it? Or sould i tell you the sort verision?" kamoku was dressed in a clean coat and began sealing the area from bacteria.

" Once you are ready to do the surgery, I vill ave to save a patch on your ead, give you a pain killer salve on it and i vill cut te skin for around 3 inces. I ten vill cut a patc of your skull out and reduce te clot so te blood vill pass. I ten vill patc you back up, give you some food and, pills for you to take for the next 6 monts. Tough tere is another vay for me to do tis. Even vith a villov vom can see everyvere at once and able to see for several miles if controlled. It is still a risky business. vould you coose being a guujin, or vould you take te surgery and fulfill your promise?" Kamoku smiled under his mask.

Hikaru looked around for said medical chair, locating what he hopefully thought was it. He removed his pack along with his sword, setting them down by the chair as he sat down on the it, making himself as comfortable as he could as he waited. “Um…the short version please.” He muttered. 300 years was a lot of information…. He looked over at Kamoku, wondering how someone of his stature could be a doctor, if it was under different circumstances then he would have probably chuckled at the idea.

He listened quietly to Kamoku explain the medical procedure, most of it lost on his young mind. “If you cut my head open….won’ that kill me?” He asked, wondering for a moment if he should just get up and flee. But if the male wanted to kill him, something told him he could have been done with it a long time ago instead of going through all of this. He looked at him once he…sort of…stated his offer and shook his head. “I’ll be an Uchiha through and through…Nothing is going to change that…or get me to stray from my promise.” He nodded, leaning back in the chair, placing his arms on the armrests. “I’m ready….” He went on…at least…he hoped he was.

Kamoku grinned. " Tat's your choice. So the ucias were under a certain sinobi during te fuedal era. te most poverful vere the ucias and te rinnengans. Te funny ting was, is tat te leaders of bot of those clans were broters and their powers were given to them by teir sensei." kamoku laughed. He slipped a giant blue bib over hikaru's neck and then viced his head. " This is going to tickle a bit." kamoku retracted one of his claws, the latex streaching with it, he swiftly shaved a patch of his head about the size of a silver dollar. He then took a vat of yellow salve and slapped a few fingerfuls on top of it and rubbed it in. " Gonna ave to vait till tat sinks in. You vont be able to feel tat part for a vile."

Kamoku conintinued the story. " Soon tey did battle and te Ucias von. You knov vere tat took place? Rigt ere. My fater vas vit te Rinnengans to make sure tat tey didn't completely die off. My uncle Mirov vas on te oter side for te same reason. Tey took artifacts from te site after te figt tey placed it in a istorical conservation in our HQ. It is still tere. After tat, te Ucias made the leaf village and ven tey religuised teir old after a mob requested it, tey became te police force. Since ten, tey ad a good history but that one battle svelled up teir eads. Just tvo Ucias destroyed the clan. Mandara and Itaci. I ope you von't make tat mistake by following tem." (btw, this naruto x is stages several generations after the manga)

Kamoku watched as his assistants hooked him up to a pulse rater, overlooking his bp, his health, sticking an iv up his arm and taking small checks of his reactions. One lady sat down in front of Hikaru and was holding up some flash cards. She held up a card of a triangle. " Sir, what shape is this?"

Hikaru listened diligently, mumbling words to show he understood what Kamoku was saying. “Itachi and Madara huh?...I’ll make sure not to walk the same path as they did.” He said, relaxing as Kamoku went to work shaving the desired spot on his head. His eyebrows creased together once he felt something smeared on his head. “What’s that stuff?” He asked, resisting the urge to shiver as his head slowly began to feel weird as it got numb.

That unfeeling spot on his head began to bother him for some reason. He wanted to sctratch that spot so bad after a few minutes but he held his desire in check. “So what are these items that you took?” He asked, curiosity gnawing at the pit of his stomach. His eyes flicked towards the assistant that was now holding up a card in front of him. “It’s triangle…” He resisted adding an immature ‘duh’ to the end of his sentence, this was a time to be serious.

Kamoku thought for a bit. " Tere vas an Ucia breastplate and a Rinnengan svord. Ve never cleaned it or touced it. Teir prints are still on tere and everyting." Kamoku cut the length and watched the spinal fluid trickle out a bit as he concentrated on the end of his claw. After a few seconds his claw was smoking. He then delved down to the skin and stopped the small blood valves that was bleeding. As he placed his claw in a cup of cold water, one of the assistants dabbled the spinal fluid away. Kamoku then cut through some more and removed a peice of Hikaru's skull. He laughed. " Its a sedative salve so you vont scream your pretty little lungs out."

He then pulled up the vein and poked at it till it swelled. He then took a syringe from an assistant and injected a clear liquid into it. " I didn't knov tat little boys felt like tis inside." Kam was smiling ear to ear. This was his happy time. " Dont vorry, tis is just a dilluter for tis single vein. It vill pass trough in a fev ours." Kamoku then put the cap back in and sealed it shut. After that, he sealed the skin together with heat. he then took a sponge and wiped off the rest of the salve. " Okay, ve're done." Kamoku took a breath while going through a cabinet. He pulled out a capusle of pills. " Okay, take tese for 6 monts once a day so clots dont appen again." Kamoku opened up the vice and let Hikaru to move about. "You vill feel a bit ligt-eaded."

Hikaru blinked as he felt some sort of….something…in the back of his head. “What was that?” He asked, not knowing that now a bit of his skull had been removed. That was some good stuff the doctor used, he hadn’t felt a thing. “Yeah…I kinda need my lungs.” He said, chuckling nervously. He wasn’t feeling anything, but that didn’t mean all was well and good. He hoped Kamoku wasn’t going to make a mistake. “What does the sword look like?” He asked, intrigued about the items. “Were there any slash marks on the breastplate?”

He winced slightly as he felt a pin prick of pain. He blinked in rapid succession as the finishing touches were soon done. When he had free use of his head once again he slowly stood up, feeling a wave of dizziness crash on him. He fought it off however and stretched so he could get the blood running through his veins again. “Thank you Kamoku.” He said, turning to the male with a smile. He took the capsule of pills from him, opening it up and ingesting the first pill for the day. “Better start now right?” he said, looking around once again. “Soo…what happens now?”

Kamoku yawned. " Tere were tvo slash marks and a stab on te breastplate rigt at te eart. Te svord vas engraved in japanese. I cannot tell you te sapes because Villovs cannot see sapes." Kamoku pulled off the gloves and the mask. " Vell, better get going. You need your food so take some of tat poison stuff out of your pack and eat tat." Kamoku was refering to ther fruit.

"Ve need to go before sunrise or te guards vill barr our vay. itcing for a stroll? 34 miles of sprints is some good warm-ups." He chuckled but was crying inside. He hated running, it made him use his skinny body to its full extent.

“Wow…that sounds really cool.” Hikaru said, smiling at Kamoku. He reached over to the side of the chair, picking up his bag and his sword, putting it back in its rightful place against his back. His back pack went over the sheath of his sword, securing it in place as he looked back at Kamoku once again. “Then what are we waiting for? Lets hit the road right now.” He grinned. He had to remove his pack though so he could grab a piece of fruit. With that little task out of the way he was all set to go.

Kamoku grinned and began running out of the tent torwards the cloud. " Ve ave to pass anoter village to get tere. If you get tired, just tell me." Kamoku and them began running for hours. Passing rolling hills and streams. Through woods and small patches of clearings that was perfect for laying down. though the Morning mist still swirled around them, the up and coming sun started to dissapate the mist as if it was the opening of a curtain to a beutiful opera.

Kam checked everywhere constantly. Usually people either felt one of two things. Caution or triuph. He was getting so close to the Cloud where he would drop off the kid, go to the hospital and see if anyone needed his help to become a Guujin. Anyone who was terminally ill was qualified since it was either this or death. Most people picked being a guujin and even more picked to be a shinobi. Might as well serve your years in the begining so the rest of your immortal life could be spent in bliss, right? Kamoku couldn't wait to open those bodies and poke around. He was getting jittery just thinking about it. (lol happy time)

“Hey!” Hikaru called after the fleeing figure, huffing slightly as he dashed out of the tent to try and catch up. His pace soon slowed however, not out of tiredness, but because he realized it wasn’t a race. His feet fell confidently on the ground as he dashed onward, the breeze rushing by making him smile slightly. Traveling was rather fun…if nothing bad happened while you were doing it. “It’s really something…out here.” He said, awe making his voice rather soft.

Here he was, on his way to a new land, hopefully a new home, where he could learn more and grow into a respectable person. “Hey Kamoku! How much longer!?” He shouted against the wind, dashing across the grass to try and catch up to him, small gasps of air coming from the male as the first stages of fatigue began to come up on him. He could still go on for a while longer though.

Kamoku stopped on a dime, his hair had flew back and stuck there. It was a funny sight. " Only a fev more miles to te cloud. Ve sould rest ere and let you catc your breat. Your blood sugar is lov." Kamoku sat down and pulled his feet up to his face. He then began to clean his footclaws with his sharp nails. Scratching the dirt and rocks off, then rubbing the rest on the grass. " The cloud is where my neice used to be.Dear god she was evil...though very talented. Almost completely oposite to you." Kam scratched his head.

"se tried killing me tvice. Se retracted er claws and tried to rip my face off. Tough i regenerate fast, but i still have tis scar." he pointed to his jugular where her claws had been. " Te cloud made er a bit soft tough, se was friends with kitsuke. Te legendary sannin wen they bot were just kids." Kam laughed.

Hikaru wasn’t as talented as Kamoku when it came to stopping like that. He had to slow his steps considerably before he came to a shuffling halt right next to the male. Small pants came from him and a bit of sweat could be seen on his brow. “Yeah…Lets do…that.” He panted, practically dropping his pack on the ground. Ok so he was tired…he wasn’t going to admit it though. He watched what Kamoku was doing for a moment, fascinated by the claw on his foot before he plopped down by his pack, reaching inside of it to grab another fruit.

He chewed rather lazily, mechanically eating the fruit along with another. He wanted some meat…or at least some bread…this fruit taste was starting to get to him. “Yeah…I don’ t think I’d like a sister like that.” He swallowed his fruit, staring at the scar on Kamoku’s neck, wondering why he hadn’t bled to death from a cut like that. “I guess luck was on your side that day.” He nodded, stretching once again, giving his body a brisk shake to get the blood flowing. “So…shall we be off?” He asked, eager to get to the new destination.