Hey!

I'm here with another story! Whoop whoop! A few weeks ago a friend of mine sent me a LONG list of story types that usually pique his interest and (damn you Kilare T'Suna) he knew I would get interested in a few of them. Among the list he gave me was a Naruto that wasn't born in Konoha. My favourite hidden village of ALL TIME is Kiriagakure (I'm having a Kiri-fan-gasm right now). If I'm going to be honest I prefer Iwa over Konoha, seriously.

Back to the point.

I chose Kiri because I liked it; I could have chosen ANY OTHER village but I chose Kiri. Anyway…that being said I also love tragic stories; I've got a weird penchant for reading them and I'm trying to start writing my very own series of tragic novels (fantasy based too and most definitely not fanfiction). This story is just my way of dipping my fingers and seeing whether or not I can write tragedies as good as I can read them. Constructive criticism's welcome :)

Now onto something else; I've read all your wonderful reviews on Night is a Nara and I have to say, it makes me very happy. Thank you all very much for giving it a chance and never fear, I'm making another chapter for it. Another story, besides this one, I want to talk about it The Cursed Maker. Many of your fantastic reviews have given me ideas on how to start another spin-off (sequel? Prequel? Second part? I don't know) and it revolves around either Naruto's (remember, he's like sixty five in that story) younger days, the story continued from Mikoto's (his granddaughter) POV or a cross over to another (or many other) universes. I might take all or I might take one, I'm not sure which one exactly but we'll just have to see when I release it huh. Last off (I promise this is it) a guest reviewer reminded me of the alternate version of Ink Heart that I mentioned once upon a time. I'll publish it one of these days.

Enough of my prattling!

I hope you enjoy reading as much as I enjoyed writing.

Warning: There will be dark and depressing themes. Beware.

I DO NOT OWN NARUTO

CHAPTER 1

Kiriagakure no Sato

She was a demon of the Bloody Mist. Created by the war and forged by the fires of death and loss.

"Zero, I have a mission for you." The light voice of the red haired Mizukage flitted around the office and there was a vague misty shimmer in the air in front of her desk before the form of the ninja she had called 'Zero' appeared before her. A tall, lithe woman in deep blue ANBU grade pants with light purple leg warmers reaching close to her knees but at the same time leaving her black painted toes and her heels open, a black sleeveless turtle neck shirt with long light purple arm warmers similar to her socks that reached close to her elbows and leaving her fingers exposed, and a jounin vest on her torso, was who stood at attention before the desk. The woman cocked her head to the side, sending a small shiver down the Mizukage's spine at how the hunter ninja mask fixed securely on Zero's head ominously moved with her, her shaggy blonde hair, looking like she had been mildly electrocuted, shifted with the motion. It was a fixture that the world class hunter wore with her everywhere; no one had ever seen her face and some even believed that she slept with it on, if that is she even slept at all and if Mei Terumi was going to be honest it terrified her to no end that she didn't know the face or the true identity of the best hunter ninja the world has ever seen.

Zero Hunter was her name and she was the wielder of the legendary Sewing needle, The Nuibari of the Seven Swords of the Mist. It was a narrow long sword that resembled a large needle with a long length of thin wire spooled through the eye at the bottom of the sword. The wire was not something people overlooked; Zero was able to manipulate the length and the strength of the wire by a simple mental command. Her skill with her sword was otherworldly and her mission success rate was still at a hundred percent. It was providence that Mei had found her being tortured in her former home by numerous non-bloodline holders, forced to watch as they raped her mother repeatedly and took turns on her as well until she became silent with resignation.

Mei had heard rumours of the Kiri shinobi pillaging a community and with the somewhat close proximity of her rebel camp with the settlement the kind hearted woman could not sit back and allow it happen. They had arrived too late, days too late, and the only survivor of the grisly massacre after the rebels had killed all of the Kiri shinobi was a frizzy haired, tormented ten year old girl that was crouched in a corner, wearing only a mucky sack and covering her face as she blubbered quietly, begging her invisible tormentors to stop. She never allowed them to see her face, throwing on a mask worn by a dead Kiri ninja and grabbing a rusty pipe to defend herself against the new perceived threat; the rebel forces that had 'saved' her hamlet.

Her home.

When she saw that it was the infamous leader of the rebel forces that had arrived she had collapsed on her knees and cried. The rebels took the lone girl back to their base and treated her of her wounds, though they could never heal her of her psychological scars. Even as she slept the nurses tried to remove her mask but the girl would wake up and hiss venom on them, slinking backwards into a corner and growling at them. She was finally cleared to leave the makeshift hospital ward and the little girl attempted to run away to the forest, possibly to end her tortured life but she was stopped by the rebel leader, Mei Terumi, and the lava release user gave her a gift to take along with her.

The sewing needle.

In a way it was the Mizukage that had saved her, even though she and her forces arrived much too late; during her time as a captive in her own home, repeatedly violated and passed around like a piece of meat, she hoped and prayed for salvation. Her mother had died of a mysterious infection before her very eyes and she still prayed, her father had been hung by his large intestine before her very eyes and she still prayed for salvation…

…her precious twin brother fled the village…without her…and she still prayed for a saviour.

She stopped hoping and wishing after the thirtieth time they had defiled her and stopped struggling.

When she was liberated she desired death and the nurses refused to let her meet it; she couldn't sleep, she couldn't eat, she couldn't move without being savagely reminded of her ordeal in her destroyed home. She took the rebel leader's gift and ran into the forest. Zero wanted to die, free herself from her demons once and for all, but she couldn't bring herself to stab the needle into her heart to end all the pain.

The masked girl still felt she had a purpose before she could finish herself off…

Her mother always kept saying how she and her brother were born holding hands; he came out of her belly first and he helped drag her out, never once letting go of her hand. Her twin was her world and she was his world too; they could lose everything they ever loved but as long as they had each other they would find a way to survive. That was the promise they made themselves when they were young and she had died the very moment he ran away without turning back when the first fire jutsu hit; he was helping their mother usher people into their house because it was a safe zone, it was what their father kept saying and she felt even he didn't believe himself, and she was helping her mother herd the cows back into the barn. They had gotten wind of oncoming Kiri ninjas and they were preparing for the worst. It wasn't their first assault from the wicked ninjas but an innate feeling told them that it was going to be the final attack.

One moment she was being licked playfully by their pet dog and then the next moment an explosion rocked the barn and she was on her side, staring at her brother from a distance, half of his head badly singed and running with all the strength he could muster.

She didn't know that a lightning jutsu struck him on his head.

Naruto broke her heart when he ran away and it had killed her. In that forest she made the decision to find her twin brother and kill him for killing her, only then would she let herself die.

Hatred was a great motivation for Zero and after eight years of silence she returned to Mei, the woman that had 'saved' her and whom she had sworn her loyalty to, and helped in the war effort to remove the despotic three tails jinchuriki. The then eighteen year old hunter, wearing a new mask she had carved and painted herself, created a name for herself during the war. A self-taught swordswoman that dispatched of her opponents with silent efficiency and speed, Mei could even go as far as say that if Zero had not been a constant, stable force in the war against the evil Mizukage then the war would have dragged on for much longer. There was a reason Zero changed her name to 'Zero'; she had nothing left to live for except watching the light leave her brothers eyes, 'Hunter' because she wanted to be a hunter ninja, plain and simple.

Zero Hunter was frighteningly proficient as a ninja, not only as a swordswoman, strong enough to be ranked as second strongest sword user among the other Seven Swordsmen of the Mist and this was only so because she hadn't yet battled against Kisame Hoshigaki, the wielder of the Samehada, for the top spot. The shark man defected from Kiri before she could face off with him, and so far Kisame had been avoiding the hunter at every turn; she would track him to Waterfall and he would run to Suna, she would follow him there and he would flee to Chill. It was a game of cat and mouse until the infamous hunter allowed the man to go; she had better things to worry about than fighting a weak kneed man.

Like her brother there were stories being spun by people about her origin; they believed she was also a demon summoned by the new Mizukage to serve her until death, seeing as Zero was loyal to the Terumi first before anyone else. The female hunter ninja rarely spoke, serving to create even more myths and stories about her, and she moved with the swiftness of a trained veteran; no movement was wasted.

Mei trusted the other powerful female, possibly as much as her one eyed guard, Ao, and the ever flustered Hiramekerai (twin swords) user, Choujuro. It was why she kept Zero around, despite the secrecy shrouding around the blonde woman.

"A few scouts have discovered increased activity in the Fog forest and they have reported that the former commander of Yagura's forces was among them. It says here that they are a little over forty. I want you to head over there and see for yourself if they are going to be a threat to Kiri, and if so eliminate them quickly." She said and the masked woman bowed slightly. "Do you accept?"

"I accept."

"Good. I trust you won't need support." The older woman distractedly asked as she began dealing with another important document that needed to be handled immediately.

"No, ma'am." She prepared to flicker out of the office but waited when the woman raised her hand.

"I have another mission to give you as soon as you're done with this one," Zero nodded for her to continue. "As you may know, the Fire daimyo and his family are here to have an alliance negotiation with our daimyo. Our daimyos palace is still under construction so they will talk in this office. They must be on their way right now," she said as she looked out of the window at the slightly dim light of the sun shining over the misty village. "If you accept, I want you to handle your first mission as fast as you can and escort the Fire lord from the border of our country; I know he will have his guardians with him but it is just a show of sincerity that our daimyo has personally requested. Do you accept?"

Zero was silent for a few minutes, slightly unnerving the powerful Kage but not driving her to become suspicious only because she trusted the hunter to be able to handle the other mission and she would be surprised if Zero declined; the hunter never declined a mission, especially from her. Zero pursed her lips tightly as she struggled to let the question leave her lips. "Will the…black butler… be with the Fire lord?"

This made Mei wonder; it wasn't the burden of handling about forty ninjas at once then rushing to meet the Fire daimyo but rather whether or not the enigmatic butler to the Fire country royal family was accompanying them. She shrugged and nodded. "I've heard that he never leaves their sides." Zero waited silently for the woman to provide a definite answer. Mei nodded. "Yes, he will be with them."

"I accept, my Lady." She bowed again and the Mizukage waved for her to leave.

Authors note

This was a trial chapter to see if anyone would be up for reading more. Let me make something clear now before you all come after my head; this is NOT a bashing on Naruto (or Naruto bashing) story. I will not be bashing Naruto, to clarify again. I mean, there will be a lot of negative things that would be said about Naruto but he won't be senselessly thrown around like an S.O.B (he's a butler with a moniker…that should clue you in on what he can do BUT read on to see why ;) ) but don't forget that this is also a tragedy. So be on your toes; Naruto might die, Zero might die, both might die, heck the world might even be one huge genjutsu in an altered infinite Tsukoyomi Madara successfully casted without anyone knowing.

Who knows? (hehe)

Speaking of Zero, what do you think of her? Do you think her pent up anger is justified? Is she right to be angry Naruto ran away without looking back?

Is there a reason Naruto didn't look for her before fleeing? Tell me what you think!

Before I get heckles, no, I did not steal Kisame's moniker and gave it to her and again no I also didn't steal Zabuza's moniker and gave it to her. I didn't remember Kisame was nicknamed the Zero Tailed Beast until I started writing the second chapter and I know Zabuza was called the Demon of the Mist, but for this story he isn't called that.

Check me out on Tumblr ghost – of – foy :)

Tell me what you think of the story and whether or not any one is interested in reading more. I'll greatly appreciate it! :D

I hope your safe wherever you are in the world, I hope you stay safe and I will see you when I see you.

Foy.