Tigara's Tale

Tigara's Tale

An Offshoot of Nari's Story

By Dawn Loge

Disclaimer:

Sadly, I don't own Naruto, I do, however, own Tigara and Ari and my sister owns Nari and several other original characters. Please have the consideration to not use them; I don't use your characters, so don't use mine or my sister's.

I have my sister's permission to use her characters, since she is also helping me with this story, otherwise, this would be rather boring.

Chapter 1

The Beginning

She was born Akimoto Tigara in Kiri. Her clan was one of the largest and most respected (more like feared) in the village. No one dared get on their bad sides because of their Kekkei Genkai. They could ruin the entire village if they pooled their power. But they had a dark secret; the men of the clan were pedophiles. When Tigara was six, she was raped by several of them. She tried to go to the Mizukage of the village, but he ignored her claims, not wanting a clan war. It went on like this for over a year; one of them would rape her, she would go to the Mizukage and be ignored. One day, one of the women followed her when she went to the Mizukage. She told the other women what Tigara had done. They conspired together to kill her, not knowing that Tigara was hiding in the closet from her cousin and overheard the entire conversation. That night, Tigara snuck into her parents' room and stole her father's sword and daggers. If no one else was going to do anything about it, she was going to take matters into her own hands, because she didn't want the same thing to happen to anyone else. She slit her parents' throats, and then went through the house doing the same to everyone else. The only person she left alive was her two-year-old baby sister, Ari, who she took with her and ran from the village to escape the leader's anger.

She ran for several days, having taken enough food and clothing for the two of them. They couldn't run anymore when a man found them hiding in a tree. He seemed kind, not like their family.

He asked, "What are you two doing in that tree?"

Tigara said, "Hiding from the search party. I did something very bad."

He asked, "Do you know where you are going?"

Ari said, "Hokage Leaf village. He 'tect us."

The man lifted the two girls to the ground. He said, "I think I had better go with you. What are your names?"

Tigara said, "I am Akimoto Tigara, and this is my sister, Ari. We used to be from Kiri, but…"

"But, what, Akimoto Tigara of Kiri? You said you did something very bad, what could you have possibly done that would make Kiri not welcome you if you came back?"

Tigara stopped, looked down at the ground and pulled him down to her level, whispering in his ear, "I killed our entire clan. Ari doesn't know, she just thinks I did something naughty and don't want to be punished."

He whispered, "Why did you do that? Were they trying to hurt you or your sister?"

She told him all that had happened in hushed tones, so as not to alert her baby sister, who was only a short way away.

Ari had been picking flowers along the path. She came over to them, saying, "I hungy, 'Ara."

The man stood, scooping Ari into his arms and saying, "Are you hungry, Ari? I think I might have something in my pack that might make a good lunch. What do you think, Tigara, do you want to stop for lunch before I take you to the Hokage?"

Tigara sank to the ground, and took Ari in her lap, saying, "Thank you, our food ran out last night. I wasn't able to carry much and I needed to keep my father's weapons, so food and clothes were kind of limited. I carried the food and Ari carried two outfits for each of us."

"How many days have you been on the road?"

"Four, I think. I kinda lost count. Things get kinda muddled when you are running."

"How old are you two?"

Ari piped up, with her mouth full of cheese, "I two."

Tigara said, "Ari, don't talk with your mouth full. It's rude. She just turned two, I'll be eight soon."

The man said, "It's alright, Tigara. Let her eat. You need to eat too. My name is Pein. The Hokage is a good man, and Ari will be more than welcome in the Leaf village, but I'm afraid that you will not be. I will take your sister to the Hokage; you will wait for me in the woods."

Tigara hugged Ari close, saying, "I don't want to be separated from my sister, but if I won't be welcome, I will wait for you. I know that what I did was unforgivable."

"Tigara, can you write?"

"Yes. Why?"

"I need you to write a note to the Hokage, explaining who your sister is and what happened. You will also, as her only family, tell him that she needs to be adopted by a good family and educated as a ninja. I will take care of your training myself." He handed Tigara a small scroll and a pen. After she wrote the note, he took it and tied it around Ari's neck, saying, "Do you have any blankets? Once it gets dark, and she is asleep, I will bundle her up and take her to the Hokage's home."

Tigara unpinned the blanket that she had been using as a cloak, saying, "The only way we were able to carry them was around our necks, I have Ari's in my pack, since our food ran out." She handed the two blankets to Pein, saying, "Since we have been on the run, she has been falling asleep shortly after she eats supper, which we have been eating once it gets too dark to see."

He took the blankets and put them in his own pack, saying, "The Leaf village is still some distance, so we need to get moving. We will still get there before nightfall if I carry Ari." He picked up the little girl, who had fallen asleep in Tigara's lap as soon as her little tummy was full, helped Tigara to her feet and they started walking. "Now that you are with me, whoever was following you will stop."

The sun set just as they reached the woods at the edge of the village. They stopped and had supper, and true to Tigara's statement, Ari fell asleep almost as soon as they finished. Pein wrapped the little girl in the two blankets they had brought from home, as well as one of his own. He handed Tigara his own cloak to keep her warm until he returned, then he ran through the village carrying Ari. He set her on the Hokage's doorstep and ran back to where he had left Tigara.

He pulled his cloak off of Tigara, who had tears in her eyes, put it on and picked her up, wrapping her up. She cried on his shoulder until she fell asleep. He carried her to the Akatsuki lair, which was about a six hour walk. He took her to an empty bedroom and laid her down. When she woke up the next morning around sun-up, she looked around confused. Then, remembering the previous night, started sobbing uncontrollably.

Pein came in with her breakfast, saw her crying and went over to her, asking, "What's wrong?"

"I didn't even get to tell Ari goodbye. She's gonna be so scared without me there."

"Don't worry about your sister. The Hokage will see to it that she goes to a good family. Now, you need to eat your breakfast. There are some people here that you need to meet. They will be helping me with your training, which will begin tomorrow." He sat with her until she couldn't eat anymore. "You need to change. I took the liberty of getting you some clothes. I also got you some new shoes, since yours seem to have vanished sometime during your travels."

"I wasn't wearing any when we left. I always do better barefoot."

"Have you had any training at all?"

"My parents taught me the family's Kekkei Genkais and Mother taught me some gymnastics. I got my Kekkei Genkais on my fourth birthday. They decided to enroll me in the local academy immediately. I know lots of jutsus but for some reason only a couple of them work right."

"What is your Kekkei Genkai?"

"The men control fire, the women control ice. I'm the only one who can control both; I'm not sure about Ari yet. That's why no one in our village wanted to piss us off. If we pooled our power, we could burn the entire village or completely ice it over."

"After you have met everyone, I want you to show me everything you know." She came out from behind her changing screen in a short dark purple dress with black sleeves and attached black shorts. "That dress makes your eyes stand out, you look lovely, Akimoto Tigara of Kiri. It is time we head downstairs so that you can meet everyone. Put your shoes on. There always seems to be broken glass everywhere, and, although we try to clean it up, we can never seem to get it all." She put her new black knee-boots on and followed Pein down the stairs.

In the main room, all the other members of the Akatsuki had gathered to meet the newest addition. An older gentleman was sitting in an overstuffed chair; two men and a woman were sitting on the sofa; and a man with a shark's head and a man who looked like he got ate by a plant were standing on either side of a closed door.

Before he introduced Tigara, Pein said, "If any of you try anything with this girl, you will have me to answer to. This is Akimoto Tigara, formerly of Kiri. I happened to find her hiding in a tree."

The man with a shark's head piped up, "I was also from Kiri. Are you of the Fire and Ice clan?" Tigara simply nodded. "I thought I recognized the name. Which did you get, fire or ice?"

"You will find out in time, Kisame. For the moment, just tell her your names, please," Pein answered for Tigara.

The man with a giant fly trap on his head said, "I'm Zetsu. I was from the Grass village."

The woman sitting on the sofa pulled Tigara into her lap and said, "I'm Konan and I was from the Rain village, so was Pein. If you ever have any problems, you can come to me, Tigara-chan."

One of the men on the couch said, "I am Hidan. I worship Jashin. I must say, if you were not under Pein's protection, you would make a very lovely sacrifice. Providing, of course, that you are a virgin."

Pein smacked Hidan over the head, saying, "I told you, don't try anything."

Tigara buried her face in Konan's shoulder, saying, "I don't know what a virgin is."

Pein said, "Don't worry, Tigara. You had your virginity stolen from you."

The other man on the sofa said, "My name is Sasori, Baby Bird. I am a puppet master from the Sand village."

The man sitting in the chair said, "My name is Orochimaru, and, as you can probably tell, I am the oldest one here other than Hidan, considering he is immortal. I was of the Leaf village."

Pein said, "Baby Bird, you said you were almost eight. When is your birthday?"

"July 1."

Konan said, "That's tomorrow! Oh, Pein, would you let me throw her a party? Please?"

Pein said, "That sounds like an excellent idea, Konan. I expect every one of you to give her something; preferably, something that she will be able to use in the near future. Right now, I need to take her outside to work on getting her started on her training. Sasori, would you come with us?"

Sasori said, "That's fine with me. I would kind of like to see what our little Baby Bird is capable of."

Pein said, "Come on, you two, outside to the training grounds." Once outside, he said, "Well, Baby Bird, it would appear that you have managed to work your way into everyone's hearts. Alright, I want to see what you can do. Do you see that rock over there?" She nodded, although the rock was impossible to miss at well over six feet high and five feet wide. "Heat it up."

She closed her eyes, stretched out her left hand and sent a fire blast straight to the rock, holding it until the rock was red hot.

"Very good. Now freeze it."

She lowered her left hand, raised her right and sent an ice blast, causing the rock to explode into gravel. She opened her eyes and covered her mouth, her eyes filling with tears.

"It's alright, Baby Bird. That is exactly what I wanted to happen. You see, when something gets hot enough, and then you put cold to it, it either gets brittle or explodes; and that particular rock was impossible to move, even with all seven of us. Now, Sasori, stand over there where the rock used to be. Tigara, you said your mother taught you some gymnastics. Show me."

Tigara did flips and cartwheels over to where Sasori was standing, ending in a double back flip with a half-twist over his head so that when she landed she was facing his back and shoved him off balance.

Sasori exclaimed, "Impressive! Not many can get the better of me like that. I presume you shoved me on purpose."

Tigara nodded with a grin.

Pein tossed an apple to Sasori and said, "Alright, Tigara, try to kick the apple off his head."

She did a standing sidekick, sending the apple sailing straight into Pein's open hands. Sasori clapped, saying, "Very nice."

Tigara ran to Pein, giggling the whole way. "This is fun; it doesn't even seem like work. I'm hungry, when is lunch?" With tears in her eyes, she said, "I wish Ari was here to watch." Pein handed her the apple, which she devoured.

Sasori put his arm around her shoulders, asking, "Who's Ari?"

"My baby sister; we took her to the Leaf village. I left a note for the Hokage that she needed to be adopted."

She jumped up and wrapped her arms around Pein's neck and her legs around his waist, saying, "I'm hungry, can we have lunch now?"

He carried her back to the house, setting her down just inside the door. He led her to the kitchen, where Konan was just putting the finishing touches on some sandwiches. She turned just as they came in, saying, "I hope you like roast beef, Tigara. We don't eat fancy here except on special occasions."

Pein said, "I don't think she really cares what it is, just so long as it doesn't try to eat her first. Tigara, after lunch, we are going to see how well you can handle the weapons you brought with you."

Tigara said, "I can handle the little ones okay, but the long one is a little too heavy for me to maneuver yet. They were Father's."

Konan rang the small gong by the door and said, "What weapons, Pein?"

"She brought a katana and two matching daggers from her home in Kiri."

"I see. Shh, look."

Pein turned to see Tigara asleep at the table with half of her sandwich gone and the other half still hanging out of her mouth. He whispered, "I think the weapons demonstration can wait until tomorrow, she has had a rough week. I'm going to carry her up to her bed. Then, you and I need to talk about her."

Konan nodded, pulled the sandwich from Tigara's mouth and put it away, saying, "In case she's hungry when she wakes up."

Pein picked the sleeping girl up and took her upstairs. He arrived back in the kitchen at the same time the others got there from various parts of the property. Hidan asked, "Where's Tigara?"

Konan said, "She fell asleep at the table. Pein took her up to her bed, knowing how you lot are at mealtime. The rest of her sandwich is in the fridge, if any of you so much as look at it, I am going to kick some ass. Pein, you wanted to talk to me?"

Pein put a few sandwiches on a plate and led the way to the main room. Once there, he sat and said, "First, she doesn't know that I followed them from Kiri; she just thinks I am a kind stranger. Second, her baby sister, Ari, doesn't know why they left Kiri. Tigara killed their entire clan because several of the men raped her and the women found out that she had gone to the Mizukage about it and were going to kill her. She took matters into her own hands, killed them first and ran away with Ari. They had been running for four days at least when I overtook them. It's a good thing I did, because their food had run out the night before. Third and finally, I think there might be something wrong with Tigara. We hadn't even been outside an hour and she said she was hungry. I gave her an apple, which she inhaled, but less than twenty minutes later she said it again."

"Pein, tomorrow, don't make her train. I would like her help with the party. I think it may be just what she needs to feel like she belongs here."

"What are you going to give her?"

"You'll see tomorrow, I already have it wrapped up in my room. Look."

Pein turned toward the stairway to see Tigara coming down rubbing her eyes. She had been asleep for about two hours. He went to her and said, "Tigara, would you like a tour of the house after you finish your lunch?"

Tigara nodded, smiling, so Konan picked up the empty plate and went with the two to the now empty kitchen. Konan said, "I saved your sandwich. Would you like a glass of milk and a cookie to go with it?" Tigara simply nodded and sat down at the clean table. "I'm going to wash up these dishes while she finishes and then I'd like to join you for the tour, if that's alright, Pein."

"I think it's up to Tigara, don't you? What do you think, Tigara? Is it alright if Konan joins us?" She nodded with her mouth full of sandwich. "It's settled then, the three of us will take a tour of the house after you finish eating."

The two adults sat and watched the little girl dunk her chocolate chip cookie in her milk. Then, after Konan washed up her dishes, Tigara took both their hands and off they went. They did the lower level first. Pein indicated a closed door just behind the staircase, saying, "This is Orochimaru's room. He's the only one on the ground floor. Every two bedrooms share a bathroom. You already know where the kitchen and main room are." They went upstairs and Pein continued, "You know which one is yours, we can decorate it differently if you want. My room is directly across the hall from yours and Konan is next to me. The room next to yours is empty at the moment, as are the six around the corner and the ones at the end on the right and the left. The next one on the right is Hidan's. Kisame, then Zetsu, then Sasori are on the left. There is a training level on the roof, with locker rooms; the stairs leading to it are around the corner on the end. Do you think you can remember all that?"

Tigara nodded, saying, "I'm hungry, can I have another cookie and some juice?"

The older two looked at each other in shock, and then Konan said, "I think I can arrange that."

The three of them went back down to the kitchen and Pein got Tigara two cookies and a glass of milk as well as the juice she asked for. He asked, "Tigara is something wrong? You just finished your lunch about an hour ago."

She said, "I just get lightheaded a lot. It usually goes away if I eat something right away. I've had this problem since I was about Ari's age."

Konan took Pein aside and whispered, "We need to make sure that she always has something handy for her to eat, it sounds like this problem is more serious than she seems to think."

He whispered back, "I think you might be right on both counts. It sounds like it hits hardest when she is stressed or overexerted." Aloud he said, "Tigara, do you have any money at all? I want to get you checked out by a medic."

She finished her juice and said, "I brought all I could carry. It's in a pouch tied to my pack. I'll get it for you, but I think I need to lie down until supper."

Konan took Tigara upstairs, but picked her up and carried her about halfway up because she started swaying, passing out as she was picked up. She laid the little girl on the bed and retrieved the pouch of money, shutting the door quietly. She ran downstairs to the kitchen and, out of breath, said, "She passed out halfway up the stairs. We need the medic here ASAP."

Pein looked at her in fear and said, "I will go, I can move faster than you can. I will tell her it's an emergency and bring her here." With that, he transformed himself into a large hawk and flew out the open window.

About an hour later, two hawks flew back in. On landing, they transformed back into Pein and the medic. The medic asked, "Where is the emergency?"

Konan took her upstairs to Tigara's room and said, "Her name is Tigara. I think she may have a problem. She says she gets lightheaded a lot but that it goes away if she eats something quickly enough."

"When and what did she eat last?"

"She had two cookies, a glass of milk and some juice a little over an hour ago, but she said that she needed to lie down and on the way up here she passed out."

Tigara was tossing on the bed muttering, "Ari, Ari, Ari, ARI!" The last one was screamed as she sat bolt upright, drenched in sweat with her eyes wide.

"Who is Ari, little one?"

"My baby sister, we left her in the Leaf village. Do you know her? Please tell me she's alright."

"I'm not of the Leaf village. I need to take a blood sample, child. It will only hurt for a moment." She pricked her finger and put the blood on a little stick and put the stick into a machine. After about a minute, she said, "It seems you were right, miss. She does have a problem. More specifically, she has the worst case of hypoglycemia, which is low blood sugar diabetes, that I have ever seen in one her age. It's probably hereditary. I will inform the medic-nin in the Leaf village that her sister needs watching. I am going to leave a meter and enough lancets and strips here to last her a month. Tigara, I am going to teach you how to use this machine and you need to use it four times a day; when you get up, before lunch, before supper, and before you go to bed for the night. I also want you to check it if you start feeling lightheaded. I didn't catch this young lady's name who is standing behind me, but if your reading is any less than 75, you need to inform someone immediately, preferably her, since I am going to teach her what to do in that case."

Tigara said, "I watched you do the first one, I can do it from there. I remember things instantly. Will I need to check it tonight before supper, since you checked it now? When is supper, Konan? I'm hungry."

"Supper is in two hours, but since the doctor said your sugar was low, I think a snack is in order. Am I correct, Doctor?"

The medic said, "Yes, Konan, I believe she said your name was; a snack is in order. Two cookies and some juice should have her feeling alright until supper. Yes, Tigara, you will need to check your blood before supper. And I want you to write down your readings every time you check it. There is a log book in the case with your meter." As they walked down to the kitchen to get Tigara's snack, she said in hushed tones to Konan, "I will return in two weeks. I will be bringing more lancets and test strips. Make certain that she always carries her meter and some crackers, an apple, or something that she can eat quickly at all times. I don't want her passing out again before I return. Make absolutely certain that she checks her blood at the times I told her and writes down the readings. I will be checking her log book. When we get to the kitchen, I will show her the log book and write down the reading I got while we were upstairs." Konan got Tigara's snack while the medic showed her how to make the entries in her log book. She said, "Each page has columns for date, time, reading, reason, what you were doing, and action taken. If it is one of the four times I told you, you don't have to write anything in the last two columns, just put scheduled in the reason column. In addition to tracking your readings, I want you to track what you eat every day. Start tracking your readings tonight, but you can start tracking your food tomorrow. Konan, if her reading gets below 75, give her a glass of juice with three big spoonfuls of sugar mixed into it or a big spoonful of honey."

Konan nodded, saying, "Tomorrow is her birthday, are there any special instructions as to what she can and can't have?"

She said, "Tigara, check your blood right before the party. Unless her sugar is low, only one piece of cake and one small dish of ice cream. If it's low, she can have two of each. Other than that, I shouldn't think so."

Tigara said, "So basically, I'm watching my sugar intake, is that right? Do I still have to write down everything I eat?"

She said, "Yes, to both questions. If you check your blood, and the reading is below 90, eat something. If it's below 75, tell someone immediately."

Konan said, "I will make sure the others have these instructions as well."

She asked Tigara, "Is there anything else?"

She shook her head no, so the medic left.

On seeing the medic leave, Pein came back in and asked, "So, what's up, you two?"

Konan said, "She has low blood sugar diabetes, or hypoglycemia. She has to check her blood four times a day and whenever she starts feeling lightheaded. The rest, I will tell everyone at supper."

Tigara and Pein helped Konan fix supper and about an hour after the medic left, Tigara rang the gong by the door. After everyone had sat down, Pein said, "Go ahead and fix your plates, but be quiet about it. Konan has some things to tell us all."

Konan said, "It seems our little Baby Bird is diabetic. She has hypoglycemia, which is low blood sugar. If she checks her blood and the reading is below 90, she needs to eat something; but if it's below 75, she is to tell someone immediately. Speaking of which, Tigara, did you check your blood before supper like the medic told you to?" She nodded so Konan continued, "If her sugar is below 75, someone needs to get her a glass of juice with three big spoonfuls of sugar mixed in it or a big spoonful of honey and then get her something to eat, like a cookie or some crackers with peanut butter on them. Every one of us needs to start carrying something for her to snack on, even if it's just a cookie or an apple. Also, starting tomorrow, she is to track everything that she eats. Does everyone understand what I'm saying? If we don't do as the medic ordered, we could lose her."

Everyone nodded and they finished supper in silence. After supper, everyone except Orochimaru and Tigara helped with the cleanup; Orochimaru because someone needed to keep an eye on the little girl and Tigara because she had helped with fixing it. She took Orochimaru into the main room and they started playing a game of cards at the coffee table. He said, "I have some candy in my room, would you like some?" She nodded, so he went and got her a handful. "I don't eat it that much, and since your blood sugar drops a lot, I figured you could use it more than I can."

She put a piece in her mouth and said, "Thank you, Orochimaru-san. You know, no one has ever been as kind to me as this group. Back home, everyone was afraid of my family, so no one would come anywhere near me if they could help it. As a matter of fact, while I was attending the Academy, they wouldn't let me stay in the dorms with the rest of my class. They sent me home at the end of every day. They said it was because of my age and the fact that my mother was pregnant all the time, but I knew better. The day I got my headband, I was only able to perform two jutsus other than my Kekkei Genkais with any degree of perfection."

"How long have you had your headband, Baby Bird?" Kisame asked, coming in from the kitchen.

"About two years, why?"

"You weren't wearing it when we all met you, so I didn't know you had it."

"Well, they said that I would be more of a liability than an asset to any team because of my age, so I wasn't put on one. I haven't been sent on any missions either; they said it was too dangerous. I was angry, so I figured, what's the point of wearing it if I never go anywhere."

"Where is it?" Pein asked.

"In my pack, why?"

He left the room without giving her a response, returning a few moments later with her headband. He had scratched a line across it. He said, "You now have a reason to wear it and be proud of it. You are a rogue ninja, formerly of Kiri. I want you to wear it. Be proud of the fact that you are a ninja."

He tied the headband around her forehead. She turned and hugged him around the waist. "Thank you, Pein. I didn't realize it was such an honor to be a ninja. I mean the only reason that my parents gave me for going to the Academy so early was to get me out of the house for a while every day. And I did it to make them happy. I think I need to go to bed if I'm going to help with the party tomorrow. I think that's what I heard Konan say this afternoon." She smiled mischievously.

Konan and Pein looked at each other in shock, then Konan said, "Don't forget what the medic said about your blood test, Tigara."

"I know. I need to check it before I go to bed, but just so you know; I haven't felt dizzy or hungry since supper. Orochimaru-sama, could that be because of the candy?"

He chucked, "Yes, it is. That's why I gave it to you. If you always have one in your mouth, and are very careful with it, it will keep your blood sugar from going dangerously low." Everyone looked at him in amazement.

Hidan said, "I didn't know you knew anything about diabetes."

Orochimaru replied, "My niece, the gods rest her soul, was hypoglycemic. That's why I got into the habit of always having some hard candy on me. She absolutely adored candy, but most of the time wasn't allowed to have it. She died shortly after she slipped into a diabetic coma."

"Good night everyone, I'm off to bed. Thank you for the candy, Orochimaru-san. Thank you for the insight on my headband, Pein. I'll see all of you in the morning."

She was followed up the stairs by a chorus of 'Good night, Tigara's. Everyone else sat and talked for a while then slowly filed up to bed.