"WHAT?! What in the hell is this?! Who ordered this decree and why?!"

When I had received the letter, I was utterly befuddled and furious. I didn't know what to make of it at all. I had believed that something was amiss.

It was just two weeks after the events that took place during this year's Chuunin Examinations, which was another indicator for me at the time. The letter was addressed to me in fine hand-writing and the letter happened to be from the council, the governing body of Tsukigakure. The envelope it came in was suspicious enough with that kind of heading, but I opened it anyway. The letter itself was far worse however, and it honestly pissed me off to a very high degree. This was the content of the letter:

By decree of the council, we have come to initiate a position that will head our village's military and we have named the position: Oujoukage. This position will encompass not only the heading of the village's shinobi, but the position will also encompass the running of the village while the council shall run Tsukigakure from the shadows. We have also decided on the shinobi who will receive this position of Oujoukage: you, Eden Shinteki. This ruling is final and cannot be disputed. You will report to the main gate tomorrow night for a final test and you will also participate in the ceremony afterward which will officially place you in said position.

Signed,
Council of Elders


I knew not what awaited me tomorrow night at the main gate, but I had no choice but to go. Orders were orders, after all. This was far too sudden; it sent me into a bit of a shock and I didn't know how or what to make of it. It seemed far too simple...what my issue was at the time was why they had picked me of all the Jounin in the village. I will have understood why by the end of tomorrow night.

Word Count: 335

I couldn't get any sleep at all that night. I was far too restless to even close my eyes. Why did they pick me, out of anyone else in the village? I was not worthy of such a position, especially due to the things that I had done in my past...plus, I wasn't exactly loved by the people either. That was why I believed there was something wrong. Perhaps it had something to do with the Chuunin Examinations this past year. It wasn't until the next night that I learned of everything, including why I specifically was picked to be the head of the village.

Thoughts raced around in my head...I could hardly think straight. I decided to go for a late-night walk around the village in order to try and relax and clear my head of the impending task before me. The weather was rather nice, which happened to be a relief for me considering the letter that was brought to me. It wasn't too cold, but it wasn't too stuffy; the moon was visible in the night sky, hinting easily that a full moon was to make itself known the next night. There was an extremely light breeze flowing slowly but steadily throughout the area I was walking, almost making me feel as though the village knew of my current state of mind.

Twenty-nine years of life I had lived. Time had flown so quickly, though it wasn't surprising at all. Time stopped for no one. There was so much I had done in those years...for the village I called home. Though it never seemed such a way to others, all of the lives that I had taken so many times were always to protect the village and the people who dwelt within it. I never regretted any one of those missions I had completed for they had to be done. It was always my hope that all that I had done would some day reach the village, and it was always my hope that some day, I would no longer be shunned by the village I had protected for so long.

The children were a different story. They knew not many of the realities of war and the things Jounin such as I had to do on those outgoing missions. They understood not what made me such a stranger to the village. The younger generations grew fond of me because of the fact that I was for the most part, if not always, alone and often they dragged me into their games and pranks. Because of the children of my home, I was able to begin healing the part of me that was rotting away. I steadily grew fond of the village's people because less and less I gave off an impression that was very unfavorable. It was because of the children of this village that now I can go through the village and say hello to others and have them say hello back to me. It was now that I finally realized I was no longer alone anymore.

Perhaps that was a reason I was chosen for the position. I unknowingly became the embodiment of change; that change brought those around me closer and the village finally became my home. There was so much turmoil residing within me...so much sadness and pain...

Though...

...at least now, it was easier to handle because I had something grand to keep that part of me from swallowing me whole.

Word Count: 584

And then the day of the ceremony came upon my front door rather early. A group of four Jounin were at my door; I recognized them. I had done many missions with them in the past, though I didn't quite understand why they came to my door so early in the morning. I knew they were at my door because they had knocked upon it courteously moments earlier. Was it regards to the ceremony later at nightfall? Or was it something else? Whatever the case, I got up from my bed and walked to the door at a steady pace and opened it. As I had guessed, there were four Jounin whom I had gone on missions with in the past. The one in the front seemed to want to speak so I remained silent.

"Eden, you're awake. Apologies for coming to your door at such an early hour, but we want to borrow you for a while, if that's alright. Just to take a little walk and reminisce."

In the back of my head, I felt somewhat suspicious about the offer. As far as I knew, not many of the shinobi in the village liked me much, if any at all. What is their motive... I thought. Though, in light of the morning, I took them up on their offer to join them for a walk around the village. However, I had to remain vigilant so that I wouldn't be taken off guard. Something seemed a bit off and I didn't want to fall into a hole that I didn't need to be in.

"Sure. I don't have any other plans during the day today."

I stretched my arm outward and made the palm of my hand face the sky, motioning the four Jounin to start walking. I wasn't going to allow myself to walk ahead of them. I was far to suspicious and cautious to do that. And so they began walking and I followed close behind, curious as to what they were going to bring up. Just as I was thinking about it, one of them started talking casually.

"Hey, Eden. Remember that mission we did up in the mountains? We didn't realize we were on top of a volcano until it started giving an attitude."

I grinned and nodded in agreement at the memory. Him and I were asked to travel to the northern mountains in order to locate an expedition that hadn't returned to the village in several days. We were out there for a total of three days until we finally found two of the members on the third day, who informed us that the rest of the group was dead. It was a tough three-day ordeal but we managed to make it back to Tsukigakure safely with the two survivors in tow.

"Yeah, I remember. That was the third day, just before we found the two survivors. That was pretty crazy, running to the village with lava on our heels. Lucky for us the lava stopped half way down the mountain thanks to the river."

Then, one of the others spoke about the same mission.

"Hey, I never heard about that mission! That would've been a great story for the tavern!"

Everyone laughed and started bashing on him in joking manners. I couldn't help but smile and think that this might have been just a simple morning out with comrades. Was this what people would call friends hanging out? It felt pretty good to be honest, especially for the fact that I had never once been in such a situation before. It was nice. I wished that I would have more times like this in the future.

Word Count: 614