"We've discovered one of Orochimaru's hideouts," the Hokage said seriously. The three teams of anbu faced him seriously, awaiting the orders that would be issued. "According to intel there are no current inhabitants other than the prisoners and a few gaurds. There was also the hint of a dangerous weapon located in there. I want you to free the prisoners, bring them here or let them go to their homes, and destroy the weapon."

The anbu saluted the third Hokage by bowing with a fist to the chest. Without further spoken word they all disappeared out the open window. They stole through the night, the silence thick enough to cut with a machete.

_+_

The anbu arrived silently at the hideout. Without needing to reveiw the plan they had come up with they stormed the entrances and took out all opposition. One anbu was killed and his body went up into flames. Blood covered the walls from the cutting edge of a blade slicing through the exposed flesh of enemies.

Eventually, the hideout was clear of enemies that sought to partake in any form of resistance. The prisoners walked calmly out while the anbu went through the hideout, searching thoroughly for the weapon said to be here. An hour passed since they had finished fighting before there was a womanly shout from a memeber of the anbu.

All members of the teams rushed to her location, sure that she had found the weapon. When they got to the woman she was on her knees, looking at the horror spread before her. In the middle of the room was a boy, looking to be about 11 or 12. Through a spattering of red that dyed his entire body you chould tell that his hair was long and blue, a shade or two lighter than his saphire blue eyes. The boy was completely naked, except for the weapons strapped upon his body. There were swords on his back, knives crossed over his chest, si in holsters strapped to his legs, and a kunai pouch strapped to both of his legs. He was well muscled and rather tall for his age.

The shocking thing was not the boy however, but the room itself. It was completely bare except for a screen that was showing letters, words, and sentences floating across it and a maniquin the size of an adult male, fresh, red liquid surrounding the area around it. There was an extension of the room that led to what looked to be a very deadly obstical course.

The boy sat in front of the screen, but had turned to the people that had entered the room. There was no emotion on his face, or even the sense that it was a mask. There was the sense that this boy, whoever he was, didn't feel at all.

Finally an anbu managed to get words from his mouth, "Stand." Without question or hesitation the boy followed the command. Nobody spoke for a while after that. Then the same man managed to get his voice back again, "Follow."

After the boy was taken to the camp with all the other prisoners from the hideout, the anbu continued the search. They searched every nook and cranny for the weapon, but found nothing that resembled one.

_+_

As the anbu walked slowly to Konoha, the freed prisoners would gradually leave them. By now there was only 2 people left to follow them to Konoha. Now that nobody was around that wouldn't follow them back home the anbu began to talk to the two.

Perhaps it was better to say they talked to one of them. There was a girl of 12, and the same blue haired boy that they had found in the little room. They held conversation with the girl, but the boy seemed to have no interest in what they said. He followed commands to a T, but didn't respond to questions. Before they began their trek the anbu had found clothing for the boy in the hideout, but he hadn't known what to do with it. There was a simple green wrap top that consisted of two shades and baggy capris of the darker color that matched the top. He wore no shoes. One anbu wouldn't give up on talking to him however, and that was the woman who had originally found him.

A few days from Konoha the woman fell into step with the boy. "Hello, my name is Michi Kidoairaku. Can I ask what your name is?"

"I don't know why you keep trying Michi, he doesn't respond. We don't even know if he can talk," one of the anbu kept making this point, but Michi never listened.

Then an unfamiliar voice spoke in a quiet tone. There was no accent, just a simple forming of words, but the voice was a little higher than the average boy of 12. "Na..." there was a slight hesitation, but everyone stared at the boy silent and wide-eyed, "Name?" He said the word in a slight questioning tone.

The woman was the first to respond, with a cheerful tone in her voice. "Yes, your name."

"What... is a name?" The boy looked at her dully, seemingly confused by the word, though he showed it in neither his actions or expressions.

Everyone else still hadn't recovered from their shock to become so again, but the woman was taken aback a little. "Well... a name is what you refer to a person as. So you would call me Michi for example."

"You are Michi," it was a statement, not a question.

"That's right, my name is Michi. What do people call you?"

"People... you are people?" There was a slight raise in his voice, so it could be considered a question.

"Not just me. All of us," She gestured to the group and laid stress on the word us, "are people. There are more as well."

"They call you Michi?"

"Yes, because that is my name."

"I see. I do not think I have a name." The boy didn't seem upset by this. He was just stating a fact. Throughout all of this his face hadn't changed expression either.

"Nonsense! What do people call you?" Michi looked at the boy with interest. The group had recovered and they continued towards Konoha.

"What is nonsense?" The boy looked at Michi.

"I will explain that later. What do people call you?"

The girl, who had been paying avid interest to the conversation spoke then. "They call him a monster. He has no emotion, and never has. He was there when I came at the age of three, or so I'm told. He only came out of his room in the past year."

The boy didn't react to her calling him a monster other than stating, "my name is monster."

Michi spoke hurriedly, "no! Your name isn't monster!" She waved her hands frantically in a denying gesture. "If you don't know your name I'll give you one." A thoughtful look crossed her face before she spoke again. "Your name will be Aoi. It means blue."

"What is blue?"

"Blue is the color of your hair and eyes. Most days it is also the color of the sky."

"What is a day? And color? What about hair, eyes, and the sky?" There was still no emotion crossing his face, but somehow Michi got the feeling of despiration from Aoi.

Michi began to explain words to Aoi. Surprisingly there were many words he had no knowledge of, and almost every other word would spark a question from Aoi. Just a question, not curiousity. Though he talked now, he didn't show any sign of emotions.

_+_

When the group finally arrived to Konoha, Aoi hesitated to cross into the village. Inside he could see many people milling about, but he hadn't seen that many in his entire life. He sank to the ground and sat there cross legged, not moving a muscle. It was the same position he sat in every night all night and the position he had been sitting in when they had found him. Michi went to Aoi and sat down next to him, while the other anbu left with the girl.

"Why did you stop Aoi?"

"Are these people as well? How many people are there? What are the square things?" A laugh broke out over the sound general sound the village made and Aoi looked towards the origin. "What was that sound?"

Michi had grown accustomed to Aoi's endless questions and lack of knowledge by now. "Yes, these are people as well. Here in this village there are many people, more than you see now. The square things are houses, people live in them. That sound was laughter."

"What is laughter?"

"Well... it's a sound people make when they feel joy or happiness." Michi scratched her covered cheek hesitantly, knowing the explination was lacking.

Then Aoi asked a question that shocked her, "What is joy?" Michi didn't have an answer so she stood back up and brushed herself off. "Why do you do that?"

Michi looked to him. "Brush off the dirt? Because I don't like to be dirty." She looked the boy over. Now that she did she remembered something rather important. "You're dirty."

"What is dirty?" Michi ignored the question and dragged him through the village to a bath house. She had neglected to bathe him after finding him, and was just noticing that he was still covered from head to toe in red, besides the clothing.

"Go and bathe." She commanded.

"How do I do that?" Aoi looked at her expressionless. There was no embarresment or shame to be seen on his face.

"Well you um... You just kinda... You know..." Michi faltered and stopped.

"I do not know."

Eventually, with lack of explination and want to do so she went to the front desk. She had a rather quiet discussion with the lady there before she beckoned Aoi over. Together they walked through a door to a private bath.

"Take your clothing off Aoi." He didn't hesitate and easily slipped out of the clothing that he had been wearing. They had taken away his weapons until they thought it safe for him to have them. "Now, um... sit down Aoi." Michi was completely flustered by Aoi's uncaring manner and his toned muscles, but she managed to push the feeling to the side and began to bathe the boy.

"What are you doing?" Aoi looked back at her.

"I am making you clean."

"What is clean?"

"It's when there is no dirt or muck on something. You are dirty, which is the opposite of clean."

"So you make things clean with water?"

"Yes." The water coming off of Aoi's body was a bloody red in color, and seemed to be formed from layer after layer of the stuff. Michi couldn't help but wonder if some of it was, in fact, real blood.

"What is that smell?" Aoi had gotten the scent of the soap.

"That is soap, it helps remove dirt from things."

After that Aoi was silent while Michi cleaned his entire body so it was no longer red. When she got to the groin area she looked Aoi in the eye. "Do you get the idea? How about you wash that area?" She gestured vaguely to said area and turned to the side whilst holding out the brush. Aoi took the brush and began to scrub. Michi let out a sigh in releif.

When Aoi was clean and dressed Michi regarded him again. He was a tall boy, but now she could tell that his features were long to match. They weren't overly long and it suited him. In all he was actually a handsome boy.

"I guess I can take you to the Hokage now that you are clean." Michi decided.

"It feels weird to be clean."

"That is simply because you never have been before."

Without further words Aoi followed Michi towards the red building underneath the mountain of faces.

_+_

Aoi stood in the hallway where Michi had told him to stay put no matter what. Michi went to talk to the Hokage alone, so she could explain things to him.

"Hokage-sama, I'm happy to see you well." Michi looked up at the wrinkled face smiling down at her.

"Michi, it's good to see you. Please, remove your mask." Michi complied, taking off the vaguely rabbit looking mask. Her hair was long, running down to her knees in an autumn leaf auburn. Now that the mask was off you could see that her eyes were a shining grey-green and freckles dotted her face across her nose. She was in a word, beautiful. The Hokage continued to talk, "The others have already reported on the mission and the failure to find the weapon, but no matter. They also said that you have something very interesting with you."

"Yes Hokage-sama. You could definately call the boy interesting." She smiled a little at the memory of him. Her face brightened slightly, but there was a hidden sadness in the smile for the boy. "I call him Aoi, for reasons that will become obvious soon. He seems to have no emotion, and is constantly asking the meaning of words. There is never even a vague curiousity in his voice."

"I see. Why don't you go ahe-" the Hokage was cut off by a sudden crash in the hallway.

_+_

Aoi had stayed exactly where Michi had told him to. He was rather good at following directions, so Michi had no doubt he would follow them when she told him not to wander from that spot. Aoi hadn't moved his feet at all.

Aoi looked around the hall, taking in his surroundings when a man in a trenchcoat had approached. The man wore a bandanna around his head and had a scar on his face. The man clearly wanted to get past Aoi, but the hallway was narrow and Aoi stood in the center of it.

"Move over," the man had told Aoi in a harsh voice. Aoi shook his head, in a manner that he had seen Michi do. The man got an irk mark, "Move over boy."

"My name isn't boy, it's Aoi." Aoi looked at the man uninterestedly.

"Fascinating. My name is Ibiki, now move over boy." Ibiki took a step closer to Aoi.

"My name is Aoi. I can't move."

"Why can't you move?" Ibiki regarded Aoi with curiousity mixed with impatience.

"Because I was told not to wander from this spot." Aoi just stared at Ibiki.

"Whatever." Ibiki tried to push past Aoi, but when Aoi was about to take a step from his spot he suddenly stopped complying and flipped Ibiki into a vase that stood in the hallway.

"I told you, I can't move from this spot." Aoi looked at Ibiki without remorse.

Suddenly the door opened. Michi and the Hokage both spilled into the hallway worried. They took in the scene slowly. Aoi stood exactly where Michi had told him to while Ibiki was picking himself up off of the floor.

"What happened here?" Michi asked in disbeleif. She found it hard to beleive that someone like Ibiki had tripped into the vase, so she questioned Aoi.

"You told me not to move from this spot. Ibiki tried to make me move."

Understanding flashed across Michi's face. Aoi would follow orders to a T, so long as they didn't contradict his original order from someone else. The Hokage was holding back a chuckle with great effort. It wasn't everyday that somebody managed to flip his cheif of interrogation, if anyone ever tried. Ibiki, for his part, was furious, but he apparently had other things to worry about because he went on his way.

"I'm terribly sorry for the disturbance Hokage-sama." Michi bowed then turned to Aoi. "You apologize as well Aoi."

"What does apologize mean?" Aoi regarded her with a blank look.

This time the Hokage did chuckle, until a serious look came over his face. "I see what everyone meant by interesting. Perhaps there is a better solution than talking to him though."

"What do you suggest Hokage-sama?" Michi turned and regarded the wizened old man.

"Take Aoi to Inoichi. Make sure Inoichi searches all his memories, even the ones that Aoi himself might not remember."

"Hokage-sama, that will take days, if not a week!" Michi looked at Aoi in worry.

"Don't underestimate Inoichi and his subordinates. Either way, we need something, so take him down and get them started."

Michi gave in finally, "Right. I'll be going now Hokage-sama. Aoi, follow me."

The two left and soon Inoichi was searching through Aoi's memories.

_+_

The only thing that Aoi knew was how to kill. At birth he had been brutally ripped from his mothers arms by Orochimaru. This time, Orochimaru's experiment was long term, and he hoped to breed the ultimate weapon. A little boy.

Aoi's first memories were just staring at a ceiling. As time went on however he had a memory of sombody feeding him, but that was the only amount of love given to him. He grew older. A screen was placed where he could see it at all times, and the only thing played on it was every brutal way that a man could die. With nothing else to do Aoi would sit, watching those scenes replaying.

One day, Aoi woke up to see something different floating across the screen. Unknown to Aoi, this was, in fact, his 5th birthday. When he went to look closer he saw odd symbols. Then the computer spoke. Aoi jumped in fright and ran away to hide in a corner. In the five years he had lived he had never once heard a human voice. The monotone sounds coming from the speakers droned on, and eventually Aoi grew used to them. He sat in front of the screen again, the blue light shining upon him as symbols and sound flew around him. After months, though Aoi had no knowledge of most of the words, he began to understand language. Given to him in a cold way though, there was no emotion from the gained knowledge. He was taught basic ways to formulate sentences, and only the words Orochimaru had deemed necessary.

Now, Aoi could think. Words floated around his mind. Kill, maim, knife, blood, heart, lung, larynx, arteries. The words went on, none of them happy. There had been a meticulous overveiw of the words, making absolutely certain that no words could have any ties with emotion. He continued to learn these words for another year.

When Aoi was six he began to train. There was a doll, roughly human shaped, standing there one day when he awoke. Next to it the screen replayed a simple death, stabbing upward into the heart, and the simple word: Kill. A knife lay on the floor next to him. Without hesitation he grabbed the knife and thrust it into the body of the manquin. Red splurted from the wound and covered Aoi, but there was no care there. It was all he knew. A new scene showed on the screen with the word kill above it, again Aoi did just that. Eventually he got to killings where his speed would need to increase. Soon enough he was at the point where his skin was dyed the color red, as was the floor surrounding the doll.

Aoi wore no clothing. Orochimaru had reasoned it out that the clothing would provide comfort, and therefore it would be an emotion. Likewise Aoi knew nothing of a bath, cleanliness, or any of those simple things. Food was dropped from a chute on the ceiling and Aoi would eat it. Then if he was sleepy he slept, if not he killed.

Soon after he became good at killing a panal slid up to reveal an extension of the room. There was an obstical course there, but it wasn't bright colors or happy feelings. It was simple functionality. There was a wooden ramp that led up to a gap. You would jump the gap over the pit of fire, then continue on your way. Next you dodged and weaved as kunai shot down from the ceiling intermittently. The obstical course curled in on itself until it came to a rope in the middle. As the path went it became increasingly deadly and dangerous. The screen flickered on the side and Aoi turned to it.

The screen said three words. Simple words that Aoi knew the definition of rather well, considering one was die. The screen said "Do not die" In black letters with an arrow pointing to the course. Aoi, though he didn't know it, was quiet smart and knew what he had to do.

At first Aoi wasn't very good at the obstical course. On a regular basis he would get cut and say the word 'hurt' emotionlessly. The deadly obsticals would continue on around him, never varying in their actions. When he finally got to the rope in the middle of the room he pulled it. The platform lowered and he walked out of the room rather injured.

He turned to the screen and it started to show images of what to do with injuries. There was exactly what he needed at the end of the tube as well. Rather apathetically he sewed his wounds shut, bandaging them. There was a salve as well which he used on his burns and to keep something called infection out of the wounds. Completely tired for the first time Aoi lay on the bare floor and slept.

The next day he did the obstical course again, but better this time. He continued to practice the art of killing a person. Words flashed across the screen now and he would stab the correlating location. He learned the inner workings of the body as well as, if not better than, most medical ninja.

Lessons like this went on for the rest of the year onward, until Aoi grew to be eight. Now he could finish the obstical course, which had become decidedly more deadly in that time, in just under 10 seconds. He knew every possible way to kill and maim a human, be it with a knife, sword, needle, kunai, or any other weapon they had placed before him.

The morning of his eighth birthday there were two hands on the screen. Aoi had already learned about chakra, and how to channel it to climb a wall or tree. Slowly the hands went through the handsigns. When they got to the end they would repeat. Aoi studied this for a moment before starting to form the handsigns himself. When he got to the end there was a poof and his exact clone stood next to him. For the first time in eight years, Aoi saw what he looked like, and didn't care.

Aoi simply released the jutsu and did it again. He did this for a few hours until the screen beeped at him. Handsigns showed yet another jutsu next to the image of an expressionless girl. A mirror dropped from the ceiling. Aoi performed the jutsu while examining the girl. It was the first time he had seen a human face, and he was curious as to what it was. Yes, he had his own, but until now he had not known of anyone other than him in existance.

When he finished the jutsu there was a poof. Looking in the mirror he noticed that he was an exact replica of the woman. The image on the screen changed and Aoi turned into that person as well. He went through this for a day or so. Then a slip of paper came down into the room.

He looked at the screen and noticed that there was a diagram. He funneled his chakra into the paper and it became sopping wet before bursting into flames. Watching uninterestedly he saw the paper curl and burn, slowly becoming ashes. When he looked back up handsigns were already being shown on the screen.

Copying the handsigns and the diagram he did his first element based jutsu. A fireball spewed from his lips and he looked at it in recognition that it was the same as the one shown. He did it once or twice more before seeing another jutsu being shown on the screen. This depicted a similar jutsu, but it would be water instead of fire. The ball shot from his lips, extinguishing the fire in the obstical course. He continued to practice all that he had learned as a simple routine for the next month.

The next month yet another jutsu was being shown on the board. A chicken fell from the ceiling, still alive. Aoi paid the creature no mind, except a dull curiousity of what it was, and started the handsigns. When he released the jutsu a mist came out. It spread across the floor slowly. Once it reached the chiken the animal squaked in fear and pain, retreating from the mist that continued to spill from Aoi's lips. Eventually, nowhere left to run, the chicken was caught in the mist. It slowly dissolved from the acid mist, though Aoi was left unaffected. He let the mist dissapate before trying the jutsu out once more.

So the months went until he reached his eleventh birthday. By now he had many jutsu stored in his brain, speed that was practically unrivaled except by a select few, knowledge of the body that only few knew, and, of course, no emotions.

A panal slid open and Aoi walked through it into a large, highceiling room.  A panal across the room slid open as well and a little girl was shoved through the room. Aoi didn't react, and didn't question it, just regarding the crying girl with a dull look. The girl saw him and ran towards him, clinging to his leg. He didn't react.

A voice said a simple command, "Kill."

Aoi didn't question, and certainly didn't hesitate. He drew a knife that sat at his hip. The girl, after realizing the gravity of the word shrank back from Aoi. She began to plead with the boy, begging for her life. But he simply flashed behind her and with a clean stroke slit the girls throat. He regarded her with an apathetic gaze as she lay spluttering on the floor in confusion. The light gradually faded from her eyes and she lay there, dead.

Next a man entered the room. Unknown to Aoi he was an anbu from the hidden sand village. The man had been told that if he was able to kill the next opponent he would be able to go free, back to his family. This was the final test for Aoi.

Again the voice let out the command, "Kill."

The two ran at eachother, the anbu surprised by the speed that Aoi had. Aoi drew his sword and thrust upward toward the man's heart. The anbu dodged the sword neatly, stealing the second sword off of Aoi's back. There was a quick sword fight, which ended with the anbu being disarmed. Said man jumped back and started to make his handsigns. A wall of flame advanced towards Aoi, but he simply made his own handsigns and sent a water ball crashing into it. The man didn't have time to react from the surprise, and using the cover of the steam Aoi seperated the man's head from his shoulders.

From inside the room the screen spoke, saying, "Come." Aoi went back into the room and was once again locked in the room that he had been in for 11 years. He went back to training, not even tired. Once in a while there would be a repeat of the fight with the sand anbu. When he got tired he would either sleep or just sit there cross legged quietly watching the screen. In the days where he sat he would learn more language. He was able to fromulate questions and simple responses, but he never said a word. This continued for a year until the leaf anbu walked through the door.