Kanamiya Atsuko, or written the English way, Atsuko Kanamiya, is the only one in her immediate family to have escaped a recent assassination. She secretly taught herself the skills of the ninja, which her parents refused to teach her. Instead, they relied on her companion, a young tiger, barely more then a cub, named Hanu, to protect her. The Kanamiya family has a blood pact with felines, namely tigers, and so they also own food pills specifically made for the tigers and their companions, which they use in battle. Atsuko escaped with her life using her secret techniques and is traveling. She hopes to get to the ninja village she has only ever heard of, Konaha. This story begins about three months before ninja graduation.