Saturday, February 18, 2006

   Bizarre Love Triangle, Chapter 7!!!!
Flashback/dream chapter! A little uncovering of Moroi's past... also an explanation of why she wants to make him happy all the time. Anywayz, enjoy.

Chapter 7

It was a dreary sort of day; snow was falling and blanketing the land of Water. Moroi smiled and brushed her scraggly purple hair out of her eyes. She didn’t get to cut it very often; if she were allowed, she’d use those wonderful claws she could grow. However, her father had advised against it. Even though her mother didn’t have the ability, she knew her father did. She wasn’t like the other villagers. It seemed like only a few days ago that the Yukibana family had been murdered, aside from their son, Haku. Of course, that was many years ago. The idea brought up fearful ideas of what might happen to her own family. However, she was unafraid; if anything happened, their father would protect them.

The graduation ceremony was beginning; she would soon be a full fledged genin. However, she also knew what would be occurring; a fight to the death in order to become a ninja. Sighing, she ran off, fixing up her white scarf on the way to the arena; as much as she hated fighting, especially killing, she’d condone it this one time. After all, she wanted to make her father proud. The looks of satisfaction he gave to her older brothers made her want him to be just as proud of her.

***

The dome was packed; every single villager was present. Moroi’s eyes caught an eerie pair of red ones, belonging to a blue haired young man; he couldn’t have been too much older than she was. However, he had a jounin vest… so he couldn’t be her age or too close to it either. Sighing, the managed to pick out the only person she really wanted to be watching her; her father. He smiled at her and she waved right back. It looked like she’d be able to please him right away; her name had been picked first. Gulping nervously, she walked up to the center of the arena, looking up at the boy who’d also entered. He was blocky, and had a sort of square shaped head. He looked tough, whereas she was willow wild and shaking like a leaf.

“Pssh, this should be easy,” The blocky boy grinned, readying himself, “what’s a little girl gonna do?” Moroi puffed up a little at his comment, and she couldn’t wait to begin the fight. When the proctor blew his whistle, she was off. The blocky boy even marveled at her speed; it was a familial thing that he should’ve expected to be passed on to her. But, he hadn’t, and he got a face full of feet. Moroi landed elegantly behind him, looking over her shoulder at him. She wanted to use her true power, but she, like her father, had to limit herself as to not blow their secret.

“That wasn’t that great.” The blocky boy said, pinching his now bleeding nose, “it’s a wonder your father managed to stay alive on any missions at all.” At this, Moroi forgot about restraint. No one questioned her father. NO ONE. Her eyes flashed, pupils narrowing into angry slits. Then, her fingernails began to grow into claws. Moroi’s father gasped from the stands, but was powerless to interfere; no one was allowed. The blocky boy gasped in surprise, and began to retreat, but the cat girl was already upon him. Claws flashing, blood soon began to fill the arena and scraps of shredded material were floating around in the area.

“MOROI!! STOP!!” Moroi’s father yelled, bringing her back to Earth. She looked down at her hands, a bit surprised to see claws there. But, more surprisingly, blood covered them from tip to wrist. Then, she looked down at the chunks of what had been the blocky boy. The proctor tossed Moroi her hitai-ate, then he ran off, crying out to the heavens about the freaky powers of the Tsukineko clan. Moroi’s father jumped from the stands and whisked her off to their house; the girl was so speechless that she had not even registered that she had passed. The red eyed man smiled in the audience, and he too vanished into thin air.

***

That night, Moroi had gotten a talking to. Rather, her father was furious, and he couldn’t help but yell at the poor child. However, it stopped when he saw something out in the darkness. Quietly, he told his children and wife to hide. They obeyed quickly and quietly, Moroi running into a room full of barrels. One of those would be suitable to hide in. However, she felt someone behind her. Assuming it was her sibling, she turned, only coming face to face with a pair of familiar red eyes.

“You must hide.” The young man said, picking her up and stuffing her into a barrel, “you’ve been assigned to my genin squad… I want to hone that marvelous ability of yours.” He smiled, wiping a tear from her eye. She was frightened, but somehow, seeing him eased the pain. Then, in another flash, he was gone. Then, she heard footsteps infiltrating the house; the enemy had arrived. Ducking into the barrel, she froze when she heard a scream. It wasn’t her mother or father… one of her brothers for sure. Then, there was a loud thunk, and a sickening flop. Moroi covered her mouth, tears streaming down her face. One of her brothers had just died.

Then, she stopped again. There were footsteps coming towards the barrel room. Sitting stock still, she crouched in the barrel, almost starting when she heard another scream… it too was soon followed by similar noises. This time, there was a loud, thick sounding splash… the scent told her it was blood. The footsteps retreated, just in time for a third scream; this time, it was her mother. A few more stabbing sounds, and she knew they were going without mercy. Then, she heard her father yelling, and slashing noises. Peeking out of the barrel for a brief second, she saw her father killing a few intruders. Just as she felt like she could cheer, there was a final, sickening stabbing noise.

“Father.” Moroi whispered under her breath, seeing the sword stick right through him. Tears poured down her face; for a moment, their eyes met. Her eyes were filled with sorrow, and he smiled slightly, before thudding to the ground. Quietly, she slipped back into the barrel, hearing retreating footsteps. Once she knew they were gone, she rocketed out of the barrel and knelt by her father, crying and hugging his limp form tightly. Then, she looked at the living room; her family members were strung out and slaughtered; her mother had been nailed to the wall. Not able to take anymore, Moroi rushed outside and vomited, crying hard but quietly, hoping the ninja wouldn’t return.

She tried to walk away from her home, footsteps trudging quietly and making small footprints in the snow. Eventually, she flopped over and cried again, a safe distance from her home. These people… the ones who’d murdered her family… had they no compassion? She sighed, looking down at her hands; they had gotten covered in her father’s blood. She cried even harder at that thought, until she eventually fell asleep, hatred, sadness and loneliness all intermingling in the poor little 10 year old.

***

“Hey… get up.” The familiar voice said, Moroi rubbing her eyes and sitting up to look into the now all too familiar red eyes, “they’re gone; I’m the only one here.” He smiled, lifting the child up. The girl was shaking like a leaf, and the man felt rather sorry for her. Unfortunately, he could say nothing to comfort her; he didn’t know her pain. Also… his jounin vest wouldn’t keep her warm. So, he just nodded, and she followed.

“What’s your name, kiddo?” The man asked, “and more importantly… are you a boy or a girl? You kids all look alike to me.” Moroi looked up at him, as if puzzled for a moment. However, she decided she would be starting anew; she had no one else who knew her… perhaps she could devote herself to him.

“My name is Tsukineko Moroi.” Moroi said, unable to think up a new name for herself, “and I’m a boy.” She’d lied about that for a reason only she knew. Boys were the tough ones, like her father. She didn’t want to be a weak little girl anymore. At least, that’s what she thought. The young man smiled, ruffling her hair and adjusting her large, white scarf.

“My name is Reikoku.” The young man smiled, “and I’m going to train you to be strong. That way… you’ll be able to defend yourself if anything like this happens again.” She nodded, sniffing him quietly. He didn’t smell of blood; he’d left right after he’d hidden her. Smiling, she took hold of his hand, feeling its warmth. He stopped for a moment, looking down at the child, who smiled innocently.

“I’ll be the strongest shinobi ever, and I’ll do anything you want me to do to get there.” Moroi smiled, glad to seem him smile back. He grinned at her and smiled, leading her through the forest.

***

“Moroi-kun,” Tataku said, shaking his friend awake, “get up; Rei-sensei wants to see you.” Moroi blinked; everything had seemed so… vivid. She even checked her hands for blood. When she didn’t see any, she stood up, throwing on some clothes. She’d almost forgotten about her training; it made her happy that her sensei was that eager to train her.

I didn't really like writing all the sad stuff in this chapter; I can't imagine what thta little girl must've been feeling. Anyways, read and review, s'il vous plait!
Comments (3)