Disclaimer: I do not and will not ever own Naruto. Ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever...

It came on a normal day. Yagura, the Mizukage, was hunched over his desk doing paperwork. He looked out of the window, resting his tired eyes. The townspeople of Kirigakure bustled about on their daily errands. Healthy children skipped along with their parents. The sun shone over the tall buildings of the village, and the sky was blue and light.

And then it came. The light dulled, and the sky darkened. The buildings crumbled to dust. The children tripped and fell to the ground, bringing their parents down with them. The townspeople stopped in their tracks.

The children cried, great sobs that seemed to grow until they filled the streets with their sadness. The people clamped their hands over their ears, Yagura did too, but the despair was overwhelming, it was overpowering him, consuming him-

And then it was gone, the children were still strolling along and smiling, the sun was shining, and the buildings were whole. Yagura was just standing there, his hands over his ears.

Yagura slipped out of his office, and quietly closed the door.

"Are you all right?"

He jumped and turned. His assistant, Yoko, was standing behind him, looking concerned.

"You look a bit pale, Mizukage-sama."

"I'm fine…. just something…is bothering me, and I…I've never had problems like that before," Yagura replied.

"That's okay, Mizukage-sama. You're the kindest person I know. I know you'll do the right thing. I believe in you," his assistant said brightly.

Yagura went home and went to bed. He tossed and turned, but eventually fell into an uneasy sleep, plagued by nightmares. Nightmares of him doing things, horrible things.

The clock hanging from the wall read 7 A. M.

"Listen up, children!" the Academy instructor said. "Today is the day that you could become a real genin!"

Everyone in the classroom immediately went quiet.

"You just need to pass one test!" he continued, "Just one simple test! Then you can go home and proudly say that you are a GENIN!"

The class cheered, then stopped short. There was a figure standing in the doorway. The figure's face was covered by a hood, they couldn't see his who it was.

The figure stepped into the room, a few strands of grey hair peeked through the hood. The figure swept a gaze across the classroom, across the petrified faces of the children and the academy instructor.

"Foolish," the figure said. "Foolishness must be stopped. The Mist is not as strong as it once was. Our new genin grow more weak, more stupid. Do you know why this is so? It's because Academy students who don't deserve to be genin still graduate anyway. It's because our guidelines have become lenient. This must be stopped, and as the one responsible for all of you, I choose to stop it now."

"You will fight to the death," said the figure, "Anyone who objects or refuses to fight will die."

The Academy instructor stepped forward. "What right do you have to—"

Then the instructor toppled over. The hooded figure kicked the body aside, then looked up at the students.

"All right…..time to decide who is worthy…and who is not."

Yoko knocked on the door to the Mizukage's office. "Lord Mizukage?"

Yagura wasn't there.

The figure turned away from the blood-streaked, body-filled classroom. "Congratulations," he said to the survivors. "You pass."

He pulled back his hood, revealing his eyes. The tomoe in his eyes slowly disappeared as he walked away.

Yagura climbed the stairs to his office, absentmindedly fingered the folds of his clothes. There was something sticky on his—

He glanced down. Blood.

Why was there blood on his clothes? When had he—

Yoko flew down the stairs.

"Lord Mizukage! I've been looking all over for you!" she exclaimed, out of breath.

Yagura tilted his head, confused. What? He hadn't—

"Lord Mizukage!" a young chunin burst into the office. "Lord Mizukage! This is an emergency! Half of the new class of genin has been found dead! They appear to have been slaughtered by the other genin!"

Yagura stared at the smear of crimson on his clothes as it all came back to him.

How the instructor refused, and was killed for resisting. How the children balked and cried. How he forced them to fight. How he made them kill each other.

The Academy instructor. Dead. Half of the new class of genin. Dead.

What have I done?