A Moment Of Resolve
"What is that?"
I stared at the pile of fresh meat laid on the gurney before me. Through the mass of flesh I could make out bits of tattered hair but nothing else. It sent waves of nausea right to my very core but I held my sickness back; as a medical ninja in training I had to put up with this.
"One of the trainee's, she got caught by the enemy during a mission", my sensei explained snapping latex gloves over her bony hands.
"The enemy did this?" I asked unable to comprehend what was in front of me. It sent my head spiraling and it scared me; one day soon I would be out on that battle field, I would be out helping with missions and healing the injured.
Staring at this mess I could not help but think; was this going to happen to me too? Was I going to die in such a horrific way as well?
"Aya, I promise you, this war will end soon", Ebi-sensei brought me back into the real world but still I felt incredibly uneasy.
Sure I had seen the dead before; I had seen decapitated people even, I had been brought up all around horrific sights and gruesome injures and yet I had never seen anything quite like this. It disturbed me but watching as the clumps were separated and sorted I realized I had to start taking this life seriously.
Children my age were dying all around me; families were falling and lives broken.
No matter how much it scared me I knew I had to get stronger so when it was my turn to go to the front line and fight I wouldn't fail, I wouldn't fall and I wouldn't let my village down.
"You're zoning out again…you're worried aren't you?" Again I was knocked back into reality; the so called body was being tended to by a few other medical experts now.
"I'm sorry", I apologized taking a deep breath to steady myself.
"You finish the ninja academy next week; seeing this, does it make you regret choosing this path?"
I took her words in carefully. Ebi-sensei knew me well, more than well and yet she was asking me a question that was just plain stupid.
"No. It only makes me appreciate it more. I want to get stronger Ebi-sensei, I don't want to see this again so I need to get stronger", I told her, my eyes never leaving hers.
She smiled softly before turning away to help the others.
"Good, tomorrow five am, training ground three. Dismissed".
I took my leave with haste, changing quickly from my scrubs into my usual ninja outfit. It was not long before I was walking along the busy roads of the village weaving my way through the sea of people.
Watching these people, seeing their happy faces and their children play; it pulled at my heart. I knew I was young and had my whole life ahead of me but I also knew I would give anything, anything for these people, even if it meant giving them my life.