A Cold Dose of Reality and the Dawn of a New Beginning

It was raining. The cold breeze and the smell of fresh blood stained the air; sending a chill across a girl's small, limp body. She was so young. No one that age should have seen what she did. Cold and alone she lay in horror against a cold stone wall. Her whole body covered in the blood of her people. She shook violently. She looked around in all directions and saw all but a bloody mess of flesh and blood. The air was thick and heavy, making it hard to breathe. She lifted her tiny hands to see them painted in red ink. She couldn't speak; she didn't know what to do. Tears streamed down her face. Confused in her emotions, she screamed bloody murder as loud as she could, and it was in that moment, all was lost. Nothing seemed to have a reason for her to live anymore. 'Why' she cried as she heavily closed her eyes. She fell asleep only to awake to voices that sounded so familiar to her.

'Mom…dad… brother?' she whimpered. Her voice was weak but filled with hope, finally realizing that this was not a dream.

She opened her eyes to reveal her surroundings and looked around the room. The room felt comfortable; the sun was pouring through the curtains, shining onto her body, warming her and making her squint. She took a look at two large figures, a man and a woman, but their faces weren't so familiar. She had no idea where she was, who they were and what was going on. Suddenly the she passed out.

'That girl has death in her eyes' the man said as he walked over towards the girl. Still pondering the events that occurred.

'Where did you find her?' asked the woman curiously as she joined him.

'When I was on the assignment in the south. I was sent to investigate the Hidden Shadow Village when one of our officers did not respond. When I got there…' the man hesitated. 'There was nothing left'

'The poor girl, did anyone survive?' the woman's voice softened; trembling at the thought.

There was a long pause then finally the man answered.

'No. She was alone. As big as the village was, I tried to look for anyone who was alive, but I was unsuccessful. Everything was in ruins, it was unbelievable. When I had returned, I reported to the Hokage, an investigation is underway' he said so disturbed.

'What should we do now Fugaku?' the woman questioned.

'There is only one thing we can do for her now Mikoto.' he sighed. 'I guess until we finish the investigation we must take care of her. It looks like that's our only choice. We are the only ones she has right now".

'Your right, I can only hope that there is someone out there for her. It is such a shame this child went through what she did. It's horrible.' Mikoto gazed at the young girl in sympathy. She walked over to her side and wiped a piece of hair away from her face, then walked out of the room. Fugaku then followed, closing the screen door behind him.

A few days later, the girl awoke to the touch of a cold, wet cloth on her face. She grunted and slowly tried to open her eyes. She felt dizzy and confused. Her head was spinning.

'Don't get up' a boy spoke as he placed a hand on her shoulder forcing her back down. His voice sounded stirred with concern.

She tried to open her eyes again, this time revealing the image of a boy about her age, around 7, standing over her. He had long, black hair pulled back into a ponytail. His jet black eyes watched her as she leapt in surprise as he placed his hand on her forehead. He smiled and said:

'You still have a fever' he said unsurprisingly, though worry still lingered in his voice.

'Who…. who are you? What's going on? Where am I?' her voice squeaked and cracked.

'My name is Itachi. Itachi Uchiha. My father found you, you were injured. What's your name?'

'M…my name…?' she paused. 'My name is Saiyuri Yimonocouji' she said quietly.

'Saiyuri huh? Well, you hungry?' he asked.

Saiyuri slowly started to get up. 'Whoa! I don't think you should get up' said Itachi, yelling at her to lie down.

'Im okay' she answered as she lifted herself up.

'Ok' Itachi smiled 'Come on, lets go get you something to eat, you look starved' he said as he helped her up but Saiyuri hesitated. Itachi grabbed her hand and led her carefully towards the kitchen. Saiyuri wobbled as they made their way down the hallway towards the kitchen. The wonderful aroma of cooked rice and vegetables was making Saiyuri hungry. As they entered the kitchen Saiyuri stopped and stared at the three people in the room. A woman was standing at the counter preparing what looks like a banquet to her. Her long, black hair and onyx eyes accentuated her complexion. She was average height and looked about 28.

Suddenly the woman smiled and said:

'Good afternoon, how are you feeling? It looks like my son has been taking care of you.' her voice was soft and comforting but made Saiyuri a little uncomfortable.

'You're the one from the room when I woke up' Saiyuri said curiously.

The woman laughed and told Saiyuri that her name was Mikoto, Itachi's mother. Saiyuri turned to look down at her feet and looked at a little baby boy with black hair. The boy had the largest smile on his face. Itachi, as if reading Saiyuri's mind, replied:

'That's my little brother Sasuke' he said patting his head.

'Glad to see you're up and feeling well' said a man as he walked over.

Saiyuri almost forgot about the third person in the room. Saiyuri got scared and grabbed Itachi's arm.

'Its okay that's my dad' Itachi told her. A tall, short brown haired man with brown eyes came and rested his hand on Saiyuri's shoulder. He smiled and said:

'You may call me Fugaku.'

Saiyuri stood in confusion. She still had no idea what was going on. She was starving and that's all she could care about. They all sat down an enjoyed a delicious meal, all but Saiyuri. She just sat there looking and picking at her food, when suddenly, Fugaku spoke up.

'Saiyuri… eat. You look very hungry.' he demanded

Startled by his words she jumped and replied.

'Ohh…yea' she said quietly and continued to take tiny bites.

Once and a while, she would look up at Itachi. Sensing her gaze, Itachi looked her straight in the eyes. She turned away and blushed red like a cherry. She snapped out of her thoughts when Fugaku and Mikoto went into the other room.

'Here. Ill show you where everything is' Itachi said as he grabbed her hand. They walked all the way around the house showing something every bit of the way. Finally Saiyuri stood up and said: 'Im getting tired. Can't we sit down?'

'Wait there is one more thing I want to show you' Itachi said. He led her outside the gates to a building with a large sign that read: "Ninja Academy"

'This is where everyone trains to become a ninja. One day I hope to become one of the best!' Itachi said excited.

'Woah' was the only word that came out of Saiyuri's mouth. The thought of being a ninja excited her. Suddenly, she remembered about her brother showing her some ninjutsu of the clan. She pouted and asked:

'I..Itachi…do you know what happened to my family?'

'Not really, my father doesn't talk about it' he lied. He knew what had happened but he didn't want to make her upset. 'Hey! Maybe you can become a ninja too' he yelled.

'Yea! Its sounds like fun I guess' Saiyuri replied

'Maybe we should head back. It's getting dark and you look tired' He said. Saiyuri nodded and they both started back for home. All of the day's events had worn Saiyuri out and she tried not to think about what she remembered. She hoped that soon she would be able to go home.