"Italicized words in quotes are thoughts"

Bold is authors note

The room was quiet as an infant was passed from an aged ex-Hyuga to a new father with love in his eyes. The father's name was Takashi and his family was very important to the Village Hidden in the Night. As Takashi cradled the child in his arms he smiled down at them. The new-born's eyes began to slowly open; revealing golden-brown irises which matched Takashi's. The two stared at each other for a long silent moment. The baby seemed to have no intention of crying. Instead it simply stared with a wise air about it.

"It's a girl", the exile which had helped in the delivery interjected. Takashi had almost forgotten that the ex-Hyuga was standing there.

"A girl huh? Well my little daughter; your name will be Shizue." Takashi smiled down at his baby.

Shizue attempted to move her head but quickly found that she had no real control over it, and instead of the slow turn she expected, her head lolled to the side and Takashi had to adjust so that he could continue holding her properly. On the floor lay a woman with bright red hair that was identical in color to the soft tuft of hair on Shizue's head. The woman's skin was slick with sweat and her body was still. Between her legs a pool of blood had formed. There was no sign of life in the woman and as Shizue stared a few images flashed through her mind making her aware that this woman was supposed to be her mother. Even with no real attachment to the woman Shizue still felt a pang knowing that the woman must be dead.

"I'm sorry", Takashi apologized to the infant in his arms, "I know that children usually need a mother." The man turned Shizue's head again so that she looked back up at him, "I promise though, I'll be all you need. You don't have to worry about not having her around okay?"

There was no way that the girl could give any indication that she understood or that she accepted his statement at all, but somehow her father knew that she had. The man smiled kindly down at her and angled her vertically against his chest without restricting her vision of the room. It was dark and a bit dingy. There was a door right in Shizue's line of sight and her hand reached out towards it instinctually. Takashi took notice of her wanting and pressed his finger into her palm. Her small pudgy finger closed around his and waved lightly towards the door again.

"Okay", Takashi conceded, "You're probably tired right? There is a nice bedroom waiting for you." The new father looked up at the Hyuga who had been waiting patiently, "Follow me. We'll talk more once I've tucked her into bed."

Together the three of them turned to leave. As soon as they exited the room they were greeted by a person who must have been waiting outside the whole time. Takashi paused in front of the person who stared at him expectantly.

"Clean up the mess in there", Takashi commanded. There was no remorse in his voice. It sounded completely detached from the human life which had been lost.

The servant bowed obediently before scurrying through the open door to get started. Takashi carried Shizue through the long halls of their compound for what seemed like ages. When he finally stopped in front of the appropriate room Shizue didn't know what to expect. The man jostled Shizue slightly as he shifted her about so that he may slide open the door. Inside the room was a well-crafted crib, a changing station, a box near the closet probably containing various toys, and of course the closet itself which was left open and displayed numerous outfits. Not all of the outfits were girls' which brought Shizue to the conclusion that Takashi had really gone out of his way to prepare even though he was unaware of her gender before birth.

The father had already set out two outfits to dress Shizue in. He grabbed one of the pieces which was fit for a baby girl and quickly dressed her. Takashi briskly crossed into the room and gently set Shizue down in her new bed. He looked at her so tenderly; so full of love. It made her feel warm and safe. He pulled the blanket up around her tiny body and briefly caressed her cheek.

"Get some sleep dear", he instructed, before withdrawing his had and taking a step back.

The infant's eyes fluttered closed and her breathing evened. Confident in the idea that Shizue was asleep; Takashi left and closed the door with a soft tap and directed the Hyuga elsewhere to speak. However as soon as the two sets of footsteps faded away Shizue opened her honey-brown eyes and stared at the ceiling. She didn't feel tired quite yet. Since she had first opened her eyes her mind had been buzzing; trying to sort through a flood of images which told to her things about the world. There was a strange sense of comprehension even without any sort of exchange of words unlike how Shizue's father had spoken to her to get his point across. Her eyes scanned the ceiling and she looked as far as she could to the side without risking her head lolling uncontrollably to the side like it had before. She moved her hands and raised them to her line of sight. As soon as she saw them though, she had to resist the urge to stick them in her mouth; a childish urge that she didn't understand. In fact she didn't understand why she had any understanding of anything at all; if that made any sense. She knew something was informing her but she hadn't the slightest idea what, and whatever it was didn't seem keen on educating her on the matter.

Shizue quickly grew bored of looking at the dark room with her limited capabilities of exploration not to mention the natural fatigue which haunts infancy was weighing heavily on her. She relaxed into the warm sheets which surrounded her and closed her eyes. She decided that she would surrender herself to sleep. The next day would hopefully bring more answers and more exploration. That was truer than the young girl could possibly realize.

Hello; this is a re-write of a story I didn't finish before called 'Broken Silence'. I've now changed the name slightly and am hoping to develop Shizue's past and character traits much more thoroughly. I also hope to clean up some of her more sketchy abilities and plot points. I hope you guys all enjoy! I welcome any constructive criticism and/or praise - Kue