Authors Note: Story writing is so hard. D: Please forgive me for not continuing my other stories. It's not like anyone reviewed anyway, so I deleted them because I ran out of ideas. T-T Hopefully this one will be a success.
Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.
The sun shone faintly as dawn approached, bringing the sky to life like colors streaked on a blank canvas. Rosy hues were painted across the heavens, blending into a dim orange, then a faded blue. Snow, ashen and black, gently flew down from above, dark specks staining the white blanket stretched across the barren landscape. Occasionally, one would fall softly onto the head of an innocent, young girl.
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She cried…
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Hugging her knees desperately, she sat and sobbed all alone, no one in the world to hear her sorrows. It was only the cold ebony, slowly gathering around her, that stopped to listen. They were oddly comforting to her great dismay. The irony…
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Prologue: Black Snow
"Okaa-san!" A small girl with pink tresses raced across the endless sheet of snow, rushing toward a woman with bright red hair that stopped right below her collar bone. One could clearly see the bright crimson, contrasting the snowy landscape surrounding her. Suddenly, the girl lost her balance, falling forward.
Anticipating painful contact to the frozen ground, she sealed her eyelids shut, though she never did feel the sting of pain. 'Huh?' Slowly the child opened her eyes.
The one known as her mom had caught her, a bit amused by the young girl's enthusiasm. "Be careful, Sakura-chan." She said soothingly as she grinned at the child.
Sakura greeted her with a hug, clinging onto her mother like a koala. Then just as quickly, she released, anxious to tell her mom what she and her dad did that day. "Okaa-san! Otou-san and I went sledding down the big, big hill this time!" The hyper little four year old cheerfully ranted on and on in her mother's arms.
"Was it fun?" Her mother asked, already knowing the answer. Sakura nodded furiously.
"It was amazing!" The petite girl said in a cheerful tone, accompanied with a look of excited contemplation. "Next time, will you come too?" She asked, wanting to spend time with both her mom and dad.
"Sure!" Her mother said happily. "as long as it's okay with your father." The red haired woman said as she looked lovingly at a man not far from where they stood, with pale white hair that spiked almost naturally.
Sakura left her mother's arms and dashed over to her dad, almost tripping again. "Can Okaa-san come next time?" She begged with puppy dog eyes.
He ruffled her hair, charmed by her liveliness. "Of course! We can all go tomorrow." The tall man assured her, wanting to spend as much time with his family as possible.
His face fell, feeling a bit guilty that she could not meet anyone her own age and make friends. They had had to move over and over again, and were lucky that they did not have to leave their current home yet. It just was not safe to live in any village on any of the islands in the Water Country.
Their only hope would be to eventually find a boat to sail them out of there, away from the Land of Water. But that was almost an impossibility, no boats were permitted to leave the country.
It would be difficult, but he would get them out of there. However, that responsibility was not going to stop him from giving his daughter the childhood she deserved.
His wife noted the change in his expression, but kept quiet for the time being and walked over to the two who she loved more than anything. "I've prepared lunch inside." She gestured to the small wooden cabin they called home.
Sakura's empty stomach growled. Noticing this, she ran off to the cabin. "Yay!" She, clearly hungry, cheered.
Unknown to Sakura as she ran, her mother had turned to her husband. 'It's not your fault.' She mouthed, trying her best to reassure him. He tried to smile back as they retreated back to the small wooden house, but he knew it was his fault.
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the fault of his blood
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A few kilometers in the distance, torch fire danced with a dangerous glow. Fifty men, give or take a few, held them with prestige. Though they were, for the most part, only villagers, and perhaps maybe a few ninjas, it certainly did not stop them. Their dog's barked with blood lust, snarling, sniffing, searching for something… or someone. Yes, they were the people of the Land of Water, the lunatics that started this civil war, though there was nothing civil about it.
"That way!" A man yelled, pointing amongst the trees. Swiftly, the men rushed into the distance. The torches, lit with fire, brought an ominous light to the cloudy day. They emanated a foggy, black smoke that floated up into the atmosphere. And then… snow softly fell.
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like gentle, frozen tears
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The young girl happily finished her meal, consisting of fish and rice. It wasn't anything special, but when her mom prepared it, it was delicious.
"Okaa-san, can I go outside again?" Sakura asked as she tippy-toed to put her plate into the sink. "The snow is falling, and I want to see it." She exclaimed happily.
"Go get you're coat first and then…" Before she could finish her sentence, Sakura was already out the door, her little white coat missing from the rack.
Small snowflakes landed on the girl's shoulder length pink tresses. She stared in wonder at the sky. The snow falling was just beautiful, breath taking even. This was the first winter she could clearly remember.
"Sakura, don't leave so fast next time." Her parents called, as they exited the house, closing the little wooden door behind them.
Suddenly, a miniscule, black snowflake landed on the tip of her nose. She scrunched up her face in confusion. "Okaa-san, Otou-san…" She began. "Why is the snow black?"
Her father's eyes dilated, knowing the danger. Something bad was about to happen. He ran inside briefly, coming back with a small backpack which had been packed before hand incase of this very event. It held non perishables, water, and certain documents.
Sakura's mother quickly brought the small girl to the safety of her arms. Ready, the three abandoned their small house, breaking into a dash.
"Why are we leaving?" The small girl asked, confused. That was their home. It was small, but it was still their home, nothing could change that. Her father built it about a year ago, and it held almost all her memories… memories that were precious to her.
"Shhh…" Her mother cooed. "Just go to sleep. Everything will be fine... I… I promise." Sakura felt relieved, despite not knowing of the situation at all. So she just listened to her mother's soothing voice, as she slowly drifted to sleep in her arms like she was told. Unbeknownst to the girl, her mother was just as unsure of how 'fine' they were really going to be. Something in her gut told her they weren't.
They dashed across the icy landscape of the land that surrounded them, quiet, and distressed. In the silence, one of them could not help but blame his self.
"I'm sorry… Akane… It's my entire fault." The man skidded to a stop, the white snow beneath him, jumping into the air, falling back down to the earth.
His wife followed suit, staring at him incredulously. There was a long pause before she responded. "Don't say that…" She whispered, with troubled eyes.
"But it's true…" He said blaming himself. "This damned Haruno blood! This blood running through my veins…" Tears ran down his face, as he yelled at his self.
"Hiro-kun, it's not your fault…" Her voice was soft, consoling. "If it's anyone's fault it's theirs." She faltered as the black and white snow continued to rain down on them gently. The majority were white, though the number of black slowly increased.
"I… I don't deserve you…" A whisper left his lips, his hard, emerald eyes filled with guilt.
"Hiro-kun…" She smiled sadly at him. "I love you, and nothing will change that… I knew what I was getting myself into when I married you, and I don't regret it, not one bit... Besides…" Akane stared tenderly at the small pinkette in her arms. "Without you… We would never have had little Sakura-hime."
Hiro looked back to his wife with an expression of gratitude. "Thank you…" To them, Sakura was a blessing, an angel, and they would do anything to protect her.
"We should get going... before they catch up." Akane averted her amber eyes to what was ahead of them. And so they ran…
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ran from all their troubles…
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The sun began to set with a dangerous blood red tint, staining the horizon. On the other end of the sky, a faint, waning crescent moon stood motionless, surrounded by an indigo mist. There it remained, suspended in the air, waiting… just waiting for its turn to be centered up above.
Down below, men littered the ground, barging into the small cottage Sakura called home, the place where her memories would always point back to. But they didn't know. And if they did, what would they care? It wouldn't stop them. No. They still invaded the area, all to search for their target:
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Her Family
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In mere seconds, the inside of the house was in shambles. The vile men found no one. Angered, they lit the house in a crimson fire that burned viciously. Black smoke accumulated rapidly, floating to the sky, exchanging soot with falling white dots.
The brigade then continued forward, with their blood thirsty dogs and their old weapons rusted red. Soon, the wind began to pick up, a blizzard of cold, black snow, now whirling around them, upsetting the flames, as if telling them to stop. But they were unfazed. In their minds, they blamed Kirigakure's bloodline limits… no, the Water Country's bloodline limits… every single one of them. And they were prepared to kill.
Hours upon hours passed, the thought of blood staining their hands excited them. This was not the first time they killed. In fact, they had already murdered many others with special blood. And besides this small group of only about fifty, there were others… others with that same resentment for that blood. Others that killed without a second thought for those people. Who else was to blame?
Of course, they were naïve. They needed someone to accuse for the hell hole known as Kirigakure… the hell hole in the midst of war. People murdered their neighbor's families who were once their friends. These people…
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They were blind.
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They were blinded by their country's poverty, blinded by their own weaknesses. But what did they care? They just needed someone to condemn… someone to carry that heavy burden. They would accomplish nothing in reality, but despite that, they would still be satisfied.
And so dusk came, winds still whirling, raging. If one listened closely… listened to the harsh, cold winds seeping through the snow covered branches, one could faintly hear something… words. Whispers in the night pleading,
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'Stop… Please… Stop…'
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Did the heavens want this to end? This nightmare… this cold, cold nightmare stained in black, impure soot. But anyone who listened would know this was only the beginning.
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the beginning of this nightmare…
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Jumping from one snowy branch to another, the unfortunate family ran without ever looking back. But as the blood red glow of fire, and the sound of barking dogs neared, it became increasingly hard to go onward… to breathe. This fear broke out of the insides of the two running… the fear of death.
"They're getting closer…" The man with pale white hair said. Breathing heavily, he continued. "We have to hide her." A lone tear escaped his eye.
Akane looked at the bundle in her arms sadly, and they stopped running, howls echoing off in the distance, getting closer… too close. "Sakura-chan…" The four year old stirred in her sleep as she was put down.
"Okaa-san?" She whispered. "Otou-san? Why are you guys crying?" Her innocent voice resounded as she rubbed her tired eyes. Soon, her father made his way to her side.
"It's nothing…" He said with a pained look on his face. Picking her up, he gently placed her into the hollow of an old, dead tree. "I want you to hide here, Sakura…" His tone was heartbreaking. "And no matter what, don't come out… don't come out until we come here for you." His deep, green eyes looked softly at his daughter. "And if no one comes, just wait here… wait here until morning… Can you promise me that, Sakura?"
She just could not comprehend the situation at hand. The only thing she could do was think solemnly to her self. 'Why were Otou-san and Okaa-san so sad?'
Puzzled by her father, she nodded, unsure. "I promise…" Hiro then gave her the small backpack that they had brought with them earlier, handing her the truth that was confined in it. It was apparent he was still downcast on what was about to take place in this barren, icy wasteland.
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'I'll never hear you laugh again…'
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His wife went to his side with depression that had never been found on her face before. Taking out a piece of parchment, she handed it to her only daughter. "If we don't show up…" She began, tormented by the thought of never again being able to hold her daughter. "I want you to take this to your aunt… She lives in a small village not far from Konohagakure and she'll know what to do when she gets it. Can you do that for me?"
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'I'll never get to hold you…'
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Sakura glanced back to her mom, pain struck her at the thought of her parents never coming back. "I can do that, Okaa-san." She said obediently. In her head she asked herself. 'Did I do something wrong?'
"You didn't do anything wrong, Sakura?" It was as if her mother had heard her thoughts. She was slightly relieved that her parents weren't angry.
Akane put her hands to the back of her neck, unclasping a metal hook removing a necklace that her husband had given her. The crystal that dangled at the end sparkled, different colors emitting from it each time light touched it.
"Here…" She put the necklace around Sakura's neck, adjusting it accordingly. "Whenever you're lonely… just look at this necklace, and remember us, your parents…" The thought of leaving her daughter drove a stake into her heart.
With such little time left, her parent engulfed her into a hug, as if it were going to be their last. And it was… Releasing her, Hiro brought his hands out, slowly manipulating the snow to cover up the openings of the hollow tree. It was his damned bloodline… his curse that he left her with. The delicate ice snaked its way over the hollow. He left only a small hole for oxygen, but made it so that she couldn't see through. "We love you, Sakura…"
The sound of barking got louder… deadlier, as they reluctantly left. They were struck with grief.
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'I'll never see you become a teenager… I'll never see you become a young woman… And I'll never see you get married…'
'But the thing I'll miss most of all…'
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'Is you…'
'And I'm sorry that I won't… we won't, be there.'
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And ebony fell from the heavens, the tainted tears they were. The wind blew furiously, and the snow hardened.
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Hail.
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On occasion, cold, black ice would rally off the couple that stood there, a woman with fiery red hair, and a man with ghostly white. It didn't bother them, no that wasn't it. What did bother them was the thought of their daughter, cold, and… alone. The thought that those wretched people would find her…
They knew, that tonight, they would breathe their last. Hiro stared affectionately at his wife.
"I love you…" His voice was soft, and his hand gently held hers.
Akane squeezed back reassuringly, looking at him just as fondly. "I love you too…" As she spoke, he slowly leaned in.
Their eyes closed as he brought her into a tender, chaste kiss. Pulling away, he looked forward, to the dim orange glow of fire. By now, the corrupt men could be seen clearly, rushing toward the two of them.
"We'll fight them together." She spoke, determined to help. Her husband nodded his head hesitantly, he had never wanted to get his family into this, didn't want to see them get hurt.
The men were mere meters away, quickly closing the distance.
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And all of hell broke loose…
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Sakura shivered, desperately clutching the necklace her mother left to her. Was it the cold? Partly. But really, it was a shiver of sheer terror.
Outside, she could faintly hear the sound of battle, blood… the sounds that usually would accompany war.
Silently, she sobbed. 'What was happening?' She thought to herself, afraid that something bad had occurred unto her parents. It was impossible for her to understand. She was just too small, too innocent to know the cruelty of man.
The nightmare had reached its height as a blood curdling scream reached her ears. 'Okaa-san?' A quiet sob escaped her lips. What had happened to her? Not long after, another yell had joined hers, adding more grief and tears to the already miserable girl. And if Sakura knew what death was, she would know in an instant. Her parents were dead.
And as if her parent's demise did not satisfy them enough, they searched for more blood to spill. Sakura's breath hitched, fear overwhelming her. Dog's covered in a scarlet liquid sniffed around, barking. She could hear them coming. Would they find her? The suspense was simply ripping her apart. Countless hours passed, terror rushing through her veins, as they inspected the area.
They would frequently cross the old, dead hollow, unaware of her presence, sometimes even lingering for a minute too long. But no matter how hard they looked, they did not find her, for she had not made a sound. That night, she was restless.
Eventually, they finally left… leaving the lifeless bodies of her beloved ones without a care. They thought that what they did was right. 'as if' Her parent's weren't the problem. They were.
When it was clear that they were far from the area, and dawn had finally come, Sakura clawed her way out of the ice covered hollow, tears falling from her emerald eyes. Leaping out, she rushed out into the frozen tundra.
"Otou-san? Okaa-san?" She cried, searching through the bloodstained plain slowly being covered by the black and white snow. "Where are you?" Her parents would never leave her. They loved her. But it was inevitable… unavoidable.
Suddenly, she stopped, standing frozen at the sight at her parents' motionless bodies. She rushed to them, hoping maybe, they were just sleeping…
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But they weren't…
"Okaa-san, Otou-san… Please say you're okay." She shook their bodies, desperately trying to deny the fact they were not breathing. But they weren't breathing, and they weren't alive. That day, she learned what death was, and she cried… just hugged her knees and cried to the heavens. It was the break of dawn…
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and the black snow still fell from the sky…
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Tell me what you think. Good, bad, okay? I've reread this like 10 times, trying to fix all the mistakes. And then I researched everything about Kirigakure and the Water Country to prepare for future chapters so yeah…
I'm going to get started on the next chapter tomorrow. That doesn't guarantee it'll be done by then, but I have summer break so I have the time. Anyway, review please. Give me your criticism. :D