She remembered a lot as a child, but could never actually remember being a child. From the moment her memories began, it was all a blur of learning-fighting, training until she was beaten down, unable to get up, and forced to do things at the consequence of her own life. She was only four years old then. She wasn't much older, but Shion was stronger now. Running for your life for two years will do that to a person.
It was cold and she was hiding, tucked in between a large tree and a few bushes. There was no moon in the sky; it was dark, with low hanging clouds threatening rainfall at any moment. Thunder rumbled in the distance, the moisture in the air made Shion shiver, her teeth chattering. She held her hand over her mouth to muffle the sound. To her right there were faint footsteps, moving slowly and precisely. They didn't want her dead… no. They wanted her back, alive and healthy, to continue their experiments.
The child of an S-rank criminal didn't get an easy life. Her genes and latent abilities were more important to them than her life. Her sanity meant nothing.
If it didn't start raining soon, they were going to find her. Maybe the chattering of her teeth or the pounding of her heart against her chest, she didn't know, but something was going to give her away before she could even get far. The weight of having to go back to that place was unbearable. It was made her angry. It wasn't fair. Her existence wasn't her fault!
"Come out, kid. We're not leaving without you." There was a brief pause. "You got nowhere else to hide girl!"
Shion held her breath, waiting-no, praying for an opportunity.
Suddenly thunder crashed overhead, and she acted without really thinking. Slapping her last paper bomb to the tree, she lurched away from the bushes just before they exploded, running at full speed towards the only place she could think of that might not torture her. Shion could see the dim glow of the village lights ahead of her, and for an instant she thought she would make it. It was so close, though still out of sight.
"Gotcha!"
Pain exploded in her arm as she hit the ground with a shriek, struggling against the massive weight that had collided with her body. It felt like all of the air was being sucked from her lungs. Shion struggled, screaming as loud as she could for help, but it only sounded like weak gasps in her ears. There was no one close enough to hear her.
And she gave up. Whatever strength she had left, she let it go. If this was going to be her fate, she would shut it out. She wouldn't allow herself to feel that pain anymore.
"Yeah, I think I heard it over hear. Sounded like a scream."
"I think you just heard it." Another voice said. They were getting close, fast. "I didn't hear anything."
"You never clean your ears. Not surprised."
"Oi!"
A man laughed, still completely unaware of the scene they were about to come upon.
"Shit, we need to get out of here. Tie her up!"
"We don't have enough time! Let's get out of here, Jin!"
Suddenly her vision was blocked by the face of a man, though it was shadowed. It was hard to make out any of his features, and that scared her even more. It was like that moment in her nightmares, where the monster hovered over her just before devouring her.
"We'll be back for you, don't think we're gonna let you go that easily."
"Hey, stop!"
Shion kept her eyes closed, ignoring the sounds of a brief struggle and small explosion. For the moment, all she could feel was the overwhelming sense of relief that she would be protected now. If these people showed her any mercy, she could have a life. She would take anything over what she'd been through.
"Hey, what's your name?" A softer voice-it was a woman. Shion opened her eyes, meeting to pools of warm brown. Her face was covered by an animal mask, but those eyes were kind. It dissolved the rest of caution, and Shion burst into tears, sobbing and reaching for the woman leaning over her. She was just a child afterall. A nameless child, hysterical and alone, lost in the forest and almost kidnapped. They had no idea what else to do except console her and bring her home.
"What do you think Lord Fifth will do with her?"
"Probably give her a warm bed and some food…" The woman said, gingerly lifting Shion into her arms. "Poor thing looks ready to pass out. She's so thin."
"How do we know this isn't a trap?"
The woman sounded exasperated when she spoke. "We don't, but think about it. That man wanted her, they were escaping when we saw them. Whoever this girl is, she's important to those men. They'll be back."
"What's your name?"
There was a long moment of silence before she could answer.
"Uchiha… Shion…"