Hi there
This is my first story written in English. English isn't my native language and I apologize for any error, please forgive me. I wrote this story to challenge to myself, to see if I could write something in English. I don't have any plans for this story yet, I will just wait and see if something happens.
Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.
Ask any parent and they will say the same, the dead of a child is the most heartbreaking thing anyone could witness. When the life leaves the young eyes and darkness will refill the empty eye-sockets, and the blood will run red. Therefore you could almost say that the way it turned out was the best of the worst that happened.
The sun was long gone and only the moons shaky light illuminated the small village. Peace had settled, and only the gentle sound of the waves could be heard. Nobody noticed the small spark jumping from the shadows to the outermost of the village. The spark quickly became a flame dancing over the first wooden house. Only when high flames could be seen against the dark sky, a reaction could be heard. It was a single dog's cry that alarmed the entire village. The cry was the starting shot and people started streaming out of the houses.
People, everywhere… and not only villagers. When the first screams filled the cold air, panic swept through the gathering. Families seeking their loved ones in the middle of chaos would not find them, the last thing they would see, were the cold steel reflecting the moonlight.
The fire spread from house to house and the crackle drowned out all other sounds. Only a few people were able to make decisions concerned other than them selves. One of them was the old schoolteacher. He chose that the last thing he would do in this live, was to try saving the children, the hope of the future.
The children too young to be a threat and too stupid to do anything besides staying with their family, were saved for last.
The attack was calm, silent and deadly in a way that clearly showed that it wasn't the first time these men had desolated an entire village, in the shelter of the night. They had been twenty men when the sun set and twenty when the sun rose and they left the now burnt out village. It's inhabitant laying in the streets or burnt to dead inside the destroyed houses.
When the teacher would look back in his last moments, he could find peace in knowing that at least a few mothers hadn't witnessed the dead of their children.
Iruka woke when a ray of sunshine flickered over his face. The ground he lay on was soft, but not as soft as his bed. His whole body screamed it felt like he had run all night and his head felt like someone had cracked it open.
He sat up with difficulty, feeling for cracks in his skull. He caught a glimpse at the big burn marks at his leg, and memories flooded back. Nausea hit him and he could do nothing but empty his stomach. The strong motion caused him to feel dizzy and before he knew it he sank back in the grass unconscious.
Whispering voices drew him back to the present.
"Here's another one, watch out this one been throwing up all over" he felt steps approaching him, he desperately wanted to run, but his body refused to listen. "Is he dead" a voice further away asked. "No, just passed out".
Strong arms lifted him as if he was weightless. He tried to get away, but he only managed to writhe a little in the strong grip. "We better hurry; he's not in good shape to say it mildly"
He suddenly felt like he was flying. The magical feeling was intense, but the blackness returned.
He had seen ninjas before he was after all a man of the sea and had travelled a lot, but the sight was overwhelming. Ninjas had a special feeling surrounding them, it made people keep guard, but on the same time made most civilians feel an oddly form of security as well.
The two men had sought him out, asking him for permission to board his ship. The ship would depart in less than an hour heading for the land of fire.
He knew better than to refuse them, but he was uneasy about the situation. One of the men was carrying an unconscious boy. The boy's head rolled on his neck and he twitched from time to time.
He would later try to forget how the small face was covered in blood, and the ugly burn marks all over the fragile body.
"It's good to be home" the chunin said while stretching his arms above his head. "Yeah these kinds of missions are a drag" the other said. They were walking home from the hospital, were they had dropped of the kid. "It's weird you know, we usually just dump the refugees at a save place and let the wave government take care of the rest".
"Well that may be the problem they don't know what to do with the refugees" he answered absentminded. "We are just the lucky ones getting to accompany the very first one" he continued.
"Fortunately for us he was asleep the entire time" he grinned.
Hospitals have this special smell, a mix of chemicals, blood and a faint smell of cheap lilies. It saturates everything inside. Iruka woke up to this smell, but to him it would never be a bad smell.
For the first time in a long time he was able think, to absorb what really happened. That was when it started, first soft sobs then louder until he was crying hard. He heard the door open and looked up with frightened eyes. It was an old man dressed in robes in red and white, he even wore a weird looking hat. "You didn't expect it to hit back that hard right?" even though the words could be mistaken as harsh the voice was kind. "N-no" Irukas voice were raspy. "That's often what happens, I've seen it plenty of times. If you let it all out at a time it will break you".
The only sound that could be heard was Iruka's trembling breath. The old man sat down in the hospital chair facing Iruka. His face was wrinkled from the sun, and Iuka could tell he used to smile a lot in his younger days. "You need to face the past in fragments instead, adapt to the new feelings as the come". He carefully folded his hands. "But for now sleep, keep your darkest thoughts for the morning light". Iruka laid his head on the pillow, trusting the old man not to hurt him. The Hokage didn't leave until the boy's breathing evened out.