Okay, here we go! Hello everybody, and welcome to day one of Zerojackson's 365 Day Challenge, AKA New Beginnings! So, I've decided that I want to improve my writing, and a way to do that is to challenge oneself. So, because of this, I've taken up a yearly challenge. Due to finding a prompt for each day of the year on a website, I have decided to take this upon myself. So, this means, that every single day, I must write a piece of either fiction or fanfiction based on the prompt, and try and post it onto either here or another website. Before we get going, a couple of things to note:
Each and every prompt will most likely contain a different pairing or person. Or, rather, every prompt will most likely have something different about them. For example, Anko is the main protagonist of this little freewrite, whereas tomorrow's might end up being NaruHina, or something similar. This also means, however, that each chapter might contain a character or pairing you dislike. What I would suggest, then, is checking back every day to see if there is a chapter you would care to read. As such, each day the summary of this story will change to fit the pairing/friendship/character that the prompt is about. If you have checked out this chapter, and you are here for something else, don't be alarmed! Just check the other chapters and you should (hopefully) find the chapter you are looking for.
For each chapter, I will post in the chapter's name what the chapter is going to be about. There are three categories for this are:
A pairing: So, for example, NaruHina.
A Character: So, for example, Anko.
Friendship: So, for example, Naruto & Sasuke.
So this chapter will be titled: New Beginnings: Anko.
Whereas the next may be titled: Cause/Effect: NaruHina, or something of that sort.
Got it? Good.
I may also end up branching into other fandoms as well, so if there is a day missing, that is probably why.
And, finally, I'm doing freewrites here, not one-shots. There is a difference, for me at least. A freewrite for me involve no prior planning, or, rather, no putting down any plans on paper. This all needs to come from my head on the day the prompt is received, and I need to finish it by the end of the day. I also do not like to go and check back my work. I know that may sound somewhat counter-productive, but one of the points of this is for me to try and minimise as many spelling errors as possible. That being said, after a few days, and if I have time, I will head back and try and correct any grammar or spelling errors. So, overall, the plots of these freewrites may be rushed, and they may not be to the best of my ability. But, I'm going to try my hardest to keep you all entertained.
That's about all I think I need to talk about right now. I hope you enjoy this first chapter, and I look forward to (hopefully) having you along for the ride! If you have any questions, or would like the list of prompts I am using, I will gladly send it to you through PM. So, I hope you enjoy the first chapter of New Beginnings!
Day 1: New Beginnings: Anko:
She felt numb.
Despite the warmth that the office seemed to produce, Anko didn't feel any of it. She didn't feel the wooden chair that she rested on. The small breeze that filtered through the crack in the window, the small fireplace that flittered and flicked around, the warming embers crackling lightly. She didn't feel them, either. No, she felt nothing.
Hiruzen Sarutobi had never seen a girl quite so broken before. He'd seen the faces of loved ones that had lost their kin, the sight of fathers bawling over their sons graves, the small, watery eyes of a child that wouldn't have a mother or father to hold anymore. He had seen hundreds of these, and would perhaps see quite a few more.
And yet, the cold dead brown eyes in front of him struck him far harder than the ones before ever had.
She didn't really meet his gaze, or, rather, her eyes were so unfocused that it was hard to tell where she was looking. Her lilac hair was messy and dirty, her face caked in unmentionable substances that he didn't even want to think about. Her clothes were torn, revealing gashed and shredded skin, blood seeping from the wounds.
He'd tried to get her to see a doctor.
She had refused.
"Anko." His voice was low and fatherly, as he regarded the girl in front of him curiously. "How're you feeling?"
He did not get a response, except for a minor shift of the seventeen year old girl's body. He sighed. "Anko?" He tried again. Still no response.
The two ANBU Member's standing in the corners shifted awkwardly.
"Lord Hokage." A feminine voice came from one of the figures, her mask a swirl of brown and white feathers, and a yellow beak. "Should we take her to the psychiatric unit?"
"Anko? Please, speak to me?" He pressed, not replying to his ANBU.
"...Why did he leave?"
No. He was wrong. This was what broke him the most.
Her brown eyes were now focused, but behind them revealed a terrible story. Anger, hatred, sadness, depression. Swirling dark colours that coiled around her brain, darkness that shrouded her vision, sadness that ached in her gut. Her fingernails were dug deep into the wooden chair, mouth curled into a snarl. Her distraughtness was being replaced with volcanic rage. "Why!? That piece of shit, after everything I've given him!"
"Anko-"
"HE BETRAYED ME, CAST ME OUT! HE WAS MY SENSEI, HE WAS MY FRIEND, AND THIS IS HOW HE REPAYS ME!? I CAN'T... I FUCKING CAN'T, FUCK!"
Her screams became more hysterical as tears rolled down her cheeks. The ANBU members went to move forward, but the Sandaime Hokage raised his hand to stop them, his face impassive. The woman in front of him continued to weep into her arm, fist smashing roughly against the chair she sat upon, almost splitting the armrest in two.
"I understand your pain."
"No you don't!" She roared, standing up, puffy eyes fixing the leader of Konoha with a ferocity filled glare. "I was abandoned, and left for dead by the only man that ever truly cared for me! And he left me with this fucking thing!" She pulled down the collar of her tattered shirt, revealing the Curse Mark of Heaven, inky black and decrepit. "This is all he left me! I was just some stupid fucking experiment to that bastard! He's... he's... a monster. A FUCKING MONSTER-"
"Enough."
Hiruzen's voice was stern and echoed throughout the whole room. Even the ANBU members shrank back a little bit at the sound of their commanders tone. Anko paused in her demented ramblings, furiously wiping away the tears that continued to spill over her dirty face.
"Orochimaru... is different than most people." Hiruzen began, gesturing to the wooden chair Anko was previously sat in. With a small shiver, and averted gaze, the former student of Orochimaru sat back down. Raising his hand, The Third Hokage dismissed his begrudging ANBU, thus leaving him alone with the Snake Mistress.
She waited, her tears finally having stopped fallen, for her leader to continue. He took a while, regarding her with old and tired eyes. He promptly stood up, and walked over to the open window.
The sky now had the slight dusting of orange as shapely clouds drifted on by over the bustling city of Konoha. Traders and civilians wandered around the streets, selling wares and chatting amongst themselves within the mass of people. On the rooftops, however, lay a different story. Dark shapes blurred over the tiled roofs, barely making a sound as they darted in each and every direction, going about their business as if the bustling crowds down below didn't exist. Two different worlds, most certainly.
"He was always a prodigy." Despite himself and the occurrences just a few hours ago, The Third Hokage could not defeat the smile that graced his aged lips. "My prized student. A shinobi like no other, one that only comes once in a lifetime. And I loved him like my own son."
Anko had leaned in, eyes rapt on The Sandaime's back as he continued to speak and stare out onto the village that he ruled. "But I was blinded, Anko. I was blinded by my love for him, and thusly, I could not see what everybody else could. His malicious ways, his vicious experiments, his downright cruel treatment of those around him. I couldn't see it. And for that, Anko, I am sorry. Had I not been such a stubborn old fool, I could have averted this."
Hiruzen turned to face the now placid woman, whose brown eyes still held deep anger behind them, and yet were far, far calmed down than they were before. "Orochimaru is like a cancer. A growth, a tumour. He buries his way into your heart, into your brain and your soul. And then, when he's got a hold, and has a deep enough grip, he begins to eat you from the inside out."
Anko tried to blink back the wave of tears that came, but failed, leaping up. Hiruzen's eyes widened in alarm momentarily, until she leapt into his arms, wrapping him in a tight hug as she cried.
A small, sad smile crept onto his face as he gently patted her back. "But, now, Anko, now you can begin the road to recovery. And we can cure the cancer that's infected your mind and body. And you can have a new beginning."
Anko hugged tighter, her voice muffled by the Hokage's robes. "Thank you."
Hiruzen Sarutobi's smile wavered, as he too hugged the woman tighter.
"I just wish that I could cure my cancer."