This is my first story, so please... be nice? :)
Hope you enjoy!
Rolling thunderclouds filled the sky, rumbling like a ravenous predator. Their sporadic growls were the direct contrast to her heavy steps, pounding the beaten earth in time to her gasps of breath. Her heartbeat thudded in her ears, each thump compelling her to go faster, to get stronger, so that she would never be helpless again.
Karen unconsciously rubbed the lower left half of her torso, where a line of puckered red flesh marked her as insignificant, powerless. How long has it been since she had felt the cold knife biting into her once-unblemished skin, carving pain and fire into her stomach? How long has it been since she was weak as a newborn, left in an alley to bleed to death?
I'll never be weak again, she thought, and pushed herself to run faster. Over and over, her footsteps thudded against the earth. Sweat dripped down her face, mingling with the drops of summer rain until she couldn't tell one from the other.
A loud roar of thunder shook her from her thoughts. She slowed her running and looked around her. It was then that she realized that she was all alone in the clearing, all alone with the dark clouds blocking the sun.
"One more lap," Karen whispered to herself, not willing to break the ominous silence.
Right when she said that, the thunderclouds above her lit up, their previous dark gray flashing white-hot. A single streak of lightning pierced the sky before it traveled through the tallest object in the meadow. Or rather, the tallest person.
Karen didn't know what hit her. One moment, she was getting ready to run one more lap around the clearing, her muscles aching pleasantly. The next second, her vision turned white. She couldn't even cry out for help, each and every molecule of her just fighting to stay alive. Her whole body screamed in agony, pain so powerful it threatened to tear her soul apart.
And just as suddenly as the pain started, it stopped. Karen was dimly aware that the ground she collapsed on didn't feel like the hard-packed dirt of the clearing. But at that time, she could honestly care less.
The black vertigo inside her mind swallowed her, and she collapsed onto the foreign ground.
~Meanwhile, in the Sawada household…~
"Looks like it finally stopped raining," Reborn remarked, setting off a chain reaction.
"NYAHAHA! The great Lambo-san will play outside now! Get out of my way, useless Tsuna!"
"Stupid cow! Don't show disrespect to Juudaime! Get back here, an apologize, or else I'll blow you up!"
"Maa maa, Gokudera," Yamamoto smiled, "Calm down."
"Wait, Lambo!" Lambo and I-pin raced out the door into Tsuna's backyard.
Tsuna sighed. It was two weeks after the ring conflict against the Varia, and things were already settling down to normal. Well, as normal as life could get in the mafia. Tsuna was back to Dame-Tsuna at school, and his life at home was as loud as ever. Seriously, all he wanted was a normal life…
A flying kick from Reborn ended Tsuna's thoughts. "You will always be Dame-Tsuna, Dame-Tsuna. Suck it up."
"Reborn," Tsuna complained, "Stop –" He was cut off by Lambo's sudden scream. Everyone stopped what they were doing and went to investigate.
"Stupid cow, interrupting Juudaime's speech," Gokudera muttered. "It's probably not even… imp… ortant…" His voice died away as he stepped into the backyard. His mouth dropped in shock and the dynamite he was clenching in his fists dropped to the ground.
There was a dead girl lying smack-dab in the middle of Tsuna's backyard.
How was that? Good? Bad? Let me know in a review. :)
This is the prologue, so it's pretty short. Expect longer chapters in the future!
Thanks for reading!