The room was impenetrably dark and smelled strongly of paint. The curtains were nailed in a precise way to the floor and wall, the color of the fabric choking out any and all light from the outside. In the direct center of the room, there lay a broken light bulb. Next to the broken table across from the door, there were fragments of what used to be a glass oil lamp- a torn and tarnished kimono in the corner of the room was soaked in the oil that used to belong to it. There was blood everywhere- in pools, streaks, droplets, footprints- both in stains simply from a lack of cleaning it up and newer, fresher areas where the blood had yet to dry. A particular set of bloody footprints, the freshest there were, led to the farthest wall from the door. They traveled all to way to the solid form and suddenly, it appeared as though they were smeared. There was a tiny child sitting there, her knees drawn up to her chest and her festive kimono tattered, practically bathed in the red that was still leaking out of her tight, withdrawn form.
"Princess Shizuka, you may come out now. It is time to go to bed," harshly called a man's voice from outside the door, a faint trail of light beaming into the black abyss from cracks in the wooden structure.
The walls of the palace were sturdy and old, but pleasantly so. Whenever the snow outside halted its abundant fall, one could see the frozen, green vines that climbed up the white walls, adding a pretty, reminiscent touch to the humble-looking Kage's palace.
The exterior of the palace, the heavy makeup to cover bruises and risen scars, the exquisite attire, and the plastered smiles- They were enough to convince the public of a fraudulent existence- one of happiness and love. But unbeknownst to the citizens of the Village Hidden in the Snow, the Kage's wife and children were being locked inside their own worst nightmares.
Normally, the Hokage would never leave his village. He had a duty to always protect his people, and with his absence, there was a possibility of attack. But there was something of greater importance that needed his attention. News had reached him that the entirety of the Kousetsugakure's population had been wiped out that morning when the Kage went on a rampage and began killing innocents left and right. The two villages, Konohagakure and Kousetsugakure, had a signed treaty together, stating that if anything bad were to happen to either of the two, the other would immediately assist in any way possible. But the news was delayed in reaching him that day after lunch. Since there were no survivors, neighbors and tourist were the ones that reported seeing large columns of smoke coming from the village. When they approached, they discovered the place to be in literal shambles.
The thought still sent a chill down the man's spine. He knew the Kage and his family personally- The father was friendly and talkative. His pregnant wife was quiet and meek, but smiled graciously and remained humble. The two older children were five and two years old- little Kobayashi Shizuka and even littler Kobayashi Umeko. The two were inseparable. Shizuka had always been the prettier one and looked like the beautiful Kobayashi ancestors, but Umeko was quite the cutie, herself, looking more like her father in the face, but with platinum blond hair and green eyes like her mother. The youngest was more like her mother in many ways, one being that she could neither perform nor get interested in ninja techniques. The oldest, however, was the supposed redeemer of the clan, taking most if not all of the genetics from the father's side. She had obtained the highly-destructive, but also highly forbidden kekkai genkai that randomly appeared in his family. It was extremely rare when the kekkai genkai appeared in consecutive generations. The Kousetsukage was the one and only other owner. And it was with that kekkai genkai that he destroyed the whole village.
Sarutobi Uchiha still had their family picture on his desk in his home, he remembered. Four smiling faces, all looking content as they huddled together for the family photo. The mother with little baby Umeko in her arms, the father next to her, and Shizuka in front of the father, his hand seemingly affectionately resting on her silky black hair. No one could have never noticed anything being out of place with the seemingly picture-perfect family.
The clan leader's thought process suddenly halted as he reached the once-grand gates of the village. They were so beaten that the wooden mass was reduced to mere wooden splinters. Without looking up at the grey sky, he could smell the rancid stench of smoke coating the air. Walking further inward, the man saw the total destruction of the village. There couldn't have been any survivors with all of the body parts lying about. No villager had been spared. The once-bustling streets of Kousetsugakure were now non-existent. There was no pathway to tread upon anymore, now either buried under burning, collapsed pieces of architecture, or under huge heaps of what used to be real-life, living human beings.
And in the Village Hidden in the Snow, it had begun to snow ash and soot. The normal, steady fall of snow had halted. The silence was an eerie thing that put the old man on edge.
Standing in the middle of the village, amongst a pile of ashes, blood, and unrecognisable corpses, was a little girl in what should have been a white dress that was now yellowed from age (or lack of light exposure, as he later found out) and splattered in red. Hiruzen Sarutobi froze in his tracks. It was Shizuka, the oldest daughter. Her birthday had been a few weeks ago, he recalled. He, his wife, and a few of his political buddies had been there for the celebration.
"Shizuka," the Uchiha clan leader called, cautiously walking over to check on her. "I'm here. You know me."
Her head turned to face him, eyes empty and dull. The icy-blue irises were devoid of the light and shine that a five year old should have had. They seemed hollow. She seemed hollow. The empty expression on her face made him think she had never smiled in her life. It was frozen in its non-existent, unemotional visage, with frozen tears he'd only just realized stuck to her small, pale cheeks.
"Shizuka, come." He outstretched his arms as she silently, obediently stepped forward with a slight limp. When she was close enough, he softly scooped her up and carried her. She became seemingly lifeless like the corpses, but her eyes remained open. "It'll all be okay," he said gently, mostly to reassure himself. He awkwardly moved her messy and over-grown bangs out of her eyes. She blinked, thereby dissolving the fear he had of her dying in his arms. "I'll take you somewhere where you'll be safe."
First part/Introduction of my Itachi x Shizuka Fanfiction done. I'm currently working on the next part for this series.
I'm still debating with a name for this, so until I come up with an official one, it will be called "Saika."
If you haven't already, listen to "Saika" from Naruto on piano.
I do not own Naruto or any of its characters. Shizuka is my overused OC.
~ Draw Me An Eclipse