Colors. There were so many colors here. Blue, green, yellow, red, purple, so bright were the colors that they were almost blinding. So bright were the colors that they could not be real. Everything here seemed much like an illusion. If you looked carefully, you could see things fade and dim before coming back as bright as before. Sometimes areas would go black. The birds flew and sang much in the same way they always did. The river flowed and gurgled happily, its sound never fading even if its color did. The trees dotting the field winked in and out of existence, until finally, everything was black. All there was left was the sounds.
One sound in particular was something often heard here. A small, unhappy sigh. Under a great willow tree, by the clear blue water of the river laid a girl. She looked like many other girls that could be seen. Tan skin, red lips, short chestnut brown hair. She did not look out of place. She seemed average, like any other girl you might see walking down the street. The only thing that really made her seem different was her eyes. They were gray and stared at nothing in particular. If you looked very closely, you could see a slightly milky layer that rested upon these odd eyes.
The girl's name was Miyoko and she was very, very different from the other girls. She had a power no other human could boast of, save for one, a man. A very old man who cheated death many, many times. She called him father, but she knew not who her real parents were. Her friend, a street child, much older than she, said they had abandoned her in some garbage. Her friend said that her father, the old man, had saved her from the stench and snow. He said that if Miyoko had been left out there for much longer she might have died.
This is exactly what this girl was thinking about right now. The old man and his connections to her powers. He taught her everything he knew about healing, it was what he called the 'proper' way. That healing with Chakra, the way the ninjas do, was cheating. He only used one jutsu, only one, which made him hated by his clan, who became very good medical-nins, and used many medical jutsus.
Miyoko went to a school to learn how to read and write, the way other children did. When she got home, she learned about herbs and Chakra control, for the only jutsu she was ever allowed to learn. The old man never told her the name of the jutsu. He only said it was as old as the Arakawas. She wondered for a long time what an Arakawa was, but never got an answer. Therefore, she went on believing that they were some sort of gods that he worshipped. The only thing she did know about the Arakawas was that they were very, very old. She did not understand their connection with the jutsu, but never asked. The old man hated questions. So she learned never to ask things.
The jutsu she had learned from the man had made her faint the first time she used it. He had not told her what exactly would happen, but when it did, she could not take it. Blood sprouted from her fingers and onto the floor. So she had lost control of her chakra from shock and disgust. Henceforth she fainted. She did not use the jutsu again, until she felt she was ready. Eventually after many years, she got used to blood. She did not faint or throw up in the middle of an operation, which many people were thankful for. Her life had seemed perfect.
An average girl living an average life… that is until death came knocking. She could not truly be seen, but she knew he was there. He was taking the soul of a man she was operating on. He had been dieing and she was trying to save him. Death, a fluttering shadow in her vision. She screamed and pushed her hand through it, but as she did, a light sprung from her fingers. It was so bright it blinded her.
The old man had to finish the operation. The young man lived. This was when the 'Average girl with an average life' deal went to pieces. She had blinded herself without knowing how to work with the power, or even the fact that she had one. The old man began to understand the seriousness of the situation and, at the time, had mumbled something about apologizing to that old gypsy. Miyoko, dazed, confused, and scared merely sat in a corner trying to figure out what happened and how to see.
The old man had left her alone, seeming to temporarily forget she was there. She had sat in that corner crying for what had seemed days to Miyoko. She finally remembered getting up and moving clumsily through the house to her room, where she fell asleep. When she woke up, it was dark. She went back to sleep, not realizing that the sun was very much up.
In this blindness she realized she could see the shadows that had cursed and plagued her, as well as saved her. They were formed like people, but somehow, she could see they were not people. It was curious, these creatures and how they appeared before her like this. She eventually got used to them and they became a usual part of Miyoko's day.
Weeks later, after coming back from gathering herbs she found her father. The man who had protected and kept her safe, dead. She had cried for three days straight and did not eat during this time. Her friend was the one to pull her out of it. She demanded he tell her how her father died. Her friend did tell. The golden band around his neck and solely tightened, suffocating him, but the band also began to regenerate cells. His death was slow and painful. Only dieing one his head was completely separated from his body and the golden band a large gold ball.
As Miyoko lay under that tree now, her eyes closed. Dreams sent by the shadows swimming through her head. Making tears fall from her eyes. She got used to the terrible images they showed her, as well as the beautiful ones.