It was 2:00 AM by the time I reached the gates of the Sound village. I landed nimbly on the dirt ground and stood, glaring up at the guard's on either side of the huge 40 foot tall entrances. "Who goes there?" demanded one. With one flick of my wrist, I sent a star-shuriken flying. It buried itself deep into the wood just above the guard's head. He whimpered and flinched. "Lady Hinoku!" He squeaked.
"Welcome back!" the other guardian ninja shrilly added. "Just open the damn gates, bakas. I'm tired!" I snarled, irritated. "Yes, ma'am!" they both yelped. 'Finally!' I exasperatingly thought. The magnificent doors creakily opened and I darted thru. I stopped and took in my familiar surroundings. Vast, Chinese-style roof-tops sat on each business and home, and banners and posters were plastered over every wall. A few abandoned childrens' toys were scattered here and there. I smiled as I picked up a small, beat-up doll. It I smoothed its black hair and dusted off its tiny pink kimono. I looked to around to make sure no one was watching and slipped it into my belt. It reminded me of a doll I used to have when I was little. Safe in my own village, I allowed myself to gaze off into the distance and recalled a memory of when I used to live in Konoha.
Flashback:
"Sakura, Sasuke, Naruto!" I called as I neared the training spot. Sakura looked up and cheerfully waved. "Hi, Kura-san!" she yelled, using my nickname. Sasuke merely glanced up and, although I couldn't here him, I knew what he had said: "Hn." Naruto grinned widely and jumped up and down, waving both hands. "Kurayami-chan! Hi! Hey! Whatsup!" he excitedly shouted. Sakura hit him over the head with a stick. "Pipe down, ramen boy!" she snapped at him. "We're supposed to be calming down, remember?"
Naruto smiled sheepishly and rubbed the back of his head. "Oh, yeah! Sorry."
"Sakura-san!" I exclaimed hugging Sakura. "Kura-san!" she replied hugging me back. "Well, I guess we better begin training, yes?" I asked. Sasuke nodded and stood up. "But this time", he said, speaking for the first time, "Let's switch up the sparring teams. Instead of Naruto and me, and you and Sakura, let it be me and you and Sakura and Naruto."
Naruto hopped up and down and shouted "Yes!" at the top of his lungs while Sakura looked crest-fallen.
I shrugged. "Ok, whatever." We situated ourselves on either side of the enormous clearing and waited for Kakashi. "So, Sasuke. Why did you want to fight me?" I inquired. Sasuke shrugged. "I was getting tired of Naruto. Needed a more interesting opponent. Hey, maybe even a weaker one." My eyes narrowed. "You calling me weak?" I quietly asked. Sasuke sneered at me. "Yeah." I glared at him and said loudly. "We'll see about that!" and the rest of the 30 minutes was spent in silence with the occasional THWACK of Sakura hitting Naruto on the head with some hard object.
Finally, sensei came. "Alright, alright! Get ready! You guys are going to fight each other so I can see how much you guys have improved." We all stood up and faced each other. I poised my hand over my bag of kunai and stared vexingly at Sasuke while he gazed coldly back.
"I'm not going to go easy on you, you know." He muttered. "I didn't ask you to!" I spat back.
"Ready…set…FIGHT!"
I whipped out 4 kunai in each hand and sent them all whooshing towards Sasuke. He disappeared. I knew this trick, for I had seen it before and made the substitution jutsu signs. Sasuke threw a shuriken at the "fake" me and my body poofed into smoke and reappeared with a log. I appeared on a tree branch in back of him and made hand signs.
"Fire-ball jutsu!" I shouted and blew 5 huge fireballs at Sasuke, one of them singeing his hair. He rushed at me and tackled me to the ground, knocking the wind out of me. I used a power jutsu I had learned from Lady Tsunade and threw him off me with super-natural strength.
He slammed against the earth and lay there. I stared warily at him, puffing for breath. I knew that the real Sasuke wouldn't just give up. Sure enough, his body poofed into clouds and I saw a kunai whiz right past my ear. I snapped around and held out my hands, planning to use a jutsu I had learned from Ino Yamanaka. "Soul possession!" I thought to myself and in seconds I was floating in a dark abyss which I knew was Sasuke's mind. I cringed as I heard a deep, male voice which I knew could only be Sasuke's older brother's voice say: "Hate me, little brother." I heard another voice say: "You're useless. You can never measure up to your brother." Images floated past me. Images of two bodies laying on top of each other with Itachi standing over them. Sakura. And…myself.
I clasped my head as I heard the screams of a young boy filled with sorrow and agony echoing in every corner of Sasuke's head.
Next thing I knew, I was laying in the sunlight and Sasuke was doubled over clutching his skull. I gasped for breath and lay panting and sweating on the ground. Sasuke rushed at me again, screaming "You're dead!" He grasped me by my throat and squeezed, cutting off my air and lifting me off the ground. I scratched at his arms trying in vain to shout for him to let me go. I flicked out a kunai and in a last desperate attempt to free myself from his death-hold, I plunged it into his forearm. He threw me aside, causing me to smash into a tree and cut the back of my head. Kakashi swiftly ran in and pulled Sasuke's hands behind his back while Sasuke struggled to charge at me. "Sasuke! Sasuke! Calm down, it was only a jutsu!" Sasuke snarled, "She saw some of my most deep secrets! She has to pay!" Kakashi knocked Sasuke out with one quick jab to the neck and rushed over to me. "Are you ok, Kurayami?" I felt faint and dizzy but I smiled. "I'm fine. But I don't think I'm going to fight anymore." Kakashi nodded and attended Sasuke's wounds. I stood up dizzily and grabbed onto the tree for support.
After a while, Kakashi walked over to me and pulled me aside. "Kurayami, I'm sorry but, I have to tell you some bad news." My eyes widened. "Is Sasuke dead?!" I yelped. "No, no!" Kakashi shook his head. "Oh…then what?" I asked.
"Well, I...just don't think you have what it takes."
I stepped back. "What it takes to be what?" I nervously inquired, already knowing the dreaded answer. Kakashi put a hand on my shoulder.
"A ninja. You just can't handle life-and-death situations well.
I'm sorry, but…you're too weak, Kurayami."
End Of Flashback