Chapter TWO:
She didn't have to see to hear it. The village was under attack, screams soared through the air and hit against her ear drum like every nightmare she had, had was at her door knocking….
Katarina Suzume lived within a small town in the Land of Mist. The town was peaceful, simplistic, full of farmers and traders, no one of notoriety, with a solid force of about ten ninja patrolling the small town for trouble.
Katarina was a unique child, blind, some would guess by her solid grey eyes, some mistook her for a member of the Hyuga clan, but it was a very rare occurrence due to the distance between such a fabled family and the little town.
Her life was best explained, as cozy with a small looming threat of failing bonds.
See, Katarina did well within the village. She even went out to travel to the village hidden in the mist to go to school to become ninja, thanks to her father's similar occupation and her mother's encouragement. She developed quickly learned skills in water and earth to create ice. She excelled as a ninja gaining her Genin badge of honor by the time she was eleven; however there was one problem in her calm life.
Her older brother.
His heart was black with the taint of jealousy that developed into an absolute abhorrence; for there was a secret to his sister that he wished to have as his own, a secret of power.
His sister was capable of the most advanced ocular jutsu in the world; The Byakugan and the Sharingan, at the same time. It was thought to be an impossibility, and due to the dangerous potential it held was kept secret, but her brother knew and wished for the power with such a ferocious hunger that he stumbled to the edge of sanity and jumped.
She was twelve when he finally took that last permanent step. It had been a peaceful day, men and women meandering home passing each other and waving at familiar faces. Katarina watched the sea of faces happily, a books scratchy pages underneath her fingers waiting for her eager eyes. It was peaceful, the perfect moment to get lost, until she heard the heavy footfall of her brother.
At first she thought it might be her uncle who had come to visit with her aunt, but her uncle would never stomp anywhere. On top of that her uncle and aunt were already inside drinking with her parents.
"Kat," he stated firmly confirming her suspicions before looking, "Get your nose out of that book, don't you have any missions to do," he sneered.
His hands were shaking, his brown hair plastered to his forehead with the strong adhesive of sweat, and one of his arms had a deep gash, and it was as though he had come back from a difficult mission and never tried to seek medical aid.
"Whoa, what happened to you," she asked aghast.
He looked at her, glaring, grey eyes staring into hers with a scream of hate, "Why would you care?!"
Katarina far from flinched at his spiteful words, accustomed to such outbursts and aware of his stubborn inability to open up to her she simply glanced back at her book, "Mom can stitch you up inside."
Her brother huffed and stomped past her into the house.
Katarina stayed, reading the latest novel she had picked up by an author from the Leaf village, Jiraiya, The Tale of the Utterly Gutsy Shinobi. As the sunset and the comfortable warmth of the day turned into the slight nip of cold from night she found herself nodding into sleep over the scribbled letters of a character that had no character flaws. She yawned and slowly leaned her head against the wall of her home drifting into a quiet stream of thoughts and then a dream.
"GET HER INSIDE!"
Rough hands grabbed Katarina about the arms as she was dragged back. She screamed out a protest of confusion as the door to her home was thrown open and she was pushed inside by her father who turned around and with frightened dark eyes grabbed a hold of her shoulders and gave her a stern expression. His breath was coming in ragged, aggressive bursts that Katarina couldn't understand what had happened to cause them.
"Stay in here, you'll be safe in here, just stay," he said.
He ran outside slamming the door behind him. Yet not before Katarina saw the unmistakable, unsettling sight of a building covered in orange flames.
The village was under attack, screams soared through the air and hit against her ear drum like every nightmare she had, had was at her door knocking….
She couldn't stand it, as a ninja, as a daughter she had to see what she could do, she looked to the window, she had to get out, but the sight stopped her.
All of it, everything was burning and in front of their house, in the middle of the road was her brother, standing, with a few men behind him all of them facing against her parents. She didn't believe it, she couldn't believe it. He drew his weapon, and she saw as plain as the blood on that shinning metal of his weapon that her brother was going to attack.
She burst through the door without a second thought, but as she crashed onto their porch her aunt ran to grab her about the waist and stop her progression. She was forced to watch, as she was kept safe, as her brother slaughtered both of her parents.
It was so quick and clean it was disgusting. Her mother, standing, innocent, not even a fighter but ready to fight, she stood hands ready, Byakugan activated ready to strike, but Katarina could almost feel the way her mother's lower lip would tremble in fright, in fear, in sadness. Her father was shaken as well, keen Sharingan eyes alight in the flame reminiscent of a demon, yet he was just a man forced to face his own son, his fists were shaking so heavily she could see it.
Yet her brother came at them, with a bloody sword and a smile.
She couldn't even understand what she saw the images pinned themselves to her long term memory, yet were still forever cryptic in the chaos, disbelief and panic of the night.
Her father, who was standing in the way of her mother, dodged his first attack, and her mother was not quick enough to do the same. She was just a villager.
The blade hit her in the stomach, her own son staring her in the eyes as he killed her and threw her to the ground like a toy he was exhausted of. Her body slammed into the other side of the road, and she spun across the stone and stayed still face downwards, hair spread about her like a cloak.
Katarina couldn't think straight couldn't believe, couldn't understand.
His men advanced on her father.
Katarina tried to let out a yell, tried to stop it from happening. But her voice didn't make it anywhere near audible for the situation. Her aunt covered her mouth. Her fingers sweaty, her breathing ragged against her side.
Her uncle burst into the fight, a Jonin, just like her father. Her brother dealt with all of them, with just one sword and two men. He sliced his own father's throat into a bloody smile and Katarina's uncle screamed to her aunt. Yet Kat watched as her father fell to his knees facing her and then fell to the ground, face down on the cool stone.
"Take her! Take her to Konoha, we can't lose her!"
Katarina's aunt hesitated a single moment, just enough time for Katarina to free herself with an aggressive thrust out of her aunt's arms. However, as her aunt reached for her wrist her brother spotted her, blood splattered across his face and a wide smile across his features.
"Where are you going?"
Katarina yelled she threw herself toward her brother armed only with the deepest hate she could produce. She ran into the street but just as her brother with a greedy smile grinned and began to raise his blade her aunt leaped in the way taking a heavy sword wound across her belly.
Her uncle burst into the group throwing his wife back to defend her from the man.
"Take her," he screamed again, "I'll hold them back!"
Katarina watched the fire behind her brother dance, the craziness alight in his eyes, glanced at her parent's bodies, unable to understand they were dead, they couldn't be. Just a few hours ago…Yet she felt a firm grip on her wrist and was tugged away through the fire and the flames as her uncle stood alone holding back a foe that should never have existed.
It was her brother, her brother, her brother.
She didn't have to see to hear it. The village was under attack, screams soared through the air and hit against her ear drum like every nightmare she had, had was at her door knocking….those knocks would never go away, she'd open the door and see her father's last red smile, and see her mother tossed aside and watch her own brother's violent eyes with a horror she had never known she was capable of.
