Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto!!
Authors note: Ok, this chapter will be a lot better…I hope! But if you are reading this story for romance, you can skip this chapter if you want, and wait for chapter 3. I am sorry it took so long to update I have been really busy. I wanted to update before I go to band camp.
Chapter 2What past
FlashbackThe clock struck midnight as a man leapt from rooftop to rooftop with killing intent. As he landed behind his destination, rats scattered from all the shadows near. The rats seemed to know this man was evil, for anyone with a trained eye could see that the rats were terrified out of their minds. He walked slowly through the snow and towards the back door to the house.
Takara had awoken at the sound of the clock tower. She was only twelve and last week her friends had told her of an evil spirit that comes to feast on parents when you hear the clock tower and she had not forgotten the story since. She had woken up every night at midnight since they told her and jumped at the slightest creeks in the wood. They said he looked just like a man, until the very moment he fed, then he turned into his true form.
Taka turned on her lamp and curled up under her blanket, shaking though she wasn't cold. Suddenly she heard the back door click and then footsteps, she kept telling herself it was her imagination, but the footsteps never stopped and they were growing closer. She knew somewhere deep down that those footsteps were real, but she did not let herself believe it. She crawled out of her bed and slipped on a pair of slippers. When she got to the door, she opened it a crack and peeked out. All she saw was a shadow, moving closer and closer to her parent's room.
At the exact moment Taka opened her mouth to scream, her window burst open and a large gust of wind came in. When she tried to scream, only the sound of moaning wind came out.
She looked around confused, she was floating above her parent's bed, and she could see it all, the man, her parents waking gasps, the man changing into something like a leach, devouring even their screams. Blood was everywhere and when Taka tried to call out, it was as if no one could hear. Tears spilled down her cheeks as she saw her brother run in holding their newborn sister. He was crying as he threw a kunai at the demon, striking it in the stomach. It was the only time Taka ever saw her brother cry, and she felt so helpless, she wished she was down there fighting with Daiske, her brother.
Birds called down to her, the sun was high in the sky, and the twelve-year-old Takara was cold. She didn't remember what had happened last night after Daiske came in. While the wind held and protected her, she had fallen asleep. So the wind carried her deep into the snowy woods, where an old woman lived. This old woman knew that the wind was bringing a most important girl and she made preparations for opening the girl's powers. She had met only one other who had this powerful chakra, the chakra of nature, but he is long dead now. The reason this chakra has to be kept a secret from many is because it requires the blood of another to work, and even though a tiny drop is enough for even the most powerful jutsu, almost everyone thinks whoever has this chakra must be destroyed at all costs. What many do not understand is they are putting their lives at risk by killing them, for when there are no more nature chakra users in the world, the world will perish.
A young fire red haired girl suddenly appeared in the air, asleep and she looked as if she had been crying. The old woman picked her up into her arms and carried her to the bed where she could lie until she wakes.
The smell of cloves and honey woke Taka from her uneasy sleep. She lifted her head and looked around, but didn't recognize anything. Then the thoughts of her brother and parents flooded through making her jump out of the bed and run out the door. There she saw an old lady sitting by the campfire with a pot over it. She would stir it then taste it, then she took it off the fire and poured some into a bowl. She lifted the bowl towards Taka and offered it to her.
"Who are you?" Taka looked uneasily at the bowl, but took it so as not too seem rude. She sat down on a mossy rock near the fire and set the bowl down beside her, studying the old woman while she stirred.
"You may call me Daine. You need to drink that to build up your strength so we may begin." The old woman said as she pointed at the bowl. "The honey in that will awaken your senses and the cloves will help give you control of your powers while we train."
"Train? Powers? I am sorry but are you sure you did not mean to bring my brother? I have no powers." Taka said solemnly as she looked at her feet. Daine's smile had a mysterious way of telling her she knew something. There was a twinkle in the old lady's eyes as her smile grew ever more wide.
"But child, you have more powers than you know. You just have not yet learned how to control them, and that is why the Wind has brought you here." Daine raised her hands skyward as a breeze wafted through the branches and seemed to circle around Taka. Takara looked around frightened until she was sure that the Wind wasn't going to carry her somewhere else.
She picked the bowl off of the rock and brought it to her lips, something about the smell made Taka suddenly brave. As she drank, the liquid seemed to turn to ice inside her, not because it was cold, the drink itself was still steaming, but because, unknown to Taka, this liquid really was freezing her insides. It started within her lungs, and then moved to her heart, followed by the stomach, until her whole body was frozen inside. Surprisingly, Taka was still able to move, and breath, but the drink must have frozen some part of her memory, because she could not remember a thing from before she woke.
"Now, we may train without the burdens of you past to slow you down. Don't worry my child; at the end of this training I will mix another that will bring your memory back." Daine held out her hand to Taka and together they walked into the woods.
For what seemed like months, the two trained together, Taka growing stronger and stronger with each passing hour, learning to control nature itself. Finally, Takara could control her powers with little strain on her body.
The day came when Daine was to say goodbye to Taka forever. The old woman had been up all night making the potion that would bring the girl's memories back. When Taka woke, the familiar smell of honey and cloves from so long ago came from the window, but another smell was mixed with the two. The smell was very bitter and made Taka uneasy. She opened the door slowly and looked outside, she saw Daine standing by a fire, drying what looked like tears.
Takara sat down on the same mossy rock she always sat, and looked up at Daine miserably. Seeing the old woman cry had made something inside her wreath in pain. Daine walked over to Taka and handed her a bowl and a necklace, Taka drank the potion without question and put the necklace around her neck.
The liquid was much different than the first potion, this time instead of freezing her inside, something like fire spread throughout her whole body. The intense heat made Taka fall to the ground, clutching her head, until everything went black.
Takara's eyelids fluttered open; she was lying in her old bed. The sound of the midnight toll must have woken her, had it all been a dream? She listened quietly, she could hear her parents in their bedroom, and her father's deep snores filled her ears like the sound of a million beautiful bells. It must have all been a dream, but it felt so real. I don't understand. Her hand instinctively flew to her neck; her heart skipped several beats as she clamped her hand around a necklace. She reached for her lamp with her other hand and clicked it on, staring at the necklace in disbelief. There, in her hand, was the same necklace Daine had given her; it had the crest of Nature on it.
Then her heart leapt, she had just heard the door click open, and then footsteps. She heard a scream, and then all went blank.
End Flashback.
Authors note: Ok, I really hope you liked this; I will try to get the next chapter up in the next few days. I am SO sorry it took so long.
