With the Heart of a Shinobi
Chapter 2: Fire dance of the little Devil: Shizuka Kurogane
Character introduction: Shizuka Kurogane © Katelynn
Other Characters Not Canon: © To me
Canon Characters: © Kishimoto
A/N: Still not in our current time frame, but this is an actual Character introduction Chapter, enjoy.
"Ring around the Rosy." A sing-song voice, laced with a childish tone was heard.
Fire completely engulfed the building, the screeching cries of the dying children.
"Little brother!" A female on the opposite side of the burning building as the Pyro, screaming for her younger brother. A bag and a headband fell to the floor. "Who did this?!"
They call her... a devil.
"Pocket full of posies..."
The Flowers near the burning building were engulfed almost instantly as well, and an insane giggling came from the female with hair as red as the fire.
The smirk was wide, and evident on her face.
Almost insane.
"Ashes Ashes."
The remains, everything left of that pathetic existence, everything she threw away. They were all burning.. Everything drawn into one inevitable end. A death met by the flames.
A Death brought surely by the devil.
"They all fall down."
Skin burned to ash, and the flames would engulf everything in that specific area, careful to not spread. It was a trained flame, yet a deadly and dangerous flame. Everyone would die, everyone would suffer for her pain.
Everyone would feel the pain she held mentally, in a physical state.
Because everyone made her suffer.
"Brother... Sister..." The same voice from before, now quiet and fearful. "No...Not... not nee too..."
It was all over for this pathetic orphanage that was once a long standing building, a torture chamber for the children within its confines. Yes. This was the hell they had brought upon themselves.
Shizuka Kurogane was the name of the devil, no, the messenger of the devil. The Pyro. The flames that brought hell into reality. She carried those flames with her, the flames of her struggle.
A cloak was pulled lightly over the shoulders of the female, the collar careful to cover the lower half of her face from the sides. Scarlet red hair, hair that almost looked of the flames themselves.
She then began to walk, at a slow enough pace for the fire to still linger in monstrosity.
As she walked, her gaze wandered to the floor, the insanity drained for the time being. "They deserve it all. Everything... Everything they've made me lose... It was too much... nothing anyone... could make up for..."
Then why did it hurt so much once she had reached the gates?
They wouldn't let her live, she knew that much. She shouldn't care, there wasn't anything left to live for anyway...
But why was she running away then? Why was her life any importance to her now? I suppose it was any casual reaction. Yes. This was her punishment for her sins, her crimes as a devil.
She would exist.
But wouldn't that be a punishment to others? Like it mattered...
Shizuka existed as a devil to the people, especially the ones that were unknowing to her existence. They WOULD know. And they WOULD cringe in fear at her name. Yes, that was her goal wasn't it?
She turned to the gates then, and stared up at the sky darkened by the fire she had set. "That's it then... Never again... The moment I leave these gates I will become a Criminal.."
The heel of her sandal then connected with the sand outside Suna, it was official.
She took off.
Shizuka Kurogane
Age 15
"Shizuka." An elder woman pushed the tray to her. "You have to eat.."
"What should it matter?" The young 15 year old rolled onto her side. "Like it should matter. They want me to rot and die here anyway..." Her voice was full of resent, her fiery hair had been purposely cut short and hand dyed black.
The elder woman brushed her hand through the dirty locks, "Shizuka... you shouldn't let what they say bother you..."
"They called me a devil..."
"You're not a devil, dear..." She frowned, the wrinkles on her face curling with the expression.
"Chiryuu-baa." Shizuka rolled over to face her. "Then why did they say my hair was long and red, like the devil's mane?" Tears filled her eyes as she spoke, her voice shaking.
"Oh my dear... your hair was long... and beautiful... the perfect shade of red. Almost like fire... yes... the fire of your will, your determination. That is what your beautiful locks symbolized.. Nothing evil... nothing cruel... just... you." Chiryuu's hand brushed through the short and poorly dyed black hair. "My dear.. You didn't have to take it this far..."
Shizuka then sobbed, wrapping her arms around the elder woman. "Chiru-baa... I want it back.. I want my hair back..."
"Such a simple thing... It will grow back. And the dye will grow out. It just takes time, and patience. You have to live out your mistakes, and live through for the future."
"Live out mistakes... and live through for the future..." She repeated. "Alright... I will.. And I promise you.. I'll be stronger then all this... you won't have to see my cry again for something so stupid. Chiryuu-baa."
Her wrinkled, and old, delicate arms wrapped around Shizuka's young frame, brushing her hand through her hair in a calming manner.
"Do not worry.. Nothing... is too stupid to cry over."
Shizuka Kurogane
Age 17
"Chiryuu-baa! Chiryuu-baa! My hair it's red again it's red again!" Shizuka skipped happily around the orphanage, for once ignoring the glares of the children around her. She stopped in front of a group of children that had collected. "Where's Chiryuu-baa?" She questioned, her voice full of unwavering happiness.
One of the males frowned, opening his mouth with a ready remark for the 'devil child.'
Instead, a girl beside him spoke. Her hair was pulled into two pigtails that ran from the sides of her head down the front of her body. Her black locks were intertwined with baby blue ones, a beautiful design Shizuka added to her mental thoughts.
"Chiryuu's dead." She said, her calm voice seemingly uncaring.
Shizuka's eyes widened, and she took a step back. "No way... there couldn't possibly be a way.. She seemed fine... she seemed fine the last time I saw her.." Her shaking hands clenched into fists, as she fought back the tears.
She wouldn't cry again. Not like this.
The girl responded again. "Chiryuu-baa-san was old, and just a helper here. With all the work she did, I'm surprised it didn't happen sooner."
"No!" Shizuka shook her head violently, her long amber locks swishing back and forth. "You're lying! You're all lying to me!"
Something deep within her flared, and the temperature of the room increased rapidly.
"Stop it." The girl frowned. "You're letting your chakra loose like you have no control over it whatsoever."
"My... chakra..."
They had always said, she was a natural born user of the Fire style Ninjutsu, but she never imagined what they had meant. All the times she had spent by herself, training her body and mind so she could protect herself from the bullies that taunted her. All this had built up a chakra supply, and the instincts of a shinobi?
Yes. She was a natural born devil. A Natural born fighter.
But even with all this power, she couldn't stop a simple death from happening. No, the death wasn't that simple. It was God's work. God would be the one who decided those that lived and those that didn't. That's what she was always taught after all.
But what kind of God would leave her alone like this?
Maybe she really was the enemy of God, a Devil. A Harbinger of evil.
The temperature lowered to normal, and she took a step back.
But it wasn't enough to have the power, then to learn how to control it. She heard the shinobi of her village talking about it.
Chakra control, that's what they called it. If Shizuka could learn to control her chakra then...
Then maybe she could be powerful enough to protect not only herself, but everything she wanted.
"Shizuka..." One of the attendants, an ADULT came up at that point. "There's something we must discuss with you, regarding Chiryuu-baa's will."
The girl with the pretty hair frowned, and twirled one braid in her hand casually, while the other children with her ignored Shizuka's presence once more.
Shizuka followed the man, remaining silent as she did.
Inside the room that Chiryuu-baa once resided in was several other adults, the owners of the orphanage. The ones that brought Shizuka the hell she lived in.
One frowned, while the other tapped their fingers on the dresser.
"Shizuka Kurogane. We've come to a conclusion about what we're going to do with the whole situation Chiryuu's death has brought upon us." The first, a middle aged female spoke, turning her gaze to Shizuka.
"Yes." The male beside her nodded his head. "Chiryuu was in charge of taking care of you. She was the only one that would. But now that she's dead.. I'm afraid we must resort to our original planning. Your being here is too much of a danger to the other children. So we've decided.. To keep you in solitary.. For your last year with us."
Solitary.
She would be alone again.
That was her punishment. Because devils were always alone.
Shizuka found the words they told her, were blanking in and out of her head as she stood there dizzily, still trying to cope with the loss of the one person that meant the world to her.
When they dismissed her to her new room, her solitary room. The one she would never leave, Shizuka stumbled dizzily down the hallway.
The door was opened for her, and once she was in, shut just as quickly behind her.
She collapsed against the bed, her legs pulled to her chest.
Her will.
Two objects left by her father.
One silver ring, big enough to be a crown. A Diamond shaped ruby hanging from it.
Another silver ring, yet this time of massive proportions. A Shinobi tool, a weapon.
She was ready.
And after a year of training, in solitary, alone, as a devil.
She was ready.
Her chakra was collected, and the fire began.
"Geez... where the hell AM I?"
The exhausted female struggled to keep her eyes open as she sulked down another path leading to GOD knows where. The forest was empty, at least, she was pretty sure of that. Her stomach growled in protest at her ongoing attempt to find SOME sort of civilization or source of food, which kept making her remember how miserably she was failing.
Shizuka stopped in a clearing, her hands moving to her hips in a proud stance. Yes, she would find food, and shelter, if it was the last thing she did! And it might as well be, especially at this rate. "Great. I'm going to starve to death in some stupid FOREST!" Crimson orbs searched around, hoping, praying, there would be SOMETHING edible nearby.
She stopped rocking on her heels and froze, her hand wandering to the massive silver ring on her back, Hien.
"You're quite loud, even if you're trying to stay quiet, H'm."
"Who's there?" It was an idiotic question to ask, and as a shinobi, she instantly wished she hadn't. Two birds were flying by her, no, they weren't normal birds. They were made of clay. But clay birds? It was a Ninjutsu of some sort, so she quickly shot her body to the side.
The clay birds exploded where she once was, and Shizuka was instantly thanking her shinobi instincts.
Whoever had spoken before was obviously no novice. And very skilled at that. She readied herself for a fight, hand gripping tighter on the massive ring.
The eerie ringing of bells was heard in her ears, and the female shivered.
The moment her eyes closed, two figures appeared in the clearing she was once in. She took a step back cautiously.
"Shizuka Kurogane." A dark, raspy voice came from a hunched over figure beside a taller one, both with faces covered by straw hats. "That's who you are. Isn't it?"
When she didn't respond, the tall male responded, "We're here to take you with us, h'm."
She leaned back slightly. "Take me where..."
"To the Akatsuki. A Place where an S-ranked criminal like you will feel right at home."
Home.
A Place to belong.
A reason to exist, even for a devil.
The Akatsuki... huh?