Sparrow
*here's the 1st chapter! please rate & review!*
~Chapter 1~
Brrrrriiiinnngg!
The alarm clock on my dresser rang shrilly, cutting off the remnants of my dreams. I rolled over and hit the snooze button.
"Five more minutes," I groaned.
Without warning, a knock sounded on the door. I put the pillow over my ears.
"Suzume, you have to leave. You're gonna be late for school!"
What? I looked at my clock. 7:59. Class starts at 8:00. And it takes ten minutes to get there. That is if I'm running.
I sprang out of bed and pulled on a pair of black ninja pants and a tank top. I ran my fingers through my hair and glanced at my mirror. Big green eyes stared back at me. My short, layered, chestnut brown hair was fairly tame, but it probably won't be for long, since I have to hurry. I glanced once more at the clock. 8:00. I headed out the bedroom door, whizzing past my foster father, Kakashi. He looked up at me from his book.
"Aren't you gonna eat?" he asked just as I was about to get to the door.
I turned around, grabbed an apple from the counter and ran out the door without breaking my stride.
"See ya!" I yelled as I turned the corner and disappeared from his sight.
I flew open the door to my classroom in the Ninja Academy, breathing heavily. The class stopped and stared at me. I could feel a blush spread across my cheeks as I went to the empty seat. The seat next to a blond-haired boy in an orange jumpsuit. His name was Naruto Uzumaki, my best friend. He was the only friend I had, and it seemed that I was his only friend, too. The kids avoid me because they're smart. They avoid Naruto for a reason I don't know. Kids are cruel.
"Hey, Suzume!" Naruto grinned.
His goofy grin was adorable. I couldn't help but smile back.
"Hey, Naru-chan," I greeted, using my nickname for him.
I walked over and sat down next to him. I listened to Iruka-sensei ramble on. And on. And on. Drowsiness blanketed my eyes, but I struggled to keep them open. Finally, Iruka-sensei stopped talking. Then he told us the worst news in the history of news.
"Class, tomorrow is the graduation exam," he said.
The hairs on the back of my neck prickled.
"I suggest you don't be late," he told everyone, but looking pointedly at me. An embarrassed blush tinted my cheeks. The class roared in laughter, and I looked down, ashamed. I blame Kakashi for this.
Naruto looked at me, empathizing. He put a hand on my shoulder.
"Don't get so down on yourself Suzu," he said. "It's okay." Then he suddenly paled as Iruka-sensei's earlier words sank in. "G-graduation...e-e-exam?"
I dragged my feet on the way home. The sun was setting and all the other kids are long gone. Except Naruto, who walked with me through the town.
"Look at those two," I heard a woman whisper, disdain tainting her voice. "The two things walking together. Hmph. They don't even deserve each other's company if you ask me."
"I hope they don't graduate from the Academy."
"I know. Think about what they are."
"Be quiet, or they'll hear you!"
Too late. Anger boiled inside of me and I glared at the women talking, my eyes churning into red. A sudden blood lust seized me and I began to walk over to them. A gasp escaped their lips as I sauntered my way over. They backed up into an alley, the idiots.
Kill them, Suzume, a smooth voice echoed in my head. I wanted to. I wanted to make them pay for what they were saying.
A warm hand suddenly grabbed mine. I looked back at whoever it was, ready to pound him into the dust, only to find it was Naruto. Sad blue eyes looked into mine as he slowly shook his head. I swallowed and forced myself to calm down. My blood lust dissipated as soon as it came, and I could feel my eyes go back to its normal color. We walked for five more minutes together in silence. Finally I spoke up.
"I'm sorry, Naru-chan," I apologized. "It was just-"
"Yeah," he interrupted. Then grinned. "It's fine. We have each other, Suzu, and everything's gonna be all right! I'll be Hokage, and they'll treat us both with respect!" He pumped a fist into the air. "Believe it!"
I grinned back at him. "Yeah," I agreed. 'I just hope that I won't kill anyone in the process...' I thought silently.
Don't be an idiot, Suzume, the voice inside scolded. You know you wanted to kill. You wanted to kill them for what they said, didn't you?
'Shut up,' I thought back angrily. 'Shut up and go away. I don't want to hear you.'
The voice obediently died down, but not before I heard the low chuckle that echoed in my mind.
"Suzume? Are you okay?" Naruto's voice brought me back to reality.
I realized we stopped. We were only two more minutes away from my apartment, and five minutes away from Naruto's.
"Sorry, Naruto," I said, grinning. "Just thinking."
He narrowed his eyes at me skeptically. "You do a lot of thinking these days," he muttered. He shook it off, then burst out in a grin. "Hey, Suzu, I'll race you to your apartment!"
"Last one there is moldy ramen!" I yelled as I raced towards my apartment, Naruto close at my heels.
I was the first one there. I burst through the door, laughing and breathing hard at the same time. Not a good combination. I managed to choke on the air that went into my lungs. Finally my coughing died down and I grinned at Naruto.
"You cheated!" he cried, still grinning though.
"Did not! You're just too slow!"
"That's enough, you two," a male voice I recognized as Kakashi's said from the window. I turned around to see him sitting on the window sill. He was serious, which was a bad sign. "Suzume, I need to speak with you."
Yep. Bad sign
I turned sadly to Naruto.
"See you tomorrow, I guess," I said. "Good luck with the exam."
"Thanks, Suzu."
He walked out the door and shut it behind him. I turned nervously to Kakashi, my eyes fixed on the floor. I knew what out "talk" would be about.
"I saw you scare a few village women," he said, standing up.
Aww crap.
"Sorry, Kakashi," I apologized. "It's just that-"
"No excuses, Suzume," he cut in. "Ninja don't make excuses for their actions."
I hung my head, defeated.
"I know they were whispering about you, but you have to learn how to control your temper. Your control always slips when you lose your temper. I'm glad Naruto was there. He seems to be the only one that can calm you down when you get like that."
"He is," I admitted. Kakashi sighed and rubbed the back of his head. "And it's harder to control it after sunset."
"I expected as much. But this can't go unpunished," he continued. Just great. "You're grounded for a week. You go to school, then come home to do chores."
"But-"
"No buts," he said.
I hung my head, defeated.
"Now eat dinner and go to bed."
"Yes, sir," I sighed as I stalked off. Stupid demon inside me was ruining my life.
My alarm clock rang again the following morning. I groaned and once again made the mistake of hitting the snooze button. I then drifted back to sleep.
Birds chirped outside my window, waking me. I jumped out of bed and looked at the alarm clock. 8:02. Crap, crap, crap, crap!
I quickly got dressed, grabbed an apple and ran out the door. I beat my record time of ten minutes. I got at the Academy in only eight minutes, but still eleven minutes late. I burst through the doors, breathing hard. The classroom went dead quiet. The first thing I noticed was Naruto tied in ropes at Iruka-sensei's feet. I wondered what he did this time. I'll ask him about it later.
"Suzume Miyamoto, you're late," Iruka-sensei said, looking down at me with his arms folded against his chest.
"Sorry, Iruka-sensei. You see, there was this old lady who needed help carrying her groceries and-"
"I just got done with dealing with Naruto, now this," he sighed in exasperation, cutting me off from my lame lie. "Suzume, get to your seat."
I obeyed, casting Naruto a quick, empathetic glance as I passed. I took my seat and listened as Iruka finished lecturing Naruto. Finally, he cut him out of his ropes and sent him to his seat. I was about to ask what trouble he caused when Iruka-sensei began speaking.
"Now class," Iruka said, calling everyone's attention. "You're final will be the art of the doppelganger. You will come into the room across from this one and form three identical doppelgangers, three duplicates of yourself."
A series of groans erupted from the class. Iruka-sensei pointed to the door.
"When I call your name, go in the room opposite of this one. The best of luck to each of you!"
Iruka-sensei grabbed a paper that I guessed had the names of the students in the order he wanted to see. He called my name first. Lucky me.
I headed out the classroom to the one opposite and entered. Iruka-sensei sat at a desk with Mizuki-sensei. I did my three doppelgangers with ease.
"Good job, Suzume," Iruka-sensei praised, handing me a Konoha headband. "You pass!"
"Thanks," I beamed and skipped out the door. I took my seat and waited as the students went one by one out the door. Naruto was the last one to go. I waited expectantly.
"YOU FAIL!"Iruka-sensei's voice nearly shook the walls.
Giggles and laughter erupted from the whole classroom. Naruto sulked in the door a few seconds later. He trudged to his seat and plopped down. Iruka-sensei entered.
"Those of you who passed will come to school tomorrow. Class dismissed."
The school day finally ended. I caught up with Naruto just as the mob of students exited the classroom.
"Hey Naruto!" I said. "Want to race to my place?"
"Sorry, Suzu, but I can't," he said glumly.
"Why?"
"I have to clean the mountain side," he burst out in his signature grin. "I put graffiti all over the hokages' faces! You should've been there!" He giggled mischievously.
I laughed. "You're such an idiot, sometimes," I scolded, my voice thick from laughter. "Well, see ya tomorrow then."
"But school's only for the people who passed," he said, sobering up.
I forgot about that.
"Well, after, then," I said. "Oh, wait. I'm grounded."
That caught his attention.
"Why?" he asked.
"Scared the women yesterday," I replied.
"Oh."
"Oh well," I said dismissively. "When there's a will, there's a way, right?"
"Right!" he agreed.
The sun began to set as we parted ways.
I made my way quickly through the streets of the darkening Konoha village. I quickened my pace every few minutes, feeling the demon inside me becoming restless. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw three men and two women whispering and, before I could block them out, those whispers drifted to my ears.
"She passed? That's just great," one said, sarcasm thick in his voice. "Hopefully she would just die before she gets any stronger."
"She's just a monster. I can tell just by looking at her," a woman whispered to a man.
"Yeah. A cute one, though," the man whispered back, earning an elbow in the ribs.
"I wish she would just die already. It would make our lives a whole lot easier."
I stopped in my tracks and looked at them, tears brimming in my eyes. Hurt and anger coiled in my heart. Again. I was angry at myself. Angry at being alive. Angry that everywhere I go, I had the curse of hearing the whispers of the villagers, carried on the wind. A tear spilled over and traced its way down my cheek. I felt the demon inside me stirring, screaming for blood. The moment my tear touched the ground, I ran.
Kill them, Suzume, that awefully sickening voice whispered in my head. Teach them the real meaning of death.
"No!" I cried, clutching my head and running faster, not noticing the man following me.
I didn't slow down until I got to a deserted street. The lamp lights blinked uncertainly above me. The tears were flowing freely now.
"I never knew monsters cried," a male voice said behind me.
I stopped and spun around, my eyes wide in surprise. A middle-aged man stood there, an evil smirk on his lips and a kunai knife in his hand. I took a step back.
"Wh-what do you want?" I stammered, my heart pounding in my ears.
"All the others were too chicken to kill you," he went on, taking a step forward. "But you're just a little girl. Weak. Helpless. The easiest time to kill you would be now!"
I turned on my heels and ran, blind from fear. I couldn't hear his footsteps, but I knew he was following me.
What are you doing, fool? the voice inside me hissed. Turn around and face him. Kill him! After all, he's seeking your life and won't stop until he gets it.
'Shut up,' I thought as I ran, turning into an alley, hoping the darkness would conceal me.
He was already there, a smirk plastered on his face. I skidded to a stop. Before I could turn and run, I felt a shooting pain in my stomach. I coughed and red splattered on his arm. Blood. He sank the knife deeper. A conflagration of pain flared throughout my body and I sank to my knees.
"Pathetic," the man said as he yanked the kunai out of my stomach. A hiss of pain escaped my lips. Black dots danced in my vision, growing bigger and bigger until they threatened to engulf me.
Pain and fear brought me another friend. Blood lust. With each drop of blood spilling out of my body, it became more and more pronounced. My lust soon turned to need.
I was suddenly filled with power. A dark power that put a sadistic smile on my lips. I rose to my feet, to my attacker's pure horror. My now crimson eyes could see everything clearly, as if it was daytime. I could see much more, though. I could see his heart pumping blood. I could see the blood flowing through his veins. My throat began to burn. In the blink of an eye, I was on his back, my nails digging deep into his skin. He struggled to get me off, but I held on with monster-like strength. My lips found their way to his neck and my teeth sank in deep. Easily, as if his skin was mere butter. My pain soon turned to ecstasy as I drank away his life, his heart beating as one with mine. His strength one with mine. His soul mine. I only let go when his heart stopped beating completely.
At that moment, I realized what I've done. I threw myself away from him, guilt grasping my heart with iron hands. Tears teemed in my eyes until they spilled over. I took a finger and wiped away a tear. A drop of crimson clung to my finger. Blood. I screamed, turned on my heels and ran.
'Monster! Monster!' the words echoed in my head as my feet carried me to nowhere.
