Chapter 3
Aiko POV
I sat at home at our dark mahogany table. My brother was conked out on the couch and my mother smiled at me from the kitchen. I nodded back in response and she sighed.
" Aiko, Why do you never remove that mask and blindfold? You look like a prisoner."
I chose not to respond.
" AIKO, I know you can hear me."
" hai, Casa."
Just then my father entered the room
" Ah, you're back already? It's… er… good to see you."
Okia immediately jolted awake and shouted,
" HI DAD IT'S GREAT TO BE HOME AND STUFF!"
Father sweatdropped an exhausted grin on his face. I glowered. Okia, noticing the mood of my Chakra instantly started writing something under the table. Dad sat down and sighed. I then took a look at what Okia had written. It was a script. A rather stupid one too. I scoffed in my head but plastered a smile on my face… not that he could see it. While reading the script I choked out,
" Father...It is… GREAT …. To be… Home once...more…. I hope to enjoy… this… fall's Adventure …"
Geez what did Okia think this was, some kinda cheesy Soap opera? Silence followed as mom dished out dinner. We ate in silence, well they ate in silence, I sat there silently. I usually didn't join the family for dinner or anything but I had some tricks to eating in front of others. I had learned from the best, Kakashi Hatake. Waiting for a brief moment of awkwardness I finished my meal within a matter of milliseconds. My parents stopped and stared at my now empty plate while my brother continued eating. Noticing our parents' expressions, he shrugged saying,
" Oh yeah, she can do that now."
They looked at each other before looking back at their meal.
THAT NIGHT
I couldn't sleep. I could sense something happening, something terrible, something deadly, EVIL, and ... far away? I lay in our bunk bed before sitting up. I stood quietly and slipped out our open window. I ran to a small hidden grove that I had found when I was around 8 years old. It was full of soft plants, had no bugs and my favorite flock of crows. I had often used this place as a get away from the rest of my family when there was trouble.
FLASH BACK
I ran through the tangled vines of the forest crying. Before I knew it, I had tripped and fell into a hidden grove. I yelped and landed hard on my knees. I had wanted to start crying at the time but instead I stood up wincing at the new already bluish bruise. Then I spotted a crow nest. Several chicks were within it crying on the ground, chirping for help. I looked around for it's mother but there was no parent around. I had cared for them for several years until they learned to fly and hunt for themselves. Yet they never left the grove. They stayed there with me and became a second family. After a few months all six of them were named. The biggest was an iridescent bluish black with rather greyish tail feathers. I named him Susu, meaning Soot. The second largest was a dull dark grey with piercing blue eyes. He was named Yoru, meaning Night. The third had a rare feather color. She was caramel with a few splashes of black on her stomach. She was named Akemi, meaning beautiful dawn. The fourth and fifth were nearly identical in every single way being pitch black and small; the only difference was that the first had dark pitch black eyes and the second had dark midnight blue eyes. I ended up naming them An, meaning dark, and Ao meaning Blue. Finally the little mischievous, Shisho, Meaning Lion. With a wild mane of lighter more blue feathers and a sleek body of inky shining black he was my favorite one.
FLASH BACK END
I sat in the small cave that I had found with Shisho and Susu. The six perches were fully occupied by sleeping troublemakers. I smiled before falling asleep on the mossy bed we had made together. Then the darkness sweeped in. I woke to the screams of the city. I jolted awake in shock and ran out of the cave. Fear shot through my heart at the smell and sound of the wildfire just outside of the grove. NO, no no no no! I thought rapidly as I dodged blazing trees and branches. The forest was going up in flames, and I didn't know if my family was alright. Just then a thundering crack exploded through the air. I cried out in frustration as I ran towards our home. When I arrived a nightmare waited for me. Okia, mother, and father were all trapped on a small island of land while a gaping abyss waited below them. I called them and they looked for my voice but through the dust they could not see me. At this point I fell to my knees. Then suddenly everything became sharp. I could almost see anything! However, my blindfold was still on. Then I realized. It was the Byakugan! Standing up I used it to find a sturdy branch that was not burning yet. Grabbing it I charged to the abyss and slammed it down as a bridge. It was too short. I grabbed another branch, and another, and even a vine! I was almost about to give up when I noticed a large wooden plank. I grabbed it and shouted,
" HAYAKU! JUMP!"
My brother screamed back
" NANI? BAKA IT'LL BREAK!"
I yelled
" IT WON'T TRUST ME!"
He shrugged and went for it. He made it cleanly and climbed to safety.
" NOW YOU MOM!"
I cried but she shook her head.
" YOUR FATHER WILL GO FIRST! IF IT HOLDS HIM I'LL GO!"
My dad looked at her and said
" Thanks?"
He jumped and the board creaked dangerously before settling back. My mother was just about to jump but as she did, the rock beneath her feet crumpled. She screamed and I lunged and cought her hand. She whimpered as she dangled thousands of feet above certain doom. The rock beneath us groaned in protest and I desperately clung on to her.
" CASA!"
My mom stopped struggling and looked up slowly. Tears glistened and she said slowly,
" Aiko, you need to let go."
The rock beneath us cracked again and a few pieces fell off. But I wasn't hearing anything.
" WE'll BE FINE! JUST DON'T LET GO!"
" AIKO! Listen to me! If you don't let go, none of us will survive!"
She cried. I shook my head.
" I-I-I… I can't."
I whispered. This was the first time I had ever said those words. My mother smiled sadly and then said,
" I'm sorry Aiko, Tell your brother and father I love them…"
With that she let go of my hands, I screamed her name and I swear I could hear her last words,
" forgive me…"