"I don't get you," Naruto whined as they stepped into their mischief headquarters, a.k.a. Naruto's kitchen, "Training! He offered you training from a master. You could be so much stronger."
Faith shook her head and picked at one of the deteriorating corners of the couch.
"If I were you, I'd take every chance to become stronger because one day I'm gonna be…"
"The Hokage, I know," Faith snapped. "But, I just don't want to go. I think, well up until yesterday, I thought I had a family here. Mikoto, Sasuke, Itachi, when he's around…and I have friends here, too… Ok, I have a friend," she said, giving Naruto an appreciative glance.
He blushed and scratched his head, looking extremely pleased with himself.
"Crap," said Faith as she glared at the window, "I was supposed to get home before dark."
"I'll walk you home," piped Naruto eagerly.
"Ok," replied Faith as she sprang off the couch and marched off toward the front door.
As soon as they exited the apartment complex, Faith took off running with Naruto tailing her. The distance between their houses was at least twenty minutes walking and she was already late, so they sprinted through the streets at top speed, grateful that it was that hour of twilight between the wholesome family shoppers of the late afternoon and the booming nightlife crowd. Thanks to the near empty streets, the pair arrived quickly at the Uchiha compound, where they stopped outside the gates.
Faith turned to face Naruto, who was beaming at her and trying to catch his breath at the same time, which sounded a bit like he had eaten one too many chili peppers. "I'm really glad to have you as a friend," she said in an unusually soft voice and stepped forward to hug Naruto, who was grinning toothily again. "Sasuke's being all…I don't know. Whatever. Naruto are you listening to me?" Faith asked in a skeptical voice.
Naruto stared, transfixed, straight ahead, but he wasn't looking at the girl. Beyond the entrance of the Uchiha compound, a small form sat in the middle of the courtyard, darkened and obscured by the extinguished lanterns. Then it hit Faith hard; the entire compound was dark; every corner of the usually warm mini-villa was pitch black. She started to turn around, and her stomach followed suit with a heavy feeling of dread.
"Sasuke?" Naruto called, squinting to see into the darkness.
Why is everything dark? Where're the lights? Where is everyone? What…what's that smell?
With each question, Faith fell a little deeper into panic. The humid night air seemed to transform into a toxic vapor that pressed in on her eyes, and the first droplets of rain came down heavy and hard and threatened to pierce her skin. She closed her eyes and ran forward; she had to reach him, but something seemed determined to stop her. Five steps into the courtyard, Faith tripped over a cushiony object and fell fast onto the concrete, which skinned her palms. She looked back out of instinct, and the waning moonlight rescued from the darkness, an arm. She glanced down at her hands, and she knew exactly what that smell was.
Blood.
The pavement was covered in blood.
AN: as always, reviews are deeply appreciated. Thanks for reading.
Also, do me a favor and visit edeninfodotcom/rapture
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This is the under construction site of my original illustrated novel, rapture.