Forgotten
Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters from Naruto (Shippuden). This is a story inspired by the original made up for entertainment purposes only. - Krystal
Chapter 1: The White Rabbit
Winter: the snow has settled down on the ground as more are fluttering in the air. The cold air is refreshing, yet painful when inhaled. The animals are taking refuge in trees, caves... Some, with thicker fur, dip their paws into the fluffy white snow. Some has their fur changed to match that snow.
"Such nice weather outside..."
"Hokage-sama, you must be kidding. It's freezing outside. We should really head back in or we'll catch a cold."
The man chuckled.
"Do you really think I'm that old? And have you forgotten, Minato? I'm no longer the Hokage." He pointed to the mountain behind them where four faces were carved meticulously. He resembled one of them, except he looked much older. The man he talked to was identical to the face on the far right.
"I still haven't gotten used to it." he said with a soft smile. "And I meant nothing of the sort. It was out of care that I suggested we head back in."
"Let's walk for a little bit longer."
The man named Minato nodded as he followed the elder man. They walked silently side by side, looking around in awe of this pure white beauty. Slowly, they reached the cemetery of the village. As they walk by many of the tombs, they stopped by one with the inscription: Rin. Minato closed his eyes as the old man gave him a pat on the back. Minato smiled and continued to walk. Next, they stopped by the monument for those who were killed in action.
"We've lost so many..." began Minato. "So many lives..."
"Indeed." followed up the old man.
As their eyes shifted from the monument to the ground, they noticed the bizarre behaviour of snow-like bunnies. They gathered around a pile of snow by the monument, almost as if they were mourning for the dead.
"They too feel the pain." said the elder.
As they were about to walk away, a cry was heard. The two men turned around at the pile of snow. It wasn't just a pile of snow. Something was underneath that cold snow. The old man bent down and pushed the snow aside. The cry became much louder. The rabbits moved away with light jumps. The old man picked up a...
"A baby?" said Minato as he opened his eyes widely. "How..."
"It's a new born girl." said the old man. "A beautiful girl."
The baby was indeed beautiful. Her eyes were round and glittering with light. Her hair was as white as the snow that covered her. Her skin was translucent and bright. Her face, though cold from the harsh winter, was luminescent. She was crying, but her cry was like a old man wrapped her up in his scarf. He looked at her with kind eyes and a smile. She slowly quieted down.
"A victim of the war, yet another one." said the old man.
Minato nodded as he thought of his unborn child. His child would have parents who love him and care for him, unlike this poor little girl.
The two men quickly made their way to the hospital where she could be cared for. Her body was going cold and her eyelids were getting heavy. Her tiny lips were starting to turn blue. The sounds that she made got quieter and quieter. Her heartbeat was slowing down by the minute. When they finally got to the hospital, the nurses quickly took care of her.
"Yondaime. We need someone to sign here as her guardian." said a nurse to Minato.
"I will do it." said the old man as he grabbed the pen from the nurse. For some unknown reason, more than for any other child he had met, the elder felt some connection to this child in particular. She was someone destined to something special. There was no doubt about it.
"She doesn't have a name either..." said the nurse as she took back the pen and chart from him.
"Yuki. If it wasn't for this beautiful snow day, we wouldn't have found her. Furthermore, we found her covered in snow, surrounded by snow rabbits. I think it is a fair name for her."
"Sandaime, she is a lucky child to be named by you and guarded by you."
"I see something bright in her future. I will raise her to become the light in the darkness."
Two years have passed. Her white hair has grown fast, reaching now the middle of her back. She was already a beauty at a tender age. Her eyes are glittering more than ever. Her bright face shone more than ever. This winter, she wasn't cold. She was wearing a large white coat with the scarf that saved her life two years ago. If truth was spoken, she was never cold. The winter seemed to be part of her. The winter wind was blowing and yet she was out in the hills running, sliding, making snow angels. She didn't have many friends. She was rather quiet. She was smart for her age and never came to play with others. They sometimes were intimidated by her, other times feared her. She didn't mind it. She had a grandpa who cared for her and taught her the beauties in life. She enjoyed reading. Yes, at the tender age of 2, she was able to read, communicate like an adult, understand complex things. She first talked when she was only 11 months. One of her favourite books was "The Art of War." There's no doubt she was an interesting child, but she is, after all, still a child. She enjoyed complexity, but also the simple things in life: the snow, the sky, the clouds, the bunnies. Her grandpa, when he had the time, told her the story about the snow bunnies saving a child's life. She liked how they thought like humans in a way.
Another year has passed. Yuki grew more beautiful by the day, stronger by the day and smarter by the minute. She still enjoyed reading "The Art of War." It was still full of surprises even after that many readings. The book now looked old, stained by time. Aside from that, Yuki became able to control her chakra to allow her to climb tree, walk on water and run faster. She was also, somehow, able to form snowball without effort, ice from water and blow out snow as she wished. Her name fitted her like a glove.
With time, she grew more distant from the other kids. She also grew distant from the Third Hokage who now was busier and busier by the day. Her friends, now more than ever, were the snow bunnies in the hills. They were gentle creatures who always stayed around her. They seemed to understand her and she seemed to speak their language. She trained in front of them. They inspired her. She spoke to them, they didn't never really reply back, but she was happy to share something with someone.
"I really wish you guys could talk."
"We can... well, some of us can."
Yuki was taken aback. One of the bunnies did reply. She wasn't crazy. One of them really spoke. She looked around at the bunnies. One stood out. His fur was whiter than any other bunnies. His eyes were filled with life and mischievousness. She looked at him, he looked back. She smiled, he smiled back.
"Have you heard of summoning, little girl?"
She nodded. So that's a summoning animal. She thought.
"Well, you summoned me, didn't you?"
"I don't reckon I did. I'm not even familiar with the jutsu."
"Lies. If you are not familiar with summoning, how do you know it's a jutsu?"
"I read about it only."
"So you are familiar."
"I guess..." Yuki said as she innocently looked at her hands. There was a small cut on her thumb. A little bit of blood was spilling out of it. "I never signed a contract though..."
"You did. At birth. That's why we, snow rabbits, have always looked over you."
End of Chapter 1
I hope you enjoyed this chapter. It will be a slow start as I want to introduce Yuki before I get more characters involved.
Thank you for reading.
xox
Krystal