The darkness creeping behind thick clouds marked the end of a grayish day. In the streets of Konoha rain was pouring in showers, washing away the last remnants of winter and forcing people to take shelter. To endure this kind of weather was a small price to pay in order to soon enjoy the beauty of spring and the festivities of the New Year.

Behind the closed workshop in the windswept compound, the Shiraishi clan had gathered by the fire in the dining room. Most of them had their hands busy either with handiwork or preparations for the upcoming supper, yet their focus was on that child sporting a bright smile, going from one person to the other with the same joy. The restless boy pointed towards the ceiling. "He summoned lightning bolts from the sky with his Raiton and I dodged them all like this…" He said sprinting to the opposite corner of the room, leaping from side to side.

All faces turned to follow him as he unfolded the tale of his first exam. Haru laughed heartily as Naoki passed him while mimicking the sound of lightning, always in admiration for the energy the younger generation was displaying. The boy stopped once he had circled the entire table and pointed at the head band he was now wearing with pride. "I'm a genin now!" He declared to the assembly. "Soon I'll become a powerful shinobi and I'll be able to protect my sister, grandma Otome, my aunts and all my cousins!" He turned to face the woman beside him, a blush spreading on his cheeks. "And you mother, of course."

Aino's gaze drifted from her work in progress to witness the tender scene between the two. "Oh sweetheart, you're adorable." Her cousin and future head of the clan said to the child while embracing him with all the strength of motherly love. Naoki first melt in the embrace then after a couple seconds struggled his way out, the uneasy smile on his face betraying that embarrassment all teenagers-to-be felt towards their parents. Seeing him all flustered his mother switched to a pat on the shoulder, visibly moved by the sight of her son becoming a man with each passing day.

The seamstress reciprocated a smile when Naoki looked at all his clansmen in search for approbation. Here he was, the very first shinobi of the clan, their new pride. In between the stitches stretching on her knitting needles Aino couldn't help but wonder how the boy would fare with the path he had chosen. Until now, the role of Shiraishi men remained within the family. They were skilled craftsmen, and guardians of the women's hereditary talent. For Naoki to forsake one of the two, or both all together would be unprecedented. Still, to manage both ways of life didn't seem that impossible to the Shiraishi woman. The boy was promised to a great future no doubt, and she hoped the burden of both clan duties and harsh shinobi training wouldn't weight too much on his young shoulders.

As Naoki intertwined his fingers into mudras for his audience to see, Aino's eyes lifted towards the windows where she could swear the glass had vibrated. She stared for a while, but was only met with raindrops pouring along the transparent surface. Another calamity of the weather perhaps. She brushed it aside and the rhythmic dance of needles continued. A few seconds went by before she heard them vibrate again, this time accompanied by a loud rumble coming from outside. All turned towards the source of the noise, their faces painted with confusion.

"Hey, slow down my boy!" Haru exclaimed. "No need to summon actual lightning!"

Naoki looked at his great uncle then at the window with worry. "It wasn't me… It… It wasn't even the mudra for the Raiton!" He stuttered, taking a step backwards. Aino slapped her work on the table and stood up. Her vision was impaired by the small dozen of heads looking through the windows, but caught a glimpse of people running, their feet splashing and slipping in the puddles.

Then there was nothing but noise, loud and deafening, and pain, so much pain coursing through her body as she hit the wooden wall behind her with force and fell on the ground. Her lungs begged for breath as soon as her consciousness returned and gasping for air only caused her chest to burn more. Lifting her head she blinked the blur away, a hand holding her ribs and a metallic taste filling her mouth. To her horror her clansmen were lying on the floor among the debris, some unconscious and other writhing themselves out of the room. All around her was the sound of people screaming and shouting for help, the men still able to stand on their feet helping the wounded out of here, and pain. So much pain. Panic rising, Aino looked down at herself. Shards of glass were planted in the skin of her arms, drawing blood out in thin drips and she was covered in dust. Her gaze then went to the windows and the wall that had been completely blown off only to see more ravages and a large puff of black smoke filling the sky afar. Aino approached the hole in the wall with unstable steps, hissing at her broken ribs when she distinguished a silhouette dancing behind the gray clouds and flames.

Her jaw dropped when the head of a giant fox emerged roaring, debris of nearby houses still falling from its mouth. With one clawed hand he swept at the buildings before him, blowing them to smithereens effortlessly, before its gaze found the elite ninja squadron attacking it from the side.

The beast blinked and terror sat deep into Aino's heart, her lips parted in a silent scream.

The Sharingan.

His Sharingan.

The voice of her uncle screaming her name reached her ears, but never got processed further. She didn't even bulge when he grabbed her arm and started pulling. A single tear ran down her cheek as she watched the nine-tailed demon ravage her beloved Konoha, following the command and betrayal of a man she had dared to adore for one single night. Haru tugged on her arm with more conviction, enough to earn a glance from her, full of hurt and horror. The old man placed a hand on her back and initiated their run to the nearest shelter, abandoning their things behind.

Her legs where running on their own accord, mimicking those of Haru out of pure survival instincts. Every breath was a trial, like a dagger thrusting in her lung every time her feet pounded the muddy ground, but she couldn't stop. If she did, she would know the same fate as the corpses she was jumping over. Behind them the nine-tailed demon roared, a sound deafening to their ears despite the growing distance between them and the monster. Aino braced herself. Beyond the rain the bottom of the cliff was on sight along with the groups of elite ninjas guiding the civilians inside the shelters burrowed deep into the rocks. She held tight onto Haru's hand. Soon he and her family would be safe.

The loud voices of the masked men carried the broken body of the seamstress when it showed increasing signs of weakness. Only a few more steps. Only one last effort and everything would be over.

It all came as fast as lightning.

The shockwave was so violent the earth trembled and brought them all to their knees. In the midst of rocks and wood, the dismembered bodies of what used to be humble citizens of Konoha flew away and fell all around the now gaping hole in the cliff.

Aino screamed.

Her shaky hands covered her tearful eyes, in which this morbid image was still printed. Powerless. Even the elite of Konoha was powerless. They had been wiped away in a heartbeat. Groaning and covered in mud, Haru lost no time and pulled her up on her feet. If they wanted to preserve their lives, they had to run to the other shelter entrance, but Aino was petrified. As her eyes met once again with those of the fox demon her mind slipped into a horrible realization.

The truth was there, right in front of them, spilling the blood of hundreds of innocents. It couldn't be otherwise. When Madara Uchiha came to her, it wasn't enemies he had planned to attack, but his own village. All along he had planned to turn against them all.

And she had helped him.

She choked on her own cry as guilt befell her in all its nauseating and crushing weight.

What have I done?

There, the end. Thank you for reading! :D