WHOO HOO!! It's a snow day!! Well, actually, it's a hail day, it hailing hail. I tried to go down the stairs outside, but I slipped on the ice and fell down the stairs while bumping my hip REALLY hard along the way…I think I bruised it really badly….

Disclaimer: I don't own anything except for my own characters (the Jinmeis) and my imaginary village -

pov

flashback

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Sasuke shook his head and blinked a few times. How long had he been lost in his memories? He looked up at the sky, no longer was it bright and warm, but now it was a bland, frigid white. Clouds dominated the sky above and the North wind (A/N that's the cold wind in my part of the equator XD) started to pick up its pace. While stretching his stiff limbs, Sasuke glanced at the clock with his red eyes. It had been only an hour! This is exactly what it was like….that day… Sasuke leaned out his windows to feel the crisp, cold air cut into his skin. The streets below were barren of any people, it seemed as if all the inhabitants had disappeared as he was daydreaming. Yes….exactly like that day…so long ago…

flashback

The rain was a light drizzle, drifting on the crisp, cold air as it floated downwards. A dark-haired boy stood amidst the rain, looking up at the sky. A closer look reveals deadly, Sharingan eyes that were hidden by the dark-blue bangs on his face. He glares openly at the sky and lets out a wail of pain, suffering and anguish. It was a cry of utter hopelessness, of tremendous agony and sadness. The young man hangs his head as if defeated and crumples to his knees. He looks sadly at the corpses around him, his gaze stops at a relatively large puddle with bits of black cloth floating on it. He mutters to himself, or rather to the puddle.

"I've avenged my family….what will I do now? You were right, Itachi, what will I do now? My comrades are dead, my revenge was taken, I'm free to do what I wish. But what will it be? I no longer belong to a village, I have betrayed them for revenges' sake, my former friends are determined to kill me….what will happen to me..?"

He takes a look around the blood-splattered canyon, the drops of blood dotted the whole canyon and even the rain could not even wash them away. He smiles bitterly and gets up to his feet slowly. The rain stops as suddenly as it had started as the sun hid behind the numerous clouds. Even during the rain, the sun had shined, but now…it had suddenly disappeared. The man, Sasuke, deactivated his Sharingan and walked away from the rotting corpses. A lush forest soon came into view. As he approached the trees, Sasuke thought that he heard a movement behind, a faint rustle of leaves. Then the world went black.

"Hn…? Where am…I..?"

He tried to sit up but intense pain shot up his whole body at the motion. Painfully, he lowered himself down again and tried to take a look around. Green sheets and a sterile air told him that he was in a hospital of some kind.

"Oh, you're awake?"

He turned at the voice, intense pain shooting through his neck as he turned. A strange, green haired woman stared back at him. She was wearing a light green hospital outfit, complete with a dark green robe and yellow-green slippers.

"Hello, I'm Jinmei Kohana. Nice to meet you!"

"Urgh…..whatever…."

Sasuke growled and looked away. However, he didn't turn his head, he had already learned a painful lesson from that.

"Does it hurt a lot? My father found you passed out near the forest, so he took you here."

Well, that explains why I'm in this freakin' hospital or whatever, Sasuke ignored her and kept silent. She'll go away soon enough, just like everyone else…

But he was wrong, she didn't leave. In fact, it seemed like his ignorance fueled her enthusiasm even more. She came back day after day, month after month. After 6 months of bedrest, Sasuke finally walked out of the hospital. He had come in which broken ribs, punctured internal organs, almost no chakra, loss of ½ of his blood … etc. Now he was leaving, healed, but with no will to live. During his stay, he had found out about this village. It had no ninja. That by itself was unbelievable. Every village needed ninja, if it didn't then who would protect the village? Also, the village was virtually unknown by any of the 6 villages, mainly because the village consisted of farmers, healers (doctors?) and craftsmen. There wasn't really a leader, only a town council of 3 individuals. Everyone followed the regular morals and the town was a very peaceful one. In fact, the town was called Seikan (A/N: I think that means peaceful) It was at the heart of a huge forest, so no one attacked or invaded, because one could get lost in the forest. This however, didn't matter to Sasuke. He still didn't have a reason to live…he might as well kill himself…

Keiko pulled him aside as soon as he stepped out the hospital.

"Well, since you have no place to stay…how about coming over to live at my place? My father would be more than happy to have a guest over."

Now he was staying over at the Jinmei's. They were a fairly influential family; the mother was one of The Council. The family consisted of Jinmei Mamoru (father), Jinmei Midori(mother), Jinmei Keiko (elder sister), Jinmei Fujita (brother) and of course, Jinmei Kohana (younger sister).(A/N: Midori means "green", Mamoru means "earth", Keiko means "blessing", Fujita means "field" and Kohana means "a little flower" - They are in order of age. So that makes Mamoru 42, Midori 40, Keiko 20, Fujita and Kohana 18. They're twins -) Their house was very comfortable; 15 servants in all and their own chef, although Midori insisted on cooking most of the meals. Every day, Sasuke would wake up at 7, eat the breakfast set out for him and go on a morning walk with Kohana. She was gentle, and somewhat quiet, although she would brighten up and talk occasionally. After the one-hour walk with Kohana, he would go "train" with Mamoru. Now, even though Seikan had no ninja, they still had a concept of martial arts, or taijutsu. Mamoru was the local master of the dojo there. He took 2 hours out of his busy schedule to spar with Sasuke. 6 months of bedrest takes a lot out of a person. After "training" was lunch, then after lunch, was his solitary afternoon walk. This took him to dinner, then training alone and then sleep at 12. It was like this everyday, a tireless routine. After 3 months of this, Kohana finally asked him a question that everyone had been avoiding.

"Sasuke, how long do you plan to stay? You must have people who worry about you…"

"No…I belong no where…as for how long I will stay…I can leave now if you want…"

"No! That not what I meant…er..I mean…"

Kohana stuttered and turned away. Wow…she looks really pretty when she does that…WHAT?? WHAT AM I THINKING? HOW CAN I…well…she is pretty…Sasuke was surprised at himself, unbeknownst to himself, he had been falling under Kohana's charm. It wasn't that she was overly beautiful or that she was charming and graceful like her sister. She was quiet and shy. Instead of talking so much like Keiko, she listened and commented on what others said. She was truly "a little flower". A little flower…delicate and meek among the vibrant red blossoms of the field which was her family. She didn't have the extraordinary beauty of her sister, or the muscular form of her twin brother. She was not talented and wise like her mother or firm like her father. Kohana was something else entirely, it defined her in every way, agile, clever, quiet, gentle, these words were not enough to describe her. Slowly, Sasuke melted into the heart of the Jinmei family. It was said that he was to be married to Kohana in the near spring….but then, it happened…

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WOO HOO!! Cliffy! The next chapter will be mostly flashbacks, like this one. Is that all right? Well, I need a place to explain his past. So forget everything you know in preparation!!

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moonlight haku