Chapter Sixteen: I HATE Flashbacks

Shadow climbed out and she rubbed her arms as goose bumps appeared. She shivered as she felt her body heat drop back to normal. Great, there goes all of my ki.

She looked at Sasori who sat watching her quietly and she said, "I ran out of ki so I'll need to come back with the jail keys okay? It shouldn't take too long."

He nodded and watched as she quietly ran past the other bars while the prisoners were turned around, they had given up on watching the guards and had either started staring at the wall, went to sleep, or started to play the game "Cockroaches" which they had made up and told the two that to play the game all they had to do was try to kill as many cockroaches as possible in a made up period of time.

Shadow rushed to the end of the hallway and quickly eased the door open. She peeked in and felt the vibrations. No one's here, why? She thought suspiciously.

She walked in slowly looking around. Nothing. Weird. You would think that there would be at least two guards around to make sure things are all right. She walked around the room taking off her skirt/ mask, looking at the table where cards had been strewn as if in a rush, mugs of coffee and bowls of food were left empty and dirty in the tiny sink.

Shadow looked in the fridge and to her disgust she found the ingredients that were used to make the prisoners' food. The stove had burnt remains of something equally as nasty as everything else and so many other health violations in the room Shadow couldn't even keep up with.

But, that doesn't matter right now, all that matters is looking for the keys and getting Sasori out. Shadow nodded determinedly, and began searching in the coat pockets she had found by the door that stood silently on the other side of the room. She found her bag and slung it over her shoulder, instantly comforted having the usual bag of cloth around her shoulders only a small weight felt on the outside, but at least thousands of millions of pounds inside.

She dropped coat after coat not finding anything until she finally felt the cold hardness of a metal ring. "Gotcha!" She cried in an accomplished voice as she took it out.

She began walking towards the door going into the prisoner's room but something stopped her.

Something in her gut told her to stand still and wait for a few moments. She stopped then she began hearing footsteps outside the other door going out of the small room. She panicked and tensed as she realized whose vibrations those were. The door opened and Shadow gasped seeing a familiar face she hadn't seen in years. "Riku," she breathed.

"Shadow! You need to be more careful!" cried a little boy with silver hair and ocean blue eyes, as he ran to help his younger sister up.

She looked up at him with similar big blue eyes and said, "Thank you Nii-san, but I'm alright. I only tripped!" she smiled a big smile and giggled at her brother's worry. The two laughed as they walked home together.

On the way back they met Shadow's younger fraternal twin, Akiko, who had been poking at a baby turtle.

"Don't do that to the poor turtle!" Shadow cried taking the turtle and putting it in the little pond nearby where it had come from.

"Why not? It's fun to watch it scramble around slowly trying to get away," Akiko said.

"Akiko, it's cruel to do that to animals, and it's illegal," Riku said rolling his eyes. "Mother wouldn't be pleased."

"Humph, whatever. You're going home right? Well I am too so let's get going."

The trio walked together back home in silence. The twins were six and Riku was eight. It was a particularly hot summer, one of the hottest, and there hadn't been any rain at all. Not even one drop.

When they got home they met their mother, Kaya, who was reading under a cherry blossom tree. She looked up and smiled seeing her children, and made a motion as if to say, "Come-sit-with-me". They went to sit down, enjoying the coolness of the shade of the tree after their walk back home.

"So what have you been up to?" Kaya said her voice like bells, low and sweet. She pushed back her long brown hair and watched her three eldest children with wise blue eyes.

"Shadow and I were playing in the stream outside of town, and we met up with Akiko on the way home who was playing with a turtle." Riku said playing with a blade of grass. Kaya nodded, understanding about the part about Akiko "playing" with a turtle.

"Akiko, did you have fun with the turtle?" Kaya asked watching as Akiko stared, bored, at a couple passing by.

"Yes, mother. It was very satisfying. Too bad Shadow intervened before I could really start to have fun." Kaya winced, but smiled a motherly smile.

Akiko stuck her tongue out at Shadow who did the same right back, the perfect picture of twins. They sat silently wrapped up in their own thoughts when Ryumaru, their step- father, appeared and talked quietly to Kaya. She listened, then brushed herself off and got up from her seat.

"I'm sorry children, but I've been called to a meeting with the family. I may not be back until midnight, Riku; I know you are a very responsible big brother so I expect you to watch over your sisters alright? Go look for Kai for me too." Riku nodded and puffed out his chest proud of getting attention from his mother. But the pride died quickly as he caught a cold, golden-eyed gaze from his stepfather, Ryumaru.

Ryumaru had brown shoulder length hair with half of it tied in a bun and gold eyes that always gave cold stares when he was displeased. And when he was pleased. And for all the emotions in between. Overall, he was just one cold guy in general.

"Oh, and don't forget, this afternoon we are to visit Grandfather and show him what we've learned today. So please don't be late." The adults then walked off together and Riku, Shadow, and Akiko ran off playing tag since there was nothing else to do. Reina, who was sixteen and the eldest child of the family was out at the academy, and wouldn't be home for a few more hours.

"Shadow-Chan!" called a high pitched voice, the siblings froze where they stood and looked to where the voice had come from.

"Ah, Yorokobi-Chan! Kanashimi-Chan! What's up?" Shadow called back.

A girl around the same age Shadow ran up to her, panting slightly and grinned. Following slowly after her came Kanashimi, who wore her usual black clothes and looked as melancholy as ever.

"Nothing much, me and Kana-Chan just got bored so we decided to come and visit." Yorokobi smiled a giant grin, and Kanashimi nodded silently.

It was impossible for Shadow to figure out how Kanashimi, "Kana's" full name, and Yorokobi became friends being that the two were complete opposites. Yorokobi, whose name meant 'joy', was an adventurous carrot top who wore bright orange clothes and had an infectious smile. Her personality radiated happiness whereas Kanashimi, whose name meant 'sadness', was a quiet girl and had black hair and clothes. She spoke in a monotone voice and often looked at things negatively. Even though she looked upon life negatively though, she was kind at heart and often got more attention than she wanted to admit and many people spoke of Yorokobi as though she were a nuisance. Despite this though, Yorokobi held her head high and smiled even brighter. In a way, the two complicated each other.

"I was wondering whether you wanted to come over and swim today," Yorokobi said.

"Oh, sorry Kobi-Chan, but today I have a family meeting with my Grandfather."

"What? Again? That's like, the second time this week. If you don't watch out, you'll become some sort of prune scout!"

Shadow laughed as a giant bead of sweat dropped behind her head and said, "Um, no Kobi-Chan, this is only the first meeting since last month."

"Oh, really? Hm..." Yorokobi looked up as she thought about, then she smiled and asked, "Well, can we play while you wait?"

"Sure!"

And off the group went on another adventurous game.

It was midnight when Shadow woke up drowsily, unsure of what had awoken her when she felt the slender hands of her mother shake her gently. "Shadow. Shadow, I need you to listen to me for a little. Please Shadow, wake up."

"Mommy?" Shadow asked, her vision blurred and her mind hazy.

"Yes. Shadow, listen to me please. No matter what Mommy will always love you, so don't lose faith. I promise, you will see me again. Just... Be safe until I return."

Shadow felt slender arms hug her and then a small kiss on her forehead. Then she was put gently back into bed. She tried to open her eyes again but they were too heavy. She managed to open her eyes long enough to see her mother pull a hood over her eyes and walk away. She thought, why is mommy telling me this now? She could always tell me in the morning. She slipped back into dream world, not knowing that this would be the last night she ever saw her mother, or the life she always knew.

In the morning she woke up calling, "Mom? Mom, where are you?" She got out of bed running through the hall to her parents' room. She saw only an empty bed.

She ran to Riku's room, "Where's mother?" She asked him. He said nothing, his back was turned as Shadow asked again but he ignored her again. She stuck her tongue out at him and ran to the nursery where her younger step-brother, Kai's, cribs was. She even looked for Reina, though she knew that she was already out with the Genin squad she was in charge of, and was out on a mission.

She ran to Akiko's room. "Akiko, where's mother?"

Akiko smirked. "Gone. Mother left last night."

"Why?"

"How should I know? Mother is a traitor so she left. She killed granddad because he was going to kill you yesterday since you're so weak. I mean, come on, even Kai, the youngest of all of us, has shown more strength than you."

"You're lying." Shadow said glaring. "Mom would never leave us or betray us by killing her own father... I know she wouldn't!"

"Humph, believe whatever you like, you're only deluding yourself." Akiko turned around skipping to her balcony and closing the door behind her. Shadow ran outside to the courtyard to see her Ryumaru standing at a pond.

"Where's mother?" Shadow asked the tall figure. He said nothing back, and continued staring into the ripples of a pond.

Shadow watched, glaring, "WHERE'S MOTHER?" she asked louder this time. Still no reply. Why was everyone ignoring her or telling her lies?

Her eyes widened as tears began to form. Mom, where are you?

Months later, it finally began to ran. It was a huge thunderstorm that included lightning and thunder and it continued to rain through Kaya's funeral. Earlier that week, the ANBU had returned from an important mission when they came across a bloody body. They returned it to the laboratory for identification and the medic-nin confirmed that it was Kaya Yamoto's body. Shadow cried the whole time as she watched as the coffin was thrown in flames in honor of Kaya.

The next few days Ryumaru began training Akiko, Riku, and Shadow advanced moves. Shadow tried hard to keep up, but it seemed impossible because she was so unhappy. Three days after that, she turned to her brother who pushed her back when she reached out to him. The night that that had happened, Riku left as well. Then the following week, not long after Reina had returned from her current mission for the funeral, she took Kai and left home with him. All three siblings left without a trace or message, and they obviously left the village.

And Shadow was left with her father and Akiko. Out of anger she succeeded in learning bigger and better moves.

By age seven she had fully mastered her unusual abilities. And at age eight she was a full-fledged ninja. She was a true prodigy. Age nine she became the youngest ANBU agent and when she turned 13-years-old she joined Team 7 because she decided to restart her ninja years as a "normal" child and earn the ninja ranks normally.

After that, at age fifteen, she left the village on her own, leaving Team 7. She joined an organization called "The Black Orchard", in the hopes that she would manage to kill her step-father, who turned out to be the leader. She worked hard and left that as well, finally coming back to the village.

And here she is now. Staring face to face with the boy whom she thought she could call "brother".