Hi guys! This is a chapter introducing my new character, Kana, a normally cheerful, cheeky little girl whose life gets turned upside down in the space of a few minutes, which shakes her confidence. I've written this in a slightly more simple way because it is in the eyes of an eight year old. Enjoy and review please!
Chapter 2- Awakening
It was raining that morning. It came down in torrents like a waterfall, causing slight floods to begin in the small valleys of the Mountain country. In one of the valleys was the village of Carpenters. The Village of Carpenters was completely burnt to the ground, and dead bodies were scattered everywhere. At least the fires had been doused by the downpour. It looked like a complete wreck and every creature had abandoned the area. No sound could be heard for miles around, except the small, scared voice of a young girl.
Only one child had survived the Carpenter village massacre, an eight year old by the name of Kana.
Kana wandered the ruined streets, with a small raven on her shoulder.
"Oh, Genna, what do I do? It's freezing…" Kana mumbled, holding the rag securely round herself so that it did not blow away in the icy wind. The raven cawed several times, seeming very aware of what she had said.
"I know I need to find some food, but it's easier said than done. The village is history, you know that. We're the only ones left…" she said solemnly, and hung her head. The raven cocked his head.
It's not like you to be this put out, Kana, Genna said, through their mental connection; for as long as Kana could remember, she'd had a knack with birds.
"My family just got blown to bits in front of me!" Kana cried, trying to brush Genna off her shoulders, who vigorously protested. "You'd be put out too if you were this starving and all your family was dead."
Sorry… I was thoughtless.
"It's okay. I wouldn't really expect you to understand. You're a raven. It was the stupid ninja! I hate them! They use our village as a battle ground and then kill our people for food!"
Get over that… it doesn't matter. You need to find some food.
The winded gusted relentlessly, making Kana screw her eyes up, and struggle to hold the thing rag around her body. Genna also had a hard time keeping atop her shoulder. Kana bowed her head. She wouldn't even be here if it wasn't for the events of last night. Last night had been the worst night of her existence.
Kana sniffed in resentment as she ran through the events in her mind.
OOO
"Mama!" Kana cried, running in through her front door with an immature grin on her face. Her black hair, which matched her black eyes, was tied in a loose ponytail at the base of her neck, and she was wearing the new plain tunic she was given for her birthday. A piece of rope was tied in a knot around her waist to give it some shape. She politely took off her sandals, and her toes curled into the dusty floor in eager anticipation.
"When does Papa get home?" she asked excitedly, bouncing up and down. "I want my new sword!"
Kana had asked for a wooden sword for her birthday, and she had been so excited about receiving it that she could barely think about anything else for days. Kana whipped her head around the sliding door to find her mother sat down at the kitchen table, smiling at her.
"Your father will be home soon, Kana. Now, I need to make something for dinner, so please go outside again. You could play with Tami? Or maybe Daichi? You haven't played with anyone in a while now."
"I don't like people!" Kana said stubbornly, and poked her tongue out. "Genna is much more fun!"
"Oh, your pet raven?"
"He's not a pet. He's my partner through thick and thin!" Kana insisted defiantly. "Genna told me the other day that he doesn't want to be inferior to me, he wants to be my equal, so I told him yes."
Kana's mother nodded, humouring her precocious daughter. Kana's grin turned into a hurt frown. She pouted her lips and folded her arms.
"I told you it's all true. I can talk to the birdies, and they play with me in the streets!" Kana cried. How could her mother not believe her? Her mother was the most perfect person ever, so why? No-one would believe that she could talk to the birds.
Kana turned around and shuffled away, a shadow passing briefly over her face.
OOO
Four hours later, Kana was playing outside with Genna, happy once again. She had untied the rope on her tunic and tossed on the ground, having considered it a burden. Grazes covered her knees and elbows and there was mud on her face.
Kana… you are filthy. Be relieved that Mama is not here to see you! Genna said sternly.
"You boring bird! I don't need mother. She is mean and doesn't believe me about the birds!" Kana snapped, and sat down on the ground. Her attention quickly moved to the darkening sky. "It's getting dark. Do you think we should go in?"
Kana's thoughts were cut short by a blood-curdling noise.
"What was that?" Kana hissed. A scream could be heard in the distance, piercing the tranquil evening like a dagger and eating through to the centre of Kana's soul. More screams, and the sound of blades clashing, time and time again. The screams rose in intensity, and Kana thought, and it seemed ridiculous, that she heard splashing water, and saw flashing lightning. How silly- there were no rivers and the sky was completely clear, save for the full, round moon. Crashes and bangs and clatters filled the air, and Kana wrinkled her nose in disgust. She smelled smoke. And with smoke came…
"Fire! We need to go back Genna, and fast! Mama and Papa are still at home. They might need my help!"
Genna nodded, and transformed. Suddenly, a giant version of him was stood in front of Kana, cawing urgently. He flapped his wings about and nodded his head. Kana nodded in return and leapt onto his back. Genna took flight.
Seeing the village at an aerial view was shocking- she couldn't be sure, but it really did look like a war site, the kind of thing her father had described to her once.
Kana jumped down from Genna, who morphed back into his smaller form. She stared in horror at the sights around her. Blood was splattered all over the streets, and shuriken and kunai knives protruded from door frames and walls. There were small fires all over the place, and walls of earth and rivers of mud and puddles of water and collapsed roofs and doors hanging off their hinges. Kana slapped her hand to her mouth. How could this have happened so quickly? By the looks of it, everyone had put up a real fight. She hadn't noticed before, but while they were flying, the piercing screams she heard must have been the last of the survivors, in their final moments. There was no-one left.
"Mother!" Kana shrieked, her voice shooting up an octave. "Mama, where are you! Please!" She dashed into her front door and whipped around the house.
"Kana…?"
She looked up. That was mother's voice! It was weak and scared, but still mother. Kana ran into her mother's bedroom, ignoring the bodies. Mama was curled in a ball in the corner, looking terrified.
"Kana… run away. There are still some ninja around here, scavenging. Please run, or you'll be killed by those awful ninja. Leave me behind!" her mother whispered in ragged breathing.
"W-where's father?" Kana said shakily. She edged closer to her mother, and grabbed her hand.
"Just… go, Kana," her mother muttered, a single tear falling down her pink cheek.
"No! I won't leave you, even if you are mean and horrible and won't believe me about the birds. I will never leave you!" Kana turned her head towards the other end of the room, and shrieked with fear.
Father's body lay in an unnatural position in the other corner. It was lying on its front, the head lurched backwards and the hand yearning forward, gripping a knife covered in blood.
"Father! What happened. Mama, I don't understand!"
"Go, Kana!" her mother pushed her away desperately.
A creak down stairs made a terrified Kana jump out of her skin. Creak after creak, getting closer and closer towards them. The sound of heavy boots on wood accompanied it, and the sound of a man unsheathing his blade followed. Then he cracked his knuckles, and gave a short laugh.
"Anyone here?" he asked innocently. Kana froze. "I know there's someone here. I can feel your presence. Come out now, come on."
Kana's mother grabbed her daughter and went for the window. It would be better to escape now, while they had the chance. As they edged carefully towards the window, Kana was yanked out of her mother's clutches.
"Body flicker technique. Genius…" the ninja muttered to himself. He threw Kana to the floor, and she felt her wrist break when she landed on it. She didn't scream this time- the pain seemed dull.
"Give my daughter back!" her mother screamed. But the ninja did not answer.
"Where is the Hidden Heat Haze village? We know it's in this country, but is it near here?" he demanded.
"It was destroyed, years ago, I swear!" she cried. "Just don't hurt Kana!"
"Okay. Fair enough. She didn't do anything wrong."
The ninja relaxed his grasp, but then surprised everyone. He firmed the grip on his kunai and drove it right into Kana's mother's neck.
She felt rage building up in her mind, like all her fury and fear and terror had been shoved in a pot and set to boiling.
She felt something alter inside her, and she opened her blood red eyes.
OOO
OOO
Kana, snap out of it! Pull yourself together, kid! Genna urged her. She had sat down on the ground and was shaking. Those horrible, evil ninja…
"I know, I just… I remembered mama and how she screamed, and that ninja… but how did I survive? All I remember is that he killed her, and then I felt so angry, and when I woke up, he was dead too!" she whispered.
That doesn't matter anymore. Do you want to die, or what? Genna said impatiently. He nipped the edge of her ear in frustration.
"But did I kill him?" Kana suddenly panicked, trying to remember whether she had or not. She gulped and tears sprang up. "I'm scared, Genna… Was that the right thing to do?"
"You are all alone now, aren't you?"
Kana froze. A voice sent shivers down her spine. It was a man. She looked up to see a man in a cloak, with gloves on and an orange mask covering his face. He folded his arms and stood overbearingly over her. The one eye that she could see was staring right into her own. The eye was black, but it suddenly turned to red, with small black teardrop shapes around the pupil. She squirmed uncomfortably as she recognised that pattern from somewhere, though she couldn't quite recall where. His cloak had a red cloud pattern on it, and the collar was oversized and covered up his neck. The masked man cleared his throat and started walking slowly towards her, never unfolding his arms and never averting his intense gaze.
"W-who are you?" she demanded, acting as brave as she could. She would not run. Kana did not back away. She vainly yearned that the man would offer her something to eat, but from the way he was standing, she highly doubted it.
Genna cawed in hostility, and flapped his wings, as if he were telling Madara to 'get lost' and leave them alone, but Genna was alone in this wish.
"I am someone who will give you a use in life. I will give you power and in return you will serve to achieve my ideals," he said evenly.
"What?" she said stupidly. Who was this guy? He spoke in a calm, collected tone, but it was cold and scary. He spoke slowly, but used long words in strange combinations that confused her even more.
"Come with me and I will make you useful, and I will teach you to control yourself. You have a great deal of raw power. Totally untrained as you are, you are just a liability to this planet, but in terms of achieving my goals, you will be very useful in the future."
"Raw power? What are you talking about? Can you just give me some… some… food, and… please? I'm hungry. I don't want to go with you, I just want to… I don't know…" Kana stuttered, struggling greatly to find the words. Going with this guy, whoever he was, promised that she would have the power to defend herself against mean ninja, but she childishly hoped to be left alone so she could sit and wish that everything would snap back into the way it was before.
"This isn't optional. Your powers will be of great use to me. You are coming with me."
Kana considered him for a moment. This man… just by a single word, or a single sentence, she got shaken, or she got scared. The magnitude of his presence was overwhelming. But if he could give her food, and help her to defend herself, with her 'special power', maybe it wouldn't be too bad to go. If she went, maybe she could learn how to bring her mother back, do something amazing like that…
"Um, okay."
"Fine then, come with me."
He turned around and began to walk swiftly up the street.
"By the way mister… who are you? I'm Kana. Just Kana!" she said nervously, her voice coming out in a high-pitched trill. He did not answer. "Mister!" she pressed, tempted to tap him on the back, or tug his cloak.
"That doesn't concern you. Just follow me and stay nice and quiet."
Genna pecked her, and looked her in the eye like he was trying to say something to her.
I'm sick of this. I'm out of here. You are just getting into trouble, going off with this guy…
"But, Genna… I don't have a choice," she protested.
I only hung around with you because you had no one else to rely on. Now you have someone, I am of no use to you. See ya.
He suddenly launched himself from her shoulder and flew off. Kana tried to grab him as he took off, but she was far too slow.
"Hey, Genna! Don't go!" she cried. Madara watched in mild interest. "He's gone, he's had enough and left me…" she mumbled.
"Whatever. We need to get on."
"But- Genna-"
"Raven's aren't domesticated. If it wanted to leave, it was going to. You had no power to stop it." Kana swallowed hard, trying to get over her loss. That was it… Genna had gone for good.
She frowned, and after taking one last look at the village ruins behind her, began to trail after him.
Thanks for reading! Review ;)