I just stood there, blankly staring at the bloody mass before me. My head was swimming with thoughts and emotion. Pain, sadness, disbelief, anger…all swirling around and bumping into each other in my mind. I almost couldn't believe what had happened. How had this happened? My father was one of the best shinobi in Konoha. He'd survived countless missions, and no matter how dangerous they were he'd always come back. Ever since I was a little girl, he'd seemed invulnerable. I'd always been sure he'd be there for me whenever I needed him, regardless of the situation. I'd clung to this belief my whole life. Now he'd been slaughtered and become this gory cadaver. And it had happened so fast-I hadn't been gone very long. Who would have done something like this? And how had they been able to kill my father and two ANBU so quickly? They would have to be amazingly powerful. My stomach clenched with fear as it dawned upon me he or she was probably still here in the house.
My train of thought was broken by a scream coming from the direction of my brother's room. Then I remembered my brother. I got up, trying to gain composure, and ran as stealthily as possible across the hall.
I stopped short right before the door, careful not to step on the recently and swiftly killed bodies before me. I gingerly stepped over them and cautiously peered through the door.
A figure was standing thee, completely motionless and composed, in the center of the room. I could only see the back of him, but it appeared he was dressed in an ANBU uniform and appeared to be taller than me. He had raven-black hair and his ANBU mask was off.
In front of him, my younger brother was crouched on the ground, trembling and shaking as if he were in pain. I couldn't see his face; he had just collapsed onto the floor.
When it didn't appear as if either of them were about to move, I pulled out a kunai and threw it at the mysterious shinobi. As I threw the kunai, I couldn't help thinking that this ninja looked familiar to me. His jet-black hair and his build were so familiar to me, but yet I couldn't remember where I'd seen him…
He dodged the kunai with incredible speed. I was amazed by his reflexes. I'd never seen anyone react that quickly, even to an attack they could see coming. As the kunai hit the wall, he put his mask back on and turned to face me.
"Well, well, look who it is." he said. He seemed to be not much older than me, maybe a year or so. There was something in his voice that I recognized, though I wasn't sure what. "I haven't seen you in a while."
When I didn't respond, he spoke again.
"You mean you don't remember? Oh, Midori, I'm surprised. I thought someone as bright as you would be able to." he said, teasingly feigning disappointment.
"What are you talking about?" I asked. "And how do you know my name?"
"I don't really think you need to know at this point." he replied calmly.
I tensed. "Well, maybe I would like to know the name of the guy that just slaughtered my father, burned my house, and tortured my little brother. Just maybe." I snapped.
He chuckled. "Ah, Midori, just as I remember you. But as I said before, you do not need to know who I am."
"And why is that?" I asked, losing my patience with him.
"Because what use would it be for you to know my name if you're going to die right here?" he said. "Telling you would be pointless, really."
I barely had time to react to his next movement. He grabbed a kunai and flung it at me, aiming right for my chest. I just barely dodged it. It grazed my arm and made a small cut.
I ran over to where Daichi was doubled up on the wooden floor and stood over him protectively like a human shield. I threw a kunai at the mysterious ninja, purposely missing him. I hoped he wouldn't notice that I was actually aiming for the light about which, if I hit it just right, would fall right on top of him.
His movements were, again, amazingly fast: he ducked to avoid the kunai and sidestepped swiftly to the left to prevent being hit by the big glass projectile. It fell to the ground with a deafening crash. Glass shards tore through the air like deadly needles. In a stupid but effective act of instinct I turned around and let my back get riddled in order to protect my brother. I gasped in immense pain as the fragments pierced my shirt, chain mail and skin; they were blunter than my terrified had perceived them to be, but they still hurt. However, I was determined to protect Daichi, so I didn't falter.
Just then I glimpsed him rapidly making hand signs.
"Dragon Flame Jutsu!" he cried, shooting a huge flame at me.
I felt the blaze strike me. A wave of heat crashed over me. The flames tore through the back of my shirt and devoured my chain mail. It licked at my skin, and the heat intensified as I was burned. My legs and back suffered the most damage; I gasped in pain, unable to scream.
Then my attacker stepped up to me, the inferno encircling both of us. He pinned me to the wall and I felt cold metal press against my neck.
I'm going to die, I realized. He's going to kill me, and I can't do anything to stop him. Of course, it had been pretty obvious from the beginning; someone like me would never be a match for someone that could dispatch four ANBU and a jonin so quickly. And yet I'd gone up against him anyway, and I was going to get killed for it. How stupid of me.
What happened next happened amazingly fast. One second I was being held up against the wall, a kunai to my neck, and then I heard the door open on the other side of the room. My attacker's grip loosened, and then he was gone. I fell, and I could faintly hear the sound of people rushing toward me over the menacing crackle of the blazing inferno around me. The last thing I was aware of was a sharp pain in the back of my head as I hit the ground, and then everything went black.
