The Smell of Death
Four years ago
Tsuki ran for her life through the woods, determined to get away from the crazy house. She couldn't quite explain what had happened, but she guessed that the boy and the old man used some kind of transformation jutsu, like the shinobi. However, it was like no jutsu she had seen before; they had not used hand signs or anything. The fact that the old man was so willing to kill her for breaking into his home frightened Tsuki. She thought back to the boy. Apart from pinning her to the ground, he had seemed nice, and she couldn't recall anyone else ever saving her life like that. In fact, she had never been in a life or death situation before, and was glad that someone was there to get her out of it when it happened. Tsuki remembered the furious look on the old man's face and hoped that Kazuki was not in too much trouble because of her.
After a few minutes Tsuki decided it was safe to slow down for a while. She squinted into the darkness, wishing she had a torch or something. She was painfully aware that she had no idea where she was going, so just contented herself to following the path and hoping it led her somewhere. Tsuki was unnerved by the lack of birdsong or other animal noises and kept imagining large, ferocious animals pouncing on her from behind. Suddenly Tsuki saw something in the middle of the path. As she got closer, she realised it was moving slightly. Anxious, the girl approached it. With a gasp, she saw it was a man lying on the ground, wriggling as if in pain. He saw he and reached out to her.
"Help me…" He rasped, trying to grasp her hand.
Hesitantly, Tsuki walked over to him. Now that she was close, she found that the man was dressed in the uniform of a Konoha instructor. The man coughed and Tsuki felt something wet splatter her cheek. Slightly disgusted, she wiped it off with the back of her hand. She looked at her hand. It was red with blood. Tsuki stared at the man with wide eyes as he rolled over, revealing a huge ragged gash running down his side. He was practically swimming in his own blood. Tsuki could feel his heartbeat getting weaker and weaker, and she could do nothing to help. The man gazed at her and held out his bloodstained hand. Tsuki held onto it tightly as the man's eyes began to close. All of a sudden, Tsuki felt his failing heartbeat stop.
It was a horrible feeling that made Tsuki cry out in pain. It was a terrible, empty sensation that almost caused her to be sick all over the corpse. For a minute or two, the frightened young girl sat next to the body, crying freely. The worst part was the fact that she couldn't do anything to save him. The feeling of helplessness was overwhelming for Tsuki. With one last sob, she let the man's hand fall to the ground. Without a second glance, Tsuki ran off into the woods, her sorrowful cries echoing through the night.