I present to you, Chapter 4! Here's the last of the so-called 'age 10 section'. Again, please review, especially because right now I'm very skeptical about this and the last Chapter, and it's really help me if you could please share your opinion/thoughts on this with me because I feel as if the Chapter wasn't good enough, and neither is this one... Ah well.
Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, neither do I own any other of Masashi Kishimoto's works. I only own my characters which are incorporated into this story!
I had told father that I'll be paying another visit to the Uchiha's; Just like I do almost every day. I didn't have to wear anything too formal anymore, and since I promised Sasuke that we'd have a match today, I just dressed in my average training gear. I carefully let my butterfly knives drop into the pouch strapped around my left thigh.
My weapon of choice has always been a pair of Butterfly Swords. It's is about as long as the human forearm, which makes it easy to conceal inside sleeves or boots, and it allows for greater maneuverability when spinning and rotating during close-quarters fighting. It can also be used as a knuckleduster and to block or hook the opponent's weapon. It's very efficient, especially since my abilities fail when it comes to close-range combat, so my way to defend myself from good close-range comat fighters is to use this defencive weapon instead of one that is used for offense. This is all besides the point, though.
I headed out after securing the pouch straps in their place, and began walking down the same route I do everyday. Of course, over time I had managed to memorize the area by heart. Now, one could ask me anything about this area and I'll tell you the precise location of it.
As always, I stepped onto the porch and knocked on the door, patiently waiting for Mikoto to open the door. It took a couple of seconds, but the door opened and Mikoto's head poked out from be hind the door before looking down and finally noticing me.
"Oh! Kaori, you're right on time! I was about to bake a cake, would you like to help me?"
I took off my shoes once I was inside and looked around.
"Is Sasuke not back yet?"
Mikoto shook her head.
"He'll be back in a couple of hours. So what do you say; Do you want to bake a cake for Sasuke and Itachi as a surprise?"
I nodded right away. I can't say that I wanted to bake a cake, I was just eager to be able to help out. I went with it and followed Mikoto into the kitchen. She unhooked an apron from the hint on the wall and handed it to me. Tying it with my arms behind my back carefully, we proceeded to gather the ingredients. Mikoto listed the things we needed while I gathered them and set them down onto the counter.
"-And 3 eggs. You got that, Kaori?"
Shutting the fridge, I set it all down and re-counted everything in my mind and then confirmed with a single nod and one word,
"Yes."
Clapping her hands together, Mikoto pulled out the small stool that she always let me stand on while cooking. Stepping onto it cautiously, we got to work.
A vanilla, butter, spices and milk scent wafted through the air. We had let the cake cool off and have now brought it back to the kitchen, where we had laid out all of the icing and decorations and such. We had been sharing stories over a cup of tea while the cake was sat on the window sill, so I went ahead and cleaned up the table while Mikoto frosted the cake with a milky white icing.
One again, I stood up on the stool. Grabbing the white remaining frosting that lay on the side, I began to draw a large, white flower in the center of the cake. Mikoto laughed gently. We then decided to decorate around the flower. Adding the last touches, we set the cake onto the table on the floor, and backed away to admire our creation.
Just then, a voice from just around the corner yelled out and the sound of the door being thrown open was heard.
"I'm home!"
Sasuke entered the kitchen while shuffling through his bag.
"I brought th-"
He cut off his sentence once he looked up and realized I was there. I grinned widely at him and closed my eyes. I knew that my cheeks were smeared with whipped cream because I'd kept on whipping my face with my hand, forgetting that I had just touched the whipped cream when whipping off the excess, but I hadn't bothered washing it off.
"Kaori!"
Pulling the strap of his backpack over his head, he threw the bag onto the area by the door and came running towards the table.
"Can I have some?"
He flopped onto the floor with his legs folded underneath him as I went and brought him a plate and a fork meanwhile Mikoto cut off a slice and placed it onto the plate once I set it down.
Imminently, Sasuke stabbed his fork into the slice of cake.
"Would you like some tea with that?"
With a mouth full of food, he managed to utter his voice through the barrier of cake.
"Yes please!"
I chocked back a laugh at the painfully clear lisp in his voice as he attempted to speak with his mouth full and went to fetch one of the porcelain cups. I filled it up with the remaining plum blossom tea in the kettle from back when me and Mikoto had drank some.
"Thank you very much!"
I nodded as I set the cup down onto his table.
"When shall we head out?"
I threw myself onto the dirty ground, panting.
"C'mon Kaori! Just 1 more match!"
I shook my head, letting go of my 2 knives. Even the ground seemed comfortable right now. I was exhausted.
Sasuke pouted, huffing.
"Hn, so mean..."
I knew he didn't mean it, so I ignored the statement and rolled over to my side. Sasuke's force is too strong compared to my marble-sized one. It was obvious that I would be the first to give out... But he looked surprised when I ran up a tree to dodge his attack. I'm guessing they've never taught them such things in academy yet, so I used my chakra control to my advantage.
Me and Father had used up more time than necessary to teach me that trick. I went through a lot of hits to the head and bruises on my legs to achieve this, so I'm glad that it has come in handy.
I gazed up at the sky from the corner of my eye. The sun was setting already. I should get going.
Struggling to lift myself up, I supported my shoulder against the tree beside me and began to pick up all the weapons that were lying around.
"Kaori? What're you doing?"
My throat was dry and I couldn't rasp a word, so I pointed at the sky. His eye's followed my index finger and landed on the already-crimson sky.
"Oh..."
He walked over to where I was standing, and began to help me. After we'd collected all the kunai's and such and put them into their rightful pouches, Sasuke had let me lean onto his shoulder as he carried my bag and his as we strolled out of the forest.
Once we've reached the road in the open clearing, he hesitated to hand me back my bag.
"Are you sure you'll be alright?"
I sighed, taking my bag from him and pushing myself up and off of his shoulder.
"I shall be alright, Sasuke."
I sent a smile his way to make sure that he knows I'm ok. He smiled back, though he still looked a little hesitant.
The sky was beginning to darken, and that was my cue to start running home.
"I'll see you tomorrow, Sasuke!"
"Alright, and thank you again for training with me!"
I was no-where near home. It all looked so different at night, just like the training grounds had looked like before. I remember that I should head right over here and then I sho-
An ear-piercing scream echoed through the air. I whipped around, in the direction of the Uchiha compound. Of course, my first thought was:
What was that?
Another yell ripped through the silence of the dark night. I felt uneasy... Is Sasuke ok? Itachi should've been back from his mission hours ago... I tried to ignore it and just turned the corner ahead to continue my walk home, but an uncomfortable feeling settled on my chest, pressing down and compressing my ribs.
I can't walk away...
So I did the only thing I could think of: I ran. I ran towards the Uchiha compound; my heart beating in my chest.
Sasuke...Itachi...
Upon getting back to the path which headed to the Uchiha's house, I could see dead bodies lying in pools of blood by the walkway and outside of their own houses. One glance at the torn rice-paper walls and you could easily pick out their failed struggles to flee from whatever had been attacking them. Without a second thought, I ran past them. I only have 1 goal: To make sure Sasuke and his family were safe.
I arrived there in the matter of minutes, hence I was still tired and confused. I threw open the door which had been left unlocked. You could see shattered pieces of glass from the windows scattered on the floor.
I quietly began walking through the house, being cautions not to step on any shards. I came to a stop in a doorway. Slowly, I reached out my hand and tugged open the door.
I was too late.
There, in the middle of the room, lay Mikoto's and Fugaku's dead bodies. I took a couple steps forwards in attempt to approach them; to check if at least one of them was still breathing, but something was lying on the floor, or rather, someone was.
Sasuke lay there. I could hear his shallow breathing and he looked heavily injured.
"Oh! Sasuke are y-"
A growl emitted from his throat as I had tried to advance towards him; to see if I could help him somehow.
He slowly lifted his shaky elbows and pressed his palms against the cold floor, trying to push himself himself up.
"You... You knew, didn't you?"
His voice was aggressive. I didn't know what he meant though...
"Sasuke, I-"
"You were just a here today to distract me while he did this, weren't you!"
His arms were wobbling, and soon they gave out and he fell back onto the floor.
"Traitor..."
Those were the last words I heard him say before he passed out.
And the last time I had ever seen him since that forsaken day...
My Father is very happy, and it disgusts me. Finally, the obstacle in his path was gone: the Uchiha's.
The Nagatomi has been concidered an ally to the Uchiha clan for centuries, due to their services for the Konoha Police Force. As the name indicate's ['Naga' meaning 'eternal' and 'Tomi' meaning 'Rich/Wealthy'], the Nagatomi was a very wealthy clan, and with their access to such wealth, they had assisted the Police Force by providing for their weapons as well as armour for armies.
As the Uchiha has started to take over the village, envy had clouded the vision of the clan's 'leader'. Even though, they hadn't attacked or ambushed the Uchiha. Being the stealthy and 'cunning' [as well as power hungry] clan they were, they began to provide more and more weapons and donated all the more money to the force. In attempt to take over some of the Uchiha's power, they had convinced the Uchiha to let them unite their clans.
How? By wedding the in-famous Itachi Uchiha to the next girl to be born into the family; me. My mother had died after getting into a conflict with the elder's, though not because they killed her, but because of all the stress that had been put on her. My mother had a sort of 'sickness', you see, one which effects her when she is put under pressure. It was almost like going insane; You hear cracks and pop's going off in your head like explosions, you can't concentrate on tasks, and your head baisically goes into caos. Of course, no ninja can survive for quite long if it constantly feel's like their head if being compressed, and so she died.
This trait has been passed onto me. After this, it was up to my Father to take care of me as well as my 3 other older brother's. My Father put me under harsh training, showing no mercy. I had never attended academy and had always trained under her father, but his expectations are too large for me. He had always been disapointed in my lowly abilities, causing him to despise me more.
I was not happy, not at all. It pained me to think that Sasuke was all alone now, and it was all Itachi's doing. I'm convinced that the 'protective big-brother' act was all a facade which we had all fallen for; especially me.
Although all this has occurred, my Father still confines me in my room, away from others. The only times I was allowed out, was for out-door training or when running errands for Father. Hence, I was always forced to sneak out to visit the docter's if I had been badly injured during training [Broken ribs, deep scars, internal bleeding etc.] Outside, one would only see me when I was stumbling my way to the hospital, running and tripping my way back home with bags and books in my hands, or delivering weapons to my Father. My hair was kept short by my father, to him, long hair during training was 'a nuicense' but to me, long hair was considered pretty as I had always wanted long hair like the girl's at the academy. As guiltless as I want to be; the truth is I had always envyed the girl's at the academy.
But what I want doesn't matter. My 'want's' are selfish aspires, Father says. And what Father says, goes.
Because Father is always right.