Sumire's POV

Mariko obaa-san has been acting really strange lately.

It happened after I talked to her about a memory of seeing faces carved on a mountain, riding a carriage, and of people wearing black clothes and porcelain masks on their faces.

After that conversation, she would stutter whenever she would talk to me or she would drop things she was holding whenever she saw me. She already broke a couple of teacups and plates because of the unusual behavior so I would need to ask her about it later.

Mariko obaa-san and Kaito ojii-san were my only family. I was told my parents died early and ojii-san is the only distant relative I had. I couldn't really remember a lot from my childhood but I trust them since they are the only family I've had left.

We live in a small country called Umu no Kuni, the Land of the Sea. Our village is located on one of the three of the islands in the country. It is not like the five great nations that I have heard about, but our life here is simple and peaceful so I am content with it.

Ever since I was young, I have been interested in the study of medicinal plants. I was eight when I took a liking to it after I read a book about it in a bookshop here in our village. I begged ojii-san to buy it for me, but we couldn't afford to spend extra money just for a book at that time.

I understood our situation but that didn't stop me from wanting to read.

I would always go back to that shop whenever I can and take time to read a few pages. The owner noticed that I am always coming in but I never bought anything. I thought she would scold me for hanging around in the shop for too long and would ask me to go away, but she gave me a kind smile and a chair to sit on instead.

She was a kind woman named Keiko and I became close to her after that. I made sure to help her around in exchange for her kindness in letting me read in their family's shop. I asked her one time why she was so nice to me but her reply left me speechless, "Kindness is free, so give it as much as you can."

I admired her after that. If my mother is alive, she would probably be the same age as her.

My knowledge about medicinal plants increased from the few books I've read from her shop. I started experimenting with it and I was able to create simple items at first. Like a tea blend that helps you sleep easily or one that helps with indigestion. But as I grew older, I was able to improve the things I could create from herbs and plants. I would even do my own research about the flora around town that aren't included in the books at Keiko-san's shop. I would draw what it looks like on paper and make it as realistic as I can. Then, I would list down my findings about it and put on notes about ideas to include in my future experiments.

When Mariko obaa-san and Kaito ojii-san saw my drawings and research, they saved up to give me something special for my ninth birthday. The couple gave me a painting materials and a blank book. They said I could put all my findings altogether in the blank book and make my drawings even better by painting it. They are really supportive with my hobby and I plan to fill that thick blank book up to the last page.

Now that I am twelve years old, I am better at creating products from the herbs and plants I collect around the island, and I would make all sorts of medicinal concoctions and tea blends with it. The elder couple said that I have an inborn talent with this field since it is very rare to excel in medicinal study especially at a young age.

My painting skills improved over time too and I've always liked doing it as a hobby. I even managed to do portraits of people and paintings of the natural landscape. I accept commissions for my art around the village from time to time, but only ask for a small fee since our town isn't really rich as well as the people living here. The payments were just enough for me to buy additional art materials.

Recently, our family decided to open up an apothecary shop so we could sell my creations in town. It became a hit in the village since there isn't really one at the moment, people needed to go to the other island to buy things such as these before. Kaito ojii-san was really happy about it since his income as a fisherman is sometimes not enough for our family of three. Nowadays, I could even buy a book whenever I find something that interests me, and replace my drawing materials without worrying about the costs.

We didn't become instantly rich because of the business, but our quality of life definitely improved.

All was going well with our family until last month when I started having memories that I didn't know I had. I told obaa-san about it but then she just told me to ignore it because it might just be from my imagination. But after that, she became jittery all the time and always seemed anxious. I would give her a tea blend with chamomile in it to calm her nerves but it became a daily occurrence for her so I never mentioned the memories to her again to ease her anxiety.

The vague memories would keep coming back to me though, and it would make my head hurt a lot. I would even see faces and hear voices I do not know. I became frustrated because I do not know what is happening to me and the memories aren't all clear.

I tried drawing and painting what I remember from the new memories that flood my mind on most days. It wouldn't be clear and it's just glimpses of what I could remember, like a place, a face or a view that I saw.

But after I did that, some of my memories became more vivid and returned frequently, maybe thinking about it and picturing it helped me remember it somehow. I could hear and see the people in my memories better than I did before.

A man wearing some silk kimono would call me his precious granddaughter as he stood by a sprawling garden, he looked at me with fondness in his eyes and would tap my head gently. I painted the memory I had of the man in the black fancy kimono as accurately as I could, with my small figure next to him as he placed his hand on my head.

I also created an artwork for a memory of another man wearing all shades of blue in his clothes, and his hair having the same silver-blonde color as I do. His presence is very imposing because of the way he looks, but he always had a kind smile on his face. In my mind he was sitting on a chair inside a room that looked like a library while he was talking to me and another person. I painted a solo portrait of his sitting figure with the bookshelves as his background, his striking red eyes staring directly at me and his hands clasped together at the table.

I also remember the faces of six children walking together with me in a village that looks different from where I am living in right now. There were only tall trees everywhere and there was no view of the blue sea that I grew up with. They all looked happy when I remembered them.

Two people stood out to me among the group of kids in my memories. A beautiful girl with wavy black hair would call me Sumi-chan and would link her arm to one of mine as we walked the streets while a masked boy would stand on my other side and always held my hand around the village. I painted the faces of the six children and it looked like a collage of multiple portraits in a single canvas.

I feel something different whenever I see the silver-haired kid in my memories. He covers his face all the time with a mask so I never saw what he looked like. He always hugged me tightly in my memories or held my hand whenever he could, and it felt nice remembering it. It's sad that I couldn't remember much about him, not even his name.

After I started to remember him, I noticed a cold familiar essence that pricked my insides that would be warmer and calmer afterwards. I always felt that exact feeling within me before even when I was younger, and I've always thought it was just a normal part of me. But after I remembered that boy from my memories, I knew that the essence belonged to him and it was just given to me somehow.

I made several paintings of the masked boy because it was memories of him that flooded my mind on most days. I have one with his figure leaning against a tree while the sun was rising on the horizon, one while he was standing at a clearing while he wore a green scarf, another one was when he's holding a tiny puppy. I also have one where he was sitting on the ground reading a book with purple petals in the air and on the ground.

The most recent one I painted about him was his side profile as he stared at a garden under the moonlight. His face was not clear because it was already dark as I remembered it, but the mask on his face was down since the fabric of the mask was hanging on his neck. So I could only paint his side profile with shadows, almost like a silhouette. I did that one in only black and white since it captured the night scene perfectly as I remembered it.

He looked so handsome to me despite not remembering his full face clearly. I have lots of memories of him but those were the only clear ones I could remember and paint vividly.

I know I should not show these portraits to obaa-san , but it's been months since the first memory started coming and I don't know how to figure this out myself.

I decided to finally talk to her and to ojii-san about it once they are home tonight. My palms were sweating due to nervousness as I waited for the elderly couple. I sat by the front porch trying to calm down and prepare myself for the talk that was about to happen.

Are these memories connected to the reason why I couldn't remember the remainder of my childhood and my parents?

If these were my real memories, then why did they have to hide the truth from me?

I finally saw them slowly walking towards the house and I stood up to greet them. "Can I talk to you about something?" I asked them with a pleading tone and a serious expression.

Kaito ojii-san looked at me worriedly, "Sure dear, is there something wrong?"

I took a deep breath before I started talking about the memories. "I have these memories that keep coming back to my mind. It happens more frequently as each day passes. The first one I had was looking at a village with a mountain that has carved faces on it." I looked at them intently while waiting for their reaction,

Mariko obaa-san looked at me with saddened eyes and slumped her shoulders down. She took a deep breath before she answered me. "I guess we have no choice but to tell you."

"Please enlighten me about it" I begged the elder couple.

"There is only one village in the elemental nations that has faces carved on the mountains." Kaito ojii-san started explaining. "It is Konoha, the shinobi village in Hi no Kuni." The man looked at my face as he explained.

"But why do I see it in my memories? Did we live there before?" I tried to ask calmly while I tried to solve the puzzling situation.

Kaito ojii-san and Mariko obaa-san looked at each other before glancing at me. Obaa-san guided me inside the house as she said, "Why don't we talk about this over a cup of tea in the living room. We'll try to explain as much as we know."

Ojii-san confessed he used to be a shinobi but he didn't tell me from which village. He said he was a "missing-nin", a shinobi who left his village illegally and now considered a criminal because of his defection.

How much more did they lie to me about?

Did they even tell me their real names?

I have all sorts of questions I want to be answered.

Kaito ojii-san said that his last task as a shinobi before he became a missing nin was to get to me no matter what happens as soon as a fight broke out from an ambush that their group staged, and then as he quotes, "Make the girl disappear."

The hairs on the back of my neck stood up when he said that.

His teammates fought all the shinobi that were traveling with me at the time and he was tasked to make sure I was gone for good. He said all his partners died fighting on the scene as he looked for me. He saw the carriage I was riding fall off a cliff towards a raging river, then saw me being carried away by the river, struggling for my life as I tried not to drown.

He couldn't bear the sight since it reminded him of his deceased daughter who also died drowning in a river along with his previous wife. So he saved me and thought of another way to make me disappear instead.

Ojii-san explained that the people wearing black with porcelain masks that I saw in my memories were actually Konoha ANBU, a highly skilled group of shinobi that would be hard to fight and take down. He knows they would send a message to the Leaf as soon as the ambush started, and trackers would be after him when he escaped with me in tow.

He hauled me to the boat that their team had prepared as a means to get away if they survived the ambush, since traveling by water would be harder to track. He never intended to bring me back to Konoha after he saved me since his superior would know that he failed the task and would make sure to end his life.

He sailed straight to Umu no Kuni and hid here with me.

Kaito ojii-san had met Mariko obaa-san when he hired her to nurse me back to health. She was a native of the island, born and raised in the village here. He said they've gotten to know each other over time, and eventually married after a year.

He told obaa-san the truth about me and his shinobi past only a year ago since he couldn't bear hiding the secret from his wife anymore. Mariko obaa-san was furious when she learned that I was practically kidnapped by ojii-san, but he explained that if I was taken back I would just be shoved back to more danger and plots. She understood his point and kept quiet about it.

Naturally, when I told her some of my memories coming back, she became agitated and nervous about the situation because it's either I would find out the truth myself over time or they would need to tell me about the situation honestly.

They didn't give me all the explanations I wanted regarding my memories because all Kaito ojii-san knew was his mission target- a six year old girl named Sumire. He didn't even know the reason why I was targeted and all he knew was told was my first name and age.

Who am I?

Why did this happen to me?

Do my real family think I am dead already?

Are there people looking for me?

I started to cry as I thought about how my life turned out. I cannot be angry at ojii-san since he literally saved my life despite his life being endangered now as well because of me. Obaa-san started hugging me and comforting me while my tears and sobs flooded the silent house.

After a while I was able to calm myself a bit and asked the man in the room, "Kaito ojii-san, I want to go back there and find my family. What should I do?" He looked at me with pity in his eyes.

"Sumire, going back there is like asking for a death wish." He looked very saddened as he said that. "Not just for you dear, but for us too."

"I won't ask you to come with me ojii-san, I know it's risky. But what if the people who wanted me dead find out about me living here with you and obaa-san. Then I would've died anyway without trying to find my family, and you would be in danger with me around." I tried to reason with the man.

"It's too dangerous out there now, I heard from other fishermen that sail near the other countries that there was an ongoing war between the great nations, even the smaller countries have been included in the fights too." Ojii-san said with a grim look on his face. "We are lucky to live on an isolated island, we are spared from the battles for now. But we can never be too careful."

I looked down at the floor as I processed his words. I really wanted to go, but if I do I might die as soon as I step onto one of the territories that were at war with each other.

Ojii-san tried to appease me by saying, "You can do that when you are older, Sumire. You're just twelve and you wouldn't be able to stay out there for a day with an ongoing war. You aren't a shinobi."

"But can't you teach me? So I will be prepared in the future." I asked him hopefully.

"I could do that, maybe you even knew the basics already and you just forgot about it." He brightened the mood of our conversation. "I'll tell you what, I'll show you the items I found with you when I rescued you in that river."

He went to their bedroom and had a bag in hand when he returned to the living room. "It was already empty when I reached you, the flap was open while it was slung on your arm so the contents probably dropped on the river already." He explained then reached for my hand and placed a small item on it.

"You were wearing this when I saved you. That glow is chakra, this always pulses from time to time. Someone is continuously sending chakra pulses to you over the years, Sumire." He said as I examined the beautiful necklace. "I tried to channel my chakra to it before and see if it would respond to me but nothing happened when I did." He added, " Maybe the necklace it is connected to only recognizes your chakra signature."

"But how do I send a pulse back? I don't know how chakra works, ojii-san." I replied as I looked at the item in awe. It was very beautiful.

"That's gonna be our first lesson tomorrow. Rest first tonight, alright?" Kaito ojii-san said as he ruffled my hair slightly.

I woke up today earlier than usual and started to create my products. I already have stocks of the ingredients I needed and just needed to start the process so I will quickly finish and get on with the training with ojii-san.

I learned about chakra and how to access it. Ojii-san told me that I already have some control over it. Maybe I did learn the basics before I forgot everything. It made teaching me easy for him because I was able to follow his instructions without any difficulty.

I even managed to do the wall-walking exercise by channeling chakra on my feet in a short period of time. He explained that it was natural for a shinobi to walk vertically on solid surfaces, and if I mastered it we would proceed with water walking.

After that exercise, he tested my taijutsu. He commented that my mind might have forgotten my previous memories but my body still reacts instinctively when I am being attacked. He didn't know the taijutsu style I was using though, but neither did I. He said the form and katas were good, I would only need to work hard a little more with it since I was out of practice, it is somewhat unrefined and sloppy but it could be fixed if I trained more.

Kaito ojii-san praised whoever my teachers were before he found me and told me if I had continued with my studies in Konoha I might be a shinobi already by now. That made me happy and encouraged me to train more.

During dinner he told me to send a bit of pulse to the necklace since I know how to channel it to my feet, it would be the same principle when I channel it through my hands while I touch the chakra-conductive pendant.

It glowed as I pushed a bit of chakra into it, and whoever the necklace was connected to might have felt it instantly since it pulsed back immediately afterwards in multiple succeeding beats while the faint glow turned brighter..

I sent another three pulses in response before I slept for the night.