Sonic & the Ninja's Daughter

Chapter 1 - Snow

Chapter 1.1 - Snow

They floated in the air, falling as lightly as feathers from the night sky. Beautiful, pure, white flakes of ice, each one unique in size and pattern, settled together almost everywhere in the city. They glued themselves together and created blankets of whiteness thick and thin, penetrable by the feet of pedestrians on the sidewalks and the tires of motor vehicles on the road. These blankets even helped to cover the nakedness of leafless tree branches, glistening with warm-colored light emanating from the decorations; balcony railings, one of the many places where robin birds liked to leave their tiny stick-like prints, and even the heads of lamp posts, making up white winter hats for them whist the wired Christmas lights acted like scarves, wrapped numerous times around their long necks. If only this could starve off the cold for human hands, rather than feed it. Regardless, snow brought romance for young couples, joy for little children and their families, and times and memories for years to come, yet on this peaceful snowy night, two young people will cross paths, little knowing that their fateful encounter would not only change their lives, but also the lives of those they know around them, and both will learn what it truly means to love, protect and care about somebody.

Chapter 1.2 - Cold nights

"Good God, it's freezing!"

Speed-o'-Sound Sonic pulled his scarf over his mouth and nose, hoping it would at least give even the smallest amount of help warming his face, and exhaled into it before pulling it back down after a few moments and allowing his grey eyes to carry his gaze to the night sky above. Snowflakes continued to fall – from the heavens if they even existed – and silently and lightly land at his feet. He held up an open palm almost absent-mindedly. His eyes then started to follow a falling flake as it landed onto his hand, and he stared down at the almost invisible white speck until it vanished without a trace. He closed his fist, lowered it and looked up at the sky again.

"It sure is early for this year's winter snow." he mumbled to himself.

He dug his hand into the pocket of his black winter jacket, withdrew his cellphone and switched it on to check the time. It was 10:05 PM. He had been out in the town center of City Z for almost two hours. He placed his phone back into his pocket and sighed, releasing a cloud of breath into the winter air. He no longer felt as if there was anything else in town that could keep him occupied. Taking a walk in the city on such a peaceful night during this season was a great idea to begin with, but now he was simply bored out of his mind. Since he was in public, street brawls were better off left to be avoided, but even a one-on-one would have been enough to starve off the boredom as well as the cold. He shook his head and ran his fingers through his black hair, pushing back the bangs that hung over his face.

'Patience, Sonic.' he told himself in his mind. 'That wasn't the reason that brought you out here in the first place.'

He shrugged off the feeling and convinced himself that he was merely tired for the night and decided to head back home. He smiled to himself.

'Right. Just head home and get some rest.'

He pulled his hood, which was lined with white fur, over his head and walked off in the direction of the hideout he called home, his purple scarf flowing behind him as the snow continued to fall. He walked slowly, one step at a time, allowing the snow to crunch softly beneath the soles of his boots. On the other side of the street, a young couple, both in their late teens, giggled together as the boy managed to get hot chocolate on his cheek. Sonic stopped for a moment to watch them as they shared a quick kiss and walked away, the girl hugging her boyfriend's right arm as her head rested on her shoulder, and memories of his past flooded in. How long has he been living in solitude? Almost his entire life. But it wasn't his fault. The Ninja Village he grew up in made it very clear that talking with other trainees was prohibited. Even if it was just a friendship bond or a sense of brotherhood, it was forbidden and anyone who disobeyed was punished. In short, every child sent to that prison-like institution was raised to be anti-social and violent, living their lives in solitary as emotionless killing machines. They were forced to believe that solitude was a strength and instructors even went so far to say that if any graduates crossed paths in the future, it was "kill or be killed". Sonic hated that. He never allowed himself to become a machine, and he always believed that the world was a better place that made freedom worth fighting for. That was until that incident happened nine years ago. Cruel reality changed him completely and turned him into the man he was now. The thought of it all made him feel light-headed. He placed his palm on his forehead and closed his eyes. The memory was eating at him again. Haunting him. Killing him inside.