𝐏𝐫𝐨𝐣𝐞𝐜𝐭 𝐒𝐮𝐤𝐢 | ɴᴀʀᴜᴛᴏ

Prologue

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✧˖*°࿐

The room was grim, and the night was especially dark from behind a shadowy silhouette of an old man. His shadow was large, large enough to hide his downcast face. All she could see was his deep frown. A frown so deep, that the frown alone told her all she needed to know— disappointment.

Moments ago, a beautiful woman with long blonde hair rushed through the thick snow. The guards on watch were dead asleep, allowing her to slip inside without a trace.

She wore a worn backpack with the top of the scrolls poking out from the open zipper. In her arms, wrapped a newborn child in layer after layer of blankets.

Her arrival was during the coldest winter in Konohagakure. Her hair was stale wet, her breath panted out condensation whilst the baby remained deathly silent in her clutch. She rushed down buildings, passing familiar corners, until stumbling through the compound door.

Almost dropping the baby, she fell to her knees, heaving for air. As she looked down at the child in her arms, she slowly unwrapped the blanket from its face. The baby boy was smiling, to her thankfulness, unbothered and calm.

The calm atmosphere died, however, when a young man entered the room.

He called out for her, but his voice was muffled. The moment she heard the familiar tone of her husband, her breath hitched in effectuation. Even more slowly than before, she gently placed the baby on the floor before stumbling up to her feet.

The worn backpack slid off from her shoulder, and her head remained lowered. She couldn't bring herself to look up while she did this, as she grasped a handle now in hand. She couldn't bear to look at his horror-stricken face as she thrust the handle with the pointed blade his way.

But she had to.

"Kill the man, awaken our child."

The sound of a large body fell to the ground.  Her world glitched and moved in slow motion, only the sounds of her continuous heavy breathing could be properly processed.

Eventually, footsteps thundered the wooden floorboards, and screams of shocked roars echoed all around. Grunts, groans and cries of agony erupted one by one all around her crazed state.

An older man then slaughtered them all before it could progress. Leaving a sick silence which seemed to cure her momentary deranged condition.

Realisation had dawned on her. She found herself back on her knees, holding the newborn child in mental torture.

This talentless woman of the Kumo clan started a bloodbath with her own hands. Killing the man she thought she truly loved. All for one thing, and one thing only.

The scrolls had slid out of the backpack.

"What were you thinking, Kiyoko? After being away for so long, you return with an illegitimate child?!"

The older man was present inside the room, looking down at her with a strained, disturbed expression. He held a long katana, tarnished in the blood of his kin.