The Blood in our Veins

Useless dreams

The past few chapters have been moments from her life, kind of like prologues, but from here on out it will be in order. This starts before naruto graduates from the academy, and before mitsu's family dies.

Mitsu's POV

A cold sweat broke out on my forehead as I ran and ran, my legs starting to ache and my limbs shaking like jelly. I don't know what was wrong with me, I had run farther and faster in my training, so why was it so hard to do now? When my life was in terrible danger?

The shadows crept upon me, I was never able to outrun them, not by a long shot. They were faster, untiring, cruel. Looking back I could see their black gazes, filling my face with horror as I tripped and fell upon the ground, bruising my arms and knees as I tried to catch myself. It was ten times harder to pick myself up than it had been to keep going.

Fortunately, a strong pair of hands gripped my arms and pulled me to my feet, saving me from the monsters that crept ever closer behind me, my death planned out inside their shadowy heads.

Looking up, I saw my saviors, and they were none other then my father and mother, their loving smiles never faltering and gaze never trembling despite the obvious danger we were placed in. They made me smile, made me have hope that I could survive, that we could survive. We would survive.

But that hope was quickly dashed away.

"Keep running Mitsu, we'll catch up."

"We love you Mitsu, always remember."

How dare they turn their backs on me, running towards those fearsome figures in a mad dash of skill. I was frozen, not heeding their kind yet final words, not daring to turn away from my parents fighting bodies. I would protect them.

They danced and moved with grace I had yet to touch, skill that amazed me and showed their true love. For only those that love each other could fight so hard and in perfect synchronicity. Their moves only complemented the other's, fighting off the enemy as if fighting grass. Simple, easy, doable.

Until it wasn't.

"Mom, dad, watch out!" I could only scream, my body paralyzed out of fear as I watched kunais flung at my parents from all directions, my face slack in horror and disbelief. This was not happening.

But as I watched, as they tried to dodge the deadly weapons, blood erupted from their pale flesh, bringing only misery and pain. Before their bodies fell, I was awoken.

"Mitsu! Mitsu wake up!" A voice called, startling my conscience into recognition of the dream world and the fake events I had so arrogantly believed were real.

"Sweety, wake up." My mother's voice called, gently bringing me out of the horrendous dream.

I must have had tears on my face, because she looked at me with sympathy in her eyes and a kind, caring that all mothers carry within them for their children.

"Mommy?" My voice whined, croaking slightly from the diss-use of sleep. I was still tired, but so glad to be out of the dream it didn't bother me.

A small smile graced my mother's features as she looked down upon me, sitting on the edge of the bed I had so torn up from my restless sleep."Hey, good morning. Rise and shine my little sleepy head."

I grumbled, trying to wipe the wet streaks off my cheeks inconspicuously, hoping mother thought I was only getting the sleep out of my eyes. My efforts failed unfortunately.

"Have a nightmare? Want to tell me about it?"

"Mmm, I don't know. It was scary mommy." The memory was brought back to me, and tears stung at my eyes once again, lodging deep in my throat like a ball of wet tissues.

"Maybe I can make it seem less scary if you tell me what it was about." She said quietly, stroking my hair lightly, frowning when her hand got stuck inside my rats nest of tangles. Giggling, I reached up and easily tugged mom's hand out of my dangerous lightning red hair.

She laughed slightly with me, until my smile left my face quickly, the dream and my worries racing through my brain. Sitting up, I slid my knees to my chest, holding them there with my arms and laying my chin against the hard bony surface while staring at the beautiful young person that was my mother.

"Mom, how do you and father stand the danger? I mean, all those scary missions, one of you could d-die... at any t-time." Tears choked me as my voice broke once again, a single salty droplet sliding down the surface of my soft skin.

"Aaaaaw, honey, is that what you're worried about?" I nodded quickly. She smiled at me softly, the light of the rising sun coming in through my window and making bright tracks in her pale face and blue eyes, her matching red hair shining."We are ninjas Mitsu, it's our jobs to risk our lives for the village and our loved ones. That isn't going to change because we're scared of dying, and we wouldn't stop protecting the village if it wasn't our job. The fact that we love each other so much is what makes us keep going, keep fighting. We trust each other in a fight, we know that the other has our back. I go into a fight with complete assurance that we will get out, if not for him, than for you and your little brother."

She pauses for a moment as I try to take in everything she said, making my heart swell with pride that this was my mother, this was the brave woman I did not deserve to love me so much.

"Do you know what makes a person brave Mitsu?" She asked me.

"Um, not fearing anything?" She laughed lightly, pinching my chin softly and tilting it so I was looking at her.

"No, my dear, lovely daughter. Fear is what makes a person brave. Being brave is being afraid and still fighting. Being brave is risking your life for the people you love even though the thought of death terrifies you."

"So you're brave mommy?"

"I guess I am Mitsu. Me and dad both. And guess what?"

I gave her a confused look, my brows creasing in my forehead."What?"

"You're brave too."

A look of awe crossed my face, then a smile and a laugh."I am mommy? I am? that's awesome!"

Jumping up from the bed I raced to my closet, pulling out today's outfit and mumbling to myself."I'm gonna go tell Naruto! Yeah, he's probably brave too, I could tell him he's brave too! And then Kiba and Choji and Shikamaru . . . though he's probably more lazy than brave."

All the while my mother sits on my bed, smiling sadly at me with her hands in her lap. She stands up slowly and opens my bedroom door to give me privacy to change."Breakfast is downstairs, your father's making your favorite."

"Waffles?!" I scream, excited.

She gives me a closed eyed smile and says,"Purple waffles." I scream out in excitement, my dream and worries forgotten for the moment and for many years to come.

My mom backs out of the room, smile gone and lip trembling slightly as she gazes at my back, of course I don't take notice in my twelve year old stupor.

When I finally come out of my bedroom to the kitchen, eyeing the plate of stacked high multi-colored waffles, I take little notice of my parents embracing in the corner, my dad softly stroking mother's hair until quickly letting go, both turning to me with happy and content smiles on their faces as we sit to eat breakfast, my mother's eyes only slightly red and puffy. The rest of the day continues like so many others, but the premonitions that day haunted my dreams years later, when I couldn't help but wonder if my parents somehow knew of future events.