To Forget (Naruto Fanfiction)

Chapter 5

I don't own the video nor the picture.

When I walked into the kitchen this morning, something was off about my mom. I noticed a change in her behavior while she was reading the newspaper. Akari and Hitomi were still asleep.

For a moment, I was scared that she knew I was eavesdropping on her conversations, but I quickly dispelled that fear. If my mom knew, she would have already confronted me about it.

Cold sweat slowly runs down my back. If my mom wanted to, she could easily get any answers she wanted out of me. When she was a shinobi, she had been in the torture and interrogation division. She had been a very valued member because of a unique skill that she alone seemed to possess. She couldn't enter anyone's minds, but she immediately knows when a person lies to her. Her medical background came into use when they wouldn't talk.

This ability had been very useful in torture because it made the criminal afraid of lying. Criminals easily gave in and told the truth to stop the torture, or they took the alternative and ended their own lives. My mom quickly made a name for herself in the ninja world.

During the entire ten minutes my mom and I were alone in the kitchen, me with a bagel and her with a coffee and newspaper, she didn't say a single word to me. Not when I told her good morning, and not when asked her about what she was reading. It became obvious to me that she was ignoring me when she stared at the same page the entire time.

I resist rolling my eyes in annoyance, and despite my efforts to keep calm, I end up munching my cereal a little too hard and placing my bowl in the sink a little too forcefully.

As I stalk out of the kitchen, my mom says in a cold, clipped tone, "Don't forget to collect your stuff from school today; it's your last day." I pause for a second and close my eyes, taking deep breaths to control myself.

"Fine," I respond a second later, with just a cold a toned as hers.I walk into my room and sit on my bed for a few minutes, and wonder why my mom was so angry. I shake my head and sigh. It must have to do with whatever she was talking about with the ninja last night. Now that I think about it, it's strange that the same day she says that she will allow me to attend the ninja academy, is the same day that she tells the ninja that her task 'was done'. Could she have been conversing about me the entire time?

"Ha ha ha," I laugh. "What am I even thinking. A mother would never do that to her own child." I brush my suspicions off but a deep, dark part of me believed it was totally possible.

I sigh, get off my bed, and walk to the bathroom. I give myself a glance in the mirror at my ordinary brown eyes. It was almost as if I had imagined that they had changed color yesterday. I laugh at myself again before quickly brushing my teeth.

Dressed in record time, I grab my backpack and walk out of my room to grab my shoes. I clumsily stub my toe on the door frame and it immediately begins to throb. I drop my backpack on the ground and force myself not to yell in pain as I grasp my toe and jump up and down.

"Fudge," I hiss. "That fudging hurt!" I stumble into the hallway and end up tripping, causing my right elbow to slam into the wall. I huff in frustration and stalk into the living room to retrieve my shoes.

My mom, who had come out of the kitchen to check on the commotion I had caused asks, "What happened?"

Frustrated and in pain, I reply with a simple "nothing". I glance up at my mom and she seems to stumble back a bit. I pause in tying my shoes to look at her questioningly. "What's wrong?" I ask her.

She stands up straight, composing herself. "Nothing," she says, already turning her back to me.

I knew I'd regret my next words, but I say them anyways. "Did I do something to upset you? I know you didn't want me going to the academy, but that doesn't mean that I deserve the silent treatment," I say.