Amnesia | Naruto Fanfiction

3. Sunny Day

The beautiful forest of Konoha invited Hibiki into its calm paradise. To her, nothing was better than having time for herself to think and meditate. As she walked through, she could hear the slight breeze humming past the old, almond trees. The leaves began to rustle as the wind weaved its way through the intricate maze, slowly shaking some of them off of their branches.

  The soil made a crunching sound as Hibiki set foot onto the ground. As Hibiki observed her surroundings, she realized that the weather was still cool; the sun hasn't rose too far high from the horizon, yet. Because of this, long shadows were cast onto the ground by the arching trees ahead.

  A cloudy mist wrapped itself around the trunks, caressing the bark as it held on. As she continued her trek, the silence slowly began to grow until it filled Hibiki's ears. Nothing was better than peace and solitude.

  Hibiki stopped when she found the perfect meditation spot: the leaves formed a thin canopy above her, allowing trickles of sunlight to seep through and land onto the forest floor. She moved her hands through the golden streaks of light, admiring it as it reflected off of her snowy skin. As the sun rose higher, it began to banish the shadows that lurked there earlier, bringing nothing but light into the area. The trees surrounding her began to grow taller, bathing itself in the healthy sunlight, nourishing itself for the day. The almond trees stood serenely, with a tender glow reflecting off of its skin.

  She caressed the soft grass that gently tickled the palm of her hand. However, she could not enjoy the grass for long until she heard the metallic sound of the stream ahead. The stream slowly flowed into the small lake lying ahead of her. It looked like a mirror of silver, with ripples cutting its way through the reflective surface. The sights, the sounds -

  It was just another sunny day in Konohagakure.

  Hibiki folded her legs and straightened her back. She could feel stray strands from her bun tickle the back of her neck. Strands of lavender hair framed her face, along with her blunt bangs.

  As she began to listen to the peaceful sounds around her, she slowly began to take in deep breaths. The sun slowly began to scorch the pale girl's face, but she didn't mind. The only thing that mattered to her was staying calm. After all, she had to meet up with a genin team later in the day.

  Suddenly, her thoughts were interrupted by an image of flames roaring furiously in the village she resided in. Her breaths began to get quicker, beads of sweat started rolling down her face. But it was her breaking point, and she opened her eyes, startled.

  'That memory keeps on coming back, no matter what,' Hibiki thought. 'How can I stay calm if this continues to happen?'

  She knew that she couldn't allow those memories to get to her. It was the past - she couldn't change anything. However, she knew she could write the future, and destroying whoever murdered her friends and family was her top priority.

  And now was her only chance. The Sandaime Hokage was now by her side, along with Yua. She's not lost anymore, she knows where she has to be. She has to stay calm, because getting stronger is her only option.

  And the first step was meeting this genin team.

***

"Make sure you smile, Hibiki. You don't want to make a terrible first impression!" an elderly lady called from the apartment building.

  "She'll try her very best, baasama!" Yua yelled.

  "You're aware that she's our caretaker, right?" Hibiki said. "It's not appropriate to refer to her as 'baasama.'"

  "But she likes it!" Yua protested.