Control

The Mask

      Your small, bare feet slapped against the dirt path as you ran from your home. Tears flowed down your face in a never-ending river, causing your vision to blur.

'W-why? Why are bad things happening?' You thought as you tried to understand the reason this was happening to you. 'I-it's my fault...' You thought as a loud explosion sounded from behind you.

Startled by the sound you tripped over yourself and roughly fell to the ground. As you fell you instinctively threw your hands out to catch yourself. It did little to help you though. If anything it made it worse because now your knees and hands were both scraped up.

Hissing in pain from this you looked over your shoulder to see the distant blue of the fire you started.

Your whole village was on fire and screams replaced the once quiet night. Gasping, you stumbled to your feet and ran into the woods. You had no idea which way was south, you just picked a direction and ran.

~ Time Skip~

Thoroughly exhausted from running for hours on end, you collapsed to the ground near a small trickling stream. Slowly you crawled on your hands and knees to the stream and began to greedily drink the water. Once you were no longer thirsty you lifted your face from the stream. You then stared down at your reflection in the water.

Your hair was ratty and you had cuts littering your tear and dirt-stained face. Slowly, you reached your small hand out to your reflection and gently touched the water; causing small ripples to form. You then turned your head to look beside you where the (FC) mask was lying. You reached out and picked up the mask and held it in your hands. You remember your mother saying that she got this mask when she was six years old from her parents. She got it because she faced her fears in a mini-jutsu competition and won.

You smiled sadly at the memory and looked up at the stars.

"Mommy I'll face my fears... I'll be strong like you said...and I won't cry anymore...I'll be happy...and when I'm six I'll wear your mask...just like you did." You said with a flicker of determination in your eyes.

You then stood up with the mask in your left hand and smiled sadly up at the stars. You then began to walk along the stream as it got smaller and smaller the longer you followed. You honestly had no idea where you were going. Your mother said to go south but you didn't know what that was so you just followed the stream.

As you continued to follow the stream, the dirt along it slowly transitioned to sand and the trees grew more sparse before completely disappearing to reveal the desert. In front of you, were rolling hills of sand as far as the eye could see.  Without hesitating, you stumbled forward, remembering that your mother said to go to the desert. 

Your small body was being fueled by adrenaline and you soon found yourself running through the sandy environment. It was hard but you managed to do it till the sun started coming up. The sunlight was nice but it soon turned into a curse as it began to rise higher into the sky. By the time it was in the middle of the sky, it was so hot that your feet were burning from the sand as you walked on it.

'It hurts... but I can't stop...I need to stay strong for mommy.' You thought as you pushed through the pain and continued walking.

As you walked on, the heat coming from the sand began to get more intense until finally after a few more hours of walking, your feet went numb.

By the time the sun was starting to set, your whole body ached and your mouth was very dry. You pushed on walking though because somehow your young mind knew that if you stopped you would soon die.

You walked long into the night and soon visible strands of gold and pink light appeared on the horizon. It was very pretty. It brought a smile to your face but it soon turned into a frown. You frowned because of the pain your body was in and because of the now constant growling coming from your stomach.

"I can't go much farther." You quietly murmured as you began to wonder how far the village your mother said was. With that thought you looked around for any sign of the village.

'I don't see- wait what's that?' You thought as you spotted something off in the distance that somewhat resembled a village. Your (EC) eyes widened at the realization of being so close to a village where you could go rest and maybe find food and water.

You began to quicken your pace, determined to reach the village despite the pain you felt with each step.

You continued to speed walk in the direction of the village for a good thirty minutes and by now you were close enough to see its features. The village was surrounded by a thick wall of sandy-colored stone and it appeared to be quite big. You smiled with relief, as you saw the entrance to the village where a male and female guard stood watch.

You trudged over to the entrance and stopped as the male guard moved towards you.

"Who are you and what's your business in the Sunagakure village?"

'Wait...Sunagakure? That's the name of the village mommy said to go to.' You thought in realization.

"My mommy told me to come here before our village burned down." You began hoarsely; your throat burning from lack of water. "Her name was Emiri."

Both of the guards' eyes widened slightly as they turned their heads towards each other.

"I see, come this way." The female guard then said as she gestured for you to follow her.

You nodded your head and softly muttered a 'thank you' to both of them as you followed behind the female guard. She opened the gate door and the two of you walked inside. As you followed behind the guard you looked around and saw many villagers looking at you in curiosity. Among the villagers watching you, was a small boy with red hair and sad light green eyes. The two of you made eye contact and you gave him a weak smile before looking forward again.

You continued to follow behind the guard as she led you deeper into the village until she abruptly stopped in front of a large building.

Not expecting the sudden stop you bumped into her long legs which caused her to give you a look. She then walked over to the guard in front of the door and started talking to him. Once she was done talking to the other guard he opened the door and the two of you walked inside.

A/N
Yay! I got another chapter done. Oh, and the picture of the mask at the top is your mother's mask. You can pick any color you want for the mask. Have a good day dear readers!