Fallen (ItachixOC)

Chapter One

第一章

The snow drifted down, covering the earth in white as people rushed to get home. A storm was predicted by the meteorologists and no one wanted to get caught in it. Of course, thanks to their rushing and mild panic, no one noticed the small shape huddled underneath a nearby bench. Nor did they notice its skin that was slowly starting to turn blue due to the icy weather. The shape in question was a small, purple-haired girl. She was only four years old, and not even a month ago her parents were assassinated by the elders of the very village that they had been loyal to.

She brought her knees closer to her body, hoping it would help to keep her warm. She wished, and not for the first time, that she had the chance to grab some things before her house was up in flames – before her family was killed. All she had was the clothes on her back, which consisted of a pink shirt, black leggings, a black and pink hooded jumper, and black and pink enclosed ninja sandals that were designed for cold and wet weather use.

"They say the storm will be the worst one in ten years," a woman said as she walked past with a man and a small child holding onto her hands.

"Then we should probably get inside quickly," the man replied.

Storm? The small girl thought, shivering at the thought. She could hardly hold on in normal winter weather, a storm would be the death of her, and she knew it.

I need to find somewhere for shelter, she thought as she forced herself to crawl out from underneath the bench, which gave her very little protection from the elements.

She stood up and made her way further into the village, knowing it will be easier to find a proper place to wait out the storm amongst the alleys in the centre of town. As the girl walked, the streets became void of all life. She knew that besides the shinobi in charge of making sure everyone was safe – and other orphans left on the street – everyone would be indoors. She knew that she should take the opportunity to steal some decent food, but she was more concerned about the storm. No point in eating when you will freeze to death in the end.

She reached the centre of the village, noting that the shops and restaurants were all closed, though she could still sense the movement of other people in most of them; probably people who wouldn't be able to beat the storm home. The girl moved towards an alley between a shinobi weapons shop and a ramen store. The buildings on both sides should help protect her from at least some of the elements.

She looked around as she entered the alleyway, grinning when she saw boxes everywhere. She grabbed some of them and started to make a home against the wall of the weapons store. It wasn't much, but it was more than she usually had as garbage was picked up each day in the centre of the village.

The girl crawled into the box fort, laying against the cold brick wall behind her. This was what the girl's life was like now. Looking at her now, you'd never think she was once a part of a wealthy and well-respected clan. Nor would you think that she going to be the next clan leader. In fact, she was in the middle of training with her parents when the massacre began. Her parents had shoved her into a secret passage – one designed for hiding in the event of an attack – telling her to get away from the compound, just as some shinobi arrived to kill them.

"Everyone's insides."

The girl looked out at the opening of her box fort, seeing two ANBU standing in front of her box fort. Like all ANBU, they wore masks in the shapes of animals to cover the identity. She wondered, and not for the first time upon seeing ANBU, if these two ANBU had a role in her clan's massacre. She shivered at the thought of the masked shinobi who cut her parents down right in front of her, as she had been able to see through a small crack in the door. She remembers some of her parents' blood falling on her face as they had both fallen, headless, over the crack.