Empty Eyes: Book 1

Chapter 1

The difference between upper class and lower class can be defined solely by a person's eyes.

I can tell, I really can.

My mom says I have a screw loose, but I know she believes me deep down inside. She tells me to keep quiet when we're out in public in fear the militia will take something I say as treachery and punish us all for treason. I try to do as she wishes just so she'll leave me alone.

This town is a dinner table of people's lives.

At the head of it with a knife and fork is the royal family: Uchiha. Only a select few citizens outside of the upper class have ever seen a member of the family in person. Their flamboyant castle, surrounded by a number of upperclassmen's family homes, lay arrogantly behind the wall.

The wall stands over fifty feet tall and is made of only the most colorful stone. When a visitor of our town, Konoha, sees the wall for the first time, they'll notice the way it sparkles when the light hits it's vibrant surface. When I look at it all I see is the way the starving members of the lower-class hang their head in shame of their lives.

My family, Haruno, is lucky enough to have a home. While we often struggle to put food on the table, at least we have a roof over our heads and the ability to get educations. Our home's located a mere walk from the alleyways that hold hundreds of homeless families and animals. Theft, murder, and violence in general are common in this area. For a family full of females, it can get intimidating at times. Mom says if we pray for safety, God will provide. I think she's full of it.

The Uchihas are to blame for everything. They care little for the people of their town, never bothering to put the slightest bit of effort into fixing the constantly growing list of issues. I'm sure they're just waiting until we all die of starvation and disease so they can build a bigger castle to fill with their endless supply of gold and food.

"Wipe that glare off your face and pray, Sakura!" My mom's threatening whisper pulled me from my impassioned thoughts.

I rolled my eyes before squeezing them shut and bowing to rest my head on the pew in front of me to look as though I were praying. God has done little for me, at least as of yet. I'm done praying for a miracle. A few members of the church shushed my mother. Ino, my sister, snickered.

She and I are complete opposites. She enjoys flirting with boys and pretending to be of a higher class. She was a seamstress and made her own clothes to look more expensive than they were. More often than not, she did a great job of fooling those who didn't know the truth. Caring little for books or cooking, she's instead fixated on finding a rich husband to "save her" from this life and nothing else. Her looks are profound. Her hair's long, blond, and shiny, curling down and around her shoulders with ease. With eyes of a royal cobalt blue, she's never had to worry about if someone thinks she's attractive: they do.

I'm, naturally, nothing like that. My interests are reading, cooking, and travel. I've yet to ever leave the city, but it's always been a dream of mine to see as much of the world as I can. As for looks, my eyes are a murky dark green and my hair's a long mess of pale pink, always falling into my face.

My mother, Mebuki, has short dark blond hair and green eyes that're slightly darker than my own. Our father died of illness when Ino and I were just babies. Mom raised us alone, becoming very strict and scathing along the way.

Soon, praying was finished and we sat back down in our pew and at least pretended to pay attention to the pastor's sermon. Ino was passing notes back and forth with the Inuzuka boy who sat behind us and my mother was too riveted by our pastor's words to pay much attention to her two teenage daughters.