In one night, everything seemed to fall apart.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Screams echoed through the quiet night, the only indication of the horrors but, by the time anyone went to investigate the damage was already done and irreversible. The multitude of bodies littered the ground, a puddle of thick, red liquid slowly forming underneath them. The culprit had long escaped through the dark curtain of shadows that protect the surrounding forest. Only one survivor was found but due to the trauma he was subjected to, he had fallen into a coma to try and recover naturally.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The little girl stared dazedly down at the hardwood floor. Now and then a new drop of red would join the small puddle forming in front of her. She didn't move, even as blood slowly dripped from her forehead. The door slowly creaked open and the strong scent of alcohol was immediately carried in with the wind. Her nose twitched and her shoulders tensed, awaiting what she was already used to but, no one stepped through the door. She listened carefully for any indication of her 'parents', smashing glass, perhaps some whimpers or quiet begging. It was completely silent. Her dull green eyes slowly lit up, her hands started to shake whilst trying to lift her broken body from the floor.
She stood on her bruised feet, her legs weak from not using them. She stumbled to the ajar door, her heart pounding in her ears and she quietly whispered thanks to whatever deity had given her the opportunity. She silently stumbled through the quiet and empty house, making her way to the front door. Her heart sped up the closer she got to the door and the sound of someone's voice made itself to her ears, her eyes lit up more once she realised it was someone she didn't recognise.
She ignored her aching body and launched to the door, forcing it open with her weight, then promptly collapsed at the person's feet. She barely heard their voice and the panic of the people watching, fainting once the little adrenaline she had faded.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Currently, the little boy wished his hair did not stand out against the dark surroundings flashing by him. His bare feet hit the cement with rhythmic thumps, sharp stings of pain shooting straight into his spine. He tried quickening his pace which in turn only worsened the stings. The loud voices cursing him was steadily growing closer and he could tell they would catch up to him quite quickly.
A soft voice was whispering to him, from the depths of his mind. He didn't understand what it wanted from him and he was unable to tell if he could trust it or not. The voice was slowly growing louder but not to the point where it caused pain. It grew louder so he could listen. The curses were growing nearer and the voice in his mind was becoming more urgent.
The cement underneath his feet disappeared and was replaced with coarse dirt. Tiny rocks and twigs stabbed into his bare feet, gradually cutting it up and soon a small trail of blood was leading the angry mob straight to their target of hatred. The little boy was nearly crying out due to the pain, his pace slowing to a complete stop once he was close his haven.
That was all he needed.
The curses quieted when the mob appeared. His legs were shaking from running and collapsed beneath him. The mob sneered and moved closer and surrounded the boy. Each of them had a dull weapon in hand, to cause more internal pain than anything. Their objective tonight; to rid the world of the 'demon'.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The candle flickered, causing the shadows to bend and twist to the light's will. The rhythmic sound of a stamp seemed very loud in the quiet room. The candle flickered again, nearly being blown out due to the wind entering through the open window. Various papers are scattered over the desk, either in large piles or just resting in any open spot.
"Thump."
"Thump."
"Thump."
"AHHHHHH!"
The stamp rolled across the desk whilst the empty chair spun slowly, now devoid of the man that once sat there.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Murmurs echoed through the spacious room. The village council were discussing amongst one another, their patience running out with each passing minute. After what seemed like an eternity of waiting, the meeting room's door opened. The Hokage stepped in with an entourage of Jounin flanking him and the room immediately fell silent. Multiple pairs of eyes watched them as they made their way across the room to their seats.
Tension filled the room with each step the group made to the point that the civilian council found it nearly choking. The fault lay on their heads after all. Heads lowered in both respect and fear as the Hokage sat down. The calm and warm aura he usually had was replaced with a biting cold immediately followed by absolute fury. It naturally didn't show on his face.
Everything was silent as the man's eyes flicked over the faces of everyone present, cold sweat gliding down their backs in fear of making accidental eye contact. Doing so would mean they saw no fault in what they did. The room felt extremely stuffy until the Hokage's voice rang out. "You may all be seated." The collective scraping of chairs brought shivers to the occupants' spines.
The Hokage brought out a stack of files and adjusted them before lifting his head to get a view of everyone in the room. "Today's meeting will be covering a couple of very recent events and I have a very 'special' announcement that will have to wait until the end."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The young man took a sip of his hot tea. The newspaper in his hands hadn't even been open yet and he already didn't want to read on.
"Uchiha-clan massacre - Prodigy Itachi Uchiha wanted for mass murder."
The cup was gently placed down on the desk and the newspaper was swiped to the side, falling in the garbage bin sitting beside the desk. The young man's head lowered, his thoughts and emotions unreadable.
A soft knock interrupted his pondering and his head snapped up to the direction of the door. The door was open and the Hokage stood in the entrance, his hand resting on the wood. It looked like he aged more in that one night.
The young man stood up from his seat, his face tensing in a way that only the older man could see. He sighed and dropped his hand from the door. "None of that now, Akihiko." Hiruzen stepped into the office and sat down on a couch close to the desk. "I know you have questions but I actually came to you for something different."
The young man, Akihiko, raised an elegant brow. He sat back down behind the desk and reached for the prepared teapot behind him. "How about we talk over some tea." The tired muscles in the old man's face eased and a light, gentle smile graced his lips. "Sounds good to me."
YOU ARE READING
It's Therapeutic {SLOW UPDATES}
FanfictionAkihiko Kemononoō had always thought he would follow in his father's footsteps. He would become the next Kemononoō-clan head and bask in the respect and admiration of the small civilian village the clan was located in. He never expected for it all t...
