Daybreak | Kakashi Hatake

7

Mare heard noises from downstairs. Her eyes flew open and she looked around the dark room. Jiro was sound asleep on her right while Ezume was sitting up on his mat, listening intently.

"What's going on, Ezume?" she asked in a small voice.

Ezume raised his finger to his lips and gently shushed her. He crawled to his feet and padded softly to the door before pressing his ear against the wood. Shouts resounded from the main floor, bouncing upwards through the floorboards in pain and anger, wrath and hatred.

Mare scrambled to her feet and quickly stood behind Ezume, gripping his night clothes in her fingers. She raised her big blue eyes to him and asked again, "What's going on?"

He shook his head and bent down to her. He whispered, "I'll be right back, okay, Mare?"

"No!" she shouted back in a whisper. "I'm coming with you!"

"Stay here, please."

She shook her head and repeated her answer once more. Ezume gave her a pout and shrugged, "Fine, but stay behind me, okay?"

Mare kept on his heels as he descended the stairs quietly. As they reached the bottom of the staircase, the voices of their parents were clearer.

"You lied to me!"

"I didn't!"

"How could you do this?"

"I didn't do anything!"

"You did! You bitch! You have... that curse! That cursed power! How dare you lie to me, woman!"

Mare gripped Ezume's shirt tighter as they heard the argument grow more intense. She tugged on him and he looked down to her, his eyes filled with tears. He whispered softly, "It's gonna be okay, Mare. It's grown up stuff." She could tell he was lying. The worry in his eyes gave it away instantly.

The shouting continued until a shriek broke from their mother's throat. Pots and pans clattered from the counters as a struggle ensued. Their father shouted angry insults at his wife, her sobs and screams curdling the night before growing quieter.

"Ezume..." Mare whispered with big tears in her eyes. "Ezume... What's happening? Why is Mommy screaming?"

"Look at what you made me do, you fucking bitch! You lied to me about that damned ice power! You're cursed! Fuck you!" their father screamed.

Their mother's voice had been drowned out. Mare felt Ezume grow tense and she tugged on him again, asking what was going on in the kitchen. He was as still as a statue and his face was pale. He refused to look at his little sister as tears rolled down his cheeks. He knew what had happened, but he didn't want Mare to see such a grisly sight.

The little girl broke into tears and pushed her way past Ezume, stumbling into the kitchen. Whenever her eyes fell onto the scene, she felt her body begin shaking.

Blood covered the walls, floors, and counters. Her mother lay on the tile floor, shredded into ribbons by a machete still in her father's hands.

"Daddy?" she asked in a shaky voice.

Her father's wild eyes raised up to the two children in front of him. He looked at his dead wife and then down at the blood soaking his own body. He gulped and gave them a wretched look before croaking, "I'm so sorry, Ezume, Mare..." He then raised the machete to his stomach and fell onto the blade, impaling himself fully with the object.

"No!" a scream rang out from Mare's small mouth. She began running to her parents; however, Ezume scooped her into his arms and held her back as she kicked and sobbed.

"Ezume! Why?!" she shrieked, her little body fighting against him. He held her tight against his chest and cried his own tears, soaking into her hair.

He tried to calm her, repeating her name over and over again. However, she had drifted away, being swallowed by the darkness that visited her nightly.

Mare bolted upright from her sleep. Her heart was pounding in her chest as she panted for breath. She looked around the room as her chest heaved. The clock read 3:06 am. She let out a deep breath and fell back onto the bed.

"It was just a dream," she whispered, closing her eyes. "It was... just a dream."

She lay in the dark of her bedroom and let a few tears slip down her cheeks. The events of that night were forever seared into her psyche. Her mother's murder and her father's suicide had been the first tragedy of her painful life. That night had been a turning point for Mare. After that, she was no longer a child, but a kid forced to grow up far too fast. The pain never left her, but nights like this made it feel all too fresh once more.

She could still smell the blood coating her childhood home. She could feel the ache in her heart upon seeing her parents' dead on the kitchen floor. And over what? Her mother had used her Kekkei Genkai to make ice to keep vegetables fresh. The actions of her father sickened Mare and she cursed him to hell for the pain he had caused his family.

Mare slowly drifted back to sleep, hoping not to be chased by the demons of her past.

The nightmares kept at bay enough for her to sleep for a few hours before her alarm woke her up.

"Fuck this," Mare grumbled as she lay motionless in bed. She slapped the alarm clock off the nightstand and listened as it clattered to the floor. Her eyes remained trained to the ceiling, glazed over and swollen from tears.

Her hands searched the drawer of her nightstand for the photo of her brothers and Ao. She traced her fingers along the frame as she looked upon the young, smiling faces of the orphans. Alongside them stood a younger Ao, stern faced as always, but a hint of a smile playing on his face. He had his hands on Ezume and Jiro's heads while Mare hung off his back and rested her smiling face on his shoulder.

She sat the photo on her nightstand once more and apologized to the picture for keeping it tucked away. Sometimes the memories were too painful to bear; however, she felt more shame about hiding them away like some dirty secret. But then again, that's what Mare did best. Locked away, the terrible things of her past couldn't hurt her.

Pushing away the trauma and nightmares, Mare readied herself for the day and then set out for the Mizukage's tower. 

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