Stardust

{Pt. 1 | Runaway }

(Hizashi's current age: 7)

Shisui 

"Run, Hizashi," I said urgently, gripping my little sister's shoulders. "Run away, far away. And don't come back until I find you, understand?"

She nodded, looking a little unnerved.Her black hair glinted in the moonlight. The only thing to be heard was the wind whistling through the trees. Hizashi's eyes darted to the forest that flanked our village's huge dirt entry road.

"Why do I have to leave, Sui?" she asked plaintively "Why can't you come with me?"

"I'm so sorry, Stardust. I can't tell you." I whispered, wiping at the tears streaming from my eyes. I paused for a moment, then removed the thin, silver band on my middle finger. I held it out for her to see.

"I want you to have this," I said, taking Hizashi's small hand and pressing the ring into her outstretched palm "So when I come find you, I'll know that you're really my little sister. Okay?"

"Yes, Nii-chan"She nodded in consent. Hizashi lifted her head and set her hand on my cheek, wiping away the tears that streaked my face.I clutched her hand in mine, my hands trembling ever-so-slightly.

"Now go." I made a shooing gesture, motioning for her to get going. She turned, walking out the enormous gates of Konoha into the forest beyond. She walked about twenty feet and then stopped, turning to face me.

"Take care of yourself, Okay Shisui?"She asked.

"Alright," I promised "I will."

Hizashi paused, then ran full force at me and tackled me in a big hug.

"I'll miss you." She whispered.

Then, she picked herself up and ran, down the road and away from the village.I watched her until she was a speck in the distance, and then she was gone. I smiled bittersweetly to myself; she would be safe now. At least, I hoped. I shook myself; I was being too hasty. Hizashi was several months older than Sasuke and miles more advanced. She knew how to keep out of trouble. She would be fine.

Hizashi

I ran until the soles of my feet bled. I sat down under a tall, scraggly tree and removed my shoes. I bandaged my feet, put my shoes back on and kept going. How long had I been running? A day or two at least, seeing as the terrain had gradually grown mountainous and rocky. I must have taken a wrong turn somewhere, because I was in the land of lightning now. Sui wanted me to be safe, so maybe my best bet would be Kumogakure. Then again, if I revealed my sharingan, that could cause some difficulties. I'd just have to give it a go, because running and foraging for food was getting old. Nightfall was just around the corner, so I curled myself into the smallest shape possible and fell asleep.

"Caw!" 

a loud noise jolted me unceremoniously from my slumber. Judging by the position of the sun, it was roughly 1:00 in the morning. Which is to say, there was no sun. What in the world could possibly be up at this ungodly hour? I knew there were several possibilities, but I was too groggy and disgruntled to care. Feeling too lazy to perform a jutsu, I fumbled in my pack for a flashlight. Pulling the metal cylinder from my pack and clicking it on, I scanned my surroundings. I didn't notice anything particularly out of the ordinary, and was about to flick off the flashlight and go back to sleep when I heard the noise again. It came from behind me, louder this time.

"Caw! Caw!"

I turned to face it and discovered that the source of noise was a huge raven, it's wing bent at an unnatural angle. I sighed.

"What happened to you?" The question was aimed more at myself than at the bird, but the raven moved it's wings in a gesture much akin to a shrug. 'How odd' I smiled to myself.

"Can I help you?" I asked it carefully. It nodded. My mouth quirked up into an amused smirk. Humanly expressive birds? Now I've seen everything. Then I nodded back. Gripping it's wing firmly, I looked down at the raven.

"Okay, this is going to hurt..." I said. Then I jerked it's wing back into place with all the strength I had. It let loose an anguished squawk and fell silent. The raven moved it's wing in small circles, seemed to decide the wing was operational and flew up to perch on my shoulder. Carefully, I reached up towards the raven's beak. It jabbed at my finger with its beak and I retreated. It straightened up in a way that said: Oh, you were going to pet me? Go on, do it again. I tried again and this time, the raven let me stroke it's feathers.

"I'm going to call you Kurotori, 'kay?" I smiled at the bird. It ruffled its feathers in a proud sort of way. I laughed "Alright, Kurotori it is!"

✧ ✧ ✧

Our arrival in Kumogakure had gone relatively unnoticed, which was surprising, considering the fact that I had a bird on my shoulder that was almost half as big as I was. Apparently that was a regular thing around here, but I was a little surprised. Being the kind of person who would get lost in their thoughts, I lost track of where I was going and bumped into someone, knocking them down.

"Ah, I'm so sorry!" I apologized, the bird on my shoulder looking mildly disgruntled. The person I had run into was a girl about my age with shoulder-length brown hair and a splash of freckles across her nose.

"No no, it's totally fine." She said, smiling broadly. A small, stark-white cat with mismatched eyes wove in between her legs. The cat had tufts of fur on its ears and the occasional grouping of rosettes. Its left eye was the color of resin, the other a permafrost blue.

"So, are you from around here?" She asked brightly "Would you like to come over for tea?"

"Oh, uh, sure!" I replied gratefully

"Follow me!" She beckoned. I padded after her, Kurotori scooting around to situate himself on my shoulder. "I'm Kira, by the way!"

"I'm Hizashi." I answered

"Nice to meet you, Hizashi."

It was a short walk to Kira's house. The warmth of the house was a solid contrast from the chill of outside.