The clang of metal echoed off the walls, bouncing off and into my ears. I jumped back, my eyes closed. It wouldn't have helped if I opened them. It was too dark to see anyway. My opponent, however, had a jutsu that allowed her to see in the dark. Very few people could learn it, but the people who did really helped with the other assassins' training.
I listened, trying to hear the slightest sound. The sound of the air being cut informed me of the oncoming kunai. I listened, waiting until it was close to crouch.
"Now attack," I heard a male voice instruct. Father. I couldn't see him, but I knew he was watching from behind a one-way mirror. I'd seen the room a few times.
I ran forward, keeping my steps quiet enough that it wouldn't block out my opponent's noise. When I heard the sound of the air splitting again, I went by instinct. Assassins' instincts are a lot better than most people, so we do tend to rely on them. There was another clang when I blocked with my own kunai. I brought up my leg and side kicked, forcing the person to stumble back.
"Fire style! Fireball jutsu!" I did the correct hand signs as I spoke, then I shot fire from my mouth in the direction of the person who had attacked me. She was no longer there, but the light of the fire illuminated the room enough for me to see her move into the corner where it was still dark. I saw kunai fly at me a moment before the fire went out. I rolled forward, the kunai whizzing right above me. I jumped to my feet and lunged at the girl in the corner. I hit her, the kunai in my hand pressing against her neck. "You're pinned," I informed her.
The lights came on, revealing the smiling girl. My cousin, Akiza. Her father had abandoned the organization, in the process being killed for the betrayal. Then her mother had committed suicide in shame, leaving Akiza all by herself. Because of this, Father had taken her in. She had dark blue Aeyes, silver hair, and pale skin like me from lack of sunlight. She wore a black long sleeve shirt with a hood up, concealing her light hair, black gloves with metal guards, and black pants. This was her usual wear because she wanted to blend in with the darkness. Her pale skin and light hair stood out, so she tended to wear dark clothing and hoods like me.
"Good job, Kumori. Thanks again for helping her train, Akiza." I saw a flash of something I could only call disappointment in Akiza's eyes. "Anyway, the two of you are dismissed." A door to the left opened with a whooshing sound, allowing us to exit. The only way anyone could exit training rooms was when someone else opened the door. If the training was hard, they didn't want the trainee to run. Which they attempted to do a lot.
"Thanks, Father," I said, turning to walk out. I paused, glancing back at Akiza. She was still standing there, staring off into space. I sighed, shaking my head as I walked toward my own room. I didn't try to understand her. I didn't even try to bond with her. Sure, we were nice to each other, but the Uchitaro clan rarely bonded with each other. If we did, we would feel pain if they died. That would only make things harder on us on our missions because we'd be moping.
My room was dark. It was something I was used to. I always kept my room dark. One, it helped me adjust. Two, I just liked being in the darkness. It was what I liked. The darkness was like home to me. More so than a lit place would ever be.
I walked over to my bed, falling down onto it and staring at the ceiling. I would usually be mediating, but they'd made me train the moment I got home from the mission. Father pushed me harder than he did the rest of the clan. I figured it was because I was his daughter.
Letting my eyes close, I drifted into sleep.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
The torches threw shadows over the wall, crawling along the wall as the flames danced. I looked at the two guards beside me. I smiled at one of them when they looked down at me. "We'll be there soon, Lady Kumori."
"Will Mother, Father, and Brother be coming down soon?" I asked.
The guard smiled and nodded. "Yes, Lady Kumori. They said they'd be here right after the meeting."
"Don't be so nice to her," the other guard grumbled. He sent me a disgusted look before looking forward again.
I frowned, wondering what was wrong with him. Had I done something to him? Sure, I pulled occasional pranks, but that didn't give him any right to be mean.
"You're birthday is coming up soon," the nice guard said, pulling my attention away from the mean one. "Is there anything you're wanting?"
Even though I was only six turning seven, I knew that the only reason he'd asked was because he wanted to get my attention off what the mean guard had done. But why? Instead of pondering on this, I smiled happily and nodded. "There sure is. I have a list about as big as you!"
The guard chuckled. "That sure is a big list." He paused when we got to a door, gesturing for the other guard to open it. "Sorry, but it looks like our time is up, Lady Kumori."
I shrugged. "That's okay. I'll just talk to Kimimaro then," I said. When the door opened, I ran in. It was a small area with a bed, books, a bathroom with wood around it to keep it concealed, and rock walls. That was probably because we were underground, though. On the right wall was a barred window that let me look into the room next to it. A boy's face was there, already hearing my approach. He grinned when he saw me. He had white hair split down the middle, two red dots on his forehead like me as well, and green eyes with red under them.
"Hey, Kumori!" Kimimaro shouted. He, like me, was kept down here where, as my daddy said, we'd be safe. I had grown used to it, and Kimimaro's company made it bareable. I ran over to the seat in front of the window, the door banging shut behind me.
"What's up, Kimimaro?" I asked.
"Nothing." He sighed, as if to emphasize his boredom. "But now you're here, so everything's okay," Kimimaro said. "So, what did you do while outside today?"
After that we mostly talked about my trips that I had outside. I was always guarded, as if they expected someone to attack me. I didn't understand it, and neither did Kimimaro. I didn't ask questions, though. I knew I wouldn't get answers. If they wanted me to know, they'd have told me by now.
"Can you tell me that story about the time a bear attacked you?" Kimimaro interrupted during one of my stories, his eyes shining with excitement.
I nodded. "Sure can." I loved telling stories, and a lot of the time I made the tales bigger than they were. Kimimaro knew this, but he said I was such a great storyteller, he'd never know if they weren't so out-of-this-world.
I was just about to start telling him my story when the screaming started.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
I gasped as I woke up, a woman's scream echoing in my ears. What the heck had happened? I wondered. I remembered something about a cave........ A boy? No, I heard a girl scream.
Groaning, I rolled onto my side. My room was still pitch black, which I didn't mind. I did, however, mind the headache that now throbbed between my temples. Stupid dream.
I stared up at the ceiling, and as that scream continued to echo in my head, a tear rolled down my cheek and I suddenly choked out, "Mommy."
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