Sacrifice

Shadow of a Doubt

Hidan threw his arm around Yasuna's shoulder with a grin.

"I went easy on ya, you know."

"Mhmm."

"I do not appreciate your skeptical tone."

He helped her back into the base where they sat against a wall and waited for their wounds to heal. While they did, Yasuna and Hidan began discussing their religion.

"So when'd you join Jashinism?"

Yasuna closed her eyes and had a flashback to ten years ago when she first decided to join the way of Jashin.

It was dark and gloomy, like every other day in the shadow of the mountains. Her skin prickled uncomfortably, feeling eyes on her with every step she took. Yasuna heard the whispers. She knew the rumors.

"Every generation of their family has failures."

"They must be cursed."

"Look at her, thinking she's so high and mighty just because she's moon-born."

"Lord First's talent is wasted on that cursed family."

Yasuna wasn't able to harness the power passed down through her family even though she was already twelve. Well, that's what she led everyone to believe. In truth, she was afraid of her own power. Afraid of what she might become. Afraid of what they would make her become. A perfectly mindless killing machine. So she hid her powers and let them believe she was useless. Not a failure, but a late bloomer. It wasn't unheard of for moon-borns to develop their powers later in life. According to Lady Hina, her own grandmother was a late bloomer.

Yasuna smiled, thinking of the kind elder who told her stories of past moon-borns and taught mythology and history to any kids who'd lend an ear. Yasuna loved to sit on the river boulders and listen to the stories the elder told by starlight. She described the events in a way that made Yasuna feel like she was part of the story.

She'd often fantasize about revealing her powers in a heroic way. Single-handedly fending off entire Shinobi armies, while her older peers cower in fear in the mountain caves. She'd bring all the darkness of Hell down upon her enemies and everyone would cheer and call her a hero. She won't be called useless, she won't be threatened with failure, and she won't be weaponized.

This was, of course, just a fantasy. The truth was, it was never going to happen. The village was so well-hidden that none of the other Shinobi villages would ever find them.

"Today's your twelfth birthday, isn't it?" asked Vixen, one of her teammates.

Vixen was by far the prettiest girl in the village, Yasuna thought. Vixen was certainly the most gifted member of their village. It was clear Vixen would have taken advantage of her abilities to help their village. Vixen was also a well-respected girl among the villagers for her kindness and quick thinking, despite her father's failure. She learned fast, fought hard, and studied more than any of the other Chunin their age. She was everything Yasuna wasn't. Even still, neither girl held any grudge against the other.

"Yeah," Yasuna admitted with a sigh.

"Aww, don't be so worried, it'll all turn out fine!"

The two girls turned to their other teammate, Jinx, who was a triplet. While twins were common, singles were uncommon, triplets were extremely rare and frequently referred to as children of God. Triplets are not considered failures in any case. Yasuna felt a little bitter. Jinx had an easier time compared to both of them, having already secured a spot on the Anbu team. The Yorukage was even said to have been considering him.