Genkaku (Naruto fanfic)

Chapter 1: how it all began

Furukawa Shizuka awoke to the sound of screaming and the searing heat of flames licking the left wall of her room. She sucked in a sharp breath, only to choke and cough as smoke entered her lungs. 

What?

Throwing her blanket aside, she hastily scrambled out of the door half crawling, half running. Sweat trickled down her back as the temperature increased with every second. The ceiling had caught on fire by the time she skidded into the hallway. 

Her little sister. She had to get her out of here. Were her parents still inside?

"Natsumi!" 

Her voice came out scratchy and cracked as she suppressed a dry cough, the smoke irritating her airways with every breath she took. She pulled the front of her nightgown over her mouth.

"Shizu!" 

The shrill sound of her little sister guided her into the room besides her. Shizuka let out a small breath of relief as she saw her four year old sister hunkering in the corner of her room, teddy bear clutched in her arms tightly. 

The fire hadn't reached this side of their house yet and the smoke wasn't as thick as out in the hallway. She frantically scrambled towards Natsumi, picking her up. 

"W-what's happening?" 

Shizuka tightened her grip, feeling her little sister trembling against her. The slowly increasing wet patch on the front of her nightgown along with the quickening of Natsumi's breathing alerted her to her sister's growing hysteria.

"It's... it's a game we're playing. We have to get out of the house before the fire reaches us."

"I don't like this game."

She couldn't find it in herself to reply to that, instead focusing on putting one foot in front of the other as she entered the hallway, air thick with smoke. 

Their parents slept in the room opposite of Shizuka's so that was her next destination, shoving the sliding door open. The crackling of the flames crawling across the walls, across the floor was so loud. And the smell.

Oh god the smell.

The sharp and putrid scent of burned flesh made Shizuka choke and dry heave. 

"Mama?" Natsumi's voice was small as she stared at the far left corner of the room.

Her older sister quickly followed her gaze to see flames licking on the bright purple fabric of her mother's nightgown. She choked down a sob at the blackened and cracking legs that stuck out of the clothing. Her gaze then moved to where what remained of her father was lying face down over her mothers upper body. 

Shizuka was pulled out her shocked daze as her little sister started wailing loudly.

"Shhh, Natsu, don't look."

Gritting her teeth, she spun around. They had to get out. She had to get Natsumi outside.

A sharp crack, made her look up. Her eyes widened at the sight of one of the beams supporting the ceiling came down. Shizuka had just enough time to turn her back to it, hunching down protectively over her siblings trembling frame.

The burning wood landed on her shoulder with a force so heavy it pushed the oh so precious oxygen out of her lungs. And then the pain hit.

Searing heat.

It hurt it hurt it hurt ithurthurthurthurt

A wrangled scream escaped her throat as she was forced lower and lower to the floor until the wooden beam hit the wall in front of her, allowing her to duck out under it. Her back ached fiercely as she righted herself, leaning against the wall for support as she blindly stumbled towards the exit, mumbling empty reassurances to her crying sister.