Impossible to Foretell

Chapter 1: A Normal Day

I reached over for the next scroll, but my hand hit nothing but air. Looking up, I saw that I was all done with today's work. With a large sigh, I leaned back into my chair and allowed myself a little bit of pride at the large stack of paperwork that I had gone through. I figured that'd I just head home early and catch up on a little much-needed sleep.

I pulled open my drawer to put away my writing supplies, and my hand brushed against smooth, worn wood. I closed my hand around the cylindrical object and pulled out a faded, green yo-yo.

I looked at one side and saw the faint words: "For my precious Yo-yo." It was the last thing that I had left of my dad. I stared at forlornly. I had almost forgotten about this precious item, and a few tears slipped out before I could stop them. I still missed Dad so much it hurt. Impulsively, I stuck it in my pocket before putting my hands on the arms of my chair and slowly raising myself out of the seat. My hip cried out in protest, and I mentally yelled at it. Over a year had passed since Sasainako had messed around with it, but I still hadn't fully recovered. Sakura kept insisting that it would improve with time; however, I didn't have high hopes. At this point, I was resigned to being a cripple my entire life. Genin at age eight and jounin at age seventeen, I was hailed as a taijutsu prodigy, and now I could barely walk home everyday after work. Pathetic.

I gathered my things angrily and shuffled out. At least I didn't need a cane to walk anymore; that was humiliating for me. I did not like the feeling of helplessness that it created.

When I got home, I did the stretches that were supposed to return my hip mobility even though I no longer felt that they could do any good. My small apartment was immaculately clean, and everything had it's place. My life was such a mess that I took solace in having a tidy, almost obsessively so, living area. I unconsciously twirled my wedding band around my left forefinger as I mused at how all traces of Toukuro living here just two years ago had vanished. I had lived by myself from the age of seven on so the single year that I was married to him was one of the happiest of my life because I wouldn't come home to an empty house. Now that he had died, I was even more aware of just how lonely my life was. I looked around and was only met by a spotless floor and dust free surfaces.

Walking over to my desk for home use, I pulled the yo-yo out of my pocket and put it in a prominent place right in front of the picture of dad and the picture of me and Sakumo that I had taken with me the day that I left my mother's house. I smiled at the faces of the two men that I considered to be my parents. My mother would never be counted on the same lines as them; she could never compare. Nowadays, I didn't really hate her like I had used to. She had died long ago, and I was trying to let go of some of the hate that I had been holding onto for years. Now when I thought about Nori Kimura I was just saddened. Dad deserved so much better than her; he deserved someone who would have been faithful and loved him back, not someone who had an affair with a gross creep. I wrinkled up my nose in disgust, I had managed to avoid thinking about Kanaye for years now. I still hated him. I guess that I wasn't ready to let go of that particular grudge just yet.