Shadow of the Night

Chapter 4

I could have shadow traveled there. But it's been so long since I've walked the streets of Konoha, I just wanted to see the village again. The breeze felt amazing on my warm skin, and it whispered through my hair as I crouched on the roof of the building. 

Finding my clan's old compound was not easy. I hadn't been there since I was four years old, but as I walked down the lane, towards the dilapidated house, the barest hint of memory besieged me. I remembered the sun warming my toddler face as I wandered around the small compound. I remembered how the sakura blossoms smelled in the spring. Vaguely happy memories.

But something was wrong. The house sagged, and the feeling of emptiness filled me with dread. There were no chakra signatures here. Where is everyone? Desperately rounding the corner, I went around the back and gasped aloud.

The entire back of the house was blackened, crumbling, and broken. The courtyard was overgrown, and looked completely abandoned. Evidence of decay was endless. The Shizuka compound was abandoned, destroyed, and cold. Shock gripped my lungs in a vice as I struggled to wrap my head around this new discovery.

They're all gone.

I felt tears sting my eyes. 

"I was going to tell you tomorrow." I jumped at the sound of a voice behind me. I didn't sense them? They must be good at hiding their chakra, I thought dully. Turning slowly, I find myself staring at Kakashi's profile as he gazed at the derelict buildings. 

"What do you mean?" My voice comes out scratchy and strained, and I cringe at how weak I sound. When had I gone so soft? Here I was, in front of a stranger, about to cry! 

"I was going to tell you in the morning. The Hokage thought you might want to hear this after you settled in a bit." He paused, glancing sidelong at me in a sad, searching kind of way. "Your clan died out six years ago. There was a fire in the clan compound." Kakashi looked down, his hands still deep in his pockets. "I'm sorry. There were no survivors." 

My mind was reeling. My mother and father were gone? How can this be? The vague image of me having loving parents so come home to imploded in that instance, and I felt a hole in my heart expand. My visualizations of my clan had kept me sane for so long, and now they were ripped away from me on this ash-filled air. 

A quiet gasp escaped my lips as a single treacherous tear rolled down my cheek. I felt warm arms circle around me and I was pulled into Kakashi's chest.

I cried silently as I gripped his vest.

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A gentle shake rouses me from my slumber and I groggily look up at Asaki. She looked at me with sad, empathetic eyes, but said nothing. She didn't need to. 

Last night she had waited up for me, and I told her about what happened. I truly have no family now, save for Asaki. She was my chosen sister, and the best friend I could hope for. Now, with my dreams of finding solace in my clan shattered, I clung to her more closely than ever before.

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I stood quite still in the middle of the practice field, listening to the wind whisper through the trees. I was still absorbing the information from last night. I didn't know how to feel. I hadn't seen my clan in over two decades, but I still felt the loss of belonging, not to mention my dream of the loving parents my mind created.

A shinobi approached me, and I barely hear what he was saying. He seemed so far away, through a haze of fog. Suddenly Kakashi appeared in front of me, speaking to the shinobi I was scheduled to fight today. I couldn't really concentrate on their words, but soon I was led away and Asaki took my place. 

Kakashi sat me down in the grass a ways away from the battle ground. He simply looked at me, and i stared blankly at the forest in the distance. Thoughts were swirling around my brain faster than I could keep up. Very slowly, I forced my eyes to fix onto Kakashi's masked face. 

I was confused by this man. He comforted me while I was crying. No one had done that in years, mostly because I hadn't cried in years. There was something strange about him too. I felt more relaxed near him, as though I'd known him for a long time, not a day. I'd only noticed this morning when he came to get us.

I closed my eyes, and tried to concentrate on what Kakashi was saying.

"-postpone your match if you're not feeling like yourself. It's not a problem if you want a day of two to digest this information-"

"No. I'll fight today. I'm fine." I stood, eyes still locked on the man in front of me. "Thank you." The words came out as a whisper as I turn away. Though he was still in all effects a stranger to me, I felt as though he understood loss. The comfort I felt in his presence scared me.

Asaki was told not to use her sharingan yet, and instead was battling furiously with Taijutsu. She was good. Not as good as me, but good.  And she could beat me any day in ninjutsu, not counting my shadows. Though they were more for restraining and protecting, rather than full-out battle.

Asaki seemed a little pushed here, against this high level ANBU shinobi. I couldn't blame her; restricting the use of her sharingan always made her feel off. 

"Uchiha, you can use the sharingan now." I guess the Hokage wanted to see what hers could do.
Red eyes now gleaming with excitement, she increased the speed of her attacks. I knew she wouldn't use a genjutsu, since the only ones she currently could do were completely fatal. Saki was currently working on expanding her genjutsu range.

Their fight was over quite quickly. Perks of being an S-Ranked criminal. We didn't get in the bingo book for nothing, and the Akasuki doesn't take weak members.

"Unfortunately for you Ms. Shizuka,  your opponent will be me." Whipping around, I stared at Kakashi. Well fuck. I guess I will be finding out just how good he is the hard way. 

"Bring it on."

We circled each other slowly. 

Kakashi seemed relaxed, but I was trained to read my opponent's body language. I could see the subtle tensing of his muscles and the bend of his knees. Battle ready. 

"If you don't use your shadows, I won't use my trump card." Kakashi called out.

I was impressed he figured out about the shadows. "Fine. But I will bring them out eventually, then I'd like to see your so called 'trump card.'"

Kakashi surprised me by answering casually: "Oh, you will."