Finding Light (Naruto Fanfic) //ON HOLD//

♥2. Bye

Chapter 2

Today was the day I turned 7.

And I knew that I should expect nothing from anyone.

So, I didn't really pay attention to my surroundings.

I should've. Pay attention that is.

It was the day when the villagers finally decided to kick me out, on the day of my birthday.

Oh, nothing special really happened, but they burned off my tattoos while I thrashed about and cried. At the end, the tattoos of the moon and sun was gone and all that was left was a tiny red 'X', a mark of disgrace.

After that, they took off my clothes, giving me barely warm clothing, and tossed me out. I could hear the taunts of the children and glares of the adults. I could even almost hear their thoughts of, "Good riddance."

Yoko casually waved good-bye at me. It struck my heart, and not in the good way. Together, ma and pa looked perfectly happy with me gone. I wouldn't have been surprised had they started up a jolly song and started dancing around in circles. Round and round goes the merry-go-round.

Hilarious. I crack myself up.

Each one of them, each of the villagers had a sneer on their face. Yes, there were some pitying glances, but did pity turn back time? I think not. Sooner rather than later, the villagers left after throwing insults and pebbles. I think I begged to be forgiven sometime after they all left, but it was probably my imagination.

My imagination also decided that my tears wouldn't be worth it. I didn't want to cry.

I tried getting back in with by opening the gates, but without my sacred marks, the tattoo of the sun and moon, the gate didn't recognize me and rejected my demands.

I stayed outside the gates until morning the next day, hoping they'd let me in, and that maybe- just maybe, this was all a really bad joke. Or a dream, but dreams weren't supposed to hurt this much.

I know that I told myself not to cry, but I couldn't help it as salt water streamed down my face as I finally gave up banging and rattling the gates. I had nowhere to go. I was just a small girl. I could only stumble around without a destination and company, save for the fireflies. I went everywhere but nowhere with only my precious friend, Hotaru, to guide me.

...4 YEARS LATER... 11 years old Tsukiko...

"Kiko! Get back here!" I ran away from the mob of people, laughing giddily while skipping.

"Nah! I gotta go run, but thanks for the free food!" I climbed up on a tree and sat down, watching the people fly past from where I was. I chuckled to myself and took out the bread I'd stolen from the bakery I was passing to go to the oh so famous Konoha.

I was a known bandit, and this was another one of my catch. My nickname? Kiko. Quite the opposite from what ma used to call me. I liked to believe that I was a different person from the girl crying in front of the village gates. I wasn't ma's little daughter Tsukiko. I was now Kiko, the youngest bandit.

Today, I was feeling up to a little bit of bread. Not for the same thing I had for the whole time I was running about, onigiri. I was getting sick of riceballs, and when I smelt the smell of fresh wheat wafting in the air, I think I heard angels sing.

Listening to their soft luring, I ran into the bakery, shoved a few bread into my pockets and ran like a hell hound was after my heels.

I smirked silently to myself and ate my deliciously scrumptious bread in peace. You know? If you took that part of the cloud off, it looked like a sheep. I haven't had sheep meat in a while. How long has it been? Two, three- four years maybe? I don't know. I miss sheep meat. I should get some soon.