lovelorn overture (prologue)

[smallville]

It was Sunday. Sunday evening, to be specific.

The sky was beginning to fade to black as the day's last bits of light dispersed beyond the horizon. It had been a short day, which was normal as autumn turned into winter. The air was crisp and chilly. Birds chirped all around, beckoning for their kin to come home. The citizens of Konoha did the same, though from the thresholds and windows of their homes.

Among the crowd was a small girl, weaving through the much taller, much older adults to catch up with her parents. "There you are, Namisara. Why did you let go of my hand?" her mother asked as she spotted her daughter breaking through the crowd and running toward her and her husband. "Father dropped this!" the little girl said, holding up an oddly shaped Kunai knife. "How'd that happen?" the father said, checking his pockets. "You bumped into a man and it slipped out!" the girl said, handing it to him. "Thank you, sweetie." the father said as he took the knife from his daughter and slipped it back into his pocket, not without sharing an odd glance with his wife.

The girl happily took her mother's hand and her father's hand in each of her own and the three continued to walk. "Father, when will I get to learn how to use Kunai?" the girl asked. "Oh, ready to step into the shinobi world, are we, Namisara?" her father playfully asked, to which the girl nodded happily. "She's just a child, Hanotsu." the mother said protectively. "And?" the father replied. "We were no older than she is when we started our--"

"Your what, father?" the girl asked.

"Namisara, are you..?"

"I'm fine."[/blockquote][/blockquote]

The three of them had stopped dead in their tracks. The girl tugged on the hands of both of her parents, but they stood motionless and quiet, both staring at something ahead. "What's wrong?" the girl asked before looking in the direction that they were looking in.

"Namisara-- "

"I-I'm fine, keep going."

"Who's that?" the girl asked. "Namine, get behind me." said the father starkly. "Namisara take my h--"

There was a flash.

[/justify]

Reality seemed to distort and shatter before my eyes. My parents, myself, and that person fade away, along with everything else in Konoha -- everything else in the world. It spiraled down a drain into nonexistence, and I returned to the world I knew. My grandfather's burgandy, Sharingan eyes, blue skies, white clouds. Daylight stabbed my eyes and it's warmth comforted my skin. I felt blades of cool grass in between my fingers and moist soil beneath my palms. My eyes adjusted to the sunlight moments later, and my grandfather came into focus. He stood over me, as though I had fallen. I had fallen.

"I didn't tell you to stop." I spat at him as he extended a hand to me to help me to my feet. I took it, reluctantly, and dusted myself off. "You didn't have to. You fainted." the old man said simply, and after he helped me to my feet, he turned and slowly began to walk away. "Again." I commanded. "I can do it this time."

"That was your fourth try today, Namisara, and you've said the same thing each time." he explained to me, to which I scowled. "The only difference is that this time you fainted. I think that's enough of that for today." he added. He didn't understand. "Ugh, fine...then let's run through attack patterns again, starting with Sigma Eleven C followed by--." I said, but he, without turning around, raised his hand to interrupt me.

"No, we'll be doing a Katon session. It'll calm your nerves after...that. he said, finally turning and facing me after putting a good ten meters between us. "On your mark." he added.

"Fine." I said, pinning my long, black hair back in a ponytail. "Go!" I yelled.

"Katon, Goukakyuu no Jutsu!"
"Katon! Goukakyuu no Jutsu!!"

The Tale of Uchiha Namisara