Unforgettable Memories

(OOC: I hope this makes sense.)

Kaze lay asleep in his bed, the young boy's body lay at rest but his mind was wide awake. At the moment it was a place of sadness and despair. Memories of one the most important things to him were currently flooding his mind, it had decided to settle on one memory in particular; a day Kaze had tried to forget so many times but no matter how hard he tried it was always there. The images were so clear it was like he was reliving it every time he thought about that day...

Kaze ran through the spacious house his family lived in, his mother close on his heels giving chase. Days like this Kaze just loved very few things could make them better; it was raining outside and he loved rainy weather, his mother had cooked his favorite food, he had aced his test in school, and he had almost perfected his kunai throwing technique. All in all it had been a successful day and therefore a great day by Kaze's standards. As he was chased around by his mother he couldn't help but think about when his father would be home from his mission, he had been gone for six days and should be home any day now.

A knock on the door interrupted Kaze from his thoughts, while he slowed from a run to a walk his mother went to answer the door. "Mrs. Rose Uchiha?" Came a soft voice from the door. "Yes, that's me. Please come in." His mother answered in her normal upbeat manner. Being curious Kaze walked towards the door wanting to know who it was and if they wanted to play, he was only four after all. Peeking around the corner he saw his mother fall to her knees crying hysterically in front of two Anbu black ops ninja one with a blue striped wolf mask the other with an orange striped fox mask, he hadn't caught what they had said to make her react that way but knowing his mother he knew it had to be extremely bad news. "Hitomi can you help her to that couch over there, I'll help the child." The shorter ninja spoke before  walking towards him. Kaze guessed it was a female, based on her soft feminine voice and the blue hair that hung a little past her shoulders. She gently led him to the couch his mother was seated on, tears were still streaming from her eyes but she was no longer making any sounds. The blue haired anbu resumed her position next to her tall accomplice, taking a deep breath she started. "I'm sorry to inform you both that Itaze Uchiha has been ..." Beside him, Kaze's mother erupted into a fit of screaming and crying, "Hitaki can you take her to another room and try to get her to calm down?" Pausing at hearing his real name used, he knew despite the calm front his blue haired partner was putting up for her to use his real name she had to be really torn on the inside. Hitaki carefully helped Kaze's mother up from the couch to another room further off in the house.

With his mother's muffled cries coming from deeper within the house, Kaze was left with the kunoichi. She slowly removed her mask taking time to fix her hair; she was very pretty Kaze decided she couldn't be much older than eighteen if that. Sensing her sadness he gave a toothy smile, the young girl returned it sadness evident in her eyes. "Hello little one my name is Yuki Hyuuga, I'm guessing your name is Kaze, correct?" "How did you know my name he asked in surprise. "Your father speaks very highly of you, he said one day you're going to be a great ninja." A faint smile once again appearing on Yuki's lips. "You know my day?" Kaze asked excitedly, "Do you know where he is or when he will be back?" Yuki mentally cursed herself for not being able to hold back the tears that were slowly starting to fall from her eyes, she hated herself for being so weak. Eyeing the innocent little boy she began to tell the story of what had happened two days ago, hating herself more and more with every word...

Yuki jumped from branch to branch following her team captain as they traveled through the forest, they had finished up their mission a day ago and were now returning home to the Village Hidden in the Leaves. Everything had gone off without a hitch, the missing ninja they were hunting had been disposed of, although she did put up quiet a fight but in the end while Itaze and the rest of the team had her distracted Yuki had managed to land the killing blow. Her first time being the one to finish off the target, it was a unique feeling, she had felt proud yet she felt something strange as well and she couldn't understand why. She had killed before, if that was the problem she would have never made it into the Anbu black ops. It was as if that by dealing that killing blow she had caused a chain reaction, one that would lead to terrible consequences. Maybe it was because she was young, and a little on edge after her first major kill, regardless of what it was something didn't feel right, but if everyone else at ease, well as relaxed as one in the Anbu Black Ops can be, she would try to calm down as well.

"So Yuki, how does it feel to have scored your first big time kill?" Her red head teammate asked, no doubt smirking behind her mask remembering how excited Yuki had been once it set in that she had finished of their target. "At first I was really psyched but now I don't know, I feel like something..." An explosion cut Yuki off as the branch she was just about to land on shattered into a thousand pieces.

"Wind Release: Great Breakthrough!" A voice shouted as Yuki and her team were blasted backwards by a powerful gust of wind. "It's an ambush. Scatter!" Itaze shouted, flipping around in the air to land on a tree. "Yu use your byakugan, and find where they are." He instructed before leaping into the cover of the trees. Yuki followed suit quickly dashing for cover herself; activating her byakugan she could see they were surrounded, thirteen ninja in all. Three ninja in each cardinal direction with one advancing towards where her team had been just moments ago. Knowing her team was waiting for her to make a move and lead them towards the enemy she dashed north towards the single enemy. Using her kekkei genkai she could see her squad mimicking her moves, they would surprise the central enemy and then dispose of the other twelve. Leaping into the trees, Yuki pulled out a handful of shuriken knowing once she cleared the large tree in front of her she would have a clear line of sight on her target. Yuki threw the shuriken upon rounding the tree, quickly weaving a few hand seals, "Water Release: Gunshot!" Knowing if one of those balls hit the man in front of her Itaze would finish him with his lightning release.

Itaze lay on the ground, his breathing getting shallower by the second. It had been a trying battle but they had managed to pull it out, at a cost. Their team leader wasn't going to make it back alive and the medic of the team was incapacitated with serious injuries of her own, none of them fatal but she needed medical attention soon. Yuki and Sinori knelt on either side of their dying captain, crying silently as one of the people they had grown so close to spoke to them for what would be the final time. His sentences were ragged, punctuated by wheezing and coughs; he knew he was dying but never once did he shed a tear instead he remained strong and reassuring, the person Yuki and the others had come to know and love like a brother. "I couldn't have asked for better teammates you guys have become a second family to me, I only ask that you take care of my family when I'm gone." Silence followed as the two sat in wide-eyed shock taken in the reality that Itaze was no more, he had willingly given his life to save Yuki, without a second of hesitation he jumped in front of her. 

It had been her fault, she had gotten caught in the enemies jutsu and couldn't move. Looking at the young boy seated on the couch in front of her she couldn't help but relive that moment again. Kaze was a spitting image of his father, and it didn't help that he was smiling at her the same way his father had jumped in front of Yuki to save her.

"Soul Paralysis!" The sole remaining ninja shouted; Yuki's body fell limp as the odd white tendrils of the enemies jutsu literally just nipped her heel, yet it felt as if her entire body had shut down. It was clear this enemy wasn't going to retreat, his comrades had all died fighting and it was evident he planned to go out the same way. It was impossible for him to win, it was four on one, but the rogue refused to quit. His goal now was to take as many with him as he could and with Yuki laying limp on the forest floor, he moved in to finish her. "Wind Release: Drilling air bullet!" Struggling to turn her head Yuki could see, Kagomi, her red headed teammate smash through a tree, knocking her unconscious. "Once I finish you, she's next." Her attacker declared, a nasty grin on his face. Forming a few hand seals, the last one being a weird triangle that he aimed towards Yuki. "Forbidden Jutsu: Bodily Devastation!" Closing her eyes Yuki awaited her fate. She waited a few seconds but nothing happened, she opened her eyes to see her Captain standing in front of her. 'He must have blocked the attack.' She thought. 

The young boy had sat in silence as she told him how is father had died, he hadn't made a sound but she could see the silent tears that fell from his eyes. What surprised her were his eyes, he couldn't be much older than four or five, and yet Yuki could see his sharingan had been awoken. She didn't know much about the sharingan only what she had read in books, but she did remember reading some where about how the sharingan is awoken. Unless she was mistaken to awaken it, the user must feel a great sorrow or sadness, but could her story really have been enough to cause Kaze to awaken his kekkei genkai. "Kaze, you will probably think that I am lying but, your sharingan, it's... well I think you should look for yourself." She reached into one of her weapons pouches and pulled out a mirror offering it to the young Uchiha in front of her. Kaze gently pulled it from her grasp slowly he looked into the mirror, his face changing from one of grief to one of surprise at the sight of his eyes, the red iris with a single black tomoe. 

Kaze awoke to the boom of thunder, he let out a humorless laugh. He had been having the same dream for a while now, at least once a week, sometimes he's dream about the whole thing other times like just now he would only dream about part of it. No matter how much or how little he saw, it would almost always bring back that feeling of lost and sadness. Kaze had actually gotten pretty good at blocking those feelings out, having to deal with them as much as he did it becomes natural. Rolling out of bed Kaze went to the bathroom and looked in the mirror, there it was his sharingan.



Claiming 1st tomoe
TWC: 2017/2000