Akihito had not come to the valley in a long time. Not since he joined the academy. Simpler times, those were, when he did not have to worry about his performance and how he fared compared to his peers. Truly a time only the young could enjoy.
The valley always held a special place within Akihito's memories, for both good and bad reasons. It was the place where his parents first took him when he became 6 and decided he wanted to be a shinobi. They wanted him to see the great statues and the occasional ninja dueling. They wanted him to understand that the life he chose was not just fun and games. He did not understand it at first, a 6 year old child with no particular problems could not see anything but the awesome giant men of rock and the cool jutsu flying about. It became engraved in his memories though and, as he grew up, he started to understand more of what his parents meant. He once sneaked out of his house at night, something very unusual for one as lazy as him, and went to the valley. He wanted to explore the area around without his parents nagging. That decision forever left a mark in his soul. When he got close to the statues he heard the characteristic sounds of a shinobi duel and he instantly became excited. He hid in the bushes and started watching. It was a fierce battle. Fiercer than the ones his parents allowed him to watch. But what really left a mark was how it ended. In a second, due to a small mistake by one of the shinobi, a life was snuffed. A fireball consumed one of the ninja while the other ran, having won the duel. The corpse fell near the bushes Akihito used to hide himself. Akihito stood, paralyzed by what he had seen, heard... smelled. The last screams of agony of the dying shinobi had been horrifying but what truly left a dent in the child's soul was the smell. The smell of charred flesh that permeated the air. Akihito stood transfixed, looking at the corpse for at least 10 minutes before getting up and running home, never to tell a soul of what he had seen. If the Leaf ninja seemed more agitated the day after... well, he preferred to pretend he knew not the reason.
His parents took him to the statues a few more times before he became 8. He always made nice new memories while hanging out with his family, especially when his sister started coming with them. Akihito preferred to avoid that place though. It wouldn't do to scream everytime he saw the corpse that his family was oblivious to.
As he stood upon one of the statues, he remembered. This was part of his determination. Part of his dream. He wouldn't allow such a thing to befall his family. Especially his sister who now wanted to follow in his and his parents' footsteps.
The valley always held a special place within Akihito's memories, for both good and bad reasons. It was the place where his parents first took him when he became 6 and decided he wanted to be a shinobi. They wanted him to see the great statues and the occasional ninja dueling. They wanted him to understand that the life he chose was not just fun and games. He did not understand it at first, a 6 year old child with no particular problems could not see anything but the awesome giant men of rock and the cool jutsu flying about. It became engraved in his memories though and, as he grew up, he started to understand more of what his parents meant. He once sneaked out of his house at night, something very unusual for one as lazy as him, and went to the valley. He wanted to explore the area around without his parents nagging. That decision forever left a mark in his soul. When he got close to the statues he heard the characteristic sounds of a shinobi duel and he instantly became excited. He hid in the bushes and started watching. It was a fierce battle. Fiercer than the ones his parents allowed him to watch. But what really left a mark was how it ended. In a second, due to a small mistake by one of the shinobi, a life was snuffed. A fireball consumed one of the ninja while the other ran, having won the duel. The corpse fell near the bushes Akihito used to hide himself. Akihito stood, paralyzed by what he had seen, heard... smelled. The last screams of agony of the dying shinobi had been horrifying but what truly left a dent in the child's soul was the smell. The smell of charred flesh that permeated the air. Akihito stood transfixed, looking at the corpse for at least 10 minutes before getting up and running home, never to tell a soul of what he had seen. If the Leaf ninja seemed more agitated the day after... well, he preferred to pretend he knew not the reason.
His parents took him to the statues a few more times before he became 8. He always made nice new memories while hanging out with his family, especially when his sister started coming with them. Akihito preferred to avoid that place though. It wouldn't do to scream everytime he saw the corpse that his family was oblivious to.
As he stood upon one of the statues, he remembered. This was part of his determination. Part of his dream. He wouldn't allow such a thing to befall his family. Especially his sister who now wanted to follow in his and his parents' footsteps.
