At times there were days that simply couldn’t get better. One might meet up with friends, see some family they should have missed but didn’t, get great food, win something or get complimented on their accomplishments, yet there would be no joy to any of that. A thick mass of gray clouds would shroud one from any possible light or joy. Lately that’s the type of days Shizuka’s been dealing with. Regretting getting up in the morning and wandering aimlessly in the evening, she ate badly and slept even worse. Violent dreams haunted her at night. One might think they were the remnants of her missions, things gone unprocessed due to various reasons, but Shizuka was slowly growing to accept them as a part of herself. Traumatized or not, she was the way she was and as long as everyone else stayed out of her business she would manage. Perhaps that’s why she only saw a couple of people lately. Solo missions and tasks had slowly climbed to the top and were claiming their spot as her favorites. During the time spent on them she didn’t have to pretend. She acted quickly, thoroughly, and then she left. Being around people was different from that. The strained smile, the little sentences forced from her lips to have the conversation flowing. Well, she only sacrificed her energy for a few. Like Siu.
As dark as her current mood, the stormy cloud above the village predicted no good. They matched Shizuka’s eyes, too. Perhaps hers were a little bit lighter, but no green was left in them. As if drained by life all of the previous colour the girl had possessed was there no longer. She dragged her feet across the street, slender fingers holding onto a cigarette. A habit she had taken from Siu for better or for worse.
On her way to meet her friend she heard some talk. Kids were kids but excited and suspicious grown-ups were an entirely different matter. Listening in on some conversations during her lazy stroll, the young Senju found it hard to believe the rumours. While foreigners weren’t too rare, someone from Leaf without a proper invitation could be a thorn in the villagers’ eyes. One eye, two eyes. She shook her head while holding onto her temple and dropped the cigarette to die on the cold stones.
“Siu!” Fingers dug into the older girl’s shoulder as Shizuka tried to drag her along, sort of. Of course she wasn’t really trying to floor her and take her along as if she was a bag of potatoes. No. This was a gesture of friendship, a hasty sign that they had to be quick. It’s why the greeting had been nothing but the name. Annoyance filled her steps; she quickened her pace while easily making room for Siu to follow. If not for the fact that they planned to meet up, Siu would surely follow out of curiosity.
Coiled up anger slithered through her veins. She felt like bashing someone’s head against the stones of her home village. The sound of bones cracking would be a welcomed song. Her fingers itched to hurt from blows and burn with chakra. Honestly, the rage that’s been sleeping for a while now suddenly controlled her entire body. It hurt. Every fiber seemed to burn with bottled up energy and desperation. She could barely follow her own thoughts when her eyes landed on their target. Before she knew, Shizuka snapped.
A part of her actions might be explained by the still quite recent loss of her parents. Though months had passed the wound was still fresh even if Shizuka acted as if it wasn’t there at all. “Shinobi died, life is what it is, everyone will go one day”, she had so many words to show her indifference which wasn’t even a full lie. However, inside she knew it bothered her still. Maybe not as much as it would have should she have been younger or a commoner, it did leave a bruise regardless of any trainings she’s been through. Unfortunately or perhaps luckily, this wasn’t the entire source from where her uncontrollable urge to strangle the white-haired woman came from.
Natsuru
The name crossed her mind in broken pieces as she shot forward to hit the woman whose hair resembled the older Senju’s. Angry, hurt, shaking. Shizuka wanted to have someone feel as badly. Someone who looked like Natsuru did wasn’t a bad choice here. She both blamed Natsuru for what she was feeling now and missed her at the same time. The contradicting feelings and thoughts were ripping her mind to pieces as her fist sailed to collide with the stranger’s face.
Too blind to see the reality of things, she bared her teeth.
“You!”
As dark as her current mood, the stormy cloud above the village predicted no good. They matched Shizuka’s eyes, too. Perhaps hers were a little bit lighter, but no green was left in them. As if drained by life all of the previous colour the girl had possessed was there no longer. She dragged her feet across the street, slender fingers holding onto a cigarette. A habit she had taken from Siu for better or for worse.
On her way to meet her friend she heard some talk. Kids were kids but excited and suspicious grown-ups were an entirely different matter. Listening in on some conversations during her lazy stroll, the young Senju found it hard to believe the rumours. While foreigners weren’t too rare, someone from Leaf without a proper invitation could be a thorn in the villagers’ eyes. One eye, two eyes. She shook her head while holding onto her temple and dropped the cigarette to die on the cold stones.
“Siu!” Fingers dug into the older girl’s shoulder as Shizuka tried to drag her along, sort of. Of course she wasn’t really trying to floor her and take her along as if she was a bag of potatoes. No. This was a gesture of friendship, a hasty sign that they had to be quick. It’s why the greeting had been nothing but the name. Annoyance filled her steps; she quickened her pace while easily making room for Siu to follow. If not for the fact that they planned to meet up, Siu would surely follow out of curiosity.
Coiled up anger slithered through her veins. She felt like bashing someone’s head against the stones of her home village. The sound of bones cracking would be a welcomed song. Her fingers itched to hurt from blows and burn with chakra. Honestly, the rage that’s been sleeping for a while now suddenly controlled her entire body. It hurt. Every fiber seemed to burn with bottled up energy and desperation. She could barely follow her own thoughts when her eyes landed on their target. Before she knew, Shizuka snapped.
A part of her actions might be explained by the still quite recent loss of her parents. Though months had passed the wound was still fresh even if Shizuka acted as if it wasn’t there at all. “Shinobi died, life is what it is, everyone will go one day”, she had so many words to show her indifference which wasn’t even a full lie. However, inside she knew it bothered her still. Maybe not as much as it would have should she have been younger or a commoner, it did leave a bruise regardless of any trainings she’s been through. Unfortunately or perhaps luckily, this wasn’t the entire source from where her uncontrollable urge to strangle the white-haired woman came from.
Natsuru
The name crossed her mind in broken pieces as she shot forward to hit the woman whose hair resembled the older Senju’s. Angry, hurt, shaking. Shizuka wanted to have someone feel as badly. Someone who looked like Natsuru did wasn’t a bad choice here. She both blamed Natsuru for what she was feeling now and missed her at the same time. The contradicting feelings and thoughts were ripping her mind to pieces as her fist sailed to collide with the stranger’s face.
Too blind to see the reality of things, she bared her teeth.
“You!”
* * *
