Sumi sat at on the chair on the balcony of her apartment. It was days like this one that always caused her mind to think too much. She had no real friends to talk to or anything to occupy her time. Her mind would take her back to her earliest memories of the hidden stone. The memories were vague but just enough to keep her thinking about them. The lack of trees or grass or buildings made of anything other than stone. She wondered if that is where they got the village name from. She remembered walking the streets and seeing the largest building in the village. Her late brother Udo always said that is where the tsuchikage lived and that maybe one day there would be someone they knew living there.
That same night she saw him take a sphere to the stomach. With the last shred of life he had left he moved his hands fast and then the bandit stopped. Udo held his hands still as the life was draining out of the crook. He looked at her before falling to the ground from the stab. He smiled as the other guy who attacked him fell beside him. What happened after was fuzzy for Sumi. All she knew was a strong headache and feeling tears falling from her eyes. After wiping those tears, she saw the blood on her hands and wrists. That in itself was terrifying not to mention watching her best friend die in front of her eyes. "What's going on? Mom! Dad! Ryou!" she screamed as loud as she could. She was almost 4. Their father ran in and looked at the tragic scene. He looked at Sumi as her vision got almost completely gone. "Sumi.. your eyes!" he said. Or she could have sworn he said for she blacked out and did not wake for days. Not many people remember things that early on but that image is burnt into Sumiyuri's brain like a hot iron brand.
Her parents then decided that since the remaining clan members were limited, they could not be safe in the stone. The crime in the stone had gotten to great for them to stay. "The hidden leaf. That is where we will go." her mom said as she told Sumi to pack her favorite things. "But mom, what about Norata? I won't see her again?" Sumi asked. "We can say goodbye but we can not stay. You will make plenty of friends in the leaf. We will have great opportunity there." her mom said as she hugged Sumi.
The trip had felt like ages. Really it had taken around three weeks. They stopped at an inn every night. Their money had decreased drastically. The day finally arrived when they got to the gates of the hidden leaf village. After being accepted in, she spent the next few years getting used to life there. Her father then started to ask about her eyes and what she remembered he night of the attack. At the age of 8 he spent every day with her trying to reawaken her eyes. He called it a Ketsuryugan. He said no one in the direct family had awakened it. "If you can gain control over this, you will be one powerful shinobi one day." he stated. "Well dad, what is the ketsuryugan?" she asked. "It is a trait only certain people in the Chinoike clan have. It gives you the power of genjutsu. Think of it like controlling what someone can see. It also allows you to read minds and you might be able to control the iron in peoples blood. Essentially, you can move the blood in other people."
Sumi remembered those words he had said and now she was ready to attempt again. She thought of that image, the vivid image of the stone sphere impaling her oldest brother and the faint scream he let out. With her eyes closed she kept replaying it over and over. That small scream and his hands around the stab womb. The blood soaking his clothes and pouring down his arms and legs. The face of the monster that had done it. His solid black hair, red eyes with dots in them, and red robes. The amusement on his face. Her heart started racing and her head suddenly started to pulse. "I think I did it." she whispered. She looked in a small mirror and saw her eyes changed. Her dad had described them similar to the Uchiha. Red in color with a black and red pupal. She had pictured it differently. They were beautiful. She was in awe of the thing she had hidden for so long. "Okay remember what this feels like. I have got to show dad." she said as the blood tears were rolling down her face. She ran into the other room. "Dad look! I got it!" she yelled as she looked at him. Her dad stood up in shock and wiped the blood tears on her face. "What did you do to activate it again?" he asked. She looked down and said, "Remembering that night."
The next few days she spent every available moment after the academy mastering awakening her ketsuryugan. The image that did it was the image of that Uchiha and his eyes. How if she ever saw one she wouldn't hold back. This was her strength; those dotted eyes. The power of hatred everyday awakened her ketsuryugan and she was able to control the tears that flowed down her face. Now to the genjutsu her dad mentioned. She went back to him and asked, "Dad, can you teach me genjutsu?" He smiled and motioned for her to sit. After talking her through it he told her to activate her ketsuryugan and look at him in the eyes. "Just pretend you are going into my soul and show me a picture of your favorite place. Make me see it." he said. She pictured the ramen place on the hill where she could see the great stone faces. "Do you see it?" she asked. "Not yet think harder. See that image."
Without closing her eyes she saw that little wooden shack. Sticks and Spoons written with black paint on a long wooden board. The seats are grey in a straight line inside and the image of the faces peak at the right when sat down. The sunset is just below the head of the first Hokage. The leaves fall in the wind with a red and orange evening sky. "Wow," he said. "What a beautiful place." She thought so too.
TWC: 1,102 [claiming ketsuryugan]
Fri Aug 12, 2022 9:45 am by Guest
