A Hatred That Will Never Bloom Into Friendship

Sasuke and Sakura fall to their knees on either side of me. I stare straight ahead, my limbs locked in place, unable to move.

Orochimaru sneers lustfully, his sinister eyes boring deep into my frightened ones. His neck stretches from his body and races towards me. His teeth sink into my neck and an incomprehensible pain cascades down my body. His head condenses back to his figure, my blood trailing a thin line down the side of his half opened mouth.

My whole neck and both my shoulders go numb and feel lifeless. Then, all of a sudden, it feels like a hundred kunai knives were stabbing me from the chest up, and from the head down. Moment by moment, the pain only intensifies, and it begins to cut off my oxygen.

I gasp and scream and fall to my own knees. Tears stream down my face, but as I look back up the whole scenery had changed.

Orochimaru, Sasuke, and Sakura were gone, and in front of me was a big pond of water with a huge glorious waterfall flowing down a stone cliff running into it. There was nothing else but that waterfall around; everything else was a creamy white light.

I noticed that my neck didn’t hurt anymore, and when I glanced down I saw the green chakra swirling about. It disappears.

A being then steps out from under the waterfall, the calm trickling of the water running over her pale form. She walks out fully into view, gazing at me. She was naked from head to toe, but her long fiery red hair covered up her breasts and waist section. Her dark eyes found mine, and the brown freckles on her round face rise up as she smiles pleasantly.

“Hello, child. My name is Yuuna Zakuro. The great kunoichi of wickedness and healing.”

What? That name. She was the woman my great grandmother killed. She’s the one who placed the curse on her, and ultimately on me.

I open my mouth to say something, but nothing comes out. I clasp both my hands over my throat; I couldn’t speak!

Yuuna’s smile turns into a small frown. “Oh, I am so sorry about that. You have no voice here. Only I do, obviously.” She smiles again.

She walks silently through the shallow water and stops right before me. Her right hand reaches up to my face and I instinctively pull back.

She giggles a little girl laugh. “Come now. You don’t need to be scared.” She rests her hands on both my cheeks, and strokes my skin in small circles with her thumb.

“You have some of the same features as your great-grandmother. Well, before she fell into madness at the hand of my power.” Her grip tightens on my face. “But your family isn’t the first I placed this curse on. When I was alive, after everything was taken from me, I put curses on countless family members I came across, they all fell victim to my chakra.

“So, do not think that you are different from them, that you can overcome and control it. Because trust me, everyone who was victimized by this curse thought the same thing you did, that it was a wondrous gift. They too tried to control it as well, and each one of them failed!”

Her nails dig into my flesh, and I could feel blood running down my cheeks. The waterfall behind her disappears, and a raging inferno takes its place, spiraling untamed. The whiteness around us ripples slightly, but stays intact. Yuuna’s eyes rattle with madness and I choke back a sob. I was terrified.

“And so will you! You will also fail! You will fail just like she did!”

My great-grandmother. She was talking about her.

“Can’t you see it yourself? You may not notice it, but you are already falling into the power. You have thoughts that nothing can harm you! That nothing can touch you! That you are invincible! You will keep thinking these thoughts and it will only get worse, you damned child! Madness will overtake you and the healing power will consume your very soul!” She cackles wildly. “And you are alone in this! No one can help you! NO ONE! NO ONE!”
I shoot upright, breathing heavily and sweating profusely.

“So, your finally awake?”