Status: Done.
Salt in the Wound
Empty handed.
When the word of what happened reached he neighboring villages, fleets of people came forth, burying the dead and saying their prayers. Not one person was left and no one knew where Hitsuchi had hidden, this left people with fear in their hearts. If one of the strongest villages could be wiped out in one night, how long would it take for a weaker one to die out?
People came and left and over time the remains of The Village Hidden in the Light deteriorated. The trees shriveled and died and any light that was left slowly dwindled away. Many years passed and in the neighboring Wind Country, which lie closely to the Earth Country, a new village was founded. Shodai Kazekage built upon The Hidden Sand Village and it flourished as best as it could considering its miserable location. It soon came to be a legend, The brutal massacre. A story told to children at night, nothing more. People forgot and moved forward with their lives ultimately forgetting about Hitsuchi and the terrible tragedy that wiped out an entire village in one night…
__
I felt it inside of me. A warming sensation deep within the confines of my chest. Hello? Anyone…
And then I felt it. A ripping sensation that flooded my entire body with pain. I was being crushed by some unknown force. Short, ragged breaths flowed from my mouth, making me inhale a material foreign to me, and all I could do is squirm. Slowly, light shone above me, a hole grew and opened up to the desolate and empty world around me. Coughing, I crawled out of the ground, every nerve in my body screaming at the pain it took to even move. At once I fell to the ground in a pile, exhausted and in terrible pain. I looked around at the ruins around me. Old bricks littered the ground, tree carcasses and small, rocky hills surrounded me. There was nothing here but the beginning of a desert. Rolling over took some time, my body detested every move, but I couldn’t just stay put. Managing to crawl behind an aged and crumbling wall, I clutched myself.
What happened. I had so many unanswered questions, even thinking back was only haze.
“You don’t remember?”
The voice didn’t come form around me, it came from within me. As soon as it spoke my body shook and I began coughing again. The pain was unbearable.
“You don’t remember your family? All that bloodshed and you don’t even have the dignity to recall it. Do you even know who you are?”The voice resounded.
Through gritted teeth I snarled, “My name is Ishiko Hitomi, I hail from the Village Hidden in the Light. Who are you?” My voice was not my own, it was cold and harsh. Nothing like what I remembered.
“You hail from nowhere. Your village is gone, where do you think you stand now?”
I looked around, not quite sure where I was. Dirt, dead trees, bricks burnt black, and an endless horizon. Something glistened in the sun, buried halfway beneath the dirt. It was a headband.
Dark red in color with the village’s emblem emblazoned on it. It was torn and faint, safe to say it was quite old. Looking closely, a dark stain crawled across it. I dropped it as if it had burned me.
My home. This was my village, or what was left of it anyway. Shaking, I cried out loudly, “Who are you?!” Tears ran down me and I curled into my knees.
“I am you Ishiko. We are bonded together by hate. I’m as much a part of you as the skin you’re wearing. I did this to you. I killed everyone, including you. But now you’re back.”
“Hitsuchi…” my voice whispered. It trembled with hate and fear. Pulling me back into the darkness. It was true, I was alone. No family, no home, nothing was left for me. With the village had died my family…Kimiko and Sumiko.. “I TOLD THEM IT WOULD BE OKAY!”
I shook harder. Just the thought of those grey eyes so filled with fear. So young, and to die alone with my promise hanging over them. What had I done? Why couldn’t I have died with them that night. Instead I walk alone, lost and broken. Pointless to be alive.
“Get angry Ishiko.”
I hated that voice within me. That mocking tone, so pleased with the destruction he had ensued. So much rage held inside me, I couldn’t hold it in. I screamed as my skin tore, I was changing into a monster. I felt cold and angry, filled with a bloodlust that no one around me could fill. I had lost everything, now what did I have to lose? I felt my eyes burning red, a fire deep within them. My voice came out uneven and guttural. I was losing control over my body completely. My teeth, suddenly sharp as razors, bit into my lip drawing a fine amount of blood.
And then I knew that somewhere there was hope for me. A small glimmer of light lost under the black sheets of hate that clouded my vision. Part of me wanted to run, to hurt something just to watch it bleed. But another part of me wanted to make things right again. Wanted to find a place of light again where people cared for one another. In that moment something happened. The small bit of hope won me over and I felt myself changing back.
My energy was drained and nothing could stop me from closing my eyes and drifting as far from here as possible…
“Mommy, can we go home?” I woke up to the sound of a child. His voice a small sound in a quiet place. “I don’t like it here.”
“We must pray first Rin. Honor the dead.” I heard a scuffle and murmurs. As quietly as I could I turned towards the voices, my body protesting with every jolt. There was a boy and woman praying at a broken building. A taller male stood against a crumbling wall with a cigarette between his lips. Adorned on his head was a band of blue with an emblem I didn’t recognize. Every instinct told me no, but the site of life gave me a hope that was such a brilliant feeling I couldn’t resist.
“Don’t.”Said the voice within me. But I did it anyway.
I stumbled as I stood up, my arms bleeding from the transformation I went under not long ago. I could taste the blood in my mouth, knowing all too well it was still dripping. “Help me.” I whimpered. I heard a scream through the air and the sudden jolt of movement made me weaker than before. I hit the ground at light break speed, then everything went dark.
People came and left and over time the remains of The Village Hidden in the Light deteriorated. The trees shriveled and died and any light that was left slowly dwindled away. Many years passed and in the neighboring Wind Country, which lie closely to the Earth Country, a new village was founded. Shodai Kazekage built upon The Hidden Sand Village and it flourished as best as it could considering its miserable location. It soon came to be a legend, The brutal massacre. A story told to children at night, nothing more. People forgot and moved forward with their lives ultimately forgetting about Hitsuchi and the terrible tragedy that wiped out an entire village in one night…
__
I felt it inside of me. A warming sensation deep within the confines of my chest. Hello? Anyone…
And then I felt it. A ripping sensation that flooded my entire body with pain. I was being crushed by some unknown force. Short, ragged breaths flowed from my mouth, making me inhale a material foreign to me, and all I could do is squirm. Slowly, light shone above me, a hole grew and opened up to the desolate and empty world around me. Coughing, I crawled out of the ground, every nerve in my body screaming at the pain it took to even move. At once I fell to the ground in a pile, exhausted and in terrible pain. I looked around at the ruins around me. Old bricks littered the ground, tree carcasses and small, rocky hills surrounded me. There was nothing here but the beginning of a desert. Rolling over took some time, my body detested every move, but I couldn’t just stay put. Managing to crawl behind an aged and crumbling wall, I clutched myself.
What happened. I had so many unanswered questions, even thinking back was only haze.
“You don’t remember?”
The voice didn’t come form around me, it came from within me. As soon as it spoke my body shook and I began coughing again. The pain was unbearable.
“You don’t remember your family? All that bloodshed and you don’t even have the dignity to recall it. Do you even know who you are?”The voice resounded.
Through gritted teeth I snarled, “My name is Ishiko Hitomi, I hail from the Village Hidden in the Light. Who are you?” My voice was not my own, it was cold and harsh. Nothing like what I remembered.
“You hail from nowhere. Your village is gone, where do you think you stand now?”
I looked around, not quite sure where I was. Dirt, dead trees, bricks burnt black, and an endless horizon. Something glistened in the sun, buried halfway beneath the dirt. It was a headband.
Dark red in color with the village’s emblem emblazoned on it. It was torn and faint, safe to say it was quite old. Looking closely, a dark stain crawled across it. I dropped it as if it had burned me.
My home. This was my village, or what was left of it anyway. Shaking, I cried out loudly, “Who are you?!” Tears ran down me and I curled into my knees.
“I am you Ishiko. We are bonded together by hate. I’m as much a part of you as the skin you’re wearing. I did this to you. I killed everyone, including you. But now you’re back.”
“Hitsuchi…” my voice whispered. It trembled with hate and fear. Pulling me back into the darkness. It was true, I was alone. No family, no home, nothing was left for me. With the village had died my family…Kimiko and Sumiko.. “I TOLD THEM IT WOULD BE OKAY!”
I shook harder. Just the thought of those grey eyes so filled with fear. So young, and to die alone with my promise hanging over them. What had I done? Why couldn’t I have died with them that night. Instead I walk alone, lost and broken. Pointless to be alive.
“Get angry Ishiko.”
I hated that voice within me. That mocking tone, so pleased with the destruction he had ensued. So much rage held inside me, I couldn’t hold it in. I screamed as my skin tore, I was changing into a monster. I felt cold and angry, filled with a bloodlust that no one around me could fill. I had lost everything, now what did I have to lose? I felt my eyes burning red, a fire deep within them. My voice came out uneven and guttural. I was losing control over my body completely. My teeth, suddenly sharp as razors, bit into my lip drawing a fine amount of blood.
And then I knew that somewhere there was hope for me. A small glimmer of light lost under the black sheets of hate that clouded my vision. Part of me wanted to run, to hurt something just to watch it bleed. But another part of me wanted to make things right again. Wanted to find a place of light again where people cared for one another. In that moment something happened. The small bit of hope won me over and I felt myself changing back.
My energy was drained and nothing could stop me from closing my eyes and drifting as far from here as possible…
“Mommy, can we go home?” I woke up to the sound of a child. His voice a small sound in a quiet place. “I don’t like it here.”
“We must pray first Rin. Honor the dead.” I heard a scuffle and murmurs. As quietly as I could I turned towards the voices, my body protesting with every jolt. There was a boy and woman praying at a broken building. A taller male stood against a crumbling wall with a cigarette between his lips. Adorned on his head was a band of blue with an emblem I didn’t recognize. Every instinct told me no, but the site of life gave me a hope that was such a brilliant feeling I couldn’t resist.
“Don’t.”Said the voice within me. But I did it anyway.
I stumbled as I stood up, my arms bleeding from the transformation I went under not long ago. I could taste the blood in my mouth, knowing all too well it was still dripping. “Help me.” I whimpered. I heard a scream through the air and the sudden jolt of movement made me weaker than before. I hit the ground at light break speed, then everything went dark.