endless_scrolls (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
endless_scrolls) wrote2008-12-17 11:44 pm
endless_scrolls) wrote2008-12-17 11:44 pm
A Friend in Need
Title: A Friend in Need
Type: Drabble
Fandom: Naruto
Theme: 072. Hold My Hand [Word count: 751]
Character(s): Namikaze Minato, OC: Sarutobi Mei; brief mentions of OC: Sarutobi Kozuki
Pairing(s): A little bit of Minato and Mei fluff, but nothing romantic.
Warning(s): Creative license of events and making use of unknown information in the Naruto timeline; OCs to fill in the gap that is Tenten's history.
Disclaimer: I own nothing but these words.
Note: Short drabble meant to be part of a series started when my internet was out. Ironic, huh~? ;D Theme borrowed from![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-community.gif)
ficlets100.
Dedicated to: Mrs. Sarutobi Hiruzen ;____;
Rain came pouring down in curtains, covering the village in a thin and dreary overcast that seemed to drained all of color and life. A perfect setting, perhaps, for where the young girl stood. Heartbroken. Afraid. Drenched. And very much alone. Still, Mei stood outside of the gates without fail, thoughts of leaving far from her mind.
It had only been a week. And still it hurt more than anything she had ever experienced in her short life. More than when she had fallen and scraped her knee along the gravel road leading up to Academy-appointed training grounds for learning students. More than when a schoolyard scuffle had resulted in Mei needing to reset her shoulder into place -- the resounding screams from the infirmary was said to have echoed to the very shores of Wave Country -- taking her out of the academy for several agonizing days for recovery.
More than when her father was forced to send a thousand men into battle to have only half of them return battered and bruised, the walking dead as they carried their fallen comrades on far too weary shoulders.
There were always talks of death in the Academy. As a shinobi-in-training, it had been one of the first things the instructors made sure to teach them. One of the first things they would ensure that their students understood before the left those doors forever. Because to be a shinobi meant living a life filled with deaths. A shinobi's life was riddled in death, both if their enemies as well as their allies.
But for one as young as she, this had come as unexpectedly as any other. Suffice to say, a ten-year-old was simply not equipped to fully understand the concept of death no matter how often the subject came up in everyday conversation. At least not yet.
How ironic that in a family of shinobi, her mother, the one civilian in the entire clan, would be the first to die. -- But perhaps that was a joke too morbid for even her normally off-putting sense of humor. -- And with her went the child that she had carried for all of nine plus months. Diligently. Lovingly. Faithfully perpetuating the never-ending cycle of life. It had promised to be a memorable day, but for a different reason. After years of dedication to her studies and the development of her skills, Mei would finally graduate from the Academy. But before the ceremony could even begin, they had been forced to rushKozuki to the hospital. And it was there that she took her last breathe. It was there that Mei's unborn sister never received the chance to take her first.
That had been a week ago, marked by the first of several storms that came and went with the passing days in between. And in her tiny hand, Mei still held the forehead protector she had received at the graduation ceremony. Even amid the light drizzle that fell off and on throughout the day, the precession had continued. However, none of that mattered. Because there had been no one there to see her crowning achievement. And Mei was still angry. Angry and disappointed. At her mother and her sister for overshadowing her moment. At herself for being so selfish.
But moreso, Mei was scared. How do you face the grave of someone you had always believed would be there? How do you begin to ask forgiveness for dishonoring their memory, even for a single second?
How could she apologize for not attending her own mother's the funeral?
Numb from the chilled rain that trickled in intricate designs down her arm, she had hardly noticed the thick fingers gliding around her hand until they tightened around her own. And then it was the warmth of another soul reaching out to her that brought the young girl out of her own dark thoughts. Even amid the rain and grey clouds overhead, the glowing yellow of his hair still managed to stand out, acting as a beacon of sorts.
"M...Minato?"
"Come on. Don't wanna keep your mom waiting, right?"
And before Mei could utter a word in protest, he was pulling her into the cemetery. And though she tried to struggle at first, the young girl understood that it was a losing battle. But... in the end, it was alright. Because it felt better to face Her with someone by her side, giving her strength and resolve. Then again, he had always had that effect on her.
Type: Drabble
Fandom: Naruto
Theme: 072. Hold My Hand [Word count: 751]
Character(s): Namikaze Minato, OC: Sarutobi Mei; brief mentions of OC: Sarutobi Kozuki
Pairing(s): A little bit of Minato and Mei fluff, but nothing romantic.
Warning(s): Creative license of events and making use of unknown information in the Naruto timeline; OCs to fill in the gap that is Tenten's history.
Disclaimer: I own nothing but these words.
Note: Short drabble meant to be part of a series started when my internet was out. Ironic, huh~? ;D Theme borrowed from
ficlets100. Dedicated to: Mrs. Sarutobi Hiruzen ;____;
Rain came pouring down in curtains, covering the village in a thin and dreary overcast that seemed to drained all of color and life. A perfect setting, perhaps, for where the young girl stood. Heartbroken. Afraid. Drenched. And very much alone. Still, Mei stood outside of the gates without fail, thoughts of leaving far from her mind.
It had only been a week. And still it hurt more than anything she had ever experienced in her short life. More than when she had fallen and scraped her knee along the gravel road leading up to Academy-appointed training grounds for learning students. More than when a schoolyard scuffle had resulted in Mei needing to reset her shoulder into place -- the resounding screams from the infirmary was said to have echoed to the very shores of Wave Country -- taking her out of the academy for several agonizing days for recovery.
More than when her father was forced to send a thousand men into battle to have only half of them return battered and bruised, the walking dead as they carried their fallen comrades on far too weary shoulders.
There were always talks of death in the Academy. As a shinobi-in-training, it had been one of the first things the instructors made sure to teach them. One of the first things they would ensure that their students understood before the left those doors forever. Because to be a shinobi meant living a life filled with deaths. A shinobi's life was riddled in death, both if their enemies as well as their allies.
But for one as young as she, this had come as unexpectedly as any other. Suffice to say, a ten-year-old was simply not equipped to fully understand the concept of death no matter how often the subject came up in everyday conversation. At least not yet.
How ironic that in a family of shinobi, her mother, the one civilian in the entire clan, would be the first to die. -- But perhaps that was a joke too morbid for even her normally off-putting sense of humor. -- And with her went the child that she had carried for all of nine plus months. Diligently. Lovingly. Faithfully perpetuating the never-ending cycle of life. It had promised to be a memorable day, but for a different reason. After years of dedication to her studies and the development of her skills, Mei would finally graduate from the Academy. But before the ceremony could even begin, they had been forced to rushKozuki to the hospital. And it was there that she took her last breathe. It was there that Mei's unborn sister never received the chance to take her first.
That had been a week ago, marked by the first of several storms that came and went with the passing days in between. And in her tiny hand, Mei still held the forehead protector she had received at the graduation ceremony. Even amid the light drizzle that fell off and on throughout the day, the precession had continued. However, none of that mattered. Because there had been no one there to see her crowning achievement. And Mei was still angry. Angry and disappointed. At her mother and her sister for overshadowing her moment. At herself for being so selfish.
But moreso, Mei was scared. How do you face the grave of someone you had always believed would be there? How do you begin to ask forgiveness for dishonoring their memory, even for a single second?
How could she apologize for not attending her own mother's the funeral?
Numb from the chilled rain that trickled in intricate designs down her arm, she had hardly noticed the thick fingers gliding around her hand until they tightened around her own. And then it was the warmth of another soul reaching out to her that brought the young girl out of her own dark thoughts. Even amid the rain and grey clouds overhead, the glowing yellow of his hair still managed to stand out, acting as a beacon of sorts.
"M...Minato?"
"Come on. Don't wanna keep your mom waiting, right?"
And before Mei could utter a word in protest, he was pulling her into the cemetery. And though she tried to struggle at first, the young girl understood that it was a losing battle. But... in the end, it was alright. Because it felt better to face Her with someone by her side, giving her strength and resolve. Then again, he had always had that effect on her.