Sight and Sound

Nightmares

Prologue

I remembered running through the trees. The blood spattered on my skin burned and I could feel it etching trails down my arms, face, and chest. This wasn't the first time I had run this path, from the same place to a familiar destination. My reasons for doing so were disturbingly similar, but somehow completely different. I was weak and I couldn't escape that fact. No matter how fast I ran, eventually it would catch me. I realized that I was in the village now, and I was screaming. It was odd to be so detached from myself. I felt my body collapse. I wanted so badly to run forever and never look back, but I was too weak to go on. I lay on the ground, feeling foreign and separate from the world. I was alone now. Completely alone. I had no family or friends. That past life was at an end. For the second time, as people emerged from their homes, I fell unconscious on the pavement, covered in the blood of loved ones.

Chapter One: Nightmares

Aster awoke from the nightmare, sweating and breathing hard. It was so real, too real. But no matter how she denied it, it wasn't just realistic, it had happened. She had left Konoha to escape these memories, but they had followed her to the Mist Village. She had trained hard here, and at only sixteen was a jonin. Considering she had come at age eleven, it had taken her only five short years to become such a high rank.

She had come here also to get a new start on her training. She had to find him. She had told him that she wouldn't let him leave her alone a third time. The dream told her that her time in this village was done.

She dressed as quickly a humanly possible, all the while, being reminded of her mission. She had two reasons to leave now. First she had to find him; second, she couldn't let her brother's death go unavenged. Surely when she found him, he could aid her, and train her for the coming battle.

She was still not trusted by the villagers, so she would have to be sneaky about her escape. Any ninja that left a village with permission from their kage, was considered rogue. They had no idea that she a rogue from Konoha, but they could sense the oddities about her.

She walked out the front door, hands clasped behind her back, and head upturned. Greedily she breathed in the fresh morning air. She walked with malice. Not because she wanted to hurt anyone, but as a front to discourage any hostility from the locals.

The Mist Village had been poor since Gato had come, but Kakashi had changed that. She had caught wind of the fact that Sasuke Uchiha was under the guidance of the copy ninja. She felt sure that Sasuke would make Kakashi proud. After all, back so long ago, he had been like her little brother too.

This again reminded her of her reason for leaving this village also. If Kakashi was in charge of Sasuke, maybe he knew something about him. Even thinking his name had almost become taboo. Each day without him was painful, and it hurt her more to think of what was lost.

It was obvious that she couldn't just walk up to him and ask away. But the fact that no one knew who she was, made the 'interrogation' much easier.

As if called on que, Kakashi Hatake appeared around the corner. She stood shocked, she had no idea how to approach Kakashi. Her mind was racing, and she was almost shaking with anticipation. Trying to gather herself and focus calmly on the situation at hand, the whispering voices of the two villagers behind her became apparent.

"Hey! Did you see her?" the husky voice hissed.

"Who?" the smoother one inquired.

"That girl!" the husky one exclaimed disbelievingly at his friend's idiocy.

"The new jonin girl?" the smooth voice said, unphased.

"Yeah! There she is!" the husky one cried, his voice rising in volume.