Chapter 2

A groan escaped from under a blanket as a hand reached out from under it and smacked the ringing alarm clock on the bedside table. It took a couple of tries before the ringing stopped. A few minutes later, a head peeked out from under the solid green quilt, snow white hair sticking in every direction and tired eyes opening. It was yet another day in Kusagakure and the poor child was dreading what was to come. It was a training day.

Slinking out the bed, the female padded over to the bathroom to take a quick shower then settled down in front of her bedroom vanity to brush the tangles out of her hair. Once she was satisfied, she quickly tied her hair in a high bun and slipped on her ninja uniform - black pants, a black quarter sleeve shirt, and her forest green flak jacket. Picking up her traditional, dark green headband, she tied it around her forehead and fixed her bangs before deciding she was ready to face the day.

"Shizuka, you're leaving already? I'm almost done with breakfast." A voice called as the girl left her room and walked past the kitchen. She turned to see her mother donning an apron as she made eggs on the stove. "Your father should be coming out soon."

Shizuka sent her mother a sympathetic smile. "If I stay, I'll be late for training." The toaster sprang alive, showcasing two pieces of slightly burnt toast. The female picked one slice up and ran for the door. "I'll be home for dinner though! I promise!" Her mother shook her head in disapproval as the young girl disappeared out the front door.

"You better not use any forbidden techniques!" She called after her.

Shizuka frowned at her mother's comment as she bit into her piece of toast and headed for the training grounds. Forbidden techniques… Was that really what her clan had been reduced to? Shaking the thoughts out of her head, she hurried along. If she took the shortcut through the farmer's land, she would make it right on time.

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Just as she had expected, training was hell. All the newly appointed chunin were assembled at the training grounds and one of the top jonin, the Kusakage's assistant, greeted them with a new meaning for the word 'training'. It had been almost six hours since they had started and Shizuka's chakra levels were depleted, not to mention that she couldn't feel her legs and arms. Laying on the ground, she looked up at the sky during their rare break and watched the clouds slowly pass by. Things could've been worse; it could've been raining.

Suddenly, an explosion in the northwest region of the village went off, alerting everyone. Ignoring the previous exhaustion she was feeling, Shizuka immediately got up from the ground, fully powered by adrenaline. The jonin narrowed his eyes and faced the chunin.

"This is it, brats. The village is under attack." He gathered their attention. "Your job is to go to the front lines and follow your seniors. The genin will take care of evacuation procedures. Now go!"

The chunin scattered, Shizuka included. As they moved, a couple more explosions appeared in various parts of the village. Civilians screamed as they ran out of their homes and there were already casualties. Another explosion went off a meter away from the female and she watched in horror as a man was blown out of his home's window, his limbs detaching from his body due to the sheer force from the blast. The female could feel her stomach churning at the sight and she stopped running, placing her hand on a nearby wall to steady herself as she willed herself not to throw up at the gut-wrenching sight.

"Shizuka, are you alright?" A girl came over to the white-haired adolescent, but she couldn't hear her. As she heard more explosions and screams, she could only think back to the Academy. She had heard and read so much about war, but she had never experienced it. After all, she was only ten years old. Was this… was this what war felt like? What it looked like? What it smelled like? What it tasted like?

"What are you two doing? Everyone to the front lines, now!" A shinobi passed by them, no doubt their senior. "Damn you, Iwagakure. All available bodies need to be fighting."

Shizuka nodded weakly and assured the girl next to her that she was fine before following their senior. The next scene she witnessed was on a totally different level. There were only but so many shinobi from her village, whereas the people from Iwagakure seemed to be multiplying every moment. Looking back, the adolescent saw how her village was falling to ruins due to the attack and somehow, she found the courage to take off into the fight. Her village needed her, so if she had to fight, so be it.

The battle dragged on for hours and Shizuka was getting tired, but she couldn't stop now. It didn't help that she ran into the fight without her full chakra capacity. Although she was a chunin and could fight offensively, she had basic mastery of medical ninjutsu, so her direct orders were to heal her fellow village mates. Hearing her mother's words echo in her mind, she reluctantly used alternate jutsus to try and keep the enemies at bay. She alternated between earth and water style jutsus to protect herself while she tried to heal her allies, however her medical abilities could only go but so far. A lot of her fellow shinobi were damaged beyond repair.

The battle lasted a couple of days and it was quickly leaning in Iwagakure's favor. In an attempt to turn the tides, the Kusakage ordered Shizuka and a fellow chunin, Amane Hashira, to go alert Konohagakure of the attack and request for assistance. Shizuka turned to the female, who she remembered asked if she was okay prior to this meeting, before turning back to the village leader and nodding her head. Seconds later, the two were fleeing the village, hoping to arrive at Konoha sooner rather than later.

While they were on their way, they were attacked by a couple of Iwa-nin. Amane narrowed her eyes as she puffed up her cheeks and blew out solid rocks from her mouth as if they were bullets. The Iwa-nin easily dodged and returned the favor with their own earth style techniques before resorting to taijutsu. Being as these were experienced shinobi whereas Shizuka and Amane were freshly promoted chunin, the tides quickly took a turn. Shizuka could barely keep up as taijutsu wasn't one of her main points.

Amane was stabbed in the neck with a kunai, the wound paralyzing her from the neck down as she bled out. Shocked, Shizuka wanted to help her but how could she when there were three Iwagakure shinobi standing in front of her with the intent to kill. Instead, she made the executive decision to disobey her mother's warning, and performed her clan's jutsu. Her blue eyes melted into a solid brown with a gold ring around the outside.

"Mud Release: Bottomless Mud Hole."

Shizuka watched as the shinobi were sucked into the earth and killed as their lungs filled with muck. The female quickly rushed to Amane's side and assessed the girl visually as she tried to wipe the mud off of her hands.

"Don't you dare touch me." Amane spoke weakly, although her eyes burned with an intensity. "What are you? You're not normal." She bit out at the female. "I'd rather die than be treated by the likes of you."

Shizuka paused for a moment. "...Is that what you really want?"

"Yes."

The white-haired female froze as she tried to comprehend what the girl had just told her. Was this the same girl who showed so much concern when she asked if she was alright, even though she didn't know her? No… this was what her mother had been trying to warn her about. This was the reason why her clan never used their own kekkei genkai and deemed it forbidden. And the reason why from this day forward, she would never perform Mud Release again.

Konohagakure made it to Kusagakure before Shizuka ever stepped foot into the village. They were surprised to see the once peaceful village reduced to crumbs and the shinobi of Iwagakure ready to attack. During this time, Shizuka had wandered back to the village, unable to complete her mission. Her mind was swirling a mile a minute as she saw the destruction of her home. Her clan's section of the village was nothing but rocks with bodies hanging out. Smoke rose into the sky from the explosions. All her village needed now was a white flag. Before she could do anything about it, the female dropped to the ground, passing out.

"This is the special one, correct? What does its chart say now?"

"Snow White. Age thirteen. Blood type is O negative."

"Good. Take it back to its cell and make sure its heart is still beating. We'll continue in the morning."

For some reason, Shizuka couldn't seem to open her eyes, let alone move her body. It was as if it required too much effort on her part. Her hearing was fine though; she could make out everything that was being said. Her body seemed to be laying in something - maybe a chair? Someone had just picked her up though and was holding her in their arms.

"Yes, Lord Orochimaru."

She knew this voice. It was Kabuto-senpai. She concluded that he was the one carrying her body. After what seemed like forever, she was placed on another surface, presumably her bed. By the time she had made it to her cell, Shizuka was able to barely open her eyes, however she still couldn't move her body and her right arm felt really sore.

"Nearly all of your blood was drained from your body, yet you can still function. Interesting." Kabuto commented as he looked down at Shizuka. Deeming that satisfactory enough for making sure she was still alive, he took his exit, closing the metal bars behind him. The footsteps seemed to stray further and further away before there was silence.

Shizuka opened her eyes fully once he was gone and tried to move her body, getting a limited response from her upper body but not her lower body. Using her reduced strength to turn over onto her side comfortably, she let out an exhausted sigh. She just felt so tired.

"Shizuka-onee-chan? Are you okay?" A voice asks softly.

The female pushed herself to sit up, shaking as she did so, and turned her attention through the metal bars and across the dimly lit hall to another set of metal bars where a young boy sat on his own bed. His green eyes bore into her blue ones with concern, but Shizuka smiled.

"Yes, Kimimaro-chan, I'm fine. I just need some rest." She reassured the male before laying back down and staring at the wall until darkness consumed her and she fell asleep.