Thread Info:

Daraku's eyes opened. It was unusually bright out today, as a result of the beaming sun in the sky shining down on everyone with blithe joy. It didn't help that the arid sands of Sunagakure seemed to absorb the heat and singe his feet as he walked along. Still, he shared the sun's joy, and progressed through the sandy streets with a smile that showed his feelings to the outside world. The innocent mind of a child, at its peak. Even though he was only 8, his short height of 3 feet left feeling dwarfed by most who walked by, though he didn't mind, he almost liked being the shortest person around. It gave him a chance to take his time getting to places mostly unseen, as everyone seemed to keep their eyes staring straight ahead as they walked. He always wondered why they did that...it never occurred to him, though, that maybe they knew he was there but rather didn't want to acknowledge his presence, for they knew what clan he was from, and they despised the people he was akin to. The name of the Ishido was like speaking a malediction, they were thieves and greedy bastards, hated by most and pitied by few. They may have had a giant castle along the edges of Sunagakure no Sato, but that didn't gain them any respect. They were no better than scum.

Such a system of thoughts and beliefs among the community quickly made the Ishido a shunned people, Daraku to be no exception. He never understood or even noticed this resentment, but how could he? He was a child, then. It wasn't his fault that those who raised him, not only the notorious Ishido, Tsurugi but the rest of the remaining clan that hadn't left to Konoha as well, were labeled as evil. Why should he have been grouped into the same category? His own ignorant bliss shielded him from the sharp, stinging opinions of the adult villagers around him. Their judging glances as they passed, their hateful mumbles under their breaths. The boy's icy blue eyes shimmered as he finally made it to the final stretch back to the castle. He looked up at it, with its high spires and large wall around it, a black edifice with red trimmed rooftops. He always thought it was so majestic and magnificent, like a kingdom from heaven, and he was honored to live there. As usual, he sprinted all the way there on his little feet, enduring the hot sand burning away at his toes.

The gate in front of him opened slowly and he walked into the courtyard, waving hello to all of his relatives. His aunt noticed him from afar and cried out in a gleeful tone. "Why, hello, Daraku! Those are some pretty flowers you have there, where'd you find those in a hot desert like this?" Daraku proudly looked down at the plethora of plants he grasped in his left palm. They were certainly a sight to behold in a wasteland, and it took him forever to find them. "I found them by the Oasis! They were so nice, so I wanted to bring them back to mommy." His aunt gave him a wide grin and gestured for him to go ahead into the castle and give them to their recipient; he nodded excitedly and ran in, heading through the main corridor to find his mother. She gave him one final glance before she turned back to her husband, Kiyoshi. "Kiyoshi, did you hear the news? Sayuri is planning an escape to Konoha, to join her mother's ranks. She wants to take Daraku with her, to have him grow up in a safe place, away from the rest of us."

Kiyoshi calmly gave her an affirmative. "Yes, I'd heard of something along those lines, but I suspected it as anything more than only a rumor...do you have proof..?"

"This isn't gossip, Kiyoshi, it's true. Sayuri told me herself, but she's doing serious planning ahead of time and as such she isn't executing her plan for at least another year to ensure that Tsurugi doesn't find out. He's already been unstable lately and encouraging the less-honorable members of our Clan to go and raid innocent people for money and valuables...who knows how he'll react if he discovers that his wife plans to leave with a portion of his kinsman and his own son?" Kiyoshi nodded, retaining a rather grim look on his face.

"We'll see how this plays out, then. I hope for all of our sake, she succeeds, because the consequences might affect everyone if she doesn't."

Sayuri sat alone in her chamber, staring down at her bare feet. They were tired feet, and she saw them as a representation of her own heart and soul. Her mother had long since left to find sanctuary in Konoha and change the clan's ways, and her husband was hell-bent on making the clan remaining there in Suna into a ruthless army of cutthroats and brigands. She didn't want that to be her life. She didn't want that to be Daraku's life. It wasn't as if she hadn't tried to take action, though; she'd been planning an escape for years on end, but she'd never gone through with it out of fear. Most of the clan that had promised to accompany her had now backed out of the deal, believing it to be a better option not to oppose Tsurugi and instead just stay. So what choice did she have? There were only ten others, not counting herself and Daraku, that were to be part of the escape, and Daraku wasn't even aware of the escape yet. She couldn't pull something so grand off with so little force behind it...

A knock came at her door, so Sayuri stood and opened it slowly. Her feeble voice whispered as she noticed who it was. "Hello, Daraku. Are you alright?"

"Yeah, of course, Mother. I just came in to ask you something about that Medical Ninjutsu thing you taught me, is it ok if I come in?" She paused, taking his appearance in. He was nearly as tall as Tsurugi, definitely taller than herself; his hair had gotten darker with age, now a brown-blonde mix; but his eyes, oh, they never changed. The same piercing blue quality, like the sky on a sunny day, only brighter. He was beginning to look more and more like his grandmother, it was almost confounding how strikingly similar their features were. He was growing up so quickly, already 14 years old..."Come on in, I'd be glad to help you." she replied, closing the door behind him.

They sat down together, and he pulled a fat rodent from his back pocket. Sayuri flinched and shuffled back, slamming into her bed and letting out a bit of a squeal. "W-WHAT THE HELL IS THAT THING!?" Daraku giggled as he laid the rodent out on the floor. A large stab wound was visible on its side, and he made a few hand seals. "Some giant rat, I don't know. Don't worry, it won't bite, and I'm trying to save its life here."

"How did it get hurt?" Sayuri asked as she regained her composure.

"Well, I kind of stabbed it, but that's ok, right? I can still heal it."

"Oh, Daraku. It's already lost too much blood, look! It's dying..." The life drained out of the rat ever so slowly, and its eyes faded as it lost all vitality. Daraku stared at the corpse for some time, and Sayuri began to cry quietly.

"Oh, crap! I'm so sorry, mother, I didn't mean to make you feel bad! I didn't mean to kill it!"

"No, no, Daraku! It's not you, I've just got something on my mind, and I'm a little bit down, that's all. Tell you what, I'm going to take a rest, and when I wake up, I'll meet you down in the dining hall and I can show you another Medical Ninjutsu technique down there. Ok?"

Daraku gave her a once-over, and ended in a skeptical expression. "I suppose...alright. You know where I'll be if you need me. Have a nice nap. I love you."

"I love you too, son..."

---

Training:

Tsurugi stared back at his wife in disbelief, holding the documents in his hand. They had a large stamp of approval on the front, in deep red ink, darker than blood...tears well up in his eyes, but they weren't tears of sadness. They were tears of unparalleled rage. Sayuri cried softly as he yelled. "What the fuck is all of this!? You've been planning to leave me all this time, and not only that, but to take Daraku with you!? ARGH!" He ripped the papers apart and threw them to the ground, before turning back to Sayuri and slapping her across the face. "You stupid, manipulative bitch! I can't believe you did this all in secret, getting approval to move to Konoha from the Kazekage, and recruiting people to join you...but you can't leave now, you don't have the official documents anymore. You're not just going to abandon the rest of us like that!" Sayuri finally stood up and broke her silence, the red bruise on her face from his blow now fully visible in the candlelight.

"AND JUST WHO ARE YOU TO STOP ME!? This clan isn't what it once was. You're not the man I once loved. Your mother had the right idea to leave so long ago, you're fucking insane, Tsurugi! You're turning our own son into a heartless killer, trained to murder without empathy!"

"What, I'm not going to teach him how to protect himself? This world is a dark place, Sayuri. He needs to be able to handle himself!"

"He needs to have a normal life. I'm leaving, I don't care anymore. I don't need those damn papers." She left the room, and went off towards Daraku's chambers to go get him. She tapped at his chamber door twice, and he opened the door immediately. "Mother? What's up, something wrong?" He looked genuinely confused, and it broke Sayuri's heart. Everything was changing so fast, but this was for the greater good. She continually reminded herself of that as she spoke. Her will broke, and she stopped herself. Daraku didn't have the documents giving him permission to leave anymore, and so his life would be hard in Konoha. They would be basically considered missing ninja; and what if the Pursuers didn't want them? What if they were still considered scum even after leaving the Seekers? Sayuri couldn't do that to her son. He'd be safer and have an easier life here with his father, but it broke her heart that he'd be fashioned into a murderer and a sociopath by that man. She would rather have him be that and still be happy, though, than fit an orthodox personality type but be depressed.

"I love you, Daraku." She sprinted away, making her path to the courtyard, where she heard sudden commands being barked from a balcony. Sayuri looked up; it was Tsurugi, of course, and he was angrier than ever. "Everyone! Block the main gate, don't let my wife out; if she escapes, I'll personally kill each and every one of you!" Most of the Ishido obeyed their leader's commands, gathering around the gate in a defensive position with weapons raised. Out of the hundreds in the clan, though, a sufficient portion of around 4 dozen of them gathered around Sayuri and called back to Tsurugi's desperate cries. "You can't stop us, Tsurugi! We're escaping your tyranny, once and for all!" Tsurugi looked at the mass with absolute scorn. It was history simply repeating itself; his mother had left with a number of his kin, and now his wife was doing the same. The difference was, he wasn't going to let that happen.

Daraku entered the room, and spoke aloud with a tone of concern to Tsurugi. "Father...why is mother and everyone else outside? It looks like they are leaving." Tsurugi turned to his son and replied with a bold declaration. "Your mother and the rest of the men and women who are outside, they don't want to be here. They don't love me anymore; they don't love you either. In fact, they hate us, and that is why they are leaving. And now, I need to stop them." Tsurugi leaped from the balcony, and landed with perfect poise on his feet, unharmed. Daraku nodded to himself and turned to leave the corridor. Standing directly in front of the group, Tsurugi unsheathed his pitch-black uchigatana from its scabbard on his back, and sprinted forward, cutting away at the people. One was killed instantly, with a slice to the throat. Another fell as he stabbed through their torso, and they slowly bleed out. He made his way around at unstoppable speeds and murdered them, one by one, until there was only about ten left. All of the other clansmen that watched as well as the ones guarding the gate all stared in fear and disbelief. Tsurugi wasn't joking. He was willing to kill them before he'd let them go.

Daraku ran down the stairs until he finally reached the courtyard, but by the time he made it, Tsurugi had finished off all but one. There were corpses strewn about the area, and the last person standing was his mother. Tsurugi wasted no time in approaching her, and plunging the sword into her stomach. She screamed until her voice was hoarse, and her consciousness was slowly fading. He leaned in and whispered something in her ear so that nobody else would hear. "You can only blame yourself in all of this," he pulled the blade out, and let her corpse fall, "goodbye, Sayuri." His voice regained its loud volume so that everyone could hear him clearly; hateful looks were all poised on him as the rest of the clan gathered around their loved ones' corpses. "You all know that I had to do it. It was my duty, as clan patriarch." He sheathed his sword and didn't acknowledge any of them past that, keeping his eyes glaring at the gate back into the castle. He went in and up the central staircase, leaving everyone to meditate over their murdered kin.

Daraku had a smile pressed on his face. He didn't know why, exactly, but he just seemed to love the thrill of the kill. It got his blood and chakra flowing! It didn't occur or even matter to him that it was his mother and a large portion of his family who had just been killed, all that mattered was the blood was shed necessarily. He followed the example his father laid out for him and nodded, thinking to himself, it was necessary. It had to be done, father did it for the good of the clan... he didn't look at the corpses any longer, and went back into the castle to follow his father.

(End, Thread Closed)

---

Training: