Hellfire
She saw it. Her wind, hitting her flames, and the blazing inferno that erupted from it, raging out of all control. The smell of cooking flesh, one that, unfortunately, she recognized. Her sword cleaving once, twice, thrice through armor, flesh, and bone, as if they were nothing but air. Fire and blood, mixing together into a litany of crimson, as screams and death rattles echoed. And when she looked up, the stench of death and scattering of corpses wasn't in Konoha's outskirts anymore. She was in the Uchiha district, and the bodies all around her belonged to her family, as she stood with her blood-red sword in her hands.
And then she woke up. It was the second time she'd had that dream, and just as the first time, her Sharingan had activated without a conscious thought. As she turned her eyes back to normal, and quietly went to fetch a glass of water, she struggled in vain to push away the memories. It didn't work - the curse of those eyes. And without being able to avoid them... all that was left was her justifications. Her justifications and her anger.
They were the ones who had attacked Konoha! She'd done nothing wrong! She had to make up for her carelessness, had to protect the people she cared about! Who were they to call her an abberation! She'd become strong, strong enough to bring their plots crashing down around their heads, and take reve-!
She very deliberately dropped that train of thought, taking deep breaths to calm herself down. The glass of water in her shaking hand helped, too. Was this the "Curse of Hatred"? She wished she could say it was, that she could blame something other than herself for her thoughts. But, in her heart of hearts... she didn't think it was. They were hers, and hers alone.
---
Later that day, she stopped by Sakura's house. It wasn't something she'd planned - she went wandering around Konoha, hoping to take her mind off things, and her feet took her into the residential district. She'd never visited the other girl before, and once she made the decision, she had to ask directions several times to find the place. Sakura was understandably surprised to see her - and even more so when she thanked the pink haired girl.
"I asked Sasuke, and he said you checked me over and closed my wounds before the medics arrived. Thank you, for that."
The girl whose place she was going to take blushed a bit at the mention of the brother she'd all but adopted, but otherwise remained pensive. She could guess why. She hadn't been the only one to spill blood that night.
"I... I can't do the Mystical Palm technique. Not effectively. I waste far too much chakra when I try." It hurt, admitting that, especially to someone a small part of her still couldn't help but consider a useless fangirl. But leaving that festering wound... that would hurt more. "Could you help me? After graduation..." She trailed off, but Sakura nodded in understanding. "I'd like to be able to fix things, too."
Sakura opened the door wider.
