~mikku~
its the final fight of day two and i finally was able to convince the hospital staff to let me have a tv to watch the fights, its a small box tv with an antenna that has to be positioned just right to pick up the broadcast of the fight. through the screen i watch as two shinobi from the hidden rain village face each other in the arena, the younger one is a woman who appears to be mid twenties and the older is a middle aged man. even through the screen i can feel the despair emanating from the two, i wonder if they know each other? and then the match begins.
~Hanako~
my father used to tell me stories of the days it stopped raining, in the hidden rain village there wasnt much more than that. he would say that randomly the sky would clear and the downpour would cease, everyone in the village would rush outside and rejoice, it was a day or a few hours or even just a few minutes of pure happiness. i was told stories of those days never believing them until i experienced that day for myself.
on the day i turned ten the rain stopped, it had not ceased for ten whole years, some of the elders of the village said that on days without rain we were being given a reward by the gods for enduring.
enduring rain? i never understood why rain was so bad until i got to live for a day without it, the sun was out and for once i felt warm, and then it stopped as quickly as it started. everyone that had come outside hurried back indoors, everyone but me.
there was an odd beauty to the rain, more so than the sun. i became the only person in the village that sulked and stayed indoors when the sun came out, and it began to become less and less rainy over the years.
then one day my father was killed in action fighting off some criminals that were terrorizing the village, on that day the rain did not stop, nor did it stop the next day or the day after that. and slowly I began to long for the sun.
~mikku~
the fight begins and the two contestants waste no time before rushing in to fight, they trade blows and theres ferocity behind the attacks, at least those from hanako, she looks almost desperate to hit aiko, it seems like each attack has meaning behind it as if each punch has a story.
~hanako~
when i was sixteen i met a man named Aika, he found me while i was sitting alone in an alleyway, since my fathers death i didnt like being home, it always felt so sad to be there. aiko asked me if i was okay and i lied saying i was, he handed me his umbrella and went on his way.
"wait!" i shouted at him, "whats your name?"
"just call me aika" he smiled and turned the corner, i was fascinated by this man, his one simple act of kindness that day changed the course of my life.
i went looking for aika and about a month later i managed to find him at the public library, i greeted him and showed him i still had his umbrella, we talked and i learned all about aiko, it was so freeing to talk to someone, i hadnt spoken to anyone apart from brief greetings for years. we talked for hours every day for years, he had become something of a mentor to me.
one day my final connection with the life of a child and that of an adult was severed entirely, aika was arrested under suspicion of killing several jonin eight years prior, he confessed to it all.
for his cooperation he was given one year in prison, he managed to convince everyone that he was fixed. aika was like a father to me which is ironic as he was the reason i no longer had one. i did not want to kill aika, revenge wouldnt bring my father back, but i did vow that if i ever met him again i would defeat him.
~mikku~
the fight continues and the two contestants attack with such fury and intensity i can barely keep up. and then something unexpected happens, aika stops fighting altogether, he turns around and walks away, hanako wins by technicality
~hanako~
"your father fought bravely until the end" aika says calmly, then he turns around and begins to walk away,
"im sure he would be proud, hanako"
"aika of the mist, do you forfeit?" the ref shouts
"yeah, i could barely keep up, she would've won no matter what, no reason for me to sustain serious injuries now is there." he continues to walk away before stopping, "oh and one last thing, im sorry, hanako"
i watch as aika dissapears out of the stadium, i cant know for sure, but i think that back home its finally stopped raining.