Kakashi’s POV
Was she a handful, she was much lighter than the last time I carried her. She has many small scars, it was obvious what she went through. They tortured her, I just wanted to go back to the Moon Village and kill the guy who did this to her. I can’t imagine what she went through, I’m sure she had to face her father again. I worry about her mental stability, how will she be after this incident. I just hope she doesn’t slip back into the darkness. I wonder if she will ever be the same again.
The day she left was the loneliest I have felt in a while. I waited for her to come back from Lady Tsunade’s office, but after waiting for an hour I went to check with Lady Tsunade. She left her office about an hour ago. I searched for her all over the village. It rained that day, making it impossible to track her scent. It wasn’t until the two day when a frantic Yamato came into the office, explaining all that happened. The next few days were just one big blur.
Kiyoko-POV
I hear a hoot. Its dark, nothing is bright. Did I really die? No, I’m certain I’m still alive. I hear the hoot again, much louder this time. Its an empty space, and for a second I think I am in my mind, maybe in that space between my thoughts and the beasts’, but I can’t sense him. I look at my right hand, where the tiny scar seemed to have disappeared. I run my hand through my hair, it slide right through, smooth and healthy. It was nothing like how it really was, all the electricity damaged everything. I take a deep breath in, the air filling my lungs with ease. Where exactly am I?
The hoot comes from behind me, I turn to see a single tree far away from where I stand. It looked out of place, everything else was dark, but there it was a living tree. It was big, huge, titanic, it was the biggest tree I have ever seen in my life. I take a step, testing my muscle control, they feel normal, like I was never injured. The hoot gets louder, like it was calling me. I don’t see anything else, so I go to the tree. The closer I get the better I get a sense of the tree’s size. The roots are as tall as stacked buildings, the leaves are the size of villages. I am an ant compared to the size. Why exactly is an enormous tree doing in the middle blankness. In the middle of what I think, my conscious. I hear the hoot again, I look up to see a large white owl sitting on the lowest tree. The owl I saw in the forest the other day. The speaking owl, it flaps its wings and soars to a root where I stood close by.
“By the look you have on your face, it looks like you remember me,” it speaks. Her voice is gentle.
“Who are you exactly? Why are you here?” I ask.
The owl laughs a bit, “My you ask quite a few questions and you don’t even know my name, Kiyoko,”
“How do you know my name, and what is your’s?”
“I know your name because you are peace. And as for my name, I am Tomoko.” She opens one of her wings like she is bowing to me.
“Not with this again. I’m not peace. Nor will I ever be,” This must be my self conscious displaying my father’s thoughts.
“The peace you believe we want to accomplish is not the one we want. It is a pure peace that will be guided my others and fulfilled by you.We have for seen it in your future,” the owl says. Her eyes are wide and knowing. My future, how can a complete stranger know my future, when I don’t even know what will happen to me tommorow.
“Peace? How will I be peace, if I don’t know the meaning of peace!” I was getting frustrated. Peace this, peace that. Why does my father and Tomoko expect me, out of everyone in this world, to know anything about peace.
“Peace can not be defined. Peace is achieved with actions and understanding loss. And as we have seen, no one knows loss and pain as much as you do. You posses a special quality that has only existed one time since the time of the first shinobi. Your time will come, for now I will leave you to your problems, I will come for you when the time is right. Then I will teach you ways that has only been mastered once in all of the world’s life.” Tomoko flies to the top of the tree. Leaving me with questions. Am I really that mentally messed up? This has to be my mind playing tricks on me. The tree begins to fade, and so did I. I was losing myself, I begin to feel tired. So I give into sleep, and let myself be dissolved with the darkness.
Kakashi-POV
Its been five days already, and she hasn’t moved a muscle. Lady Tsunade says it will be a miracle if she will be able to move like before. Most of her muscles were completely destroyed. I kept hanging on to the beat’s healing abilities. She’ll be alright. She had some color back in her face, not much, but enough to know she was alive and breathing. Her fullness of her face was gone, she has lost a lot of weight in a short amount of time. They wanted he to be weak, to manipulate her, but the seal look untouched. She must have put a lot of her energy into the seal rather than herself. I wouldn’t be surprised, Kiyoko has the will of fire, even if she is not born here. It is much stronger than some of the shinobi here.
She had plenty of scratches to show her strength, but I wanted to see her green eyes. I want to know if she was truly going to be okay.
From the information she gathered, it seems like the Moon is tracking the Akatsuki and Orochimaru. They had plenty information on all nine members, which was a jackpot. The only information about Orochimaru was what we already know. Sasuke was mentioned too, and for what reason. Why are they tracking the Akatsuki and Orochimaru? I had a feeling they were after the Sharingan. Guy told me what Kiyoko said, I made sure he was to take her to safety. I didn’t want her to see me that way. It was my Sharingan that they wanted, or any Sharingan. The only person who might know the reason was still asleep.
Kiyoko-POV
First I hear my surroundings. I wonder how long I have been asleep. I can hear the distant talking of other patients, and breathing. It must be the other patient that shares our room. I try to open my eyes, but they feel heavy. My chest felt heavy too. I felt like I was made of steel. I hear a door open, and then footsteps. More than one, about four pair of feet enter the room.
“Looks like she’s not awake yet,” I hear Sakura say.
“Poor Kiyoko. I’ve never seen her this bad, not even when they attacked us during the chunin exams. I wonder what happened to her?” Hinata says. I can picture the frown etched on her face.
“It's been twelve days already. I’m starting to get worried,” I hear Kiba say. Twelve! I’ve been out for almost two weeks. It felt much shorter than that. Its feels like I’ve only been asleep for half a day. I hear them pull chairs beside my bed, and a dog’s pant. That last pair of feet must be Akamaru. I feel a touch swipe a piece of hair from my forehead.
“I wish she wouldn’t throw herself in front of danger so easily, she cares too much about everyone,” Kiba says. I can imagine a pout on his face.
“That’s just the type of person she is. Reminds me a lot of a certain knucklehead,” Sakura replies.
“Ya, Naruto and her are so much alike. He always ended up in the hospital for pushing himself too far. I’m glad she’s around to keep us on our toes. Who would have known what we would have become if we relaxed while Naruto was away training. He would be angry to see us so unfocused. Its because of Kiyoko that I became a chunin. She is very strong, I admire that,” Hinata says. I feel her squeeze my hand. Her hands are smaller and softer than Sakura’s. Sakura is working with her hand much more, I’m proud of all of them. Even those who I don’t know too well, I still want all of them to train their hardest and accomplish their dreams because that is exactly what I plan to do and I want everyone to accompany me on my journey, and I want to help them along theirs.
They continue to talk about their adventures with Naruto. Hinata’s voice is so full admiration I find it very cute she looks up to Naruto, a jinchuuriki, a person who has always felt alone but he never was. He just never saw who looked at him. Kiba was a playful rivalry, not so serious as Sasuke and Naruto’s rivalry, but it was there. He talked about the battle they had at the chunin exams last year. Sakura spoke about his idiotic ideas, but I can feel a smile on her face. If he only saw how much we cared for him, how much we miss him. He won’t be alone, I promise him that. I won’t let him be alone anymore. I listen to them as the time ticks by. I drift in and out consciousness. It must have been late in the evening when someone arrives too.
“Kakashi-sensei,” Sakura says.
“Thanks for visiting her these past two days while I was away” Kakashi says.
“Oh its fine really. I’m sure you’re busy with your mission, and it was nice to see her doing well. The doctors and Lady Tsunade are astonished by her recovery. It only a matter of time before she wakes up.” Hinata tells him. I didn’t know he was gone, well I wouldn’t know I’ve been asleep for two days.
“Well I gotta go, and feed Akamaru. Bye Kakashi- sensei, Sakura, Hinata,” Kiba’s footsteps get fainter. After a while Hinata leaves to, but Sakura and Kakashi stay.
“Kakashi-sensei, what do they want with her? Why did her own village do this to her?” Sakura sounds very irritated, I can feel tension radiating from her. I hear Kakashi sit on the other side of my bed. Was he going to tell her? Tell her everything, will she look at me the same way.
“Is she like Naruto?” She says quieter, I sense sadness coming from her. Kakashi sighs.
“We aren’t certain, but her village wants to control the power she holds. I guess her and Naruto are born with special abilities. I’m sure she would like to tell you someday, there are things she needs to talk to a girl, right? Thats what girls do,” He lightens the mood. Sakura laughs.
“Kakashi-sensei, you’re dense. You and I care about her, but your worry is different from mine. I’ll wait for her to tell me anything, and if it worries you then I’ll tell you. If I think its appropriate.”Sakura was teasing Kakashi.
“I just want to make sure she doesn’t feel alone anymore. I don’t want her to leave the village looking for revenge. Its my fault Sasuke left, I wasn’t there enough for him. I promised myself that I won’t let her be alone anymore.” Kakashi sounds serious again,
“Its all of our shortcomings. We all think we could have been better at being there for him. I promise to not let her feel alone either. We’ll do our best to keep her from her past.” Sakura says with much more umph. If I could cry I would, but my eyelids didn’t let the tears fall. How did I get so lucky to have met Naruto, Sakura, Sai, and Kakashi that day. If I had been in a different part of town, I probably wouldn’t have been spotted. I wouldn’t have been saved, and broughten here. I wouldn’t have met all of them, I would still be alone. I would still afraid of myself.
“We should stop dwelling on the past, and get stronger ourselves. Then we have a chance to get him back,” Kakashi says. The conversation ends there, but I knew Sakura was left with encouragement. Kakashi hasn’t lost hope to save him, and she shouldn’t either. I will even rescue him myself, their bonds is too important to simply throw away. I’ll protect it like I had a bond with Sasuke. Their lack of communication rocks me to sleep.
I don’t know how long I sleep this time, but I feel much more energized, much more stronger. Sleep fixes everything, I shouldn’t take it for granted. I can finally open my eyes, finally seeing the town from my window. The sun was just rising, shining behind the mountains. I smile, making my face hurt, now that I am aware of my surroundings, I am aware of the pain. My muscles hurt, but at least I could feel now, I can actually feel the pain. I feel the warmth of someone on my arm. I turn my head to see Kakashi sleeping, his hand held mine, and the other rested on my forearm. He laid his head on the mattress, sleeping. He must have been tired after coming from a mission. I vow to no longer be a burden to him, all I have done is cause him trouble. I don’t want to hold him back. I have had enough sleep, so I no longer fall back into my slumber. Instead I remember the time I spent on the island, the time I thought would never end.
My father actually did torture me, he looked at me as I screamed in pain. He loved seeing me in pain, I knew he wasn’t caring, but it still hurt me to think my own father would go to that extent. He would really kill me. I would die and I wouldn’t have changed, I would have left this world as an insignificant ninja. Nothing is more painful than to be useless, than to be nothing more than nothing. And for most of my life I believed I was nothing, that it didn’t matter who I am. I was going to die eventually, why care how I died. Why care the mark I didn’t leave behind? I thought my life was nothing. That is why I am so grateful to have the Leaf as my home. I am in the thoughts of someone here, may it be Eri, or Naruto, or Sakura, or Sai, or Kakashi. I was here, and if one day comes that I die, I will have at least left my imprint on someone who thought of me.
My father was right, I have been here long enough to have learned something new. I learned the importance of teamwork, of friendship. I learned that my dream could be achieved with hard work. I learned that just because I may be different, I am equal to everyone else. That is something I could have never been taught. My father wouldn’t have taught me, he will never understand.
While I was alone for those fourteen years, I had to learn ways to survive. Steal from posts, learn ninjutsu from a distance. Use my resources to survive. Sometimes I would have to do things I didn’t want to do to survive. It was never enough, it never is when you’re alone. When you’re alone you have to work harder to forget your loneliness. I fed my body, but the emptiness in me was never satisfied. I was always hungry, cold, and alone.
I feel Kakashi squeeze me hand, breaking my train of thought. He was finally waking. My hand was warm, the opposite from two weeks ago. When my father touched me, I shivered, his hands, his stare, it was frigid.
“Well looks who’s awake. How do you feel?”
“Hungry,” I say honestly. Hungry, hungry, of course I was in pain too, but when was I not. He takes his hand away from mine, but the warmth stayed. I touch my right hand, the one he held, and the one my father stabbed. There was a scar running down my palm, even my healing abilities couldn’t take this hideous mark away. I reach under my gown, my fingers skim countless other scars to, smaller, but on my side was a deep one. My father stabbed me there too.
“Are you okay?” Kakashi asks again.
“I don’t know. It feels like a dream. It feels like it did happen, but then it didn’t,” I say, and run my hand through my hair. It felt brittle like it was supposed to, but not how I remembered. I touch my face, it felt dry. I don’t remember my skin feeling so tight.
“Just take it slow. Your body is still recovering,” He says. His eye wanders my face. He was searching for something, but I didn’t know what.
“He did this to me. My father did this to me,” I say out loud. Never before had he ever laid a hand on me, but this time he didn’t hold back. He did this, I shouldn't be surprised, but I felt shocked. I felt out of place. Tears ran down my face, I couldn’t make them stop, I tried to wipe them away but they were like a dam. Kakashi handed me a handkerchief.
“Hey, don’t think about that right now. Just relax, and let it drift to the back of your mind,” He touched my knee closest to him.
“How can I do that? I want to forget, Kakashi. I want to, but I felt so alone. I felt so weak, and I was so afraid,” I sneeze into the cloth. Fear, I’ve never felt so afraid. My father owned me, that is what he said, and that was what sunk my stomach. It was true, he did. Does he still own me.
“I promised you that I wouldn’t ever leave you. We came for you, you’re important to us. I know this will probably be difficult to forget, just don’t go back there. Don’t go back to your darkness, don’t shut yourself away from me,” Kakashi frowns. He stands up to gather me in his arms. I cried there, in his neck. I was petrified of my father. I weep for all I have held in. I let Kakashi hold me, I wet his shirt with my tears, but he doesn’t complain. Never have I ever cried on someone else’s shoulder. It felt nice to breath in his scent, it calmed my cries.
Even after I stopped crying, Kakashi stayed there. He let me be cradled in his arms. It was one of the only places I felt true serenity. I was safe here.
“I promise to be here, if you promise to not shut me out, ever,” He says as he holds me.
“I promise,” my voice cracks with thickness. After crying so much, I felt weak. Still very much hungry.
“When can I eat solid food?” I ask him, wiping the remaining tears away. I pull away to see the big wet spot I left. He doesn’t take notice, instead he stands up.
“I think by now the doctors should now you’re awake. You still need your fluids, but I think I can manage to sneak something in. Sweet bean dumplings right?” He asks. I smile, he remembered my favorite. Kakashi disappears through the door. I have to go to the bathroom, my bladder was screaming for relief. I don’t know if my body was strong enough to walk, but I couldn’t simply wet the bed. Kakashi already left, he couldn’t help me there. I was just about to try to move and get out of bed when my door slide open. Standing in the doorway is a very angry Hokage. Am I in for the time of my life.
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Chapter notes: I liked writing this chapter. Lets her know how others think about her. It opens her eyes, and I think that cute. There may be a better word for this chapter, but all I can think right now is that it is cute. Enjoy reading!!
Chapter end notes: Thanks for reading!! Let me know what you think. All feed back is welcomed as you guys now. Very thankful to all of my readers!! You guys are awesome, you guys are my motivation and my inspiration, so thanks!!!!