Sorry about the big delay - was reading over this chapter and decided it needed some adjustments, so here it is. I'm planning on adding more stuff soon, so bear with me, please R&R!!
Prologue
The rain poured heavily upon the village hidden in the leaves; the surrounding forest consumed in a wet veil of mist so that nothing could be seen for miles. Inside the forest, all was dark, and the silence was broken only by the occasional bird or animal making its way to shelter.
Suddenly, a twig broke, and a flock of birds screeched in surprise at the movement that had disturbed them.
There was a ruffle of leaves as some bushes were pushed out of the way, revealing a little girl, who stood trembling with big, tearful eyes staring down into the village.
She was dressed in remnants of clothes that may have once been a symbol of wealth, but had long since seen poverty and destitution. Her pale skin was bruised in several places up her arms and down her legs, her dark hair was matted with dirt and blood, and she shivered constantly from the ice-cold rain.
She stood hesitantly on top of the hill, looking longingly at the warm, fire-lit houses with their smoking chimneys and the enticing aromas of food.
She took a few steps forward and then stopped, gazing back over her shoulder into the menacing darkness of the forest, asthough an invisible monster would suddenly jump out for her.
The rain continued relentlessly, and streams of water mixed with blood dripped from her hair into her eyes, but nothing stirred in the enveloping darkness of the forest behind her. Shakily, she ran her hand along the back of her head. When she lowered it again again, she saw it was covered in blood. Upon seeing this, she whimpered and resumed her slow and hesitant steps towards the village.
Although the hill was small, the slope leading down to the village was steep, and the constant rain had made it slippery. The girl tentatively continued down, but halfway, her foot slipped, making her lose balance. in vain she tried to grasp at something to keep her up bit to no avail; and tumulted down the remainder of the hill, hitting her already injured head against the rocks at the bottom.
Moaning with pain, she lifted herself onto her hands and knees. When her eyes came back into focus, she looked up and saw she was in the middle of the first street of the village.
Looking back down at the ground, her eyes fell upon a puddle a few feet away. Painfully, she crawled towards it and, ignoring the dirt that was in it, she cupped her hands together and scooped up some water to drink. Having done this, she attempted to bathe her throbbing head, which was now bleeding freely.
Sensing that the wound would need treated, she tried to stand. As soon as she did, however, the world began to spin, making her fall back onto the ground, caking her face in mud.
For a while, she lay still, her will to go on ebbing away with each passing second, until eventually she closed her eyes, as though finally succumbing to her fate.
Gradually, after what seemed like hours, she became aware of someone standing in front of her. Fearfully she looked up and saw a pair of feet strapped in sandals standing only an inch away from her.
Terrified, she jumped up onto her hands and knees and crawled back, not daring to look up. Bumping into a wall, she sat up with her back against it and hugged her knees to her as she began to cry.
At the sound of her sobs, the stranger came closer and knelt down beside her.
"Are you alright, little one?"
The girl didn't answer. Instead, she clutched her knees tighter and kept her eyes shut.
"Please tell me - I won't hurt you?"
Still no answer came.
"Won't you tell me your name?"
There was a long silence, broken only by the child's heart breaking sobs. Then...
"D-D...Dana..."
It was barely a whisper, and she still didn't look up, but she had definetly spoken.
"Dana... I like that - such a pretty name!"
Slowly, the child, Dana, lofted her head and opened her eyes.
Kneeling before her was a young ninja about sixteen years old. He was clad in black with an army green body warmer and the lower part of his face was almost completely covered by a mask. He had untidy silver hair which was kept back by his forehead protector, which also covered up his left eye. His right eye was a deep grey, and looked like it was screwed up in concern; but not being able to see the rest of face did nothing but make Dana more anxious.
"Please – please, don't hurt me…" she whimpered, tears flwoing freely down her face.
The ninja looked disconcerted. "Why do you think I'd want to hurt you?"
"Because everyone wants to hurt me," she sobbed.
The ninja frowned. "And why is that?"
"I – I don't know…they just do – I don't know why…I only ask for their help - they say they will - but then they hurt me..."
"How old are you?" he asked.
"S-Six..."
"Your only six years old!"
Dana shrank away as his voice became louder in his suprise. She felt him gazig down at her for some minutes.
"Listen," he said gently, "I promise I won't hurt you. I'm going to take you to a friend of mine – she'll look after you, alright?"
Without waiting for an answer, he lifted her up in his arms; her body was so abused and malnourished she hardly weighed a thing. The ninja's heart went out to her, and holding her in one hand, he began to unbuckle his body warmer. Immediately Dana stiffened and looked up at him with new found fear and distrust.
"It's alright," he reassured her, "I'm just opening it so I can fit it around you a little, to warm you up."
Opening one side, he tucked her in and held the body warmer so that a passer-by might think he was cradling a baby.
"There now… That's better. It's just a few streets away, so we won't be long."
He started walking quickly through the labyrinth of streets and alleyways, talking to Dana about the weather, the people living in the houses they passed, the best restaurants in the village, and the latest movied. She never talked back to him, but gradually the sound of his low, gentle voice made her more relaxed, and she snuggled closer into his chest, gaining more comfort from his warmth, as they reached a large, battered-looking house.
Dana looked at it timidly. A lot of it was boarded up like it was in need of repairs, with windows broken and tiles missing from the roof.
"I know it doesn't look like much," the ninja said, "but this is the best place to be if you're a kid in trouble. Suki is the woman who runs the place, and she has a heart of gold – you'll be well looked after, here."
As he said this, he made his way to the front porch and banged on the door. Moments later it was opened by a young, fat woman with red hair in pigtails. She was wearing a large apron with a cute kitty face on it and in her hand was a giant wooden spoon. Her chubby, rosy face could have been described as sweet if it were not for the disgruntled look.
"Who would be daft enough to call on a night like this AND at this hour!" she yelled, while waving the spoon about threateningly.
"I guess that would be me, eh, Suki?" the man said, scratching the back of his head in an embarrassed way.
"Hatake san!" Suki cried, her expression instantly changing into a smile, "bless me! What are you doing here – and it raining cats and dogs as well – you'll catch your death of cold!"
"I'm a ninja, Su!" he replied, "I've been in worse weather."
"But why are you-"
"I was just returning from a mission when I found a little someone whom I think would benefit from your kindness."
As he said this, he pushed back his body warmer and held Dana in both hands a little in front of him so Suki could see.
"Oh my goodness!" Suki cried in dismay, "Why didn't you tell me sooner Hatake san! – the poor little thing must be dying from the cold and you just hold her like you've just won her at a fair!"
"Oh, sorry," he replied nervously as he was pulled non-too-gently into the house.
Despite the house looking big from the outside, there was only one large room with a small kitchen incorporated into it, and a smaller room in the back separated by a sliding door. Beside the kitchen was a round table with chairs and in the middle of the room was a shabby couch and a couple of armchairs surrounding a large fireplace, where there was a large welcoming fire already burning. Beside the fireplace was a small area, partially concealed by screens, where the Dana could just make out a toilet, large bath tub and another table with toiletries on it.
Suki swept her arm over the table, scattering the various tubes and containers, and turned the taps on in the bath.
"Sit her on the table," she said, whicking out a first aid kit.
The ninja did as he was told , placing the now nervous Dana gently on the table.
"Now then," said Suki, rolling up her sleeves, "let's see what we can do about those wounds…"
Instantly, Dana gave a squeak of fright and jumped into the ninja's arms, whimpering softly and slowly shaking her head.
He held her gently, suprised by the sudden outburst of energy.
Suki lowered her arms and came closer making the girl hide her face in the man's chest.
"She's scared out of her senses," Suki said, looking up at the ninja, "what in the world could have happened to her to make her so scared?"
"I don't know," he said shaking his head, "and I doubt she'd be able to tell us even if she wanted to. It may take years before she can say anything – she might not ever tell us."
Suki glanced at the girl anxiously before saying: "Lord Hokage isn't going to like the idea of bringing in a strange firl whom we know nothing about. He'll want to find out more about her."
"Oh, don't worry about that," the ninja replied frowning thoughtfully, "I intend to find out everything about this girl and what happened to her. As for Lord Hokage, he won't turn out a wounded, defenceless child, even if she is from an enemy village."
He looked down at the quivering child in his arms, looking up at him in a half confused, half pleading way.
"Anyway, none of that matters right now," he continued, " she's here, she's in pain and she needs help..."
He placed Dana back on the table and bent down so they were face to face.
"This is Suki – she's the friend I was telling you about. She's not going to hurt you, she's just going to look at your wounds and then she's going to give you a bath to get all that dirt off you; there's no need to be afraid."
But Dana wasn't convinced, and continued to clutch onto him.
"Alright," he said, "how about I stay until you settle down – I'll just be in the kitchen here – would that make you feel better?"
Dana glanced at Suki, considering the proposition. Looking at Suki again she reluctantly nodded her head, and she let go of him.
"Right then," said Suki soothingly, "you'll be feeling better in no time; and Hatake san will be just there in the kitchen. Help yourself to some tea Hatake san."
"Thank you."
The bath did Dana the world of good. By the time she was finished, her cuts had been plastered and her head wound was bandaged. Suki gave her some soft cotton pyjamas and a pair of fluffy slippers. When the screen was pulled back and she walked out, the ninja barely recognised her.
"Well!" he said, as she took the seat beside him at the table, "you wash up pretty good - I was wondering if there was a face under all that mud."
Dana still didn't talk, but he noticed with satisfaction that she was much more relaxed with them.
Several bowls of stew later, and Dana found herself in a warm comfortable bed. By the door, she could see Suki and the ninja talking in hushed whispers.
After a few minutes, he came in and sat on the side of the bed. Gently, she brushed some strands of hair away from her face while her eyes constantly followed him.
"Only six years old…" he whispered, "and yet those eyes tell me you've experienced more pain and suffering than I have…"
He was now able to have a proper look at her. Her hair was ebony black, but with the light on it, it shone brightly with a cosmic blue tint and her eyes were an unusual blue topaz colour.
"You are a very pretty girl," he whispered, making her blush though he didn't notice, "no matter what anyone says or do - you remember that – you're the prettiest girl in the world."
Dana smiled at him shyly. It was the first time he had seen her smile.
"Well, goodbye little one," he said, "Maybe we'll meet again one day."
He stood up and the smile disappeared from her face, but she didn't try to stop him. She watched his back as he made his way to the door, and then with a final smile and a wave, he was gone.
Suki returned a few minutes later and tucked her in.
"Thank you for your kindness," the Dana whispered, making Suki looking up in surprise, for it was the first time she had spoken of her own accord.
"Don't you think on it, sweet thing," she replied as she continued to fix up the lamp.
"Where am I?" Dana asked.
"Konoha," Suki replied, "this is Hidden Leaf Village," Suki replied.
"And that ninja," the girl continued, "What's his name?"
"His name is Kakashi Hatake. Now enough questions," said Suki, "there'll be plenty of time for them tomorrow. Gets some rest now – I'll be just next door if you need anything."
Saying this, Suki left the room, blowing a kiss at the girl before she left.
The rain had stopped now, and the clouds had cleared, allowing the full moon to shine magnificently in the starlit sky. A ray of moon light shone through the window and rested upon the little girl.
Though she was exhausted she lay awake, her face turning to a thoughtful frown. For a while, she lay completely motionless, staring thoughtfully at the moon.
"Kakashi Hatake… Kakashi Hatake…" she whispered slowly, as though engraving his name into her memory forever. "I will never forget you Kakashi Hatake. I really hope we meet again…please let us meet again…"
And with that, she fell asleep.