Author's note- Yes, another little sidefic from my upcoming story if I ever get around to completely finishing a single chapter. This time you actually get to learn an OC's name. The story takes place during the time jump. Assuming Naruto comes back when he's fifteen, at this time, the original gang would be about 14 and Gai's team would be about 15.
Kuroko cried in the Hidden Mind. Only Marise was allowed to see. And see he did. Almost every time she visited. She would quietly slip into his house, and he would comfort her when sobs racked her body. He would stare out the window and rub her back as she wailed. The neighbors used to panic and run to his house to see what was wrong. They no longer come anymore. He wonders how fast it takes for people to become used to anguish.
He wished he would never have to see her dark green eyes filled with tears again, but he knew there would be other missions. Missions. He used to wonder why Kuroko decided to choose the ones she did, spying, information gathering, and assassinations. He knew the reason now. Stealth. Hiding. Fleeing. Those were really the only things she was good at. She had told him herself after a cry fest. She had never gotten above a Chuunin rank because, while her stealth was second only to that of…well he really didn't know anyone better at it than her, she couldn't hold her own in a fight against anyone above genin rank. Hell, she could keep hidden from a Hyuuga but couldn't win against Chouji. So the missions she accepted were suited to her strengths. No matter how much they were breaking her. He figured taking other people's lives on a weekly basis was enough to make any shinobi crack a little bit. Unless they were insane. Then the rules didn't apply anymore.
It doesn't help matters much that Kuroko had a near perfect memory about her missions. Last time she visited him, she told him with a watery, chocked voice all about the little boy she had to kill. Soft shoulder length auburn hair, huge periwinkle eyes, a smiling face, and blood with an almost spicy scent to it when she spilled it across his bedroom floor. She was getting quite adept at recognizing the differences in texture, color, and smell of her many victims' blood. He held her trembling frame late into the night as a small piece of her soul was ripped away. He smoothed her obsidian hair away from her puffy eyes and whispered words of love and acceptance. She really shouldn't have been a ninja. She was too good, too pure, too…too sensitive. She would have been better off as a chef, tailor, or anything really.
She cried in the Hidden Mind, in Marise's arms. He wished there was more he could do to ease her pain. There wasn't, she was good at her job and no one in Konoha knew how she sobbed at night in his house. No one but the neighbors could hear her anguish. And only he was allowed to see.
Author's Note- Yeah, not exactly the best thing I've ever written, but I had to get it out of my system. If you enjoyed this (or thought it was better than atrocious), then look for my upcoming multi-chapter fic, which I haven't a title for yet. Also I'm in the process of writing a story called "Thou Shall Not". If you see any errors, please tell me so that I can correct them.