Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, or anything it's associated with. All rights belong to Masashi Kishimoto.
Warning: This story contains what some could view as being ideologically sensitive material. It deals heavily with transgendered and homosexual individuals. If you find these matters to be disturbing, then please, leave this page and go read something else. Otherwise, please enjoy the story, and remember to review at the end.
It was cold. It was always cold, especially at this time of year. The temperature dropped to just below 20 degrees Fahrenheit every night and rose to barely above 30 during the daytime. It snowed almost constantly, the sky a colorless and depressing grey. People flitted from building to building, bundled in many varying layers of cloth, no one wanting to be exposed to the chilling atmosphere for too long.
My name is Kiora Yukimura. I am 12 years old, and am a proud ninja of the Hidden Mist Village. I live alone with my older brother, Kai; Our parents died shortly after my fourth birthday - my mother from an illness she'd contracted while working at the hospital, and my father on an A-rank mission somewhere. My brother Kai has been looking after me ever since then. It was tough sometimes, living without parents. The kids at school would exclude me from games and other activities because they said I wasn't right. They thought it wasn't right that I didn't have parents (or maybe it was the fact that I didn't show any pain or sadness toward their absence, I don't know). I never cried about it. I was never sad or depressed about it. I just knew better than to needlessly dwell on something that I had no control over, unlike my classmates. My brother told me that keeping my emotions in-check was a sign of a great ninja. And I believed him; After all, he was a Jounin, so I knew better than to doubt his words.
On my sixth birthday, I'd declared to Kai that I wanted to be a ninja when I grew up. At first, he was against the idea. He had always been a bit overly-protective of me, at least ever since our parents died, but after several minutes of pleading and me throwing a tantrum, he caved and enrolled me at the Academy. A few years later, I graduated, and began my new life as a nin of the Hidden Mist Village; My brother was so proud.
Over the next year and a half, I worked with other nin of my village, going on missions and helping out those in need with my skills. Time passed quickly, and before I knew it, I was preparing myself for the Chuunin exams. My sensei told my teammates and I about the different chakra elements that we would have to know and understand in the future as Chuunin. He gave us all slips of chakra-sensitive paper and had us focus our chakra into it; Mine suddenly became really wet and flopped over my fingers in a dripping heap. From that point on, I got to train specially with Sensei, seeing how he was a Water type, too.
Eventually, I got the hang of using Water-type jutsus in addition to my basic ones. I'd even learned how to create water clones and how to effectively use them in battle. Every day, I trained with and against my water clones, until I practically collapsed with exhaustion and my sensei had to bring me home to my worrisome brother, already deep into the realm of sleep.
[Fast-forward two years..]
I leapt through the trees, landing roughly on select branches with urgent footsteps. I could hear my teammates and sensei trailing behind me somewhat, struggling to keep up. But I was in a hurry. I needed to get home, right away. ...
[Half an hour earlier..]
I blocked a kick from my teammate, Senna, and countered with a quick jab to her abdomen. We were sparring with each other, testing each other's skills at Taijutsu. So far, I was winning; She'd never been very strong with such forms of physical contact. She was more of a long-range attacker, with her weapons of choice being projectiles like kunai and shuriken, while I was a mid- to close-range fighter, specializing with a katana and incredible speed and strength.
I brought my right leg up and went to kick Senna in the back of her knee to throw her off-balance when I heard our sensei calling for us. I stopped and turned around to see him running toward us. I could tell something was wrong the moment I saw him. It was written all over his face. Worry.
"Sensei? What's up?" I asked him as he stopped before us. He looked over at Senna and asked if he and I could be alone for a few minutes. She nodded and left without a word. After he knew we were alone, he looked directly at me, and spoke.
"Kiora, I've just received a message from the Village. It's... it's your brother, Kai." A chill spread through my limbs and my eyes widened with shock.
"...What?" I whispered. Fear ravaged my senses and coursed through my limbs. I couldn't move. I'd gone numb.
My sensei continued. "He's.. been admitted to the hospital back in the village. Apparently, he was found in your house, collapsed on the floor of the kitchen, by his friend Li. Li called for help, and your brother was admitted right away."
"B-but..." I stammered, "but what's wrong with him? He was just fine when we left two days ago!" My sensei shook his head grimly.
"They wouldn't tell me any more. However, they said that we should return immediately." I nodded numbly and ran past him to begin gathering my things.
At our campsite, my teammates Senna and Gaki were waiting for me. Senna rushed up to greet me when I'd appeared.
"Kiora? What's going on? What did sensei tell you?" she asked, but I ignored her and disappeared inside our tent and began throwing my things into my pack. I heard her repeat her question to our sensei, who simply told them that we needed to abandon the mission we were on and head back home right away. My teammates left it at that, and began packing their things as well.
[End flashback..]
My mind raced as we ran, my imagination going wild and creating several frightening scenarios that I could be greeted with upon returning to the village. Would I arrive to the hospital to find my brother lying on a bed, pale, cold, and dead? Or would I find him hooked up to half a dozen different machines, pumping medicine into him and keeping his heart going, just barely keeping him alive? Or would I find him the way I wanted to find him, sitting up in bed, possibly reading a book or chatting with Li, his body in perfect condition? I couldn't stop dreaming up different scenarios, each of them getting worse and more complex. In the back of my mind, I prayed, pleading with whatever gods existed for them to make everything alright.
Almost an hour and a half later, I arrived to the road leading to the main gates. I turned sharply when I hit the road and began running. A minute later, I reached the gates. I blasted through the open doorway, ignoring the shouts from the gatekeepers, and made for the hospital. Behind me, I barely heard my teammates and sensei stop to calm the gatekeepers down and begin to explain my behavior to them.
I reached the hospital in a matter of moments. I hurriedly asked the nurse at the front desk what my brother's room number was, and she told me. I thanked her, then sprinted off toward the stairs. I climbed to the third floor, then raced hurriedly down the hallway (I wasn't allowed to run anymore) to my brother's room.
He was lying down in his bed. An intubation tube stuck out of his mouth, and was attached to a respirator that sat beside his bed. His chest rose and fell rhythmically, almost unnaturally, as the machine breathed for him. Intravenous lines ran from both of his arms, their bags hanging from stainless steel poles on either side of his bed. Multiple other lines ran out from beneath the sheets, leading to various other machines, which beeped along to his heartbeat.
I felt my legs go numb, and I fell to my knees in the doorway. My chest began to ache, and I gripped the front of my shirt as the pain ravaged my nerves. Tears began to flow freely down my face as I sobbed pitifully, the feeling of uselessness and failure entering my mind like a disease. Behind me, I heard the rest of my team approach me cautiously. My sensei squatted down beside me and placed his hand on my shaking shoulder, hoping that it would bring me some comfort. I shied away from his touch and curled further forward, into a pitiful ball, letting my tears fall to the tiled floor beneath me.
In the days that passed, Kai didn't get better, nor did he grow any worse. All of the machines he was attached to kept him alive, but just barely. The doctor who cared for him told me that he had suffered a Grand Mal seizure. For years now, he's been suffering from Hydrocephalus, or excess amounts of fluid around the brain. The added amounts of fluid put pressure on the brain, causing it to send the body into a seizure. In addition, he told me that Kai has been suffering from this disease for years now, and has been hiding it from me.
'That idiot.' I thought to myself after the doctor told me everything and left me alone with my brother. 'He should have told me that there was something wrong with him. If I knew, then we could have done something about it! I could have taken on additional missions and gotten paid more! We could have gotten him surgery to get the fluid removed! If only he had told me.. then we wouldn't BE in this mess!' I brought my fist down on the edge of his bed in frustration, my eyes growing wet once more with tears of anger. I gazed at my brother's sleeping face, and my heart wrenched in my chest.
"Why.. why didn't you tell me?" I whispered. His heart monitor beeped on, keeping its staccato rhythm, its tone taunting me. A tear rolled down my cheek, falling when it reached my chin to the bedspread below. Knowing I was most likely never going to get my answer, I laid my head down on the bed beside his leg, and closed my eyes for the night.
Almost a week later, the doctor caring for my brother pulled me aside, saying he wanted to discuss things with me. Fearing it would be my brother's funeral arrangements, I hesitantly followed the doctor into the hallway.
"Miss Yukimura," he addressed me in his gravelly tone, his voice and expression serious and business-like, "I am sorry to tell you that there isn't anything more we can do for your brother." My heart sank in my chest.
"Oh.." I said quietly.
"He hasn't improved in the time that he's been here, and he has fallen into a coma, which we haven't had any luck in waking him from."
I nodded slowly, letting the truth sink into my conscience like a poison. it really was the end for him...
"However," he continued, and I perked up slightly. "There is still a chance that he can be saved. Have you heard of the Hidden Leaf Village's Hokage, Lady Tsunade?" I nodded in reply. "I have contacted her with your brother's medical information, and have asked for her help in the case. She said she would be happy to help, and she should be arriving in a few days' time. If all goes well, then she should be able to cure your brother's ailment."
My heart fluttered happily in my chest at the thought of things returning to normal. I would be forever indebted to the Hokage for this, but it would totally be worth it. The doctor then told me he'd let me know when she arrives to our village, and left me at that. I returned to my brother's bedside and gripped his hand excitedly, anxiously awaiting the day that everything would return to normal.
The next day, my brother took a turn for the worse.
A blood clot had formed in his leg and traveled up to his brain, where it got stuck, and he suffered a stroke. None of the nurses or doctors discovered it until long after the damage was done.
After I had forced the doctor and nurses out of the room, I collapsed into a chair beside his bed, laid my head down on the mattress, and sobbed. I cried for a good fifteen minutes before I began to calm down. My body shaking, I sat up in my seat, and went to wipe my eyes with my hands. When I went to move the hand that had been gripping my brother's, however, I felt his hand grip onto mine, and I looked up to see my brother's face turned towards mine.
I gasped and gripped his hand tighter. "Kai!" I quietly exclaimed, my face breaking out into a broad smile. He was awake! Finally, he was going to get better!
Only one of his eyes was open, and he stared at me, his expression almost sorrowful. I asked him if he was in any pain, and he turned his head from side to side.
"I'll go and get the doctor. He should know you're awake." I told him, and went to let go of his hand. Kai's hand, however, gripped mine tighter. I stopped and turned back to him.
"What is it?" I asked him quietly.
He let go of my hand and formed his hand into a familiar sign: his index and pinky fingers outstretched, as well as his thumb, and his middle and ring fingers folded against the palm of his hand.
'I love you'.
He held the sign for a few moments, before I watched it become limp and fall to the bed with a soft thud. Shocked, I looked back up to his face. It was peaceful, his eyes closed and the right side of his mouth turned up slightly in a gentle smile.
Shock crept into my mind, along with fear, sorrow, and pain. My body went cold, the numbness spreading from my core to my limbs, stopping at the tips of my fingers and toes. He couldn't be dead. He just... couldn't be.
The heart monitor standing beside his bed began to sound. A never-ending, single-toned whine wailed out of the machine's speakers, reverberating through the room and into the hallway through the open door. My eardrums rang with the tone of the sound, and it numbed my brain. I could no longer think. I simply stood there, staring down at my brother's now lifeless form. I heard nurses run into the room, their noise and bodies causing a commotion, yet I did nothing to acknowledge their presence.
I was alone. In a room crowded with hospital staff and machinery, I was alone.
And for years after, I would remain alone.
[TBC]