My heart pounding away in my chest, I ran through the forest blindly, the rain mixing with my tears. I was out of breath, but too terrified to stop. There was nowhere to get out of the rain anyways. I was completely lost, just hopelessly lost. Running through the mud and trees, the distant shot of lightning reached my ear, and for a moment, my heart soared. Until I realized, the lightning was over head. Not what I was looking for. New tears flowed down my cheeks and my vision blurred.
So I tripped. I hadn't seen the fallen tree limb, so I got my foot caught. I fell flat on my face, and for a moment, didn't even try to get up. I wanted to give up. There was nowhere else to go. My family was dead... mostly... I don't know what happened to my father. After my mother and brother died, he went spiraling into depression, and just disappeared. Though I had never really grown to them, I felt like I was missing something. All I had left was my adopted family - my Uncle, Aunt and my cousins Shikamaru and Scott - and him. But at this point, I didn't think he would find me.
Pushing myself up onto my hands and knees, I turned to my right and saw a small hallowed-out log. With a sniffle, I crawled into the log on shaking limbs. I barely fit, and had to cramp in at an uncomfortable position, but at least I was protected from the rain. I wiped the mud away from my face, but let the tears continue to stream out, until I ran out.
Listening to the steady beat of the rain falling on the log, my eyes grew heavy and I immediately fell asleep, exhausted.
"Nikki! Nikki!"
My eyes flew open as the sound of some one calling my name rang in my ears. At first it was distant and barely audible over the pouring rain, but after awhile, the voice became very familiar. A voice that always brought me hope.
"Kakashi-sama?" I squeaked, pulling myself to the opening of the log. I peeked out and called his name again, but louder this time.
"There you are!" He sighed with relief, squatting down. He pulled his anbu mask off his face and smiled at me. "I've been looking all over for you." He said, placing the mask atop my head, blocking the rain away from my face.
Then he picked me up, like I was just a feather. "For a six year old, who woulda thought you could get into so much trouble." He teased as he carried me back into town. He said something else, but I couldn't remember what it was. My head resting against his chest, I was already falling asleep.