Disclaimer: I own nothing but the plotline.
~This is just a story that has been bouncing around in my head for a while now~
A small girl, no more than the age of four lays face down on the muddy ground beneath a large maple tree. Her hair is drenched in blood, giving it the color of the deepest red. Her pale skin looks sickly, and also has a tinge of blue from the cold. She looks to be wearing a white gown, or at least what is left of it. Most of it has been torn or ripped off, probably from whatever caused her to end up in the condition she is in now.
The young man who found her gently picks her up, trying not to wake her. Wrapping her in his traveling cloak, he starts walking quickly in the direction he had been heading earlier that day. He had spiky silver hair that just seemed to defy gravity, and a dark blue mask covering the lower part of his face. He wore a band with a symbol over his left eye, with a scar visible from the bottom. He stole a glance at the face of the child in his arms and wondered who in there right mind could ever harm a child that screamed innocence like this one? Pulling her tighter to his body he leaped up into the trees above and started to jump from branch to branch, moving at a faster pace than before.
Before long he landed just a short distance outside of a large wall, the one surrounding the village that he lived in. As he walked through the massive gate he caught the looks of several men and women as he passed by. Even though the hospital was close to the gate, he still had to walk through streets filled with people. It was only the middle of the day so the village was still active.
Without stopping to talk to anyone he made it to the hospital in a matter of minutes. As soon as he walked through the doors he was bombarded by nurses asking him how his latest mission went and if he was injured.
The head nurse, Lita, walks over to him. "Kakashi what brings you here? You never coming here of your own will, so what happened?"
Without even looking at her he merely looks down to the precious angel in his arms. "She needs help." His voice was hoarse, after not saying anything for almost two weeks while he was away on his latest mission.
She looks down to the small bundle he carried in his arms, and gasped at the state that precious little girl was in. Without hesitating she gently took the girl from Kakashi's arms and hurried further into the hospital. Shouting orders to the other nurses around her. She was going to make sure everything was done in order to save that beautiful little girl.
Eight hours later Kakashi was still in the hospital, waiting to hear how that little girl he brought in was doing. He knew that the outlook wouldn't be good, just by the sheer amount of blood he found on her. He just stared at the door that Lita had taken that angel through.
About thirty minutes later the leader of the village, the Hokage, entered the room. "Kakashi explain what is going on here."
Kakashi bowed in respect to the man, "Yes Lord Hokage. I was on my return from my latest mission when I stumbled over a lot of blood. I followed the trail and it led me to a young girl. I would put her at three or four years old. She was covered in blood and sickly white, not to mention a bit blue from the cold. I wrapped her in my cloak and brought her here as soon as possible. I don't know why but there was just this pull that made me save her." He bowed to the man again.
The older man nods and turns to face the doors that the child had went through nearly nine hours ago. "How long have they been in there?"
"Nearly nine hours. I know that the outlook from this point is very grim." He closes his one good eye at the painful thought of losing that innocent child.
"Don't give up hope Kakashi, we have the best of the best working here."
Before Kakashi could even get a word out of his masked mouth the door opens and out comes a nurse. "Are you here for that little girl?"
The Hokage nods his head, "How is she?"
"She is stable, but still very weak. She is being moved to a room now, you may see her if you like."
They both nod their heads and follow the nurse to the room that holds the little girl. She looks so small in the big bed. Even though she is still pale, she looks a bit more alive than the last time Kakashi saw her. She had no scars or anything on her face, or anywhere that was visible at the moment.
As a nurse went to put and IV into her arm she started to wake up, pulling her arm close to her body.
"Well look who's up." The nurse smiles at the little girl. Trying to get her arm to get put the needle in it. Sadly, she just cant get the girl to let her. "Sweetheart, I need to put this in your arm, it will help you get better."
The small girl sits up slowly in the bed, shocking the people in the room. She shouldn't be able to move yet.
She fully opens her eyes, they are the brightest shade of emerald green, that any of them have ever seen. "Please, I don't need that. I'm fine, really." Her voice is that of an angel, soft and light, but still loud enough to be serious.
The Hokage takes the moment of silence to step in, "I don't think she will need that IV, she seems to be doing fine." He walks over to the little girl and looks down at her, giving her a small smile, "What is your name little one?"
She looks around the room before her eyes lay to rest on the Hokage, "My name is Sakura Haruno. Now, where am I?"
"Well young Sakura, you are in Konoha, the village hidden in the leaves."
"How did I get here? All I remember was running though the forest, trying to get away."
For the first time since they had come to the room Kakashi speaks, "I found you in the forest, and I brought you here."
She smiles at the man that saved her life, "Thank you, I am very grateful for what you have done for me. You saved my life." Her smile was enough to knock the air out of him. He was only able to nod in response to the young girl.
"Who is in charge of this village, it is important that I speak with them." She kicked the sheets off the bed and started to get up, but she didn't get far before she was gently pushed back down onto the bed.
The Hokage stands right in front of her bed, "That would be me, I am the leader of this village, I am the Hokage."
She nods her head to the older man, "Thank you Hokage-san, I would like to request permission to stay in your village until my guardian comes for me. When everything is safe enough for me to return to my home."
"Of course, but might I ask why it would not be safe for you at your home?"
She shakes her head, "I am sorry, I am not at liberty to disclose that information. For not only does it bring more danger to myself but it also puts my entire family at risk, and I cant have that. I love my family dearly, and I would do anything I had to in order to protect them."
He nods his head, "I understand, now we just have the problem of your living arrangements, we need to find you somewhere to stay." He puts his hand to his chin, closing his eyes in thought.
"She can stay with me, I have plenty of room."
The Hokage looks at Kakashi, "Are you sure Kakashi, do you really believe that you can take care of a young child and still go on missions? Not to mention that you will be receiving a team of genin in a matter of days."
Kakashi nods his head, "Yes, Lord Hokage. I believe that I can handle it. Remember I am only getting two genin instead of the normal three. I assure you that I can and will take care of her. I am the one that found her, and I will be the one that is responsible for her."
The young girl looks up at the men, curiosity leaking from her every pore. "What is a genin?"
Both men look at the girl and the Hokage explains. "A genin is the lowest shinobi rank. These genin are fresh from the academy. They are only twelve years old right now, but as time goes by and they learn more and become more skilled they will be able to move up in rank. Shinobi are the ones that protect this village and its people."
She nods her head, "I would like to stay with Kakashi-san if you don't mind. I would also like to fill in the extra space in the team that he is being assigned."
"I'm sorry, but I cant allow you to be a part of his team. You are far too young, and you have not been trained. It is simply too dangerous for you."
Before either man could blink the young girl was out of bed, and in front of them. "I might be young, but I have been trained since practically birth by the best of the best. My mother would not settle for any less to teach her daughter. I can take down men three times your size with only a finger, I am not weak. I never have been. What I have asked for myself to be put into is not dangerous for me. The only reason I was hurt when I was found was because it took all of my energy to get here and I didn't have enough to heal myself with." Her voice was so stern and serious both men had to do a double take to make sure that this was the same little angel that Kakashi had held in his arms so many hours ago.
The Hokage did nothing but nod his head, he couldn't believe that this little girl could be so fierce.
"Now, where is my dress?" She said, looking up at them.
"It was all but destroyed, it was torn to ribbons when I found you." Kakashi told her.
"Well, where is it, I want it back. I don't care what condition it is in."
They lapse into a time of silence while a nurse fetches the young girls torn white gown. A few minutes later the same nurse enters the room, the remains of the dress draped across her arm. "Here you go sweetheart."
Sakura smiles at the young woman that brought her the dress. "Thank you very much." With that the nurse left the room.
Without a even asking for the men to turn around the young girl strips down and puts on the dress she has been brought.
The Hokage walks over to her, "You really shouldn't wear that, it is too damaged."
Without saying a word to him, to either of them she closes her eyes and holds her hands to her chest, looking like she is praying. In a matter of seconds a bright light engulfs her and when the light dims down the men's jaws drop. There in front of them on that little girl is a perfectly repaired gown.
"This is much better, it felt odd not wearing it. Even for a short amount of time. I am always wearing a dress."
Kakashi is the first of the two to recover from the shock, "How did that happen?"
She looks at him and tilts her head to the side, "Simple, my crystal repaired it. It can do anything."
Both men look at her, not really knowing what she was talking about.
The Hokage clears his throat, "What crystal?"
"Its called the Eternal Silver Moon Crystal. It's the most powerful of all of the moon crystals, even more so than mother's."
She starts to get a bit fidgety, she doesn't like to stay in one place for very long. "Can I please get out of here? I don't like hospitals."
They both laugh softly at her, she thinks like most kids her age.
Kakashi walks over and grabs her hand, "Lets go sign you out, then we can go get you what you need for your stay here."
She holds her hand tighter, "We don't have to do that, I have everything I need right here." She points to where she knows her crystal is.
Kakashi just laughs, "Humor me."
She smiles up at him and nods her head. He leads her out of the room then minutes later out of the hospital and into the village. The sun is just starting to set, and the people of the village are starting to calm down, to get ready for the night.
Hey everyone please let me know what you think of my story, I'm not sure how it will be to others, I just knew that I had to get it out of my head, it was driving me crazy. Please leave me a review to know what you think.
~Sakura Lily 16