8 Years ANT...
"Itachi, why?" Raina asked, trying to stop him from leaving the village.
"Because it was easy." the young man said.
Raina felt her hands ball into fists. "But they were your family! How could you do something like that?"
"It does not matter to you. It is none of your concern." Itachi said.
Raina couldn't believe what she was hearing. Itachi Uchiha had just massacred every member of the Uchiha clan, save his younger brother, Sasuke. "I can't let you leave the village, Itachi, you must pay for what you have done."
"Then you leave me no choice." he said and activated his Mangekyo Sharingan, trapping her in his genjutsu.
Kakashi had been searching for Itachi, who had once been his subordinate until he became the youngest Anbu captain in Konoha history, but when he managed to find him, he stared as Itachi took his blade and slashed it across Raina's chest.
"Raina!"
Itachi turned away as Kakashi ran to catch her, disappearing before Kakashi could get another look at him and masked his chakra.
Kakashi lost sense of where Itachi was, but he was more focused on the bleeding Raina on the ground. He dropped to his knees next to her and tried to put pressure on the wound. "Raina, hold on!" he said, desperately trying to stop the bleeding. When he could not, he took bandages from his bag and tried his best to dress the wound before he scooped her into his arms and shot off towards the hospital. He ran as fast as he could, holding Raina to his chest. "I need a doctor, now!" he cried when he burst through the hospital doors.
A doctor and several nurses rushed to his side and took Raina from him, placing her on a gurney. "What happened?" one of the nurses asked, stopping Kakashi from following them to the emergency room.
"Please, let me go with them. I need to stay with her!" Kakashi pleaded, tears threatening to form.
"Kakashi, you need to calm down." the nurse said. "What happened to Raina?"
"It was Itachi..." he said, finally backing down. "When she tried to stop him from leaving the village, he trapped her in his genjutsu and slashed her chest open with his blade." He looked at the nurse. "Is she going to be alright?"
The nurse saw the amount of blood on his Anbu vest and looked at him concerned. "Assuming that's all of her blood on you, then I hope so. She may have lost more blood than we can see on you and if that's the case, she'll need blood transfusions. If she was affected by the genjutsu, it may be long term, but it's too early to tell. I will notify the Hokage, but if you wish to remain here and wait until you can see her, then please, have a seat over there."
Kakashi shook his head. "I will report to the Hokage. He needs to here this directly from me."
"Alright, but be sure to let the Hokage know that she cannot receive visitors until tomorrow at the soonest." the nurse said and went to join the others as they tried to save Raina's life.
Kakashi felt his chest constricting as he hurried to the Hokage's office. He didn't even bother knocking on the door and burst in, dropping to one knee and bowing his head before the Third Hokage. "Please forgive the intrusion, Lord Hokage, but I have an urgent report that requires your immediate attention."
Hiruzen looked at him and saw the blood all over Kakashi's Anbu vest. He glanced at Danzo, the head of the Anbu Root branch, before he greeted the young jonin. "Please, speak."
Kakashi stood and looked at the Hokage. "We were able to locate Itachi Uchiha, but before he could be apprehended, the jonin who encountered him was trapped in his genjutsu and severely injured. They are now at the hospital receiving emergency care."
"And what of Itachi?"
"Itachi Uchiha slipped away and masked his chakra before I could pursue him any further."
"Who was the jonin that encountered him?"
"Raina Sarutobi."
Hiruzen froze and stared at the young jonin in shock and fear. "Raina...?"
"I'm afraid so, Lord Hokage. Raina was the one who encountered Itachi and tried to prevent him from leaving the village, but was caught in his genjutsu before she could do anything else. I arrived just as Itachi wounded her."
"How bad is she?" Hiruzen asked, fearing the worst. "Is that her blood?"
Kakashi nodded and felt his chest tighten as he looked down, his fists balling up. "She was severely wounded. I couldn't stop the bleeding, but I dressed her wounds and took her straight to the hospital. The nurse said she may need blood transfusions and she will not be able to receive any visitors until tomorrow at the soonest." he said, then felt as if the tears were finally going to form and slip down his masked cheeks. "Please, forgive me Lord Hokage... I wasn't able to prevent this from happening... I couldn't-"
"Kakashi, I know what my daughter means to you. You have been together for nearly a year now and I understand that you feel responsible, but you are not. There is nothing you could have done to stop this. Let us just pray that she makes it through the night." Hiruzen said. "Why don't you go home and change. Danzo can send someone to take you place and we will handle things from here."
Kakashi nodded and left the Hokage's office. He felt guilty for her condition and knew that he could never forgive himself if she died because he failed to protect her. He threw his vest and clothes into the washer of the communal laundry room of his apartment complex and went to go shower. Even as the blood washed away in the washer and off his skin and hands, Kakashi could never get the image of the woman he loved, bloodied in his arms. He let the hot water run over his body and slammed his hand into the wall, creating a huge dent and cutting his hand on the broken tiles. He didn't curse, but instead felt nothing as the blood drip from his wounded skin and washed away down the drain.
"Raina... I'm so sorry..."
The next morning, Kakashi went to Yamanaka's Flowers and bought a bouquet of azalea's, Raina's favorite flowers, and made his way to the hospital. The Hokage was kind enough to give him time off as they figured out how to deal with Itachi Uchiha slaying the whole of his clan- save Sasuke- and how to keep the situation under control. Leaving the task to Danzo and his assistants, Hiruzen had already arrived at the hospital with his wife and son.
"Lord Hokage, may I come in?" Kakashi asked, sliding open the door to Raina's room.
"Oh, Kakashi, yes, please come in." Hiruzen said.
Biwako looked up at him and hugged him. "My poor dear boy..."
Kakashi returned her hug and presented her with the bouquet. "I brought these for Raina."
"Oh, purple and blue azaleas, her favorite..." Biwako said, tearing up. "You're such a dear..."
While she went about getting a vase to put the bouquet in, Asuma stood aside as Kakashi came to look at Raina as she lay unconscious in her hospital bed.
"What did the doctor say?" Kakashi asked.
Asuma looked from his fellow jonin and friend to his little sister. "She's in a coma right now and they think it's because of the genjutsu Itachi used. They don't know when she'll come out of it, if at all, but they were able to get her blood transfusions for the vast amount of blood she lost and they have her stabilized. Now we have to wait for her to wake up."
Kakashi sat next to her bed, her father sitting on the other side, and reached over cautiously to grasp her hand. She felt so cold and she looked like he could lose her at any second. He felt the tears in his eyes starting to brew, despite him fighting them, and Asuma touched his shoulder.
"Kakashi, it's alright to cry." he said, knowing how much Kakashi blamed himself for Raina's condition.
"A shinobi must never show his tears." Kakashi said, refusing to cry.
Asuma sighed and Hiruzen looked at Kakashi. "Kakashi, forget the Shinboi Code for now. You love Raina as much as we do and while we are here in private, I think it'll be safe for tears to be seen and let free."
Kakashi nodded and stopped fighting his tears as he reached over to touch her cheek. "Raina, I'm so sorry..."
Biwako came over and stood behind her husband. She watched with tears of her own as Kakashi began to weep as he feared he would never get to see Raina awake and well again. Asuma rubbed his friend's back and let his own tears slip silently from his eyes as Hiruzen grasped his wife's hand and freed his tears as well.
They could only hope that Raina would be alright, that she would come out of this coma soon.
17 Years ANT...
Birds chirped outside and Raina opened her eyes, feeling a pounding in her head.
"W-Where am I?" she managed to get out, but her throat was so dry she thought it might crack.
"You're at the hospital in the Hidden Leaf Village. Do you know your name?" a strange woman's voice asked, coming from the foot of Raina's bed.
Raina looked at the woman and nodded, rubbing her temples. "My name is Raina Sarutobi. I am the adopted daughter of Biwako Sarutobi and her husband, Hiruzen, who is the Third Hokage."
"Do you remember what happened? Why you were brought here?"
Raina tried to think, but the last thing she remembered was darkness. "No, nothing. Just darkness."
"Well, that's to be expected due to the condition you were in when you were brought here."
"How long have I been at the hospital?"
"Nine years."
"Where is Kakashi?" Iruka asked, coming into the Jonin Standby Station's lobby.
"He's supposed to be back from the meeting of the Shinobi Alliance soon. Why, what's up?" Kotetsu said, looking up from his game of cards with Izumo.
"Raina's awake." Iruka said. "She's finally awake."
"N-Nine years...?" Raina couldn't believe her ears.
"Yes. You have been in a coma for the last nine years. When you were brought to the hospital, you had suffered a severe wound on your chest as a result of trying to subdue Itachi Uchiha. He had trapped you within his genjutsu and wounded you, leaving you for dead before he managed to escape."
"W-Where's the Hokage? He's my father, shouldn't he be here?" Raina asked.
The strange woman looked at the woman next to her and sighed. "Raina, your father, Hiruzen Sarutobi, passed away five years ago. I am Tsunade, I took over as the Fifth Hokage, but I am retired now."
Raina's chest tightened and she felt like she couldn't breathe. "No..." She dropped her head into her hands and began to weep. "No... It can't be true..." Raina wept, her heart aching. Nine years she had been in a coma, nine years of her life just gone, and now she finds out her father was gone too. It was too much for her and she started to hyperventilate. She couldn't breathe.
Tsunade came to her side and rubbed her back, telling her to take deep breaths. Raina pushed her away and ran out of the room, surprising everyone she passed that she was able to even stand on her feet after nine years in a coma. She had no strength really left in her, but she couldn't bear being in that room with that kind of news. She had to know for sure and ran towards the memorial stone.
"Lord Hokage!" someone yelled, Iruka right behind them.
Kakashi Hatake looked over at the men as they joined him. He had been named the Sixth Hokage, but it would take time to get used to that title. "Iruka, Kotetsu. What's up?"
"It's Raina, Kakashi..." Iruka said, panting.
Kakashi's eyes widened. "What about her?"
"She's awake..." Iruka said, smiling.
Without a word of thanks or any at all, Kakashi took off towards the hospital. He ran as fast as he could and when he reached her room, all he found was Tsunade and Shizune.
"Where is she?"
Tsunade looked up. "She ran off when we told her what happened to her father and how long she had been in the hospital. We can't find her."
Kakashi cursed under his breath and took again, looking everywhere he could to try and find her. He searched everywhere he could think of, then looked at the memorial stone. When he arrived at the stone, he stopped dead in his tracks when he saw someone standing in front of the stone.
Long silver hair that reached nearly to the ground swayed in the wind and he knew immediately from her chakra that it was the person he had been searching for, had waited for.
"Raina..."
There it was: Hiruzen Sarutobi. Not too far from it was another name: Asuma Sarutobi. Amongst the names of her father and brother were the names of many of her friends, all lost during the Fourth Shinobi World War. She reached out to touch the names, hoping it was just a dream.
"Raina..."
She knew that voice, the shock and surprise clear in the tone. She turned and looked at the man who spoke to her and felt the tears fall silently down her cheeks.
"Kakashi..."
Kakashi Hatake stood before her, adorn with the garb of the Hokage, whilst she stood before him in a hospital gown and her hair a mess.
"Is this real?" Kakashi asked, lowering his mask and staring at her in disbelief.
Raina ran to him and threw her arms around him. "Kakashi..."
Kakashi held her tightly to him, never wanting to let go again. "Raina, I've missed you so much..."
Raina let her tears fall and she buried her face into his chest, weeping. She could only remember the darkness surrounding her, seeing Itachi Uchiha take his blade across her chest but felt no pain, then slipping deeper into darkness and Itachi disappearing. There was nothing but darkness for so long, but the more she healed, the more she had been able to access the inner recesses of her mind. She unlocked the kekkei genkai Storm Release and trained herself to use it within her inner mind. But now that she was awake, everything was crashing down around her. She lost her family, her friends, and nothing was the same. She never got to tell her family she loved them one last time, she never got to hug her father and let her brother rub her head, messing up her hair, she never got to be a teacher, she never got to really experience anything with Kakashi in their relationship, having been together only a year, and she may have lost him during that time. Nothing was right in the world, it would never be the same, it would never be her life again.
Kakashi held her and let her cry, weeping into him. He just stood there with her until the sky had darkened and Raina had no tears left to shed. When she grew silent, Kakashi lifted her chin and looked down at her, gazing into her teal eyes. He stroked her hair, her cheek, her shoulder, her arm, anywhere he could comfort her.
"Raina... still beautiful after nine long years..." he said, smiling. "I'm so glad you're awake..."
Raina looked up at him and touched his cheeks. "Kakashi, I'm so sorry..."
"Why do you have to be sorry?" Kakashi asked.
"I left you alone... I couldn't stop Itachi... I couldn't be here to help protect everyone..." she said, looking away.
Kakashi lifted her chin and kissed her, softly enough to make sure she knew it was OK. When he pulled away, he looked down at her. "None of that was your fault... You never left me alone either... I stayed with you every day and never once left your side unless it was really important. I brought you flowers every week- purple and blue azaleas- I held your hand, I even tried to read you 'Ichi Ichi' books in hopes I'd bore you awake."
Raina looked at him. "But, Father and Asuma..."
"Your father died trying to protect the village from Orochimaru and Asuma died protecting the village as well. He and Kurenai got married, you know. They had a daughter together- her name is Mirai."
"I have a niece?" Raina asked.
"Yes, and a nephew. His name is Konohamaru. He's Mirai's cousin and he's all grown up now, too."
Raina felt some sense of relief come through. "What about my mother?"
"She passed away a few years after Asuma. Natural causes, but she is buried with your brother and father." Kakashi said, his smile fading.
"I feel like I failed everyone, Kakashi..." Raina said, looking down.
Kakashi pulled her closer and kissed her hair. "No, sweetheart, you didn't fail anyone." They stood there for a few more moments before Kakashi suggested they return to the hospital.
Raina nodded and let him take her back to the hospital where she was fussed over by Tsunade and the nurses. Kakashi promised to pick her up in the morning when she was cleared for discharge and take her home. Raina thought everything over and she knew there would be a lot of things to get used to. Patience and time could only give her a normal life- as normal of one as she could have.