Naruto had come home to an empty house. There was a small note on the door. "Gone shopping – Ishi."
But, he could barely make it out. It had been crossed out.
"Naruto, Ishi's with me. We need to talk when you get home. Iruka."
Naruto went pale. Ishi only went to Iruka-sensei when there was an emergency. The house seemed to be fine, but Ishi's little tawny kitten was batting at his foot and meowing. Naruto picked up the kitten, snuggling the tiny animal to his cheek.
"Little Savage? What's wrong?" He asked, the kitten just meowing again.
When Little Savage, generally the silent hunter, wouldn't shut up…there was really something wrong. Naruto set him down and the kitten went running up to Ishi's room. Naruto ran after the kitten, making it to the room before Little Savage. He skidded to a halt in front of her room, looking around in horror.
"No…" Naruto whispered, looking around at the generally spotless room.
It reeked of something Naruto couldn't place, but the blood on Ishi's sheets…he had to assume that was hers. He could practically hear her screaming. His fists clenched as he glared away from the room. The bedding was an utter mess, Ishi's good work on making it ruined.
Yes, he and Ishi really needed to talk. Whatever had happened…those people were going to pay. Red energy surrounded him as he glared back at the room again.
Calm down, calm down, The voice of Kyubi muttered in his ear, No need to get worked up over nothing, Kit.
Then what do you think happened?! Naruto snarled at the kitsune.
Well…I'm not sure, but it looks like rape and attempted murder to me.
Gee, you're a lot of help.
Head for Iruka's house. Make sure she's fine.
If any thing happens to her…
I know, kit, I know. Calm down. Just hurry, I've got a very bad feeling about this.
Iruka looked at the one student he had ever had to expel from the academy, and he had wished he hadn't every day after. Katanra Ishiana, a.k.a. Ishi, sat across from him with a teacup in hand. Her hand was shaking as well.
Where in the heck is Naruto, Iruka asked himself, He should've been here by now.
There was a quick knock at the door. Iruka jumped up, praying it was Naruto. He opened the door, seeing the genius of the class – next to Sasuke – staring up at him.
"Is she all right?!" Minnamino Kami sounded very worried, her long brown hair still a mess. She looked like she hadn't had a time to try and brush out her brown curls; her green eyes were filled with tears.
Kami had dropped out of the Academy, determined to be on the same team as Ishi. The two were very good friends, though not quite as close as Naruto and Ishi.
"She's…"
"Don't you DARE tell me she's fine and lie to me, Iruka-sensei!" Kami stomped one foot, green skirt nearly flying up to indecency. Her emerald-colored sleeves added flair to her every motion.
"K-Kami-chan?" Ishi stepped up behind Iruka.
"Ishi!" Kami hugged the girl close. And, for the first time since she had come to Iruka's house, Ishi was crying. "You're not okay, are you?" Kami asked after a few minutes. She looked at Iruka, who shook his head.
"Sorry I'm late! Where the hell is Ishi?!"
"Naruto-kun!" Ishi ran over and hugged him. Naruto stared down at her, hugging her back. She was like his little sister. And, he promised himself, if anything happened to her…whoever had hurt her was going to pay very dearly.
Sasuke looked from Kami, to Ishi and Naruto, then at Iruka. A single look from the Chunin promised explanations later.
Kami looked up at the cherry tree nearby Iruka's house.
What happened? Robin's flat and uninterested voice echoed in her mind.
I don't know. I didn't get a chance to talk to her yet.
She reeks of sex. And blood.
I was noticing that too. She was in quite a state when I got here.
Hn. Little pest. She probably couldn't even fight back.
Robin-chan, be nice to her. She's one of the few who understand what we have been through.
Hn. Neither of us was raped.
No, but she grew up without parents, like you did. She's been hated by the village, like you.
Then why did you say "we".
That's my business.
Kami could feel the telepath searching her mind for answers. When Robin came upon a solid block in the other girl's mind, Kami smiled a little.
Why don't you come inside, Robin-chan? Make sure Ishi's all right. Have some tea.
There was an audible snort from the cherry-tree this time. I'll pass. I could care less about the little brat.
Stop acting like your cousin.
He's not my cousin.
He is so. Well, cousin-in-law. Sort of.
Hn. No, he's not. Gaara and I are not related and never have been.
Could've fooled me.
Hn. I hate you, kitsune.
Same to you, three-eyes. With that, Kami shot a benign smile at the cherry tree and started to walk back inside.
Ishi was upstairs. Most likely showering, since no one had wanted her to until Naruto got there. In case the blonde boy was still incensed enough to assume she wasn't there and go on a rampage. Meanwhile, the others were waiting for her to come down.
Kami sat next to Sasuke, across from Naruto. Who looked grim, if such a thing was possible for the fox-boy. Yes, she could tell. She herself was half-kitsune, so her sensitive nose could tell these things.
Naruto glared at Sasuke. Sasuke glared back. Though they both didn't say anything, an icy glare from Kami shut them both up. It was surprising that she could keep them quiet. That Naruto would even respond to her. Let alone listen.
Ishi finally came down; her generally pale skin was bright red. As if she had tried to scrub it raw. Naruto ran over and helped her down the stairs. She leaned on him, mostly for support.
How cute. Kami could just read the words in Sasuke's expression. She poked him in the kneecap. He looked at her oddly.
"What did you do that for?" He hissed.
"Stop looking at them like that, Sasuke-kun." She whispered back, "There's nothing between them. The most love there is is that she's like his little sister and he's like her big brother."
Sasuke grunted and looked away. Back at Ishi, who had her arms folded over the table and her head on her arms. She wasn't crying. It just looked like she was resting. Naruto wrapped a blanket around her shoulders. She looked up at him and nodded, drawing the blanket around her like it was protective armor. Naruto sat quietly beside her and waited for her to speak.
She didn't. She didn't even look at Iruka. She just stared at the table with empty eyes.
Klutz? What happened? The Kyubi asked.
Shut up, Kyubi. The female kitsune was almost in as bad shape as the girl on the outside. She sounded close to tears, which was not normal for her.
You can tell me. It's okay. No one can hear us.
It's not that. Just thinking about it, makes me and her relive it.
Relive what? What happened? Tell me, Damnit!
I…fine, but she's going to sleep before I say anything. I'll tell them what happened.
That's fine. Whatever you have to do…
On the outside, Ishi shuddered a little before she looked up with golden-brown eyes.
"Klutz." Kami greeted. The girl/kitsune nodded.
"Kami."
Naruto's eyes changed as he took on the form of the Kyubi. Sasuke jumped up to take a stance, but Kami set a hand on his wrist.
"Sit down, Sasuke. They won't hurt us." Iruka sighed, "So…what did happen?"
Klutz gulped down a little more tea, looking straight at Kami. Or, rather, through her. Just into empty space.
"Six men…two women…I couldn't see their faces. Probably ANBU. They had those kinds of masks. Maybe they just stole them."
"You're getting off-subject." Kyubi pointed out.
"No, I'm not. Shut up." There was no strength behind her demand, but Kyubi complied.
"Anyway, they jumped Ishi when she was shopping and dragged her back to the house. What they did…'rape' doesn't even cover it. They tortured her in the worst ways possible. They called her 'demon' and 'monster' and they destroyed every ounce of the tiny shards of confidence she had inside herself. I…I tried to help, but she wouldn't let me. She said it was better if we just ignored them, and then they would go away. She told me to save my energy for healing."
"Smart girl." Kyubi stated, but couldn't help sliding his arms around his sister's shoulders. "Breathe. If you hyperventilate, then what will she do?"
"Same, most likely."
"We're getting off topic again." Kami prompted quietly.
"Very well. I healed her the best I could. I couldn't help myself, though. I put Ishi to sleep, so that she wouldn't have to see what I was about to do. I killed every single one of those fucking bastards. I took their bodies away and stuffed them in a cave somewhere. When I got home, I cleaned up the blood and…well; I tried to clean her up as well as possible. But, she woke up somewhere in the middle and wouldn't let me finish. She just got dressed again and came here."
"Could you lead us there?" Sasuke asked. He didn't like being ignored. But, that was what everyone was doing.
"Where?"
"The caves where you dumped the bodies."
"I could, probably…but, I'm going to sleep a little bit. Tomorrow, probably, I will."
"Sleep, Klutz." Kyubi whispered as he rocked her back and forth, "You did well."
She just nodded, closing her eyes. Her hair slipped from its reddish-brown color to its usual blue-black and she curled up in Kyubi's arms. Kami's fists clenched over the table, and Sasuke could see her nails lengthening into claws.
"Kami…" He set a hand on her shoulder, "Calm down."
She looked at him, her eyes slits of gold. Her hair was growing streaks of silver. "Calm down? Calm down?! My best friend was just…and you want…" She growled, standing. "I have to get out of here." She then turned and walked out. Sasuke pounced on her as she stepped foot outside the door, sitting on her back.
"You're not going anywhere. Not like this. You could hurt someone."
"Get off of me! Now, Sasuke!"
"No. I won't. I'm not going to let you take on every ninja you see because you can't see past the red in your eyes."
"I said off, Sasuke!"
"Not a chance. You're staying."
What Sasuke hadn't expected was for her to flip him over and sit on him. "Good thing to know, Sasuke. Don't bother trying to hold me. You'll always end up on bottom. Now how mighty do you feel, Sasuke? Now that you're just like Naruto?"
"Kami-chan." Robin stood behind the two of them and Kami whirled around to look at the girl. "He's not worth it. Get off him."
