Insanity rise: HIY! I really hope you've enjoyed this story so far as of I have worked very hard on it! It'd going to be a while before I post anymore though because I'm about to be cut off from the internet fro 6 days! Anyway, this is one of those chapters I read over like a hundred ties to make sure it sounded how I wanted it to! Please R&R, I want to know what my readers think of this story!
Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, if I did many of the characters would go mysteriously missing…but I do own this story and a few of the characters!
Chapter 7
Shattered reflection…
"Hello sweetie," Dosu awoke to find his mother at his side, smiling warmly.
"Good morning," she smiled, crystal tears beginning to well in her eyes. Dosu whimpered softly, bright sunshine streaming in from a window nearby. He glanced about, barely able to see anything due to his immobile state. He noticed another figure and knew who it was, for once not feeling too angry. He'd been needing someone to talk too. All night he'd been plagued by horrendous nightmares, reliving the past events in his head over and over again. He'd woken at least three times, drenched in a cold sweat and gasping for breath. His face was tired and hurt, but he did his best to smile.
"Feeling better," Mr. Kogaru asked, approaching the family with an encouraging smile. Dosu hated that question.
"Not really," he rasped his voice still weak and tired.
"Oh sweetie you sound terrible," his mother exclaimed, putting a hand on his forehead , "and you're burning quite the fever!"
"I missed you," Dosu coughed, "I couldn't sleep at all and I don't like being alone in here."
"I'm sorry sweetie, but you need to heal up," Mrs. Kinuta sighed, "the doctor's say it'll be a few days before you can come home."
"How's your back," Mr. Kogaru asked, his question hurting Dosu just as much as the one before.
"It hurts," Dosu managed to mutter, a sudden pain overtaking him.
"I'll talk to the nurses about getting you something for that fever," Mrs. Kinuta sighed, "I just hope you feel better soon."
"Please don't go," Dosu whimpered as his mother began to edge towards the door. Mrs. Kinuta gave him a look of pure dismay, crystal tears falling to the floor.
"I have to go sweetie," his mother said softly, choking back sobs, "I'll come and see you again soon."
"Hope you feel better soon," Mr. Kogaru gave Dosu a strained smile and followed Dosu's mother out, the door clicking shut behind him. Dosu sighed, wondering why they had seemed so anxious to leave. It only meant that he would spend more dreadful time alone. He stared up at the ceiling, the room's silence bearing down on him as though it weighed a ton. He felt so alone, wishing he was anywhere but here. Grimacing, he cringed as another wave of pain shot up his spine, warning him of too much sudden strain. How could expect him to live like this? Crippled and broken in a hospital bed, alone in a dark room where the very idea of happiness seemed to be blocked out by the locked doors. He wished he was at home, the warm sunshine beating down on him in a familiar place, but instead he was in this dark nightmare. This seemed so hopeless, how could he lead a normal life if he was scarred for life? What exactly had happened on that night, and where were Genkin and Tugaki? Shaking his head, he let out another deep sigh, wondering why life had to be so full of questions…
"Why did things turn out this way," Mrs. Kinuta exclaimed, collapsing into a chair. Mr. Kogaru gave her a sad glance, looking down at his untouched coffee. The sat in the Kinuta's kitchen, a sickening sadness overcoming them.
"My life seems to be slipping through my fingers," Dosu's mother trembled with grief, "and I can't do a thing to stop it!"
"Don' worry yourself like that, you say him in there, he's bound to heal up and be back to normal in no time," Mr. Kogaru tried his best to sound reassuring, but his objective wasn't quite reached.
"But he won't "heal up", the doctors said those marks will stay with him for the rest of his life," Mrs. Kinuta sighed, dabbing at her tears with a kerchief, "and I know he's going to have a hard time coping with that."
"He'll be fine," the man smiled weakly, realizing how much he was lying. That kid hadn't looked exactly right in there and he knew it. Kids were supposed to be carefree and happy, always bubbling about with never-ending glee, but the look he'd seen when he'd looked at Dosu wasn't that at all. That kid had been mangled, and there was no denying it wouldn't sit well with someone of his age. He sighed, remembering how Dosu's sister had met a similar fate, too caught up in life to realize what was happening until the damage was done and unfixable. Still, Dosu was in fact alive, and he still had a chance to live his life the best he could.
"I just can't believe all this," Mrs. Kinuta sighed, "I've lost one child, and come close to losing the other, in only a matter of weeks!"
"It's a shame, but you can't blame yourself," Mr. Kogaru stood up, putting a hand on the weeping woman's shoulder, "kids will be kids."
"I know," Mrs. Kinuta, sighed, wiping more tears away, "I just feel so distressed, I do hope nothing else happens like this ever again."
"I agree," the man nodded, "enough pain has happened in these last few days to last a lifetime."
"Your right," Dosu's mother sobbed, "thanks so much for staying by me, you've been such a great help to me…"
"I can't just stand by while you sob in pain," the man smirked, "that would be incredibly stupid on my part."
"Thank you," Mrs. Kinuta smiled, a warmness coming into her tear-filled eyes, "I'd be lost without you…"
The next few days slipped by slowly. Mrs. Kinuta struggled between work and visiting her son, tears filling her eyes every time she looked at him. It truly did scare him, for he'd realized the way his mother looked at him, and he knew what filled her eyes with that pained glimmer. Pity, it pained him to think that his own mother felt sorry for him, making him feel sick every time she looked at him. He didn't want her tears, he just wanted her to be happy, but he was clearly doing just the opposite. Little next to nothing ever happened in the hospital, and it pained Dosu to sit around all day, his back still paining him, allowing little movement to take place. Much to his relief, after three remorse-filled days, his mother came to take him home. She'd had to have Mr. Kogaru carry him; Dosu being unspeakably weak from his crippled state over the last few days. Now, Dosu sat up in bed, morning sun piercing through the window, marking a new day. He sighed, fumbling his fingers and wondering he should even try to get up. He'd finally realized how weak he'd become, his strength diminishing as he'd lain in that hospital bed. There was just nothing left in him, his body tired and hurt like that of an injured kitten. He'd tried to walk yesterday, when he'd first gotten home, but had ended up whimpering on the floor, his mother coming to his rescue and putting him back to bed. Yawning, he shook his head, trying to shatter his thoughts of sleep. He'd found it impossible to rest the past night, his mind full of painful thoughts as he'd lied awake in the darkness. Groaning with pain, he brought himself to his feet, wincing as his bare feet hit the cold wood floor. He took a faltering step forward, wincing as a sudden pain pierced through his body. With a squeak, he stumbled forward, clutching to the wall for support, groaning with pain. Sighing, he looked over at the mirror nearby, gasping when he saw the unspeakable reflection. What had happened to him! He leaned against the wall, trying to get a better look at himself as his remaining eye grew wider and wider. His entire body was covered in bandages, gave him a strange look considering he was only thirteen. His skin was pale and he looked tremendously tired and weak. He stumbled towards the broken reflection, tears welling in his eyes. His back was curved unnaturally, making it impossible to stand up straight, now he knew why it had hurt so badly. Trembling, he placed a petrified hand on his head, tearing at the bandages that covered his face, almost too afraid to even look. Tears dripped from his remaining eye as he choked back a sob, cringing when he saw the hideous scars covering his face. He grimaced, working off the bandages around his neck and doing his best to slip off his shirt to examine the damage further. Sure enough, more scars ran down his neck, snaking behind the bandages covering his chest. He let out a pain-filled cry, no longer willing to fight the misery of his broken form. Sobbing, he tore away more of the bandages, ignoring the waves of back that shot up his spine. Blood bubbled up from the deep scars, the wounds yet to be completely healed. Crimson mixed with the tears as it dripped to the floor. He fell to his knees, sinking into a pool of blood and tears. Sobbing uncontrollably, he stared at the image before him, unable to believe it was his own.
"What happened to me," he cried out in anguish, his voice sounding weak and pathetic, "why, why did this have to happen, why?"
"Oh sweetie," Dosu's mother hurried into the room, tears falling from her eyes, "I didn't know you were awake, what…"
"Mom," Dosu cried, burying his head in her shoulder, hugging her tightly while cringing with pain, "what have I done?"
"Dosu," his mother said softly, "I'm so sorry."
That did it, suddenly something inside the misery-drowned boy snapped. His remaining eye grew wide, a sudden anger boiling inside him.
"STOP IT!" He screamed, tearing away from the shocked woman, "JUST STOP IT!"
"Dosu-"
"LEAVE ME ALONE!" Dosu screamed, his body trembling with a sudden fury, "I DON'T WANT YOUR STUPID PITY!"
"Sweetie," Mrs. Kinuta trembled with fear, afraid by her son's wrathful tone, drawing back.
"SHUT UP!" Dosu shook with rage, tears of pain falling from his eyes as he glared at his frightened mother.
"I'm sorry," Mrs. Kinuta said, looking dazed with her eyes wide and her face stained in tears.
"LEVAE ME ALONE, I HATE YOU, I HATE EVERYONE," Dosu lashed out, smacking his mother across the face, causing her to squeak with fear, "JUST LEAVE ME ALONE!"
"Dosu,"
his mother pleaded, blood dripping from her mouth, her body trembling
with pure fear, "please stop, you're scaring me…"
"Mom…,"
suddenly the anger left his voice, for he didn't see someone to be
mad at cowering before him, he saw his own mother. He had been so
blinded by anger at himself that he had hurt her, deliberately struck
her with the intent to cause pain. This was his mother, the only
person he had left and he had beaten her like an animal.
"Oh mom," he whimpered, collapsing in her arms, "I'm so stupid, I'm sorry, I'm just so…stupid, I always hurt everyone, I never make things happy only worse!"
"Dosu," his mother whispered, straining for words, but nothing came, her eyes still wide and distant.
"I should've died at the river; I should've died instead of her! I would have deserved it, but she'd done nothing wrong! At least then you would be happy, you wouldn't be stuck with someone as foolish and stupid as me," Dosu sobbed violently, his breath coming in short gasps as he shook with pure melancholy.
"No sweetie," his mother's eyes no longer held their distant glimmer, "you're wrong, so very wrong, I love you sweetie, and nothing will ever change that!"
"But look at me, this is all my fault," Dosu whimpered, blood seeping to the floor as he clung to last person he had in this dark world, "I look like some dead animal!"
"Don't say that sweetie," his mother sobbed, taking him in her arms and cradling him like a mother would a young child, "you mean the world to me, I don't care what you look like on the outside, because I love you for you are on the inside!"
"Oh mom," Dosu sobbed, his tears spent, though he continued to sob and tremble, "I'm so scared."
"It's okay sweetie," his mother gave him a soft smile, her eyes blazing with sincere motherly love, "I'm here and I won't let anything hurt you ever again."
"Thank you mom," Dosu coughed, "I'm so…sorry."
"Dosu," his mother cried out as she felt her son's body suddenly go limp in her arms. She looked down at him, realizing his remaining eye was closed, his body too tired and hurt to take what had just happened. She sighed, feeling incredibly sorry for the battered boy. Dosu had been so overcome by his own grief, she'd never thought he would take things so severely. Gently, she took him in her arms, standing up and setting him back down on his bed. She choked back a sob, looking down at the blood that steadily dripped from the gaping wounds. Sighing to herself, she noticed that her own dress was stained with crimson.
"Oh Dosu," she whimpered, turning her back to the resting boy, stepping up to the door, "I feel so sorry for you…"
