Kitai cringed. His mother was on a rampage again, and even Aoi was scared. She had come home drunk and angry in the middle of the night, and woke Kitai by flinging a knife at him and cutting his cheek open. Now she was screaming at them and throwing everything she could get her hands on.
He was scared. He didn't know which day would be his last, or if he would suffer until he moved out. All he knew was, he was afraid. Very afraid.
He ducked as his mother flung a long pole at him. Where she got it, he didn't know. "You little mother fucking asshole! I should just kill you right now an' save myself the trouble later!" she screamed.
Kitai shrunk away. "I'm sorry!" He didn't know what he was sorry for, he just knew it was the only thing that calmed her down.
It didn't work.
Kitai yelped and barely avoided being hit by her fist. She growled at him, baring her teeth. Her long, red hair was tangled and her blue eyes were filled with hate. Kitai shrank against the wall, and tried not to meet her eyes. "You think you're funny? You think you're cute?! God damn it, kid, you're damn wrong! Just looking at you makes me sick!" she spat.
He looked to his sister, silently pleading for help. Aoi just looked away and pretended nothing was happening, much to Kitai's dismay. He turned back to his mother just in time to see her fist coming straight for his face.
Everything went black.
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Yuna sat silently in the waiting room, her brown eyes trained on the tile underneath her. Next to her sat Mariko, also silent, and Raye, who stared at the door with a worried grimace set on her face.
Kitai had been admitted an hour ago with superficial injuries and slight head trauma. His mother had been taken into custody for abuse, and his sister had been questioned but deemed unrelated to the attack, as they put it.
He had been unconscious ever since he'd been found.
Yuna sighed. It was hard not to cry. "How.... could this happen to Kitai? I mean, he never told us there was any problem at home..."
Raye shook her head. "He didn't want us to know. I mean, if this was happening to you, would you have the guts to tell?"
Yuna looked down. "Oh... no..."
Raye nodded. "Precisely." Having proven her point, she sat back in her chair and stared at the door again.
Several minutes of silence passed.
Finally, a nurse, clad in white, approached. She adjusted her glasses. "I assume you're here for Misuto?"
Mariko stood. "Yes."
She gestured for them to stand. "He's awake and ready to see visitors."
--------------------
Kitai lay in the hospital bed, an IV drip attached to his wrist and a bandage encircling his head. He looked up and smiled lightly when his teammates entered, wincing slightly at the pain in his throbbing head. He struggled to sit up, but Raye placed a hand on his shoulder. "No, you need to stay lying down."
He started to protest, but quickly stopped. Yuna burst into tears, crushed to see her friend in such a state.
Kitai's eyes widened. "No, don't cry... Yuna-san, please stop crying!" he begged, reaching out to try and comfort her. His heart moniter quickened its pace.
Raye acted quickly and calmed Yuna down, then proceeded to calm Kitai. "Shh... If your heart rate gets to high, they're sure to kick us out." she whispered, stroking Kitai's hair. He didn't bother protesting, and slowly the moniter's beep returned to normal. Raye smiled.
Mariko sighed. "Kitai-san, they're saying you'll be in here for at least three days. You'll miss our first mission..."
Kitai's face fell. "But... our first mission... wasn't it-"
Yuna nodded. "It was to go help Yukigakure recover from a snowstorm. It was gonna pay good..." he murmured.
"Well," Raye stood up. "We won't leave without you. I'll go tell the Mizukage we can't do it." she replied, turning and heading for the door. "Yuna, Mariko, you two can stay here with Kitai. I'll go tell him. I'm sure he won't like it." She turned and gave her students a bright smile, then headed out the door.
--------------------------------
Raye shuddered. Facing the Mizukage and telling him Squad 4 couldn't make the mission was not pleasant. She shook her head. "Man, I'm not going to be able to hear well for a week..." she muttered.
"Raye-sama!"
She paused and turned. "Yes?"
A young blonde-haired girl rushed up, panting heavily. Her violet eyes were full of panic. "Have you seen a girl with white hair and violet eyes?" she begged, "She went missing yesterday, and I'm getting really worried! She's my onee-chan and if we don't find her, I'm scared she's gonna die!"
Raye's eyes widened as she remembered the girl from yesterday at the diner.
"Comin' right up! Go and pick yourselves out a seat, anywhere you like!" "Hey y'all, hope I'm not interrupting!"
She glanced back up at the girl. "Don't worry, we'll find her. Come with me, we'll set up a mission with the Mizukage." She took the girl's hand and headed back toward his office. "What's your name?"
The girl paused. "My name?"
"Yes, your name."
"Kasuki Otoma. My sister is Akurei Otoma, heir to the Otoma clan's leadership position."
