A week later Koka sat up from her sleep. Hastily she got up from her bed and slipped on her robe before running to wake up Kaede and Heiwa. The small girl shoved Kaede's jacket into her arms before slipping out the door with the two of them.
As they ran, chaos began erupting around them. Civilians began crowding the street as shinobi flocked to the roof tops. An explosion shook the village, knocking Koka over. Within moment, she lost sight of Heiwa and Kaede. All around her people were running towards shelter, paying no heed to the small girl on the ground.
A foot clipped her ribs as she struggled to regain her footing. She had to escape the crowd before she was crushed.
Koka got to her feet and pushed through, her smaller size posing both a danger and an asset to her. She was easily knocked over, but she was able to slip through gaps in the crowd. She broke free and ran towards the Uchiha district. Koka was in a state of panic. There were so many explosions and tremors shaking the ground that it was impossible for her to go in a straight line. People everywhere were panicking and paid no heed to who was in their path in an attempt to scape.
Lights that once lit up the streets were out, causing the debris filled paths to be even more of a danger. Koka's breath came in gasps as she pushed her small body to get some place safe. She knew this would happen. She told them about it so they could stop it. But they failed. Koka felt the tears slip down her face.
Movement caught her eye and the small girl stared up in terror at the giant fox that was terrorizing the village. Even halfway across the village, it was a sight to behold. Koka felt her body lock up in terror as her eyes changed to an ethereal hue. Another tremor shook the ground, causing her to fall to her knees.
Koka pulled herself to her feet once more as she struggled to move under the weight of her vision. The girl made her way to a new destination. She hoped she would reach it in time.
Kaede panicked the moment she realized Koka was no longer with her or Heiwa. She made to turn back but the older woman lifted her up and ran on.
"Koka's a smart girl, she'll be alright and meet up with us." Kaede could do nothing but clutch to her guardian and cry in both fear and worry. Seeing the monster fox intensified those feelings.
The crowd began to thin out as shinobi started to control the panicked masses. The woman was no longer in danger of being knocked over with Kaede in her arms.
"Heiwa-san! Kaede!" Both turned and looked to where they hear their names being called. Shisui was pushing through the crowd to get to them. Behind him came Itachi, a baby Sasuke in his arms. They all felt relief at seeing each other safe and Heiwa embraced the two boys.
"Where's Koka?" Itachi looked around for the small girl. But when his eyes lighted on Kaede's tear stained face, it was all the answer he needed. The young Uchiha felt his heart clench. Koka was missing.
"Itachi, let's get these guys some place safe and then we'll look for Koka." Shisui was firm and Itachi had to nod. Koka would kill him if anything happened to them.
Itachi and Shisui led Heiwa and Kaede to a shelter on the outskirts of the village. There they found a frantic Mikoto. By this point the fox had been pushed out of the village, but it was still too dangerous to return yet. Mikoto brought the boys into a fierce hug and embraced Heiwa and Kaede in relief. But Koka had yet to show up.
The two boys were tearing at the bit, wanting to go search for Koka, but Heiwa and Mikoto were firm. They were not shinobi yet. It was too dangerous for them to enter the village before being given the all clear. Koka was a smart girl, she would be ok. No one mentioned how a small child could easily be trampled by a panicking crowd or lost in the confusion.
They were forced to wait. Eventually things began to quiet down and the sun began to peak over the horizon. Still they were made to wait and still Koka did not show up. Numbness settled over the group. Eventually shinobi came to tell them it was safe to return to the village. Fugaku came himself to lead his family, Heiwa and Kaede home. There was still no sign of Koka.
When Koka came to, she found herself in a pair of familiar arms. The small girl tilted her head back.
"Kakashi?" The silver haired teen looked down at her, relief evident in his eyes. Over the last few months he had grown fond of the small girl.
"How are you feeling?" He asked her.
"My head and ribs hurt. What happened?"
"I found you about to pass out in the street. What were you thinking? You should have gone with the others." Koka frowned.
"We got separated and someone kicked me." Kakashi sighed. She was lucky he had gotten to her in time. Debris had come close to falling on her.
"Kakashi?" The teen looked back at the small girl in his arms.
"Hm?"
"Where's Hokage-sama and Kushina-sama?" Kakashi felt himself stumble as the pain of their loss hit him once again.
"I'm sorry Koka." That was all that needed to be said. The young girl felt tears begin to run down her face as she buried it into Kakashi's shoulder. The young girl had become close to Kushina over the past week.
Kakashi found her a healer to look at her ribs and afterwards took her back to the shrine. No one was back yet so the young shinobi sat with her. They passed the time in silence, both grieving for what was lost, and taking comfort in each other.
"Kakashi?" The shinobi looked the small girl beside him. They had been sitting for a while now.
"Hm?" Big blue eyes looked up at him and he could not help but pity her.
"You'll still visit right?" He blinked in surprise before nodding slowly.
"Ah. I won't abandon a friend." Koka's small smile, the first he had ever seen from the girl, was all he needed to see to know he had said the right thing. They returned to silence once more.
Minutes later, Kakashi shifted, prompting Koka to look up at him.
"They're here." Koka looked to the shrine gate, waiting.
Itachi walked with the group, heart heavy at the disappearance of Koka and the aftermath of the Kyubi attack. To his right was Shisui with Kaede between the two of them while Heiwa walked behind them with Mikoto who had a baby Sasuke in her arms.
Parts of the Uchiha compound had been damaged considerably, including their homes. Heiwa had offered them shelter at the shrine, as it was mostly untouched, while their home was being repaired. Fugaku had left them to help out. Itachi could not help but feel like their group was incomplete without Koka. The shrine gate came into view when he felt a familiar presence. His head snapped up in hope.
"Koka!" Kaede sprinted to the shrine. There, seated beside a familiar shock of silver, was a figure in blue. Koka stood up and, to Itachi's surprise, ran towards Kaede.
"Kaede!" The younger girl was swept into a massive hug as Kaede broke down crying in relief. Heiwa joined the two girls and brought them both in. Tears ran down her face silently.
"Thank Kami." Itachi looked up at his mom as she sighed in relief. The three Uchiha walked forward to join the group. It was then that Heiwa looked towards Kakashi.
"Thank you for looking after her. How did you find her?" The silver haired ANBU shifted slightly.
"It was no problem. She was in the street, just about passed out." Heiwa had finally straightened up and Mikoto had joined her as they talked to Kakashi.
Kaede was still clinging on to Koka, the younger girl beginning to look uncomfortable with the situation. Shisui joined in on the hug fest, drawing in Itachi as well. The younger Uchiha had little choice, though it looked like Koka was beginning to struggle out of their grip.
"Kaede, you're hurting me." The older girl gasped and immediately let go before clutching Koka's shoulders.
"Are you hurt? Did anything happen?"
Koka shook her head. "I'm ok, just tired."
Near them Kakashi let out an undignified snort. "She was hurt during the panic and received some broken ribs. A healer took care of them, but she'll be sore for a while."
If looks could kill, Kakashi would have been six feet under as Koka glared at him. Kaede redoubled her fussing over the smaller girl and began dragging her into the shrine. Itachi and Shisui watched them go.
"If a man wants to protect something, he should be there." It was all the prompting needed. Itachi and Shisui took after the two girls, leaving Heiwa and Mikoto with Kakashi.
The silver haired ANBU waited until they were all out of earshot before turning back to the women before him.
"There's something I'd like to speak with you about, regarding Koka."
