Kakashi and Mizuki moved the old woman into a more comfortable position. They used supplied that they had packed to prop her head up and cover her. "I'm going to go see if there's any water left in the well we found earlier." Mizuki said.
"Okay, I'll stay here with her." Kakashi replied.
Mizuki left and after she had been gone for several minutes, when the old woman's eyes opened. "Hello." Kakashi greeted her. "How are you feeling?"
"Alright." The woman answered. She then began to slowly set up.
Kakashi quickly moved to help her set up. "I'm Kakashi Hatake. I'm from the Village Hidden in the Leaves."
"My name is Etsuko." The old woman replied. "I have lived my whole life in this village."
Kakashi was just getting ready to say something, when Mizuki walked in the house. "There was still water in the well." She announced, holding a canteen full of water.
The old woman looked up at her. "Yuina, I...I thought..." Etsuko began.
Mizuki furrowed her brow. "My name is Mizuki." She said. "Who is Yuina?"
The old woman's eyes widened. She then slowly rose to her feet and walked over to Mizuki. "Mizuki..." She said, reaching a hand towards her cheek, "...I should have known...you're the spitting image...I'm so glad to know you're alive!"
Mizuki looked at the woman, trying to see if she could remember her, but she couldn't. "Do...I know you?" Mizuki asked.
Etsuko looked puzzled for a moment, then understanding shown in her eyes. "You don't remember, do you child?"
"I don't remember the first four years of my life." Mizuki answered.
"I'm Etsuko. I was the nanny for the Yozora family's only child." She told Mizuki. "I was your nanny."
Mizuki's eyes widened. "You mean..." Mizuki began, trailing off, not sure how to finish the sentence.
Etsuko smiled. Then she took Mizuki by the hand. "Come with me child." She said, then she turned to Kakashi. "You, too."
She led them out of the front room of the house and through the doorway in which she had originally appeared. The trio came to a stop in the middle of the hallway. "The Yozora family founded this village after the Hidden Villages were created. It was for anyone who wanted to live in peace, but didn't want to join one of the Hidden Villages." Etsuko said. Then she pointed to a picture. It was charred and burnt, but you could still see some of the faces.
"Though this picture is charred, this is the picture of the day this village was founded. Theses people are your ancestors." Etsuko explained. Then she led them farther down the hall and pointed to another picture. "This is a picture of your mother and father. Yuina and Hiro Yozora."
Mizuki and Kakashi both looked up at the picture. It was charred at the corners and there were multiple tears in it, but the couple were still easy to see. The woman looked just like Mizuki. "She has to be your mother." Kakashi said. "You look just like her."
"What exactly happened to this village?" Mizuki asked.
"What your great grandparents, the founders of the this village, didn't know is that there is a darkness that lurks just outside the walls and hides in the shadows." Etsuko answered. "It wants to consume every bit of power possible and the Yozora clan is host to a very strong power. Something special."
"What?" Mizuki asked.
"A most powerful chakra." Etsuko answered. "Although, I'm sure you've figured out how powerful your chakra is already."
Mizuki began to open her mouth to speak, but then there was a loud roaring from outside. Etsuko's eyes widened. "You must get out of here. The darkness is back for you." She told Mizuki. "And it will take you, too Kakashi."
Etsuko then began to push them further into the hall. She lifted a hidden door in the floor and forced them through it. Mizuki felt that the seen was so familiar. She watched as Etsuko's kind face disappeared as she closed the door.
Mizuki looked at Kakashi. He seemed just as confused as she felt. Then a strange fire of determination lit inside of Mizuki. While her mind couldn't recall the old woman, but something else, something deep inside of her seemed to recognize her, care for her.
"We have to help her." Mizuki said, turning to Kakashi.
"We will." Kakashi agreed.
The pair readied themselves for whatever lay on the other side. Kakashi lifted his headband to reveal his Sharingan. If this really was the darkness, then he would need the advantage of his eye. They both stood and lifted the trap door slightly. They saw a shadowy figure standing over Etsuko, who was lying on the ground.
"Where is she old woman?" asked an eery voice, seeming to come from the shadow.
"Long gone." Etsuko answered. "Some place you will never find her!"
"I grow tired of you and your games. I can sense that she is still here." the voice sounded angry.
"When I signed up to care for her, I promised that I would protect her with my life and I will." Etsuko replied. Then she appeared to be calling on some kind of power and made hand signs. She then held her hands palm up and a strange yellow light came from them and went for the shadow.
The shadow seemed to absorb it. Then it seemed to get even angier. A loud cry came from the shadow then it grew and wrapped around the old woman and consumed her. Mizuki was getting ready to jump out and go after the shadow, when Kakashi grabbed her and stopped her. He pulled her back into the room and made sure that the trap door shut silently.
Mizuki opened her mouth to protest, but Kakashi clamped his hand over her mouth. He held her body tightly to his. If it weren't for the fact that she was currently mad at him, Mizuki would like the fact that Kakashi was holding her so close. But he was holding her back, keeping her from saving someone who had once been important to her.
It was then that Mizuki felt the hot tears stream down her face. She still couldn't remember the woman, but her heart did. Her heart knew the old woman and loved her and wanted to save her. Her heart ached knowing that she couldn't. It was then that the blackness consumed Mizuki and she became unconscious in Kakashi's grip.