"Hey, Kakashi!"
The white-haired jonin turned to see Gai approach.
"Come celebrate with the rest of us, eternal rival! Everyone's finally awake! "
He didn't correct him. There was still one person asleep, just one woman hidden away from the view of others. Kakashi glanced at Kurenai and Asuma who stood behind Gai. He could tell they were concerned about him again, it seemed they always were. "I've already made plans," he replied without emotion.
"What plans come before friends?!" the ninja protested vigorously as he grabbed Kakashi's arm. "You've been avoiding us for a month and a half!"
Had he? "I've been busy."
"Where's your youth?!" Gai pulled on Kakashi, dragging him back to their other friends. "You must come!"
The Copy Ninja slipped out of his grasp. "Sorry Gai."
And with that, Kakashi turned and resumed down the street.
"Ka-"
"Leave him be,"Asuma cut him off.
"We're worried about him too, Gai," Kurenai added sympathetically. "Let's give him more time."
The Green Beast hesitated, watching his friend. With a slow nod, he finally turned and followed them out.
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He trudged into the white room. Machines hummed with life around him, but Chiisai lay silent, her body still in the small hospital bed. Her chest rose and fell, all signs showing that she was still alive. But each day had past, and she didn't wake up. She looked exactly the same as yesterday, and the day before that, and the day before that.
He waited for her every night, whether within the room or in his dreams. And each morning, he would wake to find that nothing had changed.
Kakashi pulled up the chair he usually preoccupied. He felt like it had molded to his body, the way it curved around his thighs. The same light blared above as he gazed down at Chiisai. Not a hair on her head was out of place.
Everyone was awake now, all had been accounted for. And though the village still silently feared falling asleep, most had moved on. Tonight was a night for rejoicing that the mysterious ailment plagued no more.
Now if only Chiisai could rejoice with them.
The threats against the Land of Fire had soon vanished when the first ones woke up. The village bordered on chaos, saying that it was a weapon tested on innocent bystanders. Others said that it was a sickness of the mind and would soon cover every land. Perhaps it was divine judgment. The rumors spread like wildfire, but no evidence ever came to light. Konoha slowly fell back into the pattern of normality, leaving behind the threat that had arrived and left in such a short amount of time.
Cries of joy had greeted their ears when eyes fluttered open to see reality. And though tests were performed on each victim, no information could be accounted for. The dream world had been trapped within Chiisai's powers, and there it stayed. The only thoughts the victims could muster was that it had felt like a wonderful dream.
The only ones who knew of what really happened were he, The Hokage, Shizune, and Inoichi. Once Kakashi returned to reality, Chiisai's body had immediately been sent to a safe location away from suspicious eyes.
Explaining the situation to the Council had been another ordeal. Lady Tsunade informed them that the threat was no more, that the nightmare had been eradicated from existence. Their ignorance to the situation left them with Lord Danzo, but he too was disclosed with no information.
Chiisai had limitless knowledge on every villager. She also had the potential to control anyone under her spell, and even plant thoughts inside their heads. Not to mention her ability to destroy anyone from within their own body.
No, Chiisai was to be another Konohagakure secret held by only a few.
Keeping her safe was an easy task right now, but what would happen when she awoke? Her physical defenses lacked any strength, and enforcing ANBU to watch over Chiisai would put her right under Danzo's spotlight. But that wouldn't matter as long as she continued to dream.
Sighing, Kakashi slid his hand down the flap in his pocket. Pulling it out, he placed the novel on top of the rising stack. There were forty-eight books, one for each day she remained in comatose. Then, taking out the second edition of the Icha Icha series, Kakashi leaned back and read, clinging to the hope that this was the night she would finally return to him.
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"We cannot locate her, Lord Danzo. We believe she has been taken to an underground facility."
"Lady Tsunade is keeping secrets it seems. The woman will surface soon. Keep watch until then."
The masked ninja nodded, and with one last bow, disappeared from sight.
Danzo glanced down at the file before him once again, though he already had it committed to memory. Secrets could never be kept hidden from him for long. After all, he was the man who created most secrets concerning the village.
He recalled running into this woman twice before. Once was with the Sandaime after her parents' deaths. It did not seem surprising at the time due to her post-traumatic stress. Knowing how Hiruzen was such an overly compassionate man, Danzo had instantly moved on.
The next one, however, had spurred his curiosity, if only he had made the time to dwell on such thoughts. Seeing such a simple girl with Itachi Uchiha was an uncommon sight indeed. And though numerous girls fawned over the boy, Itachi had been receptive to this one, perhaps even returning her favor.
It had been fifty-two days since the last sighting of her. The woman was hidden well enough to outwit the ninjas even within ROOT, and tracking her affiliates produced nothing. Danzo knew in his bones that she was involved in the incident the Hokage refused to talk about. What power could this librarian possess to wield such value with Lady Tsunade?
Once Chiisai Kasaru was located, Danzo would make sure to run into her again.
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Her eyes bolted open, her body jerking back to life. Her heart felt like it was pounding against her, trying to free itself from its fleshy prison. Her fingers tightened around the sheets as she struggled to breathe. That's right, she was breathing inside a body.
She was awake!
She was in a room, a very white, thrumming, hospital room.
And she was alone. Utterly, pathetically, alone.
Resting her head against the pillow, Chiisai laid still as she attempted to feel her body. Not just feel it, but feel what it was like to actually feel again. The dream world had senses, but nothing compared to reality she had discovered. Like her toes digging into the cold, thin sheets. Or the chemical smell of cleanliness that hung over the room. And the blaring light that stained the back of her eyes.
Her body was weak. It was weak and hungry and her wrist throbbed from the needles jutted inside it. How long had she been out? Her dark eyes blinked up at the ceiling. There were no windows and not a clock in sight.
Had they forgotten about her- just stored her comatose body in a guarded facility? Did they give up on her waking up? How long had she been out?
With a frustrated groan, she barely managed to pull herself up and swing her legs out of the bed. Everything was sickeningly white, except for the pile of books that-
Her eyes went back to the books. There were six piles of books. She counted each one thoroughly.
Sixty-two books.
Her heart skipped a beat knowing that he had kept his promise. And that he had been here at least once. At one time, she had not been forgotten.
Sixty-two. Is that how long she was in the dream world? Or what if she had been gone for a year? What if she was sixty-two now?! She blinked down at her hands and was relieved to see wrinkleless skin.
Chiisai's powers were rustier than she thought, and freeing each mind took every ounce of energy she had. Not to mention that time she got stuck inside a kid's subconscious for a day, and then discerning the free dreams and the trapped dreams were a hassle. Chiisai had made sure that no one was left in their dream prison. Then she was almost too weak to find her real body. That had taken longer than she thought too.
And suddenly she realized she knew absolutely nothing except she was alive and alone.
With a frustrated groan, Chiisai ripped the needles from her skin. The machines blared horrendously loud, but that was the least of her worries. She placed both hands down on either side of her and pushed off.
A mistake.
She must have been out for a long time, because her legs weren't used to supporting weight. Forward she fell, and for a moment Chiisai humored the thought that this would be a terribly ironic way to die-straight into a pile of books.
A strange noise entered her ears, but she didn't bother to listen because at that moment she was giving Death a good laugh and she didn't want to interrupt.
"Oof!" A hand grabbed around her waist, catching her before she hit the piles of books. The person then scooped her up and placed her back on the bed in a blink of an eye.
Chiisai raised her head from the green vest to see Kakashi in front of her. His eye was intense as ever, his expression unreadable while he gazed down at her. Chiisai had wanted to see him looking relieved at her lively state, but now he seemed more guarded than ever. Instead, she thought him haggard.
Heart pounding and not knowing what to say, Chiisai shifted her gaze to the other person in the room: Lady Tsunade. She stood by the machine that had been just turned off. However, her expression was indistinguishable as well. Or maybe Chiisai had forgotten to differentiate facial expressions.
The Hokage smiled down at her. "It's nice to see you back, Chiisai."
"Uh," her voice scratched against her throat. "How long was I out?"
Kakashi pulled out a book from his pocket and placed it neatly on one of the stacks. "Sixty-three days," he whispered. Furrowing his eyebrow, he stepped closer and said, "You're trembling."
She was. Her body shook all over and she couldn't control of it. She tightened her grip on the bed to steady herself, but dizziness set in.
The blonde shook her head and picked up the needles laying on the bed. "These are what have been keeping your body functioning all this time and you ripped them right out!"
"I panicked when I woke up. W-What d-did you expect?" Pain filled her and she let out a moan. Her body wasn't used to so much activity and it hurt to speak.
Closing his eye, Kakashi swallowed his emotions and turned his attention to Lady Tsunade. The Hokage placed a hand over Chiisai. "Your body has been dependent on the medicine for so long it immediately started having withdrawals."
"Th-then put me b-back on it!"
The Hokage shook her head and replied firmly, "We were going to have to wean you off of them anyway. Now that your body has begun the process, it's best to let nature take its course."
"I th-think I might p-puke."
Regretfully, Lady Tsunade informed, "I'm going to have to put you under until the side effects wear off, Chiisai."
Her eyes widened as she muttered, "I-I've been under f-for sixty-three days!"
"I know. It will only be for a short while." Tsunade hand began to glow green as she began the process.
Chiisai grabbed onto Kakashi's hand. "I d-don't want to wake up a-alone," she pleaded.
His eye softened down at her. Nodding, Kakashi squeezed her hand and replied, "Don't worry. I'll be right here."
The edges of Kakashi's frame grew fuzzy, but his words had gone through and that was enough. She let go then and wandered into the last dreamless sleep she would ever have.
End (Not The End though. Just sayin')
Feast your eyes on over 2000 words of procrastination! Any grammatical errors? Yes, there will be a sequel though I'm not sure how many will actually read it...But that's okay because look I just introduced Danzo as the next villain! Thank you for the faves, follows, and reviews! It makes me super happy! Probably 1-2 chapters more and then I can officially write "The End." Also, the sequel will have more humor and romance...More information coming soon!
I feel bad for Chiisai waking up alone though.