On top of the Hokage monument, two tall men stood looking over the village, unseen in the dark. The raven-haired man's eyes glistened red as he turned to face his companion. "We will get the boy tomorrow."
"Why not now?" the shark-faced ninja asked. His blood ran cold when the other looked at him with disdain, as if resenting his questioning. "Sumimasen, Itachi. We'll get the boy tomorrow."
No doubt about it.
The master Sharingan user was back.
He couldn't sleep. An intense discomfort was lingering on his mind. He sat up on his couch-turned-bed and stared out the window, admiring the massive black sky highlighted only by the moon and the stars. He leaned back and continued his silent observation, blinking once in a while.
"Kakashi."
He sat up straight. The voice was unfamiliar, lazy and cool. Was he dreaming? Maybe. But then again, it sounded real. Hyuro. He had forgotten all about her. "Hyuro?"
The scantily-dressed girl was sitting on the bed, obscured by the night's blackness. She was staring at him. "You're not asleep." Her statement assured Kakashi that she had indeed spoken.
Why is she talking now? Kakashi thought. "Couldn't sleep. You're awake, too."
"I'm always awake at night."
The man still found it hard to believe that Hyuro was talking, after several days of spending time with her silence. "Why is that?" he asked the girl.
"So I know what's happening."
What? "What do you think will happen?" For once, there was a person he couldn't figure out.
"Something bad," Hyuro answered simply and honestly. She stood up from the bed and sat on the floor in front of Kakashi's spot on the couch. "Do you wish me to return to my home?"
"Do you want to?"
Hyuro didn't answer the question, instead, she asked him, "Do you find me troublesome?"
"No."
As if that was enough for her, Hyuro managed to give a small smile, a smile so fleeting Kakashi wasn't sure if he had really seen it. "Kakashi..."
"Hn?" He transferred to the floor beside Hyuro and rubbed his head slowly, meaning to rub off his headache.
"Go to sleep."
"In a while. You should go to sleep, too."
"I can't sleep at night."
The jounin was curious about her reason. He thought maybe the girl was scared that her father would come during the night to take her away. Suddenly, Kakashi felt the need to protect Hyuro. He didn't want her to feel afraid. He didn't want her to be hurt again. "It's not good to stay awake all night."
"I know."
"Ano..."
"I can't do anything about it," Hyuro said.
"What do you mean?"
"Every night, memories I'd rather forget come to haunt me. I'm afraid that if I sleep, my father might come. He's not really a bad man, but he can't bear to have a failure like me in the family."
So he was right. Hyuro really was terrified about being left unguarded. "Hyuro," he said seriously.
"Hai?"
"Go to sleep. I will protect you. I won't let anyone harm you. I promise."
A few minutes later, Hyuro fell asleep right there on the floor.
That's how much she trusted Kakashi.
With her life.
-
10 years ago
A ceremony was to be held for the nine-year old successor of the Homura clan. Every member of their great family was going to be there, to witness the moment where Wakago, the head, would officially let his daughter carry on the duties every Homura took on at that age.
Little Hyuro, pale and quiet, slowly walked into the large assembly room. She had found out that the task about to be handed to her wasn't one that she liked. For years their family had an enemy clan, the Uritemo. The said clan was among the high-ranking nin-families of Konoha until the day Hyuro's forefathers rebuked the Uritemo. They sank into obscurity and anonymosity. But not to the Homura.
It was every Homura's mission to take the life of one Uritemo, to rid of them all, yet sharing the stain of blood. What Wakago didn't know was that the last remnant of their nemesis had become his daughter's friend. Hyuro was the last of their clan to be given a chance to kill an Uritemo, it was considered an honor. But she saw it as a curse, an undeserved punishment.
And so she ran away, away from the ceremony, to tell Yusuke to run away. By the time Wakago and the others found Hyuro, she was sitting on the Uritemo's steps with her head on her knees and her hands clutching her hair.
"Hyuro!" Wakago called out sternly. "Stand up." As he drew nearer the trembling girl, his companions went inside their enemy's house to look for Yusuke.
"He's not here, Wakago-sama."
Wakago frowned. "Stand up, Hyuro. Shinobi don't cry."
Hyuro looked up, surprising her family with her dry eyes. She was definitely not crying.
"Where is he, Hyuro? Where is that Uritemo boy?"
The Homura head received silence.
And so now we know when Hyuro acquired her wordless state.
end of flashback
-
The next morning, Kakashi was contemplating about what Hyuro could wear. Her old clothes were too torn and dirty to be worn again and she couldn't very well keep on wearing Kakashi's bathrobe. "Is it OK if I leave you here first? I'm sure some clothing stores are open now."
"You don't have to buy anything. I can wear your clothes. You're nearly as thin as I am and I'm nearly as tall as you are." The girl stood up and went over to the solitary closet in the room. Everything looked the same. Black, black and black. Oh, there were also some green-grey-colored pants and vests, but dark-colored nonetheless.
Kakashi smiled sheepishly. "You won't find much in there."
"These will do," Hyuro replied. Her speech was a little slow and awkward, considering that she had hushed up for nearly ten years. She took out one shirt and pulled it over her head while Kakashi faced the opposite direction. Next she wore a pair of pants identical to what Kakashi was wearing, then slipped on sandals that were too big for her. "Uhm... Kakashi..."
"I'll buy sandals for you," the jounin said with a chuckle when he saw her plight.
"Thanks."
"Where's your forehead protector?" He hadn't seen one when he first saw her.
"I lost it." The steely edge in her voice couldn't be missed, but Kakashi didn't say anything about it.
"Let's go."
"Where to?"
"To eat."
some may like it, some may not. just lemme know what u think. ne?