Chapter 7: Distracted

Eight years ago. Kakashi Hatake's P.O.V.

I followed the med-in to Lekali's room; turns out many people had business in her room. The small space seemed greatly over crowded as people bustled in and out. An older woman sat in a chair at the head of Lekali's bed, at first I thought she was her obaasan (grandmother) but then I recalled that Iruka had mentioned that Lekali lives alone. The woman chattered about pointless things to the unconscious girl. A med-in with a syringe brushed past me to stick the fat needle into Lekali's still bruised arm.

Kid I don't blame you for wanting to miss this.

The woman looked up and noticing me announced my presence to her. Then, as if it were some sort of taboo, everyone immediately left the room leaving me standing a little befuddled with the sleeping girl. Well maybe not sleeping, Lekali visibly relaxed once the sounds of the retreating med-ins faded away. I walked to the head of her bed an occupied the now empty chair recently vacated by the older woman. Not knowing what else I was supposed to do now I started to talk.

"Um, hello there. I'm…I'm Kakashi Hatake, I'm a friend of your sensei's, Iruka, at the academy."

The corners of her mouth twitch when I speak as she realizes there's still someone in the room.

"I uhhh…well I'm the one who found you in the forest. I just came by to see how you were."

I felt like an idiot talking to nothing and embarrassed how pathetic my words were. After that I didn't know what else to say without making a bigger fool of myself so I stayed quiet. Lekali seemed to fully relax in the silence and I assumed she had fallen into a true sleep at last.

But the peace only let my mind wander and I soon found myself thinking about the demon eyes. I couldn't recall any actual memory of seeing them but in the nightmare they were so real, so full of hate and the lust to kill. Real enough to be a forgotten memory perhaps? As I thought about them my own eyes found Lekali's face, and beneath her closed lids the very pair of golden amber eyes that started this whole mess in my head. I sat for hours just thinking about them and why they could possibly have triggered in my memory. Occasionally a med-in would peek inside the door to check on us but otherwise we were left completely alone. I was so distracted by my thoughts that I barely noticed.