Chapter 6: The Saving Scroll

I have always considered myself to be fast. However, right now, I feel like a turtle compared to Obito's grandmother. She got to the hospital room before Fugaku and I. She slid the door open, to reveal Misou sitting, propped up with pillows in a hospital bed. She had her right arm stretched towards a cup that sat only a few inches out of her reach.

"Minato-san, when you told me she was very young, I didn't expect a toddler." Fugaku mutters beside me.

Misou, having heard this, turns and pouts at us. "I am not-" Her voice is ragged. We file our way into the room. I pick up the cup, but find it empty. I turn and fill it at the sink. I turn and offer her the cup. She accepts it with a smile, but her hands are shaking so bad that I help her drink from the glass.

The two Uchiha's watch the scene in silence. Fugaku staring, sharingan active, at the girl. She met his gaze, but didn't flinch or look away. She simply looked curious.

"Who are you?" Misou asks. Her voice still rough, but nowhere near as bad.

"Uchiha Fugaku." He said curtly. I had to resist the urge to tell him to mind his manners. I've been a sensei too long.

"Are you Obito's daddy?" She asks. The innocence of the question washes across the room and Fugaku's eyes soften.

"No, but I am related to him. Can you tell me where he is?"

"Mhm. I put him in my scroll so he could get out of the big rocks." She nods her head a little.

"Can we get him back?" Obito's grandmother asks, a tone of desperation in her voice.

"Mhm. I just need my scroll."

I place the scroll in front of her on the hospital tray. She slow lifts her left arm from under the blankets. There had been some awful bruises on her wrists from where she had been tied. We all watched as she tried to move her bandaged left wrist, before she tugged at the bandage, causing it to fall off. Obito's grandmother gasped when she saw the black, blue, and purple of the bruises.

Even though I had seen them before, now, under the bright hospital lights, it looked so much worse. I knew that she had bruises covering most of her body; however, when they were wrapped neatly in sterile-white it was easy to forget how injured she still was. Misou flexed her wrist, and winced as she extended it.

She grabbed the scroll, and looked at Obito's name for a second. Then looked around the room.

"Uhh. I need somewhere to put him." She says shyly.

Fugaku nods, then exits the room. Only to reappear a minute later followed by the ginger nurse pushing a gurney, followed by a large quantity of medical-nin.

The girl closes her eyes, and takes a few deep breaths. Then she opens her eyes, a look of determination fixed on her face.

Her hands start moving. Forming seals that I've never seen. I can see the Fugaku has reactivated his sharingan again, studying her movements.

First, she places both her hands together, palms upward, one on top the other. "Open." The girl whispers under her breath.

Next, She curls her lower hand into a fist, keeping the top hand flat. "Inside." She mutters.

Then, her lower hand straightens, and top hand curls up. "Outside"

Next, she her palms come together, fingers bowed backwards into a 'Y' shape. "Release."

After that, she hits Obito's name with one hand, and extends the other to the gurney.

A large poof, and smoke appears, but quickly dissipates. A badly injured Obito lays on top of the stretcher. The medical-nin swarm into action around Obito, and wheel him off to an emergency operating room. Followed closely by his relatives.

With all of the excitement around Obito, I almost missed Misou's eyes slowly falling shut, then her leaning forward, and starting to tumble off the bed. I run, and catch her inches before she hits the floor. Gently, I hold her to my torso, as I stand and place back on the bed. I remove one of the extra pillows, and lower the gurney frame, to allow her to rest more comfortably. Her eyes open a sliver, a faint smile crosses her lips, and then she falls asleep.


Hiruzen Sarutobi - Sandaime Hokage


Mission Reports. Some were interesting, others dreadfully dull. However, in todays docket was Minato's team returning from Kusagakure. Rumors had been circulating, and he was quite curious as to what had actually happened. All of the Konoha Ninja currently inside the town had gathered to hear the report of what was happening.

"Minato-san, your report for the Kannabi Bridge mission."

"Hokage-sama" Minato steps forward, then bows lightly.

""How is your team doing?"

"Rin is upset, Kakashi is ...emotional, and Obito has another surgery today. While on the way to Kannabi Bridge, my team ran into some trouble with some shinobi from Iwagakure. Rin was temporarily taken captive, and the others decided to rescue her. Rin was held captive in a cave with another prisoner. A girl names Aimisouma. In the process, Kakashi lost an eye, Aimisouma was poisoned, and then Obito got crushed by some rocks. At Obito's request, Rin transferred Obito's left eye into Kakashi's left. After that, Kakashi left the cave remains to fight one of the shinobi. Rin stated that the Aimisouma did a jutsu with signs she has never seen before. Obito's body disappeared, and his name appeared in a large scroll she was carrying. After extricating themselves from the cave, they were surrounded by enemy shinobi." Minato states.

"When I arrived upon the scene, Kakashi was falling unconscious, and the poison had rendered Aimisouma comatose. I eliminated the enemy shinobi, and brought the injured back to rendezvous with Captain Mimura Hamaki. Then Rin and I set out and razed the Kannabi Bridge. There we waited for the border reinforcements to arrive before bringing the wounded back to Konohagakure." Minato continues explaining.

"As the reinforcements were arriving, Aimisouma started to have seizures induced by the poison. I brought her to the hospital through the Hiraishin no Jutsu. Two days later, after she woke up, she used a jutsu with odd hand seals to release Obito's body from her scroll. He was rushed into emergency surgery, but the doctors say that he has will more than likely recover completely." Minato concludes.

"Indeed. It would seem three heroes were born that day. Two with their own sharingan." I state to the room. "Where is this Aimisouma now?"

"Still in the hospital, Hokage-sama. Her injuries were quite severe." I took out my pipe, and used a match to light it.

"What do these injuries entail?"

"They have confirmed 17 broken bones, several pulled muscles, a dislocated knee, a sprained ankle, and sixty-seven percent of her body was covered in bruises. There was internal bleeding, from various causes, circulatory damage done by being poisoned with an acid based compound, and severe chakra depletion."

"A strong child. How old is this girl?"

"Five."

"Five?" I take a deep puff on my pipe, enjoying the relaxing heat filling me. "I would very much like to meet her. In the mean time, keep an eye on her. Help her get settled." My tone clear that he should make her feel welcome in the village, so she could potentially want join the ranks one day.

"I will inform you when the nurses think she is ready for visitors, Hokage-sama." Minato bowed again, and retreated back into the rank and file of the other ninja.

Muttering had begun in and amongst the shinobi. How on earth could a five-year old survive horrors and pains that most of his ninja would most likely never face? I must meet this girl.