The sun wass setting as I stumbled back to camp...at least I was pretty sure I was heading in the direction of camp. Nausea and dizziness overwhelmed me. The fight had taken a lot out of me.
Suddenly I was enveloped by something warm and furry. Akumaru whimpered in concern and continued nudging me.
I clung to him, feeling my legs give out. Toku appeared and helped my weak body to my tent.
"H-how's Kiba?" I questioned, growing more tired by the minute.
"Shh he's fine. It's you I'm worried about. What the hell happened?!" My friend pondered, working medical ninjutsu on my worn limbs.
"Some asshole attacked Kiba. I-I fought him off. It's nothing." I lied. I was too drained to even think of what actually happened.
I felt my friend's hand carress my face before I passed out.
I walked out of my room. Just then I heard my sister's screams. I ran down the stairs, still clad in my nin gear.
When I reached my sister, she was standing in front of dad's room. As I neared her, she crumpled, still screaming.
I wrapped my arms around her. She clung to me as if her life depended on it. I decided to look in the direction she was staring at.
I saw a man, pinning my dad arms to the wall above his bed. Dad moaned lightly before the man stabbed him again, and again, and again.
This time...I screamed.
The man then turned to me. His eyes...shone with bloodlust. It was Nagashi Tamagashi...
I woke up suddenly. It took me a moment to move; my body gripped by sleep paralysis. My heartrate was through the roof. I was covered in a cold sweat and my eyes stung with tears.
"Dammit." I muttered, trying to calm down.
My futile attempts at calming myself only increased the anxiety and panic I was feeling.
Without thinking, I found my kunai and rolled up the sleeve of my shirt. I took a moment to stare at the scarred arm. Pretty soon, it'd be more scar tissue than regular skin.
I pressed the knife to my skin and sliced. For a moment, I felt relief.
I then saw my father's body...
Without thinking, I made a second cut on my arm.
I heard my sister's screaming...
Again, I slid the blade across my skin, drawing more of that beautiful blood.
I saw the man's eyes...
I saw my father's blood on my own hands...
I remembered the last words I'd ever said to him..."Why can't you just be our father?!"..."You're so hypocritical!"...
Recklessly, I continued cutting, not even feeling the pain. With every cut, I went deeper and deeper. Blood ran down my arm, staining my clothes.
My body was on auto pilot while I relived these nightmarish memories. I was trapped in my blood-riddled trance, continuing to cut.
Kiba's POV
The smell of blood woke the boy from his deep slumber. Akumaru smelled it too.
The two rose from their tents and went out to investigate.
Within moments, the pair pinpointed where the bloody smell was coming from. It was coming from Tama's tent.
He went towards the tent, but hesitated. He didn't wanna intrude...
But the bloody smell grew even stronger.
Akumaru barged in, not caring about privacy. He then whined horribly.
Kiba barged in as well, not liking the smell, or the way Akumaru was acting.
As he walked in, the smell overwhelmed him. He then saw her, just sitting on her sleeping bag.
"Hay, Tama, you-holy shit!" He saw the blood pooling around her arm and on her lap.
"What the hell?! Tama?" He nearly shouted as he kneeled down, and took her bloody knife.
HIs hands quickly became soaked with her blood as he attempted to bandage the wounds. Some of them were fairly deep.
"Tama, talk to me, what the hell's going on?!" He snapped. This wasn't like her. Why was she...destroying herself?!
Slowly, she managed to look at him.
He almost backed away. She wasn't the same Tama...she looked like she'd died.
Just like she did over a year ago...
"Give me my knife." She whispered.
"No way. You're gonna tell me what's going on, and no skipping out on any details."
"The-the man you fought, I-I killed him."
Kiba's eyes grew wide.
"He killed my father...admitted it himself." She finished, nearly tearing up.
Kiba didn't know what to say so he just sat there, holding her bloody wrist. He felt stupid, not being able to say something.
Eventually he found the courage to speak. "You've been doing this since your dad died...right?"
She looked genuinely shocked. "Wh-How'd you know?"
That confirmed his suspicion. "You always reek of blood, and I saw some of the scars."
"I'm not weak and I don't need help. I just...need to forget." She stated, growing drowsy.
"This," He held her injured arm up, "isn't forgetting."
She looked at him.
"It's killing you! Look at yourself. You barely eat, you're pale as a ghost, and you're doing this to yourself!" He was so frustrated with her. She couldn't see how her conditions worried him.
"Just, stop. Please. You don't know what it's like..." Her eyes drooped as sleep took over her.
Kiba gently placed her arm on the ground. He went to leave her, but Akumaru curled up beside her.
"Come on boy." He whispered but the dog ignored him.
Suddenly, Tama began crying and moving about fitfully.
On instinct, he sat down beside her and took her arm. She calmed at his touch and began resting peacefully.
Eventually Kiba himself fell into unconscousness, holding his comrade's bloodied arm.