"Thank you for
that. I-I wouldn't have been able to save myself. I didn't really
want to live anymore," she said quietly.
"Wha-," Sasuke
began.
He was interrupted by Kakashi, who said," Uh-uh. No,
Sasuke, I told you not to start interrogating her right off the bat.
This is Haruno Sakura."
He gestured at the girl with the
pink-hair that had spoken earlier. She had eyes the color of the sea,
and odd, sparkling blue-green. As she studied Sakura, she felt an
intense dislike for this girl, who she didn't even
know.
"Konichi-wa, Sakura-san," she murmured politely.
From
the look in her eyes, Sakura didn't like her either, Haku thought.
There was an intense silence that seemed to stretch for miles as the
girls stared at each other. After about five minutes, Kakashi cleared
his throat. All eyes turned to him.
"You are awake now, so I'm
afraid you need to go to therapy. Don't worry. I'm going to be
the one to help you back to shape," Kakashi said gently at Haku's
frightened gaze.
"O-oh, okay. B-but why?," she asked, unable
to contain herself.
Kakashi exchanged glances with his young
pupils and then said," You were, are, rather bruised. We were not
really surprised. From what Sasuke says, you've tried to get up
again. The muscles in your legs are in shock. We need to get them
back."
Later, Haku limped back from the clearing where Kakashi had
began her "therapy". It felt more along the lines of "torture"
to her.
The muscles in her legs screamed in painful indignation.
She forced herself to dredge onward, though. No amount of physical
pain would stop her from becoming strong again.
As she walked, she
replayed the workouts in her mind. Haku was a little puzzled by the
hidden concern in the jounin's voice.
Flashback
" I hate to
ask this. But we need to know. What exactly happened to you?,"
Kakashi asked softly.
Haku hesitated, staring about blankly. There
was absolutely no expression on her face whatsoever. When she began
to talk, it was almost in monotone, robotic. As if she had been
hypnotized and couldn't stop.
"Me and Zabuza were on our
way…home. We'd just finished a mission. We wanted to get back as
soon as possible. But it soon grew dark. I'm sure you know it's
very dangerous to travel in the dark. We found an abandoned town.
Well, Zabuza did. He'd told me to wait where I was. He came back
two hours later and told me about finding shelter," Haku paused for
a breath, unaware she'd been holding it in the first place.
Kakashi
remained silent as Haku continued,
"He told me that he'd never
really liked or cared for me. That he'd taken me in and tolerated
me only because I was more powerful that he could ever hope to be,
his own human weapon. He said he'd finally tired of me. He said I
had to pay him back. I didn't understand at first. But it became
quite obvious after he picked me up and threw me on a bed. Look. I
have scars on my wrists from were the handcuffs cut in."
Kakashi
stared at her wrists in silence and felt sick. Disgust painted his
features. He was utterly disgusted by what was insinuated by Haku's
story. The girl had obviously been very innocent and had obviously
been raped by what she'd assumed to be her best friend.
"
Haku. I'm so lost for words, it scared me. I usually have a lot to
say. I can't even say I'm sorry. Sorry won't give you back your
virginity. But I can say this: Zabuza obviously didn't give a damn
about you if he didn't respect you enough to leave you alone in
that respect. But you need to know: not all men are like him. Some of
us don't have that in mind," Kakashi said, hugging her.
End
Flashback
Haku wondered about what Kakashi had said. She'd
watched him take out Make-Out Paradise after words. Maybe there was
something in the male brain requiring sex or a stimulation of it. She
didn't know.
But somehow, she felt Kakashi was safe. There'd
been a revolted look in his eyes that had made her wonder…
She'd
been ready to believe that all males were after one thing. But seeing
the way Kakashi'd been upset, maybe it wasn't entirely true.
Haku
wanted to know what exactly sex was supposed to be like. She had a
feeling it would be different if love was involved. What was love?
Did it exist? She didn't know if she was willing to find out
