It hurt. It hurt to breath, as blood pooled all around her. She opened her mouth to scream, to cry, to beg them to stop, but one of them was twisting the blade in her chest nicking both of her little lungs, causing blood to pour into them. She would drown in her own blood in the next four to five minutes. Her heart would beat for another three before she died. She leaned her head forward and vomited some of the blood that was entering her lungs, it would buy her time. Not much but it would buy her some.
She could vaiguely hear the sounds of the escilating battle outside and nearly fainted from shock when the wall three hundred feet in front of her suddenly callapsed, and she hear Sarutobi-jiji scream her name. He was'nt the only one screaming the place down. Tsunade, Itachi, Sakumo, Jiraiya, and Orochimaru were calling out to her too.
She could'nt answer them, she tried but all that came out was a sickening gurggling sound as she raised her arm slightly and reached out for them. Not much longer, and she would be nothing but an empty shell. Sakumo was the first to spot her.
"Empress..." he whispered as he staggered forward and nearly fell to his knees, Itachi and the others looked in the direction of the soft gurggling sound and their eyes widened in horror.
"Oh gods, what have you done?" Sarutobi breathed as he took off running toward the child, Tsunade quickly followed suit while the others covered them.
"Spare noone!" Sarutobi bellowed over the sound of the sudden gail force winds that had started blowing as the ground beneath their feet shook violently. They were almost here, and when they got here; the world would end.
Sakumo held the small child, gently cradled in his arms. Tsunade had healed the worst of her wounds and put her in a drug induced sleep to keep her from dreaming of the incident. That had been over two weeks ago, and she still had'nt woken up. Would she ever wake up? He wondered as he held her a little more tightly and rested his chin on the top of her head. Itachi entered the tent, that they had put up to shelter the little princess, and glared at him.
What was his problem? "What are you doing holding my baby sister?" The boy snapped, it was'nt fair that Sakumo kept the child to himself. He wanted to hold her too, and assure himself that she was alive if nothing else. Sakumo blinked then gave him an evil smirk.
"I'm holding my little girl, of course." Itachi knashed his teeth. Wow, never seen him do that before. Sakumo thought as Itachi stomped over to him and held his henads out and motioned for him ot give the girl up. He held her a little tighter and glared at the boy. Nuh-uh, this was his time to spend with the child and if he didn't like it the Itachi coudl just go bitch to Sarutobi.
"She is'nt your little girl." Itachi hissed at him, like a cat. Sakumo grinned at the boy, he was so easily riled.
"Sure she is, I'm going to adopt her." Sakumo said with an eye smile. Itachi's jaw dropped, he would'nt dare! If he did his son would kill her!
"You already have a kid! And he's mean, he would eat her alive!" Itachi shrieked, his voice going up to shrill levels that Sakumo had never heard before, as he frowned. It's true, Kakashi was a bit on the strict, and wild side. He was eight, and was more adult than child. And if one factored in the little fact that the last time any kid had pissed him off at been at the festival in the village. A small child had pulled his hair, and he had hung the little tyke by his diaper from the tallest building.
And then there had been the birthday party incident. Well, how about that. Itachi was right. Kakashi would eat the princess alive. But...Kakashi would enevitably grow out of that kind of additude. Maybe he should take her home with him on to test Kakashi.
"Hey Itachi, if I take her home with me for a month, and Kakashi is as mean as you think he is, then would you adopt her?" Sakumo asked the young Anbu. The boy did'nt even hesitate.
"Yes." Good man. Sakumo thought as another more funny thought struck him. If Itachi adopted the princess as his daughter, then that means that he would forever be tied to Tsuande since she was the girl's 'mother'. Apparently Itachi had figured this out for himself because he turned red as a cherry, and started cursing while Sakumo laughed
Kakashi had just come home from a mission when he heard his fathers voice in the room down the hall and frowned. When had his father gotten home? He had been gone almost six months on the rescue mission that the Hokage had asked his help with. Who was his father speaking too? He wondered as he moved quietly down the hall to the room that had once been his nursery, when he had been a small child. The door was slightly ajar, so he could peek in without being caught.
Peeking through the small opening in the door he saw his father sitting in a rocking chair over by the window, holding something small in his arms. It took a moment to notice that his father was holding a small child, about three years old, a female if the scent he smelled coming from the room was any indication at all.
What was a girl doing in his home? He thought angrily, as he fisted his hands at his sides. Did'nt his father know that females had cooties? And could nag a man into commiting murder. Sober he might add. He hated strangers in his home. This was his territory, and no stupid girl's were allowed!
Sakumo stopped singing to the sleeping child and looked over at the door to the room and snickered. Kakashi had found him and his little suprise, and was now plotting the girl's untimely end. He could almost hear the thoughts in his young son's head. Eww, a girl. Get it away! Oh no, she touched me. I need to amputate my hand before the coodies get me!
His son was an idiot. Which was why Sakumo had gone to such legnths to keep the girl. His son often got lonely when he was away, and needed someone to play with, and be a kid with. Uzu may be just a toddler, but she was a great play buddy, and that was what Kakashi needed. A play buddy. Once he got over trying to destroy the girl he might actually start to like her.
And he would be a great older brother. And if he didn't shape up, well he would be on babysitting duty until Itachi said he could quit.
"Kakashi, come here." he called out softly. He could feel his son's killing intent even from his seat. He chuckled as Kakashi sullenly pushed the door open and glared at the girl in his arms. Oh man, if the next month didn't kill him or or either of the two kids, he would be a happy man.
"What is it doing in my old nursery?" Kakashi snapped, Sakumo blinked at the eight year olds tone. Man the kid had issues.
"Her name is Uzu, and as of today your her older brother. I hope the two of you become great friends." Sakumo said with a grin as he forced the sleeping three year old into Kakashi's arms. His son, paled under his mask, and tried to drop Uzu, but Sakumo had his wrists so that he could'nt drop her and run away.
"Like hell!" Kakashi snapped at him and shoved the child back into his arms and ran away.
Out in the garden behind the house he flattened himself against a tree, and put a shaking hand over his heart. Jesus, what was his dad trying to do to him? Kill him? He hated little kids, especially girls for a reason. It was because they were so fricking fragile, it was annoying trying to play with them and make friends when they always got hurt and cried over the tiniest things.
The last time he had tried to play with a toddler, it had been a friend of his from preschool. She had been the coolest, smartest, and prettiest little thing on two legs, and he had developed a crush on her. He had been playing tag with some other kids when she had asked if she could play too. He had been so excited that when it was his turn to be it, he had gone after her.
And just as he had reached out to tag her, apparently he had put too much force into the tag, because she had fallen and hit her head on a rock, and had died right there on the play ground in front of him and everyone else. So really it was nothing personal against the girl in the nursery, he just didn't want to stand over another little girls grave and wonder what it was that he had done wrong. He never wanted to feel like that again.
Uzu woke up laying half on and half off of Iruka's bed. A pillow covering half of her face, and the shirt that she was wearing was soaked with sweat. What? What the hell had she just dreamt of? She wondered as she put a shakey hand over her heart and rubbed the burning scar as she recalled a man with spikey slivery wite hair, and a mask eye smiling at her, as she gripped the hem of a small boys shirt.
He had looked just like-what was his name? Sakumo Hatake. The name formed in her mind in bright shiney red letters.Hatake? Like Kakashi? What the fuck was going on? She had never really remembered what had happened to her, and the others had never spoken ot her about it, so why was all this shit starting to finally come out?
It's because their back.... Who? Who was back?
The ones who almost killed us before. Kyuubi said gently. Uzu gripped her head between her hands as a sharp pain built in her skull, and blood dripped onto the sheets startling her out of her funk as Iruka's bed room door opened and the man peeked in, his smile vanishing as he took in the blood and the panicked look on her face as she started shaking uncontrolably.
"Uzu, Whats wrong?" He yelled as he ran to her, as her eyes rolled back in her head and she fell back and her body started spaseming violently as she had a seizure.