She knew that there were different kinds of pain, because what she felt during the chakra extraction differed from the one she experienced when she left Kimimaro, Kitty, and most certainly from when she heard that Kakashi died...that, she felt in her chest..and like she couldn't breathe
She recognized it to be caused by deep sadness..
But then there was the one she rarely felt...it was similar to when the villagers had attacked her..it hurt in a different way..the same way she was now being hurt..
With no regard to her age, they used all the torture methods they were familiar with..not fazed by her tears or screams..although they did notice how strange it was that she never plead, not once
She knew from experience how useless it was to ask for mercy..and she came to know that the best way was to close her eyes and wait for it to be over..only this time it just refused to be over..and every time they would resort to a different method that she couldn't but open her eyes
At a point, she started to feel that strange sensation from back in the woods..only this time it came from inside..
It kept on getting stronger and making it's presence clearer..to a point where she could recognize it, she just couldn't place a finger on when she felt it before..it was too difficult with all the pain going on
It was when that feeling became overwhelming that she recalled...and what she remembered horrified her..people getting obliterated..destruction..it was like back then..back at the village, her village
It was the same feeling, the same formidable power surging through her veins..same as when she wiped out the village, and then the hideout..
The idea of that happening again petrified her..she couldn't let that happen, she couldn't take anymore lives, even if that man was more of a monster than all the people from her village combined
She didn't understand that power, or that feeling..all she knew was that she had to suppress it..not even knowing how
"GET AWAY!" She shouted at the top of her lungs "RUN!"
They were startled at her sudden words..but more so at the light that was seeping out of her eyes and mouth
"What the.."
"AAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!" She screamed as the light intensified
They all cleared the room, and she, with all she could tried to push it down..a desperate attempt to prevent more blood from smearing her hands..
Unlike before, this time it hurt...her attempt at suppressing such massive power was impossible...and it all was over with an explosion of light..
She felt numb, her half-open eyes could make out the surroundings...they were charcoaled but still there!, all objects were disintegrated but the walls were there and the wood was black like a bombshell just went off..which kind of happened
She spat blood, eyebrows high up in disbelief...closing her eyes and grinning like an idiot through bloody teeth, consciousness left her
..
It appeared that she didn't completely lose consciousness..after a few minutes, she could hear sounds..they were far and muffled, she faced a great difficulty opening her eyes, but they abided, opening less than halfway...allowing her to see some disturbance..
Silhouettes quickly moved around the room...she could hear an urgent voice shouting...she kept blinking sleepily, and just before everything went black she could make out that the voice was shouting her name..
_earlier_
He swiftly landed on the ground, his injuries stung but he ignored them, heading directly for the Hokage's
Learning from the Hokage that Hiromi was missing, he summoned his Ninja Hounds and began searching
It was quite strange that not a single trace of her was found around the village...and even though a staff member at the hospital claimed seeing someone with similar features, they found no trace of her there
Not slowed by that, Kakashi and his hounds searched the village inch by inch, not stopping for sleep whatsoever..
After a long fruitless search..they suddenly picked up a spike in chakra that was unmistakably hers
All the fatigue from the continuous searching in his condition disappeared as he immediately sprinted in the direction from which the chakra was coming from..he was alarmed because according to the little knowledge he had about her power, it wouldn't go up like that without Hiromi being exposed to danger or harm
His remarkable speed got him to the location quickly, and surprisingly, the place was intact, which was a very bad sign..
He ducked, turning around and taking a kunai which he swung forward..it was dodged by his attacker
He moved his upper body back as another 'Anbu!' -he thought- sprang from the ground, holding a short sword..he remembered seeing it from his days in the Foundation
He swung his right leg, supporting his upper body on his left hand as he kicked the shinobi in front of him, breaking a tree-trunk in a half as the shinobi had substituted himself with it
He used the same leg to hit the ground, flipping himself backwards, taking a defensive position to analyze the situation
He already had his Sharingan exposed before arriving at the place, and according to the chakra he was seeing, there were only two shinobi out, but he was sure that there were more inside so he needed to wrap things up quickly
But it was easier said than done, he was facing two members of the Anbu, shinobi who had the same training he had..
One of the Anbu launched an attack with his short sword followed by his partner, Kakashi blocked them with two kunai..and they engaged into a sword fight..
Kakashi was outnumbered and this was going nowhere..he blocked two more blows and took a big leap backwards while weaving hand-signs in an unbelievable speed
"Fire style: fireball jutsu!" He said, forming a giant fireball, giving him the cover he needed..
His opponents jumped to avert his jutsu, and while they were in midair...he used water release to form a big puddle of water which he quickly electrified with Chidori..
Having no trees to land on for that the nearby trees were cleared by the fireball, they were left to land inside of his trap..thinking quickly, they threw their swords imbedding them into the ground so they landed on the grip of their swords..
Just as the water became safe to land on, the two Anbu shinobi were attacked by two clones, and were forced to block them by hand..
Their eyes widened, realizing what happened..the moment they made contact, the clones morphed into lightning, knocking the two shinobi out
With no time to celebrate, he quickly headed inside the cabin..
Inside the cabin was dark, and the moment he sat foot in there he felt a sharp pain in his stomach..he was stabbed by a short sword..
Followed by a poof! He disappeared into smoke
"A shadow clone!" His attacker said before a kunai was implanted into his heart..from where Kakashi emerged from the smoke
Behind his collapsing opponent, his Sharingan picked a fading chakra source..a chakra that uniquely belonged to her
His attention snapped back to the battle at hand as he reflexively blocked a sword with his kunai
He and the last remaining shinobi exchanged blows, barely keeping up with him as his attention kept going towards "Hiromi!" He shouted and received no answer, not even a sound as her chakra was fading into nothing
"Damn it!" He exclaimed angrily, before he suddenly gripped his opponent's sword with one hand, ignoring the pain and the blood that dripped from his hand down to his elbow..with his other hand holding the kunai, he electrified it, piercing through the enemy's chest..
He pulled his hand out and let go of the sword, hurrying towards Hiromi..breathing hard, soaked with sweat and his Sharingan closed...he had used too much chakra in his already injured body
He placed two fingers on her neck, eyes closed to focus on her pulse..it was weak but there, he didn't miss how her neck was covered with a viscous liquid
He gently cradled her, knowing that it wasn't wise to carry her on his back in her state..once they were out..he was able to take a good look at her
Her face was awfully bruised, her cheek was swollen and a streak of blood ran down her forehead and mouth, and to his surprise, despite all of that, she was smiling
He held her a bit tighter, securing her in place as he sprinted towards the hospital..again
He felt her snuggle in his arms, and take a deep breath..reliving him a bit
Somewhere along the way he ran into the shinobi Pakkun brought to the scene, he had asked him to do so when they first picked up Hiromi's chakra..it was a bit far from the village so he doubted that the sensory shinobi could have sensed it
...
Hiromi was taken care of, and was stable for the time being...she had no fatal injuries, it was clear that they didn't intend to kill her, and that they were bent on extracting information
..
He was asked a lot of questions by the nurse that was taking care of his injuries...the only injury he gained during the battle was in his palm, but his old injuries needed to be looked at too..
The nurse was a bit rough and was suspicious of his answers "ow!" He hissed and exclaimed when she deliberately tied his hand tighter than necessary
He stood up to leave when she finished, receiving a look that said 'you abusive ass'..
He was headed to Hiromi's doctor's office when he ran into someone " !"
He received a small punch in the stomach "Kaori!" She corrected
"S..sory, Kaori" what's up with women being rough today?
She smiled, a smile that quickly disappeared "H..hold on, what brings you here?" She noticed his wrapped hand "what happened?!" She said worriedly, taking his hand to inspect it
"It's nothing" he said pulling it out of hers "Excuse me, I have to go" he added, hurrying towards the doctor's office
He opened the door to the office and got in, the door hadn't closed when another person got in, he turned to see that it was Kaori
"Kaori!..thanks for coming" the doctor said warmly
'Just 'Kaori' what, did he get punched too?' Kakashi thought
"Of course, no sweat" she said with a wide smile "now what do you want?"
He turned to look at Kakashi "it's Hiromi, I'm sure you know about her"
Kakashi had figured that they would get someone from the Sealing core but Kaori never crossed his mind
"What? She's still here?" She says in confusion
"Not quite" the doctor said before he and Kakashi told her what happened
..
She had her mouth half open, not knowing what to say in response to the horrible news she just received
"W..where is she?" She said, like she was on the brink of tears
They accompanied her to Hiromi's room..
They were walking in the hallway when Kakashi lost his balance and used the wall for support
"Oh my-, you okay?" She said urgently
He nodded and took a second before he regained his posture,
"Kakashi, you need rest, I'm having another bed put in Hiromi's room-" Kakashi looked like he was about to protest "no" he cut him before he could say anything, Kakashi just rolled his eye
The doctor spoke to Kaori on their way before they entered the room and she hurried to check on Hiromi..
"Oh" she gaped upon seeing her, hands on her mouth..her head, left eye, cheek, limbs were bandaged and she was asleep
Kakashi was sitting on a chair near the window, purposefully averting his eyes from Hiromi because seeing her like this filled him with guilt, more than what he already felt
Her eyebrows furrowed in sympathy, but she looked back at Hiromi with a stern expression, she had to focus on her work
She stretched her arms above Hiromi, and closed her eyes to concentrate..
After she was done, she lost her balance a bit and swayed but didn't fall, unlike before when the other Sealing Core shinobi performed the same jutsu, this time Hiromi's chakra didn't quite affect
Kaori felt Kakashi standing behind her, she hid a smile "are you okay?" He asked, tone neutral
She nodded "but you aren't so sit down" she said, pushing him until he was back on the chair..he rolled his eye again with a fed-up huff
He threw his head back, it just had to be the hospital..
..
The bed was brought to the room as promised, and what remained was getting Kakashi on it
Kaori didn't leave, she assigned herself to stay and take care of the two kids "chop chop" she made a 'come here' motion with her hands
For the umpteenth time, he rolled his eye and lazily got up, dragging his feet to the bed...it was both, because he could barely walk and because..well it was a hospital bed
When he slouched on the bed "just like that?" She said in an unimpressed tone
He raised an eyebrow
"Vest, shoes?..you're in a hospital y'know"
"They'll be alright" he said, half asleep already
"Maybe, but you won't..you need to lay properly for your injuries to heal well"
He opened his eye and gave her a confused look
"The doctor told me everything..I'm sorry, I shouldn't have let you take Hiromi yourself.." she said, looking guilty
So that's why she was staying? She thought it was her fault?..he hid a smile
"Now c'mon, sit up!" She commanded
"Fine" He dragged the word a bit..he sat up, unzipped his vest, and started taking it off slowly, because the movement really hurt all over
"Gimme this" as she took it off or him, the stench of blood hit her..she gagged "god! You were planning on sleeping in those!" She said disbelief
"Well it's mine..mostly" he was grossed out himself, but he decided to be a smart-mouth..it wasn't like he would choose to sleep in blood-soaked clothes, but in his condition he would sleep in a puddle of blood rather than go home to change
"Yours?..I'd figured you for a better shinobi" she teased, putting the vest away
"You figured wrong" he said, kicking off his shoes, not in mood to explain
"This needs to go too" she said gesturing his shirt, then she carefully began taking it off
The shirt was off, revealing his bandage-covered body and arm..when her hands passed close to his body, she could feel by his chakra that the wounds there were really bad, so the blood was from these wounds, not new ones
Her eyebrows furrowed in concern, as she placed the shirt away, atop the vest taking a glance at Hiromi
..
"You went into battle like this" she thought out loud, breaking the silence
"More or less" he said
She did a double take "you're still awake?"
"More or less"
..
"You could've died y'know" she said solemnly after a couple of minutes
"Maybe" his tone was serious, as if he had taken the thought into consideration
"You should've waited for backup"
No response
"You may be a good shinobi, but you shouldn't be so full of yourself as to go against an unknown foe alone..and in your condition" she didn't mean to sound mean, she was just worried and a tad angry that he would throw his life away like that
"You do matter y'know" she added "what do you think would happen to her if you died?"
"Well, she needs to be awake for that"
"Okay stop!" She snapped "stop treating everything like it's your fault! You didn't mean for her to get kidnapped, and you put your life on the line to save her! So stop beating yourself for god sake!"
"You don't seem to be doing any better than I am" he said calm as ever
"Don't change the subject" she said then mumbled "you no none of it"
He chuckled..oh he knows plenty..too much of it "all ears"
She shuddered "it..it doesn't concern you!" She said stubbornly.."what's that mark near your shoulder?" She changed the subject, seeing a red mark on his left arm that was mostly covered by the bandage
He chuckled 'don't change the subject!' Her words were "a tattoo"
"Well duh!"
"Anbu tattoo"
"What? You're Anbu?!" 'Explains some shit' she thought
"Just a fan" he liked teasing her, since he couldn't read or sleep..this was the next best thing
..
"I was too" she said after some time
"Now you're three?"
"Har har" she said plainly, hiding a chuckle..it was funny seeing his usually-serious self in a teasing mood "Anbu"
His silence was her cue
"Things..didn't go well, it was too much..and so I quit" she hadn't told anyone about her reason..she didn't like bringing the subject from where she buried it..but she needed to talk to someone about it, someone who might understand, after all that time "it was a mission"
He waited for her to continue
"Taking out a rogue Anbu who stole classified files".."I was usually accompanied by my partner, but this time I had another member of my team instead and we pursued the target"..."we caught up to him and engaged in battle, nothing out of the ordinary"..."and then I did it..he was skilled, his fighting style bore similarities to my own..but I pieced him with my blade, ending the battle" her voice began to choke "I couldn't shake the feeling that I knew who I was fighting..so as his blood dripped from the edge of my blade, I took off his mask to see my partner staring back at me"
She took a few seconds to regain her composure "all through the fight, part of me knew exactly who I was fighting against..but I knew that if I looked under the mask, I would betray the mission...and so I fought in denial, and killed my partner" her voice was filled with remorse, and she wasn't looking at Kakashi when she spoke..it was like she wasn't even talking to him
"I'm sorry" he said, getting her attention
She got up "what are you doing, you should be laying down!"
He was in a sitting position, his back on the bed headboard "no, no It's okay" he said holding a hand "its not like I'm sleeping anyway"
She huffed and sat back down
..
The air was heavy with the silence so she decided to lighten the mood a bit "okay, tell me about that Icha Icha of yours" she said conversationally
"W..what?!" He thought he misheard
"That book you read all the time?"
"H..how do you.." he trailed
"Hiromi said it was your hobby"
He gave a small nervous laugh, scratching the back of his head with a slight blush appearing on his cheek
'Cute!' She thought with a chuckle 'now I'm really curious'..though since the subject seemed to embarrass him, she didn't press
...
The room was quiet..Kaori didn't say anything, hoping that he falls asleep...but it had been about an hour and he hadn't fallen asleep, though he did lay down..
The door opened and a nurse entered, Kaori noticed how Kakashi stiffened and slowly sat up, but didn't make a comment
The nurse placed a food tray on the overbed table and left without a word..
"Well, chowtime!" Kaori said enthusiastically, thankful for having something to do..she pushed the table over to the bed
"Oh I'm not eating that" he said as if it was the stupidest idea in the world
"It's not that bad"
He pushed the table to the side
"Aw c'mon, don't be a child now Kakashi!" She paused "I can call you Kakashi right?"
He shrugged
"Anyway, you need to eat..how long has it been since you last ate?"
"A couple days..I guess" he said thinking "but I'm not eating..that" he pointed a finger at the soup
"And why is that?" She crosses her arms
"It's probably poisoned!"
"Wha..what?" She said in a disbelieving chuckle
"That nurse hates me! She thinks I'm the one who did this to Hiromi!" He was speaking quietly
Kaori was lost in a laughing fit
"Laugh all you want, I'm still not putting it in my mouth" he said irritably, crossing his arms and looking the other way
"Oh..oh my..god" she said laughing "the look on your face" she laughed a bit more "and to think you just fought a death battle..".."scared of a little nurse"
...
It was almost dawn, Kaori tried to fight sleep but soon lost the battle..she was sleeping on the chair next to Hiromi's bed's footboard
Kakashi had taken off his headband but the headache was still too much, he stood up, not without noticing how difficult it was to do so, or how much it hurt..
He took the cover on his bed and used it to cover Kaori, and took a moment to appreciate the woman..she didn't have to do any of what she did, in fact it was quite strange..they only met her sometime ago, but she was kind enough to feel obliged to help
He really appreciated her company, it made his stay in the hospital a bit bearable..and the way she had suffered pain, even if it was a fraction of his own, made him feel connected to her
Taking a look at Hiromi, he made for the door..
He suddenly froze..a pulse of pain ran through his body..and the next thing he felt was his body hitting the ground..
"Oh m- Kakashi!" Kaori exclaimed in worry, haven woken up by the thump
She knelt beside him "are you okay?" She asked gently
He nodded with a confused expression, not sure himself
"Alright c'mon" she said, lifting him by his right arm to help him stand then walked him back to the bed..she gave a relieved sigh after laying him down "what happened?"
"I..don't know...I was walking towards the door but suddenly there was this throb of pain through my whole body, it's..strange"
"I'll check you over" she said holding her hands above him before closing her eyes..a few seconds later she furrowed her eyebrows then opened her eyes "I know this may be difficult...but try to suppress your chakra as much as you can" he mirrored her expression but did as asked
A while later she opened her eyes "hold on I'm pretty sure I have it with me" she said holding a finger..she looked into her bag and found a book, tapped the cover with one finger triumphantly before paging through it
..
"Aha!" She exclaimed before looking at him "okay, so you have chakra inside you that isn't yours..in fact it gives me the chills the way Hiromi's chakra does...it's probably hers, from when you carried her here after the extraction jutsu..the strange thing was why now?..I mean it has been some time so why did it start showing now...I felt your chakra earlier but I couldn't sense the presence of Hiromi's...I remember reading something about a poison that gets triggered when the victim infuses chakra..it's used by puppeteers for assassination of others shinobi since it leaves no trace in the victim...anyway, since you've recently been into battle..I think you might have triggered something in Hiromi's chakra inside you...I don't know much about it but I think it might be the same case with the poison...or not, I just have it stuck in my mind since I've only recently started with this book" she said the latter with a chuckle, scratching the back of her head
"Well, that's perfect..what else?" he said, all he was thinking about was more time at the hospital 'yay'..and more risk of Guy 'visiting' him
"Good news it that I didn't sense any damage in your chakra network so...and that's a guess, your body should be able to expel the foreign chakra...although, being the child you are, I don't think your body will be able to build up enough strength for healing, let alone expelling chakra strong as Hiromi's" she managed to keep a monotone then huffed in disbelief "I mean seriously dude! Couldn't you manage to stay in bed overnight?! Unbelievable!"
Kakashi chuckled inside..she really reminded him of Rin scolding him and Obito when they got hurt..and that was only after a couple days of knowing Kaori, he seriously dreaded the future
"Okay..okay" she said to herself "we need..um...um...and this is here..yeah I guess that's it...oh and..yeah!" She said the latter enthusiastically with a chuckle, mentality patting herself on the back
Kakashi was looking at his with one eyebrow up 'weird..' he thought
"Be right back!" She said leaving in a hurry, her head popped back into the room after she left "and don't think about moving or I'll tell Bogey-nurse" She said the latter trying to sound scary
He, yet again rolled his eye 'funny'
...
"Back!" She declared entering the room after a few hours absence
His eyed widened in surprise as he sat up, that wasn't just 'um and um' she was carrying a ton of shopping bags
She sat them down then slumped into the closest chair "pooped" she said tiredly
"What is..all that?"
All 'pooped'ness seemed to disappear, she immediately stood up, clapped her hands enthusiastically, stretched and picked a bag
"This.." she took a food container out of the bag "..is the soup I made, poison-free, hundred percent" she vowed
He had a plane expression, hiding an amused one
"And this over here.." she took another "is a light salad..we, mister, are getting you on back on your feet in no time!" She added, putting down the two bags
"As for that.." she reached for a far bag "it's a...shirt!" She jumped happily "I took the liberty of picking you some clothes..since I don't know where your house slash appartement is" she looked back at the shirt and squealed "isn't it cute!"
Sweatdrop
"Okay...let's put those on before I tell you what else is here" she took the T-shirt and a couple of others bags and went to his side
He was sitting up with difficulty, so he accepted the help he got from her..regretting it a minute later..
..
Blue lines covered his eyes, as he sat, head down..wearing a baby blue T-shirt with a little teddy bear on the front and some writing
"Awwww, I wuv cuddles too!" Kaori squealed jumping in the spot "so cuuuuute!"
He was contemplating weather to jump out the window or surrender himself to the nurse "you saw this as a good idea, how exactly?"
"What! You think it's not...you look like a huge teddy, absolutely huggable!"
The lines deepened
"Put these on!" She gave him the other two bags
"Hell no" he said in horror
"Aww, come on..these are teddy-free, cross my heart" she said.."I'll..be outside"
He huffed and changed into a pair of brown pants, matching the teddy bear on his shirt..cursing his existence
(A/N)
Omg I can't get the picture from my head! I would do absolutely anything to see him in that outfit...omg *fangirls hard* *dies* *soul takes the iPad and starts typing*
So how do you like this chapter?! How do you like Kaori?! Please comment vote and do your stuff...you know how I absolutely love reading them..
I'm writing this during my exams...so that's why it took so long to update, sorry!
I hope it's worth the wait...
See ya next timeā¤