Hey everyone! Thanks for all the reviews and even the Pm's I got for last cappie. June16th was my last full day of school so I will be able to update a LOT more often and the chappters will be longer. I actually just thought of the perfect plot twist for the next story in this series. But, I need to know if you guys want me to continue after this one. If yes, tell me in the review. Anyway, Enjoy!

CHAPTER NINE: Comforts

(A/N: important note at bottom Read to see my new idea that I saw on another fic a while ago)

"Kurenai, she's awake. You can go in after I let her know whats going on," Shizune informed Kurenai softly. Both were Rayne's best friends and both knew that Rayne would need them. So, both of them were there, in the hospital waiting for Rayen to wake up, for the third day in a row.

Kurenai nodded, turning and managing a weak smile for Asuma, who gave her hand a small squeeze of reassurance. "Okay, just dont take too long and try not to give her too many details. You know she'll want to know everything. I'll explain some more when I go in."

Shizune nodded once and turned to Rayne's room but was stopped by Tsunade.

"Shizune, I want to be the one to tell her. You and Kurenai go in after I'm done," she said directly.

"But, Lady Tsunade-"

"I said I will be the one to let Rayne know whats going on."

"Yes, Lady Tsunade." Shizune had no idea why Tsunade wanted to tell her when she barely knew Rayne. But, she remembered that Tsunade had taken a special interest in Rayne since she had arrived in Konoha and so she let her enter the room in her place.

"Rayne?"

Rayne attempted to sit up but moved too fast and ended up falling back down on the bed with a small moan. "Dont move fast. Or at all for that matter. You hit your head pretty hard and two of your ribs broke the rest are either bruised or cracked," Tsunade explained.

"How did I get back to Konoha?" Rayne asked after slowly lifting herself in a sitting position, wincing at the pain in her ribs. The last thing she remembered was falling through the trees after being nailed with a kunai in the side.

"You dont remember?" Tsunade asked, sounding surprised.

"Remember what? Last thing I did was take a kunai in the side and fall through trees about three hours outside of Konoha."

Tsunade just looked at her for a moment, but her eyes werent watching Rayne, they were slightly unfocused like she was thinking about how much to tell Rayne and how to word it. Finally, after a minute, her amber eyes came back into focus and she spoke. "Three days ago the guards found you at the entrance gate, unconcsious. They brought you here where we treated you for the stab wound and laceration of the small intestine, two broken ribs the rest bruised or cracked and severe head trauma. We had no idea how you got there and when you came into consciousness for two minutes on the second day, you kept asking for Kakashi. You couldnt tell us anything useful. We knew you had walked here because the muscles in your legs were slightly torn and you had lost a lot of blood...Are you saying you dont remember making it back here?"

Rayne thought for a long moment before the images suddenly flooded her mind. Images of her waking up with one hell of a migraine, of ripping the sleeve off Yoros shirt and wrapping it around her waist in an effort to stop the bleeding, of coughing up blood onto her sweatpants and then stumbling through the forest for what seemed like years. She closed her eyes as she remembered but then forced her lids open and looked up at Tsunade, whose face was actually soft. "I remember. What day is it?"

"Its Friday, they found you on tuesday. When did you leave the inn?"

"Three o'clock Monday morning. They caught up to us around six am. Thats when I went out..."Rayne paused before asking a question she dreaded the answer to. "What about Kakashi?"

Tsunade saw the sadness that came over Rayne's eyes, eyes a blue the same shade as Dan's. That fact only made her job that much harder.

"He hasnt returned to the village. We sent men to where you were attacked. We found his mask and forehead protector. Im sorry, Rayne."

Rayne looked down at the sheets, refusing to let anyone see the pain in her eyes, especially not her Hokage. Kakashi was either being tortured or dead already and it was her fault. If she hadnt fallen she would have been able to fight with him, even with that damn kunai in her she wouldnt have just let them take him. A second later she looked back up and met Tsunade's amber gaze, her eyes carefully guarded and filled with fake emotionless.

"Why did they leave me and take only Kakashi. I had the papers?- Did you find them? They were inside my shirt," she asked.

Tsunade nodded, "Yes, we have the documents. As for why they didnt take you, I believe they thought you fled and Kakashi probably kept them away from you. We found blood and evidence of a struggle in the trees, none on the ground. Kakashi must have kept them all up and away form you. Perhaps he even told them he had the papers," she thought aloud. Even though Rayne had a practically perfect emotionless mask on her face, Tsunade saw her pain. She had seen that same look in the mirror herself too many times after Dan's death.

Rayne closed her eyes for just a moment, for the one second she needed to add another layer to her veil. Kakashi was captured because he had kept them away from her. Because she was weak, because he loved her...

Her thoughts were interupted by a knock at the door and a second later it opened a fraction and Shizune popped her head into the room. "Lady Tsunade, can we see Rayne now?" she asked, smiling at Rayne. Tsunade nodded and stood. But before she left she gave Rayne's hand a small squeeze and a soft smile.

"Go ahead, Shizune. But dont wear her out. She needs to rest."

Shizune nodded excitedly and shouted back to the waiting room, "Kurenai! Come one! We can go in now!" A second later both her and Kurenai walked in as Tsunade exited. Both women ran to the opposite side of the bed and enveloped Rayne in a painful hug, pulling away when they heard her gasp in pain.

"Im so sorry! I forgot about your ribs and side!" Shizune apologized, flushing red. Kurenai elbowed Shizune and muttered a 'thanks for telling me!' before giving Rayne an apologetic smile.

"Sorry, hon. Shizune left out the whole you-cant-hug-her-cause-shes-hurt speech she usually gives. But, aside from the pain, how are you?" Her voice betrayed her worry and both her and Shizune suddenly became serious. They knew about Kakashi being taken and Kotetsu had told them he had admitted to Rayne that he loves her. They figured she wasnt doing to great and so, they were there for her. They're her best friends. Its what they do.

And thats exactly what they told Rayne when she said she was fine.

"Dont go and bottle up your feelings, Rayne," Kurenai warned. She knew that hiding any and all emotions was avery common defense mechanism used by some ninja, her best friend was one of them. But she also knew that it did more harm than good to hold so much inside and that it could cause the person to stop feeling anything at all. She had seen it happen before and she refused to let it happen to her best friend.

"Kurenai's right, Rayne. You know what could happen. Plus, your kids need you. Kasuem has been getting sick lately and she wont talk to anyone much. You know thats not lik eher. And the twins do nhing but cry. Kakomi is still and angel but its easy to see that she misses you and Kakashi too. So, if you want to cry, cry. if you want to goand vent and scream somewhere, do it. Dont hold it in." Shizune's words were rational and thoughtout, as was all her thoughts. Thats what she was: the one who thought things out, saw the rational side, examined the pros and cons before making a move or even saying anything. But she was also caring, her words never cruel and her heart always kind.

Kurenai was the one that would say whats on her mind, though she also rarely said anything nasty or derogative. She thrived on seeing others happy. And she believed that they would be happy if they had that significant other in their life. Hence her matchmaker ways and nosiness. She cared deeply and felt emotions strongly. But she was insecure about herself, despite her amazing looks and so she hides her personal life. She is actually a very private person, which had slightly surprised Rayne when she first noticed it.

Rayne looked up at her friends. They cared about her so much. So many people in this village had opened their hearts to her, had offered their kindness when they barely knew her. She was so lucky in the way that she was so loved and so were her children. She loved them too. They were her friends and family and thats why she couldnt let them see her hurt. Becasue they would hurt too and worry. So she did what she does best, she smiled.

"Im fine. I know Kakashi is okay. And dont worry I'm not going to just run after him blindly. I need time to think about where he might be because I honestly have no clue. But I know he'll be okay until I can save him. He knows I'm going to. That I wont just leave him." Her words were filled with conviction. She was going to find her fiance and she was going to save him. Nothing, and she meant nothing, would stop her.

Shizune nodded and was about to ask if she wanted her to keep the kids at her place a little longer when the door opened and Rontu padded into the room. He made his way to Rayne's right side right away and nudged her. She smiled down at him and shuffled over to the side, biting her lip against a painful moan. Rontu climbed up next to her and layed his head on her lap, whining softly.

Both Shizune and Kurenai realized that the two needed to talk and so they said their goodbyes, promised to stop by soon with the kids and quietly exited the room, shutting the door behind them. Once the two women were gone Rontu lifted his head to gently lick Rayne's bandaged wrist. This made Rayen smile and gingerly pet his large head.

"Hey boy. Im fine, so dont worry. As soon as the coast is clear Im going to find Kotetsu and have him get me into the Hokage Tower so I can do some research on Yoro and find out where he might be holding Kakashi. Then, you and I are going after him. Okay?" she whispered, leaning toward him so no one could overhear.

Rontu slowly exhaled, his version of a sigh and gave her a look that said he clearly disapproved of her idea. She sighed and then moaned when she found out that it hurt her broken ribs to breathe deeply. "Rontu, i'll be fine. Ive been in worse conditions. But, we dont know if Kakashi's really hurt or even if...if he may be dead. We have to find him as soon as possible. Okay?" The wolf stared at her for a long moment before dipping is head and growling in reluctant agreement. Rayne kissed the top of his head before getting back into a laying position and closing her eyes, smiling slightly when Rontu layed his head on her pillow right next ot her face. the feel of his warm body pressed aginst her side comforted her and soon she was drifting out of consciousness.

--

Rayne was dreaming, she knew it, even in her unconscious mind. But she wasnt just dreaming, she was remembering her parents, Saia and Kaine. She remembered when she and Izumashi were young, before their parents were murdered. She remembered the softness of her mother's voice when she sang a sweet tune while preparing dinner. She dreamt of her father's strong, caring face and his attempts at understanding his young daughter's obsession with life outside of the family farm. She remembered Izumashi carrying her around her shoulders around the famr as he did his daily chores, telling her stories of princesses and after she begged, of ninja who protected the ones they loved.

For the first time in so many years, Rayne dreamed of her family before the attacks.

When she woke up, she half expected to be in the house with Kakashi wrapped around her waist and his silver hair sticking up everywhere. It hurt worse than she thugh tit would when she found Rontu next to her in the hospital room and no Kakashi. But this just gave her the strengh to ignore her pain and get up to go find him.

Becasue she would. She was going to save him. She had to. Life without him was life without air.

And everyone needs air to breathe, even Rayne.

--

A/N: That was way short, I know. But Ive decided to propose something new toyou guys: FOR EVERY REVIEW OVER THE FIVE MINIMUM I WILL ADD 500 WORDS TO THE NEXT CHAPTER.

OKay?? I hope you guys will now be motivated to leave a review. I promise to update much sooner now, too. No more school means more time to update.

Krystle