[A/N: CW mentions of child marriage, grooming, & attempted SA]

It took a while, but the medics patched her up. Their hands glowed, starting the healing process with their soothing chakra but there was only so much they could do. It would need rest, they told her to her chagrin, they could try again tomorrow when the inflammation went down a little more. Nishira gently moved her arm, still feeling a burning ache as she did so. The stern face of the woman healing her furrowed her brows as she forcibly took Nishira's arm to shove into a cloth sling.

By the time team twenty-two had been informed the following day's proceedings and released, the sun had already started to set. It cast an orange glow in the sky, but the village was already in a shadow. Toma and Sekawa walked with her, heading to a shop for some dinner and a much deserved drink. Sekawa walked with a minor limp, Toma resembled a mummy with his copious bandages which he used as he laughed imitating a mummy down the stairs. Sekawa whacked him with her borrowed cane but laughed anyways.
"I can't believe Hibi tore me apart."
"It's because you won by teleporting your opponent out of the ring."
"Was that not a win? I won that match no matter how I did it!"

The gas lamps in front of the shop shone, flickering in the distance and reflecting brightly off the white blanket of snow that surrounded everything, and Toma skipped eager to get there, the thought of the meal they were about to enjoy making him giddy, or perhaps that was the pain pills thrumming delightfully in their veins. Halting their procession, a commanding presence emerged from the shadows.
"Its has been a while, little Nishi."
Nishira froze refusing to look behind her as the icy claw of recognition trailed up her spine. It can't be, she thought.

Nishira slowly looked around and took in the small group of men surrounding them. Most were samurai, in their distinctive layered armour and helmet that matched and obscured their faces from their enemies. Nishira eyed their hands on their swords, knowing their deadly precision, samurais were a formidable opponent even to shinobi. In the midst of them, a man dressed in a crisp black and beige kimono emerged, two samurai parting for him. He had aged in the last eleven years, but it was unmistakeably him. Nishira felt all bravery garnered over the years shrivel and flee from her, leaving a meek little girl shaking before the monster of her nightmares.
"Oh, come now, is that how you greet your uncle, Nishi, or your husband for that matter?"
The floor felt like it fell away from under her at his voice, she wished the void would swallow her up then and now, removing her from this meeting she'd been avoiding for years. All her running and in the end, she still stood before him, miniscule in his grandiose presence.
"Na-Nakuhei! Wha- what are you doing here?" Nishira's voice came out as a breathy whisper, feeling herself diminish into the child she had been the last time she'd seen her uncle.
"You should know this, my dear girl, I'm the advisor to the Daimyo of the Land of Wind. I can't believe of all places this is where I would find you. It's so quaint, you fighting these miscreants! Is this what you've been up to all this time? I barely recognized you." he laughed. Nishira looked at her injured teammates, curious but on guard, looking between her and the laughing man. "It's time now, no more of this foolishness. You are far too noble to dirty your hands fighting. It's time to come home now and fulfill your duty to the Kagechi Family."

He held out his hand expectantly, very lordly with his palm facing up to the sky like a warm invitation. Nishira didn't move, knowing the coldness behind that façade, a fear she had locked away a long time ago burst forth and flooded her lungs with its icy grip, stopping the air and freezing her tongue in place. All she could emit was a shaky "no" barely above a whisper. Toma stepped in front and put out a bandaged arm in front of Nishira.
"Imai Nishira is a Konoha shinobi. She will not leave with you."
That was enough to shake Nishira from the spell that bound her.
"Uncle, I won't be returning with you."
The words were said with more bravado than Nishira actually felt.
"You would deny your husband and forfeit your birthright and the living you were promised?"
"The living I was promised was the temple, not an advisor's wife. You took that from me."
The man scowled, the sneer showed off crooked teeth, stained from the opulence of his lifestyle.
"No, you stole from me. Where is the seal? And the box?"
"What?" Nishira racked her brain for any memory about a seal, his question didn't make sense with the only seal she could think of. And the box rung no bells of recollection. Her uncle simply tutted in disappointment at her confused stare and turned to the samurai next to him.
"I want the girl alive; Kill the others."
"Sir?"
He glared at the samurai who held locked, seeking confirmation of his order. "I will deal with the fallout and the others. Just do it!"
Sekawa signed and summoned a war hammer that crackled with electricity that cast a sickly light on her face. Toma placed his hands together ready to weave signs as soon as they moved towards them. Nishira stepped in front of them, knowing they were in no shape to fight so many skilled opponents, chakra wielding or not. They would likely die, and that thought broke the ice, releasing the panic that swelled in its place.
"Stop it, I'll go. Just leave them alive."
The only answer that left everyone alive was to simply go with them.
"You have to promise not to harm them, and I will come with you."
There was a heavy pause as he idly contemplated her offer. Nishira held her breath waiting for his answer, but Sekawa interrupted.
"Screw this! Nishira we can take these creeps. Toma!"
Before Nishira could stop her, Sekawa leapt towards the samurai, Toma wrapped himself in shadow and rushed past Nishira, despite her protests. The samurai responded with brutal ease, but without lethality, just defending against their attacks. Her comrades were tired and injured and were thrown easily aside.

Nishira saw their pained expression as they continued forth regardless and leapt forward without thinking her arms outstretched, desperate to stop this before someone lost their life. She clutched his sleeve, the plush fabric slick beneath her hands, resting her forehead on his puffed chest.
"Please, Uncle, stop this. Please I'll do it, I'll do whatever you want, just stop this."
"Ah, this is the little Nishi I know, such a sweet girl I brought home after my beloved sister's untimely death, may she sleep peacefully. I took you into my home and clothed you and fed you. And you repay my generosity by spitting on it and running away."
He held his left hand up to stop the samurai, his right held her face, tilting her chin up.
"If you mean it, then kneel right here in front of me. Swear to me your obedience and tell me every little thing you will do to grovel for my forgiveness."
"Uncle?"
His hand grabbed her throat squashing any fight left in her. She couldn't resist him, despite the pitiful strength of his grip, it hadn't been so pitiful all those years ago. Her eyes threatened to roll into the back of her head as her mind recalled how very small and helpless, she'd been, as he wrenched her to her knees, all strength abandoning her. The stone pressed painfully into her knees.
"You will submit to me here and now. I should have you beaten for leaving. I killed that rat, Chitu, for her treachery."
"Chitu?"
Chitu had been her attendant, and the only reason Nishira had managed to escape into the night all those years ago. Having given Nishira any coins she possessed and her handmade shawl before bade her to flee and seek out a better life. Her maternal kindness had been an anchor to Nishira.
"Oh yes, she begged me to kill her at the end. Refused to give you up and I used anything I could think of. It was simply an act of mercy to dispose of her by then, a generous action on my part. Oh yes, I killed more of them, all those priestesses. They died believing you got away, left them for dead. And here you are, in front of me, and now you will come home at last. At last. Oh Nishi, I am so happy to see you, my dear wife. You will have lots of time to make all this up to me. Now, where is it, where is the seal, child?"
He squeezed a little harder and she clutched his wrist with her free hand. His easy tone descending into the snarling frustration.
"I don't know!
"Liar! Where?!"
He squeezed more and cut off the air and she feebly kicked out her legs, her eyes squeezed shut as she wished for it to simply end.
"NISHIRA!"
As the dizziness threatened to fulfill her wish, she felt was a whoosh of air as the pressure on her neck disappeared. Nishira felt herself being placed gingerly on her feet and saw a white flash slice through the samurai that held her comrades and pushed them back. Hibi looked over her shoulder at Nashira.
"Are you okay?"
She dumbly nodded her head, swaying, gripping a lamp post for support. Her gaze turned to the intruder. She blinked a few times to make sure she wasn't dreaming. Kakashi stood in front of her facing her uncle, who glared at her protector.
"We are not finished this discussion, Nishi. You will come back to me, I swear it."

Kakashi tightened the grip on his kunai ever so slightly. Nakuhei snarled before motioning to this guards and walking off. Kakashi didn't move until they were firmly out of sight.
"Nishira, are you alright? We must go to the Hokage. You two, go back to your rooms with Hibi and stay there."
He didn't wait for an answer, just picked her up and leapt away. Nishira reveled the security in his arms. He betrayed his composure with how tight his hands gripped under her legs and her forearm.
"Thank you."
Kakashi tore his gaze from his path only for a moment to see her face. The voice had been so tiny and defeated. Her eyes glistened with unshed tears. He watched as she tried blinked them away stubbornly.
"You can put me down you know."
Kakashi didn't respond immediately.
"Yes, but it's faster this way and time is now of the essence."
There was something in his voice that felt like he was scolding her. Her mind began folding in on itself at her role in it all. It was her fault; she should have never agreed to the chunin exams. she should have stayed a genin and worked in the village, anonymous and not drawing any unwanted attention.
"You did excellent today."
The words seemed out of place, but sincere. Nashira looked up at him and studied his profile a moment before putting her head on his shoulder. The words felt like gentle patting after the encounter, he was trying to distract her.
"Thanks."
"I mean it, I think you'll easily become chunin. You executed your moves perfectly. I think you had it the moment you defended your comrade."
She didn't respond, so he continued.
"It proved you were a Konoha shinobi through and through; We always protect our own."
"Thank you, Kakashi sensei." She tried to ignore the guilt that seeped into her heart, and they were silent the rest of the journey through the stillness of Iwagakure.

Kakashi gave the door to Lord Hokage's room a swift knock before entering. Nishira was surprised to see the old man without his wide hat and white robes. Instead, he sat like what she imagined a homely grandfather would, in a grey and beige robe wrapped around him while sitting in a chair by the window. He smoked his pipe deliberately and without any sign of haste, the smoke billowing out the window. The light from the lamp post outside shone on his receding hair and illuminated the grooves of time on his face.

"Kakashi, Nishira, please, come in."
Nishira followed meekly behind Kakashi. Her hand lightly gripped part of his flak jacket and she kept her head down.
"Step aside, Kakashi, Nishira, come here."
He held his hand out for her to take, his withered hand looked gentle and soothing. Nishira stepped forward hesitantly, reaching out to lightly take his hand. As she neared closer to touch it, she snatched her hand back, immediately falling to the floor, pressing her forehead to the ground. The words tumbled from her mouth, babbling like the water in a creek.
"Please forgive me, Lord Hokage."
"Rise, Nishira. Please there is no need for this."
"No please, please don't send me back, please, please, anything but going back. Let me escape. I'll run and you'll never see me again if you just let me go. Please don't make me go back. Please don't let him take me, please, please don't let him touch me ever again! Please anything but that! Please!"
Her voice was saturated with panic, high and thready. Hot tears stained the floor beneath her, as she continued to mutter like reciting a prayer, her voice strung up in a feverish pitch.
"Kill me if you must. Fulfill my contract and kill me. Just don't send me back, please!"
The last word rung like wail. Lord Hokage rose from his seat and her fervent pleas intensified, repeating some of the lines over and over again.

"Nishira, compose yourself and rise. I have many questions for you before I can tell you what we will do."
Nishira slowly rose, the evidence of her fear as her face was flush and her eyes red and bleary. She wiped her eyes like a kid would into the sleeve of her uninjured arm. She still bowed her head, refusing to look Lord Hokage in the eye. As she hiccupped and shook like a leaf before them, Kakashi fought the urge to try and calm her by wrapping his arms around her. Lord Hokage simply smiled gently at her and held out his hand for her again. This time she took it and he gestured to an open chair next to her. His hand felt velvety smooth with a few calluses, his grip was firm but with a lightness. she obediently sat and wiped her face again, but the hiccupping was beginning to subside.
"Now, please, tell me who this man is and what is it that he wants."
Nishira considered his question before she let out a breath and gave a condensed version. The monotone voice lent the air of a robotic retelling as though it were the most common thing to tell another person.
"My name is Kagechi Nishira, heir to the Kagechi Temple in the Land of Birds. My mother is Uncle Nakuhei's eldest sister. After the war, the people didn't like anything that they considered a form of ninjutsu or mystical in any way, deeming them demonic, and they would kill them. My mother, as a revered and powerful priestess with abilities, was slaughtered by an angry mob."
She stopped to let out a shuddering breath and tried to stop the tears that threatened to fall.
"I-I escaped. But after she died, I became Nakuhei's charge. He's an advisor to the Wind Daimyo. He came to collect me and Chitu, an attendant from the temple. and… and…"
Nishira wrapped her arms around her, and the tears fell without her permission.
"He groomed me! He groomed and prepared to make me his bride! He - he - he tried, he… I refused him and he… he almost killed me. So, I ran, I ran from there, ran away as fast as I could and… and…"
Lord Hokage held up his hand.
"A troubling tale, to be sure. But I have an important question for you. Are you legally married, did you sign anything or partake in a ceremony."
She contemplated the question, before shaking her head.
"No, no ceremony, no signings."
"Are you sure? I ask, because if you are legally married to him, not even I could prevent your return to him. We would have to uphold the law of the land and escort you back. Now, you would have the option to separate from him, however, in the meantime we would not be allowed to intervene."
"No, no ceremony, the Land of Birds prevents the marriage for children under the age of twelve."
Lord Hokage nodded in an understanding way.
"I see, then it seems that your uncle wanted a reunion and return of his charge."
"And the return of a seal and box, he mentioned."
Nishira startled at Kakashi's addition, but the old man simply held up his hand. "But you are of age now and are not obliged to return. I will discuss this with the Daimyo in the morning. We will make sure that you will not be forced to return."
Nishira bowed her head again.
"Thank you, Lord Hokage, but it means I can never return to Konohagakure. You don't know Nakuhei, he will not stop. I have only survived so long from living on the streets and always moving. Thank you for intervening, but I fear it will only bring trouble to you and your village. I am not worth it, so I will leave, tonight, before you talk to anyone and save you the trouble."
She rose from her chair to head towards the door, before she came nose to chest with Kakashi.
"Nishira, you will stay and listen to Lord Hokage. That is an order. You are still a genin, and therefore still my student."
Nishira backed up a step, hands up with palms facing him.
"No, you all have sacrificed enough and invested enough in me. It's time for me to step aside and let all of you and this go. You can't get involved. You can't stop him. I will remember you all fondly, please know that -"
"No! sit down!" He wrenched her back into the seat by pressing on her shoulder. "You are not going any where! Just listen."
Nishira, jarred by his forcefulness, dumbly turned to Lord Hokage.
"What is it that your uncle seeks, power?"
"Money."
"You have money?"
"There is some family money, but it is left to me. but I have no idea where the papers are for it, or whatever this seal is, but I can only think of the box as having the documents. Until now, I thought he already had it since he was my caregiver."
"Then I have a new mission for you, and Kakashi. One that means you will have to leave tonight, as soon as I finish delivering the details you will get your bags and leave Iwagakure immediately."
"Yes, Lord Hokage."
Kakashi stood behind Nishira's shoulder, his hand still heavy there.
"Nishira, I want you to go to your temple. It serves as logical to assume that if he doesn't have the box and neither do you then it must be hidden and I can only think of one place, or maybe you might think of somewhere when you arrive. Travel as fast as you can and find your birthright. When you arrive you will know what to do next."
Nishira waited for further instruction, frowning when none came.
"That's it? That's the whole mission? What will I do when I get there? It burned to the ground! I don't understand, Lord Hokage, please explain."
"No, I will explain no further. Kakashi, Nishira, your mission begins now."
Kakashi grabbed Nishira's arm and turned to leave. Nishira stopped and looked towards the old man.
"Thank you, Lord Hokage."
The man waved off her thanks with a dismissive flick of his hand.
"Thank me when you complete your mission."
She nodded and leapt off with Kakashi to gather their bags.

Arriving at the ryokan, Nishira tiptoed through the inn, desperate not to wake anyone. She quietly packed her bags and tiptoed out of the room, pausing to see both Toma and Sekawa snoozing at the kotatsu, heated for the cold mountains. Sekawa's auburn curls spilled over the sleek surface of the table. A graceful picture compared to Toma who lay on the ground, arms sprawled beside him, snoring frightfully loud. Her heart melted as she realized they'd been trying to wait for her to return. She vowed to make it up to them if she returned to the village. Slipping through the house, Nishira stopped at the kitchen for two reasons. One she wanted a snack for the road since dinner would not be happening for a couple of hours. But also, she dug into her bag and pulled out a carved magatama made of deer antler, placing it with a hastily scribbled note that she had to go and thanking Lady Suzunagi for her generous hospitality and early morning tea times together.

She was about to leave when she saw the shadow of the old lady in a door. Her heart hammered at the surprise, but she bowed as her host most into the light of the kitchen.
"Child, are you leaving? It must be past midnight."
"Yes, Lady Suzunagi, I must go immediately." She turned to pick up the token. "Please accept this as a token of my gratitude for everything. If it were up to me, I would not leave on such unceremonious terms. You deserve a proper thank you. But this is all the time I have before I must leave. I hope we meet again; I enjoyed our time together."
Wordlessly, the old lady moved forward, placing a gentle hand on her shoulder. When Nishira lifted her head, Lady Suzunagi wrapped the young shinobi in an embrace.
"I will treasure it and our time. Go child, go where the world takes you and don't worry about an old woman like me."
She rubbed a hand on the crying shinobi's cheek, before heading towards the front door. Managing to make it unheard, Nishira buckled her spare set of boots when the sound of someone gently clearing your throat caught her attention.
"Fleeing before the final matches, interesting time to desert."
Hearing the teasing tone of Kabuto's voice, she turned with a guilty expression.
"Kabuto, you may not understand but I need you to not tell anyone you saw me. I'm not deserting, I have a mission."
"Right."
His smirk and long enunciation of the word made Nishira realize he didn't believe her. She let out a sigh.
"If I come back to the village, I promise to tell you everything. Thank you, for everything this past month."
He crossed his arms.
"Pleasure was all mine, Nishi. Now go, before the others wake."
Shrugging off the anxiety that spiked at the use of shortened form of her name, Nishira gave her head a slight bow before ducking out the door, sliding the door as quietly as she could. Looking back, Kakashi kept watch as she approached fastening the clips of the cloak.
"Ready?"
Nishira sighed, wiping the last evidence of her tears away.
"As ready as I'll every be."
And they took off into the darkness before the sun announced a new day.