The Harem Jutsu
Disclaimer: I do not own the Naruto series.
Chapter 4: Mizuki tells her story!
...
"I had been in the orphanage for over two weeks," she said. "Most of the other children from Konoha got picked up by their parents again. Some were told that their parents were dead. They were killed by the Kyuubi. Those children got adopted or got to live with relatives back in Konoha. I waited, and waited, but my parents never showed up."
"But didn't they tell you—" Kakashi wanted to ask, but Mizuki didn't listen to him and continued her story.
"I was being picked on by the other children. They said I should just give up hope already. One of the caretakers told me my parents were not coming back for me… They didn't want me back."
Kakashi couldn't believe what he was hearing.
"Everyone said I should just agree with putting myself up for adoption. And the caretaker that told me the news said that he would like to adopt me."
Her hand was forming a fist. She bit her lip again. She tried not to cry again.
"I felt so alone and that man was the only one who seemed to care about me. But…"
She couldn't go on.
"He wanted to do something to you, didn't he?" Kakashi asked. Mizuki looked at him.
"I ran away," she said. "I changed my name, thinking that I could start over new. But it turned out that… wherever I went… there were always… always…" She turned her head again, trying to shake the thought off.
"Mizuki…" Kakashi mumbled again. "I had no idea—"
"No, you didn't, did you?" Mizuki said angrily. "You haven't even got a clue of what I've been through!"
Kakashi knew she was right.
He tried to hold her, but she resisted. "What are you doing?!" she said. "Don't touch me!"
"I'd never hurt you, Mizuki," Kakashi said calmly. "You need to calm down."
"Never hurt me?!" Mizuki repeated. "My life has just been one big hell! My memories of Konoha are the only good memories I have! The first four years of my life! I can't remember much, but they're the only memories that kept me going!"
She started to cry again. She looked down and let the tears drop on the ground.
Kakashi tried to hold her again, but Mizuki flinched. Kakashi decided not to try it again. She had obviously had bad experiences with men.
Kakashi thought about that day, fifteen years ago. Before that day, they were very close friends.
"Kakashi-niichan!" she called. She ran towards Kakashi, who was almost three times her size.
"Look, look!" she said. "I went to the park with mama and I got you this pretty flower!"
Fourteen year old Kakashi smiled at the mischievous little girl. "How sweet, Mizuki-chan," he said friendly. He took the flower and said: "I'll keep this safe," he said. He put the flower above her ear, in her hair. "Will you put it in a little glass of water, so it won't die?" he asked. "Then I'll be sure to take it home with me." Mizuki smiled.
The Fourth Hokage walked towards them and lifted the little girl up. "There's my big girl," he said. "Hey, Kakashi's training, so you shouldn't distract him too much, honey. Ok?"
"Ok," little Mizuki said. "Sorry, Kakashi-niichan."
"That's ok," Kakashi said. "I'll catch you later, ok?"
"Ok," Mizuki said with a big smile. Yondaime put her back down and she ran back home.
"It's still funny to see you being that little girl's best friend," Rin said with a big grin.
"She's just really looking up to you, Kakashi," Yondaime said.
"Literally," Rin added. Kakashi just smiled underneath his mask.
"Well, I'm glad you're being so nice to my daughter," Yondaime said.
"No problem at all," Kakashi said. "I love playing with her. Makes me feel like a big brother."
The three of them laughed before they continued their training.
Kakashi looked at the nineteen year old, who was crying and wouldn't accept his comforting hand. She didn't just change from the outside. She was broken, yet brave enough to move on.
"Mizuki," he whispered, "I've never stopped thinking about you. You, your parents, Rin, Obito… I think about all of you every day."
Mizuki looked at him with teary eyes. "But… you always said not to live in the past," she said.
"Yes, that's right," he said, "but that doesn't mean I should forget all of you." He took another good look at her. "Sometimes I was even imagining what you would look like by now if you were still alive," he said.
"Like that 'Harem Jutsu' the kid used this afternoon?" she asked suspiciously.
Kakashi looked at her in surprise, but then started to laugh a little. "To be honest, I've never even seen that jutsu," he said. He was thinking about how she said "the kid" without even knowing she was talking about her own younger brother.
"I don't see what's so funny, Kakashi," she said.
She also stopped calling him "Kakashi-niichan". That didn't surprise him much, though, after hearing her story… not to mention after not seeing her for fifteen years!
...
Poor Mizuki. Well, now that we've digged in her memory a little, time to dig into Kakashi's!
fave and review if interested.