The Harem Jutsu
Disclaimer: I do not own the Naruto series.
Chapter 5: Lost.
...
What seemed like a peaceful night, became the worst nightmare the Hidden Leaf Village couldn't even imagine!
"We have to send our children to the next town! All Genin and final students of the Ninja Academy should take them! Send all Chuunin and Jounin to the battlefield!"
Kakashi ran towards the Fourth. "So it's true," he said. "It is the Kyuubi. I'll collect as many Chuunin and Jounin as I can."
"Kakashi-niichan!" a crying Mizuki shouted. "Don't leave us!"
"I won't," Kakashi said. "I'll be back. Now you go along with the other children. We'll see each other again, real soon." He patted her head.
"I don't want to go," she said. Yondaime picked her up. "That's enough, honey," he said. "Go, Kakashi."
Kakashi nodded, winked at Mizuki and took off.
"Mizuki," Yondaime said, putting his daughter back on the ground. "Listen to what Kakashi said and go with the other children and the Genin.
"I don't wanna go, papa!" Mizuki cried. "I want to stay with you and mama!"
Kushina was still in the hospital after giving birth to their son. Mizuki didn't know about it yet, because they wanted to surprise her by showing her new brother after she spent so much time talking to her mother's pregnant belly.
Before he went there, he had to get Mizuki out of here.
"Mizuki, be a big girl now and do as papa says, ok?" he said. "This is very important."
"I don't wanna go!" Mizuki said again.
"I know it's scary, honey, but you have to go," Yondaime said desperately. "It's only for a little while!"
Mizuki hesitated. Then she nodded and ran along with other young children, who were following a few Genin.
"Mizuki-chan," one of the Genin called, "stay close to us! You think you can keep up?"
"Yeah," Mizuki answered. The Genin nodded and continued her search for more children. The smallest children and the babies were being carried.
Before they were running towards the main exit of the village, Mizuki saw Kakashi running the other way. She took the opportunity to sneak away from the group of fleeing children and tried to catch up to Kakashi.
"Kakashi-niichan!" she shouted. Kakashi looked back and saw Mizuki. He stopped and ran back towards her. "Go on ahead, I'll be right there!" he said to the other ninjas.
"Mizuki, what are you doing?" Kakashi asked, kneeling so that he would be on the same level as Mizuki. "You have to get out of here!"
"I don't want to go, Kakashi-niichan!" she said. She started to cry again. "I'm scared! Please don't make me go! Please!"
Kakashi sighed. He had to think of something.
"Alright then," he said.
"You promise?" Mizuki asked. "You promise not to make me go away?"
"… I promise I'll keep you safe," Kakashi answered. He picked her up and ran towards the main street. Mizuki held him tightly. She was glad she got to stay with him and her parents. She knew something terrible would happen if she went out there. She could feel it.
But what happened then was something she didn't expect to happen. Kakashi stopped and said to one of the Genin: "Please take her with you. Don't let her run by herself."
"What?!" Mizuki yelled. "But Kakashi—"
"This is for your own good," he said. "You can't stay here, it's too dangerous!"
"But you promised," she said with teary eyes.
"I promised to keep you safe," he answered, "and that's exactly what I'm doing."
Kakashi looked away and gave her to the Genin.
"Don't send me away," said Mizuki. Tears were pouring out.
Without looking, Kakashi said: "Go." The Genin nodded and took Mizuki with him.
Kakashi heard Mizuki calling him. "Kakashi-niichan! Help me! You promised! YOU PROMISED!" He felt like he had betrayed her.
"I'm sorry…"
"… Mizuki-chan."
"What?" Mizuki asked.
Kakashi opened his eye. It was the same crying face he was looking at, only fifteen years older. They were still the same bright blue eyes.
Kakashi finally stood up. He reached out to help Mizuki up. She ignored the hand and stood up by herself. She wiped her tears away.
"I can't tell you how sorry I am for what happened to you," Kakashi said.
Mizuki looked away again. "You have no idea…" she mumbled.
"I know," Kakashi said. "But I'm also glad that you're alive. Please understand why I had you taken away."
"I don't," Mizuki said. "If you did it for my own good, like you said, why didn't you come and bring me back home? Mom and Dad didn't want me back, and neither did you."
"Mizuki…" Kakashi tried, but she didn't listen.
"You sent me away so that I wouldn't be standing in your way," she said. She looked at Kakashi again. She was keeping her temper. "And when it was all over, you decided to let me stay in that orphanage, so that I'd be someone else's burden—"
"That's not true!" Kakashi said.
"Then why?!" Mizuki screamed.
"They told me you were dead!" Kakashi screamed, louder than he meant to.
But it seemed to go through for Mizuki. She stared at him with a confused look in her eyes.
Kakashi calmed down and started to talk normally again. People would think he was attacking a girl in the middle of the night. "One of the parents who returned with their kid told me the caretakers said that you were dead," he said. "They said you and some other children ran away and one of the caretakers found you, but…"
"But…?" Mizuki repeated.
Kakashi shook his head. "You don't wanna know," he said.
Mizuki took a few steps back and leaned against a wall. "So all this time…" she whispered. She slid down the wall and sat on the ground again. She grabbed her head.
Kakashi went to sit next to her. They both stared in front of them.
"I went to the orphanage after I heard that," Kakashi said. "I looked everywhere, but I couldn't find you. The caretakers said they knew it was hard for me to accept, but I should face it. I couldn't sense you, or even find any track of you. I told them I wanted to see where they found you. They showed me a place not too far from the orphanage. It was still covered with blood. Blood of you and three other children. That's what they told me."
He paused and looked at Mizuki. "I thought I had lost all of my friends after the attack of the Kyuubi," he said. "Now look at us."
Mizuki looked at him. Even though she couldn't actually see it, she could somehow see Kakashi smiling underneath his mask. It was just for a while. Then Kakashi asked: "So why did you come back?"
Mizuki looked in front of her again. "I… wanted to see my parents," she said. "I still love them, even though they didn't want me back…" Then she figured something out. She quickly looked at Kakashi again. "Could it be… was that a lie, too?" she asked.
Kakashi went to sit in front of her and looked straight into her eyes. "Mizuki," he said, "you meant the world to your parents. They loved you 'till the end."
Mizuki didn't say anything. She felt horrible. It was all a lie. And she believed it, too.
"I want to see them," she said with tears in her eyes. "I'm gonna meet them tomorrow… and apologise for being such a fool for doubting their love for me."
Kakashi hated to break the news to her. She was already so upset. But he couldn't give her any false hope.
He stood up and reached his hand out to Mizuki again. "Come on," he said. "There's something I need to show you." She didn't quite understand, but took his hand and stood up.
...
Ok, so it was not the crime of the century, but hey: this is the memory of a toddler! So how is Kakashi going to tell Mizuki her parents are dead? Find out in the next chapter ^^
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