"Am I dead?" Mina wondered. Water rushed by on the side of her head on the rocky edge of a river bank. Pain blossomed from her ribs to her hips. She couldn't move, stuck along the edge of the water. A large man blocked out the sun in front of her. Chakra flowed from his fingertips into her heart like a fountain of life.
"You look real messed up, fool ya fool," he said. "Kid's alive, time to let the medics jive. Oh yeah."
A smaller man walked up to her side, opening a first aid kit. Mina screamed out, and a hard hand quickly covered her mouth when gauze was pressed against her abdominal wound.
"Iwa did this. Left a kid for dead, can you imagine?" the smaller man said to the larger. "Ruthless bastards."
"Gyuki said she has more chakra than a chuunin. She's a shinobi. Hmm. That doesn't rhyme."
'Which one is Gyuki?' she thought.
"Looks like just a little kid to me," a third voice argued behind her.
The small man's chakra was cool and soothing as it slowly knit the wound together. He panted with the exertion. Not a Konoha medic, she reasoned. He was wasting his chakra to do this. She could feel his inefficiency.
"What're you gonna do about that head wound?" the third voice said, smacking loudly on what sounded like a lollipop.
"Don't know yet. Hey kid, what's your name?"
"Mina. Kaminari Hatake," she gasped out.
"Hatake?" the third voice asked. "Like the White Fang? I don't know about this, S. She's a Konoha-nin. She might look sweet and cute, but those kids are deadly."
"That is for the Raikage to decide, fool ya fool. We're not leaving a kid here to die alone in fear."
Mina closed her eyes. She decided she liked the large man. Though he spoke oddly, he was kind. His chakra signature was massive but comfortable. The small man, the one called S, was kind too. His chakra reminded her of sweet peppermints as it entered her body.
"There you go, sweetheart. That's better isn't it?" S asked. It was better. The abdominal wound was completely closed, and the pain was almost gone. "I'm afraid there's nothing I can do for your head wound. We'll have to get you to a neurosurgeon back in Kumo."
'What's a neurosurgeon?' she thought briefly. 'Why wouldn't a medic be able to just fix a head wound? Strangely low standards…'
The next time she regained consciousness, she was in the large man's arms. He smelled like coconut oil and the suntan lotion her brother wouldn't let her buy. A slight shimmer to his skin seemed to confirm her suspicions. He definitely used tanning lotion.
"Yo, S, kid's waking up."
Mina barely registered the sharp sting of a needle against her arm before she lost consciousness again.
The telemetry equipment beeped quietly near the hospital bed. Darui reclined in the chair next to Mina. She had been in and out of consciousness for three days. The physicians couldn't explain it. They only offered that every chakra system was different, and healing hers had been especially difficult. He had his doubts. He didn't understand how she could have been fine when they left Konoha, or at least conscious, and now she wasn't.
Her eyes moved rapidly behind her eyelids. Occasionally, she would whimper in her sleep. She would call out for Kakashi, Shisui, an 'Obito,' or a 'Rin.' Sometimes she would beg an 'Inuzuka-sensei' for an early lunch. That almost made him smile. She still loved a long and early lunch.
The worst was when she screamed for 'nii-san,' Who apparently really was Hatake Kakashi. Darui scrubbed his hand down his face before locking his hands behind his head.
He had received a top secret folder from ANBU intelligence services yesterday, curtesy of Samui-senpai. The photographs that his partner received from one Hatake Kakashi were authentic. It was then that he sent a missive to Killer Bee, requesting his return to Kumogakure. As the only person left alive from the squad that found Mina, he would have answers. S had died from a heart attack nearly five years ago. Osoi was killed in action alongside the Third Raikage.
Steam practically bubbled off of the cobblestone road of Konoha. Mina was sitting on a park bench with a gray-haired boy, maybe about ten. Her mouth watered at the sight of the grape popsicle in his hand. Her mouth stretched into a wide grin when he broke it in half and gave her the bigger half.
"Thanks, nii-san!" she chirped. Seconds passed as she loudly slurped her prize with the juice running down her fingers, forming small puddles on the sidewalk below. She looked over and was startled when his popsicle was already gone, leaving a dyed stick in its place.
"What? Where? How?" she stammered.
"Ninja magic," he said sagely. He tossed the stick into the air and it sailed across the street in a perfect arc into the trash can. Pulling out a book from his kunai pouch, he leaned against the armrest of the bench, patiently waiting for her.
The grape juice melted all over her fist as she hurriedly tried to finish. The last bit of popsicle fell off the stick to the ground below in a disappointing plop. When she tried to throw the stick in the trash like her brother, it stuck to her fingers. She shook her hand up and down in an attempt to dislodge it, but it remained.
The memory skipped. Blank space and silence replaced what had been there.
"Happy fifth birthday, Mina." Kakashi's whisper echoed in her mind.
The old bench on the academy training ground was patched and had been repainted over the years, but familiar. She peeled off a long strip of paint with her fingers. Shisui walked up with a small wave before tapping his new hitai-ate. She tapped hers in response with a wide grin that pulled at her cheeks.
She blinked, time was lost.
A small boy with curly hair started, "My name is Shisui Uchiha. My goal is to protect Konoha from the shadows. I like early morning runs and sweets. I don't like ramen, eating breakfast at home, or snakes."
"Your turn brat," a woman with short wild hair and fang tattoos said.
'Inuzuka-sensei,' Mina's mind recalled.
'Who's the third kid?' Mina asked herself.
"Hi! My name is Kaminari Hatake! I am super excited to be here! I absolutely love reading and my brother, Kakashi. I don't like…" She paused and tapped her finger on her chin. "Well, can't say there's much I don't like."
The grumpy nin-ken next to the woman huffed. "Surely, there is something you don't like."
"Hmm. I guess I don't like snakes either."
"Good job, brats. Kuromaru, you're up."
"Fine. My name is Kuromaru. You may address me as nin-ken-sama. I am your sensei's partner. I like pig's ears, swimming in the lake, and long naps in the sun. I do not like miscreants, baby vomit, or nettle bushes."
"Oh!" Mina jumped up. "I forgot! My summons, Uhei, and Bisuke! Summoning jutsu!"
Such good dogs. Good boys.
Her thighs burned when she jumped through the bare trees of a vast winter forest.
"Gotta catch me, Uhei!" she taunted a small auburn greyhound. The cold air cut her lungs with each breath. He barked in response, bounding on the branches after her. Bisuke was close by, howling when he spotted Kakashi. This was part of their games. Every free Sunday Kakashi had, they would play chase with the pack.
"Catch you?" the dog panted. "We're supposed to catch Kakashi and Pakkun."
Her laugh echoed through the trees. She loved that dog. Love. Love that dog. Bisuke and Uhei, her personal summons from the Hatake pack. Love. Love those dogs.
She was sitting cross-legged in the apartment she shared with Kakashi. Dog fur was all over the floor. His voice sounded like it was underwater as he carefully watched her.
"Went to the Inuzuka kennels," Kakashi said. "It's time you signed the family blood contract."
"Because I graduated the academy?" Mina asked excitedly, sounding far away. "I did so good, nii-san! I almost topped your scores!"
Kakashi rolled his eyes and carefully brought over a large box with air holes. Mina squealed in excitement, hurriedly throwing off the top of the box.
"Oh my goodness! Aren't you just the sweetest, cutest—"
"Hardest working," Kakashi added drily. "They're not pets. They're nin-ken."
Mina squealed again, pulling the small greyhound puppy out of the box, followed by a tan mutt. "Oh—Em—Goodness!" she repeated, nuzzling the tops of their heads. "I'm gonna name you Uhei, and you, you're Bisuke. Because you look so sweet like a biscuit!"
"They'll have to sleep in your bed, so they can become accustomed to your chakra," Kakashi explained, putting the empty box in the closet. "Once you sign the family contract, you'll be able to summon any of the pack at will, so long as that pack member is available and willing."
Pack is pack. Blood contract. Love those dogs. Love nii-san.
Mina squinted against the bright fluorescent light overhead. The disinfectant and plastic IV tubing was overwhelming against her nose. Kumogakure Municipal Hospital always used cheap 'mountain fresh' detergent that gave her a headache. Part of the reason she wore a surgical mask when forced to work her mandatory emergency department shifts was the detergent alone. Sweet bergamot and ozone cut through the hospital smell, moving closer to her. Familiar callouses caressed the back of her hand as Darui's face came into focus.
"Welcome back," he said, adjusting the blanket on her shoulders with his free hand. He placed a straw in between her lips and encouraged her to drink the sweetened tea.
"Thanks," Mina croaked.
Darui kicked over his chair before sitting down again. "You scared me."
Mina winced. "I'm sorry."
"Me too," he said softly. "I'm sorry. I should have—"
"No. This isn't on you, Darui. Don't feel sorry for this."
"If you say so."
Mina sighed and leaned back. His lips were warm against her forehead before he dropped his forehead against hers. The heart monitor beeped loudly when he kissed her softly, letting his strong lips linger against hers. She leaned into his warm palm on her cheek, nuzzling the side of his face with her nose. He slowly went in and kissed her again, smiling when the beeping turned erratic. He brushed his thumb against her pulse and kissed her forehead again, finally pulling back.
When her heart rate had settled, Mina gave him a crooked smile that had him rolling his eyes. "Think you can spring me from this joint?"
He kicked his legs in front of him, crossed at the ankle. "Dull. And no. C is in charge of your case."
"Oh come on, he'll never let me go. He'll cuff me to this bed if he half thinks I'll run."
"Kinky," Darui commented lightly, pulling an expense report out of a small pile Mabui brought him.
Mina glowered at him. He looked up and gave her a small smile in response.
"It smells in here," Mina finally admitted.
He pulled a surgical mask out of his pocket and gently placed it on her face. "I thought you might need one," he said with a shrug. "So I had Omoi grab a handful from supply."
"You take advantage of his hero worship too much," she said as she carefully adjusted the metal nose bridge.
Darui shrugged again, kissing the back of her hand. He refused to let go. She had so many questions running through her mind. Memories had piled up, waiting to be sorted. All she wanted was for the last two weeks to be a bad dream. She wanted to go back to two weeks ago and wake up in their assigned apartment, knowing exactly who she was. Knowing without a shadow of a doubt that she belonged to Kumogakure as much as it belonged to her.
She wanted to know that Killer Bee was who she thought he was—that the Raikage was too. They were good, honorable men. She wished she could go back in time where she could say with confidence that every shinobi in Kumogakure was honorable down to their bones. That they could always claim moral superiority over any other shinobi village. But she couldn't. She could only wish.
Konoha Team Seven Training Grounds
Shisui jumped down from a tree, countering the kunai that Kakashi had aimed toward a genin-level target.
"Can I help you?" Kakashi asked blandly. He pulled another kunai and aimed for the target. Shisui angrily pulled his own out of his kunai pouch, threading the eye of Kakashi's kunai with his own, knocking it away from the target and landing in the dirt.
"You let her go," Shisui accused.
"Hokage-sama let her go," Kakashi reminded, his face carefully devoid of emotion.
"YOU LET HER GO!" Shisui yelled, throwing a shuriken at Kakashi that he easily avoided.
Kakashi said nothing, simply flicking out another kunai to aim at the ridiculously easy target.
"God damn it, Kakashi! We just got her back!"
Kakashi remained silent, kunai after kunai sinking into the target until a hole appeared in the center. The kunai began to soar through and fall to the grass below. His kunai pouch emptied as Shisui seethed.
Shisui lifted a kunai, aiming at Kakashi's head. Kakashi reached up and grabbed it mid-air, twirling it around his finger and redirecting it to the quickly diminishing target. He had yet to look at Shisui since he arrived.
"She was alive," Kakashi whispered against the wind.
"What?" Shisui asked.
"She. Was. Alive." Kakashi repeated. "She was alive, and you left her to die alone in that river."
"She was dead. Bisuke and I watched her bleed out," Shisui argued. "Bisuke and Uhei saw her die! We all SAW her die before her dead body ran out of chakra."
Kakashi laughed bitterly. "You should have known better. You're the shinobi. You were her teammate."
"Summons have to run off the summoner's chakra or they go back. Everyone knows that. Even the crow contract works that way, and I share it with Itachi."
"Help me understand, Shisui. Because you look an awful lot like 'less-than-scum' from where I stand."
"Fuck!" Shisui's yell echoed through the trees, scattering the birds. "Fuck."
"You left my sister to die alone on foreign soil," Kakashi repeated menacingly before walking away. "Live with that."
AN: Thank you for reading! If you have the time, please leave a comment :)
Beta'ed by CherryBerry12; who makes all things legible.