Oh no. What a mess. I should definitely be cursed. Why did this happen to me of all people? And here in the forest of all places. When it's so extremely difficult to cover one' s tracks in such a terrain. I gritted my teeth and peered at Naruto, who was looking curiously in my direction. Although I was not visible to him, I knew that he knew I was there. He wasn't that stupid. I now had two choices. Either I fled into the thicket and hoped that he would eventually give up. Something I didn't think a Naruto Uzumaki would do, because he had been known to never give up in the past. Or I would show myself to him and hope that he didn't think I was the intangible thief from Konoha.
I shook my head. Surely not. Like me, he was still a child. Surely Naruto would think it was a powerful adult person. Never in his life would he assume that a twelve-year-old girl and a thief, were the same person.
"Hey, I know you're there. Come out. I'm not going to hurt you, believe it." Naruto didn't sound impatient at all, more curious and friendly. He hadn't changed a bit.
Even back then I had liked the blond chaot, but my father had always forbidden me to play with him. When I had dared it once then nevertheless, I had got the slap of my life. For a week and a half, I had hidden the handprint under a bandage and claimed that I had fallen on my face. Since then, I had stayed away from him, which had confused Naruto a lot in the beginning. But over time, he had come to accept that I was apparently just another kid who wanted nothing more to do with him.
The guilty conscience began to gnaw at my heart. He certainly wouldn't recognize me anymore.
As Naruto took another step toward the tree, I finally released the jutsu and showed myself to another person for the first time in two years. The blond mess's eyes widened as he caught sight of my form there above him. Had he recognized me? No, he couldn't have. But if he had, what would he think of me? "Who are you? Somehow I know you." Oh no. That couldn't be true.
Naruto furrowed his brow and seemed to be convulsively wondering how he knew me. "But that's impossible. You've been declared dead." My heart stopped and began to beat irregularly. So, he had recognized me after all, or else he was mistaking me.
"How do you think you know me?", I asked, leaning forward slightly. Firmly, he looked me in the eye, not blinking once. He seemed quite sure of himself.
"From school, but it's been two years since I last saw you. And if I'm not mistaken your name is Tora isn't it?"
My limbs trembled slightly. Uncertainly, I sat down on the branch and let my legs dangle. He had recognized me. But I had to find out why he was so sure.
"Why are you so convinced of this assumption?" Examining, I looked at him and Naruto didn't hesitate a second with his answer. "Your eyes." I tried to remain outwardly calm, but only half succeeded. "They're such an unusual colour. They are so beautiful silver."
Surprised, I looked at the blond mess. No one had ever called my eyes beautiful before. More like creepy or strange. I could not yet explain to myself where their colour came from, or what it had to do with it. But maybe one day I would find out.
"And your hair, too. I don't know anyone with such wild hair." I imagined I could hear a smirk coming from his voice. It was true. My hair was really crazy. At the top of my head down to my shoulder blades, it curled and then went into soft waves.
I just stared at him. Couldn't help it. He remembered me. I really didn't think he would. On the one hand I was happy, but on the other hand I was afraid that he might run into the village and tell everyone about me. I had to prevent that. "Listen," I raised my voice and jumped from the tree in one fluid motion. Not far from him, I landed softly on the ground. "Now that you've exposed me, let me tell you one thing..." "It's really you!" he interrupted me. Incredible joy and triumph showed on his face. "Ha, I knew it. Now no one can say I have a bad memory, for real. When I tell this to the others..."
"NO NARUTO," now I was the one who interrupted him. Frightened, the blond looked at me. Lack of understanding appeared on his face. "But", he tried again, earning from me a violent shake of the head plus an angry look. Ever so slightly, he backed away. Still taken aback by my sudden anger. I couldn't blame him either. Of course, I wanted to go back to my ninja life. Go to the academy and do things with friends.
But there were also things I had to consider. I was a wanted thief and on top of that, the person I feared the most was my father. That meant I would have to go back to him. And I could not and would not do that. I would enter my personal hell and it would destroy me; I knew that well.
"Don't you think there's a reason I ran away from home," I sighed. His eyes widened slightly.
"Ran away ... but why?" I ignored the question and looked at Naruto urgently. "That. What I'm about to tell you is not only the reason I turned my back on my home, but also, for the fact that I have no intention of ever returning there."
Still confused, he nodded, but relaxed a little. I took that as a prompt and began to tell.
I told about the death of my mother after my birth and the worsening condition of my father. That he began to vent his anger on me more and more and came home drunk more and more often. With widened eyes, he listened to me strained until the point where I confessed to him why I had stopped playing with him.
"Now I understand. Oh, man such a mean guy. Don't worry I'm not mad or anything at all." I nodded gratefully. That relieved me. The blond had no idea how much. When I talked about the evening I had run away, Naruto jumped up with a start. His face red with anger.
"I just don't believe it. That guy is ... is ... I don't know how to describe it. It's terrible. To treat his own child like that. He should be ashamed of himself and what he did afterwards."
Now it was my turn to be confused. "What do you mean Naruto?" "What do I mean?" Naruto pushed his face close to mine and looked at me. His eyes blazed with anger.
"That guy showed up at our classroom the next day and said in front of all of us that you were missing. And then he burst into tears."
Shocked, I looked at him. My father and tears? No. No way, he had to have played that. He hated me like the plague, seeing in me the guilt for mother's death. I clenched my fists. I really didn't expect him to do something like that.
Naruto lowered his head and looked down.
"And when you didn't come back after a year, the Hokage declared you dead."