Disclaimer: I do not own any characters or events that are affiliated with Naruto/Naruto Shippuden

Chapter Fourteen

I'm afraid I have terrible news...Minato and Kushina—

Karibi's eyes snapped open as she gasped choking for air. She was in a cold sweat, and her heart was racing. She clutched to her chest as she trembled—fear, anxiety, and most of all rage coursing through her veins.

When Hiruzen had first told her the terrible news, she had cried. She couldn't stop the tears. The moment Hiruzen had said that Minato and Kushina had died in the attack, there was no stopping her. At first, she was hysterical. She was screaming and trying to run, and to where, she didn't know. She just had to get away. But after the first day the screaming and crying stopped.

There was just nothing.

"Karibi?" the 10 year old looked over to the door, Hayase standing there with a worried look.

She was stuck in the hospital for a few days. She had taken a mighty blow to the head and lost a large chunk of blood, and not only that, but Hiruzen had found that someone had tampered with her memory using jutsu; a Sharingan. He had advised her to stay at the hospital for a few more days—just until the funeral, and then she would be free to return to her home.

But what did it matter? There was no there waiting anymore.

"Hayase." Said boy winced; Karibi never used his full name.

"You ok? I heard you," he said gently as he stepped into the dim room.

He and Hana had been taking shifts, watching over their friend. Seeing as the village was mostly a total wreck, many people were doing their part, trying to put the pieces back together. Hana's family had been working on trying to locate the person responsible behind the attack with their nin dogs, and while they were doing that, Hana spent time watching her brother and keeping an eye on Karibi at the hospital. And while she was doing that, Hayase helped Riku-sensei and other ninja with organizing where people without homes were to stay for the time being. With all the damage that had been done by the fox demon, all normal missions for the shinobi had been put on hold; first thing that they needed to focus on was recovering.

Currently, Hayase was spending the night keeping a close eye on Karibi. It seemed she was having nightmares, but it was hard to say; she didn't talk to anyone. Since she had discovered the news about her guardians, she had shut herself off. Other than the initial shock, she showed no emotions to anyone, ever. She had even had several visits from Guy, Kurenai and even Asuma. They had all come to see her just to check on her, but she never said a word. She would merely stare out into space.

But who could blame her?

Hayase waited for a moment before Karibi turned her head, staring out at the night sky. "I'm fine."

"...Karibi—"

"I have to go to the bathroom," she abruptly stated, catching Hayase off guard. He blushed before nodding his head, turning to head out of the room.

"If you need me I'll be just out here," he said as Karibi stood to her feet, not even bothering to reply. Her teammate frowned but said nothing else before he shut the door.

Waiting for only a second, Karibi then quickly sprinted into the bathroom before she slammed the door shut. She flicked the light on and panted, pressing her back against the door before she lurched forward, hanging her head in the toilet. She proceeded to empty whatever was in her stomach—which wasn't that much to begin with—before she weakly stood to her feet, rinsing her mouth with sink water. She lingered over the sink as she stared down at the white porcelain top before she slowly looked up to face her reflection.

Kushina has asked me to watch over you and Naruto. And I will do that. You shall be under my custody for the time being.

She had had the baby; Kushina had given birth to Naruto.

Gripping tightly to the sink, a sudden waft of fury began to consume Karibi. She began to snarl at herself before she pulled her fist back to punch the mirror. Before her fist could make contact with the glass, a hand tightly wrapped around her wrist, holding her back. She screeched, her mind too distracted by her fury to take notice as to who it was in the mirror holding her back. She began to jerk and scream before she was roughly span around.

And then, she was asleep.

He couldn't face her. He wasn't ready to. There were still too many voices and emotions in his head that were making him weary. But that didn't mean he wouldn't be there for her—watching over her and protecting her. He had made a promise to Minato-sensei long ago, and even though that man was long gone, he was going to keep that promise. He would protect Karibi.

That was a promise Kakashi would give his life to keep.

He had been watching her from the shadows. He was well aware of her mental state, and from what he had overheard the Third saying, she had shut down completely. She hadn't cried, not since the first time she had heard about Minato and Kushina's death. So, Kakashi had taken it upon himself to make sure she was doing alright. He remained sightless from people and especially the young girl herself. He wasn't quite prepared to speak with her, but he wasn't going to abandon her. Because she had helped him. She had helped him through the toughest of times, and now he was going to take it upon himself to do the same for her.

He had spent his days transformed into a bird outside of her window, and during the nights when he could take refuge into the darkness, he sat in a tree, keeping an eye on her and gazing up at the moon. The last four days had been harmless. She remained silent and calm, sitting in bed and merely staring out the window. Every so often her gaze would land on him in his transformed figure, but she wouldn't linger too long. It was the night that seemed to shake Karibi. She hadn't gotten a full night's sleep since she had awoken from the Kyuubi attack. She squirmed and turned, huffing and puffing before finally she'd merely stay up until the sun rose. And whatever sleep she had, it was haunted by her memories of Minato and Kushina.

Kakashi could relate to that.

On that night, the Anbu had been sitting patiently as he always did. He'd been staring up at the stars, feeling a bit empty, though he did his best to try and fight off the sorrow; he had gotten so far from where he was when Rin had died—he didn't want to revert back to who that was. As he star-gazed, his ears twitched, the sound of Karibi squirming in her sleep fully catching his attention. The masked 14 year old stood to his feet as he walked to the tip of the branch, staring quietly through the window as Karibi finally gasped, sitting up. He then watched as Hayase quickly entered the room. A few words had been exchanged, and then the 12 year old was out the door. But as soon as he was gone, Karibi was running into the bathroom.

At first, Kakashi had decided that he would wait where he always did until she came out. But then, five minutes had passed and she still hadn't emerged from the bathroom. The ninja forced himself to wait another five minutes before he decided that enough had been enough. He silently jumped from the tree and to the wall of the hospital, landing without a sound. He then pulled the window up from his perpendicular angle before he slid into the room with grace. His feet softly tapped against the floor as he landed inside, and with precision and care, the young man began to make his way to the bathroom door.

Pressing his ear to the door, he listened carefully. Whatever Karibi was doing, she was doing it quietly. And then he heard the sound of running water. He relaxed after a moment, turning to walk back to the window, but he stopped when the water continued to run, and then he could hear her growling.

Not bothering to wait, Kakashi flung the door open, Karibi's fist pulled back and a menacing expression on her face. He acted quickly, grabbing the girl's wrist and stopping her from hurting her hand and breaking the mirror. And with a swift motion, the Anbu pulled his hitai-ae up from his Sharingan eye. Instantly, Karibi was fast asleep in his arms, and whatever anger she had upon her face had been erased.

He hadn't seen such a relaxed and normal expression on the 10 year old's features since before the Kyuubi attack. Now, when he stared at her, all he saw was an empty shell, a hollow Karibi. And it was frightening. Because he had been there. He had been in Karibi's place, and dealing with the inner-turmoil alone and holding in all those emotions and feelings—it had been truly killing him. And now, she was doing it to herself. But unlike Karibi, Kakashi didn't have the strength to carry them both. She had been able to soothe him and comfort him out of the pain he felt, but he was not like her. He didn't have the strength or the faith in himself to do it. So, the best he could do was play the part of her guardian angel. Still, he knew that someday, that wouldn't be enough.

And that was the most terrifying thing to him.

"...I'm sorry," Kakashi whispered as he tucked Karibi back into her bed. He shook his head as he stared at her before he turned and began to make his way back to the window.

After the funeral, all would be back to normal—for the most part. Shinobi would be back to their missions, and those designated to work on the reconstruction of the village would continue. As for Kakashi, he would pick up his duties as an Anbu member and go on with his life. But until that moment—until the day of mourning for the last Hokage and his wife and all of the ninja who had given their lives to protect the village, Kakashi would stay right by Karibi's side.

*One Week Later*

"Minato, Kushina. You both gave your lives to protect the Hidden Leaf Village and its future." Everyone listened silently as the Third spoke, his words true and pure.

The funeral had finally come. Everyone had come to pay their respects the heroes of the village.

Including Karibi.

She had finally been released from the hospital, and although Hiruzen had said that they had been keeping her their for her own safety, the 10 year old had a feeling that it had actually been so they could monitor her psychologically. But she didn't care. She cared about very little anymore.

She had been changed.

Staring with an empty look in her eyes, Karibi stood in line with the rest of her comrades, some of them staring sorrowfully at the photos of the Fourth and his wife, and others glancing at her out of sympathy and curiosity. And she could feel their eyes on her. She could feel their wonderment and their judgment. But she still couldn't seem to find the will to care.

None at all.

"What you've done for the village—no one shall ever forget. Stories will be told of your bravery and of your loyalty and your love for the village. And may it live on within all of us...your will of fire." Karibi shut her eyes at the Third Hokage's words before people began to walk up in a line to place flowers on the table in front of the photos of all the shinobi who had been lost. The young girl felt a lump form in her throat as her turn slowly approached. She gripped tightly to the stem of the flower, looking up at the dark sky; the grayness of the clouds and the blackness of everyone's clothes matched well.

An eye watched Karibi carefully as she stepped forward, waiting behind five other people for her turn. She didn't seem to notice Kakashi's gaze, but he didn't bother trying to make it known to her. She hadn't said a word to anyone when she had arrived at the funeral with Hana and Hayase. Her teammates had warned everyone of this, and Kakashi wasn't bitter, for he understood completely. So he would give her the time she needed—give himself the time he needed.

Finally, Karibi's turn came. Everyone was silent as they watched the 10 year old slowly walk up to the table. Her hands began to tremble, though her face was void of any sort of emotion. She stopped in front of the pile of flowers and she clenched her jaw shut, and after a moment, her vision began to blur. She quickly closed her eyes, fighting off the urge to release a sob before she carefully placed her flower on top of the others. She stared at them for a moment before she looked up at the photos of a smiling Minato and Kushina.

Never again would she see their happy expression.

After one last second, Karibi slowly began to walk away, but instead of rejoining the line, she quickly walked up to the metal railing. The Third watched her carefully as she hopped up and then jumped into the air, disappearing from sight. He gazed after her for a second longer before his eyes wandered towards the only other person who had been watching Karibi ever-so-closely.

Kakashi said nothing as he stared after Karibi. His one eye looked in her direction even after she had disappeared, and even when it was his turn to move in line, he almost didn't look away. But Guy had helped guide him up until his attention was finally where it needed to be. The 14 year old then stopped in front of the table as he bowed his head, saying a soft prayer in his head. He then placed the flower down and looked up at the pictures before he nodded.

Kushina-san, Minato-sensei, don't worry. I'll take care of Karibi.

§

She hadn't imagined everything to look so normal and so perfect. Karibi's home had been left unscathed by the nine-tails, and upon entering, the only damage that had been left was her window. The young girl slowly approached the broken glass as she stared down at it, trying to remember exactly what had happened when she had went to pick up Kushito. She frowned from the lack of memories, but didn't linger too much on it as she turned and stared at her home.

It was as if there had been no attack. All the pictures had remained where they were originally placed, no furniture had been ruined. The walls hadn't even chipped. Nothing had changed.

But everything was different.

Slowly, Karibi ventured towards the door to her right before she stopped. It was shut, and although she wanted to go inside, she couldn't seem to will herself to twist the door knob and go in. Instead, she stood in front of the door for what felt like hours, gazing down at the knob she was too afraid to even touch.

She was alone. This was it. This was her life now. There was no more laughing, there was no more smiling, no more nights out in the village for barbeque and ramen and riceballs. For her family had left her behind once more. Only this time, she wasn't sure how she was going to pick up the pieces. For when she had first been given away by her parents, she had just given up. She had come to terms with what was going to happen to her. But then she had been saved. Minato had broken her free and he had shown her kindness that she had almost forgotten about after being stuck in her wooden cage for over a year. And Kushina, she had shown the little girl how to laugh and smile and appreciate the world again. She had taught her how to look at the darkness of the world and laugh at it. But now that the time had come to use what she had been taught, she couldn't seem to recall anything. All she knew was the chill she felt and the utter silence around her.

And for the first time since almost two weeks ago, Karibi finally cried.

Her sobs were painful. They racked through her like a hurricane. She had lost the strength to stand, and so she fell to her knees, not even feeling the pain of her knee caps against the hardwood floor. She pressed her hands against the shut door and shook her head as she wept, knocking her forehead against the wood one time before she squeezed her eyes shut and cringed into herself. She shivered as she felt a cool breeze roll in through the destroyed window, and as she cried uncontrollably to herself, she never noticed the person standing outside by the window, mourning with her.

Kakashi pressed himself against the wall outside, glancing down at the floor, all the glass now cleaned up and gone. He listened as Karibi cried to herself, and he could almost feel her gasps through his own body. He closed his visible eye and leaned his head back against the wall, his hands balling up into fists.

The world truly was a cruel and unfair place.

*Four Days Later*

He had seen Karibi off. He hadn't made his presence known to her, and normally he would have assumed she knew he was there, but lately, he wasn't sure if she was even aware of where she was half the time. She had been moping around in her room for the last few days. She hadn't eaten, rarely slept, the only thing she did was lay in her bed and pet Kushito as he comforted her in the only way he could. And after a few hours of watching her, Kakashi finally willed himself to leave and clear his head.

He needed to think.

Making his way to the cemetery, the Anbu gazed out at the headstones. His eye softened when he approached Rin's grave, but as he gazed down, he couldn't find the words to say or the urge to speak, so he turned and walked away. He stopped in front of the monument at the front of the cemetery, and as he stared up at it, he wondered just how long it would be until the Third gave him a new mission. Now that Minato was gone, Hiruzen had been reappointed Hokage. And although the man was doing his best to reintroduce structure to the village, there were just some who weren't ready.

Kakashi included.

Sensing another person, the 14 year old looked over his shoulder. He met the gaze of a stranger, part of his face bandaged and covered up. He wore a greenish blue kimono with a light blue haori underneath.

It was the first time Kakashi was meeting Danzo in-person for the first time. "Kakashi Hatake, isn't that right?"

"Danzo-sama..." Kakashi wasn't sure what he owed for this visit.

"I'm here to ask you one thing and one thing only," the dark haired man asked, his bandaged eye mirroring Kakashi's masked one. "Come and work under me."

"But...I was Minato-sensei's—"

"Regretfully, the man who first recruited you into the Anbu is no longer with us," he said gently as Kakashi tried not to wince at the harsh truth. "If you continue with what you're doing, you will end up working for the Third Hokage," Danzo explained as Kakashi listened carefully.

"It was his foolhardy and weak ideals of peace that dragged the Third Shinobi War on and drove Obito and Rin to their deaths." Kakashi's eyes widened at that as he felt a stab in his chest.

"That's not—"

"Not only that, but on the night of the Kyuubi's attack, you were unable to join in the battle because of the Third Hokage's orders...Isn't that why Minato lost his life?" Kakashi felt a heavy weight on his shoulders as he stared down at the ground. "...Isn't that why Karibi lost her family?" And that was what had tipped Kakashi over the edge.

"I don't want to believe that he planned this to return to power, but either way, the future of the Hidden Leaf cannot be trusted to someone like him." And as Danzo began to walk away, he left Kakashi with his words buzzing in his head.

Isn't that why Karibi lost her family?

§

He had returned to Karibi's home like he had originally planned, but all the while, Danzo's words continued to plague him. The repeated over-and-over in his head like a mantra, never stopping—even to let him think.

Landing on the railing outside, Kakashi stopped as he gazed in through the window of Karibi's bedroom. His eyes widened as he found Karibi sitting up with her knees pulled close to her chest. Her face was hidden away in her knees and arms, but he could see her shaking; she was crying again.

How many times did Kakashi have to watch her cry while he could do nothing for her? How many times was she going to have to live through losing the people she loved dearly? How many times was Kakashi going to lose comrades and loved ones? And why Karibi? Why did it have to be sincere, thoughtful, honest, caring Karibi?

Within seconds, a fury Kakashi hadn't even known existed burst inside of him.

He turned as he glared up to the sky, hands forming fists. He shook his head as he repeated Danzo's words in his mind.

All along he had been searching for the reasons why this had all happened—why Karibi was suffering, and now, he had his answer.

Whatever it took, Kakashi was going to make sure the Third paid for everything.

Happy New Year! Yes, I am a day late, but I suppose it's the thought that counts :D I hope everyone had a great holiday and good luck to all in this new year!

Yes, Kushina and Minato are now gone :( For the next few chapters, I will say that things will get a bit angsty and sad. After all, Karibi just lost her family. We'll have to see how exactly she deals with her loss and what is in store for her next!

Thank you for reading! I appreciate everyone who's taken the time to read and review and who's gotten to this point in the story! I hope you've all enjoyed and I will continue to work hard on this story! Let me know what you think through any means!

Reviews:

Apollo Child1512: Yes, I may not have been so sneaky about who exactly it was that gave Karibi a visit XD I always wonder what life would have been like if he hadn't done what he had done...guess we'll never really know -_- I'm glad you enjoyed that last chapter! And thank you for reading! I appreciate you doing so, and I hope that you have been enjoying this story. Hopefully you'll continue to enjoy! Also, be prepared for more feels, because like I said above, it's going to go a bit down from here...but we'll see! Thanks for reading :)

Kit: I won't say for sure how exactly things with Naruto and Karibi and everyone else is going to go, but I will say that there will be some training involved someday! Who knows. As for Iruka, his interactions with Naruto will be a little different in the future with Karibi in the picture. In what ways exactly, I won't say, but it won't be exactly the same. If you want to keep reading, feel free to! I appreciate you taking the time to do so.