Lost (Book 2 of the KITD series)(NWA Third Place Kakashi winner.)

Chapter 1

(DO NOT READ IF YOU HAVE NOT READ KIDS IN THE DARK.)

*6 years later.*

"I swear to Kami, I am going to murder these kids..." Meiko muttered slightly under her breath. She was currently with Suna's newest graduates of the academy, all the new Genin. And it was an understatement for her to say that they annoyed her.

Frankly, she could rip off their heads and not feel any remorse.

"Meiko!" She heard someone say, and she glanced over to see one of the only students she didn't hate, Kankuro. He was the son of the Kazakage, so she had spent a lot of time around him.

"Oh, hey." She says as she walked over to him. "Did you graduate?"

"Of course I did, baka!" Kankuro said as he smacked the girl on the top of her head.

"You dick!" Meiko said as she rubbed her head gently. "I'm gonna beat your ass one of these days."

"I'd like to see you try, short stuff."

"Why I oughta!" She said as she pushed him slightly, but he just laughed. Soon enough, Meiko joined in with him.

"Alright, alright. Go to your seat." She said as she ushered him along. Once everyone was in their seats, Meiko walked down to the front of the classroom and clapped her hands.

"Okay, attention!" She shouted, and they all looked at her. "I wanted to congratulate all of you for your promotion to Genin. From here on out, you all are no longer children. You are ninjas, and you must act as so. But I want you to all know that I am very proud of everyone sitting here." She said as she scanned over the crowd, her arms behind her back.

Meiko's hair was flowing down her back, and her leaf band headband had been changed with a Suna one. She had on the same clothes style she had always warn, one the hid her fake leg. None of her students were aware of her disability. And she planned on keeping it that way.

"Today, you will be placed on three man squads. As I taught you, all ninja operate in these three man squads with the help of a Jōnin like myself. Once I place you in these squads that have been predetermined, you will be introduced to your Jōnin supervisor."

Meiko began to name off the squads of the students that she had been teaching since she moved here. She was sad to see them go, but she was incredibly proud of all of them. Once she was finished naming off the squads, she dismissed them.

After dismissing her squads, she walked down to a different room in the academy. This one was for younger children who were just beginning the academy. She opened the door and smiled at the Sensei, before looking at the little boy in front of her.

He had sliver, gravity defying her, and dark brown eyes. He had a smile that could melt a thousands hearts, and slightly upward tilt of his nose. His skin was a pale shade, and his cheeks always had a slight rosy tone to them.

"Taka, are you ready to go?" Meiko asked the small boy who nodded his head quickly and took off running towards Meiko. She smiled slightly and extend her arms to the small boy. She grabbed him up as he ran into her arms.

"Sorry about being late, I had to wait for all the students to finally leave." She said to the other teacher, but he smiled just gave a wave of his hand.

"No, it's okay. Taka and I had fun, we were going over different jutsu's he wants to learn."

"Yeah, Okasan! I want to learn how to do a clone jutsu like you do!" The small child said excitedly, and Meiko laughed slightly.

"I'll teach you that one." She said with a wink as she walked out of the classroom with the boy attached on her hip. They walked through the town of Suna, Taka smiling at all of the people and waving at them. And there wasn't a single person who didn't wave back.

Meiko kissed the boys cheek gently, before they arrived at their home and walked in. Meiko set Taka down on the floor and he ran to his bedroom, Meiko watched him with adoring eyes before she walked into the kitchen and began to cook food for dinner.

She hummed to herself as she cooked the food for her son and self, swaying her hips slightly side to side with a smile on her face. No, being a single mother was never easy, especially since she was a high class jonin, and a teacher at the academy. But there wasn't a thing in the world she would trade for her son.

When she was done cooking, she had made his favorite. Miso soup with eggplant. "Taka!" She screamed out, and not even a second later she heard the child run down the hallway, his feet pounding along the ground. When she saw him, he had already changed into his night time clothing.

"Yes?" He said with a large smile, and Meiko held up the bowl of soup. Taka squealed loudly, and ran into the living room, sitting down at the small table on the floor. Meiko walked in after him carefully, placing the bowl in front of him.

"Be careful." She said as she sat down beside of him, the child already shoveling food down his throat. "You eat too fast, you're going to get sick."

"Oh I'm fine Okasan!" Taka said as he continued to shovel the food in his mouth.

"Okay, when you get sick, don't come crying to me." She said with a laugh, and Taka nodded his head quickly.

"Okay!"

"I love you, Taka." She said as she reached her arm out and Ruffled the boys hair very slightly.

"I love you too! But mom, will you answer me a question?"

"Of course."

"Who is my Otosan?" He asked, and Meiko choked on air. Never, not once, had he ever asked about his father. After a few coughs, Meiko looked down at her little boy and pulled him a little bit closer to her.

"Why do you want to know all of a sudden, sweetie?"

"Because today in class... these kids were making fun of me because I don't have an Otosan and they do!" He said quietly, looking up at Meiko.

"You do have an Otosan, son. He just doesn't live here. But I can tell you that your father is a very proud man. A very uptight, stern man who follows all the rules. But he is a very good man, with a very big heart once you get to know him. I hope that one day you will meet him one day, Taka." She said as she played with the boys hair. Lucky for her, she had a rather reasonable child who would drop conversations when his mother did.

"I hope I do too." He said silently as he curled up against his mother, his eyes closed as she played with his hair. When he had his eyes closed, and he was completely asleep and relaxed, he looked just like him. And Meiko loved that. It was like she had the one she loved with her all the time, because she would always have a piece of him.

Taka fell asleep against Meiko, and she smiled at him with a smile. She lifted him up into her arms and carried him to her bedroom. She laid him down on the bed, before she got undressed and into her night time clothes. She laid back on the pillow beside of her son, wrapping her arms around him tightly.

"I love you." She whispered to him quietly, kissing the top of her head. And like she did every night, she thought about the man she loved. The man she wished to see again with everything in her being.

Maybe one day. Maybe one day.

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BOOK TWOOOOO