Shadow (Naruto)

Chapter Five

~Kakashi's POV~

Age 14

Today was the day, Minato-sensei and Kushina were going to become parents and little Mira was going to become an aunt. Minato-sensei asked me to keep Mira with me for the day in the event there were any complications with the nine-tailed fox sealed within Kushina during the birth. Guy, Kurenai and Asuma were happy to help me keep the exuberant youth distracted for the day.

Mira was excitedly running circles around the rest of us as we made our way to the dumpling shop, moving so fast it looked like there was a blonde and blue ring of light hovering around our group from her blonde hair and the baby blue dress with little animated white foxes on it Kushina had made her for the birth of Naruto. She was so happy to be an aunt and everyone told her she'd be the best aunt. I knew baby Naruto would always be safe with Mira looking out for him, she was already a force to be reckoned with from our training sessions. Her aim with her kunai and shuriken was impeccable, the curves and bends she could get on a throw were better than most jonin.

"I don't remember when I ever had that much energy." Asuma chuckled as Mira made her millionth lap around us.

I reached forward catching the ball of energy to keep her from barreling into anyone as the street began to get a little crowded. Her bright cerulean eyes looked up at me curiously before she slipped her tiny hand in mine and fell in step beside me.

After dumplings, we played tag, hide and seek and all of Mira's favorite games until the sun had set and night had fallen. There was an odd chill in the air once night fell, and Mira had fallen eerily quiet and her skin took on a sickly pallor.

"What's wrong, Mira-chan?" Guy asked trying to cheer up the suddenly morose child as she walked between us.

"Somethings wrong." She whined.

"There is a chill in the air, I don't like it." I agreed with her, something didn't feel right.

"That's because of you, Kakashi." Guy declared, "With your cool attitude-." He cut off as I threw him a look of warning.

"Onee-san." Mira suddenly clutched at her chest and dropped to her knees with a whimper of pain.

"Mira!" As I dropped next to her there was an explosion from within the village, followed by screams and panic. What the hell was going on?

"Kyuubi!" Someone screamed.

"No." Mira whimpered before taking off in a flash in the direction the explosion had come.

"MIRA!" Guy and I screamed in panic racing after her, she was too fast, she'd already completely vanished from our line of sight.

A massive red beast of a fox with an immense amount of chakra and nine tails had begun to lay waste to the village, in the direction Mira had taken off running in. As we got closer, we were suddenly cut off by a member of the Uchiha clan.

"Gather immediately in the Guardroom, Third Hokage's orders." He ordered us gruffly.

"Did you see Mira?!" We asked him frantically.

"Huh? The fourth hokage's kid sister? Why would she be here?"

Did she manage to slip past him?

At the end of the street I saw a child around Mira's age trying to flee to the evacuation shelters just as some blast hit a nearby building. Everyone was too far to reach him in time as the building toppled and a large piece of rubble hurtled toward him. There was a blur of blond and for a fleeting moment I thought Minato-sensei had arrived to save the boy until I saw Mira appear away from the rubble with the boy.

I darted forward, dodging the Uchiha who had stopped us and caught her in my arms before she could vanish again. "Don't leave my side, again."

"Hey!" The Uchiha man snapped, "To the guardroom with you and the kids go to the evacuation shelter-."

"She goes with me, Fourth Hokage's orders." I replied coolly as I carried Mira back to where Guy was standing as the child she rescued bolted away to safety.

Mira tried to wriggle out of my arms, "No, I have to help onii-san, onee-san and Naruto!"

I couldn't put her down, she'd vanish again if I did. I couldn't let anything happen to her. Minato-sensei was counting on me to look after her, to watch over and protect her. That was my mission and I would not allow myself to fail as I had in the past. Mira was the one person I could never fail, for Minato-sensei.

We made it to the guardroom where we found other young experienced Shinobi gathered on the Third Hokage's orders to wait out the attack. People were dying and we were all being held back. Mira was restless as the sound of a great battle raged on outside raining destruction on the village.

After what felt like an eternity though it probably wasn't very long at all, the sounds of destruction stopped and Mira let out a cry of agony. In that moment, I knew, Minato-sensei was dead.

Video- "One More Light" By Linkin Park