Salvation. (Sequel)

Chapter 19 | Past

Kaira wiped the blood from her eyes once more, but hissed in pain when she accidentally brushed her hand over the graze on her cheek. She kept hoping that clearing her eyes of the thickening liquid would help her see better, but reality kept hitting her in the face, making her feel sick.

Her using the Susanoo was the last drop.. She had ruined her eyes over the years and now she was suffering the consequences; a horrible eyesight.

Kaira wept quietly and let herself down on the ground. She was exhausted, mostly mentally, and wondered how things were ever going to get better, if they were even going to get better.  Will she ever be able to live peacefully again with her children in the village she had come to love?

Upon hearing twigs snap and dried leaves crack, the Uchiha immediately stopped crying. She closed her eyes as she concentrated on the footsteps. She swallowed thickly once she realized that the person was walking in her direction.

She slowly moved her hand over the ground around her until she found a decent stone. She wrapped her fingers around it, holding it tightly.

Suddenly the footsteps stopped, and Kaira knew the person had spotted her. In a quick motion, she threw the rock at the person, trusting her sense of direction. It wasn't much of an attack, but she was not taking any chances. Whether this person was an enemy or just a passerby, she wasn't in the mood to deal with this person. Hopefully, they'd think she was some kind of aggressive vagrant and leave her alone.

But when Kaira heard a splash and a grunt instead of a thud and a cry of pain, she knew she wasn't dealing with just any person. The rock didn't hit him.. it went through him

''What the hell?'' The man muttered irritably, his voice sounding strangely familiar to Kaira. 

''Suigetsu?''

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''You're basically a fugitive and you're just sitting here?'' the white-haired man exclaimed as he opened the hatch to the 'hideout' after she had explained her situation. Kaira felt uneasy about looking for shelter here. This place was known by the authorities of Konoha, though they did not know about this secret entrance.

''I could not find the entrance.'' Kaira grunted. ''I told you, I can barely see anything. Sasuke just dropped me off here.''

Suigetsu was quiet, and Kaira sighed softly. She took his silence as an apology and let him help her up. ''You have to stoop now,'' he spoke quietly. ''Watch out for the steps.'' Kaira did what he said and tightly held onto Suigetsu's arm as they slowly descended the stairs.

''Wait here,'' Suigetsu said as they had reached the end of the staircase. ''I'm going to close the hatch.''

Kaira heard him going up the stairs just as she heard another pair of footsteps. ''Suigetsu, is that you?''

Kaira froze upon hearing that soft voice. This was not just familiar, she knew this voice very well. It was a voice she had grown up with, which had encouraged her, comforted her. It was a voice that shouldn't exist anymore, for the owner of it was supposed to have died during the war, but that did not seem to be the case.

A lump formed in Kaira's throat.

''M-mom?''

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 ''Where is Kaira?" Was the first thing Naruto asked after he let Sasuke and his son into his house. The oldest Uchiha wasn't exactly pleased with this question and he let the others notice by narrowing his eyes at the Uzumaki.

Naruto sighed and rubbed the back of his head. ''I won't do anything with that information.'' He tried to reassure his friend.

''Then you don't need to know.'' Sasuke spoke. ''She's safe, that's plenty for now.''

Naruto chuc.kled at this stubbornness, but decided not to keep asking. Sasuke did not seem to need his help by giving Kaira a safe place to stay. ''We need to be careful though.'' He spoke. ''Once people realize that we let Kaira go, they'll start to mistrust me. I broke the law. Don't make me regret this.''

Sasuke nodded. ''We need to solve this case fast and prove Kaira's innocence.''

Daichi listened to his father and the Hokage as he kept playing with the necklace he had found on the ground after Kaira managed to get away. It belonged to his mother, but it must have come off after one of the fights she had with the ANBU, so he was keeping it safe until he'd have the chance to return it.

Daichi also took part in the conversation a few times, especially when the mystery woman was the topic. The woman was obviously targeting the Uchiha family. Izuna was poisoned, Suki nearly too, and Kaira was framed. It was strange that she only targeted the three siblings, and not Sasuke, the children, Kiba or Sayuri. This meant that she probably had a grudge only against those three.

''Maybe it has to do something with the Akatsuki?" Daichi suggested reluctantly. Kaira had told him about her past several times, yet she never went into detail.  All that he knew about the Akatsuki was that it was a criminal organisation where Kaira, Suki, Izuna and Sasuke were a part of before he was born.

''That's a possibility.'' Naruto spoke. ''Then she's either not after Sasuke because she knows she can't harm him, or she really only has a grudge against Izuna, Suki and Kaira.''

''And there's another thing..'' Daichi said. ''This woman may not be after me or Kiba or Sayuri, but I believe she will use us to get Suki, now that she's the only one left. When the water was poisoned and Kiba hadn't smelt it, more of us would have suffered than just Suki.''

''We need to stay alert.'' Sasuke sighed. ''Izuna will be alright. Sakura will be tending to him soon. If Yuuji makes it, he can explain what happened, which may also prove Kaira's innocence.''

Naruto nodded. ''We just need to make sure that Izuna, Yuuji and Suki stay safe until we've caught that woman.''