Shooting up in her spot, the first thing that Takeo noticed was some flowers beside her bed. She looked down as she felt a stinging sensation on her chest and arms. They were wrapped up securely not giving her much movement in the matter.
But something bugged her to her core.
"Where's Momaru?"
Her eyes started quickly scanning the area around but to no avail, she found no little girl in her eye sight. Quickly throwing the blankets off her, she scrambled off the hospital bed and stumbled towards the door.
A wave of nausea crashed over her head and mind, making her hurl whatever was left in her stomach. Her eyes were dilating wildly as she ignored the horrid smell of her puke, and crashed into the door, making it fly open with ease. She saw nurses look at her worriedly and concerned as others were scrambling to get her back into her bed.
"Where is my sister!?" She shouted out, her breathing becoming ragged.
"Miss their was not another person with you when Mister Guy dropped you off at the hospital.." One of the nurses tried to explain.
"What do you mean there was no other person!? Are you telling me my little sister is still out there!??" Her voiced cracked, mind racing rapidly at all the possibilities that could have happened.
"Please calm down and let's go back to the bed and rest, your burn marks are still healing.." A nurse tried to usher her back, but the little girl slapped her hand away.
"Leave me alone!!" She screamed scared, her legs and arms shaking as she felt all the unfamiliar people stare at her.
"Just listen to us and calm down..." One of the nurses tried to reason, some slowly walking towards her with a smile of their faces.
This only seemed to scare her more as they were surrounding her like prey caught in a trap.
"PLEASE! I JUST WANNA SEE MY SISTER!" She cried out, tears almost spilling at the thought that she might've lost another family member.
One of the nurses had enough of all this playing good nurse and grew annoyed at the stubborn child, "Your sister isn't here! Now be a good little girl and go back to your bed and get some rest!" She hollered back. Many of the nurses started glaring at her like she threw a child out the window.
It was like time stopped for the seven year old girl. It was like her world had started crumbling around her as she started hyperventilating, she felt suffocated in this bright and stuffy place. She need air. She need to be outside and out of this dreadful place.
She needed to be free.
Running past all the arguing nurses, she ran down the hallways. They all looked the same as the other. Each just as plain and bland as always. It never gave her a pleasant feeling.
Running aimlessly down the crowded hallways of visitors, she could hear the shouts of nurses calling out to her, but she didn't care, she wanted to be as far as possible.
She turned around a corner and crashed right into a pair of green legs. Falling backwards, she landed on her bum. She rubbed her nose as it started growing sore.
"You seem to be as energetic, as the moment I found you! Eh, little miss?" A familiar voice called out to her, making her whip her head towards the man, remembering him as Mighty Guy.
She looking him over, but spotted that he was holding her jacket that carried her picture and pendent.
"P-Please give me back my jacket..." she stuttered nervously as she remembered how he fought.
"Oh this? Don't wanna lose the stuff in it, huh?" He chuckled, doing his little grin and then tossing it towards her. Who indeed scrambled to catch it.
Instantly searching through the pockets, she she grabbed hold of the photo and let out a breath she was holding as soon as she noticed her sister wasn't there.
T-Thank you.. for saving me earlier.." Takeo looked up slowly, knowing she'd be dead if he didn't show up.
"It's fine it's fine, I was just training on patrol and then came across you, good thing too!" He laughed out. Hearing his laugh, it reminded her of her father's, how he'd laugh at everything and be super strong at the same time.
She had the faintest of smiles on her face when he continued to chuckle proudly.
But that smile vanished as soon as she heard the heels of the nurses running down the halls looking for her.
"I.. uh.. bye!" The girl ran past the man, who looked confused by her situation, but understood as soon as he saw the horde of ladies.
"Ladies, ladies, no need to cause panic in the hospital.." he waved his hands around trying to calm to frantic nurses who looked a bit annoyed.
"Guy! You better not be hiding that child! I know how you favor people!" One of the nurses hissed out.
"Listen, by now she's probably escaped the hospital because of how stuffy it is, she just needs some fresh air." He reasoned with a thumbs up. Some of the ladies were calming down a bit, others didn't look very reassured.
"How about this, while she's out running around trying to get her high esteem out, I'll watch over her so she doesn't hurt herself. Is that okay with you, ladies?" He raised one of his bushy brows at them.
After a small moment of thinking and talking with each other they all nodded in sync.
Guy let out a breath he was holding, the nurses always made him nervous. Of course he never really liked hospitals either, terrible place to train because of the strict orders of the doctors.
"Make sure to bring her back before the sun sets!"
"Watch her, we mean it!"
"Okay okay okay! I get it!" Guy huffed out, already disappearing to go look for Takeo.
...
Running out the doors of the hospital, the fresh breeze hit her face, the warmth of the sun graced her pale skin. Her full eyes that were hit with a painful truth just moments ago, were now getting their shine back. She stopped to tie the jacket around her waist so it won't slow her down.
Dashing out into the streets, her eyes wondered around the sights, many shops looking just as different as the other, but the thing that made her eyes stop shining. Was the families and people smiling as they carried on their days.
Her smile faltered, her eyes trailing after the families. She put her hands on her pockets and felt the picture in her finger tips. She turned away from the families, feeling as if this so called god really wanted to play his dirty games on her.
It was unfair.
Unfair how their village isn't burned.
Unfair that their clans weren't slaughtered in front of their eyes.
Unfair that they can smile without a care in the world.
Unfair that they still had a family.
And she didn't...
The tightened grip she had on her pendent was making her knuckles turn white.
"Everything is so unfair..." she muttered, small tears sliding down her face, her head down. Her short light brown hair shielding her grief stricken face. She bit her lip to not let out another ugly cry session. She had enough of crying. It never really helped her anyway. She always had to hold it in as she was around her little sister. So she can hold it back now.
Walking away from the crowded streets, she found herself going down into a little park area with a river nearby. She was walking on a path that sat on a hill. Sliding down the steep hill, she landed on the edge of the river.
In their Village, they lived on the edge of the country, meaning they were natural fishers and hunters. Seafood were their villages natural food source. So it became her favorite as time went by.
Looking at the river reminded her of her home clan. It brought back some happy memories.
"Time and time again.. It kinda sucks.." she mumbled to herself.
She looked down at her bandaged arms, a frown painted on her lips.
Maybe if she was stronger would the outcome be any different? Would she have thought of something different than being a distraction? Would it have been better if they ran away together instead of separate? Maybe then they would still be together..
"I'm not a really good big sister, am I..?" She pressed her palm on her head, letting out a sad laugh.
"You good? Do you have a stomachache? Did you eat too much ramen too?" A voice called out.
Ramen?
Tilting her head back she saw that a boy about her age was squatting beside her by the river, his arms holding his stomach like it was aching just as he suggested to her.
"I think I should be asking you that.. you look more in pain than me.." Takeo snickered a bit.
"Ya.. I ate too much ramen at the shop today and I really regret it now.." he mumbled out annoyed, then he turned his blue eyes towards her's.
"So. What pain are you in?" He asked simply as he kept rocking his heels.
"Hmm.. a lonely kind of pain..." she muttered, throwing some pebbles she found at her feet and tossing them into the river.
"I get that one... it sucks.." he glanced from her to the river.
"You get lonely..? Where's your family?" Takeo glanced at him, tossing a few more rocks into the river.
"Don't have any, nobody in this village won't tell who they are.. they don't even like me." He huffed annoyed.
"They don't like you? Why?"
"They won't say anything! That's what annoys me! It's always the same cold shoulder..!" He pouted, grabbing some pebbles as well and tossing them.
"Man that must suck.."
"What about you? Any family?"
"I had a family once too, but.. we had to run away.."
"We?"
"Me and my little sister. We got tracked down by some cloaked men and we had to separate."
"What's her name?"
"Momaru."
"Hmm, must be nice to have siblings.." he wondered into the sky.
"Trust me, you'll worry about them a lot more than you worry about yourself sometimes." Takeo grinned, looking up at the sky.
"...I don't think that's healthy." The boy laughed.
"I don't think it is either." She sighed defeated.
"You said you were in a clan?"
"Yep, the Majutsu Clan." She grinned, giving the boy a peace sign.
"The Majutsu Clan? I've never heard of them before.." the boy rubbed his chin in thought.
"That's because they weren't a official clan accepted by this village. They had to leave and live on their own and hide."
"So their in hiding? Did they get found? Is that why you had to run away?"
"...Mhm.."
With that the two children sat together looking at the water ripple around the edge. A nice quiet silence too place between them.
"Names Takeo, you?" She asked without looking at the boy, a smile on her face.
"Naruto, Naruto Uzamaki." He tilted his head at her, his eyes shut as he smiled at her. His blonde hair was blowing with the wind, some hair strands looked like golden strings.
"Do you miss her?" he asked curiously, leaning back into the grass.
"Always. She was the only friend to talk too." Takeo took the chance to lay down too, feeling a bit more comfortable.
"D-Does that make me a friend as well?" Naruto asked, his stuttering made it obvious he was nervous to hear the answer.
Takeo glanced at the anxious boy, and a small smile lifted up on her face.
"Why not?"
For Takeo it was a new beginning, but for Naruto it was the first happiest memory he'd gained from all his horrid days in this village.
Looking at the girl, the sun had decorated her gently, her brown hair dancing along with the wind. But her blue eyes gazed back at him, the same way he did to her.
Curious?
Scared?
Anxious?
Excited?
No it was none of these that the two felt.
It was the relief that they felt when they knew they weren't alone anymore.
~Fun Fact~
The character, Momaru, was created by my sister, WeebxKatana .
Go check out her stories when you have the chance!~
~Art done by Bodhi Senpai~
~Word count~
2108
~I do not own the Naruto Series~