A new pair of coffins rose out on the battlefield. They both had a Uchiha symbol on the front.
As the dust cleared from their entrance, the coffins stood like stone. Unmoving.
The ninja on the battlefield watched the giant boxes with uncertainty, fearing who might be inside.
Out of nowhere, the coffins began to rumble like small earthquakes. New dust clouds started forming as the coffins continued their trembling. The front of the coffins fell with a loud crunch against the rocky ground below.
The ninjas' fear grew as the new reanimations manifest.
One in particular felt his emotions skyrocket.
"Neechan?"
_
CANON EVENTS HAVE BEEN SEVERELY ALTERED IN THIS CHAPTER
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warning: sexual assault (no smut), angst, etc.
_
Naruto felt like a knife was digging into him, slicing him up slowly. He felt the pain like a thousand needles. He barely noticed that Kaiwa was younger than him now, instead focusing on her.
The look in her eyes was not what he remembered.
Sure, he'd seen emptiness, pain, and sadness, but he'd never seen her completely empty. It was like she didn't have a soul at all.
Her eyes were grey, a contrast to her dark red sharingan that shone against her dusty-colored skin.
What had they done to her?
Naruto was so shocked looking at her that he blinked and she was gone. But he was flying through the air.
When he got up off the ground, he barely managed to dodge a hoard of fireballs created by Kaiwa. As soon as the smoke cleared, Naruto had to pull out a kunai to deflect Kaiwa's kunai.
Her arm was unprotected. Naruto could've hit her there, flipped her over, and taken her out. But the thought barely crossed his mind.
"Naruto!" Sakura called out through the dust cloud.
Naruto couldn't reply. At a speed matched by lighting, Kaiwa had torn an oil packet open with her teeth and let it cover a set of tiny shuriken.
"Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu," she muttered, tossing the kunai and letting them be concealed by the fireballs. Naruto was able to avoid them, but gritted his teeth in pain when the shuriken changed course, four of them landing in his back.
"Neechan, stop!" Naruto begged. "I don't want to fight you! Snap out of it!"
Kaiwa said nothing, a small, sadistic smile creeping up on her face. Shisui was long gone to who-knows-where, which made Naruto feel a little better. He knew that if he was up against Shisui, the Uchiha would win without any effort.
Kaiwa reached up to her forehead and felt her Konoha headband. She scoffed before pulling it off, tossing it at Naruto's feet. When he reached down to pick it up, Kaiwa moved and landed a punch directly on his chest, hitting him so hard that he flew backwards.
But no hit could hurt more than fighting his sister.
Naruto wondered why he hadn't ever seen Kaiwa fight like this before. Then it occurred to him.
Kaiwa didn't have asthma in her reanimated state. There was nothing to hold her back from her full potential.
Naruto pulled himself together and was able to land a harsh kick to the side of Kaiwa's head, but she disappeared into oil. A small fire ignited, and Naruto's lower leg started burning. He held back cries of pain while trying to pat dirt on it to put out the flames. It worked, but his left ankle and calf were badly burned.
Kaiwa landed on Naruto with her heel to his chest, slamming him into the ground.
"Naruto!" Sakura screamed, running to his aid. But Naruto pushed her away.
"Sakura-chan," he panted. "This is my fight."
Sakura took a chance and looked at who Naruto was fighting. She felt her own heart drop as she looked at Kaiwa. Sakura barely moved out of the way, obeying Naruto's wishes of her staying out of it.
Naruto stood up, only to see that Kaiwa was running off. He hurried after her, his leg searing in pain every time he put weight on it. Kaiwa was getting out of reach, until she disappeared completely. Naruto caught up to where she was, a large lake sitting in a clearing of the forest.
"Neechan?" Naruto called, looking in every direction so she couldn't sneak up on him. But he didn't think to check the lake. Naruto's eyes widened when he saw a massive water dragon emerge from the lake, diving right towards him. It was hard to avoid because it kept lunging for him every time he dodged it.
Then, he realized that there was a layer of gasoline above the water on the lake, and it started catching flames. Naruto put distance between himself and the water dragon, creating a handful of clones to distract it while he created a rasengan.
He was drenched in sweat and panting heavily, cringing from the burns on his body. His clone finished creating the rasengan in his hand, and Naruto headed straight for the water dragon. His jacket started catching fire, but the water dragon was screeching as the rasengan created a hole in it. Within seconds, the monster fell back into the lake as loose water. Naruto dunked himself in the lake to put out the flames on his clothes, but the burns had spread to his chest.
Kaiwa was right in front of him now, and despite his adrenaline, he still couldn't hit her.
"Why can't I just hit you?!" Naruto yelled in frustration. "You're not holding back, so why am I?"
Kaiwa stared at him, her sharingan penetrating deep into Naruto's emotions. It distracted Naruto long enough for him to be grabbed with a water whip.
He was plunged deep into the lake, held in place by his restraints. He struggled, but after thirty seconds, his body felt weaker. Then he realized.
Kaiwa was drowning him.
Naruto struggled more, but he was too weak to handle Kurama's chakra at the moment. He racked his clouded brain for ideas, but there were none. He was running out of time quickly.
Naruto didn't want to die. Not before he became Hokage. But that's what happens when you can't fight someone; you lose to them.
But fate had other plans.
The water whip's grip loosened around Naruto, and he was pulled out of the water just as his last few seconds of oxygen ran out. He took a massive gasp of air as soon as he surfaced, and he looked to see Kaiwa looking murderous.
"Clearly, she wouldn't have let me go. So how did I get out?" Naruto thought urgently. He felt someone pull him from the water and set him on the bank. He coughed up a bit of water before looking at who saved him.
What he saw was Shisui looking down at him with concern.
"Are you alright?" Shisui asked worriedly. Naruto's mouth opened and closed, any responses dying out before he could say them.
Naruto wanted to say he was fine, but that would be a lie. His sister was trying to kill him, and his body felt like he just came off of a barbecue.
Shisui noticed Naruto's hesitation, and sent him an apologetic smile. "I was able to break free of the reanimation, but Kaiwa hasn't. But that means that she has a chance."
"Any ideas?" Naruto panted, keeping a close eye on Kaiwa to make sure she didn't do anything else. But she must've known that she couldn't fight against Shisui and win, because she was standing still on the water, glaring menacingly.
"Whatever it is, it has to come from your heart," Shisui explained.
"Why me?!" Naruto deadpanned. "She's trying to kill me!"
"She's your sister!" Shisui replied. "You're everything to her. If anyone can recover her, it's you, Naruto."
"I'll try," Naruto confirmed. "I'm going to bring my sister back."
Shisui smiled proudly, his hand on Naruto's shoulder.
"Just know, I can't help you. It has to be all you."
Naruto nodded, determined to do whatever it took to save Kaiwa from her internal prison. He was going to do it.
Naruto separated from Shisui, running to the other side of the lake. Kaiwa kept a close eye on Shisui before running at Naruto full-force.
She was preparing handsigns, but never got to finishing them. Naruto grabbed her hands and held them together, stopping her from creating more jutsu.
Naruto felt like his his world was spinning in slow motion. But he did what he knew might work.
He hugged her.
Naruto held onto Kaiwa like they were the only people in the world.
Kaiwa wiggled her left hand out of Naruto's grip, pulling a kunai from her weapons pouch.
Kaiwa was much smaller than Naruto, so her arm couldn't reach very far around him. But she was able to harshly stab him in the back.
Naruto stopped trying to hold back his tears and let them fall on Kaiwa's head.
The second stab in his back hurt more than the first.
Naruto felt blood soaking through his clothes from his stab wounds. But instead of mercy, he got another stab deep in his skin.
"It's okay," Naruto managed to choke out, feeling himself slipping. "Because... you'll..."
Stab
"No matter what happens..."
Stab
"You'll always be my everything, too."
Kaiwa halted, holding the kunai in the air above Naruto. Her arm was shaking in place.
"Naruto, give it back!" Kaiwa begged, trying to reach up to Naruto who was holding her pencil above his head so she couldn't reach it.
Naruto was laughing without a care in the world. He was only taller than Kaiwa by a few inches, despite being roughly seven years younger than her.
Naruto didn't even notice that he'd snapped the pencil between his fingers. He frowned guiltily, handing the broken pencil back to Kaiwa.
"It's okay," Kaiwa shrugged.
"Huh?"
"It's okay, because whatever happens, you'll always be my everything. Even when you're a massive pain in the ass."
Kaiwa's memories hit her like a hurricane.
The kunai fell to the ground, and Naruto hesitantly pulled away. Through his teary blue eyes, he saw Kaiwa's face had shock and fear written all over it.
"Neechan...?" He whispered. He got his answer when Kaiwa threw her arms around his neck, her face buried in his jacket. He felt it growing wet, and he wasn't sure if it was sweat, Kaiwa's tears, or his own blood. Maybe a mix of all three.
"Naruto," she whispered. Her voice was still squeaky since she was a teenager again, but Naruto didn't care. Kaiwa felt Naruto leaning heavily on her and pulled away.
"You're bleeding..." she trailed off, looking down at her hands to see them coated in blood that wasn't hers. She started trembling in fear. "I... I hurt you?"
"It wasn't your fault!" Naruto insisted. "Look, I'm already healing!" He held his arm up and sure enough, steam was coming from his wound as it closed itself.
Kaiwa let out a shaky breath of relief, which increased tenfold when she saw Shisui coming over to them. She hugged him tightly, not seeing the proud smile that Shisui sent Naruto.
"What now?" Naruto wondered.
"We need to find Niisan," Kaiwa stated. Naruto and Shisui nodded in confirmation, and the trio was off. They sped quickly through the trees, staying out of the way of fighting ninjas.
"I found his chakra!" Shisui announced, slightly turning to the left. The siblings followed him. Kaiwa's anxieties were through the roof.
The battles grew more numerous and close together, and they were getting harder to avoid. Kaiwa briefly let her eyes wander to take a glimpse of a fight, but she wished she hadn't.
"Shiro...?" She gaped in disbelief. She felt like a stone had just been thrown at her, hitting her straight in the heart. But she couldn't dwell on it.
"There!" Naruto exclaimed, pointing towards two ninja moving extremely quickly. "Who's that fighting him?"
Kaiwa felt her heart drop to her stomach, and then some. By the time she got closer, her heart was clear to her feet.
"Shiro, stop! Niisan, don't hurt him!" Kaiwa hurried and jumped in front of Shiro, grabbing Kakashi's wrist and directing his chidori sideways. The lightning blade only cut up the ground instead of Shiro or Kaiwa.
"Kaiwa?" Kakashi's voice was almost shaking. It couldn't be her. It couldn't be her.
"N-Niisan," Kaiwa whimpered, still blocking Shiro, who looked like he'd just seen a ghost.
"What are you... you were..."
"I'm so sorry I couldn't say goodbye. I never got to... I haven't seen you in so long..." Tears filled Kaiwa's eyes as she looked at Kakashi who was frozen. A tear slid down Kakashi's cheek, soaking into his mask.
He rushed forward, hugging Kaiwa tightly.
Kaiwa felt an overwhelming sense of security being in Kakashi's arms, despite the war happening around them. She felt Kakashi sigh heavily before gently pulling away. When he saw Shiro still there, he pushed Kaiwa behind him.
"N-no! Niisan, please don't hurt him!"
"Little flower, I need to tell you something important!"
"Kaiwa, stay back."
Kaiwa ducked under Kakashi's arm and stood in front of Shiro, grabbing his hands.
"What is it? You have to tell me, please," Kaiwa begged. Shiro looked extremely guilty.
"I couldn't stop Kuro... it was his plan all along to... to kill... to kill you..."
"It's not your fault, Shiro," Kaiwa frowned, putting a hand on his shoulder.
"I couldn't stop Kabuto either."
"The reanimations weren't your fault!" Kaiwa insisted.
"I'm not talking about the reanimations, little flower."
Kaiwa blinked at him curiously, while Kakashi was behind her with his sharingan activated, ready to protect Kaiwa if necessary.
A carbon copy of Shiro emerged from the ground, holding something wrapped in a white blanket. Kaiwa's eyebrows furrowed in confusion as Shiro guiltily handed Kaiwa the bundle.
When Kaiwa looked down, she almost screamed when she saw that it was a baby.
"What- Who's-?!" Kaiwa was stuttering in confusion, having no idea why Shiro just gave her a baby. Who's was it?
"Kabuto, he... took DNA from... you and Shisui..." Shiro explained sadly. Kaiwa felt the oxygen become thicker and harder to breathe in.
"What did he do?" Kaiwa asked, her voice low. But deep down, she already knew the answer.
"He artificially created your and Shisui's child to use as a weapon."
Kaiwa almost dropped the baby in pure shock and terror. She wanted to throw up. She felt her insides burning with rage and utter disgust.
"I named her Kokoro, for you," Shiro whispered.
Kaiwa barely heard him.
"What the fuck..." she mumbled. Kakashi was just as shocked as she was. So much so that he didn't comment on her language.
"I can't call off the army of my clones. I must remain loyal to Kaguya. I'm sorry, my little flower. I may never see you again after this war is over, so I just wanted to tell you that... you showed me happiness."
Kaiwa nodded, the lost look still present on her face. She had completely lost her concept of time, as well as her grip on reality.
Kaiwa took a moment to look down at Kokoro.
"I never thought I'd ever be a teen mom," Kaiwa accidentally said out loud. Kokoro blinked at Kaiwa, reaching for her hair.
"Kabuto finished creating her yesterday, but he said that he added chemicals to her incubator so she'd grow faster."
Kaiwa started at Shiro in pure confusion. "He did what?! Is he trying to completely take away any chance of a childhood for her?! Is she nothing but a pawn to him?!"
"The other Shiro clones won't recognize you. Treat them as enemies and don't hesitate to kill them," Shiro advised sadly.
"Thank you, Shiro," Kaiwa said as the plant man was about to disappear into the ground. "For everything." He gave her a small wave before sinking into the ground.
"Kaiwa, let's go," Kakashi urged. Kaiwa huffed frustratedly before following Kakashi.
Within a few minutes, they met back up with Naruto and Shisui.
"Is that... is that a baby?" Shisui wondered, glancing down at Kokoro.
Kaiwa bit her lip, nodding.
"Who's baby is it?" Naruto asked, peering down at Kokoro. "She kinda looks like you, Neechan."
Kaiwa was fed up with everyone's nonsense.
"It's mine and Shisui's. Kabuto created her with our DNA."
Shisui and Naruto both looked like they were about to faint. Shisui took another look at Kokoro, and sure enough, the baby was a solid mix of him and Kaiwa.
"What do we do with her?" Naruto asked. Kaiwa's face turned to an angry frown.
"What the fuck do you mean, 'what do we do with her'?!" Kaiwa growled. "She's my daughter and I'm keeping her with me!"
"I guess maternal instincts kick in pretty fast..." Shisui whispered to Naruto, but he didn't seem upset. Shisui cautiously approached Kaiwa. "Can I... can I hold her?"
Kaiwa's eyes softened. "Of course." Shisui felt his heart soar as he held Kokoro in his arms for the first time. He felt tears gather in his eyes as he looked down at her. At his daughter. Sure, she was somewhat illegitimate, but that didn't mean that she meant any less to Shisui.
A Zetsu clone came up out of the ground behind Shisui. The Uchiha didn't even turn around before pulling out his katana with one hand and slicing Zetsu clean in half.
Nothing and no one was touching his daughter.
Shisui was going to protect his family with everything he had, and he had no intentions of falling short of his promises to do so.
"I'm going to find Kabuto," Kaiwa announced. Shisui and her brothers immediately disagreed with her decision, but she wasn't budging. "I'm going to fuck him up for what he did."
"Kaiwa, you can't win against him," Kakashi told her. He was completely right, but Kaiwa didn't care.
"I don't care. I'm going to give him hell or die trying. After all, I've already died before."
"But what about Kokoro?" Kakashi pointed out.
Kaiwa's breathing faltered as she glanced at Shisui holding their daughter. Their daughter.
"You're right..." Kaiwa whispered. "I need to think about her first."
Everyone breathed a sigh of relief.
"I know for a fact that Kabuto didn't create her just to lose her. He needs her, and he won't stop until he gets her back. But he is not taking Kokoro." Kaiwa's eyes burned with the fire of determination. So much so, that no one could find the words to argue.
"Kakashi!"
The group looked and saw a redhead and brunette hurrying towards them. When Kaiwa narrowed her eyes, she instantly recognized them.
"K-Kaiwa?!" Ryuu blinked in shock and confusion.
"She must've been reanimated. But that means that she..." Kaito trailed off. "Kaiwa did you... did you die?"
Kaiwa nodded hesitantly, a mixture of guilt and sadness painted across her face. But that all changed the moment she looked at Kaito and Ryuu's hands.
"Did you get married?" She whispered, making Ryuu's face explode into red.
"N-no!" Ryuu stuttered while Kaito had his face in his hands.
"I can see your rings," Kaiwa muttered, pointing.
"What rings?" Ryuu laughed nervously. Kaiwa sighed before smiling.
"I'm happy for you two!" She pulled them both in for a hug, which was a bit awkward, seeing as she was much shorter than them in her teenage state.
"Kaiwa, it's cool to see you and all, but..." Kaito trailed off, a smirk growing on his face. "But don't you have someone's ass to beat?"
Kaiwa stared at him before she nodded. She took a last look at her family; Kakashi, Naruto, Shisui, Kokoro. She knew she had to do it to protect her daughter. They all knew that Kabuto would stop at nothing to reclaim Kokoro.
And Kaiwa wasn't about to let that happen.
-
The moment Kabuto saw Kaiwa burst into his cave of hiding, he felt his non-existent heart skip a beat.
"Good evening, dearest," Kabuto smirked.
"You fucking bastard," Kaiwa seethed, pure venom dripping from her words. Kabuto's smirk fell into an amused smile.
"Watch your language, Kaiwa-chan," the snake man chuckled. "By the way, I think I know why you're here."
Kaiwa said nothing.
"You're here because you missed me, is that it?" Kabuto teased. "You know, there's still time for me to make your reanimation permanent. All you have to do is love me. Or just act like you do, it doesn't matter much to me. You and I could live forever and raise Kokoro to be the best ninja that ever lived."
Kaiwa was so disgusted that she nearly threw up.
"Or we- shit!" Kabuto cursed when Kaiwa interrupted his speech by stabbing him in the shoulder. He shoved her off so hard that she flew across the cave and hid her back against a rock.
A trail of blood went down Kaiwa's lip as she shakily stood back up.
"Come on, honey. If you can't even fight me, how do you expect our daughter to live up to her full potential?" Kabuto was purposely pressing Kaiwa's buttons. He got a rush when he was the cause of Kaiwa's rage.
"She. Is. Not. Yours!" Kaiwa shouted, lunging for Kabuto. He blocked her with a snake, but Kaiwa swiftly decapitated it with her kunai.
Blood splattered on Kaiwa's cheeks and hands, making her look even more threatening.
"I love when you're angry, it's quite arousing I must say," Kabuto chuckled. Kaiwa had a fire in her that intoxicated him.
Kaiwa spread oil all over three kunai and threw them at Kabuto, who dodged them. But he didn't see the invisible thread webbed between the kunai that was also smeared in oil. A massive explosion ignited, taking Kabuto off guard.
When Kabuto recovered, he didn't see Kaiwa. He clicked his tongue in displeasure, but he wasn't left hanging for long. Kaiwa burst out of the ground, grabbing Kabuto around the neck and harshly kneeing him square in the face.
Kaiwa backflipped away at the same moment that a snake tried to strike at her. Kabuto was breathing heavily as blood poured from his nose. Kaiwa scoffed under her breath.
Kaiwa paused for a moment to calculate her next move.
Before she could react, Kaiwa felt a large snake constricting around her body. She thrashed, but the more she moved, the tighter the snake held onto her.
"I'm done playing with you for now," Kabuto frowned. "You're starting to test my patience."
"Fuck you and your patience," Kaiwa spat. Kabuto rolled his eyes.
Kaiwa felt like she was empty on ideas.
But she wasn't empty on friends.
Black flames engulfed the snake, making the reptile screech in pain as it burned into nothing. Kaiwa hurried away from the snake and almost ran straight into her rescuer.
"Itachi...?"
"Kaiwa, are you hurt?" Itachi's words were rushed, proving that he didn't take the matter lightly. Sasuke was behind him, the look in his eyes murderous as he glared at Kabuto.
Kaiwa could barely focus when she saw Itachi. She wanted to run to him. She wanted to pull on his ponytail like she would when they were kids. She wanted to hug him and apologize for not being there for him.
But the look in Itachi's eyes told Kaiwa all that she needed to know.
"All is forgiven, Kaiwa," he suddenly smiled. Sasuke kept a harsh glare on Kabuto while Itachi spoke with Kaiwa, making sure she wasn't too badly injured.
Kaiwa hesitantly shuffled forward until she was face to face with Itachi. He was older than her too, and much taller.
"'Tachi, I should've been there for you," Kaiwa whispered, hugging him tightly. Guilt coursed through her body as she held onto him, all of her regrets plaguing her mind.
"It doesn't matter," Itachi replied softly, pulling away. He crouched down so he was at eye-level with Kaiwa. "You're here now."
Kaiwa felt Itachi wipe a few stray tears from her cheeks before standing back up.
"Now Kaiwa, its time for you to go. Sasuke and I will handle Kabuto."
Kaiwa reluctantly stepped back.
Purple flames spread around Sasuke's body as his Susano-o formed.
Kaiwa grabbed his hand and allowed the white fire from her body fuse into Sasuke's to make his susano-o stronger. The susano-o grew in size until it broke the cave around it, revealing an open field in the middle of nowhere.
Kaiwa was going to try to help more, but she was suddenly thrown across the field. She pulled out a kunai and stopped herself before she could hit something.
Kaiwa got ready to run back to help fight Kabuto, but she was stopped when a large coffin rose from the ground in front of her.
The front fell and the reanimated ninja lumbered out. If Kaiwa wasn't scared before, she was definitely terrified now.
Those heterochromic eyes. That sandy-blonde hair. The concerned act that he held.
It was Jiro.
Kaiwa shook her head in disbelief, but Jiro walked closer.
"Missed me?" He asked with an amused expression. "Your eyes are different, but I'm sure they'll do."
Kaiwa couldn't move.
Jiro was on top of her, spinning a kunai between his fingers. Although the whites of his eyes were grey and his skin looked cracked, Kaiwa saw him exactly how she saw him all those years ago.
Kaiwa felt everything. The fear, the disgust, the horror. Everything.
The Uchiha felt pathetic in the moment. She couldn't do anything back then, and she couldn't do anything now either.
"Get the hell away from her!"
Kaiwa thought she was dreaming.
She couldn't believe that she had to be saved again.
Again.
But this time, it wasn't Obito. It was Naruto.
He'd hit Jiro square in the chest with a rasengan, blue energy exploding around them.
Jiro shakily stood up, making Kaiwa shove Naruto backwards.
"Neechan? Do you know what you're doing?" Naruto wondered cautiously.
"I have no idea what I'm doing," Kaiwa admitted. "But I have to do this."
Naruto nodded, though he was unsure what exactly was going on.
Kaiwa allowed her own Susano-o to form. Since her physical body was in prime condition, her Susano-o was more powerful than it had ever been when she was alive.
It had a white katana in each hand, and it had armor.
Naruto watched in wonder, making sure to keep out of Kaiwa's way. Jiro ran back and forth, avoiding Kaiwa's susano-o. He was chuckling, making Kaiwa feel extremely unsettled.
Kaiwa's Susano-o tried desperately to hit Jiro, and finally it managed to knock Jiro off of his feet for only a moment.
One of the Susano-o's katanas flew from its hand and landed directly in Jiro's stomach, pinning him to the ground as he violently coughed up blood.
The white Susano-o disappeared, and Kaiwa limped over to where Jiro's dying body was.
"You... you terrified me for so long. You haunted me," Kaiwa admitted. "I was afraid to use my own power!"
Jiro said nothing, only glaring at Kaiwa. After all, she wasn't only the reason for his first death, but now she was the cause of his second death too.
"I was horrified for years. I saw you whenever I closed my eyes."
Naruto watched his sister, wondering who the hell this guy was and what he'd done to her.
"But not anymore."
Jiro tried to get up, but Kaiwa stopped him by stabbing his chest with a kunai, purposely missing his heart.
"You won't have control of me ever again, sensei."
Kaiwa took the kunai out and stabbed it directly into the heart of the man.
Jiro didn't get up.
"Neechan!" Naruto panted, running over to her and pulling her to his chest. "Who was that? Are you okay?"
Kaiwa was trembling in Naruto's arms, and she nodded against his chest.
"He was my... my sensei. He tried to take my eyes when I was younger." At the sheer terror of reliving her worst memories, Kaiwa sobbed into Naruto's jacket as he held her protectively.
"Don't worry, Neechan. He can't hurt you anymore. You're always safe with me," Naruto comfortingly whispered. Tears collected in his cerulean eyes as his protective brother instincts kicked in as well as his strong sense of empathy.
Kaiwa felt Naruto's grip loosen, but he hadn't released her at all.
"Neechan, whats going on?"
Kaiwa looked down at her skin and saw bits of it flaming off and rising into the sky. No more tears came out, her eyes dry.
"I-I think it's breaking... the reanimation is loosening," Kaiwa whimpered, gently pushing Naruto away. "Where's Kokoro?"
"We gotta go. Come on, I'll carry you." Before Kaiwa could protest, Naruto had put her on his back and was borderline flying through the trees. Soon enough, Kaiwa noticed reanimated bodies falling left and right.
She just hoped she could stay long enough to say goodbye.
For once, luck was on her side.
"Kaiwa!" Shisui cried, running up to her as soon as she got off of Naruto's back. He hugged her tightly, kissing her forehead in relief. "Our reanimation is..."
"I know..." Kaiwa finished grimly. "Where's Kokoro?"
Shisui gestured to Kakashi, and Kaiwa almost fell apart upon seeing Kakashi holding Kokoro. It reminded her of herself years ago.
Kokoro had already grown enough to have control of her limbs. She was reaching for Kaiwa, who gently took her.
As Kaiwa looked into Kokoro's black eyes that were full of innocence, she felt tears gather in her own onyx eyes.
Kaiwa carefully rested her forehead against Kokoro's, letting herself cry. She knew she would have to leave. No matter how much she wanted to stay with Kokoro, she knew she didn't have a choice, nor did she have much time.
"I just got word from Itachi. Kabuto has been defeated," Shisui spoke softly. Kokoro held onto her mother's hair while giggling.
"Kokoro, I'm so sorry," Kaiwa whimpered. Shisui frowned sadly, slowly walking over and putting his arms around Kaiwa and their daughter.
"Kokoro, your parents love you so much," Shisui whispered, stroking his daughter's squishy cheek with his thumb. "We have to go, but you'll never be alone on this earth. We will always be with you."
Kokoro looked between her parents with confusion. She didn't understand what was happening at all, but she didn't like seeing her parents sad.
Kaiwa felt her grip loosening on Kokoro, and she cried harder. She felt a gentle nudge against her side and saw Kakashi with his hand on her shoulder.
Kaiwa understood, but that didn't make it easier.
Kaiwa kissed Kokoro's head once more, and so did Shisui, before handing Kokoro to Kakashi.
"Your Oji-san will take good care of you." Kaiwa tried to keep her sadness at bay for Kokoro's sake. Kaiwa took off her necklace and handed it to Kakashi. "Give it to her... when she graduates."
"I will," Kakashi nodded.
The more Kaiwa looked at her brothers, the harder it was to keep her composure. She broke down again, but this time she was immediately enveloped in her brothers' loving embraces.
"I don't want to leave," Kaiwa admitted through tears. Naruto and Kakashi wished they could do something to change it, but there was nothing they could do. So they tried to make the most of the fact that this time, they had a chance to say goodbye.
Kaiwa and Shisui's bodies were flaking apart more and more until they were nothing but transparent versions of themselves.
"Neechan, wait!" Naruto called out. Kaiwa turned over her shoulder and looked at him with curiosity.
There wasn't much time left.
"Did you... is Kumo up there with you?" Naruto asked, his eyes heavy with sadness and loss.
Kaiwa offered him a reassuring smile, despite her own despair. "You bet she is."
Kaiwa and Shisui held each other's hands as their spirits gradually ascended back into the sky.
They would be missed. They knew they would be.
But that's how life worked. Through Kaiwa's life, she learned that life wasn't always easy. There were bumps and detours, and sometimes it seemed unbearable.
But that was nothing compared to the joy she experienced when she held Naruto for the first time. When she first told Shisui she loved him. When she was able to show someone that they were loved. When she spent time with her favorite people. When she offered a hand of compassion.
Although it was hard at times, Kaiwa wouldn't trade her experiences in life for anything.
Because despite the hardships, it didn't matter anymore. Pure happiness can only come from someone who has been faced with the opposite.
Now, Kaiwa felt free. Because she was.
She was finally happy.
Kaiwa and Shisui spent the rest of eternity together in ECSTASY.
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END
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©-SHISUI
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Holy moly. Can I just say, writing this book has been an AMAZING journey. Thank you all for experiencing it with me.
I'm truly thankful for all the support I receive. Ecstasy wouldn't be what it is today without your help. So I thank you for everything.
I appreciate every single one of you!
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QUESTIONS:
If you have any questions for me, wether they be about the book or the characters, feel free to leave them here!
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WHAT ABOUT KOKORO?
Kokoro's past never bothered her. Despite being artificially made, she never felt different from anyone else.
Her biggest dream is to meet her parents. She admires them and wants to live up to the legacy that they left for her.
Kokoro, just like Kaiwa, adores Kakashi. Kokoro loves her Oji-san. In her eyes, Naruto is pretty amazing too. She doesn't understand why her cousin Boruto sees him so negatively.
Although she looks a lot like Kaiwa, Kokoro wasn't ever shy like Kaiwa was. She was quiet, but that's just because she didn't always like the people around her. Kokoro was very selective about who she trusted.
When Kokoro finally gets a chance to meet Kaiwa and Shisui, it's just like she hoped. She told them that she never blamed them for not being there, because she always knew that they were looking out for her.
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FUN FACTS:
-I was planning to make Sai a second love interest for Kaiwa, but then decided against it.
-Itachi was never a consideration for Kaiwa's love interest. I had planned for it to be platonic since the beginning.
-Kaiwa is based off of me! When I was watching Naruto for the fourth time all the way through a few years ago, I imagined myself in it. I wanted to be related to Obito, but I also really liked Shisui!
-I was going to have Kaiwa meet her parents during Pein's attack on Konoha (Obito was making sure she was out of the village) but I decided to skip past it.
-I actually cried writing Shisui's death scene. It's the only time I've ever cried while writing, lol.
-I wanted to leave behind some sort of legacy, so I created Kokoro! It took me a few days to come up with a convincing creation story, but I think I did ok.
-White Zetsu was also a second love interest I considered for Kaiwa.