A/N: Wait, I change my mind… there might be different books for each generation, but I’m still thinking whether or not I should do it. Oh well, there’s a lot of time for that.
Oh yeah… disclaimer…
~ I do not own Naruto, all rights relating to characters and original plot belong to the almighty Masashi Kishimoto. I only own Setsuko, her family and some random rogue ninjas and children her and there and I also own the plot. I will not take credit for the original information regarding the yōkai but I do take credit for a few extras I made just for the story. ~
A Fine Child
I.
“Obito! Stay way! She’s about to wake up!”
“A-Ah… s-sorry Rin!”
“There she goes…”
Setsuko’s black eyebrows furrowed in concentration before her eyes started to flutter repeatedly. Consciousness was a little far away, but the young girl tried her best to push herself towards it harder and harder.
She didn’t like the voices she was hearing; she needed to get away fast.
‘I have to… before they find out!’
Finally, she was able to fully open her eyes, immediately catching the full attention of four people.
Three children crowded around her and Setsuko could tell that they were older. The girl had short brown hair, a hitai-ate around her forehead (as did the two other children) and a purple bandage on each side of her cheek. One of the boys had orange goggles over his black eyes; another identifiable aspect of him was the spiky black hair. Next to him was a silver-haired boy; his hair defied gravity and even Setsuko, who couldn’t think of anything else but the word “run”, found this equally strange as the black mask that covered the lower half of his face. Behind all of the three children was a very kind-looking man. His blue eyes were filled with curiosity, amusement and, well, happiness and his spiky blonde hair also said something about his personality.
Immediately, the girl with the brown hair gasped, her large brown eyes seeming to sparkle in amazement.
“She’s so pretty and cute!” She exclaimed, tightly clasping her hands together. It was true that it was her first time seeing a girl with scary white skin, medium-length black hair, a really white kimono and dark yet shiny blue eyes. Setsuko did have a strange appearance.
Although it certainly was the first time Setsuko was called “pretty” by someone totally unrelated to her.
As Obito, Rin and Kakashi discussed over the nervous and frightened Setsuko, Namikaze Minato smiled brightly, turning his eyes away from the orange couch.
“Kushina! She’s awake!”
A gasp was heard from the kitchen right before the sound of rushing water abruptly stopped. In came Uzumaki Kushina in her green dress and orange apron.
“She is?” Upon seeing the eyes of Setsuko on her, Kushina gasped and rushed over to the children, stopping right next to Minato. “She is! Finally! We’ve been waiting for so long y’know? We were worried,” she cried out all in one breath.
Kakashi turned his eyes away from Kushina, and then back to Setsuko, who seemed to watch them all with wide and surprised eyes. He could see her lip trembling as well as her fingers. Although he understood why she could feel scared, he didn’t understand why she seemed so… tormented maybe?
In an attempt to calm her down, he reached out to touch her fingers, which were now clutching the fabric of the sleeveless blue dress Kushina and Minato provided for her.
“Are you—“However, at the very moment the pads of his fingers touched her snow-white skin, Setsuko gasped and her hands flew to her chest, cradling them as she turned away from Kushina and Team Minato.
“Don’t… please…” she whimpered.
All was quiet when they eyed the shaking girl. They all noticed the beads of tears leaking out from her firmly shut eyes.
“Look at what you did, Kakashi! You scared her!” Obito lividly bellowed at Kakashi, gnashing his teeth together.
Rin frowned, a truly concerned expression on her gentle face. “It’s okay, we’re not going to hurt you,” she calmly and carefully explained.
Shaking her head, Setsuko seemed to curl up, her fisted hands firm on her chest.
Minato and Kushina glanced at each other worriedly.
“You’re the woman,” Minato seemed to say through his eyes.
Kushina refused the urge to roll hers as she knelt down, Kakashi and Obito parting to give way.
The red-haired woman positioned herself at the foot of the couch, right in front of the timorous and fearful girl. “C’mon, it’s alright, sweetie… there’s nothing about to be afraid of. Why don’t you open your eyes? We won’t do anything to you,” she gently coaxed.
‘Sweetie…?’ The entire Team Minato seemed to ruminate in amusement. Although Kushina sensed this, she remained focused entirely on Setsuko, who seemed to budge even just a little bit.
Setsuko had to admit that Kushina’s voice almost reminded her of her mother’s. Deep in her heart, she knew that no amount of gentleness could match her mother’s, but Kushina reminded her so much of her. She couldn’t help but give in, just a little bit.
Maybe they really didn’t plan on hurting her? After all, she wasn’t dead… neither did anything on her body hurt—
‘Wait a minute!’
Swallowing the gasp that threatened to leap out of her mouth, Setsuko removed her hands from her chest and leaned back slightly to look at her stomach.
The wound was gone.
Minato shared a victorious smile with his wife.
“You see? We have no intention to hurt you at all!” Rin cheerfully said, kneeling down as well.
“Yeah! We’re good guys!” Obito said as he followed suit, as did Kakashi, with a nod and a small smile beneath his mask.
“Don’t be afraid… you’re safe with us,” said Minato, placing his hands on his knees as he bent down.
Biting down on her lip harshly, Setsuko kept her eyes on her white hands.
“What’s your name?” Kakashi asked.
As she snuck as very brief glance at Kakashi, she began chewing at her lip. “U-uh… Set… Setsuko.”
Obito sent her a toothy grin and said, “That’s a pretty name!”
She also snuck a glance at the boy, blushing slightly at the compliment. “Tha… thank you.”
Curiously, Rin tilted her head to the side. “Do you mind telling us your last name?”
Setsuko pursed her lips at Rin and then lightly shook her head, her eyes half-lidded. She wasn’t sure whether or not telling them her name was dangerous, but her mother never told her to hide her identity—not all of it, at least.
“I… I don’t have… o-one.”
‘How strange,’ thought Minato.
“Hmm, well, are you hungry? Lunch is about to be served!”
“Obito, have some manners! Don’t just announce it like that. This isn’t your house,” Rin chastised.
Flinching, Obito chuckled slightly, scratching the back of his head in embarrassment. “Er, sorry Rin.”
Kushina and Minato laughed, while Kakashi simply watched.
It was a while before the laughing died down and the married coupled suddenly turned to Setsuko—as did the three children. Each one of their expectant faces had their own respective versions.
Under their pressuring gaze, Setsuko just wanted to curl up again, but she knew they wouldn’t let that happen. She already told them her name… and the fact that they seemed genuinely kind actually bothered her. Revealing her name was all she could do, and she knew it would be more dangerous for her if she were to stay much longer and open up to them. What would be of her…? How will she ever get home to her mother and father?
All of a sudden, Kushina and Rin grabbed both of Setsuko’s hands. Making sure that she wouldn’t pull away, an arm snaked around her small waist and pulled her to her feet. As expected, she jumped from all of the physical contact she was receiving. Sure, she was used to hugs and all, but such loving contact only came from her parents… if there were other people… it would be a different kind of contact…
Mentally, Setsuko shook her head, swallowing the large lump growing in her throat.
‘Mommy and daddy said I should forget about those things… yes, forget about them…’
“She’s only a ten year-old child; I don’t think she can do any harm. Anyway, it’s not like we have anything to fear. It looks as if Setsuko-chan fears us much more than we can fear whatever secrets she may not even be hiding.” Minato explained to the Third Hokage, who continued to watch him, inhaling from his pipe from time to time.
Closing his eyes, Sarutobi Hiruzen set down his pipe and crossed his arms. “I understand where you’re coming from, Minato. However, from what you’ve showed me, that girl is suspicious. If I recall correctly, she looks like…”
“A Yuki-onna?” Minato offered with a small, unidentifiable smile.
The Third frowned. “Yes, do you believe in yōkai, Minato?”
The soon-to-be-Hokage’s smile grew. “I admit that they’re very interesting… but I don’t believe in them, but I can’t say that they don’t exist. The same goes for my students. Believe it or not, we actually discussed the matter.”
Hiruzen opened one eye. “Oh? So that means you talked to Kushina as well?”
Minato nodded. “Yes, she says she would be happy to know that Setsuko would be able to stay. They’re actually pretty close now.”
“Is that so…?”
Once again, he nodded.
Hiruzen sighed before smiling. Minato, of course, took this as a good sign. He couldn’t wait to tell Kushina, as well as his students. Now if only Jiraiya could return soon. Setsuko was, indeed, a very interesting child.
“Very well then…”
“I have a mission for the three of you!” Minato said brightly, spreading his arms wide. Setsuko flinched a little, taking a step back and hiding behind Kakashi—who appeared to have been the nearest person. It was no longer surprising to them, how she was always scared about most things. It wasn’t surprising either that she would get scared of Minato at the moment. She was a short, ten year-old girl and he was a tall man in his twenties, and since Setsuko didn’t really know Minato that much, she could have suddenly gotten the idea in her head that Minato could possibly hurt her.
Upon seeing the quivering Setsuko, Minato dropped his arms immediately, smiling sheepishly as he scratched the back of his head. Luckily, Kushina wasn’t around to scold him.
“What is it, sensei?” Obito asked, unable to withhold his enthusiasm.
“Well, if you think about it, it’s not really a mission but… I’ll get to the point. You three are assigned to tour Setsuko-chan around the village. The first tour guide will be… Kakashi!”
Obito groaned, surprising Setsuko, whose fingers tightly clenched the back of Kakashi’s shirt.
“Why does it always have to be Kakashi?”
Minato smiled gently. “Obito, come here.”
Grumbling to himself, Obito followed and Minato leaned down, and removed Obito’s ear protectors.
As the man whispered to his student, Rin turned to Setsuko, who watched Minato and Obito’s little exchange with a timid expression on her face. She still hadn’t let go of Kakashi’s shirt.
“Aren’t you a lucky girl? You get to be toured by Kakashi first!”
Swallowing, Setsuko looked at Rin, who continued to grin at her. “You… y-you think so?”
Humming in agreement, Rin nodded her head. “Mhm!”
Kakashi looked at both girls with questioning eyes.
“You’ve never heard of ramen…?” Kakashi asked in surprise, watching Setsuko stare inquisitively at Ichiraku Ramen. Everyone in Team Minato as well as Kushina knew that Setsuko was a strange one, but having known that she had never even heard of the word ramen made the word “strange” seem like an overused understatement. Then again, the child may have had a very unique life all this time… judging from how they found in the Land of Iron.
“Ramen… is it delicious…?” Setsuko quietly asked.
Kakashi nodded somewhat distractedly. He’d just noticed that Setsuko was holding onto his shirt the whole time. It was almost unbelievable that she was merely two years younger than he was.
“Yeah, it is.”
All of a sudden, they could hear the faint sound of boisterous laughter and giggling approaching them. Kakashi could sense the way his shirt was all the more pulled at and could feel the body warmth getting stronger and stronger as Setsuko continued to press herself against his back.
“They’re just kids,” was what he wanted to say, but stopped himself once the children had made their way close to them.
One child, a girl, quickly dashed past Kakashi, escaping the two boys that laughed and ran after her. One of the boys snuck a victorious grin at the other one (although the other didn’t see it) and shoved him to the left, effectively bumping against Setsuko.
Kakashi was all the more surprised as Setsuko let go of his shirt and jumped away.
“Ah, sorry!” The male child said and ran after his cackling playmate.
The silver-haired chuunin snuck a glance at Setsuko, whose hands were once again practically sewed together and pressed to her chest. Setsuko’s jaw was clenched tight, her lips quivering as a bead of sweat dripped down the side of her temple. Her eyes were filled with undeniable anxiety and there was no mistaking the face that she had gone paler—if that was even possible anymore.
It was thanks to this that Kakashi found himself wondering… just what kind of childhood did Setsuko have?
II.
“Why don’t you stay here, Setsuko? Daddy is just going to take care of something.”
Unaware of the suspicious glares she was getting, the six year-old Setsuko grinned at her father, one front tooth missing. “Yes, daddy!”
Shinya smiled kindly, his chocolate eyes closing slightly as he did so. With a ruffle of Setsuko’s hair, he stood up to his feet and left.
Under the tree, Setsuko’s innocent and wandering blue eyes scanned the group of children that was making its way toward her. One of the children held a red ‘Kusudama’, to which Setsuko mistook as the group wanting to play with her, a newcomer. She was still unmindful of the scowls on their faces.
“What are you doing here?” One of the older children of the group shouted at her.
Setsuko blinked her large eyes as one relatively tall boy grabbed her small wrist, harshly yanking her towards their small group. This was the only time she’d noticed the rocks they were holding in their hands.
As the boy that held her continued to glower at her, his death grip around her wrist tightened, making Setsuko wince. “Th-that hurts…” she whimpered quietly. It was just her luck to end up in a village where its residents believed in the possible existence of mythical spirits and demons.
“Her skin’s cold! Our parents were right! She is a yōkai!” The boy exclaimed, immediately letting go of Setsuko’s hand almost as if it was coated in acid. However, just as he’d let go, something hard slammed itself against the back of Setsuko’s head, forcing a helpless cry out of her as she fell to the grass, face-first.
She didn’t know what was going on, neither did she have the proper knowledge of what a yōkai actually was, but judging from how all of them had reacted to the news, Setsuko knew that she didn’t want to be called so.
“If we don’t get rid of her, she’ll kill us all!”
“Yeah! I saw a man with her; maybe he’s a yōkai too!”
“After we take care of her, let’s tell our parents! They’ll do something about him!”
“That’s right!”
“Yeah!”
Just as Setsuko was about to defend her father, a foot rammed itself onto her cheek, sending her back down on the grass.
“Use the rocks!”
The very moment one relatively large rock was thrown at Setsuko’s forehead, she moved to her side; and rose to her knees despite the many rocks that began to pelt her. However, she found that she had no chance of standing, not with the little pieces of hell that were thrown at her head, back and arms, bringing forth an infernal sensation of numbing pain—something Setsuko knew she wouldn’t want to experience in the remaining entirety of her life.
Helpless from the pain and from the children, all Setsuko could do was shelter her head with her bruised and now bloody arms, soundlessly crying, her pleas deaf to the children’s ears.
A/N: I had a hard time with the part 2. I’m not used to writing about pain anymore. Geh. And I'm sorry if the entire chapter sucked. I'm suffering from weeks of not being able to write. ; ~ ;