Porcelain Doll [ON HIATUS]

Chapter 5-Breaking out

Disclaimer: All I own here is Hitomi, the plot, and other characters I have created. Blargh. The rest belongs to Masashi Kishimoto.

Hitomi's POV

I must have passed out right after the battle, because the next thing I heard were screams. I jolted awake, blinking multiple times until I'd realized what was happening. But by then, the genjutsu that had been set was starting to take effect on me. I was feeling really drowsy, but somehow managed to form a single handsign. 

"Kai!"

The genjutsu was disturbed and I was able to move normally. "What's going on?" I asked the shinobi nearest to me. "Attack...Sunagakure!" I couldn't ask for a clarification because by the time it took me to furrow my eyebrows and let confusion settle in, the shinobi was gone.

I rushed past the screaming ninja around me and left the arena. I spotted a couple of the Rookie Nine running somewhere, and decided to follow them. I had a bad feeling about this...

...

I clenched my fist, looking at the towering creature above us. This was what I'd feared. Gaara's inner demon, Shukaku. I didn't know whether to help calm him down or not. He'd almost killed me twice, but I still owe him for sparing my life the second time. 

Yeah, maybe it was a good idea to return the favor.

But here was the problem: I didn't know how to. How was I supposed to calm down a raging monster? Ah, add this to the list of times where Hitomi feels useless. I raked my mind for an idea, any idea. I drew a blank.

I bit the inside of my cheek. I can't do anything. Maybe it's best to let them figure it out. Besides, all I'll do is slow them down. The blonde haired boy was screaming some rather touching words at Gaara. It seemed to be working so far. Maybe he can actually do it. But right now, I need to let them figure it out. So I ran away.

Yes, I know it was cowardly of me. I'd made a big show earlier of calling that boy, Sasuke, a coward earlier. Now it was my turn to run and hide.

No, I was not proud of it. But I'll admit. At this point in time, I felt useless. So useless and weak. I never left a favor unreturned. Would this break my streak?

I guess it'd be for the best. I sat in an abandoned alley, burying my face in my hands, knowing that this was pathetic.

I couldn't help it.

Guess I'm just a pathetic person, huh?

I let out a loud, humorless laugh. Then I hid my eyes and cried. I didn't like this feeling of uselessness. But I felt helpless, like a child. I was so confused. So I cried. 

I'm just a coward. But maybe I can change that.

My mind beckoned for me to return to Gaara. I could help him. I could prove I wasn't worthless. 

But what could I do?

I wasn't as good with words as the blonde boy. 

But I knew Gaara longer than all of them. Yes. Triggerring the past. That was the one thing I could do. So I'll do it.

I rose from my little spot in the dark alley. I could finally do something, for a change. Because I knew, from my own experiences, that even monsters had feelings.

...

"Hey, Gaara!" Everyone turned to look at me. I brushed all of their gazes off. I was determined to do this one thing. That's all I wanted. Then everyone can go back to running life without me.

"Remember all those years ago?" My voice softened, but I knew he could still hear me. Shukaku seemed to have paused for a little. He seemed to be humoring me. Thinking something like, "Let's see what this tiny creature is trying to pull."

"When you'd almost killed me..."

Gaara stiffened. The atmosphere had changed, a brist, chilly feeling filling the air. "And I'd called you a monster?" He was now ready to attack. I didn't move an inch. "You know, afterwards, I'd regretted my poor choice of words."

He stopped himself yet again. "What..." For a moment, I'd heard his familiar voice, and not Shukaku's. 

"I'd remembered that you had wanted to be my friend. And that's all that made me realize, maybe you weren't a monster. Because you know who the real monster is?"

My next words were a long shot. If Shukaku was able to take complete control, I would've died from having said that. Luck was on my side, however.

"It's not you, it's Shukaku. So fight him.  Let's be friends. You can control him. Don't let him use you." 

There was a suspenseful silence after that. Every muscle in my body tensed, ready for the bloody death I'd expected. It never came. I opened an eye, and to my surprise, it didn't see Shukaku. It saw a human. Gaara was able to overcome the One Tail's tremendous power.

"Friends..." he whispered, a word that sounded alien coming out of his mouth.

"Do you want to be my friend?" That single, nostalgia-filled sentence was enough to bring me to tears.