namikaze girl ! k. hatake

fifteen.

opening my eyes, a burning pain shot through each of my nerves as i laid in the dirt, on my stomach. kakashi's hair was stained red, and he stared at the sky full of dust clouds with a weak gaze; he was alive.

"kak -" i attempted to speak, my mouth filling with warm blood at a rapid rate, dripping from my lips like molasses. kakashi heard my voice, forcing his body to fall over, being at ground level with me. his eyes grew heavy, blinking slowly as he stared at me, sorrow in the depth of his sharingan evident.

it wasn't until i attempted to move that i realized i had more than one metal rod piercing through my body. i wasn't sure how many exactly, but my entire body ached with pain and i couldn't move my legs if i tried. i didn't notice the growing pool of blood around me until it hit my cheek, rapidly spreading from the stab wounds.

moving my gaze upwards, i saw my hands placed on one another, entirely frozen as a metal rod impaled through both of my palms, pinning my arms up.

i wanted to ask kakashi if pain was dead, as i had no possibility of moving, and kakashi had miraculously survived even when i blacked out. our eyes met again and i was glad to see his were still open. i opened my mouth, wanting to apologize to him before i grew too weak or began to choke on my own blood. he looked at me silently, his mask slightly torn on the end, and an expectant look in his eyes.

"i'm- i'm sorry, kakashi," i breathed, feeling blood trickle down my cheek once more, breathing heavily through the thick liquid.

i didn't feel katsuyu slide from the back of my shirt, coming onto my shoulder once more. i had forgotten about her presence, though she was likely the main reason i was still conscious.

her body grew wide at a rapid rate, large enough to cover kakashi and i, both. her body moved around ours in a union, encasing the two of us in the dark, damp depths of her figure. i couldn't see kakashi, but i felt an extra shot of warmth touch my cheek. i wondered if it was kakashi's own will or if katsuyu moved him on purpose. still, i didn't care; his touch felt nice and almost therapeutic as the rest of my body gave in.

katsuyu, help him, not me. i prayed the slug could hear my thoughts as we seemed bound together, though it was a mere last-minute resort before i felt my eyes close again, falling to the fate of bleeding out whilst katsuyu covered our entire bodies with her own.

{kakashi's pov.}

rei's body went limp immediately upon contact, she continued to stare at me with tears in her eyes as i struggled to hold my own; it was what pain wanted, i was sure of it. i couldn't conceal my flinch and wince as the rod impaled through her left shoulder, i could hear my pounding heart begin to go quiet beneath my ribs, nearly breathless.

her head was being held up by pain, though her eyes went closed just as pain released his grip on her. i couldn't move, and, for a long moment, i couldn't breathe, either. pain had carelessly stepped over her lifeless body as the sound of my own teeth clenching against each other made a chill run up my spine. i didn't really witness that - this is all in my head. as much as i wished the words were true, i could hardly convince myself of her fate, hardly showing effort to continue fighting pain, or to even move, at that.

"unfortunately i have no business with you, kakashi," his voice called as he stood before me, forcing my gaze to tear from rei's body. my inner being was already shattered, entirely exhausted as the dead feeling quickly shut off my own emotions. i was trying to be afraid; i was trying to fight back. . . each time i would catch a glimpse of rei laying there, another part of me died. "i'm looking for the jinchuriki of the nine-tailed beast."

even if i knew naruto's whereabouts, i'd never tell him. the idea alone made me sick, though i began to think feeling anything was becoming more and more impossible. the larger version of pain, who had somehow survived a chidori through his - heart? i wasn't certain, as he seemed to be more mechanical rather than human - began moving toward her limp body. still, i despised him, recalling the way rei had screamed for me shortly before he threw her body to the ground. i hadn't experienced such fear in years.