Just A Kid

Chapter 9

When Kakashi and the others came back some time later they found Araile asleep on Sasuke's lap while Sasuke was stared at the fire, now reduced to red embers.

"Hey, Sasuke! It looks like somebody likes you!" Naruto laughed.

Sakura punched him on the back of his head, making Naruto fall flat on his face as Sasuke gave Naruto a glare. Kakashi walked over to Sasuke and picked her up, stopping for a second to look down at his charge with a gentle look in his eye. Quite an adventure for a nine year old like herself. Kakashi then placed Araile down on a sleeping roll and sat down beside the sleeping child, placing a blanket over her small frame. Her eyelid twitched slightly as Kakashi opened his book and began to read it.

"Aw man! Kakashi-sensei! Do you always have to read that book!" Naruto shouted from across the fire as he sat down and pulled out his sleeping roll.

Kakashi gazed at Naruto until the Genin squirmed underneath his blanket.

"Oh, shut up Naruto!" Sakura said.

"It's a dirty book anyways," Naruto murmured.

Kakashi's gaze flickered to Araile's sleeping form to see if she had awakened. Kakashi then returned to his book after he was sure she didn't wake.

But unknown to either Kakashi or anybody else, Araile was having the worst dream in her entire nine year old life. Her eyes twitched back and forth beneath closed eyelids as she clenched and unclenched her hands into small, tight fists.

It was all a confusing blur. Nothing made sense to Araile.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Araile was walking through the village of Konoha, when a mob made out of blurry black blobs suddenly appeared all around her.

"Tsk tsk, it will never fit in here," a voice said, hard and cruel.

"That thing is bad luck! Look at those ears!" another voice shouted, just as cruel as the first.

Araile covered her pointed ears  in fear and shame as she continued walking; her head down and eyes on the road. A rock suddenly hit the young girl at the back of her leg, making her wince in pain.

"Hey! Get out of here! Nobody wants you here!" the first voice shouted, while others joined in by either throwing stones or shouting at the trembling girl.

"L-Leave me alone!" she whimpered.

Araile spotted Kakashi's apartment and made a run for it. With the voices still following her, Araile finally reaching the small apartment, bruised all over from the stones being thrown at her. She yanked the door open with one hand, smiling slightly when it opened. She looked over her shoulder to see if any of the mob has followed her before she entered the small apartment and closed the door. Turning around, she smiled in relief as a familiar figure walked towards her.

"Oh Kakashi! You won't believe what the villagers are doing! There must be something wrong with them!" Araile said, breathless from running and fear.

Kakashi crossed the room to where she was standing.

"But I got the package you wanted," Araile said, smiling a little.

Her smile instantly vanished as Kakashi now stood in front of her, not saying a word and eyes shrouded in shadows.

"Kakashi? W-what's the matter?" Araile said, now getting a bit scared.

Kakashi looked down at her, his black eye boring into her gold eyes as he slowly took out a kunai knife. She flinched and snapped her eyes shut; after a couple of moments she opened them slowly when nothing seemed to happen.