𝐏𝐫𝐨𝐣𝐞𝐜𝐭 𝐒𝐮𝐤𝐢 | ɴᴀʀᴜᴛᴏ

Parallels

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✧˖*°࿐

The room had a more empty atmosphere than Kazumi's hospital room. A nurse had taken away the IV drip from her, seeing as how her chakra was healing drastically already. The depressing weight of the room prevented a scolding, making the nurse leave out of respect shortly after.

Sanjiro was resting in a white bed, wires after wires attached to him. The young Kumo held the cold hand of the older Kumo, her eyes slightly puffy from her recent breakdown. Kakashi had already left once bowing in respect towards Sanjiro.

Can he hear me?

Kazumi pressed her lips together, heavy eyes focused between his cold hand in hers and the slow rising of his chest. As she mustered the courage to look back at his wrinkled face, she took in his features. Unlike normal, his long beard was tattered, and his grey hair remained permanently bed-head. She had never seen such paleness on his face before, and horrifying bags that seemed to dig into his skin.

"They want you awake." Kazumi mentioned quietly, forcing her eyes back to his cold hand as she gripped it tightly, hoping her little warmth could help, "And they want me gone... even though Kakashi-sensei insisted I was rightfully chuunin rank now..." Her brows pressed upwards, "Did you know, too?"

The silence was louder than any silence she ever been through before. The running machines were equivalent to mere white noise.

"From the start... If you knew, why did you keep me?" Kazumi lowered her head, her messy hair falling over her shoulders, "This is too mean... If I was you... knowing that man..."

Her grip on his hand shook, her body breaking into light trembles. She held such strong disdain towards Orochimaru. The thought of a vile man like him having a child disgusted her; to a point where she would've purged the child along with him. But, that child was herself. Whatever cruel twist of fate this was, it was a type of dark secret she would have preferred never knowing about.

She then sharply inhaled before continuing to push the heaviness off of her chest, "I mean... You showed me that genjutsu of my mother for a reason, didn't you? You wanted to see the psychopathic genes I'm forced to share with, didn't you?" She weakly laughed, shakily exhaling out, "You could have told me sooner. This isn't fair... Having this sprung onto me out of the blue... I wasn't prepared..."

She paused, her blurry eyes focusing back to Sanjiro's apathetic face. Not a single twitch nor movement occurred. She suddenly felt skeptical, wondering if her words were even reaching his ears. Then there was the dreadful thought that maybe he was just ignoring her every word. However, Kazumi would not allow that.

"You could have told me from the start. Maybe instead of chasing for your acknowledgement, even the drive to see you smile at my efforts... I could have sought out Orochimaru and learned more..." She mumbled, swallowing thickly right after.

Although her words riled up a reaction within Sanjiro. His hand that she held possessively squeezed back, startling Kazumi. A familiar energy tingled her chakra, the sensation similar to the genjutsu she was placed in weeks ago.