I'm Coming Home (sequel to RSW)

Part 4

Naruto's POV

I couldn't sit still, so I paced. I paced almost constantly outside the door to the small hospital. No I couldn't even call it a hospital. It was  the house of a retired medical shinobi that served as the village's doctor. I had carried Hikari here over three hours ago. It was well into the night as what seemed the entire village gathered outside. Hikari's grandmother and the innkeeper stood anxiously by the door, and Pervy Sage was asking people about her. To these people, she was just a cheerful cook who showed up two months ago. They had had no idea she could fight like that, which made me worry. Why was she hiding here for so long, instead of going home? I paused right in front of the door to rest and to survey the crowd around me. Most were curiously looking at me, but I noticed the innkeeper arguing with some guy while Obaasan stood silently to the side. After a while he seemed to get frustrated and walked away from her, and right towards me. I figured he was trying to head inside, so I crossed my arms to blocked his way in. When he tried to go around, I stepped in front of him.

"Hey, let me in," he said after a few tries. He seemed to be more frustrated.

"No," I said simply. His eyes widened and then narrowed and I could see anger swirling in them.

"Look, bub, I need to go see her." I raised an eyebrow.

"And who are you to her?" 

"Why, I'm her fiancé." He got a smug look on his face and I couldn't help but laugh, which seemed to piss him off more. "What the hell is so funny?" I managed to calm my laughing for the most part.

"You're lying. That's what's so funny." It was my turn for a smug look. He glared at me.

"Who the hell are you to tell me I'm lying about this?" I tapped my chin as I thought about my answer.

"Well, let's see here." I counted them off on my fingers. "One, you've know here for what, two months? Two, I grew up with her so I know that three, she would never marry someone like you. And four..." I paused, not sure I wanted to reveal her personal feelings to a total stranger. He raised an eyebrow at me and I got an idea. "And four is a very, very personal matter," I said lowly with a wink. His glare only deepened.

"I will get in there," he muttered.

"Ha, I'd like to see you try," I said with a smirk as I made enough shadow clones to cover every entrance into the house. He looked around defeated and retreated through the crowd. They all watched him curiously as I went back to my pacing.

~~~~

Hikari's POV

I was in front of Kasai's cage. There was barely any movement or sound around me. I walked up to the bars and tried to find her. I saw her eyes staring at me from far back in the cage. They seemed angry and scared. I slowly stretched my hand into the cage, and was met with a low growl. I didn't retract my hand though.

"I'm not going to hurt you. Please come talk to me," I whispered with a soft smile. I barely saw her head tilt, and then I heard a couple footsteps in the water. I stayed perfectly still to not scare her away again. She kept slowly coming closer and closer until she could sniff at my hand, and I got to see just how damaged she was. She was a quarter of her normal size, although that still made her much larger than me. She laid down next to the bars and lifted her head into my hand. I gently rubbed her muzzle as I examined how her body once made of fire, was now nothing more than midnight blue colored fur. My mind wondered through the memories of my imprisonment and how I had felt her influence fade throughout the years. I slowly knelt down and laid my head against one of the bars.

"I'm sorry. I couldn't protect you," I whispered as tears streamed down my face. They fell into the water below, and made a strange reaction. The water started to turn a silvery blue that swirled around us. Kasai lifted her head and watched as well as the new water started to glow. I tried to shade my eyes, but the glow was everywhere. I was forced to step backwards, and felt myself brush against a cage bar. I looked around in fear as I fell into the cage, and saw a strange look in those white eyes. What would she do to me? For the first time in a long time, I was truly afraid of this demon. While frozen with fear, I saw her stand and walk over to me with narrowed eyes. I felt her breath hit me as she sniffed my entire body. The light around us began to fade, and I heard a low growl. I had to do something, and I was dreading it.