Once Again (A Naruto Fanfiction) (Sequel to Another Take) (Complete)

Ch. 16: Bird With A Broken Wing

Warning: Gore. As in blood. In fair amounts as well. Felt it was enough that it was necessary to say that. Oh, and death. Whoops.

~So I walk alone down the darkest roads, 'cause I've always known how the story goes, when the curtain falls I'll be wearing thin, clawing at the walls as they're closing in. In this twisted plot I was destined for, I'm an astronaut on the ocean floor, so misunderstood 'till the bloody end, how I wish I could do it all again~

Kiyomi's POV

The first thing I was aware of was a stinging all over my body. It was like when your wounds get saturated with alcohol to prevent infections. It was that feeling. All over my body.

The second thing I found was that there was someone else wherever I was. I'm not sure where I was, but I could hear a person whispering to probably another person a little bit away from me. Unfortunately, my ears couldn't pick up their conversation.

Then I felt something cool being placed on my forehead. Cool and wet. A wet cloth? It felt nice...

"I hope you wake up soon," a girl's voice whispered above me. Probably from the person who put the cloth on my head. She must be taking care of me. Wonder why. "There are so many things I need to ask you..." Ah, there it is.

By now the stinging had faded slightly. It wasn't all gone, but it was much more bearable now. So I tried opening my eyes.

Thankfully it wasn't that bright, wherever I was. It was a dark-ish place that kind of looked like a cave, lit by both a hint of sunlight and a small fire burning in a corner. Based on the amount of natural light, I'd say it's sometime in the afternoon.

I was on the ground, laying flat on my back. There was a blanket of some kind protecting my back from the hard ground, and a small pillow under my head. Above me I could see the dark ceiling of the cave, with a few stalactites growing from the rock.

With a bit of effort I turned my head to one side, attempting to locate the girl that was taking care of me. She was crouched over by the fire, probably trying to keep warm. I must be using her blanket. Dang, I'll apologize later. It must be kind of inconvenient.

"H-Hey," I croaked out, trying to get the girl's attention. It worked, as she quickly turned her head towards me and abandoned the fire, rushing over.

"Oh, you're awake! Good, that's good!" she was scrambling for words, as if not expecting me to have woken up. "How are you, good? Bad? Any pain?"

"I'm good," I replied, my throat dry. "Could use some water, though. I have a feeling-" I paused to cough, "-that I'm going to be talking a lot."

The girl smiled awkwardly. "Yeah, probably," then she walked over to her pack, which was in a corner that I hadn't noticed, and pulled out a water flask. She walked back over and held it to my lips. I took a few sips of the cool liquid, relishing in it's iciness as it slid down my throat.

When it was removed, I sighed in relief. "Thanks," I breathed, feeling words coming easier out of my throat. "Now, who are you and what am I doing here?"

"Well," the girl took a breath. "I'm Jiyuu. Jiyuu Arashi. I found you being basically tortured by a little kid in the forest yesterday. I was wandering around, and heard crying and screaming. I managed to scare the kid away with my arrows, then I dragged you to the nearest cave and tried my best to heal you."

I nodded gratefully at her. "Thanks, I appreciate it."

Jiyuu smiled at me, shaking her head. "It's no big deal. But, what were you doing to make that kid so mad? And Se- Ah, never mind."