Heroes [Naruto]

11 ; ALREADY GONE ☼

Ushio watched Naruto and Sasuke, as they both tried to come up with a plan. She was holding her torso tightly, arms bloody with the blood from her wounds, her blue shirt ruined. Her wounds were not running deep like her teammates' wounds, but the scrapes combined with the rapid loss of chakra with attempting to protect Sasuke and Naruto each time Haku attacked truly drained her.

Things were slightly out of focus, but she stood up, panting. "Sasuke, please, could you- could you use the fireball technique?"

"It's no use though," he spoke, and when he turned around to her, she couldn't help the smile. The Sharingan was blazing in his eyes. 

"Just trust me on this, Sasuke. Please."

He nodded, giving in, and Ushio tried to calm down. She barely had enough chakra and a small part of her hoped that she had enough chakra to survive.

"Fire Style: Fireball!"

She would never admit that a larger part hoped she would perish.

"Wind Style: Great Wind Breakthrough!"

Combined, the attack caused the damage needed. A single mirror shattered, and both Naruto and Sasuke couldn't help the smile.

"If I don't make it, use my blood to... seal..." Sasuke glanced at her, and she pointed at her neck, but Sasuke already turned away.

"We did it!" Naruto cheered, and Sasuke gave him a small glare, holding his side tightly, panting. He could barely hold himself upright.

"It is an honorable way, Ushio," Haku spoke softly, stepping out of a mirror. 

Naruto turned to see what Haku was speaking of, when suddenly Ushio fell down, face first. Sasuke crouched as quickly as possible to catch her before she hit the ground, making her jaw hit his shoulder, making him cringe in slight pain. It would probably bruise her.

"Ushio!" Naruto shouted, stepping closer.

"Is that your first time seeing a friend of yours... dying?" Haku wondered, gracefully stepping out of the mirrors.

She wasn't dead yet-- but she was very weak. Haku was almost sad; Ushio was meant for bigger than that.

"Naruto, get out!" Sasuke warned, already calculating ten steps ahead.

"D-dying? Ushio?"

Ushio struggled to open her mouth, to tell them not yet, but suddenly everything shifted, and a demonic aura filled the air.

And then everything was black.

►

It was black for the longest time. Sometimes there were flashes of red, burning red, or even peaceful white, but it was always much more black. The black numbed everything, but at the end of the day, the black weighted like world on Ushio's small shoulders.

She was no Atlas, she could not carry the weight all by herself.

And that's when she wanted everything to be white, because when it was white there was no suffocating.

But somehow, she knew that the best thing to feel was the red. The burning red. The one that made a scream pierce through the black filling her ears.

So when she found a way to follow that, she did. And when she did, she felt a tingle of silver.

And at last; the black was gone.

Her eyes slowly opened, it was evening, soft red and yellow coming through the window, her back against something soft. She turned her head, and saw that Kakashi was sitting by her bed, legs on her bed, feet lightly touching her hand, eyes on the book.

"I am glad to see you are comfortable," she spoke sarcastically, voice cracking.

He seemed surprised at the first moment, watching over her, before a small smile took over his features. "Well, you've been given the best bed. I am merely enjoying it the best I can."

Ushio tried pushing herself up, but let out a yelp of pain, quickly biting her lips to stop it.

"It's okay, I'm the only one here," he assured, and she looked to him, confused. Not as to what he meant, but how he knew. He understood that as well. Shrugging, he put away the book. "I used to keep silent as well. But it's okay to show you're hurting, when you're with us."

Ushio nodded, but slowly sat up, eyeing the IV attached to her arm. She raised her shirt up, looking at the gauze wrapped around her torso.

"God knows how you've been lucky enough, and no vital point was hit. So beside some blood loss and an almost deadly lack of chakra, you were okay. You've been out for quite some time though. Missed a lot, like... Zabuza and Haku's funeral." Eyes wide, Ushio knew immediately that she'd have to pay the Elders a visit, see where they stand concerning the recent death. "The bridge's also almost ready. We're supposed to leave in two days, so you woke up just in time!"

"Yeah!" Ushio cheered, smiling, "but, sir, you do realize I cannot possible walk to the village?"

"That's what Sasuke's for!" he laughed.

Ushio blinked, confused. "Sasuke's  gonna carry me? Uh, won't I get heavy?"

"Oh, no, Sasuke's gonna carry our bags. Combined, it weighs more than you, so I'll just carry you."

"Uh, I weigh twenty nine kilograms, I hardly think our bags weigh anything close to it."

"You're even smaller than I thought!"

"I'm not small!" she puffed out her cheek. "I'm just a bit below average for my age," she added lowly.

"Don't worry, you'll grow," Kakashi assured. "Besides, you're only ten, so it's okay. No one expects you to be higher."

Again with expectations.

"Whatever," Ushio yawned. "I'm... I'm kind of sleepy, ya know."

Kakashi smiled at her again, nodding. "Sleep for now, Ushio. I'll wake you in time to eat."

"Thank you, sir," she thanked with a smile. He stood up, ruffling her hair. 

"Good night, Ushio. Sleep tight."

"Thank you," she called shyly. 

Ushio watched for a moment more, before the smile slipped off her face and a somber expression appeared on her face.

She had to do something about it.

She couldn't keep silent anymore, she needed to scream, get everything out of her system. She needed to train with Asuma, brutally, until she was beaten to pulp, no energy left in her body.

"Note to self, speak with Asuma when I'm back."

::

Her small legs barely made the way across the ground.

Zabuza's blade wasn't a part of the Leaf's business. She was sure a Chigiri nin would get and take it themselves- she had no business being a Swordsman of the Mist. But the intel in their brains was valuable.

She fished out whatever she could about the Leaf, deleting it completely.

She struggled to keep herself upright, but she took those memories away. She tried to dig into bigger secrets regarding Zabuza's past and his home-village that he's betrayed years ago.

There was nothing of use.

That would be enough, she decided.

Standing up shakily, she stumbled until she reached the house, and silently snuck upstairs.

Her whole body was a pain.

And she was still far too weak.

WORD COUNT: 1160

EDITED ONCE