Shadow Child

Chapter 4

I actually found something that sucked more than being an infant. Spending days in a hospital. Even if I didn't die from opening my tenketsu, boredom sure as hell would be the end of me. 

As if hearing my thoughts, someone knocked on my door, before sliding it open. Mama entered, a smile on her face. Behind her was a beautiful woman with black hair and obsidian eyes, holding the hands of two boys. Both looked a lot like her and were just as pretty. I moved to sit on the edge of the hospital bed, looking at them with curiosity bubbling inside my stomach. 

"Good morning, little firefly." Mama kissed the top of my head. "I brought you some visitors today. This is my good friend Uchiha Mikoto and her two son's, Itachi and Sasuke," she introduced them, before she and Mikoto stepped back, giving us children a bit of room. 

I waved at the two boys. "Hi, I'm Kayomi," I cheerily said, feeling for their energies. They both felt very warm, helping me relax a bit. Strangers still made me cautious and having doctors and nurses around me all the time didn't help either. 

The older one, Itachi, returned my wave and smile while his younger brother shyly gripped at his hand and hid half behind him. 

"Mikoto and I will be outside, call us if you need anything," Mama said, a soft smile on her lips. She'd been worried a lot the past week, even though the doctors reassured her that I was stable and could soon be released from the hospital. It would take a few years before I could start removing the seal on my body though, considering I had to get used to all the sensation first, that came with removing it. 

"How old are you, Kayomi-chan?" Itachi asked, patting Sasuke's head to calm the little boy. 

"Almost two. What about you, Itachi-niisan?" 

Before he could answer, Sasuke seemed to have forgotten his shyness and stood before his big brother. "He's not your nii-san! He's mine!" 

Itachi chuckled at his temper, smiling at the boy fondly. I held back my own laugh and hopped down from the hospital bed, before taking Sasuke's hands in my own little ones. 

"You're older than me, right?" I asked. He tried his best to not flinch from the direct contact and nodded. "Then you're my nii-san too."

His face lit up like a candle and he looked at Itachi excitedly, whom gave him an encouraging smile. This kid was way too easy. Someone who loved hid big brother this much, would also love being one himself. It was only a guess, but it seemed like I hit the nail on the head. 

I tugged at his hands, moving towards the table with a few of my toys and puzzles. "Wanna play with me?"

"Un!" 

ເງົາ

Itachi and Sasuke visited me a lot for the next week. Sometimes their mom would tag along but most of the time, they were on their own. Mama was happy I made some friends and got the opportunity to go on a few missions as a bonus. I was glad she felt better and I genuinely enjoyed the company of the two boys. They were nice and their chakra felt so warm. Itachi even taught me a bit about shinobis and the village. 

I looked at Sasuke who was sitting on the floor next to me, eyes concentrated on the picture he was working on.

"Do you know how to control chakra?" Asking the little boy was my best bet, as I was sure none of the adults would give me an answer right now. Not while I was still in the hospital. But I was tired of just sitting around all day. I needed to do something. Needed to learn, so I could one day protect the people I came to care about. 

Sasuke looked up in surprise, probably not expecting me to ask him about something like that, instead of his brother. His face quickly brightened with excitement though, as he straightened up. 

"Yeah, Itachi-niisan showed me the leaf exercise," he proudly proclaimed.

I inched closer to him, curiosity making me lean forward. "Leaf exercise?"

The boy nodded enthusiastically. "Yup, you make a leaf stick to your forehead with chakra. Here, I'll show you." He ripped a little piece of paper from my notebook and slapped it against his forehead. My gasp of surprise put a big smile on his face, when I felt the energy in his body shift and concentrate on the paper, sticking it to his skin. "Itachi-niisan said you get better at chakra control if you do this while doing other stuff," he explained, picking his pen back up to continue on his picture. He was able to draw a few lines before his energy shifted and the paper fell back down. 

"That's so cool," I complimented him and ripped a piece off for myself. Making it stick to my forehead was easier than I expected. But I felt every shift of my chakra, helping me at knowing how much I needed to make the paper stay in place. I turned back to my own drawing and the paper fell down immediately. Multitasking had never been my strong point, but it was fun to practice with my new friend.  

We both sat like that for a while until Itachi came to pick Sasuke up.

"Your parents are out on a mission and should be back tomorrow. Will you be alright on your own?" the older Uchiha boy asked, smiling at me gently. I gave them both a happy grin and held my thumps up in confirmation. I needed time for myself to practice more, so this was actually very convenient. I waved them goodbye when they left, before going back to keeping the paper stuck to my skin while trying to complete a puzzle. 

ເງົາ

"Congrats on getting out of that stupid room," Sasuke said hugging me tightly. I smiled at him brightly, giddy with the excitement of being able to go back home. I was in that hospital for way too long. Mama stood next to Papa, looking like a burden was finally lifted of her shoulders. Itachi and Mikoto weren't able to come, but it was alright. Seeing Sasuke outside the hospital made up for it big time. The boy wriggled his way inside my heart very fast, spending a lot of time with me and becoming my best friend. He genuinely enjoyed my company as well and was glad he had someone to train with. Us keeping the practice a secret from our parents and even Itachi made us grow only closer as well. 

"You wanna sleep over today?" I asked him, stepping back from our hug to look at Mama for approval. She gave me an encouraging nod, clearly pleased I took the initiate at being social. 

"I already asked my parent. They said it was okay." Sasuke bounced a little in excitement.

"Great! Let's go, I'll show you my room. Mama took care of my plants." I grabbed his hand and pulled him along as I sprinted down the street, leaving my parents in charge of carrying my bag, after I just abandoned it on the floor. 

As we raced towards my home, I adjusted my hair, so the piece of paper on my forehead was covered up once more.  

ບຸດ

Not a very long chapter but I'm just glad I finally managed to finish it. 
Lot's of stuff happened lately (moved to another city, switched jobs and finally got my own apartment), so I didn't really have time to write and when I did, motivation said nope.

Sorry for the long wait. I'll try to upload more, should be easier since next chapter is a small time skip.