Reanimation

Chapter Six

KONOHAGAKURE
Uzumaki Residence: 2:02AM

Himawari didn't care if her knees were about to give out.

She just didn't care if she was about to pass out. Her feet continued to drag her along a steep downhill path even though she didn't even know where to go.

She was barely catching her breath and her chest felt too heavy, but her mind felt detached and unempathetic to the rest of her body. Her mind was focused on only one goal - she needed to keep running and she needed to keep looking.

If Uncle Sasuke and Uncle Shikamaru could not find him, she would. If her mother and her brother could not find him, she would. There was no way she was going to stop. There was no way Himawari would give up until she had found her dad.

'Dad, where are you? Wait for us to find you, please...'

Not far from her right, something exploded and distant screams rang out. Himawari kept running anyway. From her left, fire blew out setting the trees ablaze. It didn't matter; Himawari kept running anyway.

She soon came to a clearing where she made a sudden stop. Her speed had sent her helplessly crashing on the floor. She may have hit her head or she may have broken a rib, Himawari didn't know. With all her worries, the pain just didn't register anymore.

She didn't even need her Byakugan, her eyes had found what she was looking for right away. She struggled to focus on the lifeless man before her - a figure sprawled face down at the edge of the forest, bloodied and mutilated, and half-buried in mud -

and as she recognized that familiar tinge of blonde, Himawari began to cry.

---

Himawari woke up struggling to breathe. The feeling was already too familiar - she woke up just in time to stop herself from shrieking. Trembling, she brought her hands to her face. Tears and sweat drenched her and she felt dizzy - this nightmare had never felt as vivid and as real as it had just now.

A loud crash coming from the hallway made her heart jolt. She desperately tried to calm herself down and listen for movement around her- there was none. But her shaking did not stop and a feeling of dread started washing over her. She did not know where her fear was coming from. The flashback was not new to her and she'd seen it many times. Tonight, however, it felt somewhat foreboding.

Before she could regain control of herself, she heard another crash, this time coming from his brother's bedroom. This time Himawari knew something was wrong.

She had barely reached her door when it creaked open and a heavily-beaten Boruto entered limping into view.

"Hima, run. Go," Bolt whispered in between painful breaths.

"Boruto! What happened?" Himawari stopped on her tracks, shocked as she slowly observed the state of her brother.

Boruto's face was bruised and he was clutching his left shoulder with his right hand, his expression contorted in pain. His breathing was labored and shallow, and he barely shifted his weight to his left leg when he walked. Bolt's clothes were heavily streaked with blood.

Himawari ran toward her brother but before she could reach him, a tall figure in ANBU uniform crept behind Boruto. The man grabbed Bolt by the hair and kicked him behind his knees so that they buckled and he collapsed.