Naruto's long lost sister (under major editing!)

Chapter 7

"We have been informed that six more of our men have fallen ill from this ninjutsu."

Six. That number has been taunting me all day. There were six band-aids left in the storage tent today. Six kids were brought to us today, and six bodies were buried this morning. The mention of death leaves me feeling numb. I don't even cry anymore. Why do I suddenly feel so sad today?

"Kiyoshi? Are you listening?"

My head jolts up, noticing all eyes have fallen on me. I clear my throat and remind my commander that I am listening. My commander chuckles and asks if I had fun last night. I give him a confused look, and he reminds me of an important day that I had forgotten.

"Come on.. yesterday was your birthday, right?"

Was it my birthday yesterday? I stopped counting after the first one because it didn't feel right. How could I celebrate my birthday in enemy territory?

"Yeah, Kiyoshi, I heard you turned eighteen. You're practically a woman now."

"I still remember the day the Kazekage introduced her to us. Her hair was as red as fire."

"Yumeko, that was like six years ago. You still remember that?"

Six. Six years ago? My stomach begins to ache at the thought of time passing.

"The Kazekage said she just finished killing our biggest enemy at the time."

My first real battle. The feeling of not having control over my body. They let my anger run loose. My face begins to sweat, is this guilt?

"Yeah, I remember thinking, what is that green glowing mark on her forehead. D-

"Kiyoshi!"

I fell to my knees and began to vomit. The burning sensation in my throat made me sob.

"Kiyoshi, Are you okay? Don't worry. We're right here."

The medical-nin begin to comfort me and hold my hair up. Tears start to race down my face from not having control over my body. After five minutes, I gain control of my breathing again.

"Did you eat something bad this morning? or was it probably all the sake you drank to celebrate last night?"

They giggle, and I force a small smile. Little did they know, I had stayed up taking care of Minamoto. Minamoto is a powerful leader from the land of rivers. In this circumstance, the Kazekage is not being too harsh. He has assigned me to be his only caretaker until he's well. I believe the Kazekage is trying to make amends, but knowing him, I'm sure he has an underlying motive.

I rise from the ground and thank my fellow medical-nin and excuse myself. I head straight to the nearest bathroom and look at myself in the mirror.

My cheeks were just as bright as my red hair. My hair has been like this for six years, and it still feels new to me. As a child, my hair was always this color. It wasn't red anymore once my mother approved of this green seal on my forehead. I can't complain. It was for the better. I was in a better space mentally when my hair was yellow. I throw some cold water against my rosy cheeks to get rid of this flustered look. A soft knock against the bathroom thoughts interrupts my thoughts.

"Kiyoshi, you okay in there?"

I open the door and see Yumeko's gold eyes staring at me. She embraced me, telling me she was worried. I reassure her that I'm fine and I just had an awful breakfast.

Yumeko has long sandy brown hair and striking gold eyes. She was beautiful. What made her even more beautiful was how genuine she was. When I came here six years ago, I swore I wouldn't befriend any of these sand village ninjas, but with Yumeko, I made an exception. As a child, I found it hard to make friends with girls in my class. I always assumed it was because of pure jealousy of my status and the attention Itachi and other boys always gave me. Yumeko and the rest here didn't know my status. Hell, they didn't even know my real name. To them, I was Kiyoshi with bob-length red hair. My eyes were no longer dark blue but an orange-reddish color. My pupils were not dilated, they were slit like a cat's eye. It has ruined my confidence. Whenever someone speaks to me, they seem uncomfortable. There was a time where I would fawn over my reflection, and now I hate looking.

"Kiyoshi! I think you should get some sleep. You haven't been present these last few days. Let's go! I'm putting you to bed."

Yumkeo drags me to my tent and pushes me into my bed. I attempt to object, but she throws my covers over my face.

"Go to sleep! You have to monitor Minamoto tonight. You're going to need enough energy."

I give up, knowing she's right. She reminds me that there is a bucket next to my bed if I feel nausea again. She also tells me she will have food for me when it's time for me to wake up. No one has cared this much for me since I last saw my mother. If I never met Yumkeo, I'd think I would've taken my own life during this bid.

~~~~

"Where's my water?"

"Hey, shut up! I'm trying to sleep in here!"

"They're trying to kill me!"

I move from our preparation counter carrying a platter with a huge bowl of hot water for Minamoto and giggle as I watch Yumkeo's face twitch at the banter between the ill ninjas outside.

"All of you hush! Before we leave you all for dead!"

Yumeko stops me and hands me a rag asking me to bring it to Tent A. I take this one task off her hand seeing her sweating in the preparation room to make sure everyone has dinner tonight makes me sympathize with her.

"I swear they make me want to poison their food," Yumeko grumbles under her breath.

She's joking, yet these ninjas are sometimes on their deathbed, so they become babies all over again. I've seen some of the strongest men cry at night contemplating if their shinobi life was ever worth it. I surely don't think it's worth it anymore. The things I've witnessed over the last few years make me want to never pick up a kunai again.

I find tent A and hear more than two voices coming from the tent. Did they already get their rag?

"Someone requested a rag?" I ask opening the tent and peaking in.

"Yeah, this old man needs h-

There she was. The woman I admired. The woman who constantly challenged me. The woman who motivated me to become a kunoichi. That woman, my former sensei, it was no other than Lady Tsunade.