мοrι ηo κο 『森の子』

Three | | Alone

》Dιsсlαιмεя: I own no Canon characters that shall be used within this story。Only the OCs, as well as the setting in which the beginning of this tale will take place。 All other things within the Narutoverse belong to none other than the marvelous, Masashi Kishimoto。READ ONWARD, LOVELIES!! ( ' ▽ ' )ﾉ《

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Midori had awoken, her limbs and torso feeling as though they had been set ablaze. Her heart was pounding in her ears and rapidly within her ribcage. All she could remember was the man exploding, his organs and head sprawling out in all directions as all things around him had been destroyed.

Slowly tilting her head to the side, she stared at Masahiko, his face lying down on the ground and brown hair filled with dirt. "Masa---" her voice cracked and made her cough from the sheer dryness of her throat. The pain of exhaling so sharply sent waves of agony through her burned chest and stomach.

Her eyes filled with tears as she rolled over on her right side and grimaced. I have to . . . to wake him up, she thought, attempting to shove aside her pain and stand. Unable to bring herself to do so, she crawled her way over to his side, the harrowing anguish washing over her as a cold-chill would. Once she was there, she slowly lifted her hand and positioned it on his shoulder. Scowling, she shook the lad back-and-forth.

"Masa . . . hiko-k . . . kun," she murmured, scrunching up her features. "Please . . . wake . . . wake up."

The boy groaned as he tiredly twisted his head to his left, then to the right. Midori couldn't withold the gasp that escaped her lips as she noticed his bleeding, closed eyes. "Masa . . . hiko-kun!" she said, exasperated through her hoarse voice.

As Masahiko opened his eyes, Midori's heart fell to the pit of her stomach: within the centers of his orbs there were two shards of glass partially protruding from them. She might've been young, but . . . she knew when someone was permanently blind. "Mi . . . Mido-chan," he whimpered, his bottom lip quivering in fear, "w-where . . . are you?! I can't . . . see you . . ."

Midori strained to sit up on her knees and situated both of her hands over his spinal region. "Masahiko-kun," she whispered, attempting to comfort him by rubbing his back, "you're going to be . . . okay. I promise." The tears were welling up in the young girl's eyes, not only from the pain she was enduring, but from the sorrow of witnessing Masahiko in such torment.

Slowly shoving himself to a sitting position, with the help of Midori, the boy furrowed his eyebrows and closed his eyes. "Mido-chan . . . it hurts," he said, raising the exterior of his hand to rub his eyes, only to be stopped mid-air by the blonde grabbing his wrist.

Midori lowered his arm and softly sat it on his lap. "D-Don't . . . Masahiko-kun," she sniffled and wrapped her arm over his shoulder. "Come on," she said, lowly, peering over her shoulder, "we . . . have to find Etsuko-chan." She helped the boy to his feet and bore her own injuries as she stood sloppily with Masahiko supported against her. "We have to get . . . home too." She glanced over at Mashiko. "Okay?"

He subtly nodded. "O-Okay . . . lead the way, Mido-chan."

She exhaled a heavy breath and hobbled forward. "Etsuko-chan," she said, her voice audible, yet strained. "Etsuko-chan . . . wh-where are yo---"

Midori froze as her foot thumped against a hard rock of some sort. Glancing down at the ground, she noticed strands of hair sticking out from the abnormal stone . . . this made her emerald eyes widen in horror as realization donned on her: it wasn't a rock, but Etsuko's blood-soaked head.

"N-No," she whispered, her eyes wavering.

Masahiko peered over at Midori, his eyebrows dinting in worry. "W-What is it . . . Mido-chan?"