Smoke and Lightning (A Naruto Fanfiction) [Complete]

Chapter Nine: The Promises

The hospital was silent.

Two groups of people waited, neither looking at each other. The first hadn’t noticed the second, the second doing their best to keep it that way. Both were waiting for the same reasons.

The first consisted of three people: a woman, a man, and a toddler. The woman’s blonde hair was pulled back in a frizzy ponytail, she’d barely been out of bed when the news had come. Working night shifts at the hospital caused her to sleep in more often that she’d like to admit. It was all she could do to have on matching clothing. The man sitting next to her was a good three inches taller than the petite woman, his dirty-blonde hair neatly cut to about an inch in length, his hazel eyes following the toddler. She seemed to be barely more than three, perhaps four, her light blonde hair hanging in slightly tangled strands just past her ears. Unaware of why they were at the hospital- something she’d visited too many times in her short life- the girl simply continued to color with the crayons she’d been given. As something occurred to her, though, she paused.

“Hiso-nii’s hurt?”

The toddler glanced up from the drawing laid out before her, a small frown pursed on her lips. Across the waiting room, the other two figures stiffened, but stayed silent.

“... he is,” her mother agreed. “You’ll have to be very nice to him, Kazue.”

“I’m drawing him a picture,” Kazue replied, her frown turning into a smile. “Hiso-nii says, he says… Kazue’s pictures always make better!”

A picture.

Her mother’s smile became strained as she looked to the girl’s father, as if asking him what to do. The man hesitated, then leaned down to draw the girl’s attention.

“I have an idea. How about instead of a picture, you think of a song? He likes it when you sing for him, too.”

Kazue’s eyes lit up and she nodded eagerly.

“A song! I know lots!”

The second group, Hikari and Miki, simply watched the scene, unable to bring themselves to talk to the family. Neither of them felt as if there was anything they could say. Eventually, Hikari sniffled, immediately searching for a tissue she’d shoved in her pocket earlier. Her eyes were red and swollen, but her cheeks were dry.

The sound caught the mother’s attention and she looked up, stiffening when she caught sight of the other two. She hesitated, then tapped her husband’s shoulder. Looking where she was, he looked at them for a moment before standing.

“Hikari-chan? Miki-chan?” he called out.

Their eyes focused on the ground, the walls, anywhere but the man sitting across the way. He pursed his lips, glancing towards the hall where Hisoka’s room lay before slowly walking over to where the two girls were sitting. Squatting down in front of them to draw their attention, he forced a small smile.

“You know he’s going to be alright, don’t you?” he questioned. “There’s no need to worry. Because of you two, he made it home.”

Hikari sniffed again.

“H-he… he… his…” she mumbled, then cut off when she couldn’t get the words to come out.

Miki simply sat stiffly beside her, hands clasped in her lap. Her eyes dug into the man, as if challenging him to continue. Slightly unsettled, he rocked back on his heels for a moment and gathered his thoughts before taking up the challenge.

“Hiso-kun knew what he was getting himself into when he decided to become a shinobi,” he informed them gently. “While the possibility of being gravely injured or maimed probably is something he thought didn’t apply to him, he knew the risks. It’s not your fault- if anything it’s the fault of the man who did this. Watch, when he wakes up he’ll tell tell you the same thing… if not in a less gentle manner.”