Chapter 3

Narumi swings her legs, arms wrapped around herself in an attempt to keep herself from crying again. Big girls don't cry. Or at least, if they do, they aren't loud about it.

Besides, crying isn't gonna make Kakashi wake up any faster.

"He collapsed outside the gates. He's covered in blood, but it isn't all his. The medics are

looking at him now to assess the damage."

She had begged and pleaded, but she wasn't allowed to see Kakashi until the sun had already set. Her mom had sat with her in the waiting room, humming one of the lullabies that she's had memorized since before she can remember. It had helped, for a while, but she just kept picturing her Kakashi covered in sticky red blood, barely breathing.

Maybe if she hadn't begged him not to leave, he wouldn't have rushed his job. Maybe, just

maybe, Kakashi would still be okay.

Sorry, Kakashi, sorry.

Narumi sniffles, but she won't let herself look away. Is this what being a ninja means?

There's been an incident, the masked man had said. His mask was shaped like some sort of

cat, but Narumi was too busy listening to what had happened to try and figure it out.

She's not so sure she understands, exactly, just that the bad guys heard about their mission and set up an ambush. She doesn't know what an ambush is, but it must not be good because she wasn't even sure Kakashi was breathing when her mom finally brought her in to see him.

"Why... are you... crying?"

All of the air rushes out of her lungs.

"Kakashi?"

Kakashi reaches up with the arm that doesn't have tubes sticking out of it, rubbing her eyes.

"Narumi-chan..., are you... okay?" He shifts, eyes finding the clock hanging above the door.

"Hey..., it's the middle of the night..., what are you doing out of bed?"

She chokes on a sob, but she doesn't move any closer, even though she wants to. "S-sorry,

Kakashi." She shakes her head, trying to stop crying. "It's all my fault."

"Narumi…" Kakashi pauses, and then a hand ruffles her hair. Narumi gasps, lifting her eyes to find that Kakashi is now sitting up. "Why are you sorry? Did something happen while I was

gone?"

"Y-you got hurt, Kakashi." She rubs her eyes. "And if I… If I hadn't asked… then..."

Kakashi seems to understand what Narumi doesn't know how to explain, So he reaches for

Narumi, pulling her onto the hospital bed and into his arms. "Hush, Narumi-chan. It isn't your fault, okay? We were given bad information, that's all."

She wanted to argue, to tell Kakashi that she must be bad luck, but these arms are warm and

safe, and she's been awake longer than she ever has before, so the moment she's comfortable,

Narumi begins to drift off.

Maybe I can make him feel better, too, she thinks as she falls asleep. she doesn't notice the

drain on her chakra as she subconsciously heals her most precious person, but the jonin that's

holding her feels the ache of his wounds start to recede and stares at the girl in wonder.

Kakashi pov

Kakashi looks up from the mop of blond hair in front of him when the door to his hospital room

opens, hoping that it's not another nurse, hoping Sensei has finally realized that his daughter

isn't in bed.

It's Kushina who enters, though, and she smiles when she sees he's awake. "How are you feeling, Kakashi? Narumi refused to leave until you woke up, not even for her father."

"Kushina-Sama…, I think… Narumi may have sped up my healing?" And then what she said hits him. "Wait, how long has she been here?"

She glances up at the clock. "Since noon, yesterday. Right after Leopard came to get Minato.

We stayed in the waiting room until the nurse came to let us know you would pull through, and

then she demanded to see for herself." Kushina crosses to the chair Narumi had been occupying only two hours ago. "Now, what's this about Narumi healing you?"

Kakashi tells her about waking up, wondering why Narumi wasn't in bed. He lets her know that

his little companion had blamed herself for his injuries and then explains how he'd begun to

feel better the moment Narumi fell asleep in his arms.

And she smiles. "She was very worried about you," she tells him. "If her chakra somehow

responded to that, perhaps subconsciously, then I suppose she could have healed you a bit."

"A bit?" He quirks an eyebrow at her and shifts his hold on the child to reveal the bandages on his shoulder. He tears them off to reveal tender scars, the recently healed wounds still pink with new flesh. "This isn't just a bit, Kushina-Sama. This girl… is a miracle."

*Timeskip

"Any sign of her?"

Kakashi groans, glancing up and down the street below of him before leaping to the next one.

Why, oh why, did Sensei ask Uchiha Obito to watch Narumi while I was away? Sure, he's come a long way, but he has some serious ADHD. "Not yet."

"No, Minato-Sama," comes another voice that Kakashi only vaguely recognizes. He isn't all that concerned with the others participating in the 'Narumi has wandered off' search party, anyway,

he just wants to find Narumi. Whatever it takes.

Surely she couldn't have gotten that far, right? Surely she's only followed another butterfly? Or a bird? Or a toad? Narumi loves animals, so surely she's just evading them by accident,

right? Surely nothing bad has happened to her…, right?

"I can't pick up her trail," he says into the mouthpiece. "The ones I'm finding are all at least a

day old."

Where did you go, little fiance?

Minato pov

When Minato had rolled out of bed this morning, still tired from his late night at the office, but

aware that he had meetings all morning, he hadn't expected things to turn out this way. He

hadn't expected Obito's first babysitting experience outside of Fugaku's firstborn child to

become a search for his daughter, nor had he expected Kakashi to return from his mission

early and dive right into the search.

He absolutely didn't expect Kakashi's lack of hostility toward his teammate for losing Narumi.

He'd probably be a little more relaxed if Kakashi was upset with Obito.

What is this feeling of dread? I've never experienced this before…

Minato pauses at the edge of the Hospital's roof, looking toward the private training ground reserved for Kushina-he knows she's been trying to rebuild her control, but it hasn't been easy since Narumi's birth. She'd been headed to the training ground after breakfast, which was The entire reason Obito was watching Narumi.

Kushina…

"We need to find Narumi now."

"What's wrong, Sensei?"Kakashi asks immediately, probably catching the sharp edge in his

voice."

Something heavy in the air. Do you feel it?"

Let's just hope we find Naruto before that thing does.

Mysterious man pov

A man in his late forties crouches in an alley, pulling his mask off and giving the child across from him a small smile. "Hello, Narumi-chan."

The girl grins, blue eyes bright, recognition and joy fighting for dominance over her expression. "Storm! The storm is coming!"

She knows my face. I suppose it hasn't changed much.

"Yes, I know you like storms, don't you?" he asks, and the four-year-old nods, inching closer. "Well, if you want, I'll watch the storm with you, but we have to go somewhere else, okay?"

Narumi smiles again, coming close enough to be lifted up. The man ruffles her hair and heads southwest, one of the biggest storms Konoha has ever witnessed would come soon.

I'm sorry, Narumi. But this must be done. Even if it means I'm breaking the promise I made myself all those years ago. I think you'll accept it, in the long run. Maybe you'll even forgive me.

I hope you can forgive me.

Kakashi pov

All movement in the village seems to stop. To the south, above the treeline, Kakashi can make out the head of a beast, long ears like a rabbit, eyes glowing red with power. If he didn't know it was impossible, he would swear that his stomach was turning inside out.

Where the hell is Narumi?

"Sensei!" he grits out into the mouthpiece, frozen to the spot.

"Find Narumi, Kakashi. Please find her." The connection cuts off loudly, leaving Kakashi's left ear ringing, but he just tosses the device aside, throwing himself back into Narui's search.

The beast lets out an enraged growl. Kakashi doesn't look back.

I have to find her.

Adrenaline fills his veins, giving him another boost of energy. He's going to find his little fiance, No matter what.

I wonder if she's afraid. Knowing her, probably not.

In the village

As the silence settles in the village at his back, the man tightens his grip on the girl sleeping in his arms. Maybe it hadn't been wise to seal the entire nine-tailed fox inside Narumi, but if anybody is strong enough to overcome the fox, strong enough to befriend it, it's this girl.

He wishes he could stay beyond a year, but he knows his life is already coming to an end. The travel to get here had taken a lot out of him, and using what was left of his chakra to seal the demon inside of Narumi had just about done him in. He's surprised he's even able to walk right now.

He can stay for a while. Long enough to teach Narumi how to survive where he's taking her. Long enough to teach her how to talk to the thing she's housing, long enough to see a few more smiles from her.

Long enough to convince her not to go back until she's absolutely certain she has control over this power.

The people will mourn her, but at least this time, she's alive. At least, this time, she didn't get killed in the panic and confusion of the fox's escape. At least this time, Kushina and Minato are alive.

Not a single casualty.

"I promise you," he whispers against Narumi's temple, "that I will teach you everything you need to know to make it without me by the time I have to go."