Chasing Vermilion

Chapter Eleven- Am I Home Now?

Hello! I hope you enjoy chapter 11. It's just Kana now... *sobs* but don't give up hope for Itachi yet... ;)

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Chapter Eleven- Am I Home Now?

When Kana forced open her eyes, it was so bright that she was convinced for a moment that she had gone blind. Where she was currently lying was mystery, but it wasn’t as if, in her current state, she cared. The air around her was warm and comfortable, and it smelled of flowers mixed with medicine. Her head was on something soft and white, and when she looked upwards, the glare was even more blinding.

Her mind was still in a daze, so she lay unmoving for a while, listening to the general hubbub in the distance; children laughing and shouting far away, and on the other side of a door, people conversing. She heard the faint clinks of trolleys and vials being arranged. Birds sang outside and their chatter, laced in with all else that Kana could hear, made the start to her day very noisy.

When the door in front of her opened, and a person walked in, she opened her eyes some more and blinked away the spots. She looked up into a single black eye on a face covered with a mask. His silver hair was fought back with a Leaf forehead protector and he was holding a book.

“Kakashi-“ she began, but he held up a hand to stop her.

“I didn’t expect you to wake up so quickly, Kana. It’s only been a few hours since you got here. The higher-ups have been running around in a panic over how to approach the situation.”

She nodded. She wasn’t in a particularly talkative mood, as her mind was almost fully focused on trying to figure out what had happened. A continuous buzz muffled any access to information in her brain. She thought back… she passed out when she saw Kakashi at the gates, having run from… She cast the Phoenix flower jutsu for…

“Itachi!” she burst out, and threw off the covers. Kakashi held her back from escaping with considerable difficulty. “Let me go, you idiot!”

“You need to rest for a while. You were in a pretty bad way when you got here.”

“But Itachi’s… he’s…”

“Kana,” he said, sitting her back down, “Why did you come back here? Moreover, why did you come back here like this?”

“Sasuke Uchiha, Itachi’s brother- you know him, right?” Kakashi nodded. “They fought, and Itachi… he died.”

“Sasuke killed Itachi? Are you serious?”

“No!” she said angrily. “Itachi would never be killed by scum like him! He just… died.”

“Whatever you say, little Kana.” He waved a hand in dismissal.

“Call me little again, and I will crush you.”

“Sure, sure…”

“I am not in the mood, Kakashi Hatake! Geez, I’m out of here. I can’t stand being locked up like this.”

Kana bit back more tears and dodged Kakashi, advancing for the window. She smashed the glass with her fist, sending broken pieces ricocheting across the room. This distraction was a least sufficient enough to let her escape. Jumping from the second floor was simple enough, so after that, she was running through the Leaf village in her torn-up clothes as fast as her tired legs would allow.

She was sure that, by now, if Kakashi had really wanted to stop her, he would have at least tried to chase after her. Instead, she was being allowed to roam free. Well, that suited her. Anything to distract her from the death of the person she valued. She didn’t want to think of Itachi’s body, his bloody, motionless, smiling corpse. Not of cradling that lifeless body for a long time, knowing that she was truly alone now. Not of him felled and dying from illness, forcing himself to fight his younger brother who was fixated on revenge. The Itachi she respected and valued was quiet, taciturn and undoubtedly wise. He was the most honest liar anyone could know, and he protected what he loved with silent determination. Yes, that was what she wanted to remember. His legacy, rather than his death, was what was important here.