Impossible to Foretell

Chapter 11: Named Squirrels

Here I was, and it was the second time in as many days that I was wishing that I could cry but no longer knew how. The creek burbled next to me, and I turned to it.

"How is it that your water moves so freely? I can barely shed a tear. Can you tell me how you do it?"

The creek didn't answer; it just kept on flowing by, completely indifferent to my presence.

Okay, now I was officially starting to go crazy. I was talking to streams. What was next, was I going to start feeding all of the squirrels and giving them names while I was at it? Oh, this here is my little friend Billy and the one next to him is George. Yep, I was definitely going insane.

I stared at the creek until it was dark out. A single hoot from an owl was enough to stir me from my reverie. I should probably head home and maybe try to fall asleep like Kakashi had wanted. It would probably do me some good to catch up on a little sleep. But first I decided that I'd do the stretches for my hip out here since it was so calm and relaxing. I was just about finished with them when I heard the sound of a twig snapping.

With a sigh, I turned around expecting to see Kakashi there to yell at me for not being in bed, but that was not the face that I met.

"Oh my, Kaiyo, look at how big you've grown." He smirked at me as my blood turned to ice in my veins, "How old are you now, thirty?"

"Thirty-three. What the hell are you doing here?"

He was in his mid to early sixties with light brown eyes and hair that was pulled back into a short ponytail at the base of his head. His body was still in peek physical condition, and his face remained boyishly attractive despite his age.

Kanaye smile at me, "Why, you'll be coming with me, of course."

I spat on the ground at his feet, "Like I'd ever go anywhere with a conniving bastard like you."

"I won't be giving you a choice." He stepped forward and my knees locked with fear. I couldn't move an inch. He brought his hand up and tucked my hair behind my ear and I almost threw up with the contact. "You've gotten so beautiful," he cooed while leaning closer to my ear. "You look so much like your mother, and I could never get enough of Nori."

My stomach twisted itself in knots in pure disgust, but I couldn't move. Me, a seasoned, war-hardened ninja, frozen in fear.

"You'll be coming with me, lovely."