Wasting Dark (Book 1) [ON HOLD]

[1] Worth a Damn

"Confusion is a word we have invented for an order which is not yet understood."

-Anon.

The girl woke with a start. She was lying on a small bed, in some form of loose nightwear, with her ninja suit and headband folded neatly at a nearby table. She blinked slowly, rubbing her temple and groaning, as an aching headache began to pound.

Did she recall who the hell she was, during her "coma"? It seemed not.

She was still completely clueless.

Following basic etiquette, she slipped from the sheets, and put on her cleaned clothes, which now smelled of lavender. The girl gave a flicker of a smile at the scent. It calmed her; as if she'd somehow smelled it before...

She shook her head abruptly, and tied her headband. She then approached the small window in the room. Looking out, the view was a sandy courtyard, which had battle lines marked on it.

Battle lines. Why was that important?...

She had no time to ponder, as there was a sudden knock at her door, which scared the living daylights out of her.

"Come in," she called out, although still mightily confused at the whole situation. Kakashi entered, with what appeared to be a concerned look on his face.

It was hard to see much beyond his navy mask.

"I'm glad to see that you're awake," he muttered. "I'm sorry... uh... what is your name?"

"I don't know," the girl said, with a frown.

"Of course," Kakashi sighed, "they told me you had memory loss." He put a hand to his forehead, and let out another deep breath. The girl did not react, and merely watched him.

After he pulled his hand down his face, with an exaggerated groan, he fixed his gaze on the brunette, who was simply looking at him silently.

"You remember nothing? Nothing at all?" He asked.

"I thought that was what memory loss was?" The girl shot back, unaware of her unintended sarcasm. Then she sighed as well, "No. I remember nothing, except that I had to tell you that."

Kakashi looked in deep thought for a second, before saying, "Come. We have to introduce you to the Hokage."

"Hokage what?" The girl asked. God, she was annoyingly blunt.

"Just come," Kakashi sighed. He began to walk, and the girl followed, briefly noting that the corridors were nicely decorated with intricate patterns.

Once they stopped, and Kakashi was knocking on a door, the girl finally had time to notice the wall designs. One of them in particular caught her curiosity. Her electric eyes fixed upon a large drawing of a perfect circle with detailed illustrations of nine specific drawings.

One of them was the same symbol engraved on her headband. The girl lifted a pale finger, and steadily traced the insignia.

What does it mean? she briefly wondered. The brunette was lifted from her thoughts when there was a cough. She turned to see Kakashi gesturing for her come in. She dropped her digit back to her side, and walked into the room.

The space was grand, and had several large tapestries covering all four walls. The girl stared at them in wonder, her eye mesmerized by each little swirl, curve and tiny shape, some which had no name.

"You like them?"

The girl whipped her head around to the source of the voice, where she found herself looking at a man dressed in important looking clothing.