Missing Kunoichi (Book 2 of MK Series)

A Farewell Kiss

Black, a blackness so black I thought I was staring at my own heart. Nothing else could be so black and so empty. Except for hell. I couldn't feel. Nothing. There was nothing. Nothing but darkness but the darkness made me think of those onyx orbs I've grown to love and longed to see again. Again? It wasn't Kakashi I was thinking of, no, it was Obito.

I'm tired. So, so tired. This life has been full of so much turmoil, so much hate and so much sadness. Death litters the ground beneath my feet, blood saturating the soil there's no need for the earth to be watered. Countless lives have been sacrificed for me. Countless lives have been taken by me. It's time for death to take me. Allow me solace in my own death. Allow me comfort in my own death. Allow me peace in my own death.

Open arms would wait for me, Death standing and waiting with the knowing grin of acceptance. I didn't deserve any other outcome but this. Death would envelop me and comfort me with its darkness. I could live in darkness forever. I could deal with the cold realization that I was forever alone. A creaking noise hit my ears and I tried to move but I was just so tired I couldn't find the strength move.

A hammering, deep within my chest, vibrates to my core. The will to live still burns, faintly. I need something to fan the fire and make it burn brightly, but what could make my Will of Fire burn again? Faces flash before my eyes and I long to see them all again.

Minato
Kushina
Shisui
Zabuza
Hiruzen
Asuma
Jirayia
Itachi
Obito

Countless others.

I was startled when I hit something solid and my eyes sprang open. The field. Why here? Why would I be here, in the heart of spring and flowers in full bloom? I took a deep breath as I closed my eyes, the smell was warm and soft. I stayed on my back and peered up at the sky, the sun hidden behind the full tree, letting me hide in the shade. This couldn't possibly be hell. A breeze brushed my skin and I let my eyes flutter closed again.

The tingle of electricity pricked my skin and my eyes flashed open. If lightning had a smell, it filled my senses and I sprang to my feet. I twirled around in a circle and stopped the second I saw the blonde hair and crystal blue eyes.

"Hime," I lost it, and while I'd blame it on the hormones, I wasn't very well pregnant in dreamland. Deadland? I must be somewhere in between for this to be possible.

I threw my arms around his neck and buried my nose in the crook of his neck, "Minato," I sobbed.

"Now, now, that's enough of that," I could hear the smile on his face, the lightness to his voice.

I pulled away and wiped my face as I straightened up to look at my father, "My father," I whispered.

Minato smiled again, tilting his head like I often do and spoke, "You're more beautiful than I could've ever imagined. Just like your mother." What an odd thing to say, really, he didn't love my mother, or I assume he didn't, which is wrong of me. "You're probably wondering about that, aren't you?" Minato gave a chuckle and I frowned.

"I have a lot of questions, and I'm sure now isn't the time, or maybe it is. I suppose I have all the time in the world now. Stuck in purgatory. A fitting ending for me." My voice was cold and hollow, empty, and lifeless, just like me.

"Don't think like that, that's not how I raised you-"

"You didn't raise me!" I snapped, "You left me, just like everyone else." I couldn't help it. I felt alone and abandoned, lost, and unwanted.

Minato looked at me softly, even softer than before, "You have every right to be angry, at all of us, but please, at least hear me out." At my silence, Minato sat beneath the tree and I followed him, sitting in front of him. "The moment I laid eyes on your mother I was in love," his voice was light and full of emotion, "her hair was a little shorter than yours is now, her eyes shining with a fire so bright it was blinding. You look so much like her," Minato looked to the shaded tree for a moment.