Hidden In The Leaf

Part. 18..

....New encounters of the old kind...

........................HAIKU(18)..................

WE ARE ALL DAMAGED

BUT BECAUSE OF HER

I AM BEAUTIFULLY SEWN

-Christopher Pointdexter-

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"It's all right. Just breathe- yeah......that's it!". His voice echoed a kind of calmness she couldn't quite pin to a certain point even if the extra effort was given. Blurry, the sight of multicolored leaves swayed wildly amidst the cooling morn's wind as it too, assaulted her exposed skin, and bringing along with it an awkward awareness to her immediate state of undress.

"Hey, it's going to be okay, trust me".. This towering stranger attached to that airy, disembodied voice spoke up some more, for gently, he held both of her small shoulders. Warmth, the lost fervent kind, the kind she had so long been with out, began to seep beneath flawless peach kissed skin; a sensation she felt flowing through the hardened pads of his rough, callous fingers.

"Where- where am I?" Confused and thoroughly bewildered, wondering eyes soaked in the wild lush greenery, as scents of the muddied earth and a soft lingering hint of tobacco drifted through flaring nostrils. A migraine, yes . She could already feel the tell tale signs of an upcoming migraine, rapidly growing into fruition as with the piercing brightness of her surrounding.

"I'd say we're still in the land of fire, but not quite far from home K-Kushina-sama"......

His beard, said woman noticed through that still foggy haze encompassing her vision, seemed unkept, and his eyes, were indeed a dark enhancer to his gruff baritone. With his back and chest now bare, her familiar stranger gave his shirt in offering and quite willingly, Kushina took hold of it. Having a great need to keep private that which needed to be kept private, she donned the large item just as her vision eventually evened itself out.

Long, luscious, fire kissed mane hung liberally down her now covered back where as eyes, a pleasant midnight blue swallowed him whole for the first time in years. "SARUTOBI A- ASUMA?" She shrieked in a manner both frightening and gleeful. "When-how- you're so- so...... so!-"

"Grown?" Young Sarutobi supplied a bit nonchalantly as the chills of early morning's wind drew gooseflesh across his naked arms. "And very dead- at least I used to be"

"We-" Kushina corrected almost instantly in a tone that held within it more concern, than forlorn.
The evidence of these changes made them selves clear as the creases between her crimson brows furrowed deeper, transitioning from one perplex emotion to another.

Their strained gazes caught and time it felt, ceased but for one lengthy second as both late Shinobies tried to gather their thoughts; endeavored to their best in comprehending their unforseen existences. Around them and through the thickening puzzlement, the chirps of unknown birds, many insects alike blended with the sounds of rustling leaves and lashing tree branches; all in creation of one of nature's many harmonious symphonies. And together they played a key role in the overshadowing of combined thoughts.

"It seems im no where close to figuring this out than you are right now. But one thing's for sure"

" And what's that?" She questioned skeptically; a bit suspiciously expectant already, of his unspoken answer.