Grasping at the Sky

Chapter 18: Perception

Chapter Text

The world had become fuzzy and incoherent to her. Up might as well have been left for all she knew, as her state of awareness dimmed to nothing more than a whisper. Her vision was dark but she wasn't sure she'd closed her eyes and sounds seemed to echo in disjointed fragments that spanned the time of the universe. After a time, voices floated around her, still not really recognizable and hanging around her like fog.

"Kira!" Panic, loud, abrasive. Something prodded at her leg and the pain that had been nearly drowning her splashed over her again. She gasped.

"No, don't take it out. It's the only reason she's still alive." Calm, smooth, wise in tone. The prodding stopped and she nearly sighed in relief. "Sai, can you make a transport?"

"Yes." Even but with a restless undertone.

"I'll take her." The first again, calmer now but still abrasive. Something is around her, lifting her up, and the ground is gone. There's a rushing wind all around her and something warm is pressed against her side. It stings, but she likes the heat of it.

Kira is looking at the stars when the wind stops and she knows there are voices but she has trouble hearing them. Has trouble seeing the people they belong to. She was on something hard and stiff and the warmth at her side was gone. Fingers ran over her hair and there's a voice over the rest of them, hard and clear like before.

"Just hold on, you idiot." Something about that made her want to smile. Her lips twitched to do so but something drags at her.

She was floating in and out of her own vision, time slipping around her with smells and words that she can't truly grasp. When it finally stopped she was staring upward, vision still blurred and head still cotton filled.

Red. She saw red, and she was gone.

.

.

.

She woke to the sound of birds singing. Kira smiled sleepily and buried her face into her pillow for a moment, taking in a deep breath. When she got out of bed, she stretched and wandered over to her closet, passing dozens of pictures on the wall, showing moments in time, friends, family, events. Once dressed she made her way down the stairs of the tattoo parlor and opened the door into the kitchen. Her parents are there to greet her, like almost every day.

Her mom, smiled at her, the brown in her hair just starting to show some silver as she stood straight-backed at the stove.

"Good morning dear, did you sleep well?"

Kira nodded her head, still sleepy and took her seat across from her father. Akio was reading a scroll, most likely a message about his next mission. He scratched at his cleanly shaven chin and then glanced over to her. She quirked an eyebrow, as she knew how much mom hated him reading at the table.

"She's not done cooking yet," he said lamely, but rolled it back up anyway, setting it aside. "It's the start of your last break before you graduate. Less than a year from now and you'll be joining me." He winked at her. "I've put in a good word with the ANBU core. They're impressed with your skills so far."

Kira felt like she had a sun inside of her, lighting up everything as she grinned. Her dad didn't praise her often about her training, wishing instead to simply guide her along. "Thanks dad. I'm so excited, I can't wait."

"It's hard to believe you were once twelve and just stepping foot into that building," her mother mused, coming around the table and setting a plate down in front of both Kira and her dad. She moved back to the stove and was back in a short moment with her own, setting it on the table and sitting down on the chair her father had just pulled out.