The New Reality

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Koshuu grit his teeth in the dimly lit tunnel. He looked at Chiisai and then to Kakashi. His gaze was hard, his posture confident. The man had no idea what was happening, but that didn't mean he was naive to the situation.

"Go ahead and kill me," Koshuu said. The man tightened his grip on Koshuu.

Well, Kakashi had to hand it to him, the man had guts.

Chiisai's eyes were wide as they flickered to Kakashi, and she shook her head. Around her, his hounds bared their teeth at the enemy.

A small trail of blood trickled down Koshuu's throat, and Chiisai immediately stepped forward, extending her arm out.

"Wait!" She said. "I'll come."

The ninja turned his attention to Chiisai, and Koshuu shook his head. The ninken staid back, but their bodies were alert, ready to spring at a moment's notice.

"I'm no fool," the man said. "I know who the copy ninja is. Call off your hounds, and shut that eye of yours."

Kakashi held his hand up, and his ninken trotted back to him.

In a flash, Kakashi appeared behind the masked man and thrust his chidori into his back. The kunai fell out of his hand and hit the ground next to Koshuu's feet.

But in reality, the man had simply fallen backwards, unconscious, and Kakashi had then yanked his headband down, the genjutsu complete.

Chiisai ran to Koshuu, and the two collided as she crushed him in a hug.

Koshuu paused, and slowly, put his arms around her.

She pulled away and jabbed her finger in his chest, saying, "Don't ever get kidnapped again, you idiot! You almost died!"

Emotions flooded him at seeing Chiisai with Koshuu, but he swallowed them down, locking them tightly in his heart.

"Lesson learned," Koshuu said. He glanced down at the body behind him. "What...just happened? Is the leaf under attack?"

Kakashi tapped his headband and said, "Genjutsu. Where's Mizuki?"

"She's being a badass and fighting three ninja at once, while I'm getting kidnapped," he said. Koshuu picked up the kunai, and his gaze flickered back to Chiisai. "I'm starting to think that this has something to do with you, which sounds crazy, because you're not a ninja."

Chiisai said, "It's a long story, and I'm so sorry I got you involved in this. Kakashi," she said, turning to him, "you need to help Mizuki. I can't...she can't die because of me."

"She knows the stakes," Kakashi said. "And she entrusted you to me."

Chiisai shook her head, and she strutted toward Kakashi. "She's old, and a medic-nin first. And she has no idea what the stakes are!"

He sighed and turned towards the darkness, watching, listening. Finally, he looked back at her and said, "She was at your sealing. Lord Third had you under watch the entire time."

She took a step back, and her eyebrows furrowed. "What? That doesn't make sense. She...she knew this whole time?" There was betrayal and hurt in her tone. "I don't...I don't remember her."

Koshuu pocketed the kunai and said, "Knew what? What's going on?"

Kakashi ignored him and replied, "She gave me orders not to come back for her, Chiisai. You understand?"

She was clearly in turmoil, and she took a deep breath, shaking her head. Finally, with tears in her eyes, and hands in fists, she looked up at Kakashi and nodded.

Good.

"Alright," he said. "Let's go."

"Right," Pakkun nodded. The ninken nodded and moved on either side of Chiisai and Koshuu, with Kakashi at the head.  Some of the ninken glanced up at Chiisai, clearly curious, and some wagged their tails. Together, the group of them headed into the darkness.

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"What the hell is going on?" Was the first thing to come out of Koshuu's lips.

Chiisai jogged down the tunnel, her steps echoing off the walls. Kakashi's ninken trotted beside her, with Kakashi at the lead.

"I have a special ninja skill, though I'm not a ninja, and some bad people found out," she said. Her legs trembled, already exhausted, but she kept on, fighting the nausea in her throat and the throbbing in her stomach.

Koshuu kept in step with her and replied, "I've known you for three years and I'm just now learning this?"

"It's complicated," she struggled to say.

"Clearly! And those scars- are they real?"

Her hand went to her exposed stomach. "No," she breathed hard, "I just like practicing with make up."

"I'm serious, Chiisai. What happened to you? It looks like you were tortured!"

"Look, the less you know, the better."

Kakashi said, "She's right, you know."

"This is insane! Does the Hokage know what's going on? Are you okay?" Koshuu asked.

"I'm sure she does," Chiisai said. "And I'll be okay as long as everyone stays alive."

They followed Pakkun and Kakashi, and the tunnel turned into carved steps. Chiisai's thighs burned as they made their way up inside the mountain. Days of not being able to keep food down finally caught up with her, and she stopped, panting hard. Her legs began to shake, and she cursed herself for being so weak.

She found herself dry heaving, and her eyes watered as she bent over and puked on the compact ground.

The ninken paused, looking back at her.  Koshuu rubbed her back as she braced her hand in the wall in front of her.

Finally, she was done, and she wiped her mouth and straightened. "I'm fine," she forced out, even though she was a breath away from a melt down.

Kakashi crouched in front of her and said, "Get on."

"I'm fine," she said again.

"No, you're not," the two men said at the same time. Their eyes met, and their gazes held.

"You haven't kept any food down in five days," Kakashi added. "At this rate, you'll pass out, and neither of us want that to happen."

She hesitated, and Koshuu looked between the two them. Finally, she nodded and wrapped her arms around his neck, burying her face into his shoulder. She hadn't realized the sheen of sweat on her skin until now.

They continued on, jogging up the carved stairs and down the next tunnel.

And then, he came to a stop. Everyone followed suit, and Koshuu breathed hard as Pakkun sniffed the air.

"There's someone down here, behind us. Not human."

They all listened, but there was no noise coming from up ahead. Pakkun turned, and the rest of the ninken took their stance around Koshuu, Kakashi, and Chiisai.

Soft paws padded up the stairs, and dark fur shined in the low llight. Chiisai furrowed her brows and said, "Tori? How the hell did you get here?"

The cat sat down in front of them.

Then, he spoke.

"I've been looking everywhere for you," Tori said.

Koshuu frowned. "You never told me you had a ninneko," he said to Chiisai.

She shook her head. "I don't. I thought. Is this real?"

Kakashi gently set Chiisai down. Her legs wobbled, and Koshuu put his arm around her.

Tori tilted his head and said, "I had orders not to talk, but that's recently changed. I'm sorry for the deceit, Chiisai."

"I thought there was something odd about you," Kakashi said. He turned his head back to Chiisai and asked, "Where did you get him again?"

Her face paled. "Itachi."

In a flash, Kakashi had the cat by the neck, and slammed him against the wall. The cat grunted, but didn't retaliate.

Koshuu, still processing, said, "You knew Itachi? As in Uchiha?"

"What do you know?" Kakashi growled. "And how long have you been in contact with him?"

"I was given to Chiisai to look after her. Itachi sends a bird every year to see how she's doing, nothing else." His eyes glowed in the darkness as he shifted his gaze to Chiisai. "He sent one right after he made contact with you."

Tori landed on his feet as Kakashi released him and turned to Chiisai. "He made contact with you?"

Chiisai struggled to process what was happening. She slowly replied, "My father drew him out- that piece of Itachi's chakra. He-he helped me escape." She paused, and then asked, "Tori, you've been able to talk this whole time?"

He nodded, and his eyes held sadness. Chiisai didn't know what to make of it, and she rubbed her head, fighting against the headache growing in the back of her mind.

Kakashi ran his hands over his face. His eye flickered back to the ninneko as he said, "What are your orders?"

"He told me to get her to safety, and that she needed to know that she's more powerful than she thinks she is."

"Do not tell me he gave you an inspirational speech," she said. Her eyebrows flattened. Her headache grew worse, and she winced, squeezing her eyes shut.

"No," Tori shook his head. "he's saying that Kuroi is more powerful than what you think-"

"Something's wrong," Pakkun interrupted. The other ninken tensed, and their eyes flickered to the people in front of them.

Kakashi suddenly grabbed his head and staggered, colliding with the tunnel wall. His ninken came to his aid, and as Chiisai reached for him, Kuroi pulled out the kunai he had pocketed and hurled it into Tori's side.

"No!" Chiisai whirled to Kuroi, but his expression was like nothing she had seen before.

She recognized the stiff posture, the stance- it was her father in Koshuu's body.

"I told you," he said, voice low, "I'd take away everything that you love."

Her eyes widened as Kakashi straightened, turning to her. His fingers curled around her arm, and he leaned in, his breath hot in her ear like a kiss. "I will make you suffer."

Pakkun and the ninken were quick to react, and their jaws clamped around Kakashi and Koshuu's limbs. Chiisai sank to her knees, and tears welled in her eyes as she scooped up Tori.

"You need to get out of here," Tori said, his voice weak. "You're not safe."

"He's right," Pakkun said, his voice muffled. "Run!"

She squeezed her eyes shut and rose to her feet. Her knees wobbled, but she grit her teeth, forcing herself to stand. Then she looked back, saying, "I'm going to fix this. All of this!"

And then she ran.

She didn't make it far. Her body was too tired, her energy spent, and her mind was reeling about what had happened within the last hour.

Her seal was broken, and her father was on the loose with her chakra. Apparently he could take over minds during sleep or wakefulness, meaning there was no time left- she was too late.

And Mizuki and Tori had been sent into her life to watch over her, and she hadn't known for seven years, hadn't even realized it. And now Mizuki was probably dead, and Tori was growing weaker by the minute.

"Why didn't you tell me?" she said, looking down at her cat. Her beautiful, fuzzy, beloved cat who could talk, who had always had the ability, who had been working for Itachi this entire time.

The past six years of her life- had they all been a lie?

"Itachi forbade it. I'm...I'm sorry, Chiisai." His large eyes blinked up at her.

"Shh, it's okay. You'll be okay," she said, stroking his fur.

"You're a good human, you know. You took good care of me."

Tears spilled and landed on his dark fur. "And I'm going to keep taking good care of you, alright? So no more past tense." Her breath tasted of bile, and her muscles were too weak, and everything around her was unraveling.

But Tori- no, she couldn't lose him. Not like this. If anything had been constant in her life, it had been him.

"I'm...I'm really glad Itachi chose you as my human," he said. "I...Wanted to tell you so many things."

She scratched his head and smiled. "I'm really glad too. I don't...I don't really know how to talk to a ninneko. But you're still my Tori, and I love you so much."

"I know, you... tell me every day."

He smiled, and winced, and Chiisai pressed her hand to his wound. "You'll be okay," she said. "You're gonna be fine." But the blood continued to seep from the torn skin, and it wasn't slowing down.

Tori didn't respond, the more tears fell as she pulled him close. "You're going to be okay," she said.

Her breathing was hard, and her mind was in a haze. A repetitive thudding noise echoed in her mind, and she blinked, noticing the bottom of a cane, and a white robe.

Everything you love is gone.

"Grab her," a low voice said. "Hatake can't be far behind."

And everyone you cherish has been destroyed.

Tori slid from her grasp, and she blinked up to see a white mask with a green stripe at the top. Her body gave out, and firm, gloved hands wrapped themselves around her.

Your time has come to an end in this world.

She turned her head, and saw Tori try to stand, to come after her. Her vision blurred, and she struggled to reach for him, to grab him. If he was going to die, she wasn't going to leave him alone.

"Stop," she whispered. "Please."

I told you I would make you suffer, Small Crow, and this is only the beginning.

Her body went limp, and everything faded to black.


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