Sakura and I were waiting for Sasuke and Naruto to return home. Tsunami set plates on the table as I helped her. Sakura sighed. “Now they’re both late.” She complained. “I wouldn’t have expected that from Sasuke-kun…” I shot her a look, and she stiffened and nodded.

We heard the door open, and Sasuke and Naruto appear in the doorway. Sasuke is supporting Naruto, and they slowly limp through the doorway. “What have you been up to? Tazuna asks. “You look like something the cat dragged in.”

“Heh.” Naruto smiles, “We both made it. We climbed all the way to the top.”

“Good.” Kakashi states, “Now we move on. Starting tomorrow, you’re both bodyguards for Tazuna.”

“Alright!” Naruto exclaims, attempting to fist pump. He unbalances them both, causing Naruto and Sasuke to fall down.  I sense Sakura about to get up and fawn over Sasuke, but then she presses her lips together and remains seated.

“You are such a loser!” Sasuke exclaims, irritated. Then he seems to notice that Sakura didn’t come to his aid. Hn. That’s strange… but it’s nice not to have her obsess over me for once. They get up, sitting down at the table.

 Sakura hands a plate to… Naruto. I shoot my eyebrows up. She’s really making an effort. Then she hands one to Sasuke as well, and we begin to eat.  “In a few more days, the bridge will be finished.” Tazuna informs us. “I have you to thank for that.”

“You’ve all done great, but you’ve still got to be careful!” Tsunami fears.

Inari bursts out, yelling and complaining. Naruto yells at him and insults him. I do nothing to stop it. I tried the gentle approach. I set the nail into place. Now he needs a couple of blows to hammer it into place.

Inari goes crying outside. I help with the dishes and go upstairs to Sakura and my room. I get dressed in my sleeping clothes, not even bothering to cover the bandage wrapped cuts on my arm with a jacket like I usually do.

 I hear Sakura enter the room quietly. She slides the door shut and gets dressed. I’m facing away from her, sitting on the windowsill and facing the sea. I have my songbook open, reading some of the lyrics I’ve written over the years.

I sense Sakura about to get in her bed, then hesitating. She pads quietly over to me, peering over my shoulder at my song book. I snap it shut before she could see anything. “It’s rude to look at something without being given permission.” I say coldly.

“Oh. Alright then. Can I look at your song book?” She asks.

“No.”

“Huh? Why not?” She questions.

“Because I said so.” I reply.

“Why’d you say so?”

“You aren’t going to drop this, are you?”

“Nope!”

“It’s kind of like my journal. All my thoughts and feelings are laid bare into every song. It’s my only way to express my emotions.” I explain.

“Hmm… So, can I see it?”

“NO!” I shout in exasperation.

“Alright, Alright, calm down!” She giggles. I hesitate, then smile at her as well. “I was just teasing. If you don’t want to show me, don’t.” She climbs into bed, but I stay on the windowsill. “Are you going to bed now?” She asks, already rolling over.

“I will in a bit,” I say, waving her off. Of course, I had no intention of doing so. I haven’t slept in the longest time.

“Alright. Goodnight Keira-chan.”

“Goodnight, Sakura-chan.”

THIRD P.O.V

“Can I talk to you?” Kakashi asks, walking up to Inari. He sits down next to Inari. “Naruto can e a little… harsh, sometimes. But he doesn’t hate you. Your grandfather told us what happened. To your father. You probably don’t know this, but Naruto also grew up without a father. In fact, he never knew either of his parents. And he didn’t have a single friend in our village.”

“Hm?” Inari asks.

“Still… I’ve never seen him cry… sulk… or give up. He’s always eager to jump in. He wants to be respected. That’s his dream. And he’ll put his life on the line for that in a heartbeat. My guess is… he just got tired of crying. And he decided to do something about it.” Kakashi explained slowly.

“Oh… hm…” Inari thought.

“Even though he’s young, and still learning, he knows what it means to be strong.  Like your father did. I think he knows better than all of us what you’re going through. What he said earlier? As cruel as it sounded, he’s probably told himself that a thousand times.”

Inari nodded slowly. “What about Keira-chan? I expected her to defend me then, but she stayed silent. Why?” He asked.

“Ah, Keira. I honestly can’t tell you much about her. I know she has felt pain. Deep, terrible pain that none of us will ever understand. It was so great of a pain that she felt the need to inflict physical harm on herself to escape her mental and emotional pain. Yes, she cuts. But despit this, or maybe even because of this, she has a keen sense for situations such as this. She knew what you needed to hear to help you get over your father’s death. The first time she talked to you, let me guess. She helped you feel less abandoned, less sad and guilt-ridden. She set you up to be able to accept what you’re hearing tonight.”

“Yeah?” Inari asked. “But why? How does she know?” He asked.

Kakashi sighed. “My guess? She was forced to grow up very quickly. Did you know that she arrived at our village when she was five years old? She had no parents with her, and tried to sneak into our village unnoticed. Under interrogation, she was forced to tell us enough so we could admit her into the village.”

“What did she tell you?” Inari asked fearfully.

“That she’s never had a home. She’s travelled around, each village kicking her out. Never had a friend, someone who loves her, someone to protect her.”

Suddenly, a voice sounded  right behind them. “And you know what’s worse than that? Never having someone to protect.”

KEIRA’S P.O.V

I dropped down from my window, listening to Kakashi’s speech.

“She’s never had a home. She’s travelled around, each village kicking her out. Never had a friend, someone who loves her, someone to protect her.” Kakashi  said.

I decided to let my presence be known. . “And you know what’s worse than that?” I asked, “Never having someone to protect. Not having anyone to love, any reason to live. You’re just… there. No one glances at you except to glare. No one gives you anything but insults and abuse. Eventually… I thought that was the reason to my existence. To bring others pleasure from my pain.”

They stare at me in shock. I can tell that Kakashi is rapidly processing this information. “I eventually learned… when you reach out to someone, you lower your guard, giving them a chance to slip a knife between your ribs. So I didn’t reach out.  I shut myself out from everybody. I thought I was protecting myself from the bad… but in reality, I was blocking out the good.”

I begin to walk away. “But you know what? I eventually realized… I was just being a coward. To scared of myself, my own emotions, to take a risk. I was a naïve little kid to think that that would get rid of all the pain… al the anger… doubt, hurt, fear. You have to accept those emotions, take life as it comes. Not shut it all out with your pain.”

I crouch, ready to jump away. “It took me twelve years to realize this… I want to protect you from those years of self inflicted torture.” I leave, jumping back into my room. It had taken all my courage to say that to them. I was mentally, emotionally, and physically exhausted. I lay down, determined to finally sleep. And I did.

_____________________________________

Wow. I am good.

I finally have solid WIFI! (T.T) These are tears of joy! Got home from my grandma's at ten fourty five. And you know what I immidiately did? Write all you guys a chapter! I don't know about you, but I am proud of myself!

@_Scribble_ and @massiveblckhole (because I'm sure you'll be reading this) Thank you! You guys are my number one supporters!

Also to my new followers, thank you! It means the world to me! 

Okay... maybe that whole thank you rant is brought on because I'm exhasted and not thinking straight... (z_z) but still! Thank you!

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