I woke up to the sound of people talking, two very familiar people talking.
My eyes tore open, light flooded in my vision as I looked to the left from where the sound was coming.
There she was, Yoshino, together with Shikaku-
"What do we do now?!" Yoshino exclaimed in a worried tone.
"Don't worry.. Me and the Elders will take care of everything, you just make sure no one hears of this, alright?" Shikaku said, trying to calm Yoshino down.
Shikaku's ears perked at the sound of me turning head and he looked at me, as soon as our eyes met, a relieved look washed over him.
Yoshino seeing Shikaku look at me, did the same and before I could react, she was hugging me tightly, her tears falling on my shoulder, "Oh Kai! I was so worried out! Are you ok? Does it hurt? Is your eye ok?
Yoshino's tears soaked into my hospital gown as she clung to me, her voice trembling. "You reckless, *reckless* boy! Charging into danger like some… some…"
"Hero?" Shikaku offered dryly, though his usual lazy smirk was absent.
"*Idiot!*" Yoshino snapped, pulling back to cup my face. Her thumbs brushed the bandages over my left eye. "Does it hurt? Can you see?"
I blinked. The world through my right eye was crisp, but the left side was a haze of blurred shapes and muted light. "Sort of. It's… foggy."
Shikaku's shadow stretched across the floor, darker than it had any right to be. "The medic said the cut missed your optic nerve. You'll heal—but that scar's permanent."
Yoshino whirled on him. "And the *other* matter? Those… *creatures* he summoned?"
Before Shikaku could answer, the door slid open. Hiruzen Sarutobi stood framed in the doorway, his Hokage hat casting a shadow over eyes that missed nothing. "Forgive the intrusion. May I speak with the boy?"
Shikaku turned around and looked at Hiruzen, "Lord Third, i am so sorry for taking your time, it's just that the Hokage has to be present during clan events including bloodline limits."
Yoshino did turn around and nodded her head at Hiruzen, but didn't let go of me.
Hiruzen smiled and shook his head, "Not at all, I was still awake anyway doing paperwork, something we both suffer from me."
Shikaku chuckled and voiced his agreement, "That's true."
Hiruzen walked forward to the otherside of the Hospital Bed and placed his hand of my head, "Young man, if you can, please tell me what happened."
Yoshino reluctantly let go of me and wiped her tears and sat down on a nearby chair.
I looked at Hiruzen and nodded and started explaining what happened.
Ten something minutes later.
All three adults were listening intently, as soon as I finished telling what happened, Yoshino stood up in anger and yelled out, "Those filthy fucking bastards, had those wolves not killed them I would've killed them myself!".
Shikaku whistled and Hiruzen chuckled at Yoshino's colorful language.
Of course I didn't tell them about the ten Shadows, I just said that when I was about to be struck by the man, chakra from within me rushed out and I instinctively summoned the wolves.
Hiruzen looked at me and said, "Young man, what happened was certainly shocking, I am proud to have brave young men like you in our Village and academy, those men were Ex-Ninjas, two brothers, they made it to the rank of Genin but due to their low chakra levels, they lost a fight and then retired because of their injuries. They were arrested many times for robbery and other unspeakable acts, but due to them being former ninjas, they always managed to get out. It seems that their Karma caught up with them. Anyways, even if they weren't killed by your summons, they would've received a death sentence anyway, abducting deers from the Nara Clan and severely injuring a family member of the Clan head, if he wasn't hanged to death, the Nara Clan would've killed him."
Shikaku said from the other end of the room, "Most of the Clan elders have already been informed, you'll have to demonstrate it again later if you can. You will have to rest for now, no one shall know of this, even if you trust someone, you don't say a thing to them, we will reveal things when it is the right time. Vultures always target visible and weak preys."
Hiruzen hmmed a agreement at the last sentence, knowing who Shikaku was talking about, "But you need not worry, new bloodlines among Clans are one of the most important things in Konoha, I will have my anbu guard you secretly. You focus on your recovery, it's seems usage of those wolves has had a great strain on your chakra reserves." With that Hiruzen stood up and nodded before walking up to Shikaku, who also stood up and said goodbye, before he left the room with Hiruzen.
Yoshino wiping her tears, came over and sat beside the bed, "Kai... The doctors said you were having fits while you were asleep.. Said you were screaming, Papa! Papa! Baby, tell me what was it? Was it some sort of dream?.."
My eyes widened, the words, Papa! Papa!, were something I hadn't said in a life time.... Really...
Flashback
"Well, ----, Why didn't you eat anything?" My uncle asked as he sat at the driver's seat, looking momentarily at me.
I was seated in my grandfather's lap, he was... A quiet man... A little grumpy at sometimes, but not someone you'd fear.
My father, who was seated in the backseat along with my two aunts, Spoke up, "I am telling you big brother, he just doesn't eat anything good or healthy, look at how skinny he has become! I don't see him studying either, I promised to take him along with his mother and little brother to a trip to Switzerland, looks like it's not gonna happen anytime soon."
My grandpa, looked at down at me and said in a grumpy voice, imitating anger, "Is that true -----? Didn't I tell you that you need to study? Ask your uncle, he didn't study, he may have a good business now, but ask him how much he struggled and worked hard, he wasn't able to study because when he was your age, there weren't as many good schools as there are now. You know my story too don't you?"
My grandpa had ran away from his house to study and get a education, it was a very long time ago, him and my great-grandpa lived in a village, where farming was the staple job of every man.
When my grandpa passed 12th grade, my great-grandpa wanted him to quit studying and take control of their farms.
But my grandpa was determined, he wanted to get an education and improve their state of life.
When my grandpa refused to let him go to college, my grandpa ranaway to his aunt's house, and started going to college and pursued education.
He ended becoming a bank-manager, had 3 sons, 2 of which, who were the most succesful were with me, while the smartest was one was at home, he wasted his potential in women and laziness, which I learned about later in my life.
My grandma was the best or the smartest, she didn't have any former education at all, was completely illiterate, when my grandpa and grandma got married through an arranged marriage, my grandpa hired an tutor so he could learn how to read and write, she never learned how to write.
My uncle hmmed and looked at me, "You know my shop right? Yeah, before all that, I started with a junk of a bike, going house from house, day to night, in heat and cold, fixing and installing electrical appliances, just to earn minimum wage. I would collect faulty bulbs, bring them home, and our entire family, me, your grandpa and grandma, your father, your uncle and your aunt, would sit down at night and fix those bulbs, there were tiny little filament and wires which we had to fix to make them ready for use again, I did that for years, made connections and a good name, then took a loan, refusing to take money from your grandpa, and started the shop. Even when I started it, it didn't start off well, I had to start by selling things for minimum profit to gain regulars, and the store still wasn't going well, but I worked hard and as years passed, my reputation increased, and the store become the biggest electricals shop in the town. Now I have 12 shops, but it all didn't come instantly, if you ask me, I'd rather have lived a life like your grandpa, life wasn't easy when I was still a rookie and struggling." He told his story to me as he looked at the road continuing to drive, a story which I had heard many times.
I wasnt gonna speak up, at that time I was just a shy and timid boy, I rested down my head on the car dashboard and tried to fall asleep.
Moments later, there was a defeaning sound, the last thing I saw was the car drifting off the road before everything blacked out.
When I woke up, two ladies were seating beside me, covered in blood, but not theirs, mine.
Both of them were crying, one was holding a cloth over my head, trying to stop the bleeding, but I didn't feel any pain. Probably because of the adrenaline.
But there was a sight infront of me, deadlier and more terrifying than any, more than any horror movie scene or place I'd ever seen.
My father laid infront of me, his hand completely twisted and broken, white foam coming out of his mouth.
My eyes widened, "PAPA! PAPA!" were the words that came out of me.
It didn't matter that there was a giant piece of glass lodged in my head, what was before me made me forget everything.
I was 7, I was terrified, unsure of what was happening. All I knew was that something was wrong with my dad.
The women tried to console me, telling me that my dad was okay, back then I believed them, I was not different from any other seven year old boy.
The left front tire of the car had burst, uncle lost control of the car and we got derailed from the road.
My father's head and left hand had hit a electricity pole, he died of hemorrhage, dying a quick death, doctors said he died instantly there, a painless death.
Unlike my aunts and grandpa-
----- End of Flashback -----
"Kai! Kai! Are you there!" Yoshino shook me, as I snapped out of my old memories, the memories I could never let go of me, never wanted to either.
"Oh- yes- I.. I just remembered it all again... It was a dream, it was a bad dream... Yet it just felt weirdly real..." I couldn't tell her about my previous life could I?
Yoshino sighed and caressed my cheek, "Oh my sweet little boy, don't worry... It must've been some sort of nightmare."
Shikaku and Hiruzen returned.
Shikaku leaned against the wall and pulled out a cigar, before starting to smoke, he spoke out, "The elders have arranged a training regime and meeting in a week, you rest for now. From now on you will be visited and meet many elders and officials, they will be nice to you, and you also have to be respectful to them, comply with their orders. They want the best for you aswell."
Hiruzen coughed, "Yes, that's right. But Shikaku, this is not the appropriate place to smoke, we have a patient here, let us go outside, I also have work I need your help with at the Hokage tower."
Shikaku groaned, knowing what was ahead, he looked at me and Yoshino and waved before he and Hiruzen took off.
One Week.