Just A Kid

Part 4

You crawl over to the tent's opening. You smile a bit as you watch Kakashi holding back Naruto and Sakura holding back Sasuke, so they don't kill each other. "But I'm fine, aren't I?" you say to yourself as you look down. You crawl back to where you were earlier.

"Ha! I'm fine!" you say, out loud. You sigh and lie down on some blankets. You decide to close your eyes, just for a few minutes. The next thing you know, you are fast asleep, underneath the blankets. Kakashi walks into the tent to check up on Araile.

"Now where did she go?" Kakashi wondered to himself as he scanned the tent. His gaze fell on a big lump of blankets. "I thought so,” Kakashi said as he laughed to himself. Kakashi then returns outside, hoping that while he was gone, Naruto wouldn't have done anything stupid.

You wake up, panting hard. Your eyes narrow as you look around the darkened tent. A burning sensation suddenly erupts from your forehead. You give a small cry and put a hand over your forehead. It was burning hot, as if it was on fire. "What’s going on?" you whisper, now very scared. White-hot pain racks through your body. You flinch. Your tail twitches as your forehead continues to burn. "What’s happening to me?" you cry out. Your mind suddenly goes blank. You can hear a voice in your mind as your body goes limp.

"Ah, finally, a body that is worthy of my control!" the voice said, laughing.

"Who are you?” you whisper. The voice laughed again.

"I am Ishimaru, the demon within the symbol".

"The demon within the..." you trail off. "That’s right. The demon within the symbol" the voice said again. You could tell that it was a male voice, and very powerful.

"Now, lets see what this body can do" the voice said. You start to pant as a new sensation races through your body. You begin to rock back and forth, back and forth.

"Hey, Araile-chan, are you alright? I heard you cry out,” a voice says from the opening to the tent. You look up to see Naruto standing there. Your eyes suddenly went blank as you stood up. "Hey, Araile? Yoo-hoo, Earth to Araile-chan!" Naruto says as he enters the tent, but stops as you growl.

Before Naruto can do anything, you lunge at him, snarling. Naruto falls back as you lunge out of the tent. You look around. "AAHH! Kakashi-sensei! Something's wrong with Araile-chan!" Naruto cried as he ran towards a group of people. Everybody looks at either Naruto or you.

"Lets get out of this place, shall we?" Ishimaru says. You again feel your body not respond to you. You snarl as you turn away. You start walking, faster and faster, until you begin to run.

Trees whip past you as you run with demonic speed. You suddenly skid to a stop as you stare at someone standing in your way. Your amber eyes, now a dull purple, narrow slightly. The person raises his hands as he pulls out some shrewikan. "Ah, its the Copy Ninja, Hatake Kakashi. I've heard so much about you" Ishimaru says, using you as a mouthpiece.

"What have you done with Araile!" Kakashi shouted. Your tail twitches as Ishimaru grins, making you grin as well.

"Answer me!" Kakashi yells again, now angry.

"Done? Why, she's right here" Ishimaru hisses. You growl in reply. "Now, my dear, lets see what you can do" Ishimaru says in your mind. You snarl and run at Kakashi. You ram into Kakashi and fly back. Since you are small for your age, it doesn't really hurt Kakashi.

You, on the other hand, get the most damage. Every time you are thrown back, you weaken more and more. As you get up, another sensation fills your mind. Your eyes widen in surprise.

You snarl as you clutch your head. You growl as you ram your head against a tree trunk. "Attack him! Attack him I say!" Ishimaru demands. You growl and ram your head again into the same tree. This continues until sunrise. You, exhausted beyond belief, finally collapse. Kakashi calmly walks over to your body, but stops as you stir. You struggle to sit up.

As you sit up, you look around; your eyes back to their normal colour. Your eyes, now half opened, gaze at Kakashi. Your body suddenly goes rigid again as you fall into darkness.

Your ear twitches as you listen to someone talking nearby. There seem to be some other people talking as well. You quicken your breathing as you open your eyes. Your vision is blurred a bit, so you sit up and rub your eyes. Your tail twitches as a loud voice is heard from nearby. Wait, not nearby, almost...beside you. You look around, confused. As you look around, you can see a group of people sitting around a fire. You blink as tears form at the sides of your eyes.

"Hey, Araile-chan is awake!" somebody shouts. You look up and see somebody walking over to you. Your tail twitches as a boy sits beside you. "I heard what happened" the boy said. You blink as you recognize his voice, but yet, you couldn't tell who he was.

"Huh?" you say, looking at him. The boy looks at you and puts his hand on your shoulder. Then, it hits you, hard. Your memory comes flooding back.

You remember first seeing Kakashi...the house in Konoha that gave you safety...the kunai knife you cut yourself with...the ninjas...finding Kakashi and his team...the symbol...Ishimaru. "Sasuke!" you cry out as you fling yourself on him, crying into his chest. Sasuke holds you as he comforts you.

"Well, I think we should give Sasuke and Araile a little time alone, now shall we?" Kakashi says as he hurries Sakura and Naruto away from the campsite.