"BANG!" "Crack!" "PTUUHH!" Kudo felt his chest cave in as the overwhelming taste of iron splattered into the air, his legs shooting in the opposite direction of his upper body as he was sent sailing through the air.
"TSUNADE!" Shimura Takao barked as he caught Kudo before he could smash through the row of shops. Looking at the bloodied figure with armor cracked at the chest and arms hanging loosely. 'Shit-Shit. She is insane. Isn't this a bit much?!' Takao thought, trying to lay the boy down carefully as wheezing sounds came from him, like a flame about to flicker out.
"Lady Tsunade!" Shizune screamed as she dashed towards Kudo; she sat beside him, her arm glowing with pale green chakra as Ai and Enya finally came to. "How dare you?!" Enya spoke, his Kunai flashing as he charged at Tsunade. Ai had already moved her kunai, aiming at Tsunade's neck.
"I don't care if granduncle was your teacher. I will kill anyone who hurts him." Ai spoke through gritted teeth.
"Calm down, you two! You are no match for her." Takao burst onto the scene, holding their arms. Tsunade's gaze hadn't left Kudo's figure as he lay there, blood all over his chest, his breath sounding like flickering fire. 'What have I done?' Tsunade thought as her hands trembled. In her anger and anguish over her clan, she had inflicted such harm on a boy merely aspiring to live up to the legends of her clan.
As she sorted through what happened, she remembered the red gleam in his eyes. 'Is he an Uchiha?' However, there was no red in the boy's eyes as his gaze was hazy. "Shizune, save him," Tsunade said and then walked away.
"She better!" Ai said as her teary eyes landed on Kudo's injured form. 'Don't die on me, idiot.' Ai hoped as she turned to Enya, whose gaze seemed lost. Enya turned his gaze towards her. "Ai, he won't die, right? I mean, he can't die, right?" Enya said that, his words holding the thread of hope in his heart. "He is gonna be fine," Takao said, his gaze stern.
"Why didn't you do anything, sensei?! You could have prevented this!" Enya barked as his gaze latched onto Takao with bitterness. "Haa, there was nothing I could do. Strong as I am, I am no match for one of the Sannin. I knew she left the village because of traumatic loss, but I had figured she had overcome it. I guess I was wrong. Let's hope what happened won't scar him too deeply." Takao said as he led them away, and they soon escorted Kudo into an inn room where Shizune began intensive treatment on him.
The next day;
'Where am I? What's going on?' Kudo wondered in pitch darkness as he wandered seeking an escape, but slowly the darkness started constricting as it shrank, and eventually wisps of darkness latched onto him, seeking to engulf him; bit by bit, he disappeared beneath the mass of darkness regardless of how hard he screamed and clawed through it. The final eye was soon engulfed as well.
Inside an inn room, filled with the smell of antiseptics, "ARGHHH!!" Kudo woke up screaming, startling Shizune, who was asleep next to him. Kudo tried to sit upright, but he found himself unable to, as he felt bound. "What's going on? Who are you?" his gaze landed on Shizune, who was calming down from the scare.
"Whew," Shizune wiped her non-existent sweat. "My name is Shizune. I serve Lady Tsunade, and I am the one who treated your injuries. So, don't worry; I don't mean any harm, and after a few days of rest you will be on your feet." Shizune spoke quickly, trying to avoid misunderstandings.
Kudo stared at her; he gradually calmed down. "Where is everyone?" Kudo asked, his gaze still weary. Tsunade had almost killed him.
"I will go call them." Shizune swiftly departed, leaving Kudo by himself. In the quiet, he looked down at his bandaged chest and felt the stinging itch in his arms; his gaze finally rested on the armor his mother had gotten him. It was thrown into the corner and still bloodied, as it gave a grim idea of how difficult the situation had been.
"Bang!" The sliding door was slammed open as Ai and Enya burst into the room; seeing him awake, they quickly arrived at his side. "Hey, it's nice to see you alive, you know. Thought we had almost lost you." Enya spoke, his hand trembling; some part of him had wondered if that feeling of loss would have been the same if he had been older when his dad died.
"Welcome back." Ai smiled sweetly, an expression that gave Kudo goosebumps. "Glad to be back." Kudo smiled, though he still looked like a mummy.
"It's nice to see you awake." Takao entered the room, any joyous vibe disappearing as Kudo looked at his so-called sensei; part of him wanted to explode in rage, but he held it in. "Why?!" He barked; if his hand had been visible, it would be clenched in frustration, anger, and revenge.
"I'm sorry. I didn't know she would react like that. I thought that, because of sentiment, while she might be hard on you, she still would have guided you or at least acknowledged that the legacy of her clan is still beating in Konoha. Maybe it might have made her come home." Shimura Takao said; he bowed his head, his words leaving a chasm of silence in the room.
Kudo looked at him, taking a deep sigh. "I will forgive you this once. Only once, because of everything we have been through." Kudo said, his face stern. Ai and Enya couldn't help but reevaluate the minuscule change in him. His eyes no longer had the vastness of possibility and an eagerness to explore instead the were heavy with emotion, dark emotions.
"Am I disturbing?" Tsunade's voice interrupted the atmosphere as she entered with Shizune. Her eyes, unlike her joyous self, were streaming with regret.
Her voice caused Kudo's body to shudder as if it was relieving the torment of that moment, but his eyes were suddenly alive, and they bore straight at his tormentor.
A pair of vivid red scarlet eyes, with a black pupil and a ring bearing a single tomoe, bore down on Tsunade. Ai and Enya stood gob-smacked, and Shimura Takao tensed as he saw the Sharingan in his student.