Path of The Stars

The moon had come out finally after a long storm, with a red tint to it. The light of the Blood Moon gave everything a slightly eerie look to it. It was an odd night all around, though. 
 At least everything smelled nice. 
 “Nii-San?” 
 “Hm?” he hummed, not really paying attention, but then he looked up from wiping down his kunais, realizing he’d been spoken to. 
 His little brother pointed to the moon. “The moon is red.”
 He turned his face up toward the moon for a quick glance, but then returned to his work. “It’s called the Blood Moon. It’s an omen of change.”
 He was still staring at the moon. “Bad change, or good change?”
 “Well, now that depends on how you view change. All change can have some good, and some bad.”
 “Some changes are just bad though.”
 “Like?”
 “Death.” He glanced at his brother. “It is called the Blood Moon, right? So why is it called the Blood Moon? Because it’s red? Or because it’s bad?”
 “Because it’s red. Don’t think about death, Nii-Chan.” He reached over and ruffled his little brother’s hair. “Change can be good.”
 Something moved through the forest, to his left. He only caught a glimpse of it, but it was white, and loud. The bushes rustled. “Nii-San-?”
 He was already on his feet, creeping toward the movement. “Stay here, Sasuke.” The small clearing they’d set up camp in was surrounded by tall trees and thick bushes, and he was cautious as he brushed past the foliage. 
 There was movement, not that far ahead. Something large and white was moving through the forest, stopping every so often. It only took a moment for him to identify the movement as a horse. That horse would stop every so often and look back, and it took a few minutes of him following the horse before he realized the horse was looking at him.
 Is it leading me? 
 Even with the moon’s light, it was still eerily dark, but the horse was so white, it almost glowed in the dark. It made it easy to follow through the slowly thickening foliage. The horse didn’t stop until it reached a rather large tree, and once it did, it turned to watch him approach, standing stock still as he did. 
 This is not a wild horse. A wild horse would have run by now.
 But this one stood still, seeming as though it was waiting. And then he stepped past a particularly thick, tall tree, and noticed something lying at the horse’s hooves. The horse was standing almost protectively over a small, cloaked figure, sniffing around the body, nudging it. 
 And then he looked closer at the horse, eyes narrowing a bit as he picked out its features.
 “S-Se-Seishiryu!” The little boy, whom he hadn’t even noticed had followed, darted past his brother before he could grab him, and dropped to his knees beside the cloaked figure without a second thought. He was pulling back the cloak as Itachi made his way over. 
 “How did you know it was her?” he asked, kneeling beside his brother.
 “That’s her horse. Who else would be riding Stariyanna?” His voice was so matter of fact, even as he used the corner of her cloak to clear the mud from her face. He froze when clearing the mud away revealed the still bleeding wound above her top, left temple. Blood still covered half her face, but he hadn’t noticed that until he’d uncovered the wound. His hands shook, and he dropped the cloak from suddenly numb fingers. “N-Nii-Chan . . . wh-why is she bleeding?”
 “Go get Tousan, Sasuke.”
 He turned wide, round eyes up to his brother. “B-but-!”
 “Go, now!” He bent closer to examine the wound, and noticed how light her breathing was. Sasuke cannot be here right now. “Go!”
 He jumped to his feet at that command, turned, and bolted into the darkness. 
 Itachi held two fingers under her nose, checking how strong her breath was, before then checking her pulse. Both were weak, and he felt a slight panic when he realized he’d have to check her for other wounds. “Bring Kakashi-San too!” He’d risen his voice to be heard over his brother’s stomping footsteps, hoping he’d hear. “Seishiryu,” he breathed her name out in a sigh, “what happened to you?” 
 The horse, now that he was actually looking, also had blood matted in her coat, and her mane. Where it looked like it had been grabbed. 
 When he checked, her hands were indeed bloody, with one, long, ragged cut across her left palm, and many small cuts across her left wrist and hand. The back of her left hand also had a rather ragged, long cut, and he wondered if this was the result of a penetrative wound, and not a mere cut. He didn’t want to check further, but he took a deep breath, steeled himself, and poked at the wound to discover that, yes, it was a penetrative wound in her left hand. 
 The wound on her head was deep, too, but not too deep. Not deep enough to be fatal. Head wounds always bled the most. She also had several small cuts and scrapes across her face, when he carefully broke more dried mud away. She was wearing a thin, long nightgown that was at one point white, but now was saturated with blood. 
 Someone knelt at his left side, and another across from him over Seishiryu. Kakashi, to his left, took a quick inventory of the injuries he could see and asked, “What do you think? Think she’ll make it?”
 Something about the question made a lump form in his throat. “I . . . I don’t know.”
 Kakashi turned to look at the younger teen, then gave a slight nod, and nudged him out of the way. “I will examine her. You check the perimeter, make sure it’s safe.”
 Gratefully, Itachi stood, tore his gaze from her, and walked away. 
 “He’s unusually soft,” his father commented. 
 “It’s always harder when it’s a kid,” Kakashi said softly. The nightgown was glued to her skin by blood, and he carefully worked to pull it away. He check her legs first, which were also scraped, cut, and bruised, and one thicker, ragged gash on her hip that was also still oozing blood. A wound on her side, her shoulder, and, turning her carefully with the help of Fugaku, several wounds across her shoulders, and one small puncture mark in the center of her upper back. Two, long, straight, deep cuts in a V were scabbed over, probably the only wounds not bleeding. They also looked to be the cleanest, while also the deepest.
 He set her back down gently, sighing. “I’m gonna be honest, it doesn’t look good.”
 Her chest rose and fell with a deep, harsh breath, and her eyes struggled, and managed, to open. Those strangely familiar white eyes were dull and slightly glazed, not the usual bright, almost glowing, perceptive white. Another harsh breath. “K-Kakashi?” Her voice was weak, breathy. 
 “Hey, kid,” he greeted softly. “Do you know where you are?”
 She shook her head. “They’re all dead,” was her answer. “All of them. They’re gone. Papa, Mama’s throat, Big Brother, sisters. . . . They’re gone.” Her eyes cleared slightly, moisture brimming over, making streaks in the mud and blood on her face. “They saved me. Why did they save me? Why me?” Her eyes dipped, almost closing, and it seemed like an effort to keep them open. “They’re all gone. It was her. Katsu. She did this. And yellow eyes. Glowing. Evil. I hate them. I hate them both.” It was definitely an effort for her to breathe now. “Am I . . . am I gonna die?”
 “No,” Itachi butted in, dropping to his knees, before Kakashi could say anything. He didn’t like the sluggish way she looked at him, or the way her white eyes were dull and glassy. “No, you’re gonna be fine. You’ll be okay.”
 “Itachi.” There was relief in her voice then. “Is . . . Sasuke . . . ?”
 “He’s here,” he reassured her. “I can get-?”
 “No.” The answer was firm. Harsh. “I don’t . . . I don’t want him to . . . see me die.” 
 He reached out to touch her cheek. “You’re not going to die. You’re going to be okay.”
 She shook her head, closing her eyes, turned her face away. “I don’t want to be okay. Not without . . . my family.” The last two words were barely audible, and her voice cracked. 
 “Se-!”
 “She’s out,” Kakashi interrupted. “She’s not going to hear you now.”
 “She’s not . . . ?”
 “No. Not yet.” A pause. “Itachi, go get the carrier.” He waited for him to leave, then turned to look at Fugaku. “I’m going to take her back to the village. It’ll be faster if I go by myself. You go to her village. Find out what happened. See if there are any other survivors. But I’m going myself. If she doesn’t get help now, she isn’t going to make it. I didn’t want to say that in front of your sons, but-.” 
 Fugaku’s gaze snapped to the side, locking in on something.
 With a sigh, he stopped talking, then turned his head, eyes immediately catching onto one straggler in the bushes.
 Sasuke stood there, hiding partially behind a tree, peering out with wide, round eyes. He ducked behind the tree as soon as Kakashi turned.
 “Never mind that then,” he said softly. “Sasuke, get back to the camp.”
 After a moment, he heard the retreating footsteps. He shook his head, and slowly began bandaging the wounds he was capable of bandaging. “They’re far too attached to do any good with me, Fugaku. Send them later. They might try to keep up with me, but there’s not enough time.”
 “I’ll keep Itachi here for an extra day, give you a head start. And then I’ll send him back with Sasuke and Mikoto.” 
 “Alright, that’s plenty of time for a head start. Even half a day is enough.”
 “They’ll do more good here preparing for the journey home.”
 A nod. “Hopefully, they’ll listen to that. Those boys are headstrong.” He smiled slightly under his mask. “Wonder where they get that from?” The hand was a little more difficult to bandage, just due to how small she was. “Seven years old, how did she survive this . . . ?”
 “She’s tough,” Fugaku said softly, appraising the small figure before him. “Imagine, watching your family die, escaping from that, and then having the strength to tell what happened, before dying.”
 “I’m not going to let her die.” He said that a little more harshly than he intended. “She’s just a kid. If I can’t save her, then . . . what’s the use? I’ll get her back in time.” 
 “Don’t take it personally if you can’t save her. You heard what she said. She herself doesn’t even want to survive. She might give up on you long before you get her back.”
 “Hm.” He turned his focus inward, pulling his Chakra up from the depths of his core, into his hands, which he then placed on her chest, over her heart. “That’s not an option.” 
 Fugaku watched the Chakra transfer in silence. When he saw Itachi returning with the carrier, he tapped Kakashi’s gloved hand once, then nodded toward the direction his eldest son was coming from. 
 Kakashi gave a slight, affirmative nod, and released his Chakra, sitting back. He’d bandaged the wounds he could, so he stood, strapped the carrier on, and turned toward Itachi. “Here’s the plan. You are going to keep Sasuke and Mikoto here for an extra day, then head back. I’m taking her with me. I’ll be faster moving alone.”
 He was pleasantly pleased, but not really surprised, when Itachi nodded. “I understand. I’ll keep them here.” He knelt, gently picked up the limp girl, and stood. With his Father’s help, he strapped her into the carrier, then stepped away. “Just . . . get her help.”
 “Of course.” He forced optimistic enthusiasm into his voice. “I’ll get her there in time, Itachi. That’s a promise.” 
 Itachi held out his hand. “I accept your promise.” 
 A quick, short, slightly tense handshake later, Kakashi turned toward the direction Konoha lay, and sped off without another word.
 Fugaku watched him for a moment. “Itachi . . . how is Sasuke?”
 His shoulders fell slightly. “He’s . . . not taking it well.”
 “Tell him to trust Kakashi. If anyone can get her back in time, it’ll be him.” He avoided looking at his son. “And . . . the girl’s tough. She’ll be fine.”
 “And what then, Tousan? If she is fine? If she makes it?” He turned toward his father, crossing his arms, almost defiant. “She can’t just go back to Hoshigakure. She’ll be at risk there.”
 Fugaku avoided his son’s gaze for just a moment before turning toward him to meet his eyes. Black met black, determination met determination. “Seishiryu has now, and always, the protection of the Uchiha. She is one of us, as outlined in the contract signed between her family and ours. Sending her back is out of the question.”
 “And you’ll tell the Hokage this.” It wasn’t a question.
 One, precise nod. “Yes. I will tell the Hokage this. She will stay with us.”
 A slight pause, where tension released. “I should come with you to Hoshigakure.”
 “No, Itachi. Sasuke needs your support right now.” A slight sigh. “Besides, I would feel much better about leaving your mother and Sasuke if you are with them. Whoever attacked that Hyuuga family could still be around.”
 “Don’t you mean-?”
 “I said what I meant, and I meant what I said.” 
 A moment passed. The horse was anxious, stamping her hooves, neighing. She clearly wanted to stick with her rider. “Come now, Stariyanna,” Itachi lightly patted her neck, “I’ll take you to her.” 
 “I’ll see about bringing back that black horse Sasuke was so fond of,” Fugaku stepped into place beside Itachi, as they walked back to the campsite, “but we’re going to have to find a place away from home to keep them. I am not so fond of the smell.”