Hinata frantically ran through the corridor in panic, making her heart beat fast. She knocked hardly against Aya's bedroom door, pounding on the wood with all the strength she could muster.
"Aunt Aya! Wake up! Please, wake up!" she shrieked. "Something happened to Kaien!"
Without waiting for a response, Hinata spun on her heel and sprinted toward the kitchen to fetch water, as her breath came in desperate gasps.
Inside the room, Aya woke up with a jolt. The knocking and Hinata's terrified screams instantly chased away any sleep as adrenaline rushed through her brain. She bolted out of bed, threw the door open, and caught a fleeting glimpse of Hinata disappearing down the hallway toward the kitchen. Aya turned and sprinted straight toward her son's room.
She burst through the door, what she saw saw made her breath stop in her throat. Her son was sprawled on the floor, as his eyes moved randomly looking for something.
"Kaien!" Aya gasped, dropping to her knees beside him.
She carefully hooked her arms under his shoulders, lifting his limp form and put him onto the bed. His skin was slick with cold sweat and water. Just as she managed to prop his head up against the pillows, Hinata returned, panting heavily and clutching a jug of water. Her face and eyes were pale with fright.
"Here! I got it!" Hinata handed the jug over with trembling hands.
Aya took it, using one arm to support Kaien into a sitting position while guiding the rim of the jug to his parched, cracked lips. "Drink, little one. Just drink."
Kaien drank as water disappeared down his throat. Aya watched him as she knew all too well the history of his nightmares. They had plagued him for months, though they had ceased for a long time now. She had prayed they were gone for good. Clearly, she had been wrong.
As the first jug emptied completely, Aya gently pulled it away. "Did the nightmares return, Kaien?" she asked.
Kaien's chest heaved as he gasped for air. His lips trembling as he tried to move his tongue with immense effort to talk.
"M... mo... more," he rasped out.
Aya's eyes widened. "You... you are able to talk!" she breathed, as a wide smile spread on her face.
Before she could dwell on the miracle, Hinata has already left and bolted back to the kitchen, returning moments later carrying two more full jugs of water.
Kaien could finally move as he grabbed the first one, tilting his head back and gulped down, followed immediately by the second. Only when the last drop was gone did he lower the jug, panting heavily, his chest rising and falling as he gasped for oxygen.
The crisis had passed, and the tension was too much for little Hinata to bear. Her face turned into messy tears. Snot and saliva smeared across her face as she wailed, and grabbed a handful of Aya's dress, using the fabric to wipe her face.
"Wahh... wah... I was so scared!" Hinata cried, her shoulders shaking as she clung to Aya.
Aya couldn't help but smile softly, wrapping a comforting arm around the weeping girl and pulling her close. "Shh, it's alright now. You did so well, Hinata. Your Byakugan saved the day. If you hadn't checked on him, who knows what would have happened?" She smoothed Hinata's hair before turning her gaze back to her son.
As she said... which brooked no argument. "And Kaien, from now you will be sleeping with your mother. I won't take no for an answer."
"Me too!" Hinata shouted through her hiccups, burying her face deeper into Aya's side. "Because I'm sad! And scared!"
Aya chuckled softly, shaking her head at the display. "Oh my... and here I thought you wanted to be treated like an adult lady now, Hinata."
"Wah!" Hinata protested loudly through her tears.
"Alright, alright, let's get moving then," Aya said, turning back to her son, her expression softening. "Are you able to move your body now, Kaien?"
Kaien paused, testing his limbs. He looked at his mother, wanting more than anything to reassure her with his own voice. He nodded slowly.
"Y... Ye... yes," he managed to say.
~~
Morning arrived with the golden light of dawn falling through the window screens. In the center of the large bed, Aya lay awake, pinned down by Hinata and Kaien who were clinging to her sides like a pair of young koalas, their small hands gripping her clothes even in sleep.
Aya looked down at Kaien's peaceful face. 'I am so happy he was finally able to start talking again,' she thought, her fingers gently tracing a stray lock of his hair. 'But will his trauma ever truly heal? I will do everything in my power to ensure it does. I'll make sure his mind is filled with so many good memories that the bad ones simply don't have room.'
Beside her, Hinata shifted, wiggling her way upward until she sprawled on top of Aya's stomach. The young girl let out a soft snore, breathing through her wide-open mouth. Aya winced slightly but didn't have the heart to move her.
Instead, she thought about other matters. 'Well, I suppose I should prepare myself for father's inevitable scolding. I should probably tell Renga to take a few days off to let the storm blow over.'
'Konoha had successfully bought back the Third Hokage, the legendary Sakumo Hatake, Dan the ghost and a handful of elite Senju and Uchiha shinobi from the Warring States era. Dealing with them had proved too difficult, even for her formidable father. In the past three years, Renga teleported me, father and brother three times to crush Konoha once and for all. Every single attempt had failed, ending with us returning home bruised.'
Aya shuddered slightly. 'I don't even want to remember the disaster that happened when Bee tried to reanimate the First Hokage, Hashirama to counter from his cells we got from Orochimaru. But he was too unstable to control and broke free. It was a miracle we managed to seal his soul away a second time. Thanks to father and Bee again.'
Kaien slowly blinked his eyes open, rubbing them with the back of his hand to clear the sleep away. Last night had been an nightmare, but it yielded a miracle. He could finally speak.
He looked over and saw Hinata sleeping soundly on top of his mother's stomach, looking too comfortable. He stood up and controlled positive and negative seals he store on his body to move it on Hinata's back and the opposite seal on the ceiling as he controlled the chakra to slowly levitate Hinata, so his mother would wake up.
Dropping Hinata gently onto the mattress beside her as his seals returned back to his body.
~~
A/N: Kaien can finally speak, though he stammers. And Kumo already attempted to reanimate Hashirama from the cells they got from Orochimaru but failed.
Do think it makes sense for the Raikage to retreat with Konoha current lineup? Starting from Kagami, blue B, Hiruzen, Sakumo, and levelled up sannin, Minato.
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