A Great Tragedy

[Yura]

Koji rushed down the street. I've got to get there! He thought urgently runny full speed. This can't be true. It can't be happening. His mind was running wild, unable to think clearly. All that he could think of was getting to the location as fast as possible.

"Koji slow down!" came a call from behind him. Koji stopped dead in his tracks. He turned to find his mother running towards him nearly out of breath. Of course! How could he have been so stupid? She needed to get there just as fast as he did. "I'm so sorry mom." he said as he ran over to her. In one quick motion he picked her up into his arms. He then continued running in the direction he once was, slightly slower due to the extra weight.

It was the afternoon, a time when the streets of the village were full of people. Koji was trying to run as fast as he could but all of these people were impeding his movement to his destination. Becoming frustrated with the amount of people in his way, he took to the roofs of the buildings much to the screams of his mother. With no one in his path, he sprinted as fast as he could. Within minutes, his destination was in sight; the Konoha Hospital.

It was only a few moments ago that he walked into his home to find his mother standing still, frozen in shock. She had been clutching a note staring at it yet not reading it. When Koji saw this he quickly walked over to it and took the paper from her. Quickly reading it, he soon ended up in the same state that she was in. He was looking at in disbelief. The note was a memo carried by messenger bird alerting them to the fact that the head of their family, Koji's father, was badly injured on a mission and being taken to the hospital. It took a minute for it to sink in. Then, without a word, Koji turned and took off out the door.

Now, Koji and his mother were now in the lobby of the hospital looking around for their fellow family member. They looked everywhere and couldn't find him. By now, Koji's mother was in tears and was shaking as she stood.

"Kasui, Koji," came an urgent yet familiar voice. They both quickly turned quickly to see a person that they knew both as a nurse and a friend.

"Daia!" Koji's mother screamed as she went to hug the woman, tears now streaming down her face. "How is he?" she said shakily.

"He's….he's not good hun." she said hesitantly, "He's not good at all." With that statement Kasui broke down. She couldn't even stand up . Koji bent down to consol his mother, trying to help her to her feet. Realizing that she couldn’t stand up, he picked her up and carried her over to on of the chairs in the waiting room.

"What happened?" Koji asked harshly.

"I'm honestly not sure." Daia replied. "When he came in he was torn up bad and he was bleeding a lot. They took him into surgery immediately." She said. Anybody listening to her could tell that she was starting to get emotional as well.

For hours they waited, sitting in the same spot just waiting for news on the man's health. It wasn't until 3 hours later that one of the surgeons finally came out to talk to them. "Mrs. Rokame?" the man called out. Immediately both Koji and his mother raised their heads to look at him. By this time Kasui's eyes were bright red in color from all of the crying that she had done. "Tha-tha-that's me." she stuttered out softly, "How's my husband?"

The doctor's face changed. It didn't look good. It was that type of face where you know that you have to tell someone bad news but you really don't want to. "Well….follow me." he said as he walked down the hall. Both Koji and his mother got up and followed him quickly. He led them down the hall and into an office.

"It's bad isn't it." Koji said as he took a seat in front of the doctors desk.

"I'm afraid it is." The doctor said. Koji's mother didn't need to hear anymore. She immediately broke down in tears. Shortly after however, she managed to calm herself enough to listen to the rest. "His body was pierced several times. By the time he had gotten to us he had already lost a lot of blood. We repaired his injuries the best that we could, but…." The doctor paused and took a deep breath. Such a long pause and deep breath made Koji uneasy. "It is unlikely that he will live much longer. I'm sorry." Those words pierced them both like the very blades that were taking away the head of their household. Koji's mother couldn't take it. The news caused her to faint in her chair. Koji didn't know what to do. He wanted to smash something. But at the same time, he knew he shouldn't.

"Can I see him?" Koji asked, his eyes looking at the ground.

"I don't see why not." The doctor said. "Follow me."

Koji followed the doctor into one of the many treatment rooms. Upon entering the room, he immediately located his father in the back of the room. He walked up to his fathers bed slowly, unsure about what to do. When he reached it, he peered down at the man he knew as his father, the man who raised him and taught him everything. He looked peaceful.

"Koji…" His dad whispered. His voice was weak.

"I'm right here dad. You don't need to speak."

"No…" his dad whispered, "I do. Don't be angry."

Koji was confused by these words. "Angry? About what?" he questioned.

"Don't look for revenge…" his father replied.

Again Koji became confused. His father was delusional "For what dad?"

"Take care of your mother for me." His voice faded with those words. And with it his life.

"Dad?" said softly, "Dad?" he said a little louder, "Dad!" he shouted once more. But it was too late. His father was dead.