Hey everyone, I decided to take a small break from my stories so I could write a short one, one that has been on my mind for years after writing my first and only Kakashi One-shot a few years back. I got feedback from a few reviewers that it was a great one-shot it was just too short for their liking and should have been expanded. This thought has been on my mind formulating for years, and since my stories, so many that need updating and redoing, I was getting stressed about it, mainly since I have writer's block for nearly ALL of them. So to hopefully help with that I am writing a short story… let me repeat that again SHORT story around the character Ukime that I created around her life. I formulated this plan after re-reading my one-shot and it feels good to put all my current stories on the backburner and just focus on a single one, one that has an outline I already wrote. So if you would like, new readers, you can read the one-shot, or you don't have to, your choice; but I will warn you that I expect this story to be about 3-5 chapters long.
Thank you for taking the time to read my stories and please review, it literally makes my day when I get them.
Sidenote: this story starts off as ObitoxOCish but turns into KakashixOC
Chapter 1
Ukime shivered in her sheets, as she awoke from her nightmare, she brought the thin sheet around herself as a futile attempt to get warm as the window to her room had been broken by one of her father's outbursts as he threw her nightstand out the window. Ukime noticed the sun was coming up and let out a sigh of relief as she had a reason to get out of bed. She dressed quickly and quietly, knowing not to make a sound for her father was a very light sleeper and usually in a terrible mood in the morning… or any other time of the day for that matter. Ukime sighed as she covered last night's new bruises to her tiny frame and wondered if life would ever get better for her.
She crept down the stairs as quietly as she could, holding her breath as she did so, not actually breathing until she had opened the door, with the smallest creaking sound, and then let it out slowly before closing the door again, the door creaked louder than it had before and Ukime's heart hitched in her throat at the idea of her father waking up to it. She winced, the facial expression reminding her of the black eye she probably sported from last night's anger, and Ukime sucked in a breath of pain, learning long ago to not let out a cry or a sound from the pain.
Ukime jumped the fence and walked slowly to the training grounds she was meeting her team at, not really looking forward to getting beat up any further. When what seemed like a missile crashed into her back and caused her to fall feet from where she was standing, head first, into the dirt.
"I'm sorry, I'm soo sorry" the missile, or rather the boy said as he got off and helped the girl up, as she hissed in pain as he decided to raise her to her feet by a very painful bruise.
Her body responded to the pain, Ukime's mind, however reeled at the boy's words
Did he just say he was sorry… to me?
Ukime usually did not get very many kind words, for from her baggy clothes sizes too big for her and most often tattered, mostly because they were found in the trash, to her frizzy slashed at hair, since she refused to even tame it for her mother, and sometimes her father, would slash at her, often grabbing her hair and chopping it off, hence the odd angles. She wasn't the prettiest girl to look at, she knew that. But she craved them, her dreams, if she had the fortune to have them, consisted of kind words, compliments. She awoke happy to find everything the way she left it when she went to sleep. She was living in hell and her sleep was her longed for reality from it.
From the girl's hissing the boy lifted her shirt's sleeve and his eyes widened at the dark bruise there, he looked at her face and saw the black eye as Ukime finally came out of her reverie and looked to the ground, mumbling that she was late for training
"Who did this to you?" the boy asked, and Ukime wanted to cry out, because for so long she wanted to have someone notice the abuse, but people overlooked her, refused to see the problem. Yet it was embarrassing, and she didn't know this boy. He looked at her with his black eyes showing so much emotion that pounded in her blue eyes that Ukime couldn't stand to look at them without wanting to scream and cry and do all the things that usually caused her beatings. The boy held pity in his eyes before looking over his shoulder. "Come with me" he said softly, gently, kindly. Even though she knew she would get yelled at by her sensei and the sensei's pet Ukime couldn't help but follow the boy that gently held her hand in his as he led her to the training grounds, to the training ground that his teammates were at.
Ukime couldn't help but notice that his deep midnight navy hair glinted in the sunlight, much like the emotions that he held in his eyes when he looked at her.
"You're LATE!" A girl yelled when they made it to the clearing and Ukime shivered when she noticed her own team in the same training ground
"Look who actually showed up Sobu-sensei?" Her teammate Hidoi sneered when he saw her. Her other teammate, Maito Gai, had a completely different reaction
"Oh young flower how I would love to see you bloom" He said and Ukime allowed a tiny frown and let her eyelids droop from the complete act that she did not want to be in that training ground, with these people
"You need to shut up" A boy's cold voice shot through the air and Ukime opened her eyes to see the genius, Hatake Kakashi. She shivered as his cold calculating gaze fell on her and she silently let her gaze fall to the ground as she subconsciously hid behind the kind boy that knocked into her.
This boy was truly amazing as he growled at the Hatake and said harshly "You are scaring her, leave her alone" Ukime let her gaze look up to the boy in front of her, this boy of kind words.
Did he just stand up for me? Ukime thought as it reverberated through her head, repeating itself over and over again as she looked at the back of the boy's head in shock.
"She is a shinobi. Shinobi should not get scared" The Hatake said coolly and the way he said the phrase sent shivers down Ukime's spine. The boy squeezed Ukime's hand gently
"At least I'm not an emotionless bastard like you" the boy bit back and Ukime had to admit she liked this boy, whoever he was. He was the first one to ever stand up for her and to Hatake Kakashi of all people too!
"Obito, stop it, please" The girl said and the boy, Obito, smiled at her
"Sorry Rin" He said and Ukime's heart dropped.
Of course he had eyes for someone else, why would he care about me? Ukime thought sorrowfully and let her hand drop from Obito's in complete and utter despair and sadness.
"All right brats, since we all know that Minato-san is gone on mission I have been assigned to train you for today" Sobu-sensei said and Ukime instantly felt her gaze drop to the ground. She didn't want to be on her team anymore. "Ukime you are with Rin, and try not to get pulverized" He said with no care towards the abused girl-what-so-ever, the words were there to mock her, nothing else. "Obito and Hidoi, and Gai and Kakashi, pair up and fight" Sobu-sensei said as he sat at the base of the tree to watch. Not really bothering to look in Ukime's general direction.
Ukime and Rin each got out a kunai and poised a fighting stance before dashing at each other. Due to the amount of injuries she sustained last night, one she was sure of to be a sprained ankle, Ukime couldn't dodge as fast as she would have liked, and tripped on a rock, falling into Obito's and Hidoi's fight. Hidoi was aiming an attack at Obito, as Ukime landed in his path with an intake of breath of pain. She hissed lightly under her breath and closed her eyes tightly so not to cry. Hidoi did nothing to change his course and when Obito noticed this he leapt forward with his kunai ready and lunged over the hurt Ukime and into Hidoi's attack. Rin had stopped and watched in awe and Gai and Kakashi stopped at the angry guttural sound coming from Obito's throat when he realized he would trample his teammate to injure his opponent. Kakashi glanced over at the girl from the other team and watched as Rin helped her up, watched as the pain, obvious from her face, as she put pressure on the ankle, did not make a cry of pain of any sort, not even a tear and had to say he was impressed. Not many shinobi, including grown adults could keep the pain contained to only bare minimum facial expressions with no noise or tears.
"We need to get you to the hospital" Rin said and Ukime remembered the last time she went to the hospital and how her parents were questioned about her injuries, and how much worse the abuse had been when she was healed and allowed to come back to her inner hell, what Konoha called her home. Ukime resisted the girl and lied through her teeth in her small voice
"No, I'm fine; I just need to get off of it for awhile. I don't need to go to the hospital." Ukime said, and Kakashi raised one of his eyebrows at the girl. He now knew she was stupid. It was one thing to not show the pain that racked through your body, but not getting it fixed was plain stupid, he didn't understand her. Rin sighed and let her rest under a tree and glared at the girl, who looked back in eyes that showed the pain and torment in her soul. Ukime could produce a perfect facial expression that a shinobi needed, one of no emotions, but her eyes told whoever looked into them, everything. Rin's glare faltered as she sighed and she knelt beside the girl and performed seals to heal Ukime herself.
"I don't know why you are wasting your chakra" Sobu-sensei said to the healer "She isn't worth it" At the sensei's words both Kakashi, Rin, and Obito were shocked, Obito showing it more than Kakashi and Obito sneered at the Jounin "And why aren't you four sparring?" He asked now not caring about the two girls near him.
"You really should go to a hospital" Rin said when she healed all she could. Ukime looked away from her, pretending that she did not hear the girl and Rin sighed.
Obito, in his anger beat Hidoi and glared his temporary sensei.
"You are so full of youth Kakashi-san" Gai said, his eyes sparkling as he blocked another one of his kicks. Kakashi did not like this Maito Gai.
Ukime's team left her without a second thought, Hidoi and Sobu-sensei leaving to get food, Gai leaving to go to his favorite restaurant and as always leaving Ukime behind. Ukime was used to this separation of teammates and sensei, but it seemed as Team Minato did not. Obito gaped at the way that her team left Ukime, who was still injured, sitting at the base of a tree.
"Did they really just leave you?" Obito asked, still in shock. Ukime shrugged, not really caring to spend more time with the team she was assigned anyway. "You don't care?" Obito asked, head cocked to the side a bit and eyebrows knitted together in confusion
"It happens all the time" Ukime said quietly. Obito growled before offering his hand to help her up. She took it gingerly and was pleasantly surprised at the gentle way he helped her to her feet. Ukime leaned against the tree to keep her balance.
"Would you like to go eat with us?" Obito asked in all seriousness. Ukime's shock showed immediately through her face and she blinked a few times before the question had sunken in.
"I- I have no money" She said, for it was true, her parents took all her earnings to spend on themselves. Obito pouted before grabbing her hand and saying
"I'll pay for you" and dragging her away from the tree. Ukime limped, her ankle still not completely healed but Obito adjusted his walk to match her slow pace and to help her walk more evenly he put her arm around his neck. Ukime blushed instantly and forced herself to look away from this nice boy who kept helping her.
The group of four headed to the Korean Barbeque restaurant and took the first booth that they could find that was still open. Ukime ended up sitting next to Kakashi, with herself closest to the window. She could feel his gaze on her.
Obito ordered beef for both Ukime and himself and watched it hungrily as it cooked. Ukime, feeling awkward, looked out the window, subconsciously making sure that her bruises were hidden. Once the meat was finished Obito loaded a plate of it for Ukime and handed it to her with one of his signature grins and Ukime allowed a small smile to form on her face as she took the plate thanking him in a small voice and lifted up the skewer to put one of the pieces of meat in her mouth, momentarily forgetting the large shirt she wore. The sleeves fell at the action, landing near her elbow and showed the three youngsters at the table the abuse that she was getting at home, from deep black and blue bruises, to a few cuts still healing and three different reactions from the shock showed on their faces. Kakashi, who was closest to her widened his eyes and his mouth opened as he got he inspected the arm that was showing. Obito had his suspicions confirmed at looked at her in a completely shell shocked look and pity. Rin let out a small gasp as she brought her hands to her mouth and it was that gasp that opened Ukime's eyes as she looked around the table and then her arm. In an instant the meat fell to the plate and she was forcefully covering the abuse that happened in her home and brought her hands, as well as her gaze to her lap.
Kakashi's mind reeled with the new information as he now understood why the girl sitting next to him did not cry out in pain when she broke her ankle, and did not want to go the hospital. The table sat there silently as their shock slowly washed off their faces, leaving only pity.
"Who is responsible for this?" Kakashi asked and Ukime intentionally looked out the window, obviously refusing to answer the question. Knowing that she wouldn't answer Rin sighed
"Do you know when Minato-sensei is coming back?" She asked, helping the girl to get out of answering the question, which did work with Obito, but Kakashi still kept staring, hoping to eventually get the girl to talk.
Ukime eventually grabbed a skewer and making sure her sleeve did not show the bruises again she began to eat, finishing her meal quietly as Kakashi's gaze soon turned into a glare, as she continued to ignore him.