Hey guys...yes...it's been quite some time since I've updated on anything ^_^; If you look at my homepage you'll see what I'm still working on and what I'll be doing for now.
I'm doing this Kakashi story because it's a MUCH older story of mine. I had it for a different website and always promised myself that I would edit it and then post it here. After years (and I mean YEARS) I've finally got around to doing it! Going back to my roots of writing with the series that started it for me! I haven't written much since the last time I've been on, but editing this story has reawakened my drive to write and hopefully I'll be able to get to some other stuff I've been meaning to do as well!
Just as a heads up, this will be following the series itself with a few tweeks and twists of my own; it won't be exactly the same since there will be some added characters. As for the title, if anyone's curious you'll just have to wait and find out what it means XD And most importantly, I hope you guys like it!
The Memoirs of a Traitor
Chapter One: The Day it Begins!
It was a quiet morning in Konoha. There were few that began stirring at this time, rising as the sun rose over the horizon. Although most mornings were rather quiet and still, that specific day was a very special day to aspiring warriors and protectors of the village; it was graduation day from the academy. Kids awoke early in order to prepare themselves for the new day and the new stage of their lives, people bustling around and about.
A lone woman slowly began to sit up from her bed as a yawn emitted from her lips. She stretched and sighed as the muscles in her body began to breathe, the light from the window at her bedside acting as her alarm clock. She sat in the still of the morning, letting her mind catch up with her body. A small smile danced across her lips as she nodded to herself. "Well then, lets get going. Today's going to be a long day."
Standing to her feet, the apartment owner stretched once more. Her untamed, brink pink hair cascaded down her back, covering her plain, white tang top. She didn't bother switching the light on as her feet pattered against her bamboo floors; the sun provided enough light for her to navigate around.
As she walked into her bathroom, the woman immediately turned the knob to her bathtub, letting the shower run. She began peeling her clothes off piece-by-piece, not caring where she scattered them about. It didn't really matter to her, for she would get to cleaning up eventually. As she dropped the last piece of her nightwear, the pink haired woman stepped into the shower, her nimble body relaxing under the showerhead. Her smile widened as a sigh resonated in the silence.
"Nothing like a shower to wake you up."
Once she had finished washing up, the young woman quickly stepped out of the shower tub, wrapping a white towel around her figure. She stood at the counter and leaned forward, wiping the steam from her mirror. She stared at her reflection for a moment before she quirked one eyebrow up.
Although she was only 24 years old, she was beginning to look haggard; perhaps it was from all the long missions she had been taking on lately. Her hair was a darker shade of pink color, and she had a pale complexion—something like that wouldn't normally bother her, but she burned easily in the sun. Her pale green eyes were full of life, though she was sure she was beginning to see a bit of crow's feet at the ends of her eyes. Her heart-shaped face fit perfectly on her lean body, although there was always the issue with her forehead; she'd blame her mother for that trait.
Glancing down at her arms, the 24 year old flexed as she shook her head, unimpressed. "I need to start working out more." She was beginning to look too small for her liking.
Having finished examining herself in the mirror, the lone housemate walked into her bedroom and began changing into her clothes, dropping her towel and walking freely in her room. She pulled open her dresser and pulled out a long-sleeved cheongsam. She pulled the zipper down and slipped the dress on, the slits on the sides of the outfit giving her legs plenty of room to move about. She then pulled on a pair of white, spandex shorts before slipping her standard ninja sandals on. She let out a deep breath and smiled to herself as she walked over to her desk, picking up her leaf village forehead protector. She wrapped it around her forehead and began maneuvering her hair about so that the strap of the protector would keep her hair up and out of her face. With a prepared nod, the woman pulled on all of her necessary gear before slipping on the standard jounin vest, leaving it unzipped.
"Ready." And with that, she exited her home.
Immediately, when the young woman began walking down the streets of the Leaf Village, friendly faces appeared, smiles and waves aimed in her direction. She merely waved and nodded in return with a relaxed expression across her face, the villagers greeting her; she knew many people in the village. There was only a single voice that had caught her attention that morning; there was only one person that mattered in the crowd of people.
"Good morning, Himitsu." Said kunoichi stopped in her tracks as she smirked to herself and looked over her shoulder.
"Well, morning to you too, Kakashi." Himitsu could recognize his voice no matter what the circumstances were.
Himitsu Haruno, eldest daughter of Kizashi and Mebuki Haruno, and Kakashi Hatake, son of the White Fang, had been rather close since she was 12 and he had been 14 almost 15. Although their friendship had started off rather horribly, the pair had grown close over the years. Every little habit that they hated—every quirk about the person that had bothered them had ended up turning into comforting tick. After all, they had been through so much together; it was inevitable that a friendship would bloom from their disdain for each other.
Himitsu watched as her friend approached her with a little orange book in hand. He didn't bother looking up as he walked past her, assuming that she would walk alongside him; she always did. "Ready for today?"
"Depends."
"On what?" the pink haired ninja asked curiously.
"On whether or not these brats pass or fail." Kakashi was rather picky with who he saw fit to go on as ninja. Himitsu held respect for him though; he only passed those who were ready and those who deserved the title of shinobi.
The pair walked in a comfortable silence, Himitsu enjoying the brisk, morning air, and Kakashi enjoying the pages of his book. The man's companion stole a quick glance at him before she spoke up. "You know, some day you'll meet a woman you'll want to marry, and she'll probably forbid you to ever read that book again." Because every woman Kakashi had ever met had been rather disturbed and/or disgusted by his favorite past time.
The man merely shrugged as he flipped the page, his one eye skimming through the words swiftly. There was only one second where his eye wandered from the page and landed on the female ninja, watching her for a moment longer than necessary; she hadn't seemed to notice. "If she truly loves me, she'll understand the bond I share with this series," the silver haired ninja said lightheartedly. Himitsu chuckled before she shook her head, the pair stopping in front of the Hokage building. They exchanged knowing glances before they walked in sync with one another.
And once Kakashi was inside, he had stuffed the book safely into his pocket.
"Each jounin will be leading a three-man squad and give them another test of their own to see if they are truly capable of calling themselves genin." Himitsu listened as the Third Hokage of the village explained what the role of a jounin was to the future genin candidates. From what she understood, each jounin was given a team number, and three students from the academy were to be randomly assigned to them. As far as Himitsu was concerned, as long as she had students that were competent, she would be pleased. Other jounin were not as compliant as she was; the last thing they wanted to do was waste their time teaching children how to be adults in the nin-world.
"Himitsu, you shall be leader of Team 6." Said jounin nodded her head obediently as she gave a small smile to the Hokage, who flashed a quick smile back to her before moving on to the man beside her, Kakashi being assigned leader of Team 7. The list continued for a couple of more minutes before the leader of the village finally motioned for his disciples to come forward.
"Come. Gather around. Take a look at Konoha's future." Without question, all the adults began to collect around the older man's desk, the crystal orb sitting before them reminding many of someone who was preparing to read them their future. Suddenly, a blurred image of the academy classroom appeared in the ball, awing a few of the jounin in the room; the hokage was capable of many things.
"One of the most promising new student, Sasuke Uchiha, is that him?" Asuma Sarutobi asked the Hokage curiously. The man looked up and nodded his head as he turned his attention back to the survivor of the last clan.
"Yes, he's the one."
"He's the only survivor left of his clan." Himitsu held her tongue as she quietly cleared her throat. I mean, he isn't the only survivor of his clan. But talking about Itachi was a rather risky thing to do.
"Hm, well would you look at that" Kakashi mumbled, catching Himitsu's attention. She followed the man's gaze as her eyes softened, a small smile crawling upon her face. "So it seems you and your younger sibling take after your mother quite a bit." Himitsu shrugged as she stared at Sakura, the young girl gawking at her childhood crush. The elder sister to Sakura smiled sheepishly as Kakashi chuckled quietly.
"I don't remember girls my age ever being so obsessed about boys…" Then again, times during Himitsu's youth had been different. It was a much more peaceful time for the people of Konoha nowadays. So in the back of Himitsu's mind, she was rather happy that the biggest issue in Sakura's life was whether or not a boy reciprocated her feelings.
And who was she kidding? She loved gossiping about men and crushes.
As Himitsu stared into the orb, she watched as two students walked into the classroom. They stayed side-by-side with each other, glancing around the room and whispering to themselves before they stopped in front of a lone boy in the front row of the room. The pink haired kunoichi watched them closely as she smiled to herself; they seemed close with each other.
"The Ryo twins." The 24 year old blinked as she looked over to her right, her companion nodding at the pair she had been watching. "Two of the most capable students in that class. Although I heard the boy seems to cause more trouble in the academy."
"And the other boy?" she asked quietly as Kakashi slid his hands into his pant pockets.
"Koji something or another. I don't believe he's originally from here," Kakashi explained in a low voice as Himitsu nodded her head. Her eyes lingered on the three for a second longer as she watched the two boys of the three snap at each other before she turned her attention back to the other students in the room.
"Hmm...Naruto Uzumaki, eh?" Himitsu didn't bother breaking Kakashi from his thoughts as she watched him evaluate the blond. She gazed at him carefully for a moment as her stare softened. The nine-tailed fox. She wasn't surprised her best friend had taken an interest in the boy; he was special.
The jounin watched quietly as Iruka-sensei walked into his classroom, quieting down the students after a scene with Himitsu's younger sister and the wielder of the nine-tailed fox had been displayed; the older Haruno had been rather surprised at just how much strength her younger sister had. The adults in the room watched through the globe as Iruka explained the procedure to the students.
It was time for jounin and future genin to find out their teams.
Himitsu said nothing and nearly dozed off as she awaited for her team to be announced. If it hadn't been for her friend, she would have fallen asleep right through the announcement of her team. "Team 6 will be Ichi Ryo, Hana Ryo, and Koji Shindou." Himitsu smirked to herself as she nodded, pleased with the selection. She watched as the three teammates glanced at each other, obviously relieved that they had been placed on the same team. Putting these three to the test should be interesting, Himitsu thought as the Hokage moved on to the next team.
Kakashi's team.
"Naruto Uzumaki." Stealing a glance at the 26 year old, Himitsu nearly laughed at the rather satisfied gleam in Kakashi's eye. "Sakura Haruno,." Both friends turned to look at each other, rather surprised by that outcome. "And Sasuke Uchiha." No one would admit it, but most—if not all the jounin had been envious of Kakashi; it wasn't every day one could say that they had the chance to train an Uchiha. Himitsu herself was rather jealous of her friend, for they were not only companions, but rivals in a way, and the fact that Kakashi had the opportunity instead of her irked her.
"You will meet with your teams after lunch and introduce yourselves," the Third Hokage stated as everyone nodded in return. "Well then, you're all dismissed. Have fun with your new teams." And without another word, everyone exited the room.
Kakashi and Himitsu walked side-by-side in silence, one looking for a place to eat and the other sticking his face nose deep into a book. The man's companion frowned as she looked over at him and narrowed her eyes. A playful smirk danced across her lips before she reached over and snatched the book from the man's grasp.
"Huh?" Kakashi blinked as he looked up, Himitsu flipping through one of his most prized possessions. He gave her an amused stare as she glanced at him from the corner of her eyes.
"Do I have to compete for your attention everyday with this thing?"
"It's not a competition," Kakashi began casually. "The book is the obvious winner." Himitsu's eyes twitched from irritation as she turned her head to glare at her friend.
"You're really hopeless, aren't you?" she snapped, though there was little bite to her words. "You should be so lucky that I'm your friend!"
"Should I?"
"Yes! I'm the only one that can really put up with your crap," she stated evenly as she stuck her nose in the air before tossing the book back at the man. He caught it with ease as he chuckled at the way his friend pouted.
"Then I suppose I am lucky to have you then." A smile could not be fought back after that as the Haruno looked over at her friend, the former ANBU smiling through his one visible eye.
"…Damn right you are!" And after everything they had been through, there was no reason for Himitsu to tell Kakashi just how much he meant to her; he already knew.
"So then. Who's paying for lunch today?" Kakashi inquired, putting his book away for his own sake.
"I paid last time so it's your turn!" the younger of the two stated with an innocent expression on her face.
"Alright then, lets go." Kakashi said; he had seen through her lie, but there was no point in fighting her.
Himitsu smiled as she nodded, their shoulders brushing but neither bothering to step away and give the other space.
"Yum! That was good Kakashi. Thanks!"
"No problem. You paid last time," he said, though the sparkle in his eyes showed he knew better than that. Himitsu released a short and hearty laugh before she pushed the empty bowl away from herself. She stood to her feet and stretched, Kakashi watching her for a second before he set the needed cash for the meal on the counter and stood to his own feet.
"Well, I better get going. Unlike someone, I'd rather not keep my team waiting." The shots Himitsu mad at her friend were always out of love.
Kakashi shrugged as he began heading off towards the only place Himitsu knew he would go. "It's important to keep people on their toes."
Himitsu shook her head as she watched the man walk away. She stared at him for a moment longer before she spoke up, catching his attention. He stopped in his tracks as he looked back at her with a curious look. He watched his friend for a moment before she gave him a pleading smile. "Just be patient with, Sakura." Kakashi's gaze softened as he stared at his friend for a second longer before turning back around and walking off.
"I won't guarantee you anything…but I'm sure she'll do just fine." Although Kakashi's words were merely said to comfort her, Himitsu appreciated the man's effort. She knew of his track record with genin tests, and although she was worried, she also trusted him. She knew he would make the right decision in the end.
With a sigh, Himitsu straightened up and nodded to herself as she began making her way to the academy. She smiled to herself as she locked her hands behind her back. Her thoughts jumped from her sister, to her mother, then to her students, and then she thought of Kakashi for a mere second before she began thinking of her mother once more. It wasn't long until she stopped in front of the classroom door where her future awaited her. She stood silently and stared at the shut door as she began to muster the strength to open the door and walk in.
Time to face your future, Himitsu.
And as she opened the door and began to walk inside, she never realized just how true that thought had been. For the moment she had stepped into the classroom and had caught sight of her team was the moment her fate and life had been set.
Her cards had been dealt, and now it was time to play them.