Slightly AU I suppose... and I'm trying to make the characters as realistic as possible, while allowing the romances and friendships to grow. There will be smut in later chapters... but for now enjoy the plot unfolding.
"Sensei.. you're late AGAIN!" the blond yelled at his presiding Jounin. His sapphire eyes sparkled with his never ending impatient demands. The aforementioned sensei simply put his hand behind his head, smiling sheepishly behind his mask.
"I have a real excuse this time." he offered, closing his visible eye in a smile.
"What, did you fall into the river and have to get a change of clothes?" Sakura asked the sarcasm dripping off her tongue.
"No, actually. That's going to happen tomorrow. Lady Hokage has assigned us a new student."
This even made the resident avenger lift his head. Though his face stayed stoic and emotionless as ever, his onyx eyes also betrayed the questions that lurked inside that pretty little mind of his.
"A new student? Who is he? Hes not some cocky bastard like him is he?" Naruto jabbed a thumb towards the raven, who only responded with the usual "Hn."
"NARUTO! Hes probably cooler and stronger than you anyway! Baka!"
Her fist landed on his head with a thud, and left the poor kid sprawled in the dirt. Why Kakashi allows his students to effectively mangle up one another on a daily basis might peek far too much into some hidden dark amusement he fosters.
"Her name is Vexyne." he said waiting for Naruto to pick himself up off the ground.
This definitely caught the attention of his three underlings now. Sakura looked like she could blow up at any minute.
Naruto was shocked. "Oh.. Well uh.. when is she going to train with us..?"
Kakashi shifted his weight, putting his hands in his pockets. "Today. Maybe. After she gets out of the hospital."
"Sensei, the hospital? She shouldn't be training so soon!"
Sakura looked at him with large green eyes.
"There's nothing wrong with her. Shes blind. She still needs to train, just like every one else. Would you like to meet her?" he replied simply, acting as if training a blind shinobi was no big deal at all.
He studied the faces of his students. Their reactions were completely predictable. Turning to leave, he held up his hand in a passive gesture.
"Well. Suit yourselves."
Footsteps scrambled - some less gracefully than others - to follow him as he made his way to the hospital. Once arrived, he led them to a small examination room on the main floor where he knocked lightly..
"Vexyne, its Kakashi."
"Please, come in Sensei. The doctor is almost done."
Her voice came out smooth and confident. Not the timid Hinata-like voice the accompanying visitors expected.
The door opened, and there, sitting on the hospital bed, was a pale skinned girl, about 15, with long dark violet hair bound in a high ponytail. Her eyes were wrapped in bandages but she sat with her back straight and looked towards them as they entered, a slight smile on her face. She was dressed in a black half shirt with long gloves that nearly went up to her shoulders, and black shorts. She also wore a kunai pouch, and had a small grey shoulder bag slung loosely around her waist.
"Are these my teammates?" she mused, completely ignoring the doctor waiting for her to answer the remaining questions.
"Woah. How did-"
"Your chakra. Its extremely strong."
She jumped off the bed, loosing her balance only slightly before walking up to the four people.
"Vexyne can identify you by your chakra signatures, among other things such as your scent, voice, and even the way you breathe." Kakashi explained, casually leaning against the wall.
"Wow, so its like.. your other senses have heightened because you lost your sight?"
The pink haired konoichi seemed in a much happier mood now that there was not another threat to her beloved Sasuke-Kun.
"Exactly. A good way for me to recognize you also is by touching your faces. I have a quick memory, as you would expect, and in situations where verbal messages would compromise the mission its better for me to sign the message against the cheek or neck of my comrade. By knowing the unique contours of your face, it would save a lot of trouble in the long run. Mind if I... get an idea now? I'm curious to see what you three look like."
She grinned widely and threw her hand up to lightly finger the bandages on her own face.
Naruto thought for a few seconds before breaking out into his own signature grin.
"Sure! My name is Naruto Uzumaki by the way, and I'm gonna be the next Hokage," he recited excitedly.
Vexyne giggled, reaching out her hand. "Thanks! Nice to meet you Mr Future Hokage."
She took a step forward, where Naruto leaned closer to her fingers and they touched the tanned skin of his still smiling face. She followed the curve of his cheek bones, outlined his yellow eyebrows, and landed briefly on his bottom lip before drawing back.
The blinded female looked satisfied, "Naruto huh? You will be the best Hokage of them all. I just know it."
This completely threw the yellow haired ninja for a loop, because he blushed slightly, scratching his head and grinning wider; if that was even possible.
"You really mean that Vexyne?"
"Of course!" She stood there almost expectantly, but her hand was idle at her side.
Sakura spoke up now, clearing her throat to which Vexyne tilted her head. "Well, my name is Sakura Haruno. Nice to meet you!" Instead of waiting for Vexyne to reach for her face, she gently took her hand in her own and guided it for her.
There were a few seconds of silence from Vexyne, but eventually she smiled softly. Her fingers never even went near the other females forehead, instead opting to outline her nose bridge and the gentle curve of lips. It was like there was a silent pleading message from the younger ninja that Vexyne picked up on. She again pulled back with a grin.
"What color are your eyes, Sakura-chan?"
Sakura looked confused, not sure whether the injured female had ever seen colors before or not. In the end, she decided to look over to Kakashi, who had been watching this bonding moment with interest. An eyebrow was raised, which was only answered by a shrug of the elders shoulders.
"Um.. green. My eyes are green.." she finally returned. Her face was still a little weary of Vexynes reaction.
There was no answer, only a thoughtful smile. The question didn't seem to put Vexyne in a bad mood or anything and Inner Sakura sighed in relief.
Kakashi was insanely curious as to how the little clan revival captain would react to having a strange hand travel across his flawless face, but he never got his show. The doctor, who had been waiting impatiently this whole time, cleared his throat loudly.
"Ms Vexyne... there are still some concerns about missions and training that we need to go over."
She frowned, waving her hand at him irritably. "I don't want another lecture about how I can't do this or that. If you will excuse me, Doctor, I'm checking myself out now."
It was mildly surprising how her voice, once inviting and smooth, turned into that ice shard that left the Doctor shaking his head with a huff. It was even more surprising when she looped arms with Naruto and Sakura, dragging them backwards out of the room with a laugh. It seems she would fit in better than Kakashi thought. It would be good to get a level headed person on the team, especially one that couldn't get distracted with visible obstacles.
Kakashi and Sasuke followed, the brooding ninja still not having said one word.
His sensei watched him out of the corner of his eye. "What do you think?"
There was the expected heavy silence, and Kakashi was simply going to give up on hoping that maybe he would get a direct answer, but again he was proven wrong.
The raven spoke up, though his eyes never left the back of his teammates. "She will keep the others out of my way."
His reply caused Kakashi to furrow his eyebrows. Those words were laced with an emotion previously unknown from Sasuke. Relief? Something other than hate? It was definitely not something familiar to hear from his student.
The commotion in front of his path brought him out of his thoughts before he could ponder too deeply.
"What do you mean I'm not authorized to check myself out?" Vexyne asked the young desk worker through clenched teeth.
Her face paled even more "Uhm.. well requirements state you must sign the for-"
"I will sign you out Vexyne." Kakashi intervened. He didn't want the poor girl to faint from the daggers Vexyne was surely sending her through the bandages. "Shes under my care now," he nodded, signing the papers. The others had already stepped out into the evening, where Naruto seemed to be comforting his new teammate.
"Don't sweat it, Vexyne-Chan. When I'm the Hokage I'll hire somebody to go around and sign papers for you!' It didn't come out as clever as it sounded, but it appeased her enough for a smile to creep across her face again.
"Well," Kakashi started, ruffling Narutos hair, "I think its time for some food. I'm sure the hospital fare wasn't edible."
"You have no idea."
They were all seated at the ramen shop, Naruto already on his third bowl, chatting lightly about nothing in particular. The others couldn't help but watch Vexyne as she ate her seaweed ramen. There was no questioning... no cautiousness in her movements. She apparently had been injured for a long time, because at a glance one would not even realize she was blind; if it weren't for the telltale wrapping around her upper face. It was fascinating, and Kakashi could tell by the fidgeting that Naruto has a ton of questions spilling at the tip of his tongue. Vexyne of course could feel the stares, but the inquiries that had so long ago thrown her in a rage of fits now only amused her.
"I can tell by the way the chopsticks move inside the bowl. If I'm hitting the ceramic, it makes a slight clicking sound. When there's food, I feel a little less resistance against them." She explained simply, taking bites in between sentences.
He smirked behind his mask. Well, that cleared up any confusion Naruto had. By the way the fox demon blushed and ate a little slower, testing the theory in his own bowl, Kakashi would have thought she had just proposed to him or something. She was interesting, he'd give her that. Not one to be underestimated.
"Sasuke-kun, would you like some of my Pocky?" Sakura asked, holding up the pink coated dessert stick. Another futile attempt for her to try and get close to her remote acquaintance.
Not looking up from his food, he replies in a monotone voice. "I don't like sweets."
A dark blush spread across her cheeks and she ducked her head down to hide behind her pastel locks.
"This must happen as a regular thing; Sakura tries to get Sasukes attention, and poor Naruto get left in the dust of it all" Vexyne thought. She decided to try and talk to her about it later on, maybe she could give her some tips or something. She wondered what was so intriguing about the boy. He obviously had no care in the world about the people around him. Maybe it was his looks or something, she never really got a chance to get a feel for his face.
The rest of the evening went by in silence, but when it was time to go Kakashi lightly touched the exposed part of her arm.
"Vexyne, I assume Lady Tsunade has not told you about your sleeping arrangements?" He asked her as they exited the Ramen Shop. She could tell it was getting late by the coolness of the air.
"I was told that somebody would take care of that for me." She answered.
He looked at her for a moment, wondering what place would be most appropriate to tell her. Sakuras parents wouldn't mind, but it is extremely short noticed. Naruto obviously can't host another being in that tiny apartment, plus if she needed something he didn't think the Village Idiot would have adequate supplies. That leaves himself and Sasuke, and seeing as Sasuke hasn't even said one direct thing to the girl, it would have to be him. She could sleep on the futon comfortably...
He ran his hand through his silver hair and sighed.
"I suppose you could stay at my house until we find a more suitable situation for you."
There was a light chuckle and he looked down to see a smile plastered to her face.
"Thank you Sensei. I promise I won't be much trouble."
"Hey Kakashi-sensei!" a certain Naruto called from behind them.
They stopped, and Kakashi turned to his student.
"Yes?"
"Thanks for the ramen! Oh, and bye Vexyne. Don't let his pervy books creep you out or anything!" the kid called, running to catch up with Sakura to try and walk her home.
Kakashis visible eye narrowed. Leave it to Naruto to make him seem like a pedophile in front of his new student.
"Pervy books?" she asked giggling.
"Ah... Well... They're an art!" he defended lightheartedly.
"Oh but of course.' she joked along, punching him in the arm gently.
There were a few more minutes of walking before he grabbed her hand and led her to his front door, not wanting her to trip on the old cracked walk way or anything. Not that she couldn't do it herself, he just felt like it was gentlemanly. He unlocked the door quickly and tugged her in behind him.
Vexyne only smiled at the slightly protective gesture. His house smelled faintly of chestnuts and vanilla. An interesting combination, and it somewhat suited him. She took a few steps forward, conscious of the hand around her wrist. Though she couldn't feel it through the gloves, she imagined his hands being only slightly calloused. Well.. she couldn't imagine too long. He was her sensei after all, and with the speal he made about taking off his mask 'He had a horrible skin reaction that only appeared in the light', she didn't think she would get anywhere with him. Besides, she had to focus on training.
"Um.. the futon is right here, and Ill put some blankets out. The bathroom is about 15 paces to the right if your sitting on the couch, and my door will be open if you need anything else." he told her, walking her up till her knees touched the couch.
"Sensei?"
'Yes Vexyne-chan?"
"I'm 15. I can take care of myself pretty easily, even if I cant see your lovely apartment."
She sat back, looking towards his voice with another one of those wide grins.
"Right. I'm heading to bed now. Goodnight."
"Night Sensei," she said sweetly.
Twenty minutes or so had passed before she could pull herself off of the surprisingly comfortable bed to change into some slightly warmer clothes. Though it was mid summer, the Copy Cat Nins dwelling was chilly. Huh.. 15 paces exactly. she thought as she opened the door to his bathroom. The tile floor was even colder than the air, so she hurriedly exchanged her thin midriff top for a thicker off shoulder long sleeve. She also pulled off her gloves and shoved them in her bag; leaving it on the counter and making her way back to the futon. There was a pile of blankets and pillows that waited for her on one end, and she pulled out her hairband before taking a handful of the soft fabric and pulling it over her. Training would start early she was sure, so she closed her mind off to the sound of the wind and opened it to the dream world.
Meanwhile, her sensei had been carefully watching her from the comfort of his own room. There was something about the older student that just... caught his attention. Not only did she hit it off with her new squad quickly, but she seemed entirely self sufficient despite her injury. And Tsunade said there might be some hope of healing her... He was actually happy to have her tagging along in training. Maybe she could even get Sasuke to open up; he noticed the fleeting glances he kept giving her over dinner. He allowed himself to take another look at her, inhaling when he saw her sleeping form half uncovered, long purple hair buried in the pillow, and just a peek of milky shoulder showing. He groaned, rolling over and burying his own face into his pillow. This was going to be a lot harder than he thought.