In The Middle – A Naruto Fanfiction
Chapter 1 – Secrets Revealed
Iruka launched himself off the top of the school building, heading for the Hokage's office. He'd been called up by Shizune to get over there the moment he'd finished his classes for the day. It was seemingly very urgent.
He arrived at the door at the same time as Kakashi-sensei, and they both entered at the same time. The Hokage turned to them, her look grave and worried, she motioned them closer.
"You two have been called here to take part in a very special mission, one that you cannot let anyone else know about, do you understand?"
"Yes, Hokage-sama." They replied diligently.
"Shizune, bring her in."
Shizune moved from her silent position by the door and made her way out to retrieve the mission's client. It was no wonder she was the Hokage's apprentice. She was smooth and deadly, she also knew how to have fun, and though she restricted her mentors drinking habits, they were often found relaxing together at the local hot springs. The door opened again and Shizune stepped through, holding the hand of a young woman.
The woman seemed scared and lost, her hazel eyes darting about the room, as though looking for danger, or perhaps a place to hide.
She had shoulder length light-brown hair, and very pale skin. And even though she was in traditional Japanese wear, it was obvious she was not from this country, perhaps even of this continent. Her eyes settled on the two men before her and she examined them closely, checking for threats. Shizune lead the woman towards the Hokage's desk, where the older woman made her stand. The Hokage smiled softly, reassuringly at the girl, before gesturing to the two men at her desk.
"Iruka, you will teach this girl how to speak. She isn't from round here and she needs to fit in as much as possible. Kakashi, you will act as her body guard for the duration of her time in the Fire Country or until I see fit. Understood?"
"Yes, Hokage-sama." The pair bowed.
"And you may not ask her about her past or ask any questions about why you have to do this, consider it a personal mission from me. It's for her protection, all the information you need is in this scroll. Dismissed!"
Iruka held his hand out to the timid woman, who took it after a moment, and then he led her out of the office, Kakashi trailing after them with the scroll. They stopped at Ichiraku's for some dinner, ordering for the woman and helping her into the seats when she struggled with the kimono.
They sat either side of her as the silence descended, each wondering what they should do. The girl broke the quiet as she looked at the chopsticks in confusion, and then tugged on Kakashi's sleeve. "What is it?" He asked softly.
She held up the chopsticks and pointed to them, the ramen and then herself, before shaking her head. "You don't know how to use chopsticks?"
Iruka took his own and held them out, and then, ever so slowly, showed the woman how to hold them. Once he'd done with that he waved his hand at the woman, signing that she should do the same. She tried and failed, but got it right the second time, and then looked to Iruka for further instruction.
They took careful time to teach her how to eat, though she got rather frustrated halfway through her ramen and resorted to spearing her pork on the end of one of her chopsticks to eat, much to the amusement of people walking by. Kakashi gave up.
They needed to get this girl a place to stay and make her feel at home. They had already been here longer than they needed to be, and he'd just come back from a long mission and had to get some sleep.
He picked the sticks out of her hands and fed her himself, shocking her slightly, but she complied with his forcefulness. Iruka didn't really know what to say and so stayed quiet. He wondered about the woman.
Who was she? Why was she so far away from home? Who was it that scared her so much? And why was the Hokage so urgently wanting her protected?
The first thing to be sorted though, was her name.
The trio made their way through the late afternoon crowd towards Iruka's house. It was small, but had a spare room the young woman use, whereas Kakashi lived in a one bedroom apartment, he could barely get himself in there, let alone another person!
Sakura Haruno passed them in the street, rushing off to the hospital for some training with Tsunade. In the last few weeks, since Naruto had gone off to train with Jiraya, she'd been pushing herself hard to close the gap that had formed between them. To get Sasuke back.
Kakashi sighed quietly, remembering his own mistake, his own failure to help his students. Sakura didn't say hello, or perhaps she didn't notice her old sensei in her rush, but all the same it left Kakashi feeling lonely.
Iruka glanced back over his shoulder at the man, wondering what could be going through his mind. He glimpsed a shock of pink bounding off down the street and turned back to his own thoughts. If Kakashi felt alone at the loss of three students, then Iruka, who'd been left behind by all his students, and his own teammates, was on the edge of the abyss on the verge of falling in.
They turned into a darker alley off the main street, a short cut to Iruka's, and found an old man slumped there. He was clutching his heart and gasping for breath.
"Shit, he's having a heart attack! Iruka take her to yours I'll-"
"No, I'll take him, you're her bodyguard remember, here's the key to my place. I'll meet you there."
Without another word Iruka scooped up the old man and leapt onto the rooftops to get to the hospital in time.
Kakashi looked at the key in his hand, and then at the girl, whose large, expressive eyes betrayed her concern for the old man. Kakashi gave her his famous eye crinkle smile, and led her to the Academy teacher's house round the corner.
The pair walked up the stone steps and she examined the flowers on the top step. They were nearly dead, Iruka never remembering to water them in his hectic schedule. The Copy-Nin watched in awe as a white-purple glow surrounded the plant at the girl's touch, and slowly came back to life. The plant was now recognisable as a small yellow rose bush, and the girl turned to him, smiling softly.
Kakashi looked at the plant and then the girl, who pressed a finger to her lips in the common sign of 'our-little-secret', and then took the key from him, opening the door and stepping lightly inside.
Kakashi stood there dumbstruck for a few long moments before coming to himself and following the girl inside, one thought running through his head:
What the hell was she?
The dim interior brightened suddenly, causing Kakashi to be blinded for a second, and then the girl fell to her knees in the hallway, as though exhausted by something.
Kakashi ran to her side and saw what it was that was affecting her. Dry skin covered her frail form, and every breath was a chore. Her lips were chapped and bleeding, her hair suddenly limp and crunchy, like dead leaves.
She was dehydrated, extremely dehydrated, and her thin fingers clawed at his shirt, one word, foreign to him, she repeated urgently.
He could only guess what it was that she needed so desperately, and he hurried her through to the kitchen where he filled the biggest glass he could find with water, and tipped it down her throat.
She recovered quickly, her skin healing and her breath flowing easier. Her hair had life in it again and her eyes grew brighter.
Kakashi was confused. Had she taken the plant's aliment for her self? Given it her life-force to help it to live again? It would seem to be so, for she pressed her finger to her lips again, almost begging him to not tell anyone.
He nodded slowly, finally realising just why this girl needed to be protected. If she could give her life-force to plants, or even people, to make them heal, then there was a good chance she could take it to make herself stronger too. It made her dangerous and highly sought after by enemies of Konoha. But she could also be used as a medic if needed, right on the battle field. Taking the life-force of their foes and transferring it to their own troops.
A knowing look passed over the girl's face. She knew what he was thinking. Using her powers for personal gain, like what had been done to her in the past. It made her sad, and a little angry. She didn't want to be used anymore. That was the whole reason she had come to this part of the world in the first place. But now it looked like she might have to leave again, running for her life from people who might've helped her once more.
She looked away, contemplating what she should do.
Kakashi noticed this and realised his mistake too late again.
He'd made her feel like a thing, like a weapon, like nothing. He regretted it and made to quickly amend his fault.
"I'm sorry! I don't think of you like that, no one here does! I'm sorry."
She turned her head sharply towards him, confusion in her eyes. She didn't understand what he was saying, so he mimed his apology to her instead.
Eventually she nodded, smiling weakly to him, and jumping up to sit on the counter next to the sink. She filled the glass with more water and sipped it slowly this time, still feeling some of the side effects of her power, as the front door opened and an exhausted Iruka walked in.
He tramped into the kitchen and glanced at them both.
"Did anything happen while I was gone?"
Kakashi and the girl looked at each other for a moment.
"Nope. Nothing at all." Kakashi replied.
(AN: More chapters to come very soon!)