Kakashi's POV
He was standing just outside the door, getting some air. Honestly, Kakashi wished Sasuke hadn't said that. "Don't be ridiculous, Sakura. Sensei already told us that everyone he loved was dead." Shizuru was right. It WAS harsh. Her voice had been playfully sarcastic but he could see the hurt in her empty eyes.
"Do you regret it? Saving your teammate and falling from the ninja ranks?" Sasuke asked Shizuru. Kakashi's muscles tightened.
"Of course not. I'd regret it the rest of my life if I didn't. I saved his life, both of ours, really. That's all that matters to me," Shizuru replied, almost dreamily. He'd have preferred it if she regretted her actions. Now the shinobi felt even more guilty. But also angry. It was as if she was egging him on purposely. Kakashi strode back in the room, fighting the urge to hit her or something.
He walked up to her and whispered fiercely, "Stop it."
"Stop what? I'm just talking. That's all," she replied, her tone only slightly sharp.
"You wouldn't be so nice if you knew the whole story. If you knew what I did."
"I'm quivering with anticipation. Are you going to tell me or are you going to hint all day long?" The silver-haired ninja glared at her, though felt better now that she was taking a harsh (for her) tone. To the surprise of both, her grabbed her hand and dragged her outside. She didn't fight Kakashi but he could feel her tenseness. Though she was unsure of him, Shizuru still seemed to trust him not to lead her astray. And though he was upset, he couldn't help but notice the warmth of her hand in his own.
When they were far enough from the house and his students, he spun her around and said, "I hurt you. I took away everything from you."
"I already forgave you," she said, astounded.
"That's my point! Why aren't you the least bit upset?"
"Why should I be? It happened forever ago. I moved on. Why can't you?"
"I killed you!" he snapped at her, grabbing her shoulders. Something about her always tended to make him lose his cool and calm exterior that made the copy-ninja such a deadly opponent. "I...I killed you." Shizuru looked at her friend blankly then patted her body up and down and checked her pulse.
"Wait a minute- I think there's- yes! Yes, there's life! Come off it, Kakashi. What are you talking about?" Still playful. For some reason, Shizuru's mood not only made him madder, but it also made him admire her in a way.
"A person only lives if people remember her. If the memory of her dies, she dies. I killed the memory of you in the Leaf Village...I killed you..." Kakashi told her, feeling ashamed.
Shizuru's POV
I stared at Kakashi's blur. His hands had loosened on my shoulders and he hung his head.
"I made people forget about you and then I forced myself to forget about you. Until now, when it was convenient," Kakashi went on softly. So this is what's killing him. This is why he's so odd around me now. "You hate me now, don't you? I've been afraid to ask, but do you hate me?" he asked. I put my hand on his cheek.
"I swear, you've gotten dumber." His head jerked up. "Are you sorry?" I asked reasonably. He nodded, my hand still on his face. "Then you're forgiven. I'll just have to go back and reestablish my name. And you're going to help me." Kakashi didn't say anything for a moment. I supposed he was gaping.
"How- how can you not hate me? After everything..."
"Why do you want me to hate you so badly?"
"I don't. But I hate myself when I remember it..."
"That's stupid. I was right. You HAVE gotten dumber. It's done and over with. And if you remember, then you didn't kill my memory completely, rude as that was. As long as I've been gone, everyone would have forgotten, anyway. I live in the present- you should too."
"Are you sure?" he asked hesitantly. I smiled. His voice was going back to normal; he had this off his chest.
"Of course. As long as you're truly sorry, I'll pretty much always forgive you. I love ya, don't I?" I asked lightly. With a friendly pat on his shoulder, I left him in the grove and went back to the house. The whole way, I mentally berated myself. I told him I loved him. But it was in a light tone, so he might not take it literally if I was lucky. I didn't mean it, after all. Just, the last time I told him that I liked him, he brushed me away and avoided me for a while. If I'd be travelling back to the Village Hidden in the Leaves with him and if he was going to help me, the two of us would have to be on good terms.
Kakashi's POV
Shizuru walked away after patting him on the back. He couldn't believe how she was able to overlook such follies on his part. Thinking back, he couldn't remember a time he had done right by her. Focused on his missions, Kakashi ignored her when she said she really liked him because he didn't want her to get distracted, despite his own attraction; Kakashi led her to her blindness; he erased all records and memories of her in the Konoha because he couldn't bear to have a reminder of how he treated her...Even though she was a few months older than the jounin, he always acted superior. At the Academy, she stuck by his side, though it was mainly because the two were the youngest. And even though she became a chunin a few years after him and he became a jonin at 13, Shizuru refused to take the jonin test with him in hopes that she could work under him. Though she wouldn't admit it, Kakashi knew it was because deep down she knew that he wouldn't treat her as an equal. But after he lost his first team, some of his views changed- especially of teamwork. But even then, Kakashi screwed her over. Even after he put teammates over missions, the team suffered.
"I'll do right by you," he muttered "Somehow."
"What'd you say?" Kakashi turned to see Naruto standing behind him. The jonin stared.
"Go back to bed, Naruto. You're supposed to rest."
"But I feel fine!" he whined, forgetting about his question.
"I don't care. Go," Kakashi ordered him. Grumbling, he did as told. The jonin went back inside, wondering just how much Naruto had heard.
Shizuru's POV
Yohmei came back late that night- I was waiting for him.
"Shizuru-sensei, you didn't have to wait up."
"Nonsense. Did you get everything I needed you to?"
"Do you have to ask? Though I was wondering why you had me get a lot of extra supplies." I smiled fondly at my student.
"I thought you'd need them. After all, you won't have me around to tell you when to restock." He didn't say anything for a while. "You- you're...but why?"
"You're ready. And it's my time to go. Goodnight, Yohmei." He hesitated before nodding his head.
"Yes, ma'am."
I had planned to leave early that morning, but the kids dawdled and Kakashi didn't even show up 'till around noon.
"Late as always," I muttered to him, wondering where he could have been- when he was put on my team, he was tardy all the time because he spent all morning (and sometimes all night) at the stone engraved with the names of the ninja fallen in combat. Obito's name.
"I was in town. Here. I got you something for the road," he told me and gently pushed something in my hands.
"Perverted runt," he added in a whisper. It was a book. I opened it, feeling the pages. The characters were raised so I could feel them. I 'read' the title page: "Icha Icha Paradise #3," I murmured then kicked him. "I am not a runt, Kakashi!" I held the book close anyway.
The tall shinobi's blur shrugged and said, "It was the only book they had made like that. And I noticed the first two in your room last night." I smiled and thanked him.
"Come on, guys!" he yelled at his students. And we were off.
Sakura asked if I needed someone to hold my hand to lead me, but I politely declined. The ever so slightly improved vision coupled with the chakra outlines would make my journey easier, if not a little tiring.
"If we take to the trees here, we can cut about a day from the journey," Sasuke volunteered. A gloved hand touched my arm.
"Am I going to have to race you to prove I'm not an invalid?" I murmured to Kakashi sourly. "Rykugan," I said after putting my fingers together for the proper jutsu. I smirked at Kakashi. He didn't have time to copy my jutsu and he'd been wanting it for the longest time. One of my clan's signature techniques, the Rykugan rivaled the Hyuga's Byakugan. The Byakugan could only see a person's chakra and its flow throughout the human body as well as great distances at 180 degrees. My clan- the Kiuchi- passed down our technique. It was our kekkei genkai, I suppose. The Rykugan allowed us to see chakra not only in people, but the natural chakra in everything around us, too. Everything has its own life force- its own chakra- and we could not only see it, but manipulate it too. My clan learned to move and change chakra in others while the Hyuga's learned their gentle fist style. Evenly matched, I thought. The light from my last mission scarred my retinas, so by using the Rykugan, my chakra took over my eyes, connecting most of the nerves for however long I kept the jutsu up. I looked around for a moment taking in the area. Everything was in black and white, but it was detailed and it was there. Damn, I loved being a ninja.
"Maybe next time, Kakashi," I teased and jumped into the first tree. The four shinobi followed.
After 10 or 11 miles, Kakashi called for a short break.
"Unlike you, I don't run my students to the point of dropping- just to the ragged edge of." It was a small clearing in the forest with a brook nearby. I sat heavily on the ground, releasing my jutsu and letting my vision fade to the vague shadows. It was a good spot, but for some reason, I felt uneasy.
Kakashi's POV
Sakura went to soak her feat in the brook while Sasuke went to do a look-around. Naruto, eager to outdo Sasuke, also went off. Kakashi settled down with his book and noticed Shizuru had done the same. Her fingers trailed down the page, row after row as her head faced straight ahead (at him) and slightly tilted to the side. Kakashi alternated from reading his own book to watching her 'read.' Then his soldier sense tingled. If there's something, Sasuke and Naruto will find it. If not, Shizuru and I can handle it. The thought of her made him glance up again. Her head still tilted, a light blush mantled her cheeks. How cute. She still gets a little embarrassed.
"Enjoying your dirty book?"Kakashi asked jokingly. Her face broke into a flashing smile and deeper blush. Then she threw a small rock at him. If it hadn't been for his ninja reflexes, the rock would've hit him in the face.
"That wasn't nice," he admonished her.
"I never claimed I was nice," she retorted. The jonin chuckled.
"Fair enough."
"That's what I thought," Shizuru said and turned toward the direction of the brook where Sakura was. "A surge of chakra- a jutsu, not only Sakura's," she murmured. The two jumped up and dashed for the kunoinchi- she wasn't there. "Rykugan," Shizuru murmured and looked around. Kakashi the first to spot them. Them, being two ninja holding onto Sakura, who's arms were each being held by a ninja on either side- she couldn't make a hand sign for a jutsu or get a weapon. They held her captive on a tree branch.
"Hands up and apart- where we can see them," one demanded, pressing his kunai against Sakura's throat. The two did as instructed.
Shizuru's POV
I had my hands up, but reached out with my chakra, thankful I had my Rykugan up. Naruto and Sasuke were near. With the gentlest twitch of my fingers, I found and latched onto them then tugged at their chakra. It didn't hurt them, but they could feel something physically pulling them toward me. They were on their way.
"What are you doing to my student?" Kakashi asked. The blade pressed into Sakura's neck, drawing a little blood.
"You're in no position to be asking questions," one of the ninja said. Kakashi could've been up there in a flash, but he stayed put. Why? Did he know I sent for the others? Or is he using this experience as training for his students instead of letting him do all the work.
"Perhaps not, but she IS my student. And as her teacher, I want to know what you plan to do with her," Kakashi replied darkly. Then he was gone, suddenly behind the ninjas and his student. But at the same instant, the blade was through her neck. Then they vanished. A genjutsu! But then where are they? Kakashi jumped down and stood back to back with me- he didn't know where they were either. They were good.
"That's what will happen if you try that again," a ninja said, appearing with his partner and Sakura on a different tree. She was unharmed. They felt real this time too. It's for the better anyway. What if they work for someone else? If they wanted Sakura, they could've just taken her.
"We want the lady," the first one said.
"...He's talking about you," Kakashi told me, voice amused.
"How flattering," I said flatly. "Seriously, what would you want with someone like me? I mean, I snore. And I have dragon breath in the morning. And I'm old, so could you come down from there? It's hard to negotiate with a stiff neck." Kakashi snorted, despite the situation. To my surprise, the enemy ninja complied. My fingers flicked again to denote the urgency of the matter, but I must have flicked too hard because the two boys toppled from the bushes, as if I pulled them harshly by a rope tied around their waists.
"Good job," Kakashi murmured sarcastically.
"Heh heh, oops," I muttered sheepishly.
"No more games! I want you now, Kuichi."
"Oh, you're making me blush," I told him dryly, "but you could have bought me dinner first."
"I said no more games! You're killing her," the first ninja told us and started to really cut.
"Alright! Enough. Let her go," I said. They were too easily angered and reacted too quickly for Kakashi or me to snatch Sakura, fast as we were.
"Shizuru!" Kakashi said, exasperated. I shrugged. The second ninja put a hand firmly around my arm.
"You may call me Kosugi. My partner is Hameda. I hope you like us- it's a long trip back." Hameda half threw Sakura down.
"Back where?" I asked, trying to sound like I didn't care.
"You'll know soon enough." Sooner than you think! Fast as lightning, I moved my fingers through the proper signs.
"Giutai," I said with a smirk. The world around me stopped for a moment, then faded. I felt myself fading- it was an odd sensation- one I never got used to- I tingled and felt misty, as if the breeze could blow through me, tearing me apart. I melted into Kosugi, becoming part of him. Taking over his consciousness was simple enough. This was an advanced version of the mind transfer jutsu. It allowed me to bodily enter another, taking complete control without leaving my body defenseless. Quickly, I shuffled through his mind, learning what I needed to. An extra guy in the trees to the left- expected. I hope Kakashi knows he's there. Ah. Land of Waves ninja. Guess I wore out my welcome. Good thing I'm leaving.
"Where'd she go?" Hameda demanded.
"I-I don't know! She just vanished!" I said, though it seemed as if Kosugi said it. I love this jutsu! Complete body control. All the senses are mine. I looked up where the third man in 'my' team was hiding, but looked away quickly. Knowing Kakashi, he would realize it if he didn't already.
"Now!" I shouted and attacked Hameda. Taken by surprise, everyone hesitated. Except the guy in the trees. He threw a few shuriken at me but I blocked them using Hameda's stunned body as a shield. Kakashi took out that ninja as mine fell to the ground. I turned to find Kakashi's kunai knife at my throat.
"What are you playing at?" he asked slowly from arm's length away. I held up my hands in surrender, dropping my own blade.
"Come on, Kakashi. That's not very nice. Though you HAVE grown up quite pretty," I told him, gently easing the blade away from my neck. He pushed it back, slicing my index and middle fingers deeply.
"Ow. But seriously, pervert. Your hair has gotten a little darker. I like it." Kakashi put away his knife and sighed, to his students' surprise.
Kakashi's POV
He glared at the enemy ninja, or rather, Shizuru.
"That wasn't funny."
"Aw, did I have you worried about me? How sweet," she teased, though it was odd coming from a man.
"Just get out of that body," Kakashi told her.
"But I like it. I can see you. And YOU were worried about me." She was right. He had been worried. Shizuru never ran from a fight once she got in one, which was ironic because she ran from almost everything in life. One time, Kakashi had to bodily drag her to ensure the safety of the mission (and the others) when she would have stayed to fight. He glanced back at his students. Naruto had been trying to comfort an upset and depressed Sakura while Sasuke was pouting over how useless he was but now they stared at the two older ninja.
"You're confusing them. Get out," Kakashi told her.
"But-" Sasuke was on her.
"He said to leave." She blinked at the young Uchiha then went back to looking at Kakashi, ignoring the young boy.
"But I like seeing in color," she near whined. "Just for a little while?" He turned around to check on Sakura. It pained him too much to see that look in those eyes, even if they weren't really hers. She missed her sight- longed for it- and again, the jonin was causing her to give it up.
"There might be other enemy ninja and they can track one of their own easier than one of us." The genin simply kept staring.
"Oh. That would make sense, wouldn't it? -*sigh*- Oh, alright." A foggy image of Shizuru came out of the other ninja- like a ghost or something then...solidified, he supposed. The man left behind collapsed.
"Hm. If I stayed in much longer, I might've killed him. I need more practice..." Shizuru murmured to herself.
"Wha-wha-what the hell was that?" Naruto exclaimed. Shizuru looked around, eyebrows furrowed. Perhaps she's getting oriented. She stopped looking around and her shoulders slumped in defeat. That's right. She's blind again. Good job, Hatake. Shizuru smiled.
"You three alright? I didn't give ya a scare, did I?"
"What was that? They didn't teach us that jutsu in school," Sakura said.
"And they wouldn't. The Guitai is very advanced; not even most of ANBU can do it properly. I was one of the youngest to master it," the chunin said smugly. Kakashi looked at his students- Sakura and Naruto found it interesting at least and Sasuke was sulking again. Megalomaniac. He looked back at Shizuru, she was regarding her sliced fingers with an odd expression.
"How odd. I was able to see blurs. Now that's gone too. Oh, well. It was nice while it lasted," she muttered to herself and continued to look at her hand; the blood was starting to stream down her tapered fingers.
"Team 7, scout ahead. Communicate with each other. You have to work together if we're to get back home without further incident," Kakashi instructed. Once they left, he pulled out some small bandages and taped up her fingers. Things were different now. Kakashi was different now- his team meant everything to him and people were no longer considered distractions...she wouldn't be a distraction. After everything, Kakashi figured he owed it to her to look after her.
"Thanks," she murmured, blushing slightly for some reason. "We better get going."
-Thanks ShinobiStar for the review. And thanks everyone who favorited. Reviews make me happy and feel like posting so please, please, please! It works anonymously, too. -
