AN: This was supposed to be a sequal, leaving Scarecrows on the Moon a oneshot, but I realized you had to read SotM first to understand anything, so it's a continuation... Pease enjoy.
Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.
"Sensei, are we there yet?" Violet eyes narrowed on there owners niece, wishing, not for the first time, that she could just slap the blond beside her. The golden eyed girl beside the blond, however, beat her to it.
"Shut up Tsukiko. You asked that five minutes ago." The affronted girl wrinkled her nose and rubbed her injured head.
"Dammit Natsuki, what crawled up your ass and died?" The violet haired girl just rolled her eyes and turned away, proving she was above such childish antics.
"Why can't you guys be more like Mizuki here? She hasn't complained, or attacked anyone the whole way here." The mentioned girl blushed as the other two snorted.
"Come on Yuzuki-sensei, you know you love us." The silver haired woman sighed, and resigned herself to a completely irritating trip. "Are we there yet?" Golden eyes smoldered as violet ones twitched.
"Why me?" the silver eyed girl sighed.
"Kakashi-sensei!" The white haired man sighed, glancing up from the latest edition of 'Icha Icha Paradise' to frown at his exuberant student.
"What Naruto?" The blonde started rambling on about things that didn't really matter all that much to the bored shinobi. Thankfully his female student, Sakura, caught up with the blue eyed nuisance in time to hit him over the head. Of course she began to scold the poor boy, and once again the silence was broken. It wasn't until his final student, the stoic Uchiha, arrived that the noise settled.
"Oi, Scarecrow! Is that you?" The irritated man stiffened, and slowly turned to see a vaguely familiar figure. His student also turned, eyeing the silver haired woman with suspicion.
"How do you know sensei!" Kakashi cringed at the volume of his loudest pupil, as did Yuzuki, who promptly ignored him.
"Well Kashi-kun, it seems you not only are still wearing your silly mask, you're now covering one of your eyes. And you had such a cute face..." She trailed off suggestively, causing the three youths surrounding her to snort as his students gave him a disbelieving look.
"You've seen Kakashi-sensei's face?" The wonder in Naruto's voice was comical, so much so, the porn reading shinobi rolled his sharinganless eye in amusement.
"Yep. Three times." Her gloat brought admiring stares from Sakura and Naruto, and even Sasuke looked at her differently. "Of course, you weren't much of a fight, what with me pinning you down in the bathroom..."
"Sensei!" The sharp reprimand from the golden eyed girl beside Yuzuki brought all attention on to the odd group of genin. One violet haired, bespectacled, and golden eyed girl was scowling at Yuzuki. A slightly younger blonde was snickering, black eyes glowing in mirth. The final, youngest, was biting her lip, twirling her raven hair, and averting her silver eyes.
"What, Natsuki-chan?" The irritated teen just growled, looking away in fury. Rolling her eyes, Yuzuki turned back to the masked man.
"That's not fair Yuzu-chan, I was injured." She wrinkled her nose and sauntered over to the man who just spoke, and wrapped her arms around his neck, motion languid, relaxed.
"But Kashi-kun", her eyes batted, "You weren't injured the last time." By now his breath was slightly irregular, heart erratic. The genin watching the exchange had their jaws dropped, shocked beyond belief by their sensei's display of affection.
Kakashi's hands were resting loosely around Yuzuki's waist, hers stroking his hair. She parted her lips slightly, leaned into his ear, and bit down. He gasped, eliciting a chuckle out of her. Pulling away, she beamed at him and squeezed him as hard as she could.
"Still the same Kashi-kun." The murmer brought a smile to his hidden face, and he hugged her back, reveling in the nastolgia of seeing the one living person from his childhood.
"Yuzu-chan, as playful as ever."
"B-b-but Kakashi-sensei! How do you know this girl?" Kakashi turned to the mentally scarred teens and frowned.
"This is Yuzuki."
"That's not an explanation!" The shriek of the pink haired kunoichi was piercing, and sent chills down every ones spine.
"Che, I'm leaving." Sasuke turned abruptly and left, soon to be followed by an anxious Sakura and consequently, an irritated Naruto.
"Don't think you're off the hook quite yet Sensei." It was Natsuki, and she was fuming. Tsukiko nodded in agreement.
"Yeah,Yuzu-chan. We want an explanation." The third girl just sighed, silver eyes exhausted. Kakashi gave a searching look to the woman still in his arms.
"So who gave birth to them." She stiffened, then looked down, eyes shifting.
"Later." She disentangled herself and moved towards her students. "I saw a nice club on the way in, Kashi-kun, 'Inferno'. Meet me there at nine, and we'll... catch up." She winked, then made her way to the apartments set up for her and her students, leaving Kakashi chuckling at her antics and wondering what he ate.
"Yuzuki-sensei, what the hell was that?" Violet eyes shifted to taunt gold. Yuzuki really wasn't concerned with how her niece's felt about her outrageous display of affection, for a moment there, when she spotted Kakashi, it was like Kyou was just about to pounce on her. Sora was in the kitchen just a couple meters away. And Oka-san was on her mission, coming home as soon as possible. For that one second, she didn't feel quite so empty.
"This is grown up stuff squirt, stay out of it." Natsuki scowled, thouroughly pissed with her aunt. Who is she to tell me to 'stay out of it'?Ever since her mother died, Natsuki had looked up to Yuzuki, and Yuzuki respected her opinions and gave her the responsibility she craved, the responsibility she needed to feel in control. And now, since that stupid... man came into the picture, she wasn't even good enough to know who he was.
"Sensei, that's not fair..." Both girls turned to look into the black depths that was Tsukiko's eyes. She was pleading for them to stop, silent but urgent. They just snapped their gaze in opposite directions... away from each other. The blond sighed, and looked down into her soon to be bleeding fingers. She knew she shouldn't have left Midoriko at home. Now she would have to summon her, and that display would not go over well with the current atmosphere. She whimpered, wishing dearly to hold her friend.
"I'm leaving." The soft voice brought every ones attention, as they faced the ebony haired girl. Her silver eyes were downcast, but unwavering. Tsukiko sighed and rose, ready to join her. Mizuki felt like glaring at the elder two in the room. She wanted to beat them until they got along, wring their necks until they made up. The whole family dynamic was in trouble because Yuzuki didn't know when enough was enough and Natsuki didn't know how to let go. When the only one in the room she could tolerate reached her in the doorway, they both left, not wanting to spend another second with the overbearing females left in there.
"You aren't really going to meet him. Are you?" Yuzuki smirked finally fed up with the overbearing fifteen year old girl across from her.
"I am. And I sure as hell don't need permission from a brat like you."
"Kakashi-sensei, who was that girl?" Sasuke rolled his eyes, not willing to let anyone see that he was in fact curious about the foreign woman while Sakura looked intently at the interrogated man before them.
"Yeah Kakashi-sensei, who was it?" Said man sighed, not really wanting to explain the complication that was his history with Yuzuki.
"Remember when we first met, and I told you guys I didn't really feel like telling you my hobbies?" Both Sakura and Naruto nodded, leaning in for the dramatic reveal. "Well... same applies here." He turned, leaving his students to go to his apartment and wait for nine to come. On the way, he saw two of the girls from earlier, walking together and talking in rushed whispers. He smiled, finding they reminded him an awfully lot of Kyou and Sora.
He contemplated greeting them, but decided otherwise. If his student's reaction was anything to go off of, they would just question him incessantly. And he knew he wasn't ready for that, because he didn't know why he reacted the way he did. Reaching his apartment, Kakashi slammed the door open and shut, trudged into the bedroom, and threw himself on the bed.
He knew that seeing Yuzuki was like seeing a ghost. He knew that her holding him, teasing him, it was all like a memory from a time when all of his comrades were alive and well. When Obito would act like his normal, cheerfully annoying self. When Rin would keep the peace, always wanting to find the middle way. And when Minato was there to help him, teach him, encourage him. For the first time on years, Kakashi had felt a sort of contentment. Something he hadn't thought he could feel anymore.
Maybe she feels the same. He thought back to the way she had stiffened in his arms, and groaned when a feeling of dread similar to the one he felt when he was twelve fell on him. With a grunt of frustration, he rolled on to his stomach and closed his eyes, resolved to nap for only two hours, then get up with enough time to shower and get dressed.
"I can't take this anymore!" Silver eyes narrowed on the jittery blond.
"It's only been two days..." Her voice trailed off as she saw the tears in Tsukiko's onyx eyes. She sighed and hugged her older sister. "Fine." Tsukiko smiled, eyes still puffy and full of tears. There was silence for a moment, and then a shout interrupted them.
"I SHALL DEFEAT YOU THIS TIME NEJI-KUN, OR I WILL DO FIVE HUNDRED CARTWHEELS!" The startled girls turned to see a group of four, two looking disturbingly similar in green spandex jump suites, an irate boy with long, dark flowing hair, and an exasperated girl with her hair pulled into buns. The sisters looked at each other, the quickly turned back to the odd group.
"Ano... can you really do five hundred cartwheels?" Tsukiko gave the younger girl a shocked expression as the group focused on her. Mizuki was stunned. Her team wasn't exactly 'physical', what with her genjutsu and Natsuki's ninjutsu, but even Tsukiko, who preferred taijutsu, could neverachieve such a feat. The boy she had been addressing smiled, or rather, smiled with the intensity of a thousand white hot suns.
"Of course! The fire of youth burns deeply within me!" The girl and the boy with the long hair sweat dropped as the older man who was nearly identical to the on who had just spoken fell to his knees.
"Well said Lee! The fire of youth does burn deeply within you!"
"Gai-sensei!"
"Lee!" The raven haired girl blinked, totally confused by what was happening as her sister slowly backed away, laughing nervously.
"Catch you later Mizuki, ja ne." She then disappeared, leaving the silver eyed girl to the wolves. Her eyes widened as she took in the green men. She turned frantically to the other two that looked slightly more sane.
"You mean all of you can do five hundredcartwheels?" They chuckled as their sensei made to answer.
"My little team is so brimming with the power of youth, they can do anything, YOSH!" Mizuki's mouth was agape as she took in what was being said.
"Show me!" She almost covered her mouth, embaressed their enthusiasm had rubbed off on her when the younger green garbed one held out his thumb and smiled again.
"I, Konoha's Handsome Green Devil, would be honored to show such a youthfilled, beautiful blossem such as yourself the power of my youth!"
"Yosh?"
"YOSH!"
Meanwhile...
Crimson dripped from the pale fingertips of Tsukino Tsukiko as she pressed them firmly on the ground and performed the required seals. With a puff of smoke a small pup appeared where she had just pressed her hand.
"Midoriko!" The tiny wolf yipped, then jumped in her owners waiting arms. "I've missed you so much girl." The canine licked the emotional girl fervently as Tsukiko hugged her pet tightly.
"No, Akamaru, shit!" Black eyes shifted in time to see the little ball of fur jump up on her leg, begging to be pet. She kneeled, releasing Midoriko, and stroked both animals fondly.
"You shouldn't run away from your owner like that Akamaru-kun." She cocked her head thoughtfully, "Or do you own him?"
"Hey!" She giggled at the disgruntled response and looked up to see an out of breath boy in front of her.
"See Akamaru-kun, he's worried sick." The dog yipped and nuzzled her hand. Tsukiko turned to give Midoriko a knowing look, just to see she was rubbing up against the new boy.
"Seems yours is just as loyal." The muttered words made the blonde smile, uplifted by the light teasing. She rose, dog in arm, to swap with the unruly boy. She looked down at the dogs, then snorted. "What's so funny?"
"Akamaru and Midoriko." He blinked, then snickered.
"Oh yeah." They just looked at each other, not sure what to say.
"You know, it's nice to find Konoha has normal inhabitants." He snorted.
"So who have run into so far?" She held up one finger.
"Some weirdo in a mask reading porn." The brunette boy nodded, understanding it to be Kakashi. "A girl with pinkhair." Up went the middle finger. "A total douche bag with a duck butt hair cut." Ring finger. "An obnoxious blond with whiskers." Pinkie. Two freaks in green spandex." Thumb. "A boy with hair like a girl, and a girl that looks like a panda." The boy smirked.
"Well I'm Inuzuka Kiba, and you my lady, just encountered team seven and team Gai." He held out his hand, which she promptly shook with a smile.
"Tsukino Tsukiko." After shaking hands, the two exchanged dogs, smiled agian, and waved at each other.
"Saiyonora."
"Ja ne."
Yuzuki wrinkled her nose, not sure why she was concerned with what the reflection showed, but unable to stop herself from doing so. A tight black camisole under a wine colored man's haori with a short black suede skirt hugged her form intimately. Black ankle length boots completed the ensemble. Biting her lip, she turned, straining her neck to get a view from behind. A snort sounded from the doorway, making the jounin spin her head to the noise.
"I thought it was just a friendly meeting." The snide words the girl spoke put the older woman on edge, and consequently, on the defense.
"I never said that." She then walked out of the building with all the confidence she could muster, refusing to apologize to the hurt teenager glaring holes into her back. She felt horrible, after getting over the initial shock of seeing Kakashi she realized that the way she had acted was irresponsible and childish.
But that was what she liked about being around him. She felt like the happy, twelve year old Yuzuki, not the adoptive mother, middle aged, borderline depressed Yuzuki. Of course, she wasn't twelve anymore. And she did have children to look after. With an exasperated sigh she decided to make desert when she got home, as an apology.
She arrived at the cub, only getting lost a couple of times, to find that she was amazingly on time. With a smile smile, she strutted on in, looking around for the masked ninja only to find he wasn't there. A small frown tugged on her lips, which she shook off. After finding an empty table she sat down, waiting patiently for the man to arrive. The club itself was dark, ambiance giving her a headache, especially when combined with the pulsating music.
It was nine fifteen and still no sign of Kakashi when a man with a spiky ponytail and a cut across his nose sat down in front of her. She looked up at him and blinked. "May I help you?" He laughed nervously at her blunt statement.
"Actually, I should be asking you that. As you are a foreign ninja, I would like to see your papers." She sighed and reached into her top, pulling out the requested documents and handing them to the chuunin. He gave them a good look, glancing between her and the pass occasionally before handing them back to her. She replaced them and waited for him to leave. He didn't.
"Anything else?"
"I was just wondering why you were here alone instead of with you students Tsukino-san. It's odd for someone such as yourself to leave their genin unattended." She immediately regretted her curt attitude as his intentions sank in.
"Gomen, I'm actually here to meet a childhood friend. Of course he's late, and if he doesn't get here soon, I'm leaving."
"Oh, who is it, maybe I know him." She opened her mouth to give his name, but found she wasn't quite sure what it was. A deep blush painted her face as she realized she didn't know his name.
"I forgot. I always called him scarecrow or Kashi-kun." The man blinked in confusion before it dawned on him who she was talking about.
"Oh, you must mean Hatake Kakashi." The name sounded familiar to the kunoichi, and she started to respond accordingly when she was interrupted.
"Yo, Iruka, you found Yuzu-chan for me." Said girl turned to glare at the late man.
"You have a lot of nerve, being late for our first meeting in fourteen years." He rubbed his head in chagrin as Iruka backed away slowly.
"I'll just leave you two to it..."
"I'm sorry Yuzu-chan. If it's any consolation, I'm late for everything else too." Her glare stayed in place, and the tardy shinobi sighed, seating himself across from the angry woman. "You clean up well..." His attempt at lightening the atmosphere was met with a deepening in her glare. "Honestly, I'm sorry." At that her expression softened minutely.
"Alright, I forgive you. But in return, you have to participate in an activity of my choosing at a time of my choosing." He sighed, but nodded, knowing this was the only way to appease her. "So Kashi-kun, how's life been treating you?" He shifted his eyes away from her, avoiding the question as well as how nice she looked.
"How about you answer the question I asked you." She cringed and leaned back against her chair.
"They're Sora's." He nodded, not liking the sense of dread that washed over him at her words.
"They are, or were?" A grim smile graced her features.
"Were. Kyou died soon after mom. He became reckless, uncaring in his grief. Sora married her crush Saburo, you remember him?" He nodded, smiling at the memory of that game. "Well, he passed on soon after the youngest was born. And Sora finally left this world when Mizuki turned ten. I'm their guardian now." No tears in her eyes, no tremble in her lips, she was detached, and Kakashi didn't like that.
Yuzuki decided to change the topic to The man across from her, hoping it would lighten the mood. "So, what about you?"
"Obito died first, only a few months after I met you. Then Rin, then Minato." Yuzuki turned to the masked man and stood, grabbing his hand and dragging him out of the club. He didn't struggle as the scent wild violet and pomegranate wafted over to him. After distancing themselves from the crowded building, the silver haired woman embraced the dark eyed man.
His trembling hands rested lightly around her. "What a pair we make." He snorted at her statement, then sighed into the comfort that was Yuzuki. "Kashi-kun, I'm sorry." He hugged her closer. They stayed like that, unwilling to move for a while, then suddenly pulled apart. It seemed consensual that their relationship dynamic had changed, even without verbal communication. She closed her eyes, pulled down his mask and kissed him lightly. "I wish your students good luck." He smiled.
"Yours too." He replaced his mask, and the parted ways, content with the development.