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I SO OWN MOTOKO!!! But no one else…


Chapter Two: Night Vision


Everywhere she turned, Motoko could see the eyes. The deep, cruel set of orbs that followed her every move, terrorizing and taunting her. They didn't leave her for one second, preferring to scare the living daylights of her as she walked through the darkened forest.

As if the eyes weren't enough, the figure began to laugh- a deep, guttural sound into the unnaturally quiet night. The hair on the base of her neck frigidly stood on end as she clenched her mouth to keep herself from whimpering. The medic-nin quickened her steps, simply wanting to reach the end of this cursed forest before he would get her.

The next thing that came were the footsteps as the man began to follow her. He made sure to walk upon every twig possible, simply to make his presence known to her.

Motoko's throat tightened as she saw the obstacle in front of her. An iron fence rested far ahead, blocking her path. It only took her a mere matter of seconds before she was forced to stop in front of the massive restriction. The man also stopped directly behind her, the fabric of his clothing brushing against her hands, his breath tickling her neck.

Then an excruciating wave of pain.

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Gasping loudly, Motoko sat up in her bed, sweat drenching her forehead and sticking her hair to her face. Her chest rose and fell with every frantic breath she took as she turned to her side and fumbled through the darkness. After knocking down most things on the dresser, she found the small chain and tugged on it.

Light flooded the room, chasing the most prominent aftereffects of her dream. Her heart still raced manically and she brought a shaking hand to her face, closing her eyes to calm herself down.

'Damn you,' she swore to no one in particular, simply hating them for making her have nightmares. It was the second dream that night and she knew well enough that it wouldn't be the last one.

Standing up painfully, she trudged to the bathroom and splashed cold water on her face repeatedly before pushing her face in a towel. After setting the cloth down, she looked up in the mirror to find a terrorized image of herself staring back. Groaning, she shut the bathroom light and quickly retreated to her bedroom.

Slipping under the covers again, she threw a glance outside the window quickly, hating the feeling of being watched that came with the opening. Part of her wanted to keep the curtains open so the thin moonlight could seep through, but the most dominant part despised the feeling that someone could be looking in.

Throwing a quick look at her bed, she sighed deeply and decided that she wouldn't be getting any sleep tonight. Sitting upon the small metal desk on the far side of her room, she pulled out some sheets of paper and a pen.

She wrote simply that she was alive and that she couldn't tell her exact location. Omitting why she was running away from home, she wrote an entire page of apology and promises to come back. Folding the sheet gingerly, she placed it in an envelope and wrote in clear writing the address of her mother.

Getting up, she slipped on some shoes and patiently unlocked the security system Tsunade had installed on her door, and then left her apartment with her heart racing in dread. Walking alone in the night wasn't something she relished, but there was no way anyone would let her post anything during the day if they knew she was probably now considered a Missing-nin.

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Kakashi narrowed his eyes, shaking out of his dazed mode as he saw a light come on in Motoko's apartment. From his position up high in a tree, he could see directly through the clean windows and into her room.

Taking in her shorter in back, longer in front hairstyle and tall figure, he actually found himself smiling at his luck. Shutting Icha Icha Paradise, his smile turned to a frown as he noticed the distressed look that adorned her face. Then she left, came back again, and her eyes went out of the window and seemed to stare right at him.

The renewed ANBU retreated in the thick foliage and waited for her to turn away. He groaned later on as she shut off the curtains, ending his vision of the room. Shrugging with resolve, he once again opened his book and leaned back upon a thick branch, shutting his left eye to give the Sharingan a break.

He only could read a while, though, as he heard a door shut under him. Peeking through the leaves, he saw Motoko rushing out of her apartment, clutching an envelope to her body. Once again putting the book in his weapon pouch, he got up and in a second he was gone.

He followed her stealthily, his left eye reopening to be able to follow her better even if she wasn't running very quickly. After aimlessly circling around the village a few times, she stopped in front of a house that Kakashi recognized as being the courier-nin's. Motoko approached the door and reached down to slip the envelope under the door when Kakashi jumped forward and landed right between her and the entrance of the house.

Gasping for a second time that night, she reeled backwards and within a second had four kunais between her fingers, the letter dropped to the ground. An awkward silence filled the air, thick as she calmed her breathing down and forced herself to take control of her emotions.

"I don't want to hurt you," Kakashi sighed, making sure his voice was lower in pitch than usual. "You aren't allowed, as a refugee, to send out letters."

"I-I didn't know," the medic-nin apologized, lowering the weapons as she noticed the Leaf Village symbol on the mask the ANBU wore. Putting the kunais away, she leaned down and picked up the letter, looking at it sorrowfully.

After a few hand seals, Kakashi was able to come up with a small flame hovering over his hand. Smiling softly, she lit the edge of the paper on fire before tossing it on some rocks where it could burn harmlessly.

"Thank you," she sighed, looking at the remains of the blackened paper. "Not many people would keep their curiosity to themselves; they would've asked to see the letter. What's your name?"

"Kioshi," Kakashi told her, remembering Tsunade's warning about never revealing anything about himself. "And you are Kaoru Motoko."

At first, the medic-nin blinked in surprise at his knowledge of her. First he knew that she was a refugee, then he just spilled out her name. Wondering what else he knew about her, she warily crossed her arms and said, "So, Kioshi… how have you heard of me?"

A small frown tugged at Kakashi's eyebrows as she questioned him. It should be the opposite; he should be asking her questions.

"I'm an ANBU member, I have the right to know these kind of things," he said seriously, then lowered his voice and said, "If I were you, I wouldn't be sneaking through the city alone at night. It may be a safe village, but we never know when strangers can be lurking around."

Motoko took another step back, hating the sound of the man's voice. 'Was that a threat…?' she asked herself, narrowing her eyes lightly with suspicion.

When she didn't answer, the Jounin continued with, "May I walk you home? It might make you feel more comfortable rather than staying alone."

Sighing, she forced herself to gather all the trust she had in herself and nodded. "Please, I'd appreciate it," she said, turning around. Kakashi gave his head a light inclination to show that he understood, though it went unnoticed as she began to walk forward.

The walk was short, brisk, and uneventful. Despite her hatred for darkness, she found the presence of the ANBU rather refreshing. He was probably one of the strongest of the village after all, so no one could really injure her. Except if it was…

Motoko crossed the remaining distance quickly, unlocking the door as she did so. Opening the it a crack, she gently said, "Thank you for escorting me back to my house, Kioshi. It was very nice of you." As she turned around, though, the masked ANBU had disappeared from sight.


A/N: One more chapter down! Man, was it a hassle to write. I did it coming home from two exhausting days of work, so if it isn't that good… just don't hurt me! XD

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