episode IV

Two weeks later …

The burial ground for the Konoha shinobis was a place that she had always dreaded going to. She lowered herself to the gravestone and brushed it tenderly with one hand. Despite the fact that she was visiting his gravestone, Reiko felt as if the realization that Sarutobi Asuma had passed on had not completely dawn within her.

She placed a packet of cigarettes on the gravestone. 'Here,' she whispered. 'I thought you could use this.'

A pile of beautiful flowers adorned the gravestone, but Reiko had not felt like bringing flowers just to be left to wither away. The irony was simply too much for her to accept and while bringing a pack of cigarettes wasn't exactly a touching gesture, she couldn't imagine what other objects could signify sufficient importance for her in attempt to pay her respects to Asuma.

She was so absorbed in her own thoughts that she didn't hear footsteps approaching her, and only noticed when she felt an unmistakable presence behind her.

'I never expected to see you here,' Kakashi said as he approached the gravestone next to her.

Reiko observed him quietly. 'Asuma was also a precious friend to me.'

'You weren't at his funeral yesterday,' he pointed out.

She glanced away, her eyes poignant. 'I …hate funerals.'

Kakashi chuckled mirthlessly as he cast a glance at her. 'Who doesn't?'

She was silent as she stared pensively at the gravestone. 'I've never been able to overcome that fear …of losing someone.'

Kakashi exhaled heavily. 'Deep within all of us …that fear still remains, Reiko. You're not alone in this.'

Tears stung her eyes and she lowered her head. A transient image of the familiar face fleeted through her mind, and a jolt of pain shot through her like a poisoned arrow.

A while later, they were leaving the burial ground when Kakashi said to her, 'It's good that I bumped into you today. There's something I wanted to talk to you about.'

Reiko cast a sidelong glance at him, her eyes curious. 'What is it?' she asked, although she felt as if she knew what was coming next.

Kakashi glanced at her as they walked. 'I'm sure you're already anticipating this. It's about Tenzou.'

'Why am I not surprised?' she asked dryly.

Kakashi stopped and turned to face her as they approached a steep precipice that overlooked the gushing river beneath. 'You two are …serious?'

Reiko looked at him. 'Would it be so terrible if we are?'

'Actually, I meant to ask …are you serious – about him?'

Her eyes narrowed a little as she stared at him. 'That's interesting. You think this is one-sided?'

Kakashi hesitated. 'Reiko …to be honest, I've always had my own suspicions about how Tenzou feels towards you. So I wasn't completely surprised when he came forth to me about it.' He paused, as if expecting her to retort something back at him, but she remained silent. 'But you, on the other hand …well, I guess you surprised me.'

Reiko was quiet. 'Because you never expect that I would feel the same way towards him?'

He observed her expression warily. 'In a way, yes.'

It was transient but he could almost see an annoyed expression shadowing her face as she stared stonily at him. 'How do you expect me to respond to something like that?'

'Don't get mad,' Kakashi implored. 'I'm not criticizing you.'

'You talk as if I'm some kind of a flirt and I'm only messing around with his feelings.' Her light gray eyes flashed, burning a hole in his.

'No, no, it's not that,' Kakashi replied defensively. 'Look, I don't know how to say it, but …let's put it this way – I'm saying this not because I think you're fooling around with him.' He was looking at her with wary eyes.

Her gaze was still piercing but she uttered no words.

A suspenseful silence filled the air between them, and then when Kakashi finally spoke, his voice was quiet and serious. 'I think …' He hesitated. ' …You've already given your heart to someone else. Which is why …I thought – it would be impossible for you to do the same for Tenzou.'

At that moment, the look that shrouded her eyes was more than enough confirmation for Kakashi that he had hit the right note.

Her eyes dimmed visibly, and she turned away. Reiko was silent for a long moment and when she finally spoke, her voice was different. 'Tenzou …has always been the gentlest person to me. I always thought he was such an amazing guy, and that he was so nice to me because that's just simply how he's like, and that's how he treated everyone else. I never expected him to feel that way towards me. But when I found out …' she trailed off, lowering her eyes as she stared at the rushing river underneath.

Kakashi watched her quietly, listening.

'You asked if I was serious about him,' she continued in a voice scarcely above a whisper, merged with the sound of the gushing water. 'Honestly, I don't know how to describe my feelings for him. I couldn't put in words nor show you, to justify it all – but …what I know …is that he makes me happy. I feel like …when I'm with him …I can finally stop crying inside.'

Another silence stretched between them, the intensity of the moment compounded by the poignant sun setting beyond the horizon and the perpetual rush of the water in the valley below the cliff they were standing on.

'I'm sorry …for doubting you,' Kakashi said quietly.

'No …' Reiko's voice was barely audible. 'You were right.'

He glanced at her, waiting for her to say something more, but she remained silent. But even within the silence the unspoken words were as if they were louder than spoken ones. It was then that an undeclared understanding developed between them, and he instinctively knew it had something to do with the secret she had been keeping from him that had fueled so many of their arguments in the past.

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