Chapter 2: The Wanting of a Hito-ki
After our mission on the ship, Liely and I wait at the cabin for Kakashi to return. We sit on the couch in front of the fire for what seems like forever. There is nothing said and barely anything heard. I take a deep breath and sigh heavily. I lay my head back and look up at the ceiling, going in and out of reality. I hear Liely get up and I jump, lifting my head to look at her, "What's wrong?" The puppy crawls into my lap and lies down. He twitches his ear as I pet his head softly.
Liely looks down at me, "Nothing's wrong. I'm getting thirsty and I'm going to fix me some tea. Would you like some?" She bends down and pets the puppy. I look at her and smile, seeing that she is going into her own world. I look over at the crackling fire, almost completely forgetting about the question. It is as if the fire is pulling me out of my mind. I shake it off and scratch my arm as I look over at Liely once more, seeing that she is staring at me. She clears her throat, "Fierah? Did you hear me?"
I nod my head, "Yeah. Sorry. Sure if you don't mind fixing me some. I'm getting kind of thirsty, too."
Liely smiles and starts walking toward the kitchen, "Alright. I'll be right back with the tea."
I look down at the puppy as soon as Liely is out of the room. The puppy stares at me with a bored look and yawns. I pick him up so his face is facing me, "Why do you always look so bored? You could bark or something." The puppy gives a weak gruff and a scratchy woof. I narrow my eyes and give the puppy a sarcastic look, "You could try a little harder than that. Of course, I can't make you." I look away for a second and the puppy licks my cheek, leaving a wet slobbery spot on my face. It jumps out of my arms and on the ground, bending down and wagging its tail. I smile and get on my hands and knees, "So you want to play? I'm going to…get you." I jump at the puppy and it jumps on my head, leaping behind me.
I look behind me and give the puppy a weird look, "You are quite a jumper. Where did you learn that?" The puppy once again gives a bored look, and stands looking at me. I turn around acting like I was going to jump at him again, only this time he came at me. I lean back and when he hits
my chest I fall back with him on my chest licking my face. I start laughing and screaming, "Stop that, it tickles." I look up when I hear someone enter the room.
Liely walks in with the cups of tea in her hands. She shakes her head and sits the cups on the table in front of the couch," What are you doing, Fierah?"
The puppy jumps off and I roll over on my hands and knees, standing up as fast as I could, "Nothing, just playing with the puppy." I walk over to the couch, picking up the cup of tea as I sat down. I look over to Liely, "Thanks for the tea." I take a sip of the tea and sit the cup back down. I look at the puppy as it jumps up on the couch between me and Liely and lies down. I shake my head, looking over to the window. I get up from the couch and walk over to the window, watching the wind blow the trees back and forth.
--
A little later Liely stands up and looks over at me, "Fierah, I'm going to our room. Are you coming or do you want to stay in here?"
I walk away from the window and over to the couch, picking up the puppy. I put my hand over my mouth and yawn, nodding my head. "I' m coming."
Liely turns and walks out of the room with me following close behind. When we finally reach our room, Liely opens the door walking over to her bed. I walk over to my bed and sit the puppy down on it. I walk over to the other side and sit down on the bed. Liely walks over and sits beside me, looking down at the ground. I tilt my head a bit, "Is everything okay?"
Liely looks over at me, "Can I talk to you about something?"
I nod my head, "Sure."
She takes a deep breath and looks back down at the ground, "I am thinking of asking Kakashi-Sensei to be my Hito-ki."
I look at Liely in shock and smile, standing up, "That's great. Are you going to ask him tonight?"
She clears her throat, "I don't know. I don't know if I can ask him or not. He might say no."
I give her a glare, "You should not worry about that." I get down on my knees and look up at her, "Kakashi will make an excellent Hito-ki. You should ask him, Liely."
She nods and takes a deep breath, "I hope you are right."
We walk out side and wait on the front porch for Kakashi to return. I lean up against the wall looking toward the forest. I smile and signal to Liely that he was finally here. Kakashi walks up with what looks like a bag on his back. I look at the bag, "What is with the bag?"
Kakashi looks over to me, "We have a last minute mission? Are you two up to it?"
I nod and look over to Liely who nods up at Kakashi.
--
When we finally reach the resting area for the night we set up our tents. Liely and I sleep in one, while Kakashi sleeps in a separate one. When we finally finish I smile over to Liely, who was staring at Kakashi. I nudge Liely softly, "Liely?"
(Liely's perspective)
"Are you going to ask him?" Fierah looks up at me almost excitedly.
"Yeah" I say, looking over at Kakashi.
"Well go on. I'm not stopping you." Fierah says pushing me.
"Alright, Alright." I say pushing her hand away. I take a deep breath and walk over to where Kakashi was standing, looking up at the sky. I swallow hard and waveringly say, "Kakashi I need to talk to you."
--
We walk a little ways from the camp into a clearing in the forest, where a cliff looks out to more forest below it. Kakashi turns toward me a little confused and asks, "What is it?"
"Well I'm….." I say fiddling with my fingers.
"What do you want to say?" Kakashi asks trying to get me to talk.
I bow down quickly, "I am of the Fox Clan. My Clan is devoted to strong bonds of loyalty. We spend our lives looking for our Hito-ki meaning first lord or Hוֹto-ki meaning first love. Once we find this person we devote our lives to them by loyalty or love. We are willing to give up our lives fore these people, even dying by connecting our chakra if the bond becomes strong enough and I wish for you to be my Hito-ki. If you will have me?" Silently I keep my head bowed looking at the ground.
"Liely, stand up." Kakashi says seriously.
"You don't have to answer now. You can decide later, I just wanted to tell you what I am." I answer standing up, not knowing what to say.
He nods slowly and says to me softly, "I understand, give me some time. I'll give you an answer."
I nod, "Okay." I turn and walk away, feeling uneasy.
--
I lay next to Fierah in the tent, sleeping in my white t-shirt and black ninja pants. I finally began to sleep peacefully, when I feel something nudge my arm. I open my eyes to see Kakashi crouching down next to my sleeping bag.
Kakashi whispered to me softly while he was moving out of the tent, "Meet me outside."
I slide quietly out from under the covers and go outside making sure to not wake Fierah. I look over to where he was standing next to the woods, motioning once for me to follow him as he walks into the woods. A little ways in the woods we reach a cliff where you could see the moon and more forest bellow. I stand next to him, the wind blowing and lily petals floating gracefully on the wind.
Kakashi looks over to me, "Why did you pick me, Liely?"
Looking down, I say to him, "Because you are strong and I want to be like that. I admire you and I want to protect you. I don't want to just go away. I want to stay here with you."
Kakashi turns to me and sits down on his knees and bows, "Liely, I would be honored to be your Hito-ki."
I sit down on my knees in front of him as he looks up at me in shock. "I never let anyone bow to me. We are equals," I say smiling gently as my fox tails and ears appear ghostly, "This is what I truly am." I stand up and reach out my hand. Kakashi hesitates for a moment, and then looks at me softly before taking my hand and standing up as well.
