My eyes widen in horror.
How is he back already? And without so much as a warning!
"Leave," I say frantically to Kakashi. "Leave now!"
But he shakes his head. "I'm staying with you."
My heart is too panicked to flutter at his words. And suddenly, I hear the crash of splintering wood – they must have knocked my door down.
I whirl around to see my father and three other men of the village. They are wielding axes and spears and they wear expressions of fearful disgust.
"Mirai, you idiot girl!" my father yells. "Get out of the way!"
From our previous confrontation, Kakashi is still standing between me and the window, with my father directly in front of me. He makes no move to lower the axe.
My father's face is beyond enraged.
I try to swallow my fear. I can't let Kakashi die after all I've risked to save him.
"Father, stop. He's not here to harm us. He's trying to help our village."
"Of course he'd say that," Keiji snarls. He raises the axe. "Get out of the way! You'll get your punishment later."
"Father," I beg, my eyes beseeching. "Please, Father, control your anger! If you do this, you'll regret it later!"
"That's it," he says, "this is your last warning, Mirai!" To my horrified shock, he raises the axe.
And suddenly Kakashi has thrown me behind him as he faces off with my father. "I don't want to hurt any of you," he says in a low and serious voice, so full of warning that I don't protest that he's in danger. He has put his mask and – to my horror – his Konoha forehead protector.
There are hisses from the men. "You're a Konoha shinobi?" one of them snarls. "Kill him!" another one cries.
And I feel, almost imperceptibly, a small sigh from Kakashi. His arm raises, obscuring my view and he pulls his mask down slightly.
There are gasps from the men, and I realize Kakashi has uncovered his strange red eye.
Even my father takes a hasty step backwards. "You're … you're Hatake Kakashi! The Sh-Sharingan master!"
There's a sudden disturbance in the air – something that changes. And when I look again, all four men before Kakashi are staring blankly into space, weapons lowered.
"What have you done?" I whisper.
"They're under a genjutsu." He turns to me, pulling his mask back up, but not before I catch a glimpse of his eye. It's different than before. "We've got to get out of here. The genjustsu will come undone in a few minutes."
I nod, but then I actually process his words. "We?"
"You're not staying here," he says sharply, and without so much as another word, he throws me on his back.
I yelp in surprise, but there's little time to register my shock – I grab onto his shoulders quickly as he jumps out the window and makes for the gates.
"You won't be able to make it through! They won't open the gates for you!"
But my doubts are silenced when he begins to run vertically up the wall. I hardly dare breathe – I'm half scared to death.
We make it to the forest without any sound of pursuers, and it's both exhilarating and terrifying as he leaps through tangles of branches, dodging every single obstacle with ease. I can't imagine that I'm easy to carry, either.
Suddenly, there's a misstep in his rhythmical movements, and a moment later the impact hits and my shoulder is numb. Both of us are sprawled in the dirt.
"Kakashi! Are you all right?" I crawl to his side. He's wincing, but he quickly pushes himself to his feet.
"I'm fine."
He puts his thumb to his mouth, and before I can protest, he bites the pad of his thumb hard enough to draw blood. Then he presses the cut to the ground.
With another puff of smoke, Pakkun appears. "I know," the dog says. "Tokuma-kun is with us. His Byakugan has a wide radius. They'll be here in a minute or so." Pakkun's head turns to me. "You're bringing the girl along?"
"Only temporarily," I tell the dog hastily. "I'm going back to the village as soon as you're in safe hands," I say to Kakashi.
The dog looks as surprised as a dog can. He sits on his haunches, head cocked.
Kakashi seems to sigh, hand reaching behind him to scratch the back of his head. "How to put it to you … Mirai, you need to accept that I'm very much capable of taking care of myself. Your father never posed a threat to me."
He's right – the truth dawns on me, and it's almost frightening. Over the past three days I've become so accustomed to taking care of this man and thinking that he needs me that, even now that I've seen him take out four of the strongest men in our village, I haven't yet been convinced that he doesn't need me. Not even in his weakened state.
"I … All right," I say unevenly. "I guess I'll just go now…?" My sentence finishes with a question hanging, because I don't understand what he means. Does he want me to go or stay? And just then I realize that this may be the last time I see this man. The last time I'll be able to look into his – well, only one of his eyes, and talk to him.
"Kakashi, just spit it out," says the dog impatiently. "They're almost here and you don't want to keep the Princess waiting."
Kakashi glances at Pakkun, and then turns back to me. "Mirai, I'd like for you to come with me to Konoha."
::~::
It takes a moment for his words to register.
"What?" I say dumbly when they finally process. "I don't … why would I?"
"Your father will not hesitate to kill you." His voice is cold, and it sends a shiver straight through me. An instantaneous denial rises to my lips, but I remember the expression on my father's face just before Kakashi pulled me out of the way.
He's right.
"You don't know that for sure," I whisper, even though my hands are cold with dread.
The dark look in his eye is enough to make me fall silent. "I'd like you to come with me," he repeats, and this time is voice is stronger. Final.
It's temptation – the thought of getting out of this place and going somewhere with Kakashi. But I have duties. Responsibilities.
"There are villagers depending on me. I'm the only one who knows the herbs. I'm the only one who can make the salves correctly." And Tsubasa needs me, whether she knows it or not.
"And what use will you be to them when your father kills you for disobedience? For saving my life?" His tone is blunt. Unfeeling. I stare – what just happened? What happened to the care and compassion in his voice?
"I …"
"This is final, Mirai. I'm not leaving you here."
The words sound oddly familiar, but I don't get much of a chance to think about it, because just then both Pakkun and Kakashi look up.
"Ah, Tsunade-sama. As silent as usual."
I look up, too, and my heart skips a beat when I see no less than five Konoha shinobi, coming out from behind the trees.
There are three women and three men, and a buxom blonde steps forward. She has a young-looking face, but there's a sense of gravity and seriousness that contradicts her youthful appearance. My hands grow even colder. This must be the Hokage.
"You didn't mention you would have company," she says accusingly. "Tokuma was surprised and we slowed down."
Kakashi gives a rueful smile and opens his mouth to speak, but suddenly a boy with bright yellow hair runs to his side.
"Sensei, are you okay?" he demands. "We heard that something went wrong and demanded to come with Granny."
So this boy must be one of his students. A girl with pink hair steps forward as well, hitting the blond boy on the head.
"Naruto!" she scowls. "Stop pestering him. He needs to be healed and we need to go immediately. But … you are okay, right sensei?" she says worriedly.
Kakashi turns back to me and addresses the Hokage. "This is Mirai. She's the one who saved me. She's … in a bit of danger right now, and I offered for her to come to Konoha." The Hokage's face changes almost imperceptibly, but I catch the slight trace of emotion. It's fear. "After all, the correspondence should prove to be beneficial for the relationship between our villages."
Oh … so that was the real reason. To make me sort of a figurehead of this whole operation. It wasn't exactly a selfish operation, so I had little to complain about – the futures of my people were at stake here – but I had thought maybe, just maybe … it had been something more than politics. Something more personal …
The Hokage stares long and hard at me before striding over to Kakashi. "Healing first and talking later. I can tell your internal injuries are more serious than you're letting on."
My surprise owing both to the fact that this woman can make a medical assessment before even physically touching him and that he's apparently severely injured, I watch as Kakashi unbuttons his vest and lifts up his blue sweater. Then I blush, realizing that I had been staring.
"I expect Shizune is back home doing the paperwork in your place?" I hear Kakashi murmur in an undertone. "I'll brief you about what happened later – I'll need to tell Shikaku, and probably Naruto and Sakura as well …"
"Hi, are you doing all right?" says the pink-haired girl. Sakura. She's smiling politely at me. She looks as if she's a bit younger than me – certainly still in her teens. I nod automatically, even though a headache is starting to come on. "I'm Sakura, and if you need any help with injuries, you can just tell me. I'm a medical-nin."
"All right," I say, surprised at her openness. "Thank you."
"Right then," I hear the Hokage say. She's already done healing him? Sure enough, Kakashi is stretching and buttoning up his vest, seeming at complete ease. He seems to notice my gaze, and I turn away as he looks in my direction. "Tokuma, Kiyomi, you two can head to the village. Make sure to keep undercover, and if you must appear, don't reveal you're from Konoha."
With a start, I realize Kakashi is right beside me. "You don't need to worry," he murmurs, "Tokuma is a Hyuuga, which means he has the Byakugan." I look more closely, and I realize with shock his eyes are entirely a lilac colour, with no irises. The man is slight, with long brown hair tied behind him. "He's able to see through anything and can see up to a two-kilometer radius. He's quite an adept fighter too." He gestures at the dark-haired woman. "And our Kiyomi is probably the last of the Yuki clan, of Yukigakure. She is also a healer, but her strengths lie mostly in her ability to fight. They're both jounin, and the two of them make a good team." His voice is low and sincere.
"Thank you," I say. I'd never thought this day would come – the day I thank a Konoha ninja, knowing that he has helped my village. "Thank you so much," I say, voice cracking a little. Maybe there is hope for my village – and not just a hope without reason, either. Kakashi glances at me one last time before placing a hand on my shoulder gently.
Tokuma and Kiyomi leave the group, speeding through the underbrush with the same agility and grace I'd noticed Kakashi possessed.
"And we should go too. Kakashi, if you're well enough, you should carry the girl," the Hokage says dismissively. "I'll be in the lead. Sakura, Kakashi, and lastly Naruto will follow."
He'll be carrying me again? I blush, and suddenly notice that his two students are smirking none-too-discreetly.
Kakashi rolls his eye at them and beckons to me.
"Are you sure you're okay? I mean, you probably still need some time to rest up, and …" My protests are only met with silence from him and an outbreak of snickers from his students. I realize it's best just to shut up. My face must be beet-red as I climb onto his back, my legs around his waist.
And soon we're off again, tearing through the forest at a terrifying speed. The journey is made mostly in silence, with occasional conversation breaking out between the Konoha shinobi about little events in the village. I feel myself becoming drawn into their little stories – I realize that they're just the same as us, with friends and families and love of their homeland.
Father always said I was too easily convinced of things others said. But what they're saying now all adds up and makes sense, and what I'm seeing is humanity in the Konoha ninja, the kind that I've always strived for. The way Kakashi's two students anxiously asked after how he was and how the girl offered to help me if I needed it … the ninja from Konoha aren't as bad as we make them out to be. Even the Hokage, despite her coolness toward me, is still civil and I have a feeling that it didn't take much to convince her to help our village. I sense no reluctance.
The result of my thinking and a slight motion sickness as we go through the forest at an insanely fast speed is a growing headache that soon begins to make me lose concentration.
When we stop, it's past noon, but none of the ninja seem tired. Tsunade says that we will set out at dusk, and that everyone should rest up for now.
They bring out cup ramen, something I haven't seen for years, and thermoses full of hot water. The boy, Naruto, seems to love ramen and can hardly wait the prescribed three minutes for the noodles to stew in the water. I smile when I see it, and Sakura notices, rolling her eyes in response.
The ramen tastes better than I expect – I haven't had hot food for a long time. And the taste of chicken in the soup, dehydrated and tiny as it is, is like heaven. We don't slaughter our chickens and sheep for food very often, because there are just so few of them.
"Kakashi-sensei, are you sure you don't want more?" I hear Sakura ask. "You need more food to recover faster."
Kakashi can eat pretty quickly, and I smile, seeing that his mask is on, despite having just finished his meal.
"Hey, hey," says a voice beside me. I turn and see the boy named Naruto. He has a secretive, conspiratorial air about him right now, and he sneaks glances at his sensei. "Are you and Kakashi-sensei…" He interlocks his fingers, repressing fits of laughter "You know, together?"
I blush, surprised. "I …"
I'm saved when Kakashi suddenly appears behind Naruto.
"That's not really any of your business, is it now?" he says, eye crinkling into a smile, even as Naruto pales visibly and gulps.
"Of c-course not," Naruto stammers, laughing nervously. "S-Sakura-chan!" he calls out suddenly, and races off to talk to her.
"Sorry about him," Kakashi says to me. "Naruto always asks too much and thinks too little. He's a good kid, though. Both of them are." He sounds a little wistful. "But I came to tell you that you should go to sleep. I heard you had a headache?"
My eyes widen. Did … the Hokage tell him that? She can tell, even having barely glanced at me? "A little bit," I admit, but it's a huge understatement.
"You should sleep," he says. "I'm on a break too – the three of them will be on guard duty." I glance skeptically at his two students – Sakura is yelling at Naruto, having just hit him upside the head with a ladle. Kakashi looks slightly embarrassed. "Well, at least Tsunade will make sure nothing goes wrong."
I nod at him, suddenly aware how close we are, in a private little bubble.
He leads me to the base of a tree, and we sit, backs against the trunk, shoulders touching slightly. I'm surprised by the contact, but I don't move away and neither does he. The spot and the position are comfortable enough, but for the slight chill that sets a little shiver and goosebumps rise across my skin.
Kakashi doesn't miss it.
In one swift movement, his arm is around my shoulder, and I'm pressed against his warm body. I inhale sharply in surprise, and he seems to be somewhat stiff as well, but he doesn't move or draw his arm away.
A few seconds pass – maybe even a few minutes – before I relax. That brings me closer to him, and soon I'm cautiously resting my head on his shoulder. It takes him longer to relax. But when I'm almost asleep, I feel his head rest gently against mine.
I smile, and drift into a peaceful oblivion.
Hello my fluffy bunnies of goodness and happiness! Thanks for reading the fourth chapter of RS. Ahh, this was probably somewhat predictable (that he's asking her to come to Konoha) but oh well, right? How would the story incorporate fluff otherwise ^^ ?
Yes, and this Kiyomi is the Kiyomi in Tears of Snow. She's making a cameo here :D I'm sorry I'm not updating Tears of Snow very quickly – I meant for TS to be my main project, and RS to be a side project, but since I started RS, it's been like an obsession to write about … and besides, it seems like very few people like TS, even though I have way more chapters for it than RS T-T
Something I noticed: My litte " *** " things that indicate a scene change/pause aren't showing at all in my previous chapters, so in this chapter I'm beginning to use " ::~:: " instead, the one I used in my Jem fanfic (Infernal Devices series). Hopefully this works out, and I'll go back to change my old ones T-T. Being the technological failure I am, I don't know how to do the line breaks – if any of you can help me, please PM me about it :D
YOWZAH. FOUR CHAPTERS DOWN AND STILL GOING STRONG.
Support me by reviewing and following and favouriting if you really like! :)
-Jennifer *HUGS TO ALL*