CAMOUFLAGE OF THE HEART

Ch. 4: The Tiger's Mouth

Author's Note: My apologies, I accidentally screwed up the timeline for this fanfic. Basically, Kayomie is 25 and I goofed on how many years ago she left Naruto. My bad. I'm going to repost Ch. 3; if I haven't by the time I post this…. Anyway, if I goofed up any more, please let me know. I only recently discovered that Naruto is 12(I thought he was 14!), so I had to reconfigure the ages and such…

By the time Kakashi got Kayomie to the infirmary, it seemed that whatever it was that made her collapse had lifted slightly. She was still unconscious, but she was no longer twitching and clinging to Kakashi's shirt. When she was able to get up, there was no way Kakashi was going to let her live with that. (A/N: By the way, I only recently began getting all my information, so for me, the old fart is still the Hokage and Tsunade is still working as a healer ninja. I've only read up to volume 2, so I'm going by info I hear or look for. Deal with it!)

"Tsunade, we have a new patient for you," Kakashi stated as he stood with Kayomie clutched tightly to his chest. The blonde took one glance at the girl and gasped.

"Kakashi-chan, what happened to Kayo-chan? You didn't do anything to her, did you?"

"No, and I don't know. I'm hoping to find out when she wakes up." He replied as he followed her to a hospital bed and placed Kayomie on it. Sukai immediately laid down on the girl's left, so as to be close to her, but out of the way of Tsunade. Sasuke was perched by the windowsill, Kurai still glued to his side. He glared at the wolf.

"Why won't you leave me alone?" The wolf met his black gaze with her brown ones with a sly look and barked softly. "You know I can't understand you." She barked again. "You're annoying you know that?" The wolf licked his hand with a smile on her face. (Yes, dogs can do that. I happen to have one that does.)

Naruto and Sai were perched worriedly on the bed by her right hand. Tsunade ignored the pair as she quickly rested her hand on Kayomie's forehead.

"Well, whatever it was, it's gone now. I'll go let the Hokage know that you're here and Kayo-chan's unconscious," she said as she left the group in the room.

Sakura sat near the windowsill by Sasuke as she worriedly watched her new sensei sleep. She was a little scared. The only other girl on her team and she was taken out by her fear! How were they going to learn anything from someone who couldn't even keep herself from panicking in a crowded area?

"Kakashi-sensei, why do you think she collapsed like that?" Naruto asked his sensei as he removed his gaze from his older sister and looked at Kakashi, who was leaning against the wall with a fairly neutral look to those who couldn't read any of his emotions.

"I think you can ask her that yourself. She's coming to now," he replied as he noticed Kayomie's breathing change as the woman stirred. Her green eyes blinked open sleepily. She sat up shakily with one hand on her temple.

"Ow, what hit me?"

"Nee-chan!" Naruto yelled as he grabbed her in a bear hug. "Are you going to be okay?" The blonde smiled and rubbed his back.

"Of course, I am. Why wouldn't I? Wild horses couldn't keep me down and out for long, remember?" she replied as she met his sapphire orbs with a smirk. "I'll be fine. Don't worry so much, that's my job, silly." Movement caught her eye near the windowsill. "I see Kurai still won't leave you alone, huh, Sasuke?"

The boy glared at her evilly. "She is getting on my nerves, make her leave!"

"I'm afraid I don't have the authority over her to do that, Sasuke-kun. I may be her alpha female, but she doesn't listen to me much. You're on your own. What happened while I was out?" she asked, meeting Kakashi's worried glance at her.

"Nothing really. Just a rush here… Why did you pass out in the first place?"

Kayomie winced slightly at the question. "I'm assuming that the Hokage is on his way here, so I'll wait until he' s here so I don't have to explain myself twice," she replied as she dropped his gaze. Sukai rested her front paws on the bed and growled softly. "None of that, Sukai. I know already…"

Sai barked sharply at Kayomie, her gold eyes narrowed angrily. Kayomie patted both of the animals, reassuring them that she was all right. "I'm fine. Don't worry, silly."

Kakashi, Sasuke, and Sakura all gave Naruto looks that demanded an explanation. He looked back at them. "What! She raised them since birth! Of course she can understand them!"

The Hokage quietly entered the room. "I see that Kayomie is safe and sound, quite unlike Tsunade left me to believe. How are you, Latoro-san?"

Kayomie sighed irritably as she rose and bowed. "I would appreciate it if you would call me Kayomie, Hokage-sama, but I'm fine now. I merely collapsed earlier, that's all."

"Do you mind explaining yourself? I'm sure that I'm not the only one who wants to know why."

"You aren't. I suggest you all take a seat, this will be a long story," Kayomie replied as she herself sat on the bed, Sai moving to her lap. Kakashi sat next to her, with Naruto on the other side, his big blue eyes latched onto her face.

"Well, let's see…. I guess I should start by explaining the nature of my last mission, since only I knew about it other than yourself, Hokage-sama. I was told that I was to retrieve a dangerous scroll with a ninjitsu that taught one how to use their chakra to read a person's thoughts. I was chosen since I was the one most qualified to sneak into the place unharmed and undetected.

"I probably should have expected it to be a lot harder than I thought it was, but I was a little worried about how five-year-old Naruto was acting for Iruka-san while I was out. We hadn't been separated since he was three. Anyway, save for a few unexpectantly stubborn guards, I managed to get in without detection and unharmed. But, the minute I landed on the scroll, I couldn't move. Not an inch save for my face. Basically, I had fallen for a trap that I should have been expecting.

"The man who had set it revealed himself and apparently liked what he saw. He had long black hair and golden eyes. He called himself 'Saiga' (No, I don't know what it means, I was random in picking his name.) for some odd reason. He decided that instead of killing me, he would break my spirit somehow and teach me his ninjitsu. Needless to say, I wasn't thrilled. I wanted to get back home to my brother, not learn all that was to be learned at the dojo.

"Saiga would have none of it. He not only kept me locked and tied up, but he would come visit me with all of my favorite outdoors things… Why, I don't know. I guess he wanted to start wearing part of me down, but it took a lot more than that. When I refused to show any emotion save for anger, he decided to go the old-fashioned way with torture. I… I almost lost that fight with him over my spirit. If it hadn't been for the fact that I had people at home worried sick about me, I probably would have given up.

"Thankfully, I'm a talented actress. Copycat over there can verify that for you," she said as she tilted her head towards Kakashi. "Saiga bought my act hook, line, and sinker. Not that I didn't pay for it later on, of course. He took me in as one of his top students with other nin that he had kidnapped on missions to his dojo. I was further along than the others because camouflage ninjitsu involves a lot of the thought and chakra that is also used in thought reading jutsu. I'm a fast learner and almost completed the teaching before Saiga discovered my betrayal. I had been sneaking bits of information through Sai, Kurai, and Sukai when they came looking for me.

"He found Sai and almost killed her in his rage before he realized that she was mine. So, he came after me. Not only did he try to kill me physically, he also fried me a few times mentally. Saiga was a master of his art, while I was just barely grasping almost all of it. I was hardly a match for him. If I hadn't mastered the mind barrier, I would probably be as mindless as a corpse. Saiga's students were brainwashed and spiritless when he finished with the spirit breaking part. I barely managed to kill him. The only part that I should have mastered before I left was how to keep a mental barrier in crowds."

"Ohhh…." Sakura said in a realization tone. "That explains why you collapsed. It wasn't fear, it was too many thoughts!"

Kayomie nodded with a pleased smile on her face. "Very good, Sakura, very good. Yes, that is why I avoided crowds and most people I didn't know very well. I didn't want to risk reading their thoughts like you would a newspaper. I also didn't want Naruto picking up my bad habits. This village avoids him enough as it is that he doesn't need to pull that crap as well."

"I resent that! I don't care, nee-chan! You're still my sister and I need you now as I did then! I wouldn't have picked up that habit." Naruto exclaimed. His sister narrowed her eyes in slight anger.

"Think about it, Naruto," she said in a calm icy voice. "If you had stayed with me, you would have picked up my habit of avoiding people eventually, all little kids do, and that includes Iruka. Then, where would you be? You wouldn't have gotten as far as you have now, little brother. I left for a perfectly good reason in my state of mind. I regret it now; because I would have gotten over this the longer I was exposed to it. But…" Kayomie said, her voice trailing off. "You can't change the past, now can you?" A sheepish smile crossed her face.

"No, you certainly can't," Hokage said as he stood. "I'll give you a few days off, Team 7. To get used to your new sensei and for some training, but then, you have to take any new missions with Kayomie, understood?"

Kakashi sweatdropped as he stood with his students. Of course, he would be in the same group as a vengeful Kayo-chan. She was gonna kill him in his sleep soon, too…. They all bowed and said, "Understood."

"Um, I don't mean to interrupt, but… Where am I staying?"

"Oh, didn't Kakashi tell you? Since you arrived early, you'll have to room with him." Both of the jounin froze.

"Are you serious!" Kayomie demanded. "I can't room with a PERV! Who knows what he'd pull!''

"I'll have you know that just because I read books like that, does NOT make me a perv. I wouldn't pull anything because I have quite a bit more honor and decency than that, thank you," Kakashi replied testily. Kayomie sighed as she considered her options silently.

Sukai nudged her knee. She glanced down at the cougar before letting out a deep breath. "All right, I'll stay with Kakashi, Hokage-sama. How long will this take?"

"About a month or so."

"Are you serious?" the two asked, the genin enjoying every bit of this comedic scene.

"I'm afraid so. You'll just have to deal with it."

"Yes, sir," they said reluctantly.

The three genin couldn't help themselves. They busted out laughing. Their senseis sounded just like moody teenagers!

Kayomie growled as she followed Team 7, refusing to move her eyes from the ground. Naruto moved back to her side, his eyes filled with curiosity. "Um, nee-san?" He asked.

"Yes, little brother?" she replied, stomping her anger into the back of her mind to deal with later.

"How many people can be in a crowd before you can't handle it?" The boy sheepishly moved his gaze to his feet when she raised an eyebrow. Kayomie chuckled. Naruto never could hold a new person's gaze for very long. This more mature, troubled version of her was new to him, so she shouldn't be surprised.

"About twenty-five. It's not a lot, considering all the people in the village. But it's more than I started out with," she explained as she soothingly dropped a hand on his head. "Relax, I haven't changed that much, Naruto. I'm still your old big sister, okay?"

He met her gaze, his own questing for hidden meanings before he grinned. "I know. Say, guess what I wanna be when I get bigger?"

Kayomie looked surprised. He had never mentioned something like this before. "Hmm… I dunno, what?"

"Lord Hokage! I'm gonna be the toughest ninja and then nobody will ignore me anymore! Believe it! (Sorry, I couldn't resist. I don't think he actually says 'believe it' in the manga, but I could be wrong.)"

Kayomie chuckled loudly, causing the trio in front of them to turn in surprise. "Oh, I don't doubt it, little brother. But, since when have you been ignored?" she teased as she ruffled his hair playfully. "Last I remember, you wouldn't let someone get away with that for too long."

Naruto blushed. It figured that she would remember that. Not that he expected her not to… He had kinda hoped so, though…

"It's my big dream though," he whined.

"I know, that's why I'm teasing, silly. Someone has to encourage you without letting your big head swell up even more and pop," Kayomie said before meeting the gazes of the three who had paused. "Are we going to… Kakashi's place or do we have time to stop for ramen?" she asked with a big grin.

Kakashi was slightly hopeful. Maybe she wasn't too mad at him after all. One could only hope… "I think we have enough time and I know a good place away from the market place," he stated with a quick glance at the quiver of nervousness in Kayomie's eyes. "I'm pretty sure Iruka will be there as well."

"You really think so?" Naruto exclaimed excitedly.

"I see Iruka has done a good job with taking care of my bro. Sure, I need to thank him anyway," Kayomie said with a nod of appreciation.

And this is where I end it. I can't let ya'll know too much, now can I? You might stop reading. Anyway, here's Naruto!

Naruto: Um… Thanks, I think… Anyway, next time on Naruto: Camouflage of the Heart: Chapter 5, Old Memories, Old Friends; Kayomie meets up with Iruka-sensei for the first time in years. Whaddya mean you two aren't pals!

Kayomie: We're KIDDING, Naruto. Relax, or you'll get a hernia.

Naruto…. What's a hernia?

Kayomie: Look it up. Anyway, while he's doing that, I'll continue with the preview. I finally find out what my little brother's been up to while he was at the Ninja Academy and I am NOT happy. While I head for a quick walk after ranting at him, Iruka spills about a little bit of my past when I was younger. Needless to say, when I got back, I totally kicked his ass and then went home… Okay, maybe not. Anyway, until next time! Sayonara!