Chapter 4: Bargains

After a long, long rest in spare rooms that the hospital offered- courtesy of the Hokage, Sarutobi, as Leiko instantly recalled his name- it was only natural that the pestering for the information Leiko had received while in her trance was to begin again. It had been halted when it had first begun, her magical energy being diminished and nothing left to offer those who didn't see what she had- Keiko included. But afterwards, there was no excuse for her to withhold any pieces from Kohana, Keiko, and Yasashiku.

And she had given each their own bit of information with another, smaller spell, each being the same as the last. Each having had information withheld from them. Nothing was let slip about the Nine Tailed Fox, nor the bits of information he had given her. It was her little secret that she felt bound to keep.

And yet, recalling her visions, she couldn't help but become curious as to where the great fox had suddenly disappeared after attacking the village she now wandered.

"Such distraction is unacceptable!" Leiko gasped- sure she heard herself scream lightly- and tumbled backwards, staring up at the man who suddenly appeared before her, a strange look on her face. It was a mixture of something disturbed and surprised. One arm was raised in front of her, a natural reaction to protect herself from any danger. Though as the man struck a pose that made her more than question his sanity, she was sure he was no threat. "I shall take it upon myself to teach you the ways of a great ninja... just like me~" he chimed determinedly.

If he was a great ninja, she was sure she had more to fear.

Same stricken look on her face, she didn't move from her spot, simply stared at the man. His bowl cut black hair did nothing to flatter the green jumpsuit he wore, and his bushy eyebrows reminded her of a caveman. Was he really a great ninja?

He lost his pose, and suddenly turned to her, holding his fist in front of himself as he spoke almost normally. "You're Leiko-san, right? The girl that Kakashi-sempai- my lifetime rival- found in the forest?"

She didn't want to answer.

But alas, her head nodded in reply, slowly and unsure. Though some facts were slightly misunderstood, she was in fact, Leiko, as he had asked.

And then he continued. "Then you're in luck! We'll work on your training every waking moment that we're graciously given!"

Leiko was dumbstruck for anything to say- not that she would in the first place, but even her mind was blank. Luckily, someone else was able to speak up for her. "Is it really gracious to be attacking random people in the street?" She wasn't so proud to hear the voice, given previous encounters, however a saviour was a saviour.

Kakashi came into view, book in hand and nose buried in it.

And Gai's attention was on him in an instant. "Ah~ my rival! It's just like you to show up out of nowhere!" he declared. Leiko looked at Kakashi expectantly, hope in her dark eyes for some kind of rescue. Finally he looked up from his book, and a slight smile graced his face. Hope instantly traveled from her eyes all through her body that she might be saved.

There was no way he'd leave her in the hands of that... she glanced at the other figure and nearly grimaced, not knowing what to call him. But no one was so heartless as to just leave her there.

Right?

***

Well, she had been wrong before. And as she punched at the wooden log in front of her, she found herself imagining Kakashi's image on it. Some training will do you good, she growled in her head. She cursed the silver haired male to the deepest, darkest pits of Hell that she could conjure in her mind. Oh, and they weren't the cozy warm Hell dimensions. They were the ice cold ones, the kind she would imagine he would freeze to death slowly in.

With that thought in mind, she bashed the log with more force, as her 'instructor' told her to do. If there was any more inspiration to come from Maito Gai- as she had learned his name to be- then he could at least do it while not standing on his hands.

Pausing for a moment, Leiko shook her hands painfully. It wasn't like punching something cushioned, like a punching bag or a person- which can still result in painful throbs. It was a solid, hard log, and it hurt like Hell. She examined the bandages covering her hands carefully, spotting small bits of pink slowly beginning to stain the blanket of white. It seemed even the protection she had offered her hands was not going to last for very long. Frowning, she realized it was going to take a lot of endurance to train this way.

She wiggled her fingers for a moment, feeling a refreshing tingle rush through her knuckles before she made a fist again. "That's it my pupil! Determination is the key to a strong fighter!!" Gai cried from the short distance he stood in.

Determination, she echoed in her thoughts, determination... and power.

She struck the log hard, eyes widening as a piece of wood chipped off and spiraled through the air briefly before falling to the grass below. Gai was at her side in an instant, tears in his eyes and declaring how proud he was over her first chip. However, she was unable to move. She stared at the log for what seemed like forever, unable to grasp what had just happened.

Suddenly, she was cradling her fist in her other hand, mouth parted to let out a cry. The sound from her lips sounded like a strangling animal- loud and vicious in its pain as she dropped to her knees. Her eyes watered mercilessly as the pain shot up her arm from her knuckles, forcing her to clench them shut to try and keep tears from streaming down her face.

That hurt!

She next found herself in the hospital, having her hand checked by a not so bad looking doctor. He held her hand delicately, turning it from side to side as Leiko sat with a pout on her face, both looking rather cute, but somehow tough at the same time. She could put up with pain! But only so far as it got a uniformed man to come and take a look at her. She wasn't that tough, she lied in her head.

The doctor set her hand gently on her leg, and she looked at him expectantly, eyes shimmering in the best puppy-eyed glance she could muster. "It looks like it's just a fracture," he concluded, husky voice running smoothly from his lips. Was there anything about this man that wasn't delicious?

She could just... devour the man.

She flinched instantly, glaring suddenly and losing her puppy-eyed composure. No, she growled inwardly. She couldn't devour him.

The man looked up, seeing her flinch. "Does it still hurt? I can get you something for the pain," he offered. Leiko blinked, startled by the fact she had been caught in her thoughts, and shook her head no. Her mood had been ruined.

More so when a female nurse walked in and took over.

"Okay then, let's get that wrapped for you."

Her glare was back on her face the entire time the girl was in the room, and the doctor left, seemingly uninterested in her affairs. Focused now on the blonde, skinny female before her, Leiko frowned. She wasn't at all gentle, and was causing her lip to twitch in the need to snarl. It took all her might not to smack the woman and do it herself- since she was doing a poor job anyways, and surely even one handed she could do it better.

"There you are, all done," the nurse declared after clipping the ends of the bandage. "You're free to go." And she walked from the room, not bothering to see if she was going to leave or to stay in that spot for the rest of the day. The thought crossed her mind to just stay put and see how long she could hide out in the small, brightly lit room before she was noticed. But she imagined that when she was noticed, she'd most definitely look like she was sulking. And that wasn't the case at all.

But before she could decide whether or not to sit and sulk over her hurt hand, or to leave with some dignity in tact, another blonde figure walked into the room- one she didn't so much mind seeing.

"Leiko, there you are!" her sister called lightly as she sped into the room. She halted before her to give her a moment to get down from the hospital bed, then glanced at her hand. "What happened?" she questioned curiously. Leiko merely shook her head, and walked from the room, Keiko following.

"Oh, well anyways, I have news!" she declared. Leiko turned her head briefly to show she was listening as they made their way from the hospital. "They gave us a place to stay for now, so that we're not taking up rooms in the hospital. It's real cheap for rent, we just have to get some jobs," she rambled. The news was good to hear after having fractured her hand, however she didn't show nearly as much excitement as Keiko.

"And the Hokage also said something about school too- Um, something to do with a training course you were taking today?" she turned her statement into a question, which she knew wouldn't be answered, but gave Leiko something to think about anyways.

And as she continued walking through the street, slowly finding it more and more uninhabited, her sister spoke to her once more.

"Maybe you should... talk to him," she paused, allowing Leiko to halt her steps and listen. "The Hokage, I mean," she explained. When she made no movement to acknowledge what was said, Keiko urged her on. "It's... starting to show." At that, Leiko's head turned, dark eyes boring into her sister's blue ones. She looked sincere, innocent... and worried.

"I wouldn't ask if it wasn't important- you know that!" she reasoned to Leiko's ever-silent objections. It seemed that even when she refused to speak, she could hold a firm argument. Perhaps it was the stare in her eyes. "But..." Her head turned to the side, staring in the direction of the gate they had entered in only the day before. "Leiko, it doesn't look like they'll let you out without some kind of permission," she finished.

The argument in her dark eyes died. Defeated, Leiko felt her upper lip curl slightly as she turned her glare towards the ground. There was no other choice, should she want to keep peace in the village they had stumbled across.

She would go after nightfall.

***

As the sun fell behind the Hokage Mountain, Leiko watched as the last few sparse workers stepped out of the main office of Konoha. Slowly she slid through the darkening shadows into the green doors, grabbing them before they shut. Staring slightly, she watched the last few people in the office she was entering as they shuffled papers, preparing to put them away for the night. One finally noticed her standing there silently, and scowled- it was the bugger who had tackled her.

"Now you come in here willingly..." he grumbled, snatching the others' attention as they turned all eyes on her. The old man's included.

She was thankful, when he understood her stance, and the way she fidgeted as she glanced at the other people in the room. "Ah, Leiko-san... you wish to speak to me, I assume?" he questioned as if it was a normal occurrence. Though the figures surrounding them seemed both shocked and awkward- obviously having heard of the ever-so-great silent female who had entered their village- the Hokage himself showed no fear, no doubt. It came as almost a shock to her, to realize this.

The man was clearly more powerful than he appeared in his old age to be so confident with a stranger.

She peered sheepishly at the other figures again, nodding in response to his question. And without a hint of hesitation that Leiko could see, he turned on them, smiling lightly. "I can finish here," he claimed, a silent order written between the lines.

There were expressions as if they wanted to protest, but none spoke a word as they shifted around Leiko and out the door. When it closed behind her, she raised her dark eyes to the Hokage, finding him watching her expectantly.

"What was it you wanted to see me about, Leiko-san?" he questioned. Though by the tone of his voice, it didn't seem he really expected her to answer.

It took a moment as he continued then to put papers into files and place them into their respective places, but eventually, the silence was broken.

"I need to leave the village."

The Hokage stopped what he was doing, surprised face glancing up at the sound of her rough, dark voice. Such a sound seemed unnatural coming from a young woman. Her voice had been unused for some time. But what was more, was the request.

Before he could object, she explained further. "Only for a night or two..." she struggled. Slowly her voice began to lose the scratch to it, it became more feminine, but only healed so much in such a short time. "I don't want to hurt anyone."

Leiko realized how her throat hurt when she was finished giving the details to the old man, and how the moon was now clear in the sky above the buildings. Some time had passed. But the Hokage seemed to be contemplating. Thankfully, he didn't seem to think her insane. It was a step forward, in her books. It was a safety zone.

"Alright, Leiko-san... I understand," he finally spoke. Her eyes darted to stare at him almost accusingly. The phrase rang out in her head, the voice familiar. She remained silent again as he gave her the appropriate papers, for the appropriate time. And she didn't speak again as she walked from the office, leaving the male to think over just exactly what she had said to him.

As Leiko wandered through the hallway, her eyes bled black, hiding the previous darkness behind an abyss as, once again, that phrase passed through her conscious and red sparks floated passed her fingertips.

"Alright, Leiko-san... I understand."

It was now clear why the voice seemed familiar.