Ths one is shorter than the last chapter. I can't remember why though... Oh, yea, I was so depressed after writing about Sasuke's clan's demise that I just couldn't write much more. Now, remember, though I'm not sure if I ever actually mentioned this, I'm going to try to make this as close to the manga as possible, so there may be spoilers. If you have a problem with that, don't read it. Ooh, and secrets of the Kawa and Kami clan are being revealed! Yay! Did anyone guess this? I don't think so. Hey, read and review?
Disclaimer: I still don't own them, but Kaze wants Kakashi since he's slowly taking over my mind.
A few months later filled with learning how to play instruments and being taught by Iruka, Kakashi, and Gai, and soon after Sasuke's seventh birthday, the two girls were sitting at Sasuke's house, waiting for him to get home from class. Itachi wasn't home either, so Kiara was helping Sasuke's mom make dinner while Kaze sat with Sasuke's dad to help with a crossword puzzle. After nearly a year of Sasuke staying at the girls' house and the girls staying over at the Uchiha house, Sasuke's father was beginning to warm up to the two girls.
Outside was beginning to darken and the front door banged open, letting Itachi in, still in his Anbu uniform. "That mission was difficult," he muttered unhappily.
"Good afternoon, Tachi-san!" Kaze called, waving at him from her place next to his dad.
"Hello, Kaze-chan," Itachi smiled at her before noticing Kiara. "And Kiara-chan. What are you two doing here?"
"We are waiting for Sausy-chan so we can practice," Kaze answered, pointing towards a box on Sasuke's father's crossword. "Twenty down, six letters, a mild season, third letter 'R' is spring," she said before standing up.
"Thank you, Kami-san," Sasuke's dad mumbled, penciling in the answer.
"What are you practicing today," Itachi asked, taking a seat.
"Stealth," Kiara answered happily, piling food onto a plate and setting it in front of Itachi. "Iruka-sensei finally taught us how to hide our chakra, so we're going to be practicing that with Sasuke-kun."
"That sounds like fun," Itachi said, smiling as he took a bite. His eyes narrowed a moment later and he turned slightly to the window. "How about you two practice that while you're waiting for Sasuke to show up?" He suggested, pushing his plate aside and motioning for Kaze and Kiara to follow him. He led them to a closet in the living room and ushered them inside, closing the door after them. "Make sure I can't sense your chakra, girls," he called through the door as the two girls giggled.
A few moments later, the door crashed open. Kiara jumped and Kaze held the door closed as they heard Sasuke's mom and dad yell. The two girls huddled together when they heard the sound of cutting flesh and blood spilling. When the noises stopped, Kaze stood up and opened the door a crack as Kiara peeked out beneath her. They stared out into the living room and saw Itachi facing off against a tall burly man wearing all black clothes. His shoulder-length hair was tied back away from his face and he turned towards the closet momentarily, allowing the two girls to see a bloody, pale face, and angry silver eyes. Itachi attacked again, already covered in blood, as if distracting the man from the closet. The man dodged and escaped out a window.
"Are you two okay?" Itachi whispered to the girls. They nodded slowly, watching the blood-covered Itachi come closer. "Don't look around, just escape to Kakashi's house as fast as you can."
"Tachi-san, what happened?" Kaze asked hoarsely, trying to look around Itachi. "Where're your parents?"
"They aren't here anymore," Itachi said sadly. "Unfortunately I'll have to make sure Sasuke thinks I've done this, otherwise he'll go after Tsume and be killed."
"Itachi-sama… What should we do?" Kiara asked, finally finding her voice.
"Don't tell Sasuke about this day," Itachi ordered, holding his hand out to the girls. "Let him believe that I did this, that I murdered the clan. But keep his heart from overflowing with hatred. Keep being his friends, he'll need two when I leave."
"You're leaving?" Kaze asked, allowing Itachi to push them towards the door.
"I'll have to. I have to track Tsume," Itachi answered. "Bye, girls. I'll see you two again, I promise." With that he pushed them out the back door and shut it.
The two girls hurried towards Kakashi's house, keeping well out of sight. However, right before they reached their teacher's house, a man jumped down in front of them. "Hello, girlies," he chuckled, his violet hair loose around his face. "What are you two doing out here all alone?" He grinned at them and the two girls froze when they caught sight of his silver eyes.
"W-we were just heading home," Kiara muttered, averting her eyes and grabbing Kaze's jacket. Kaze pulled Kiara's hand off of her and slipped her jacket off.
"I can't let little mice run away from me," he purred, taking a step closer.
"Don't come near us," Kaze ordered, falling into a fighting stance. "We don't want any trouble, just let us by."
"If you don't want any trouble, you shouldn't have been in that house," Tsume growled, running towards them. Kaze stood her ground until the last second, then she ducked, allowing his momentum to throw his upper body slightly over her, and stood up quickly grabbing his torso and flipping him over her and face-first into the ground. She grabbed her jacket and Kiara's hand and ran as fast as she could to get away from him.
Tsume stood up carefully before quickly following them. Kiara tripped, not quite falling, but Kaze overcompensated and fell herself. When Tsume was almost upon them, a burst of white smoke shielded them from his view. "You aren't allowed to attack my students," Kakashi said from in front of the girls, the smoke dissipating. He pulled Tsume into a headlock before knocking his feet out from under him and throwing him to the ground.
Another burst of smoke revealed Gai, who picked Tsume up and threw him over the wall and out of the village. "Let's see him try to escape the Anbu in the forest," Gai laughed, throwing his arm around Kakashi's shoulders.
"Let go," Kakashi said, turning a one-eyed glare on Gai. "I have to get these two to bed before they faint."
Kaze slipped on her jacket, embarrassed that she'd fallen, and stood up. "We're okay, right Kia-chan?" Kaze said, crossing her arms defiantly. Kakashi sighed and picked Kaze up, holding her in his arms before pulling Kiara up to drape over his shoulder. "L-let, let go, Kashi-sensei!" Kaze yelled, flustered.
"You two need to get some rest, so you'll be staying at my house tonight, Kaze-chan," Kakashi replied, smiling. He carried the two girls to his house, holding Kaze tightly so she couldn't fight.
Kakashi made sure the two girls changed into the pajamas that he'd kept at his house from the last time they'd stayed over and climbed into his bed. He pulled his mask away from his face, revealing a fairly normal face with the end of a scar under his eye. "Ssh," he whispered, winking at the girls. "I don't normally let people see my face; it's more fun to allow people to have a mystery. So don't tell anyone I let you two see." The two girls giggled, curling up next to their teacher and falling quickly asleep.
"You're always so nice to them," Iruka whispered from the window, not looking in.
"They intrigue me," Kakashi answered, wrapping his arms around the two girls.
"What do you think is going to happen to them?" Iruka asked, crossing his arms.
"I believe they might follow in our footsteps, Iruka-sensei," Kakashi answered.
"Become a sixteen year old teacher or a nineteen year old Jounin?" Iruka asked, chuckling.
"Or even younger," Kakashi suggested. "Kiara is brilliant, and Kaze is strong. Not just physically, but emotionally as well. They will be one formidable team. We have to make sure they graduate from the academy. Then we'll have to find her."
"Her?" Iruka asked, surprised. "Do you think she'll take them on?" He shook his head in disbelief.
"If we make a good argument," Kakashi stated. "You and Aburame fight the elders for their chance for graduation. Gai and I will search for her. Or at least him. Maybe he can help us find her. It's absolutely necessary that they get the best teaching possible. We need these two girls trained as much as they can."
"Will do," Iruka agreed, jumping away.
The next morning, Kakashi made sure the two girls took showers and changed into clothes he'd had stashed at his house. "Why do you have so many of our clothes?" Kiara asked suspiciously.
"I've bought you two quite a bit of clothes to keep here, just in case," Kakashi answered, pulling his mask over his face and leading the two out the door. The three of them walked to the memorial stone and stood there for a couple of hours before Kakashi made them leave to go find Sasuke.
"I think Kashi-sensei knows what happened, Kia-chan," Kaze suggested, frowning unhappily as they searched for their friend.
"I don't know what I'm going to do, Kaze-san," Kiara said, hiccupping as she tried to keep from crying.
"Just don't tell him that we know what happened," Kaze ordered, patting Kiara's shoulder. She noticed Sasuke not too far in front of them when they turned the corner and handed Kiara a handkerchief before slipping on her stoic mask and running up next to Sasuke.
Sasuke noticed her, his expression broken and his eyes red, but he didn't say anything. Instead he tried to move faster than her to leave her behind. Kaze refused to allow him to get too far ahead of her and kept pace as he hurried along. Shino saw them pass and joined Kiara, asking what was happening. Shikamaru, Choji, Sakura, and Ino all joined Kiara also, watching Kaze race after Sasuke.
"Sasuke, tell me what's wrong!" Kaze demanded, jumping in front of her friend to keep him from escaping again.
"My clan is gone!" Sasuke shouted at her, trying again to slip past her.
"Sasuke, we can help you; don't run away from us," Kaze ordered, keeping him from passing.
"You can't understand how I feel!" Sasuke yelled. Kaze scowled at him, flicking his forehead angrily. "Ow!" He cried, falling to the ground as his vision swam.
"What do you mean we 'can't understand'?" Kaze asked, glaring at him.
"You're brother didn't kill your whole clan!" He shouted. Kaze watched Kiara pull the others away to explain what was happening and Kaze leaned down next to him.
"You're right," Kaze whispered into his ear. "My brother didn't kill my whole clan, my best friend did." Sasuke froze, gaping at her. "Don't ever tell her I told you this, understand?" Kaze ordered, her voice low. "Kiara has an ability, one that makes her and I equal in strength, but unconscious control of this ability comes at age five," she began. "One day, she let her control slip, just slightly, and she flipped out. Her anger took control at one thing her father said, and she took out both of our clans on the one day we all get together."
"Ki-Kiara did?" Sasuke whispered.
"She has control now, as long as she doesn't get too angry," Kaze assured him. "But my father was the only one she didn't kill completely. He was going after her, and forgot that he'd ruined my life one too many times. So, at age four, I killed my own father for my best friend. When we were found, the Jounin described it as 'a blood-covered young girl holding a sword while standing protectively, unconscious, in front of another girl passed out on the floor.' There's a reason we lost our voices. There's a reason I have a mask. We have to hide our guilt. Our sadness. We did it; we're to blame; all because of power granted only to the Kawa clan." Kaze stood up, staring coldly down at Sasuke. "Don't you ever say we don't know what you're going through," she demanded.
"Kaze… chan?" Sasuke whispered, tears finally rolling down his face. "I'm just so scared… And confused…"
Kaze calmed down and smiled kindly at Sasuke, holding out her hand. "We intend to stay your friend, Sausy-chan, no matter what you think or decide," she said, pulling her friend to his feet. "So please, don't treat Kia-chan any differently. Our clans' demise isn't her fault. If anything, it's mine."
"What do you mean?" He asked, wiping the tears off his face as the others began walking closer.
"The purpose of my clan was to make sure that didn't happen," Kaze answered, frowning at the memory. "Kia and I were 'assigned' to each other. Our job is to make sure the other stays in control. I failed in my job as a caretaker and took my own father's life. I won't let that happen again, so we stay together."
"Sasuke-kun, are you okay?" Kiara asked, watching Sasuke with sad eyes.
"I'm not going to bother questioning how you know what happened, since I'm pretty sure you and Kaze-chan have some sort of weirdo mind connection thing," Sasuke sighed, grimacing at the group. "But, yea, I guess I'll eventually be okay."
The group separated, much to Ino and Sakura's annoyance, with Ino, Sakura, and Kiara going one way, to be soon joined by Lee, Tenten, and Naruto, while Kaze took Sasuke the other way, followed by Shino, Shikamaru and Choji. They were later joined by Hinata (with Neji following closely) before Kakashi appeared to take Kaze away for lessons.