Rough Night

Kakashi's eye drifted back to his book as he continued to read; lost in the "Icha Icha Paradise" world.

"Kakashi, I'm going to bed." Tsukiko stood and walked down the hallway, her mind lost in a swarm of unanswered question.

"Sweet dreams, Tsukiko." He called out, watching her disappear around the corner.

"Yeah… It'd be nice for once." She muttered under her breath, climbing the stairs of the unfamiliar house.

:::

Her clothes dropped from her body, landing in a small pile at her feet. She crashed down in the soft covers, her head rested upon the unfamiliar pillow as she unstrapped the dagger from her hip. It was thin enough to be concealed by the thin fabric of her shorts… but strong enough to cut through bone. It went with her wherever she went, no matter what. The cold bed felt good against her heated flesh as she drifted into her usual restless sleep.

:::

"TCH-SEMPAI! WAIT! DON'T LEAVE ME!" Tsukiko screamed, jolting awake.

"Tsukiko… Are you alright?"

Tsukiko grabbed her dagger, swinging her arm around so the blade was pressed into the soft blue material of a mask. "Kakashi?" She hissed, remembering where she was.

He gently pushed the dagger away, his eye full of concern as he looked at her. "Are you alright? You've been screaming for the past 15 minutes…"

Tsukiko nodded, inhaling slowly while she slipped the dagger under her pillow. "I'm fine…" She mumbled. She lay back down, continuing her slow-breathing exercise, desperately trying to calm her racing heart. She rolled over, not wanting to see the concern that was etched into Kakashi's face. "Just to back to bed Kakashi… I'm fine, really." She whispered, pulling the covers over her chilled body.

He sat there, unsure of what to say as he looked at her, she was startled half-to-death, and he wasn't sure what triggered it. "Tsukiko… If you need to talk-"

"It's none of your business, Kakashi." She warned. Her glare sent a clear message to him.

"Yes but-"

"But nothing. They're my problems that I have to deal with… Just go back to bed." Tsukiko closed her eyes and waited for him to leave.

Kakashi sat there for several more minutes before he finally gave up. "Try and… get some rest." He whispered, shutting the door behind him.

:::

Tsukiko waited a few minutes before sitting up, she ran a hand through her hair as she gazed solemnly out the window; it must have been coming back, that triggered the nightmares again. 'Damn… This place is going to be more of a bother than I figured.' She thought as she laid back, hands behind her head as she began tracing imaginary patterns in the ceiling. 'He's on my team and I have to help him through the exam, along with the rest of the Genin. Just get it over with Tsukiko… It's just another mission you have to complete.' And with that, her eyes drifted shut, and sleep quickly followed.

:::

Tsukiko finally woke up, the sun beamed through the windows as she rolled out of bed. 'What time is it?' She wondered looking around; the clock read 9:30. She found the bathroom, noticing a towel and washcloth was already laid out on the counter. She stripped out of her panties and bra and turned on the shower, quickly stepping under the warm, relaxing water. When her shower finally ended, she grabbed the towel and wrapped it around her body before entering her bedroom. She quickly got dressed, brushed her teeth and hair, and headed downstairs.

"Good morning, Kakashi." Tsukiko greeted, her hands were instantly filled with a bowl of fruit.

"Good morning, Tsukiko." He smiled as he sat down with her, quickly eating the nice breakfast. "Are you planning on coming and meeting your team?" He asked, looking up from his meal.

Tsukiko shook her head, "I thought I'd go and explore the village… get a feel for this again." She answered; she picked up his bowl and brought the dishes back into the kitchen.

"I'm sure that Sasuke would love to see you again… and Naruto and Sakura ought to be informed that they have a new teammate-"

"So tell them yourself. I'm busy." Tsukiko growled, slipping on her sandals and opening the door. "Bye Kakashi, I'll see you before sundown."

:::

Kakashi sighed, sensing her chakara rapidly moving away from him. "This is going to be a long day."

:::

Tsukiko wandered around all day, finally finding herself up on the Hokage's monument, quietly gazing down upon the village.

"Tsukiko Uchiha?" She turned, finding an unfamiliar man kneeling in front of her.

"Who's asking?" She raised a slender eyebrow, eyes cold with apprehension.

"I am Kotetsu, one of the Hokage's humble servants. He told me to come and find you." Kotetsu quickly explained, sensing her unease.

"What does he want?" Tsukiko asked, standing.

Kotetsu stood as well, staring at the young girl in disbelief, "He needs to talk to you about the Chunin exams."

Tsukiko nodded, "Thanks Kotetsu… I'll be seeing you around." She landed lightly on the ground, hardly disturbing anything around her. She made her way to the Hokage's office, finding it to be surprisingly empty.

"Good afternoon, Sarutobi." Tsukiko called out, shutting the door behind her.

He looked up, smiling as the image disappeared from the crystal ball, "Good afternoon to you too, Tsukiko… I take it Kotetsu found you?"

She nodded, "Yeah, you needed me?"

"I needed to talk to you about the Chunin exams." He began flipping through some papers, trying to make it look like he was busy.

"About?" She slowly began prying at him.

"I need to put some… restrictions on you Tsukiko."

She nodded, propping herself against his desk, "I figured as much. Alright, so? What're you going to do? Tell me I can't kill anyone?" She asked as she looked at him, a serious twinkle danced in her hard golden eyes.

Hokage looked up in surprise, realizing that there was no hint of jest in her tone. 'Well I guess I'll have to lay more rules than expected…' His eyes grew grave at the thought; she really wasn't the young child he remembered from before.